Nyla Naseer: So what do I know?: Recent Episodes
Nyla Naseer
So what do I know? is a podcast independently produced and presented by Nyla Naseer. It is a slightly satirical observational podcast covering topics from behaviour and topical issues to interesting micro-events. The podcast reflects the hard-to-label and sometimes unfashionable identity of Nyla: middle-aged Asian woman, outdoors enthusiast, atheist, academic, comedian, front-line worker and writer. 'So What do I Know' features conversations with Nyla's eclectic group of friends and colleagues, from zero-hours contract workers to academics, professionals and executives.
The Progress Jury talks about why university education was expanded in the UK and the ramifications. Get ready for politics, psychology and reality meeting intention.
From opening doors for young people to losing hope and moving goalposts, this podcast asks whether the same barriers that existed career-wise when less that 10% of people went to university still exist now - but have left generations of people in debt and disillusioned.
Tune is for lively debate from the completely uncut episode!
There is a lot of outrage about 'cultural appropriation' - from music drawing heavily on cultural influences to designers stealing ethnic minority designs and even fusion food in the spotlight.
The recent removal of 'national' weeks from The Great British Bake Off prompted the Jury to discuss this sensitive issue.
Whilst out and out stereotyping and ripping off the intellectual property of others is wrong, what about the argument that all culture has been 'appropriated' from somewhere - and that we are all the better off for it?
In this lively podcast episode, we venture into the heart of a timeless inquiry: Is the desire to have children human nature?
Delving into the realms of biology, psychology, and culture, we unravel thelayers that surround this profound question. The Jury debates the fast changing attitudes to having children and the interesting dilemmas this throws up in terms of finances, demographics, gender dynamics and more.
Join the Progress Jury from its base in Birmingham, England - this time against a backdrop of heavy machinary removing festival rigging.
After the conviction of UK nurse Lucy Letby for the murder of 7 babies, The Progress Jury debated the argument for and against capital punishment.
Are some people so evil that the death penalty is a fitting punishment?
Does life need more challenge?
As technology has improved we arguably have less challenge in our life now. Does this mean we end up bored, deskilled and unable to cope much? Or is it that we are constantly evolving to accomodate new ways of living. The balance between the pros and cons of an easy life (through technology) is debated by The Progress Jury
In the first of The Progress Jury polls we ask "Should we Have Universal Basic Income?"
Yeah, a wedge of free money, each and every month, whether you work or not!
Does it bring equality, economic resilience, freedom fron worrying about money and the potential for a more creative society? OR
Who would pay for it? Would it foster laziness, scams and, most importantly, just cancel itself out through inflation?
Vote on one of our social media polls on Facebook, X, Instagram, Tiktok or Reddit.
Subscribe to The Progress Jury on all major podcast channels.
Visit our website theprogressjury.com
As work changes, what are the pros and cons? This time The Progress Jury talk about people taking control of their work/life balance in the face of the disappearance of job security.
This episode is also shared on the new podcast focused on retraining for a new work landsape - "Retrain Revolution" - please visit and subscribe for retraining related news and guest discussion.
How the UK news networks dealt with two sea disasters - the Titan implosion and the loss of a migrant ship in the Mediterranean. This is a discussion about how our human instinct for the novel and curious leads us to binge on the bizarre.
We are told that we can be 'authentic' and look how we like now...so why do we still spend so much time and money on our appearance?
Is not caring how you look healthy anyway? Lockdown showed us just how important it is to care about ourselves - including appearance.
What about confidence? Is insecurity about the way that you look tied to less security, or even less intelligence?
This VERY thought-provoking episode of The Progress Jury is in the Identity and Behaviour categories of the podcast channel.
As with all of our podcasts, please listen to the end to hear the discussion unfold.
Are we victims of society - or do we just like to have a good moan about how hard done by we feel that we are?
The Progress Jury takes apart this topic apart, talking about whether people really hide behind a victim label rather than get their act together; how the world paints some groups as victims in order to perpetuate stereotypes and how collaboration could be the way forward in addressing the difficulties that many people face.
Along the way, they chat about politics, bullying, entitlement and lots more.
Is objecting to people having a platform for views you don't like just childish and immature? Is it legitimate or is it dangerously curtailing free-speech and debate?
The Progress Jury discusses the no-platforming of people (mainly about the transgender debate in this case).
As the equality gap between the generations has grown, so has the animosity towards 'boomers' from some young people.
The Progress Jury talks about why this is, is it ok to hate people who have 'stolen your future'.
Listen to our chat, with a backdrop of football and folk songs!
Artificial intelligence is for real. It is hard to comprehend just how much it can do...or how many jobs it can replace!
The Progress Jury talks about the impact and their attempts to chat with Chat. Can it find you a girlfriend, do your homework or be your therapist?
Expect the usual banter, observations and furious disagreements - we all get on despite our differences.
Extinction Rebellion to animal rights, local politics to Black Lives Matter - we love a good protest!
The Progress Jury talks about whether people who protest are self-indulging or saving the earth.
Some surprising views on the Climate Crisis, Vegans, Tories and Brexit. What could go wrong?
Some guys are feeling a bit hard done by.
- Women are apparently taking their jobs
- Men no longer feel they have a purpose as the main breadwinner
- Men are worried about the rules of how to talk to and engage with women for fear of offending
The Progress Jury meet and talk about the dilema of being a man and wonder if it is all to do with adjusting to a new and much needed reality.
The Progress Jury is a group of people, of various backgrounds and opinions who meet in a bar to discuss the topics of today. They are unashamedly not experts.
In this episode we talk about:
- Woeful experiences on dating apps?
- Are the old ways of dating better?
- Is what we think of as 'love' different now?
Plus a whole lot more: are people too fussy, dating scams, arranged marriage and incels).
Join us for another intriguing peek into the thoughts of The Jury.
The rise of irregular migration to the UK, especially by people crossing the English Channel in small boats, creates moral and economic dilemmas. The Progress Jury met to talk about why this is such an inflammatory topic. Amongst heated debate and lots of opinion they asked:
- Should we limit economic migrants who don't qualify for work visas?
- Do limited resources mean we should put British people first?
- Are conditions for irregular migrants inhumane?
- What can we do in the future?
Tune in and subscribe for more balanced debate and poweful observations from all sides of an argument.
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Ultra-Low Emissions Zones and now 15 minute cities. The Progress Jury talks about the highly-charged issue of the battle against the car in the UK.
Are measures against the car helping to save the world, or reducing freedom for the most vulnerable and inconvenience for many.
Listen on to find out what the Jury feels about what is going on locally in Birmingham and nationally.
Working from home, remote work, hybrid work...it saved economies during the pandemic and are here to stay.
How do the pros and cons measure up? Is flexibility of remote work at the price of wellbeing?
Join The Progress Jury as members discuss this major shift in our working lives.
Going out with the lads/guys/ladies/lasses etc - is this actually holding us back from understanding each other and propping up dated stereotypes? The Progress Jury sits around a pub table on a rainy day to talk about the good and bad of going out in single gender groups.
Delivery apps - do they deliver freedom or are they turning us into a nation of lazy incompetents missing out on the simple pleasure of making an effort to do something?
Members of the Progress Jury made the trek in blizzard conditions to join the debate and give their opinion.
The Progress Jury talks about whether public sensitivity about offending people has gone too far. One one side there's a legitimate interest in reducing offensive talk and on the other whether our definition of offensive has gone from legitimate to absurd. Has moral outrage killed humour?
Listen on and find out what The Progress Jury found our (including that the Irish Centre has a pub quiz every Wednesday night at 8pm.
Hey everyone, the revamp of #BadProgress has started. I've turned to some nostalgia to kick-off, partly as I haven't got any new material available.
Do you remember lock-down? It seems a distant memory now but here I am with my friend David as we sit outside a coffee shop in Kings Heath, Birmingham in lockdown. The setting (although hard to hear) provides perfect fodder on gentrification and its absurdity.
Listen to remind yourself about chimineas, chalk-paint, making stuff out of pallets, the low-traffic neighbourhood, posh coffee and lots more!
Apologies for the bad recording quality (it was hard times)...
The world is changing rapidly. As we try and take stock of shifting expectations, power-relationships and living conditions we find that it is often the case that noble aspirations turn into failed attempts to engineer change in ways that alienate people and sometimes make things worse. What's worse is that people don't listen to the other side of the argument and there's often more than a hint of preaching involved, rather than common-sense. Bad Progress? questions whether progress needs more work.
It is hard to deny that people are not as happy compared with times past, despite everything being regenerated, infused with positive messages and the rest. Of course, it depends on individual circumstances and there are the lucky ones who we are all desparately trying to emulate. With little success in my case.
Let me share with you talk about life, work, the world and technology, sometimes on my own but more often with a group of discussion-hungry guests in a bar or cafe in Birmingham. Please subscribe to Bad Progress? if you like the sound of it, it is on all major podcast channels or from my website.
With the chance of buying your own home now ruled out for lots of people, let alone living the lifestyle that social media glamorises, many of us are turning to desperate measures.
Nyla and guests talk about the growing problem of extreme risk-taking becoming an accepted way of living. From crypto schemes to Only Fans and social media scams, Any Better Ideas? talks about the way that people are taking a chance on things, why risky behaviour makes sense to people and whether there are better ideas out there.
Join us for more discussion from cafes and pubs, proving that you don't need to be an expert to comment expertly on the issues that affect our lives.
With Covid turning education on its head, I talk to Dr Tony Breslin about what he has discovered about schooling during the pandemic and its aftermath. We look at lockdown education through the lens of different groups of kids, whilst Tony reminds us that the gap between the best achieving schools and the worst is not getting narrower – it is growing wider. Find out how personalised education, more home learning and a greater social role for schools may the legacies of lockdown learning.
Recorded on a cold winter's day, Nyla talks to a pro about insulation, heat pumps and community heating.
With the cost of heating rocketing, it has started to dawn on us that stopping that heat from escaping might be a good idea. What are the options and what does the future hold for heating UK homes? David, an architect with a deep interest in self-build, eco homes and external insulation shares his views (in a very gravelly Brummie accent). If you've never really thought about insulation before, this is the episode for you!
Welcome to Any Better Ideas, the show where I talk to people about what to do differently to sort out the big and small problems of today. From well thought-out theories to wild speculation, I put all ideas to the test in my hothouse challenge. In the process, I hope to entertain, smash echo-chambers and lift the lid on hidden strategies that might provide the answers to the problems we all groan about. Nyla.
We are used to recruiting based on leadership experience and looking for evidence from previous roles.
Given the variable success of this strategy, should we be looking at a completely fresh approach? What about thinking about behaviour rather than background?
As part of looking for radical solutions to sticky problems, Nyla talks about the potential to appoint based on behaviour in non-traditional contexts (in other words not via work). This could bring diversity and raw talent to senior levels of organisations.
Nyla shares the awkward revival of her podcast: So What do I Know? From being indecisive to being crap at social media and a first guest who really wants to talk; a few short days has brought a whirlwind of emotion and learning.
Nyla Naseer introduces SWIDIK - The podcast exploring work, people and what matters to us right now.
Join Nyla in future episodes as she talks to her eclectic range of guests, or muses about what makes us tick at work and out of it.
So What do I Know is an independently produced podcast presenting a range of views that you might find surprising and certainly not conforming to any stereotype. Tune in!
In this episode I talk with Anita and Satpal. We are all South Asians and two of us are into football...Regardless of whether we follow the beautiful game we are all stunned by the comments made by Grag Clarke about race, gender and sexual orientation. BTW the consensus on Greg was, and I quote, 'Good Riddance'.
Has the world changed forever? Thoughts on the US with my friend Mike. #democracy #injustice #realism
Heres a little chat between me and my friend David on the eve of the second lockdown. We manage, through a very windy day, to talk about Kings Heath and Moseley quirks including pallets, chalk paint and firepits and my new section 'Insincere Apologies' - this time concerning lattes. Confused? Listen on to Nyla Naseer, so what do I know. Oh, and I'm still waiting for my better microphones so sorry about the sound!
sokingsheath #lockdown #pallets #insincereapologies
Nyla sets off on an episode of discovery. Her accidental arrival at Facebook local area groups was a bit of a reality check about 'identity politics' but this was forgotten by the time she chatted to her friend and work colleague Lucas about the trials and tribulations of being an intellectual or rich (only one of these applies to Nyla - and even that one is arguable).
A brief introduction into the hopes and dreams of Nyla, as she muses about why she is actually making a podcast. In five minutes she struggles to articulate, but finally manages to tell any listeners what the podcast is about: her observation on life and the way that people power-trip and blunder through it.
This introductory podcast is an insight into, well, Nyla's voice and her refusal to accept convention or to be successful in any way...and yet weirdly confident and pleasant.