Season 3

In this conversation, you’re invited into a values system revolution with Indigenous systems thinker, Jack Manning Bancroft. Imagine a more expansive, relational, nature-based economy and approach to solving our biggest challenges. Imagine Imagination Labs in schools, and traditional companies transformed into Joy Corps. Imagine death dates for every organisation on the planet. Learn about it here, and so much more.

Author Rebecca Solnit has described disasters as a “portal to paradise”, where the usual stuff falls away and we’re freed from the constraints that usually keep us apart. But what if we could build the paradise now, instead of waiting for disaster to strike?

The thing about paradigms is it’s hard to believe they can change, until they do. Meet the leaders from WEAll, the global Wellbeing Economy Alliance, who have front row seats to the wellbeing economy movement taking flight all over the globe.

What if the answer to our biggest scientific challenges wasn’t just more science? What historical worldviews are still shaping how we operate today? Do vultures have a right to exist? Dr Vishnu Prahalad is an ecologist, conservationist and systems thinker who helps us connect the dots in this fascinating interview.

How do we reMAKE our systems to treat people with respect, kindness and empathy?  Mark Zirnsak works on issues from climate change and tax to gambling and modern slavery in his work with the Uniting Church. He is an uncommonly thoughtful person determined to get to the heart of the issues that matter, and this gentle, reflective conversation had us leaning in.

Like it or not, business is a core organising principle in society. So how do we make it a force for good? Impact investor and purpose-driven business leader Sally Hill talks to us about transforming business from the inside out.

Young people today have the deck stacked against them, and they know it. Their HECs debts are growing, their confidence in the future is shaky, and it’s feeling nigh impossible for all but the most fortunate to build the basics of a good life. Meet two millennial leaders determined to turn things around.

What nice things could we have as a country if we stopped believing they were too expensive? How could we better solve our problems if we stopped being intimidated by economics? Economist Richard Denniss joins us for a refreshingly frank discussion about the way economics is used to conceal power and priorities.

Imagine, for a moment, having “conscience of the nation and voice of future generations” as your job description.  For seven years, that was basically Sophie Howe’s job, as the first ever Future Generations Commissioner for Wales…

Would you like to work less and be paid the same, if not more? Economist and Professor John Quiggin thinks that’s entirely reasonable, and he’s here to talk us through some of the biggest economic ideas of our time.

Is more always better, or is it time for us to consider a new purpose for our economy? How could we spend public money better, solve our problems ‘upstream’ at the source, and equip people to lead better lives — without pushing our planet to breaking point? This is a must-listen episode, with Dr Katherine Trebeck, author and co-founder of the global Wellbeing Economy Alliance.

Imagine a government in Australia dedicated to promoting long-term, holistic wellbeing in everything that it did. Imagine a National Conversation about ‘the Australia We Want’ across our workplaces, community groups and schools. Our next guest tells us why it’s possible, and how we can make wellbeing work.

Steven Hail and Gabrielle Bond tell us why they quit their jobs to offer the kind of economics degree the world needs now. It’s a conversation about money, power and where we need to go if we want to solve climate change, rising inequality and the cost of living crisis.

What does it mean to make a meaningful contribution, and what can we do better as a society to enable and recognise contribution? We speak to three wonderful leaders from three very different backgrounds and perspectives about what contribution means to them. Dismantle capitalism, anyone? Where should we begin?

We gathered three of the wisest, most wonderful people we could find to explore how we recognise, value and make time and space for CONNECTION. It’s our second Bonus Summer Series conversation, and it left us wanting to go sit in the rain under a tree. Happy listening.

We all want care in our lives, but we don’t tend to truly prioritise time for care in our economy, politics or public policy. Imagine, for instance, if we demanded a paid day each week to do care work — for ourselves, our families or our communities and environment? Imagine if we culturally celebrated the non-conformists who were ‘successful’ at life beyond the rat race? Join us for Bonus Summer Series conversation that reframes how we think about, value and practice CARE.

It’s the end of the year, folks. No one needs anything overly demanding to listen to (state of nation: “tired”). Enter Millie and Lily for the final reMAKERS pod: a pretty chill but perky chat that comes full circle. Why is 2022 the year Millie fell in love with public servants? What does Lily want to learn most next year? Plus some book and podcast recommendations for your summer (confession: Millie has no intention of reading ‘nerd books’ over summer, but you still can).

What does it mean to be Australian? Do we have a national story, a national identity; and do we need one if we’re going to rise to the challenges before us in the coming years? Join us for a fascinating discussion with two of Australia’s leading historians, authors and academics about finding and evolving the story of us.

Should arts and politics mix? Is designing Utopia better left firmly to fiction alone? What can fictional world-builders do that those of us stuck trying to change the real world find so hard? Millie and Lily delve into a conversation about the arts, politics and power — and the embarrassing things they love.

Renowned playwright S. Shakthidharan joins us on the pod to explore the power and presence of story: how it connect us — literally in our breath when a live audience is engrossed in a show. How it can divide, or heal. How it teaches us to be publicly vulnerable, that most exquisite and excruciating of emotional experiences. He speaks deeply from his own story and experience of the stage as a sacred space, in a conversation we didn’t want to end.

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a climate scientist in 2022? Or how bad things really are, and what things could look like from here if we did everything right? Join us for a moving conversation with one of the world’s leading climate scientists, author and senior lecturer Dr Joëlle Gergis.

A deep and reflective chat about meeting the world as it is with love, and learning to change the things we can. We interview Toni Hassan — an award-winning journalist, author, visual artist and parent, who invites us to nurture our ‘big self’, and so much more.

Feeling climate freaked out? Need some grounded, practical hope? Want to learn about positive tipping points and hear stories of really cool people across business, government and community turning this ship around? This is the conversation for you.

Want to be the person in the room who can explain Australia’s recent energy crisis? Yeah, us neither. But here we are. It’s a surprisingly enjoyable conversation about energy solutions that are way more exciting than just ‘remember to turn the lights off.’

Run for office! Even if your response to that invitation is a firm ‘thanks but I’d rather tweeze out my eyebrow hairs one by one’ you’re going to love this conversation with Ruth McGowan. This was an election where more women stood, and more women were elected, to Federal Parliament than ever before (including women from diverse backgrounds, First Nations women). What does it take, why does it matter, and what happens now?

Welcome to the Post-Election Therapeutic Celebratory Download Chat! Join Millie and Lily as we debrief, exhale and talk about where to from here. It’s a refreshing, cup-filling conversation about democracy, ‘strategic joy’ and hope, and where to from here.

What does it look like to put the public good into action? Whether you’re optimistic, indifferent or freaking out about the election, this is a great conversation about purpose and how we build more of the public good.

We’ve been through a lot lately, and more of us are questioning our priorities as a country. Add to that a federal election, and we’ve got a real opportunity to reset our sense of purpose as a nation.

The reMAKERS podcast is back, and just in time for the federal election! Dare we be excited about democracy, even when it’s at its most nauseating?

It’s the final episode of the year, and Millie and Lily are feeling reflective.
What did we learn this year that we don’t actually want to forget over the delightful amnesia of holiday shut down? What were the good bits to hang onto out of covid, and where did things fall apart? What are the wild possibilities for the future?

Caring for each other well in life, at work and in death is something Dr Greg Shields has thought a lot about in his work as a psychiatrist and mental health educator. We talk about structural change vs therapy, the things we’re expected to be well-adjusted to that will seem strange to future generations, and what it means to live and die well in uncertain times.

“I need a sick day. Can you cheer me?” This is a request Millie Rooney gets often from friends and neighbours, who know her reputation as a fierce advocate for rest, care, community and wellbeing. Millie joins us back on the show, for a chat about the things we sometimes think of as fluffy and self-indulgent, but which are actually some of the most vulnerable and courageous work of remaking the world we want.

What does it mean to live a good life, in the face of the climate emergency? How can we grow not just better gardens, but a better world? Hannah Moloney is a permaculture educator, best-selling author and popular guest host on Gardening Australia.

Unity is more than a slogan for our next guest. A First Nations leader, unionist and acclaimed author, Thomas Mayor’s gentle voice reveals profound truth about who we can become, and what we can achieve, when we refuse to be divided.

So, you’re cynical about politics and our democracy. Yep, so what are you going to do about it? In part 2 in our series on democracy and the new movie, Big Deal, we explore what people power actually looks like, with community organisers David Barrow and Thuy Nguyen. Hard-won wisdom and ‘generous anger’ abound, but it’s no place for false hope.

Is our democracy for sale? Our next guests have done a deep dive into this thorny question, giving us some big ideas and a great new movie. Check out this two-part series as we unpack how money really works inside our politics, and what we can do about it. Part 1: Director Craig Reucassel and democracy expert Saffron Zomer. It’s a very Big Deal.

So by now we’ve all heard about the latest IPCC report, which has been described as a ‘code red’ for humanity. What does it really mean, and where to from here? Two of our best environmental leaders show us the way forward in a smart, human, candid conversation that won’t leave you rocking in the foetal position.

Art is the doorway to the soul, but law is what upholds human rights. Meet the young filmmaker, writer and lawyer-to-be using both, and hear what she has to teach us about joy and gentle activism.

Is it really possible to build an economy that works better for people and planet? Meet the leader who’s out there, right now, helping people do it.

Will laughter save us all? Comedian Dan Ilic’s whole career is a testament to using humour as a force for good trouble and taking on the things that scare us most.

The transformative power of real, revolutionary love. Dr Emma Lee is a trawlwulwuy woman from tebrakunna country, who teaches us about loving and belonging to Country and to each other.

David Ritter drops some serious wisdom on hope, love, business, politics, doing hard things and rock bands that make life better.

Introducing the reMAKERs: your home for bright, inspiring conversations about the best version of us, and how we build it.

Welcome to The reMAKERS