February on the podcast...

Tea with the Changemakers February round-up

Find out who we've been chatting with over the last month on the podcast!

Crikey! February flew by didn't it? Now, just because it's the shortest month of the year, it doesn't mean we scrimped on content; in fact, we bought you some of our most controversial and conversation-starting episodes ever, including Jack Monroe and Extinction Rebellion! As always, if you like what you hear on the podcast, then hit that subscribe button!

Episode 39 - 3 Dads Walking

Campaigning for suicide prevention, one step at a time

This episode contains conversations and references regarding suicide.

We recently had the honour of speaking with Mike, Andy & Tim, the?3 Dads Walking. Coined ‘the club that no one wants to be part of’, the dads all lost their daughters to suicide and have staged two country-spanning walks to support the charity, PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide), and to raise awareness of the fact that suicide is the biggest killer of under-35s in the UK.

Mike, Andy & Tim connected with each other in circumstances that no parent wants to find themselves in - losing a child. Beth (Mike’s daughter), Sophie (Andy’s daughter) and Emily (Tim’s daughter) took their own lives, and the dads have channelled their immeasurable loss and grief into helping others.

By raising awareness, the dads have been able to ensure that conversation around admittedly difficult topics stays open and relevant in society. Most importantly, their efforts have helped to signpost where young people who are struggling can access support without feeling stigmatised.

Episode 40 - ape2o

The anti-plastic bottle water company

Globally, 500 billion plastic bottles are used every year – that’s 66 bottles for every person on the planet! As a result, ape2o’s Anthony Newman is the man on a mission to tackle that alarming statistic.

Anthony identified that a lot of people clearly have a thirst for water on the go, and favour the taste of bottled water, but there is an indisputable crisis with our consumption. In the UK alone, seven million plastic water bottles are thrown away every day; 80% end up burned, in landfill, or in our oceans where the resulting microplastic particles end up being ingested by wildlife and, ultimately, us too.

The B Corp-certified anti-plastic bottle water company operates an array of water dispensers in and around London, that provide commuters and travellers with on-demand chilled still or sparkling triple-filtered UV-treated purified water, for the affordable price of ￡0.25 per half litre!

Episode 41 - Jack Monroe

The Duracell bunny of anti-poverty campaigning

Did you know there are now more food banks in the UK than there are branches of McDonald’s?

Shocking we know, but foodbanks are now a vital and sadly accepted part of society; and for the survival of an ever-increasing number of people up and down the UK who are struggling through the cost-of-living crisis.

On this episode of Tea with the Changemakers, we hear from anti-poverty campaigner and food writer Jack Monroe, who’s had more than their (un)fair share of controversy and trolling over the years.

Jack Monroe, at their core, is a mother who found themselves in a tight situation with the cost of living, finding it difficult to feed their son. Jack started writing a blog about cheap and easy recipes back in 2010 (yes, there's been something of a cost-of-living crisis for that long). Little did they know, their blog would resonate with a huge number of people, eventually leading Jack to become a published author and a hugely influential figure in society.

Episode 42 - Extinction Rebellion

"It's not ****in' rocket science!"

‘Extinction’ – probably a word you associate with long-gone dinosaurs. How about ‘rebellion’? Thousands giving all for the cause on historical battlefields? On this episode of Tea with the Changemakers, we welcome you to the rebellion, as we speak with Clare Farrell, proud co-founder of Extinction Rebellion (XR). (You can choose not to join the rebellion... that just means there’s more chance of us all ending up in the same state as stegosaurus and company – your call!)

Now, you may know something of Extinction Rebellion already, having garnered a reputation for blocking roads and holding up ambulances; however, in this podcast, we dispel a few myths (especially the ambulance one) that have often been fuelled by tabloid tattle, then parroted by more mainstream media outlets.

Extinction Rebellion describes itself as an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse. On the surface, claims of societal chaos and ecological devastation may sound a little drastic and dramatic; however, with the tipping point of global warming approaching in 2030, the cost of living crisis, and the richest 1% of society getting ever richer while the vast majority are getting ever poorer, it could well be argued that society is already collapsing…?

We hope that you’ll put any pre/mis-conceptions you may have about Extinction Rebellion aside, and appreciate them as a genuine catalyst for change.?

Ensure you check out the full back catalogue on our?website, and make sure you subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!