A Little Bit of Positive

Simon Anholt is an independent policy advisor who has worked to help develop and implement strategies for enhanced economic, political and cultural engagement with other countries. He is also the creator of The Good Country Index which measures what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity and the planet.For More Information on Simon Anholt and The Good Country Index please visit https://www.goodcountry.org/

This week we talked to Suzy Reading, a psychologist and yoga teacher about her books that can help and inspire people to take care of themselves during tough times.We also discuss brain atrophy, described as a loss of neurons and the connections between them and how a tribe in the amazon is preventing this from happening.For more information on Suzy and her books, please go here https://www.suzyreading.co.uk/

The world is doomed, climate change is unstoppable! Where’s the positive in that?Professor Myles Allen is the Head of Climate Dynamics at Oxford University and runs the project climateprediction.net. He’s been an influential voice in multiple peer-reviewed IPCC guiding policy documents and has had a fascinating career. He also happens to know that there is a workable solution to climate change - and we believe him because he’s been in the room with the oil industry (and he’s very smart).We can save the world – hurray. 

Julia is an award-winning writer and tv presenter from Australia. In this week's pod she discusses her beautiful book Phosphorescence which explores themes of awe and wonder and her quest to find luminosity in the ocean and beyond. We can all find our inner light sometimes in the smallest of things…  Schadenfreude is the malicious enjoyment derived from someone else’s misfortune; schadenfreude and Julia Baird are the complete opposite.

In this week's podcast, Julia & Giles swap virtual gifts for Christmas and talk to Gelong Thubten, live from Kindfest 2020, about his book A Monk's Guide To Happiness, the importance of meditation in the 21st Century and how anyone can do it.

In our final episode of season 1 Julia and Giles speak to Patrick Toe, stockman and farm manager on the Knepp Estate in West Sussex all about the re-wilding project there, his work with the livestock and the positive outcomes the project has had on the wildlife on the estate and the return of some species after hundreds of years. Giles tells Julia all about an Opera House in Spain that put on a performance to over 2000 plants as a big thank you to nature, and Julia reveals what her favourite tipple is.

In this weeks episode Julia tells Giles about an incident in Austria, where a man was fined for farting with intent and they talk to self confessed brain nerd and specialist leader in education, Andrew Wright about his company Action Your Potential which helps parents, teachers and schools to transform children's life chances through various strategies that work with what Andrew calls the grain of the brain and can help young people develop into 'Neuro Ninjas' and promote well-being for all.

In this weeks episode Julia tells Giles about a dangerous plant that can turn you into a ‘beserker’ and the pair talk to psychiatrist and author Sue Stuart-Smith, a passionate amateur gardener who has explored the healing power of gardens, plants and nature. The Well Gardened Mind is a fascinating book that delves into the positive impact of ‘green therapy’ on our mental health and explores how certain garden environments can aid therapy for conditions like autism and PTSD

In this week's pod, Giles and Julia discuss how cats are behind the worldwide exercise phenomenon Pilates, and this week's guest is mouth artist Henry Frazer who became a tetraplegic at the age of 17.  Unable to move from the shoulders down after a freak accident when he was on holiday at just 17 years of age, Henry who had been a competitive young sportsman, has turned that competitive spirit to his advantage and set himself tiny goals to move forward in his life. With the support of his loving family, he’s become an accomplished artist and has just completed his second book – The Power in You.