One Question

Epizode

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  Can we learn to disagree well? Professor Jennifer Hudson, vice-provost at University College London answers One Question 10.04.2025 51min

  Professor Jennifer Hudson joins Sarah to explore the role of leadership in higher education, and the balance between academic achievement and shaping future leaders in a time of cultural shifts, innovation, and uncertainty. Post-pandemic, higher education is undergoing rapid change, juggling economic pressures with a growing demand to rethink what learning should look like in 2025. How do we balance curiosity and critical thinking with the ability to disagree well—against a backdrop of cancel...
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  What makes a leader worth following? Sam McAlister, former Newsnight Producer and Author of Scoops, answers One Question. 31.03.2025 55min

  Can we live in a world of compromise instead of cancel culture? Sam McAlister is a former news night producer and the orchestrator behind one of the most famous royal interviews of our time. Since leaving the BBC, Sam has written Scoop, which later became a Netflix hit and featured Billie Piper and Gillian Anderson. Sam has since switched media for academic and is a fellow at the London School of Economics. Sam joined Sarah to explore what it means to lead today through the lens o...
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  "Leading or Following? Financial Times Columnist, Gillian Tett on the media's influence today. 27.02.2025 38min

  In this week's episode, Gillian Tett, a Financial Times Columnist, joins Sarah to explore whether traditional media can still lead and influence. With the rise of AI-generated content, the challenge of misinformation, and the breakdown of trust in institutions, can traditional media still shape public discourse, influence decision-making, and hold power accountable? Gillian Tett writes a weekly column on Friday, covering a range of economic, financial, political and social issues. She a...
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  Where do you look for hope? Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope not hate explores the leadership we need to leverage hope today. 19.02.2025 1h 9min

  Hope not hate is an antifascist organisation leveraging the power of hope in the face of hate. Dr Joe Mulhall joins Sarah to explore the kind of leadership we need to address deep ideological and political polarisation, the rise of far-right political party, Reform, the power of MAGA as a force for change, the expectations of a new government, the overwhelming importance of community and where we can all find hope. In an honest and uplifting conversation, Sarah and Joe explore why...
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  How do we fight the climate crisis today? Emma Howard-Boyd, CBE, Chair, Client Earth, answers One Question. 20.01.2025 1h 3min

  What type of leadership do we need to address the climate crisis? In this episode, Sarah welcomes Emma Howard-Boyd, Chair of Client Earth, Climate Resilience for All and the London Climate Resilience Review and a Global Ambassador for Race to Zero and Race to Resilience, to answer One Question. With devastating serendipity, this episode was recorded just as the wildfires took hold of LA, causing so much destruction. Sarah and Emma discuss whether we only change something if we feel it, ...
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  Joining the dots between people and profit, CEO of Octopus Money, Ruth Handcock answers One Question. 13.12.2024 1h 18min

  CEO of Octopus Money, Ruth Handcock, joins Sarah to explore how we lead today through the lens of financial services. Part of the Octopus Group, which includes Octopus Energy and investments, Octopus Money is democratising financial understanding to create an economically stronger society, one day at a time. A B-corp with a long-term mission, Ruth explores how the values of the business impact her leadership, the dotted line between culture and profitability, the importance of diversity o...
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  Jack Doyle, former associate Daily Mail editor, director of communication at 10 Downing Street for Boris Johnson and Luke Sullivan, former director of comms for Keir Starmer, answer One Question, "How do we lead today?" In British politics. 06.12.2024 1h 31min

  How do we lead today? In British Politics. This week's episode is timely, as Sarah is joined by Jack Doyle, former associate editor at the Daily Mail and Director of Communications to Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street. Jack left journalism after ten years in the newspapers to become Boris Johnson's political spokesman and press secretary before being promoted to communications director and working with the then-prime minister during the Covid pandemic before joining Headland as...
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  How do we lead today? From the perspective of an Italian, female President leading an international organisation, founded in Germany and owned by Corporate America... 27.11.2024 1h 17min

  Nadia Innanuzzi is the President of the international organisation OTT Hydromet, which was founded in Germany and became a subsidiary of American corporate Veralto in 2023; as an Italian female leader, Nadia has a unique perspective on what it means to lead today across different markets and cultures. Nadia is joined by corporate communication leader Marshall Manson. Manson started his career in American politics before joining several leading communication agencies in the US and the UK, wh...
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  Adekunle Rufai, Founder of S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project, joins Sarah to answer One Question: How do we lead today? Through the lens of equity and Black Men. 14.11.2024 1h 10min

  Kay Rufai is an artist, photographer and founder of S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project, a project to address the rise in youth affected by violence, which sparked a series of reactionary approaches from the government regarding tougher criminalisation of youth, more stop and searches and greater police presence in global majority communities. These approaches inspired Kay to investigate the mental health provisions, or lack thereof, for the demographic in question - Black youth. Kay joined One...
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  How do we lead to address the rising mental health crisis in the UK? Simon Gunning, CEO, Campaign Against Living Miserably, Sonya Trivedy, Executive Director, The Samaritans and Chris Martin, CEO, The Mix, join Sarah to answer One Question 22.10.2024 1h 34min

  In 2024, the rate of suicide is the highest it has been in twenty-five years. In the last decade, 6929 young people, those under the age of 39, have taken their own lives; suicide is the most common cause of death for those under 24. Perhaps the country's most critical challenges are supporting positive mental health and addressing the overwhelming rise of those in crisis. Sarah is joined by leaders from three of the biggest charities: Simon Gunning, CEO of Campaign Against Living Miserably; ...
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  How do we tell the story of leadership, (and a leader) when leadership is uncertain? Sarada Peri, Peri Communications and Lindsay Holst, Group Project, join Sarah to answer this one question through the lens of speechwriting, story telling and communicati 12.10.2024 1h 8min

  Using artistic license to tweak this week's questions, Sarah is joined by Sarada Peri and Lindsay Holst, part of the recent Democratic Conventions Writing Room, to explore how we tell the story of leadership when leadership is uncertain. Before founding her own communications practice, Sarada was a former senior speechwriter for President Obama, working closely with Lindsay Holst, who, before co-founding Group Project, was director of digital strategy for President Obama. Sarada, Lindsay a...
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  How do we lead today, in service to society? Richard Meddings CBE, Chair of NHS England and George Gordon, Communication and Corporate Affairs Director, TSB join Sarah to answer, One Question. 04.10.2024 1h 9min

  Sarah is joined by Richard Meddings CBE, Chairman of NHS England, and George Gordon, Communications and Corporate Affairs Director of TSB, to answer this One Question through the lens of society. Are we increasingly being asked to lead in service of something greater than ourselves, or has that always been the case? It is just that the context of leadership has changed. Before joining the NHS, Richard Meddings was CFO of Standard Chartered Bank. He was integral to one of the most critical f...
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  Dan Smith, Headland Consultancy & Dr Ben Shenoy, Pyschologist and Professor : How do we lead today in business? 25.09.2024 1h

  Dan Smith, managing director of communication and reputation consultancy, Headland, and Dr Ben Shenoy, psychologist, author, and professor at the London School of Economics, join Sarah in answering this series question, "How do we lead today?" Ben and Dan are authors of the Collaborative Report, research unveiling how a business that partners with peers and third parties can unlock financial, social and environmental value and how by tackling systemic challenges like the climate crisis, the...
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  Amanda Litman, Run for Something: How do we lead today when leadership is uncertain? 18.09.2024 55min

  "Hope is a renewable source. Fear is not. At a certain point, you run out of fear because it stops being real. Hope is a renewable resource. It is intended to be self-sustaining." In episode one of series five, in partnership with Headland Communications Consultancy, Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, joins Sarah to explore this series' One Question: How do we lead today? What does leadership mean in the US right now, and is a new model of leadership enough for a democratic win ...
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  Nick Hounsfield, Founder of The Wave answer One Question, can we rewrite the rules of leadership? 31.10.2023 1h 6min

  Nick Hounsfield is an inspiration. Founder of The Wave, the first inland surfing destination in Bristol, and devout surfer, Nick is building a blueprint for business that prioritises people and the planet. In episode 14, Nick joins Sarah to chat about his vision for The Wave and the impact of the surfing community as activists for the future, the undeniable link between purpose and profit, passion, determination, and so much more. This conversation is truly one of hope for the f...
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  Naseem Khuri, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Tufts University and Rob Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer at Harvard University, answer One Question, can we rewrite the rules of leadership? 11.10.2023 1h 6min

  *Please be aware this conversation was recorded before the terrorist attack on Israel on the 7th of October.* Over the last twenty years, Naseem Khuri has worked as a trainer, consultant, mediator and facilitator specialising in negotiation, influence, and conflict management. He is a Senior Facilitator with Vantage Partners, a Principal with CMPartners, and a Senior Advisor with Dragonfly Partners. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Fletcher School o...
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  Nick Stoop, founder of Pangea, answers One Question, can we rewrite the rules of leadership? 27.09.2023 1h 1min

  Sometimes, when something doesn't exist, you have to create it. Nick Stoop spent ten years at the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock before setting up Pangea in 2022. Having spent most of his career in Asia, when he returned to the UK and sought to reallocate his UK personal pension into positively impactful funds, there were few options, so he built one. Founder of Pangea, a positive impact wealth management provider to individual clients in the UK, Nick joins Sarah to answer our One Q...
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  Dr Sarah Hughes, CEO of mental health charity, Mind, answers One Question, can we rewrite the rules of leadership? 13.09.2023 1h 3min

  In this episode, Sarah is joined by Dr. Sarah Hughes, CEO of Mind, to answer this series question from the perspective of leadership in the non-profit and charitable sector. Spanning a 34-year career in mental health and criminal justice, Dr Hughes is a powerful voice on the importance of rewriting the rules of leadership and the economic model of charities and foundations in the UK. At a time of turbulence and an opportunity for change and during an increasing mental health crisis, how c...
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  Lucy Parker and Jon Miller, authors of The Activist Leader answer One Question, can we rewrite the rules of leadership? 21.08.2023 1h 25min

  As the title states, the Activist Leader is a new mindset for doing business. Co-author Lucy Parker has worked with companies all over the world and in all sectors to help them shape and deliver their social value strategies. Before setting up Brunswicks Business & Society practice, Lucy chaired the UK Prime Minister’s Taskforce for Talent and Enterprise for Gordon Brown, focused on high-value skills for a competitive edge in the global economy. As well as co-authoring The Activist Leader...
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  Larissa Vince, CEO of TBWA advertising agency answers One Question, can we rewrite the rules of leadership? 02.08.2023 1h

  Before joining TBWA, Larissa Vince was CEO of the independent agency NOW, a former Managing Director at Saatchi & Saatchi and a passionate advocate of the commercial value that difference can bring to teams and creativity. Larissa joins Sarah to explore what leadership means in the advertising industry, from a lack of diversity to old economic models, do the rules of leadership need to be rewritten to reflect an ever-evolving society, and if so how? An honest conversation on the highs...