Curtis weaves his trademark tapestry of image, sound and logic to portray a story of power in the UK, proposing a explanation of our recent political history. We explore how an “underlying pessimism about human motives”, along with a mistaken belief in the possibility of control, led Thatcher’s government and its descendants to gradually give away their power. We see this happen through often ludicrous spin and deception, the financialisation of capitalism, and the privatisation of public goods and services (a process we learn was invented, or at least expanded by the Nazis). Major events are set against a backdrop of how the population was feeling, to provide an unsettling, revealing, infuriating and always entertaining perspective on the making of this moment, and a stark observation about the nature of power today. The ending provides an honest reflection on the role of work like this in these times.

Defining governance as “our ways of working and being together, and our ways of relating to one another,” Bangura explores efforts by groups such as Multitudes Co-op, who have been “experimenting with what it takes to activate healthier ways of being together in community,” and what “liberatory infrastructure” is required to support it. As outlined by the Transformational Governance Collective, this crucially includes “the informal structures, policies, practices, relationships and cultural expectations that determine how decisions are made, how roles and resources are allocated, and how collaborative activity happens…grounded in principles of shared power, collective decision-making, accountability, and transformative change…to dismantle oppressive systems and build more just communities.” Powering this work is the concept of ‘ustopia’, which Ruha Benjamin defines as “what we create together when we are wide awake.”

“Let’s Talk About Rape® is a movement that challenges the silence and stigma surrounding sexual violence. Through photography and creative expression, the project empowers survivors to reclaim their narratives, confront trauma, and redefine themselves as survivors, not victims… By using photography as therapy, the project fosters deep personal engagement, creating powerful images that demand recognition, showcasing strength, dignity, and defiance. Survivors’ stories, from war-related rape to child sexual abuse, reveal the truth that shame belongs to the perpetrator, not the survivor. Let’s Talk About Rape® shifts the narrative from victimhood to resilience and resistance, breaking societal taboos and fostering empowerment.” They offer a space to ‘unmute’ your story here.

A challenge to prevailing Western narratives about China, offering a different perspective on the recent history of their civilisation and the West’s relationship to it. In particular we are asked to consider how China have developed so successfully, despite the West’s concerted attempts to suppress them, and reconsider events accordingly. For example we typically assume that the Tiananmen Square protest and massacre was a suppression of anti-Communist dissidence, when actually “exactly the opposite is true. They were protesting against the US-backed capitalist reforms”. Hickel provides various data and insights to challenge typical assumptions, including the role of markets in the clean energy transition, and what led to China’s success in reducing poverty and inequality (e.g. they put limits on billionaires). We’re asked to rethink suggestions that China is Imperialist, and consider whether it might even be more democratic than the US.

“As we continue to see heartbreaking and harrowing images of death and destruction coming out of Gaza, so called ‘neutrality’ is no longer a credible option for charity leaders. Staying quiet in the face of genocide means normalising it, and charities are failing their charitable missions by not standing with the people of Palestine… 81% of staff reported that they are dissatisfied with their organisation’s response (or lack thereof) to Gaza. With a staggering 50% of staff saying they are “extremely disappointed” with their organisation’s handling of the situation in Gaza… The charity sector must ask itself honestly - does it see Palestinians as human beings and is it concerned about their suffering? The people who responded to our survey are the future of the sector, and it is time for the leaders of our charities to stand alongside them and with the people of Palestine.”

“It was about an economic and geopolitical hierarchy that is not supposed to be disturbed… The Global North knows very well that real transformative climate finance will actually unleash a tremendous development potential in the Global South, and that will disrupt the global economic and geopolitical hierarchy, which is unacceptable for the Global North. That is the bottom line. It's a colonial mentality dressed up in greenwashed diplomatic violence… The Global South recognises that we need to create a geopolitical leverage to pressure the historic polluters to act differently…(it) is not asking for charity and is not playing the victim. We are demanding payments for a legitimate climate debt… We are the global majority. We can leverage the complementarity of our resources and capabilities to impose a new international economic order of justice, peace, and prosperity.” A strategy will follow; see a quick video explanation of the ‘Bargain of the Century’ at the end in the meantime. Also see.

“For social systems to truly change we need to upgrade their underlying operating systems, that is, we need to cultivate not only what is growing ‘above the ground’, but also the conditions of social soil”, which are “the less visible inner conditions, what is beneath the surface, the quality of awareness (attention and intentions) and the quality of relationships that affect how we operate.” Scharmer argues for a “shift toward building collective capacity for bottom-up cross-sector innovation and transformation across places and regions... Leaning into, sensing, and actualising the emerging future” in a way that is “independent of” traditional politics. We’re all aware that in a world of “polarisation and absencing”, it’s hard to “hold the space for the activation of an entire ecosystem,” but Scharmer urges us to try, proposing three upgrades, seven practices, and three pathways to “cultivate the social soil” that he’ll explore further in later posts.

A discussion of the next Trump administration’s likely impact on climate change and global climate action. For example, repealing Biden’s renewables tax credits would reduce renewable energy provision by the equivalent of “something like 600 Hoover dams”. Also includes a reveal of the odd relationship between Big Coal, Elon Musk, Crypto and AI; in brief: drive up energy demand via rapid unregulated AI and Crypto development to make even more money. Includes a call for Biden to declare a Climate Emergency and release remaining IRA funds now, “because once you give the money away, it’s hard to take it away.”

What happens when you ask leaders of the advertising industry to “redirect its super powers towards the greater good of the people and planet”? A cohort of 12 changemakers from diverse parts of the advertising ecosystem… gathered to participate in a 6-month process… embodying systems thinking, futures thinking and imagination practices, to help align visions of the future with actions in the present… What became clear is that nobody needs a new framework. Instead what emerged as the primary need at this point in time was the requirement to invest in people and give them the space to connect, collaborate, create and challenge the status quo in a safe space.”

A quick reference guide to 14 new economic models, providing “initial insight and context regarding the history, main goal(s), prime constituencies, key messages, and high level challenges of different lines of new economic thinking that can be found in the field today and which can be a source of confusion when we talk about economic transformation.”

“A simple framework that combines the best existing and emerging participatory processes, from open idea generation to citizens’ assemblies, into a phase-by-phase process that can achieve real scale and visibility… For leaders and organisations, it is a structured, phased and inclusive process for decision-making that will help democratic institutions of all kinds - including membership organisations, local councils and national governments - to overcome popular distrust and increase both the quality and the legitimacy of crucial decisions. For members of the public, employees and citizens, the process offers more opportunities to participate meaningfully in making the decisions that shape their lives: to speak from their experiences, share their ideas, and develop their social and political agency… The report is an invitation to leaders of all kinds to collaborate with us to develop it further.”

“A growing body of scientists and experts in the Global South are calling for what they see as ‘blinkered’ and ‘neo-colonialist’ assumptions in climate change mitigation models to be addressed. They argue that scenarios presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which inform policy at the national and global level, project unequal futures where developing countries remain poor for decades… Such modelling approaches 'perpetuate a cycle of poverty and under-development’, hindering progress towards achieving sustainable development goals and improving the well-being of populations in countries in the Global South.”