Good Podcasts

Clothing poverty is an overlooked social problem, says social enterprise Give Your Best founder Sol Escobar, despite the UK’s mountains of fashion waste.This episode is part of a series featuring the extraordinary winners of the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize 2025, presented by the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation and Trinity Hall Cambridge. The 2025 winners were interviewed for the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation's Social Ideas podcast, which Pioneers Post is reproducing here as part of its media partnership to support the 2026 edition of the prize. Find out more, or apply for the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize 2026, here (deadline 17 April): https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/centres/social-innovation/cambridge-social-innovation-prize/

Good Leaders: As Social Investment Scotland marks 25 years, CEO Alastair Davis talks to Tim West about his dedication to community finance, Scotland’s social investment journey, and how sabbaticals, Friday night cooking and a unique leadership style help him lead with ambition – without burning out.

Good Leaders Podcast: Giselle Gonzales explains to host Tim West how her journey documenting refugees’ journey across Europe ten years ago inspired her to launch EqualReach, a social enterprise that connects businesses to highly-skilled tech teams in refugee communities – and the twists and turns of her founder journey. On the podcast, Gonzales talks about:How a life-changing experience started the story of EqualReachHow she first established her social enterprise, from finding a name and deciding on the organisation’s legal form to measure impactThe dangers of thinking you can do everything and never ask for help and more...

Good Stories Podcast: Colombia is famous for its top quality coffee, but the brew can offer more than just a pick-me-up. Anna Patton meets the co-founders of social enterprise Urbania in Medellín, who are creating jobs for victims of conflict as well as protecting precious ecosystems. 

Good Leaders Podcast: The CEO of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) Frank Aswani speaks to Tim West about solving your own problems, how Africans turn “embarrassing” issues into entrepreneurial opportunities and why it took him to leave the continent to realise his love and pride for Africa.On the podcast, Aswani talks about:His vision for impact investing in Africa and the continent’s value as an innovation lab for the global impact movementHow he is inspired by young social innovation leaders across the continentHow sports, music and family help him balance the demands of being an impact CEO and more...AVPA is a network of impact investors committed to increasing capital flows towards social investment in Africa. It is holding its annual conference on 3-5 November 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya, expecting 400 delegates from more than 30 countries. More information and tickets can be found here.

Regeneration and gentrification are often two sides of the same coin. With £1.3bn being pumped into one of Scotland's poorest areas, social enterprise The Granton Project is ensuring that local communities truly benefit.This episode was supported by a partnership with Good Finance.

One of the most respected social enterprise leaders in the UK, June O’Sullivan has led LEYF for the past two decades, overcoming the hardest challenges with her characteristic combination of determination and stubbornness. Speaking to host Tim West on the Good Leaders podcast, the winner of the WISE100 Social Business Woman of the Year gives us a lesson in social enterprise, impact and leadership. 

How to keep sane as the CEO of a mission-driven mental health platform, when spiralling demand puts pressure on your mission? Matty McEvoy, CEO of Together All, talks to hosts Tim West and Liam Black about enshrining purpose in a growing company, being an “accidental CEO” and why he makes time to coach ice hockey.