What’s the Deal With Mushrooms and Death? With Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez

Could Doughnut Economics Fix What Growth Has Broken? With Kate Raworth

What if the economy wasn’t something we had to endlessly grow, but something we had to balance? In this episode, economist Kate Raworth challenges the way we’ve been taught to think about economic success and introduces the idea of Doughnut Economics, a model that focuses on meeting human needs while staying within the planet’s ecological limits. Kate explains why endless growth has become the misguided goal and how the economy affects everything from housing and inflation to inequality and environmental destruction. This conversation explores how cities, businesses, and individuals can rethink success, redesign systems, and build an economy that allows both people and the planet to thrive. From redefining progress to understanding sufficiency, sustainability, and systemic change, this episode offers a hopeful and practical look at how we can move from an economy focused on growth to one focused on balance, wellbeing, and long-term resilience. For more information, click here  [https://leylaacaroglu.com/podcast-kate-raworth] Kate’s Website [https://www.kateraworth.com/about/] Doughnut Economic Action Lab [https://doughnuteconomics.org/] UnSchools [https://unschools.co/] Land recognition [https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/#AcknowledgementofCountry]

Happiness, How Do We Get It? With Lhatu Lhatu

How do we measure a good life, and what if we’ve been getting it wrong? In this episode, Lhatu  Lhatu, Director of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Centre explores a radically different approach to progress—one that prioritises wellbeing, community, and environmental balance over economic output. Lhatu shares how Bhutan measures national happiness across multiple domains, why GDP falls short, and what happens when governments design policies around people, not just productivity. This conversation challenges the idea that more consumption leads to more fulfilment, offering us all practical ideas around time use, social connection, and mindful living as pathways to deeper, more sustainable happiness. It’s a powerful look at how individuals, communities, and leaders can rethink success and what it really means to live well. For more information, click here  [https://leylaacaroglu.com/podcast-lhatu-lhatu] Lhatu’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhatu-lhatu-0b731280/] Gross National Happiness Centre Bhutan [https://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/] UnSchools [https://unschools.co/] Land recognition [https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/#AcknowledgementofCountry]

What Makes Indigenous Knowledge Systems So Timeless? With Alison Page

How do narratives of the past affect our understanding of the present? Designer and filmmaker Alison Page explores reframes the first encounter between Captain Cook and the Dharawal people at Kamay through an Aboriginal lens, showing how story, ceremony and connection to Country carry deep environmental and systems knowledge. This episode looks at how two worldviews collided, then and now, what was and is still misunderstood, and why Indigenous knowledge has always been a science of its own, and one we should all embrace. Alison is a descendant of the Dharawal and Yuin people and is an award-winning multi-dimentional creative at the forefront of the contemporary Australian Aboriginal cultural movement. Her award winning work spans film, design, public art, exhibitions and major urban design projects across Australia. She is Professor of Practice at UTS, has created landmark works at Barangaroo and Kamay, and co-authored Design: Building on Country [https://antar.org.au/shop/books-design-building-on-country/]. For more information, click here  [https://leylaacaroglu.com/podcast-alison-page] Alison’s Website [https://www.alisonpage.com.au/] Alison’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-page-6059686a/] UnSchools [https://unschools.co/] Land recognition [https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/#AcknowledgementofCountry]

Have Designers Ruined Everything? With Mike Monteiro

What if the apps you continuously scroll through and the products you use every day are quietly shaping your choices and changing your mind? Designer Mike Monteiro pokes and prodes at the deisgn world, unpacking the hidden impact of the design world, from digital screens to everyday objects. This episode explores how design can manipulate (or empower) each and every one of us, and asks why do designers not consider the ethics of the things they do and create?  Mike is the co-founder and Design Director of Mule Design. He writes and speaks frequently about the craft, ethics, and business of design. Mike’s book Ruined by Design [https://www.ruinedby.design/] asks designers to consider the ethical implications of their work. Previous talks include How Designers Destroyed the World [https://www.muledesign.com/How%20Designers%20Destroyed%20the%20World%20-%20Mike%20Monteiro,%20at%20USI], and How to Fight Fascism [https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=23s&v=vW2moFk074Q]. For more information, click here  [https://leylaacaroglu.com/podcast-mike-monteiro] Mike’s Website [https://www.muledesign.com/]Mike’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-monteiro-6a73501/] UnSchools [https://unschools.co/] Land recognition [https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/#AcknowledgementofCountry]

What’s the Deal With Mushrooms and Death? With Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez

What if the answers to our biggest human challenges, from loneliness, death and sustainability, were hidden in the soil? Artist and author Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez explores how fungi-model communication, cooperation, and resilience reveal telling lessons for humans that stretch far beyond the forest floor or mushroom sauce.  Yasmine is the founder of Futures Materials Bank [https://www.futurematerialsbank.com/about/]and director of the Green Art Lab Alliance [https://greenartlaballiance.com/], whose mission is to foster relationships that contribute to social and environmental justice, akin to the interconnected nature of mycelium. She is a self-proclaimed "mycophile", interested in exploring the application of a mycological lens in defining fair models of collaboration and (self) organization. Her debut book, "Let's Become Fungal! Mycelium Teachings and the Arts," shares twelve teachings of the world of fungi. For more information, click here [https://leylaacaroglu.com/podcast-Yasmine-Ostendorf-Rodriguez]Yasmine’s Website [https://www.yasmine-ostendorf-rodriguez.info/]Yasmine’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasmine-ostendorf-rodr%C3%ADguez-b03ab020/] Future Materials Bank [https://www.futurematerialsbank.com/about/]Let's Become Fungal! Mycelium Teachings and the Arts [https://www.readings.com.au/product/9789493246287/lets-become-fungal--yasmine-ostendorf-rodriguez--2023--9789493246287] Green Art Lab Alliance [https://greenartlaballiance.com/] Nature Research Department [https://janvaneyck.nl/postacademy/nature-research] UnSchools [https://unschools.co/] Land recognition [https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/#AcknowledgementofCountry]