The Mission podcast

In this special live episode, Nesta's Chief Executive, Ravi Gurumurthy speaks to Chris Blattman, Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago’s Pearson Institute. They discuss Chris’s new book, Why We Fight, and how social science can help us understand conflict.

Recorded in January 2022, Nesta's Chief Executive Ravi Gurumurthy speaks to the CEO of the energy regulator Ofgem, Jonathan Brearley, about how we get to net zero and what our energy system will look like in the future.

Have you ever wondered how Wikipedia makes sure its information is accurate? And why other sites don't use its business model for their content? Join Nesta's CEO Ravi Gurumurthy as he speaks to the co-founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, about building online communities and avoiding the spread of misinformation.

In this episode of The Mission, Ravi speaks to William Isaac, a research scientist at DeepMind, a company that researches and builds safe AI systems. William works on fairness and governance of AI systems and in this episode he discusses the ethics around facial recognition, Instagram and algorithmic bias in the criminal justice system.

We're back! In the first episode of 2022, Nesta's CEO Ravi Gurumurthy speaks to Indra Nooyi, former chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo. During her time at PepsiCo, Indra steered the company towards healthier products and reinvented its environmental profile.

What makes a successful business venture? In this episode Ravi speaks to Manoj Badale OBE, co-founder and managing partner of venture builder Blenheim Chalcot, about entrepreneurship in the public and private sector and the importance of finding the best diverse talent for your business.

How has the NHS changed in the last 30 years and what have we learnt from previous attempts to drive innovation in healthcare? In this episode, Ravi is joined by Jennifer Dixon, Chief executive of the Health Foundation, to talk about NHS reform and why technology and AI may shape the future of the NHS.

Why do some social movements succeed while others fail? In this episode, Ravi talks to Jeremy Heimans, CEO of Purpose, a public benefit corporation that builds and supports movements for an open, just and habitable world. Together they discuss big social changes such as same-sex marriage, drug legalisation, climate action and many more.

What are social norms and how do we change them for the better? In the first episode of Series 2 of The Mission podcast, Ravi is joined by Betsy Paluck, Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, to discuss how social norms evolve over time and how we can use them to shift public opinion on big societal issues.

In this episode of The Mission, Ravi is joined by social scientist, physician and author Nicholas Christakis to talk about the three stages of the pandemic, how propaganda machines thrive when the world is distracted and why we're heading towards a second roaring twenties.

Since the start of the year, Nicholas has been immersed in Coronavirus and published a book in October which explores the effects and aftermath of the pandemic; Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live.

What are the roots of the UK's productivity problem and what can be done about it? Ravi is joined by John Van Reenen OBE, Professor at London School of Economics, to talk about the state’s role in accelerating the fourth industrial revolution and what Rishi Sunak should, and shouldn’t, do when we finally emerge from recession.

How do we fix our welfare state? Ravi talks to innovator, social entrepreneur and author of Radical Help, Hilary Cottam, about where the current system falls short and how it could be redesigned for the future.

The Robin Murray Living Library is mentioned in this episode and can be found at www.robinmurray.co.uk/the-living-library

How can we break the link between disadvantage and educational underachievement? Ravi is joined by Becky Francis, the Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, to discuss what drives the gap, how COVID-19 has made it worse and what we can do about it.

What's happened to trust? In the first episode of the series, Ravi talks to Rachel Botsman, author and authority on trust, about how trust is changing, why trust matters in the age of COVID-19 and how we can innovate around it.