John Thackara is a writer, curator and professor who develops design agendas for ecological restoration, urban-rural reconnection, and multi-species design. He curated the celebrated Doors of Perception conference for 20 years, first in Amsterdam and later across India; he was commissioner of the UK social innovation biennial Dott 07, and the French design biennial City Eco Lab; and in 2019, he curated the Urban-Rural expo in Shanghai. His last book was How To Thrive In the Next Economy: Designing Tomorrow’s World Today. Here we discuss... Why more information about the climate crisis just won’t cut it anymoreHow designers can experiment with the presence of microbial lives in their citiesThe phenomenon of weed watching and why it’s gone viralCelebrity hen and mango farmers in China who have broken down the rural-urban dividePlacefulness as a doorway into caringHow a giant consulting firm could better design their employee sustainability programme (hint: it involves having real tasks to do)Ecosystem restoration camps and place-based summer schoolsThe failings of snazzy car insulation made from myceliumAnd more ;) Episode Website Link Show Links: John’s website Design for Multi Species Cities Regenerative Empathy Paper Sugi ProjectBack to the Land Summer School Urban Rural Connection in China Internet of nature Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Photo Credit: Jason Klassi via Getty Images Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.