This month, we welcomed back Aaron Perzanowski to talk about his new book, The Right to Repair: Reclaiming the Things We Own. In the book, he explores how we got to this point of companies weaponising the law to make repair inaccessible and how legal reform can help. We discuss the developments in the technological and legal landscape that pushed him to revisit the topic of repair.  What we lose with ‘centralised’ repair Perzanowski’s writing on ‘communities of common interest’ will...

With the opening of the first Fixing Factory fast approaching, we spoke to one of the partners we’ll be working with, Ready Tech Go (RTG). Nikos Souslous is one of the Co-Founders of Ready Tech Go. He talked to us about what inspired the organisation’s creation, the importance of digital access, and how RTG is going to evolve.  Recognising the need for digital access The idea for RTG was born at a food bank at the Clem Attlee Court Estate in Fulham, where co-founders were volunteering...

Four months after its launch on Repair Day 2021, we spoke to four people involved in the repair network, Repair Café Aotearoa New Zealand. Brigitte Sistig is the co-founder and project lead of RCANZ. Kahurangi Carter is National Coordinator for Māori Zero Waste organisation Para Kore. Sarah Pritchett is Sector Projects Manager for WasteMINZ. And Dr Paul Smith is Product Test Manager for Consumer NZ. Talking to the RCANZ network really reveals the diversity and partnership that is essential...

As 2022 gets on the road, we spoke to Jenni Gwiazdowski, founder and Director of London Bike Kitchen. With cycling taking more prominence in recent years, due to concerns about pollution and safety on public transport, what better time to learn more about maintaining and fixing your bike? Gwiazdowski tells us about her journey from amateur fixer to bike repair savant and sharing these skills.  A decade of London Bike Kitchen The idea for London Bike Kitchen was conceived when Gwiazdowski...

Having spent the year talking to many activists, authors and repairers in the UK and Europe, we thought we would hear from somewhere a bit further away from home. We spoke to Mathew Lubari, a repairer from the Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Lubari is the founder and a team leader at Community Creativity for Development (CC4D), an environmental initiative based at the settlement. What we learned is that the same barriers exist here in the UK and EU as they do elsewhere, but for...

As 2021 draws to a close, Janet and Ugo reflected on this precarious but successful year. Despite many setbacks, we have made great strides towards the Right to Repair in both the UK and the EU – even though there is still a long way to go. In London, Restarters have also done a fantastic job supporting each other and their communities in many new ways.  This year’s top stories The announcement of the French Repairability Index back in January set the year off on a promising trajectory for...

This month we talked to author and activist, Alice Bell about her recent book entitled, Our Biggest Experiment: An Epic History of the Climate Crisis. Bell’s extensive research into the topic along with her work as a director at Possible, made her the perfect person to join us in the month of COP26.  In November, we were thinking a lot about carbon emissions and who is most responsible for the state of our climate. Bell’s immense historical knowledge helps us understand the massive impact...

We hear a lot about carbon emissions in the news and they are a major culprit in the climate crisis. Sometimes, it can be difficult to track where these emissions are coming from. Manufacturers are rarely thorough or honest in accounting for their output. As individuals, it can be frustrating to not have control over this.  In celebration of Repair Day 2021, we held a webinar alongside the European Right to Repair campaign on consumption emissions. We explored what consumption emissions are,...

We revisit an episode from 2018 with photographer and friend of Restart, Mark Phillips. Phillips has an exciting exhibition, ‘Repair is Essential’, currently showing at The Tabernacle in London. You can check it out through Sunday 17th October! Phillips’ portfolio is expansive and immersive. In this interview, he tells us about his work photographing repair culture – from Cuba to our very own Restart Parties. In the last few years, his work has only developed more as he has spent time...

This month we spoke to Dr Karen Patel from Birmingham City University about her work on Craft Expertise, a project researching inequalities in the craft sector and documenting experiences of makers from marginalised backgrounds. Dr Patel interviewed over 20 women on their experiences in craft. Her research pertains specifically to the craft sector but we found that there are many similarities to the repair community – both positive and negative. Dr Patel shared insights with us from her...

Our summer podcast season has come to a close and what a time it’s been! We revisited our archive and picked some of the episodes where our discussion touched on the pandemic and the events of the last eighteen months.  Throughout the episode, we hear select clips from nine recent guests and situate these discussions. We cover healthcare,  from patents and barriers to medical device repair. We reflect on how workers in the electronics industry have been negatively affected including those...

Happy August, listeners! We’re on our summer break but there will be a special podcast episode in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, we have a simple ask for your help. Please take a couple of minutes to complete the Restart Radio listeners survey. The last time we conducted a survey of listeners was in 2019 and we found it incredibly helpful and took action based on many of your suggestions – this included the type of guests that we brought on, building the archive page for easier...

In our final episode of the summer season, we talk to Kate Edwards about building with cob and why it is a really sustainable way forward. Please fill in our 2021 listener survey at https://therestartproject.org/radiosurvey. Whether you are a long-term or new listener of the podcast we would love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we could improve. ⁠

Before we get into the news and our Summer Reading List, here’s a plea to respond to our listener survey. We last did one of these in 2019 and found it really helpful in improving our work and making sure that our listeners enjoy the content that we produce. Fill it in here! Right to Repair  – in the UK and abroad Has the news in the UK surrounding Right to Repair been giving you deja vu? For us, it feels like forever since the UK government first announced these changes and since they were...

This month, we had the pleasure of talking to repairer and activist, Jessa Jones. Jones is the founder of iPad Rehab and has carved out her own space in the repair world as a self-taught microsolderer and logic board repair teacher. We found out what makes her approach to repair and teaching unique, why she is so impassioned in her work, and what tools repairers in the US have to advocate for themselves.  From the toilet phone to teaching repair It is clear that Jones has the drive to...

As businesses and community spaces are able to pick up operations again, we talk to Alys Penfold about her work with Library of Things. Penfold is currently the Borrower Support Lead at Library of Things and tells us about their mission, their impact, and exciting new locations that are opening soon.  While we were regularly going into the office, Restart shared an office with Library of Things. It’s lovely to catch up and talk about how borrowing and repair intersect.  First, we discuss...

This month, we talk to fellow podcasters Abby Rose and Jo Barratt from Farmerama. Farmerama is a monthly magazine show that aims to share the voices and experiences of regenerative farming. By combining their experience in farming, tech, and podcasting, they have managed to create an award-winning podcast that brings the farming community closer to each other and the listener. Last year, our podcaster Dave Pickering worked with the Farmerama team to produce one of the episodes in their...

This month, we are revisiting the topic of medical repair and reuse. Our interview was originally published more than a year ago but the issues at hand have not been fixed. We spoke to Dr Tarek Loubani and his colleague, Reidun Garapick about how perspectives need to change so that reuse of medical equipment is the norm. An example of this is the reusable face shield they developed. Loubani and Garapick both work at the Glia Project, a charity that focuses on producing low-cost medical...

What’s the most frustrating advert you’ve seen recently? Or have you noticed a peaceful ad-free bliss after spending a year mostly indoors? This month we talked to Robbie Gillet from the climate charity Possible about their Badvertising campaign, which seeks to correct misinformation and stop harmful adverts that add to the climate crisis.  This month, there has been a lot of talk about SUVs in the UK. A report by the New Weather Institute and Possible showed major growth in sales of these...

Following the election results in Greenland last week, we are revisiting an episode of Restart Radio from back in 2018. Three years ago, we interviewed Lise Autogena and Joshua Portway about their documentary, ‘Kuannersuit / Kvanefjeld’ which explores the feelings of local residents in Narsaq about a proposed mine near their town. A mine that’s existence is in great question following the election.  What the mine means for the community While Greenland is home to mining operations already,...

3D printing technology is increasingly being used to aid repair, especially in the creation of spare parts. We invited Bas Flipsen and Julieta Bolaños Arriola to talk about their work in the field and how 3D printing can help solve the e-waste crisis.  Flipsen is a senior researcher for the Faculty of Engineering at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) who teaches “circular” and sustainable design, among other topics. Both of our guests are heavily involved in a project called...

As schools start to open again across the country, we revisit the incredible work that repairers are doing to get laptops in the hands of students. Two organisations that have been supporting the laptop reuse effort are Mer-IT and Hackney Fixers. We talk to Mercedes Oli and James Diamond from both of these groups, to find out how it’s going and what we can do to help.  Déjà vu for consumers and hospital engineers We start the show by reflecting an age-old story. We discuss renewed calls for...

We discuss opportunities and limits of the new French Repairability together with experts involved in its development

On February’s episode, we discuss game consoles, printers, and the virtually useless voluntary agreements for their manufacturers.

Labour rights abuses did not start with Covid. Omana George from Electronics Watch tells us how she has been working to protect occupational health.