Episodes

  • Can you make change by knocking off a leader - ChangeMakers Digest

    Can you make change by knocking off a leader - ChangeMakers Digest
    Jun 24 2026
    The Prime Minister of the Labour Party in the UK just resigned, and looks set to be replaced by Andy Burnham.It got us thinking, what can you change (and not change) when you change leaders? We aren't particularly focused on the specifics of the UK situation - but we wanted to reflect broadly on what it means for organisations to change leaders, and what it takes to change organisational culture, practice and impact in the process.Amanda initiated this digest, having just spent time in the UK and being from Australia, where removing Prime Ministers is a kind of sport. Samuel chips in reflecting on the culture of political parties in the US and organisations he has been part of.In the conversation Amanda mentions two books, they are:People Power in Cities - order it via here - (which talks about the power of failure in strategy)Conscious Tribes - which you can pre-order now (and has the story about the school in it)For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more about Samuel:Personal site: https://www.samuelmchu.comThe Campaign for Hong Kong: https://www.thecampaignforhongkong.orgDemocracy in Flight: https://www.democracyinflight.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelmchuTwitter/X: https://x.com/samuelmchuFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuelmchuInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuelmchuFor more about Amanda:Personal site: https://amandatattersall.com/ On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    30 mins
  • Leisel Jones - Changemaker Chat - Speaking up for Mental Health

    Leisel Jones - Changemaker Chat - Speaking up for Mental Health
    Jun 23 2026
    Leisel Jones is an Australian household name. She is a champion swimmer with 3 Olympic Gold medals and participated in four Olympics. In her post-Olympic career she has become a powerful advocate, lifting the lid on the kind of pressures and pain that are put onto young hopeful Olympians and sharing her own mental health struggles.She has written about these stories with Felicity McLean in the book Body Lengths.This is how host Amanda Tattersall met Leisel - they were both invited to speak at the Albury Winter Solstice event in 2024. For more on the event see here.In this chat Leisel shares about the some of the challenges she experienced in her Olympic journey and how that led her to advocate around mental health.For more about Leisel: https://leiseljones.com.au/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersallAmanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    50 mins
  • Daniel Nour - ChangeMaker Chat - Street Side Medics

    Daniel Nour - ChangeMaker Chat - Street Side Medics
    Jun 9 2026
    Dr Daniel Nour considers himself an accidental change maker, but he is also a pretty prodigious one. A doctor, inspired by the health care that helped his brother as a child, it was an experience offering emergency medical care to a homeless man in London during his medical studies that left him unable to ignore the gaps in the healthcare system, especially for marginalised communities.In response in Australia he created Street Side Medics, a mobile general practice unit that meets and provides medical care to people that are homeless in the places where they are at - at food venues. It started in Sydney and has spread across Australia. His work led him to be recognised as 2022 Young Australian of the Year.Here he talks about that journey and what he learnt creating something from nothing. He explores the art of founding an organisation, the limits of planning and the importance of mentors and vision.For more on Street Side Medics: https://www.streetsidemedics.com.au/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersallAmanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    46 mins
  • Hahrie Han - ChangeMaker Chat - Building a progressive ecosystem

    Hahrie Han - ChangeMaker Chat - Building a progressive ecosystem
    May 25 2026
    Democracy is in trouble right now. In the US, Trump’s authoritarian impulses are closing over the checks and balances that used to make space for people to participate. In the UK the success of Reform in May’s local government elections reveal that people are increasingly seeing politics as elite sport - choosing to attack the system as a whole. In Australia, the success of One Nation in recent bi-elections suggests that it is also not immune from this anti-democratic movement.In this chat with democracy academic Hahrie Han we explore this challenge, and some seeds of hope that are emerging at the local scale. Recorded ahead of the UCL Policy Lab’s Ecosystem Project gathering in May 2026 (where Hahie and Amanda are both speaking), they talk about source of hope that lie in the practices of a politics that can build spaces that can invite and explore people who are different, and have different opinions to work together.Things might be grim, but we are never without power. This conversation seeks to make practical where collaboration across our differences can make a difference.======We talked with Hahrie back in 2019 - take a listen to it here: https://changemakerspodcast.org/hahrie-han-changemaker-chat/For more on the UCL Ecosystem project, visit: https://ecosystem-project.ucl.ac.uk/For more about Hahrie Han’s work (including her latest book Undivided and her many books on organising, people power and making change), visit: https://www.hahriehan.com/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)We have a brand new podcast called ChangeMakers Digest - co-hosted by Samuel Chu and Amanda Tattersall, take a listen: https://changemakerspodcast.org/category/episodes/digest/You can keep up to date via:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    52 mins
  • Introducing - ChangeMakers Digest

    Introducing - ChangeMakers Digest
    May 20 2026
    What is this?Today we are releasing a new podcast format on the ChangeMakers Channel - the ChangeMakers Digest where we take an issue in the news or that has grabbed our attention and try to make sense of it - "digesting" it - to draw out lessons and meaning for how we make change.It is hosted by Amanda Tattersall with Samuel Chu, a long time US based community organiser.Our aim is to release these episodes fortnightly. There is more about the digest on our website: https://changemakerspodcast.org/changemakers-digest/.We are very keen to build a community where we extend the digesting to others making change. If you have ideas you would like us to discuss, or indeed would like to discuss with us send us an email at digest@changemakerspodcast.org. We are also keen to set up interactive digital spaces where we can keen this conversation going - if you have ideas for where that might work well, let us know.For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more about Samuel:Personal site: https://www.samuelmchu.comThe Campaign for Hong Kong: https://www.thecampaignforhongkong.orgDemocracy in Flight: https://www.democracyinflight.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelmchuTwitter/X: https://x.com/samuelmchuFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuelmchuInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuelmchuFor more about Amanda:Personal site: https://amandatattersall.com/ On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    14 mins
  • Bhaskar Sunkara - Changemaker Chat - Jacobin and the US Democratic Socialists

    Bhaskar Sunkara - Changemaker Chat - Jacobin and the US Democratic Socialists
    May 19 2026
    Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, US politics has polarised sharply - with the rise of Trump and right-wing populism, but also a renewed class-based left around figures like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes and Zohran Mamdani.Part of what has given rise to these candidates is a Democratic Socialist political movement - and a key part of that movement is the publication Jacobin, which has sought to teach and lead debate about radical class politics, reviving Marxist critiques of capitalism and socialist ideology.In this chat, the founding editor of Jacobin, Bhaskar Sunkara, charts the history of the US democratic socialists and the role of Jacobin in particular. He unpacks the recent New York Mayoral Election campaign with Zohran Mamdani, exploring how the big but simple demands about free buses and rent freezes created a different imagination for what is possible from the state. He also shares a little about his upcoming book The Blueprint (with Mike Beggs and Ben Burgis), and some of the topics he will be talking about when he visits Australia in May and June 2026.For more information and to buy tickets for Bhaskar's Australian speaking tour: https://www.search.org.au/bhaskar_sunkara_live_in_sydney_get_your_tickets_todayThe Jacobin magazine is here.Bhaskar's earlier book, The Socialist Manifesto, can be bought here.Story NotesFor more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    52 mins
  • Antoinette Lattouf - ChangeMaker Chat - Women Who Win

    Antoinette Lattouf - ChangeMaker Chat - Women Who Win
    May 5 2026
    Antoinette Lattouf not only fought and won a battle against the ABC - who unfairly dismissed her for sharing posts about the genocide in Gaza - but while she was doing that, she wrote a book about women who have fought and won across Australian history. Its called Women Who Win, and it was launched last week.In this chat we unpack what she found about what it takes to win - reflecting on her journey and that of other women. We explore the kinds of qualities and insight the help us make change.One of the great joys of this chat, and of Antoinette's book, is the vulnerability and honesty that she brings to thinking about change making. She calls on us to be bold, but never pretends that its easy. Instead, she shares some of the ways she held herself steady as she fought for the right to speak, and for a media landscape that respects difference and different ideas.To find out more and get a copy of Antonette's magnificent book "Women Who Win" - visit the Penguin Random House website (or all good bookshops) - https://www.penguin.com.au/books/women-who-win-9781761355370.You can also listen to Antoinette's podcast with Jan Fran "We used to be Journos" on ACAST here: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/we-used-to-be-journos.You can find out more about Antonette via her website: https://antoinettelattouf.com/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    58 mins
  • Crystal Simeoni - ChangeMaker Chat - African women writing the story

    Crystal Simeoni - ChangeMaker Chat - African women writing the story
    Apr 21 2026
    Rules and assumptions like economics are far from natural or neutral. They are written by a certain group of people and serve a particular set of interests. So what does it look like when a growing group of African women begin to disrupt these assumption by building approaches to economics, food, health and politics that starts with their lives?Crystal Simeoni has spent six years spearheading a pan-African feminist movement that is doing exactly this. We talk about her journey to this work that has been built out of her experiences working in community based economics in Kenya, and based on a long held critique of top-down policy systems. Crystal has strengthened community-led research methods to design change differently. She no longer wants a seat a table that has already been set by someone else. She is working with African women through NAWI to build a new table that is designed with African women in mind.You can find out more about NAWI Collective here: https://nawi.africa/The African Feminist Journal Crystal mentioned is here: https://feministafrica.net/The repository of African women's thought leadership on political economy questions is here: https://kofa.nawi.africa/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    44 mins