The Power to Make Change: talking to activists and change-makers.: Recent Episodes
Kate Levine
The Power to Make Change is a podcast with Kate Levine about activism. It’s a series of conversations with people who make change happen. These activists, campaigners, change-makers – working individually and for non-profits and businesses - challenge the status quo to make the change they want to see. Kate talks to them about how, why and what they do so she can share their knowledge and experiences and inspire more people to make change.
LGBTQIA+ representation in advertising; the murder of schoolgirl Brianna Ghey; hateful media content and its connection with adspend; BudLight and Nike…how two brands took completely different approaches and what we can learn from them…and much more.
Marty Davies (they/she) is a multi-award-winning creative strategist, campaigner, writer, advertising industry thought-leader and a changemaker. She is the joint CEO of Outvertising, the UK ad industry’s foremost LGBTQIA+ advocacy group, the founder of the consultancy Smarty Pants Consultancy, co-founder of grassroots community Trans+ Adlandas and in 2023, was appointed Campaign magazine’s first transgender columnist.
Marty is clever, warm, thoughtful and articulate; they gave me a lot to think about in this episode (which is why it's quite a long one!). I hope you enjoy it.
Keren Mitchell is the co-founder of SuperKind, an award-winning platform for schools to integrate social action and charity-work within the wider curriculum and their classrooms. SuperKind works to educate, inspire and empower the next generation of change-makers to make a difference in the world around them. It could not be a more perfect organisation to feature on this podcast.
SuperKind helps children make sense of a complex and troubling world by explaining some of the big problems of the world today, inspiring them with stories of other young change-makers and giving them the tools of social action to make change.
Melinda (Mel) McDougall has been raising awareness and working to create change in the understanding and treatment of menopause; she wants to help women have a happy, healthy menopause and feel positive about heading into the next phase of their lives. What a change from the silence, shame and fear that still surrounds menopause – a time of life that will affect most people on the planet, either because it happens to them directly or to the people they know, love, live and work with.
Mel is a qualified medical herbalist, who treats people with a wide variety of health and well-being issues. She specialises in women’s health and supporting women through menopause and peri-menopause.
Jessie Macneil-Brown is the Head of Social Mission and Activism for Ben & Jerry’s Europe. She’s a passionate advocate for using business as a force for good and has masses of experience delivering successful initiatives to inspire the public and drive long term sustainable change. She’s led global campaigns teams at IKEA, Amnesty International and The Body Shop. Ben & Jerry’s corporate activism is brave and bold. But also informed and considered. Find out how they do it in this episode with Jessie.
In this episode, the wonderful Gabby Jahanshahi-Edlin talks to us about the charity she founded, Bloody Good Period. From collecting period products in her flat, to running a national charity that became an impactful, influential powerhouse in less than six years.
We talk about getting started and keeping going, we talk about the highs and lows, about the power of great art and design in getting your message across, about the influence of Judaism on Gabby’s life and work and about that all-too-familiar subject for activists: dealing with burnout.
Shaista is an outstanding campaigner, activist, commentator, journalist and more. She's one of The Three Hijabis, three football-loving Muslim women who campaign to raise awareness about racism in sport and bring an end to it. In this episode, we talk about racism, misogyny, power imbalances, the critical issue of consent...we talk about burnout and the process of healing.
Jayne Butler is the outgoing CEO of Rape Crisis England and Wales, the national charity working to end sexual violence and abuse. Its work includes support, education, influencing and making long-term change. In her 2.5 years at the helm of RCEW, Jayne has overseen a real transformation of the organisation: launching a new website, the national 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse support line, several hard-hitting reports and campaigns and a huge increase in awareness and engagement. As anyone working in this sector knows, it can be very tough.
Bryn, an anti-trafficking campaigner, set up social enterprise Blue Bear Coffee to sell delicious, ethically-sourced coffee that helps fight trafficking and support its survivors. In this podcast, he describes his background in the UK Police Services and volunteering in the Dominican Republic, investigating the trafficking of children, all of which helped lead to the founding of Blue Bear Coffee. Listen to this fascinating journey here.
Elizabeth Wathuti is an incredibly inspiring Kenyan environmentalist and climate activist. Having been a recipient of the Wangari Mathai scholarship award, she is now head of campaigns at the Wangari Mathai Foundation, keeping her role model's legacy alive in many ways, including in her work connecting young people with nature and climate activism. Elizabeth spoke powerfully at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 and in this episode, recorded just before COP26, you can hear her passion, conviction and clarity.
WUKA stands for ‘Wake Up Kick Ass” and that’s just what Ruby Raut, co-founder and CEO of this sustainable, ethical and activist period pants company does every day. Hear how Ruby’s upbringing in Nepal - the intense isolation she experienced during her first period aged 12, when she wasn’t allowed have contact with anyone else, the lack of secure period products and washing facilities at school…but also the positive, sustainable aspects of reusable period products and how all these influenced Ruby to create WUKA in 2017, the UK’s first reusable and leak-proof period wear.
I’d bet that most parents would be familiar with Ella’s Kitchen’s distinctive, brightly-coloured little food packs – but this great company is about more than just providing healthy and good-tasting (well, I can’t personally vouch for it but my kids loved it!) food for children and babies. CEO Mark Cuddigan believes fervently in running the company according to purposeful, value-driven principles. He talks passionately about becoming a B-Corporation and its impact on the business and him personally: “it just means everything…it has transformed our business on any measure you would wish to look at”. He talks about the challenges and difficult decisions alongside the joy of making a difference and being fulfilled at work. And if you want to hear some great sustainability news about those little brightly-coloured food packs…listen right to the end for an example of brilliant collaborative working.
Emma Burleigh is an award-winning artist, teacher and author who holds workshops to develop emotional resilience, imagination and a connection with nature. Emma is the creator of 'Soul Color', a ten week painting course-book to cultivate mindfulness and creativity. She also co-runs "LaydeezDoComics", a women-led comics forum open to all, changing the world one story at a time. Emma shares her story from activism on the streets in her early 20s to rediscovering the power of art as a nourishing and supportive practice to help effect change.
Lucy Russell is an independent consultant and skilled campaigner with a history of creating ground-breaking campaigns for vulnerable youth and girls’ rights in the UK and globally. She specialises in issues such as women and girls’ rights, gender, equality, social justice, ending gender-based violence and tackling the exploitation of young people. Currently working for the Malala Fund, previously Lucy was Head of Girls’ Rights and Youth at Plan International and Deputy Co-Chair of the UK Government’s Period Poverty Task Force. Lucy and Kate talk about different kinds of activism, gender-based discrimination and some breath-taking findings, such as how data analysis eventually revealed the sexual exploitation of girls by gangs in Oxfordshire.
Charmian Love is co-founder and activist-in-residence at B Lab UK and is currently social entrepreneur-in-residence at Said Business School, Oxford University and co-director of the Oxford Climate Emergency Programme. She also co-founded Volans and serves on the Board of B Team UK. Charmian speaks to Kate about her work with B Lab and B Corporations, encouraging business to be a force for good, why accountants can save the world and using Jackson Pollock to open your mind.
Jake Woodier currently works for The Climate Coalition, the UK's largest group of people dedicated to action againstclimate change. He also does press and communications for Green New Deal UK and is an editor at Red Pepper magazine. Jake’s been active within grassroots movements and organising for over a decade, including working on the climate strike movement for UK Student Climate Network. Jake talks to Kate about the kinds of qualities that activists need to be successful - a burning passion to want something better for the world, flexibility, being a good listener; how to build resilience and the joy and intense human connectivity that’s made through campaigning.
Katherine Sladden is a campaigns and communications strategist. She was founding Campaigns Director at Change.org UK and worked on campaigns such as putting a woman on a banknote and changing the law for 16-year-olds in police custody. For the past three years Katherine has worked with Grenfell United, the survivors and bereaved families of Grenfell Tower in their campaign for justice and change. Katherine talks to Kate about how to create and drive forward a successful campaign, the power of teams and storytelling and reflects on the strengths of the Grenfell United survivor group.
In this first introductory episode, Kate examines activism. What is it and why do people keep talking about it? What do you do if you’re an activist? Does it always mean marching in the streets or chaining yourself to buildings and trees or can you be a change-maker in other ways? Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, business guru, activist and inspiration to millions, once said: “Get informed, get outraged, get inspired, get active.” This podcast series is about getting informed and inspired.