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Show NotesHow do leaders respond when the familiar ways of understanding the world no longer hold? How do leaders work with anger, fear and uncertainty rather than being overwhelmed by them?In this episode, Simon Western is joined by Steven Segal, psychologist, leadership coach and author of Mandela's Leadership Legacy: Emotional and Existential Wisdom. Drawing on Mandela's response to the assassination of a senior ANC leader in 1993, Steven considers how Mandela helped a nation on the brink of civil war move from anger and revenge towards reflection and the possibility of a different future.They discuss leadership as a process of containment - turning difficult emotions into thinking rather than mobilising them for political ends. They consider the importance of existential wisdom, the capacity to remain with uncertainty when familiar ways of being no longer work, and how our moods and emotions shape what matters to us and how we respond to the world.The conversation also questions the dominance of rationality in contemporary leadership. What might it mean to lead with a deeper sense of care, conscience and practical wisdom? And how might leaders create spaces for dialogue across differences, recognising our shared humanity even in those we regard as enemies? Key Reflections- Leadership is not mainly about inspiring people; it is about containing difficult emotions and creating space for reflection.- Mandela's leadership shows how anger, grief and fear can become opportunities for thinking and collective transformation.- Existential wisdom involves staying with uncertainty when familiar ways of understanding the world break down.- Leadership is never an individual achievement; it emerges within a wider collective and cultural context.- Moods and emotions are not opposed to reason; they shape how we understand what matters and how we engage with the world.- There is a difference between mobilising emotions for power and working with emotions through care, conscience and practical wisdom.- Dialogue across differences requires moving beyond fixed identities and recognising the humanity of others. KeywordsNelson Mandela; Leadership; Existential Wisdom; Emotional Intelligence; Containment; Organisational Leadership; Practical Wisdom; Uncertainty; Ubuntu; Dialogue Across Difference Brief BioDr Steven Segal is a psychologist, leadership coach and author whose work brings existential and phenomenological philosophy into conversation with psychotherapy, leadership and organisational life. He was formerly Associate Professor at Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney and has spent more than 25 years teaching, researching and working with leaders and organisations.His latest book, Mandela’s Leadership Legacy: Emotional and Existential Wisdom (Routledge, 2026), explores Nelson Mandela’s leadership through an existential lens, asking how leaders respond when familiar ways of understanding and acting no longer provide a secure guide. His work is particularly concerned with moods of disruption, uncertainty, dialogue across difference, and the ways in which leadership can create a space in which people are able to recover a sense of belonging and possibility.His current work extends these themes into psychotherapy, exploring philosophy not simply as a body of ideas but as a therapeutic practice emerging from lived disruption.Explore more of his work:WebsiteLinkedInSubstack

Show NotesWhat if the system isn't broken? What if it's doing exactly what it was designed to do? If that's true, tinkering with capitalism won't save us. We need to imagine a different civilization altogether.In this episode of Edgy Ideas, Simon Western talks with Jeremy Lent, author of Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All. Jeremy's argument cuts deep: our ecological and social crises come from a worldview built on separation. Humans from nature. Mind from body. A civilization that prizes control, extraction and competition over connection. Simon brings his own work on Eco-Leadership into the conversation, wrestling with how hard it is to think outside a modernity mindset that shapes everything, how we lead, organise, even how we see ourselves.So what does a life-affirming civilization actually look like? Less control, more collaboration with living systems. Less abstraction, more reconnection with embodied, animate intelligence. And crucially, Jeremy insists these alternatives aren't hypothetical. They're already happening in communities around the world.This isn't a conversation that flinches from the scale of the crisis, but it doesn't collapse into despair either. Jeremy pushes for something harder: full honesty about ecological breakdown, paired with a real belief that transformation is possible. He points to how neoliberalism spread, starting at the margins, until it reshaped the entire world, and asks whether life-affirming ideas could do the same. His closing line says it best: the future isn't a spectator sport. We're all in it, shaping it, whether we notice or not. Key Reflections The system might not be broken. It might be working exactly as designed. Our ecological crisis is a crisis of worldview: separation, control, extraction. Moving past modernity means working with living systems, not controlling them. There is an alternative. Much of what we need already exists, somewhere, in practice. Face the crisis honestly, without tipping people into despair or paralysis. Big ideas start at the margins, then quietly redraw what's possible. The future isn't something we watch. It's something we build. KeywordsEcocivilization, Modernity, Ecological Crisis, Life-Affirming Systems, Capitalism, Systems Thinking, Regeneration, Transformation, Collective Action, Eco-Leadership Brief BioJeremy Lent is an author and speaker whose work investigates the underlying causes of our civilization’s existential crisis, and explores pathways toward a life-affirming future. His new book, Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All, lays out the potential for a fundamentally different world system based on life-affirming principles.His previous books are The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning and The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe. He is the founder of the Deep Transformation Network, a global community exploring pathways toward a life-affirming future on a regenerated Earth.  He has written extensively about the vision and specifics of an ecological civilization, is co-founder and executive director of the Ecocivilization Coalition, and president of its parent, the Institute for Ecological Civilization.

Show NotesWhat happens to authority when hierarchy begins to disappear? And why might leaders themselves be part of the problems they are trying to solve?In this episode of Edgy Ideas, Simon Western is joined by Dr Larry Hirschhorn - founder and Principal Emeritus of CFAR and a leading thinker in systems psychodynamics and organisational consulting.Drawing on a lifetime of working with organisations, Larry discusses the tension between the independence leaders need and the danger of becoming caught in an idealised image of themselves. Challenging the notion that authority disappears in flatter organisations, Larry shares how it actually becomes more personal, relational and political.Larry introduces his idea of 'Primary Risk' - asking what we foreground and what we fail to notice when making strategic decisions. He also shares his most interesting emerging work with Reversal Theory, offering a less pathologising way of understanding how groups actually work.Simon and Larry also reflect on why systems psychodynamics remains at the margins of organisational life. The conversation ends with a refelction on how might we create a good life that holds together our desire for individual freedom and our yearning for collective life.Key Reflections Leadership requires separateness, but this can easily slip into self-idealisation. Less hierarchy does not mean less authority; it makes authority more relational, personal and political. Primary Risk asks us to notice what our strategies push into the background. Groups need to move between challenge and consensus, purpose and playfulness. Leaders are part of the systems they are trying to understand and change. Psychodynamic thinking may be most useful when the theory stays in the background and the organisation’s real challenges stay in the foreground. The good life requires finding ways to hold individual freedom and collective belonging together. KeywordsLeadership; Authority; Systems Psychodynamics; Primary Risk; Reversal Theory; Group Dynamics; Distributed Leadership; Organisational Politics; Strategy; Collective Life   Brief BioDr. Larry Hirschhorn is a founder and Principal Emeritus at CFAR, a management consulting firm specialising in organisational development, strategy, change implementation, collaboration and leadership transition. With over four decades of experience as an organisational consultant, scholar and thought leader, Larry has worked extensively with leaders and organisations on strategy formulation and execution, organisational diagnosis and organisational design.He is the Director of CFAR’s Dynamics of Consulting Program, an advanced programme for experienced consultants and coaches that explores the intersections between business dynamics and psychodynamics.Trained as an economist, with a PhD from MIT, and later as a psychoanalytically informed organisational consultant, Larry is widely recognised for his work on the psychodynamics of organisations and for connecting the deeper dynamics of groups, relationships and decision-making with the practical realities of strategy and organisational performance.Larry is also a founding member and former President of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (ISPSO). A prolific writer, he has received several awards for his work, including the Eliot Jaques Award from the Society of Consulting Psychology, as well as journal awards for his writing on organisational life, leadership and moral purpose. He has also held faculty and teaching roles at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton, Fielding Graduate University and the William Alanson White Institute.

Show NotesIn this episode of Edgy Ideas, Simon Western is joined by Maria Guerrero - social entrepreneur and leadership educator - to explore leadership, power and human development.Starting from Maria's work in education, faith-based institutions and social transformation, the conversation asks what kind of leadership is needed when expertise and authority are no longer enough. Drawing on Adaptive Leadership, Maria asserts that many of today's challenges require collective learning, shared responsibility and the willingness to engage with uncertainty rather than seeking quick answers.Simon and Maria examine how power operates in organisations, churches, universities and society, often shaping whose voices are heard and whose knowledge is valued. They discuss the importance of recognising lived experience alongside expertise and explore how leadership can emerge from unexpected places.The conversation also moves into the embodied and spiritual dimensions of leadership. Through stories of facilitation, peacebuilding and contemplative practice, they reflect on silence, discernment, movement, fragility and interdependence. In a time marked by polarisation and rapid change, Maria offers a vision of leadership rooted in connection, purpose and our shared humanity. Key Reflections Leadership is less about position or authority and more about the capacity to help individuals and communities navigate meaningful change. Many of today's challenges are adaptive rather than technical, requiring participation, experimentation, and collective learning rather than expert solutions. Power is often embedded in organisational cultures and social norms, influencing whose voices are heard and whose perspectives are overlooked. Real transformation requires the ability to stay with uncertainty, discomfort, and not-knowing instead of rushing towards certainty and control. Embodied practices such as movement, silence, and deep listening can reveal forms of wisdom that are inaccessible through rational analysis alone. Human fragility and interdependence are not weaknesses to overcome but realities that can deepen connection, compassion, and collaboration. Engaging constructively with difference is essential for leadership, peacebuilding, and creating communities capable of addressing complex challenges. Spirituality, understood as connection to self, others, nature, and something beyond ourselves, remains a vital but often neglected dimension of leadership development. KeywordsLeadership Development, Adaptive Leadership, Power & Authority, Human Development, Embodiment, Interdependence, Spirituality, Social Change.   Brief BioMaría Guerrero is a social entrepreneur, leadership educator, and facilitator working at the intersection of social change, collective learning, and human development. Trained as a lawyer and economist, she began her career in corporate law before leaving the profession to found Acción por la Música, a pioneering organization in Spain that uses collective music-making as a platform for inclusion, community building, and social transformation.Over the past decade, María has combined her practical experience leading social innovation initiatives with a deep exploration of how people, organizations, and societies navigate complexity. Her work draws on Adaptive Leadership, collective sensemaking, adult development, conflict transformation, and traditions of spiritual discernment. She has designed and accompanied large-scale participatory processes in educational, social, and faith-based institutions, helping communities engage difficult questions, navigate polarization, and develop the capacity to learn their way forward together.María teaches leadership at Comillas University and works internationally as a speaker, facilitator, and advisor. She is part of global leadership networks connected to Harvard Kennedy School and Acumen, and is currently pursuing doctoral research on leadership development and organizational transformation in complex systems.At the heart of her work is a simple conviction: many of the challenges that matter most cannot be solved by expertise alone. They require people to learn, adapt, and discover new possibilities together.

Show NotesIn this episode, Simon Western is joined by his long-time colleague, Leslie Brissett, to explore the history, purpose and enduring relevance of Group Relations Conferences. They trace the roots of this pioneering methodology from the early Leicester Conferences and the Tavistock Institute tradition to its contemporary applications in leadership, organisations and society. They discuss how Group Relations creates a temporary learning organisation where participants study authority, leadership, membership, and the unconscious in real time. They reflect on why these conferences can be deeply moving, often revealing hidden assumptions, internal constraints and patterns carried from our earliest relationships.Simon and Leslie also discuss the changing nature of leadership, the growing prominence of identity and systems thinking and the need to reconnect questions of soul, embodiment and spirituality with organisational life. Along the way, Simon shares how a Group Relations Conference helped him discover a different path to leadership - one that emerged not from hierarchy, but from working at the edge.This is a conversation about learning, freedom, authority and what it means to become more conscious participants in the systems we inhabit. Key Reflections Every Group Relations Conference is a unique, temporary learning organisation that can never be repeated in exactly the same way. Authority is not simply something exercised by leaders; it is shaped by how each of us relates to systems, roles, and early life experiences. Experiential learning can reveal aspects of ourselves that remain hidden in traditional education, coaching, therapy, or leadership development. Freedom often exposes the internal constraints and assumptions that unconsciously shape our behaviour. The origins of Group Relations are rooted in post-war efforts to understand authority, democracy, and the conditions that give rise to authoritarianism. Leadership does not only emerge from formal positions of power; it can arise from the edge of a system through connection and influence. Identity has become a more visible and important aspect of organizational life, inviting deeper reflection on both self and system. The future of Group Relations may lie in integrating embodiment, spirituality, and ecological ways of thinking with its psychoanalytic foundations. KeywordsGroup Relations, Leadership, Authority, Tavistock, Systems Thinking, Identity, Organisational Learning, Soul, Work Brief BioLeslie has worked in organisational and community leadership for over 30 years. He is on the advisory board of the Eco-leadership Institute. He is the former Group Relations Programme Director at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, and is currently serving as the Board Secretary for the International Psychoanalytical Association. Leslie has studied human dynamics in experiential settings in many countries and acts as an adviser and consultant to boards, nations, groups and individuals seeking to improve the quality of life and deepen what it means to be human and humane. Leslie holds multiple degrees including master's degrees in Health Education from Kings College and Organisational Psychology, Social Policy and Non-Profit Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as a PhD in Unconscious Decision Making from Trinity College.

Show NotesIn this episode, Simon Western speaks with seasoned psychoanalyst and organisational consultant Dr. Anton Obholzer about the hidden emotional and relational dynamics shaping leadership, organisations and society. Anton is a hugely respected organisational consultant from the Tavistock tradition, and it is a delight to hear his wisdom and insights on this podcast.  Moving beyond technical models of management and mental health, the conversation explores organisations as living systems embedded within wider social and political realities. Anton reflects on the Tavistock tradition, the influence of Eric Miller and the importance of understanding organisations not simply as structures of efficiency, but as emotional containers carrying anxiety, projection, creativity and possibility. Simon and Anton discuss leadership as a protective and generative force, creating the conditions for growth, talent and human flourishing.The dialogue explores the erosion of relational life in contemporary society, the dangers of organisations becoming spaces for unmanaged social anxiety, and the increasing dominance of technological and managerial rationality over human connection. They examine the importance of experiential learning, vulnerability, observation and creative practice in sustaining healthy organisations and societies.At the heart of the episode is a deeper question about how we live together in increasingly uncertain times. Rather than retreating into expertise, certainty or control, Anton calls for greater relational awareness, collective responsibility and societal imagination. Key Reflections Organisations are emotional and societal systems, not simply technical machines Leadership involves creating protective spaces where people and creativity can flourish Psychoanalysis offers ways to understand the hidden dynamics shaping organisational life Relational intelligence matters more than purely technical expertise Organisations often absorb and enact wider societal anxieties and fractures Creativity, art and dialogue are essential to organisational and societal health Experiential learning creates deeper awareness than abstract theory alone Technological advancement risks intensifying alienation and loss of human contact Mental health cannot be separated from political, social and organisational conditions Healthy societies require interdependence, vulnerability and collective responsibility KeywordsPsychoanalysis, Leadership, Organisational Dynamics, Tavistock, Anton Obholzer, Simon Western, Eco-Leadership, Relational Intelligence, Systems Thinking, Emotional Containment, Group Relations, Society, Human Connection, Organisational Culture, Creativity, Vulnerability, Interdependence. Brief BioDr. Anton Obholzer is a psychiatrist, Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and both a child and adult psychoanalyst, trained at the Tavistock Clinic and the Institute of Psychoanalysis in London. Alongside his clinical work, he trained as an organisational consultant under Eric Miller at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, helping pioneer the application of psychoanalytic thinking to organisations, leadership, and institutional life.Until 2002, he served as Chief Executive of the Tavistock & Portman Clinics in London and continues as Chairman of the Consulting to Institutions Workshop and Senior Consultant in the Tavistock Consultancy Service. He has designed and directed group relations and management conferences internationally, and lectures widely on organisational change, leadership, and resistance under conditions of stress and turbulence.A Visiting Professor at the Universities of Vienna, Graz, and Innsbruck, faculty member at INSEAD’s Advanced Management Programme, and teacher across Europe, Dr. Obholzer has spent decades exploring the unconscious dynamics that shape organisations - especially when systems are under pressure.He is also the co-editor of the influential book The Unconscious at Work, a seminal text that examines how unconscious anxieties and emotional dynamics operate within organisations and institutions. His writings and publications have profoundly shaped the fields of systems psychodynamics, organisational consultancy, and leadership studies.

Show NotesIn this episode, Simon Western speaks with political theorist and author Professor Brad Evans about the collapse of traditional working-class politics and the growing sense of abandonment across post-industrial communities. Drawing on Brad’s experiences growing up in the South Wales Valleys, the conversation explores how solidarity, class identity and community structures have been eroded by deindustrialisation, neoliberalism and the rise of precarious labour. They reflect on why many working-class communities no longer feel represented by progressive politics and why populist movements are gaining traction.Simon and Brad discuss the emotional and political consequences of precarity - from Brexit and nationalism to homelessness, resentment and the rise of the “precariat.” Rather than dismissing people drawn toward nationalist or populist politics, they ask what happens when communities lose dignity, voice and recognition. The conversation challenges simplistic binaries of left and right, arguing instead for deeper listening, political humility, and a renewed understanding of interdependence.The episode also turns toward possibility. Simon introduces ideas from his work on “precarious interdependence,” asking how we might learn to live creatively within uncertainty rather than retreat into fear, certainty, and division. They discuss the role of art, culture, dialogue, and political imagination in creating more humane futures - futures grounded not in nostalgia for the past, but in new forms of solidarity and shared becoming. Key Reflections Working-class communities have not simply lost jobs, but also the social bonds and identities that once gave meaning and solidarity. Populist movements gain power when people feel politically abandoned, unseen and culturally dismissed. Precarity can produce fear and division, but it can also open possibilities for new forms of creativity, mutuality and transformation. Nationalism often emerges in spaces where class consciousness and collective identity have collapsed. Real political dialogue begins when we stop demonising opponents and start listening to the conditions shaping their lives. Art and culture are not luxuries; they are essential for reimagining society and creating empathetic futures. KeywordsPrecarity, Working Class, Nationalism, Populism, Brexit, South Wales, Political Violence, Class Identity, Labour Party,Identity Politics, Mutuality, Interdependence, Neoliberalism, Community, Deindustrialisation, Arts & Politics, Political Agency, Democracy, Social Change Brief BioBrad Evans is a Professor of Political Violence & Aesthetics at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. He is the author of 20 books and edited volumes, along with over 150 academic and international media articles. Brad has written extensively on the state of international affairs, while making major theoretical contributions to the understanding of violence. He has previously held positions at the Universities of Bristol and Leeds, and has also taught at Columbia University in New York.Brad is widely known for bringing critical theory into public conversation through projects with The New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, and American Book Review. His recent work explores the politics of disappearance, bridging art, academia, and policy through exhibitions, public events, and global collaborations. He is also the founder of the internationally recognised Histories of Violence project, which connects critical research and public dialogue across more than 140 countries.A frequent speaker at institutions including Harvard, NYU, Columbia, UCLA, and the Guggenheim, Brad’s work moves between philosophy, politics, art, and lived experience. He is also the author of the acclaimed semi-biographical book How Black Was My Valley, reflecting on growing up in poverty in South Wales. His work and commentary have featured across major global media including the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Newsweek.

Show NotesIn this episode of Edgy Ideas, Simon Western speaks with Gareth Owen OBE, former Humanitarian Director of Save the Children UK, about what it means to practice humanitarianism in a world where the global order is shifting rapidly. Drawing on more than three decades working in conflict zones - from Somalia and Angola to leadership roles shaping global humanitarian response - Gareth reflects on how humanitarian work has evolved. He describes how the aid sector grew alongside the post-Second World War liberal order, and how today that system is fragmenting under geopolitical tensions, rising authoritarianism and declining global cooperation.A key theme in the conversation is the growing bureaucratisation of humanitarian institutions. Gareth and Simon explore two key issues. Firstly the widening gap between frontline human suffering and the managerial systems that increasingly govern aid delivery.  Secondly the breakdown of the liberal international order and what it means for humanitarian work. The discussion turns to what Gareth calls the potential “loss of the humanitarian soul” - the relational depth, moral courage and human connection that once anchored the sector.  Rather than turn to nostalgia for the past, Gareth argues for a renewal grounded in solidarity, human-centred leadership, and new alliances that emerge beyond traditional institutions.Ultimately, the conversation asks a simple but demanding question: in an uncertain and fractured world, what are we each willing to stand up for? Key Reflections Humanitarianism is not a role or title; it is something learned through deep proximity to suffering. The humanitarian sector has become over-bureaucratised, often distancing itself from the people it claims to serve. The liberal rules-based order is breaking down, and with it the structures that once gave humanitarianism legitimacy and support. Aid institutions are caught between external political collapse and internal managerial systems that drain imagination and moral energy. The loss of reflective space inside organisations weakens their ethical compass and disconnects them from purpose. Humanitarian soul is rooted in relational depth, truth-telling, solidarity, and the willingness to remain open to pain. Real hope does not come from nostalgia for the old order, but from building new alliances, mutuality, and political courage. Change begins with self, but must move outward into communities, ecosystems, and collective action. KeywordsHumanitarianism, liberal order, solidarity, aid sector, bureaucracy, managerialism, soul at work, ecosystems, leadership, mutuality, geopolitics, reflection, trauma, global crisis, moral courageBrief BioGareth Owen is the former Humanitarian Director of Save the Children UK (2007-2024). One of the sector’s most accomplished, influential and creative humanitarian practitioners; a passionate and inspirational leader of global renown; strategic thinker and critical reflector; outstanding communicator, systemic collaborator, team builder, talent developer, fundraiser and champion of change; chief architect of some of the humanitarian system’s most innovative and forward-looking collective initiatives. Over two decades, he crafted and led the growth of Save the Children UK’s humanitarian work and had a defining influence on the global Save the Children movement’s humanitarian renaissance. He built to worldwide pre-eminence a Humanitarian Department of 300 professionals then latterly initiated its consolidation and downsizing to catalyse shifting of power. In parallel, he co-founded and incubated the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, Elrha, the START Network, the Collaborative Cash Delivery Network and The Alameda Institute. A leading contemporary figure in the humanitarian sector, Gareth now offers his wealth of experience as a consultant, coach, author and lecturer.

Show NotesWhat happens when anthropology turns its gaze on psychology and coaching?In this episode, Simon Western is joined by social anthropologist Dr Mikkel Kenni Bruun and social scientist Dr Rebecca Hutten to explore what sits beneath contemporary mental health, therapy, and coaching practices. Together, they discuss culture, power, and the often-invisible assumptions shaping therapeutic work.Rather than treating psychology as universal or value-neutral, Mikkel and Rebecca show how it is culturally produced, shaped by specific histories, institutions, and ways of making meaning. From this perspective, therapy and coaching are never neutral; they are embedded in social, political, and moral worlds.Ethnography is central to this conversation, not just as a research method, but as a way of listening and staying with complexity. Instead of forcing distress, healing, and care into predefined psychological categories, ethnography attends to how these experiences are actually lived across contexts.The discussion also challenges dominant Western ideas of the self. While psychology and coaching often centre the autonomous individual, anthropological perspectives highlight relational and socially embedded selves. This raises urgent questions about what happens when Western therapeutic models travel globally - and what they may erase or misunderstand.Cultural competence comes under scrutiny too. Often presented as a solution, it can risk flattening culture into tidy checklists rather than engaging with lived complexity and power. As psychological language increasingly shapes public policy, workplaces, and everyday life, anthropology helps reveal the cultural and political work happening beneath the surface. Key Takeaways Psychological and coaching practices are culturally produced, not universal Therapeutic cultures vary across histories, institutions, and contexts Ethnography reveals how mental health is actually lived The individual self is not a universal model Cultural competence can oversimplify difference Psychological practice is fundamentally relational Mental health discourse shapes ideas of the “good life” Anthropology makes the familiar strange - and visible again KeywordsAnthropology, psychology, coaching, mental health, therapeutic culture, ethnography, cultural competence, relationality, self, good life Brief BiosDr Mikkel Kenni Bruun is a social anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, Research Associate at the Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute, and Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. His ethnographic research includes NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT) services and community mental health initiatives in the UK. He is co-editor of Towards an Anthropology of Psychology (2025) and Rhythm and Vigilance (2025). Dr Rebecca Hutten is an independent researcher, social scientist, and Associate Lecturer at The Open University. Trained as an anthropologist, she has worked in government policy research and Public Health at the University of Sheffield, and brings extensive fieldwork and clinical experience within NHS psychological services. She is co-editor of Towards an Anthropology of Psychology (2025).

Show NotesIn this episode Simon and Dr. Jack Black, Associate Professor at Sheffield Hallam University, think dangerously about AI through the unsettling lens of Lacanian psychoanalysis. This is a conversation about desire, discourse, power and the fantasies we project onto machines.Drawing on Lacan, Jack reframes AI not as a neutral tool or intelligent object, but as a relational phenomenon - one that speaks into us, structures us, and increasingly stands in for authority itself. Together, Simon and Jack interrogate how AI comes to occupy the place of the Big Other: the supposed holder of knowledge, truth, and certainty in a fragmented world.They explore Lacan’s four discourses, particularly the discourse of the hysteric, as a way of resisting AI’s creeping authority and the ideological narratives that present it as omniscient, objective, or inevitable. AI, they argue, does not know in any human sense - it recombines, repeats, and reflects back our own symbolic order, including its exclusions, biases and violences.The conversation moves into education, where AI is rapidly being positioned as a new master signifier. What happens when learning is outsourced to algorithmic systems? What kinds of subjects are being produced? And whose knowledge is being legitimised - or erased - in the process?Throughout the episode, AI is revealed as a site where cultural anxiety, political power, and unconscious desire collide. Rather than rejecting technology, Simon and Jack argue for a more critical, psycho-social engagement - one that keeps the human, the relational, and the ethical firmly in view.This is a conversation about AI, but it is also about us: our longing for certainty, our fear of lack, and our temptation to hand over authority to machines. Lacan, unexpectedly, offers not despair but hope - a way to stay with complexity and resist the fantasy that technology can save us from being human. Key Takeaways Lacanian psychoanalysis offers a radical way to rethink AI beyond hype and fear. AI is relational - it emerges within human discourse, not outside it. The discourse of the hysteric provides a critical stance toward AI as authority. AI does not “know”; it mirrors and amplifies existing symbolic systems. Education must resist uncritical adoption of AI as a master solution. Algorithmic systems reproduce social bias, including racism and exclusion. Technology increasingly objectifies the Big Other. AI exposes deep tensions around desire, knowledge, and power. Ideology sits quietly behind the push to normalise AI everywhere. Lacan helps us stay critical, hopeful, and human in a technological age. KeywordsAI, Lacan, psychoanalysis, discourse, education, culture, technology, relationality, society, human experience Brief BioDr. Jack Black is Associate Professor of Culture, Media, and Sport at Sheffield Hallam University. An interdisciplinary researcher, working across the disciplines of psychoanalysis, media and communications, cultural studies, and sport, his research focuses on topics related to race/racism, digital media, and political ecology. He is the author of The Psychosis of Race: A Lacanian Approach to Racism and Racialization (Routledge, 2023) and co-editor of Sport and Psychoanalysis: What Sport Reveals about Our Unconscious Desires, Fantasies, and Fears (Lexington Books, 2024). He is also Senior Editor for the Journal, Sport and Psychoanalysis (Cogent Social Sciences).

Show NotesIn this episode of Edgy Ideas, Simon talks with Stewart Desson, founder of Lumina Learning, whose work has reshaped the field of psychometrics by bringing a deeply humanistic, culturally sensitive, and relational approach to understanding personality at work.Stewart reflects on the evolution of psychometrics, from traditional trait-based systems to more nuanced, emergent models that honour human complexity rather than reduce it. Simon and Stewart explore how leadership, workplace culture, and collective performance are shaped by the ways we measure and make meaning from human behaviour. Drawing on large-scale data sets, Stewart shares insights into gendered leadership patterns, highlighting how women frequently bring more collaborative strengths to the fore and questions how organizations reward or neglect such capacities.The conversation ranges widely: from the cultural biases embedded in psychological tools, to the rise of AI and its disruptive impact on assessment practices, to the philosophical question at the heart of both leadership and psychometrics: How do we live a good life and build a good society?Stewart invites us to reconsider how organisations balance the drive for individual performance with the need for collective thriving, urging leaders to cultivate workplaces grounded in collaboration, kindness, and continuous self-development. Key Reflections Psychometrics is expanding as a discipline that bridges science and humanism, offering deeper insights into human behaviour. Many organisations continue to reward individualistic traits over relational or collective strengths. Psychometry should empower individual uniqueness and avoid the reductive labelling common in traditional models. Cultural sensitivity is essential when designing and applying psychometric assessments. AI is rapidly transforming the psychometry, raising both opportunities and concerns about quality and validity. Leadership models must be adaptable to diverse cultural contexts and organisational needs A good society is built on collaboration, shared purpose, and relational leadership. Keywordspsychometrics, leadership, AI, workplace culture, individual performance, collective performance, cultural sensitivity, organisational psychology, human behaviour, collaboration Brief BioDr Stewart Desson, Board Member of the Association for Business Psychology and Founder & CEO of Lumina Learning, is a leading voice on how people’s behaviour drives organisational performance. Drawing on decades of experience and a PhD in Organisational Psychology, he revolutionised workplace psychometrics by empowering individuality through the Lumina Spark model. Over the past 15 years, he has built a global community dedicated to moving beyond traditional assessments toward a more nuanced, human-centred approach that helps organisations create adaptable, resilient, high-performing teams.

Show NotesIn this episode Simon speaks with Tatiana Bachkirova, a leading scholar in coaching psychology. They explore how AI is impacting on the field of coaching and what it means to remain human in a world increasingly driven by algorithms. The discussion moves fluidly between neuroscience, pseudo-science, identity, belonging, and ethics, reflecting on the tensions between performance culture and authentic human development.They discuss how coaching must expand beyond individual self-optimization toward supporting meaningful, value-based projects and understanding the broader social and organisational contexts in which people live and work. AI underscores the need for ethical grounding in coaching. Ultimately, the episode reclaims coaching as a moral and relational practice, reminding listeners that the future of coaching depends not on technology, but on how we choose to stay human within it.Key Reflections AI is often a solution in search of a problem, revealing more about our anxieties than our needs. Coaching must evolve with the changing world, engaging complexity rather than retreating to technique. The focus should be on meaningful, value-driven projects that connect personal purpose with collective good. AI coaching risks eroding depth, ethics, and relational presence if not grounded in human awareness. Critical thinking anchors coaching in understanding rather than compliance, enabling ethical discernment. The relational quality defines coaching effectiveness - authentic dialogue remains its living core. Coaching should move from performance and self-optimization to reflection, purpose, and contribution. Human connection and ethical practice sustain trust, belonging, and relevance in the digital age. The future of coaching lies in integrating technology without losing our humanity. KeywordsCoaching psychology, AI in coaching, organisational coaching, identity, belonging, neuroscience, critical thinking, human coaching, coaching ethics, coaching researchBrief BioTatiana Bachkirova is Professor of Coaching Psychology in the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She supervises doctoral students as an academic, and human coaches as a practitioner. She is a leading scholar in Coaching Psychology and in recent years has been exploring themes such as the role of AI in coaching, the deeper purpose of organisational coaching, what leaders seek to learn at work, and critical perspectives on the neuroscience of coaching.  In her over 80 research articles in leading journals, book chapters and books and in her many speaking engagements she addresses most challenging issues of coaching as a service to individuals, organisations and wider societies.

Show NotesIn this special 100th episode of Edgy Ideas, we mark a moment of reflection and celebration. Simon is joined by a panel of thoughtful voices; Chris Yates, Leslie Brissett, Eleanor Moore and Hetty Einzig, to explore a topic close to the heart,  the soul at work  and what it means to live a good life amidst the turbulence of our times. They reflect on the quiet yet powerful force of soul, not as something otherworldly, but that which connects us more deeply to ourselves, to each other, and to the work we do. The panel discusses: how do we re-enchant the workplace? How do we speak about 'soul' without falling into cliche or sentimentality? And how do we cultivate a spirituality that is lived, relational, and grounded in everyday acts?Their conversation weaves personal stories with collective insights, inviting you into a space where the sacred and the secular meet.Enjoy this rich and resonant conversation as we mark a century of episodes, and step forward soulfully into what comes next.Key Reflections Edgy Ideas has evolved to meet the moment - seeking pathways to live well in disruptive times. Soul at work is not a luxury, but a necessity - a call to engage the whole person: mind, body, and essence. Everyday spirituality matters. It's found not in lofty ideas, but in presence, care, and connection. Work can uplift or diminish the soul - context and culture matter. Relational dynamics are the hidden architecture of soulful work. Activism and soul are not opposites - activism can be a soulful practice. Grace appears in the ordinary fleeting moments that illuminate meaning. Sacred spaces can be created anywhere we choose to be present. Soul embraces the paradox - the light and the dark, joy and struggle, both shaping who we are. To witness another with kindness is perhaps the most radical act of all. KeywordsSoul, Spirituality, Connection, Presence, Grace, Wholeness, Meaning, Authenticity, Relationships, Transformation, Soul at Work, Everyday Spirituality

Show NotesIn this episode of Edgy Ideas, Simon Western is joined by David Rothauser, psychoanalyst, organisational consultant, and executive coach, to explore the practice of analytic listening. They discuss what it means to listen beyond words, to hear silences as much as speech, and to create spaces where deeper human connection becomes possible. Their discussion explores the role of voice and transmission and how psychoanalytic traditions of listening extend into coaching, consulting, and organizational life. Attention is given to how cultural and historical contexts shape psychoanalytic practice, and how listening itself can become a radical act in today’s fast-paced world. The exchange is punctuated with insights and stories from practice. As David notes, “Analytic listening is not just about hearing words; it’s about understanding the unspoken and creating a space for genuine connection.” This episode invites listeners to consider listening not as a passive skill but as an active stance that redefines relationships, organisations, and communities.Key Reflections Analytic listening is introduced as a concept with deep significance for today’s world. Consideration is given to the role and nuances of psychoanalytic listening in coaching, consulting and organizational life. The challenge of sustaining safe spaces for expression within complex organisational systems is examined. Receptivity to conscious and unconscious communications in learning psychoanalysis and the similarities to transmission of knowledge in various spiritual traditions is explored. KeywordsPsychoanalysis, Coaching, Analytic Listening, Human Connection, Receptivity, Safe SpacesBrief BioDavid Rothauser is a psychoanalyst, organizational consultant, executive coach, educator and supervisor. He maintains a private psychoanalytic practice, leads training groups for coaches and consultants, and engages senior leaders and their teams in reflective practice. David has coached and consulted in a range of industries, including entertainment, PE- and VC-backed tech startups, data analytics, the commercial space industry, cyber security, real estate, healthcare, and education. He trained in coaching supervision at Oxford Brookes University, executive coaching at Columbia University, psychodynamic group leadership at the Center for Group Studies, and psychoanalysis at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies, where he is on faculty. David is based outside of Philadelphia.

Show NotesIn this episode, Simon is joined by Natalie to open up the existential questions that lie at the heart of coaching: What does it mean to live well? How do we find meaning in a finite life? How do we coach for authenticity, freedom and responsibility?Far from being bleak, existentialism is revealed here as a liberating practice. Death is not avoided but faced - giving urgency and clarity to our choices, reminding us that life is finite and must be lived meaningfully. This conversation shows how reinvention is possible at any stage of life, and how helping others can deepen our own sense of happiness and fulfillment.Together, Simon and Natalie highlight the value of micro meanings - the everyday rituals, relationships and joys that ground us in significance. They reflect on the importance of structure in supporting growth, while also recognising the liberation that comes when we accept life’s pointlessness and take responsibility for creating meaning ourselves. To live authentically, we must face uncomfortable truths, resist “bad faith,” and embrace freedom with courage.Existential coaching, then, is less about problem-solving and more about opening a space where clients can explore their choices, discover what matters, and move towards a life without regrets. It speaks to the universal human pursuit of meaning, and to the possibility of finding spirituality and depth even in the midst of uncertainty.Key Reflections Coaching at its best creates space for clients to face the uncomfortable truths of freedom, choice, and responsibility. Awareness of death can deepen our sense of aliveness and urgency to live meaningfully. Micro meanings - rituals, relationships, and small daily joys - are vital in shaping a good life. Bad faith often creeps into coaching conversations, and part of the coach’s role is to gently challenge it. Balancing structure and freedom is essential, both for personal growth and for effective coaching practice. Keywordsexistential coaching, good life, meaning, spirituality, death, personal growth, coaching psychology, self-discovery, relationships, happinessBrief BioDr Natalie Lancer CPsychol is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist, experienced supervisor and Former Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Coaching Psychology (DoCP). She coaches a range of people from doctoral students keeping up their motivation and self-belief to get their thesis over the line, to young people applying for their first job, as well as female executives and retired professionals, often using The Eight Tensions framework. She runs professional development and training for coaches and coaching psychologists including Eight Tensions Coach Training (based on existential psychology), Coach Development Club and The School of Supervision. Natalie is a Master’s and PhD supervisor at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling. In 2016, she co-authored ‘Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring’ with David Clutterbuck. She also is a stand-up comic and performed most recently at the BPS DoCP 2025 Conference.