With world leaders responding to climate emergencies, and unprecedented threats such as the pandemic and global conflict, we seem to be running headlong into a future where our learnings from the past are both too slow and too small. Have we been too attentive and attached to the wrong things, are we suffering from problems of our own unenlightened making?  We speak with Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez, who introduce us to the limitations of the dominant worldview which has propelled a world...

In a world of rapidly evolving expectations on citizens due to COVID, environmental pressures, and the very public role playing of morality and ethics on social media, people face a dizzying space in which to set and attune their own moral compass.  Unpicking this challenge, Dr Tim Dean, Senior Philosopher at The Ethics Centre, discusses how morality and ethics came to exist for humans and what roles they play in our modern lives today. The contagious nature of outrage on social media is...

In 2022, as public institutions continue to grapple with implementing more inclusive structures to curb historical marginalization of people, experts such as Dr Benjamin Hanckel (Senior Research Fellow, Digital Health and Youth) and Dr Shiva Chandra (Research Officer) are exploring ways to make social media platforms safer for marginalized youth—both of whom are researchers from Western Sydney University's Institute for Culture and Society and the Young and Resilient Research Centre.  In...

The expectations and variety of roles that social media influencers play have increased exponentially, mirrored by increasing scrutiny and policing of how their behaviour plays out amongst their communities and followers. The shifting expectations of followers on influencers has prompted a reappraisal of the status quo by those such as Lillian Ahenkan, also known as FlexMami. FlexMami is a DJ, TV presenter on MTV, model, and multidisciplinary millennial making waves in the Australian...

The world of gaming has long been highlighted as a hotbed of cultivation of extremist actors and activities, but more recently it's also started to be recognised as a platform where early intervention of extremism and encouragement of democracy and tolerance can be fostered.  Alongside Galen Lamphere-Englund, Senior Advisor, Preventing Violent Extremism and Conflict at Love Frankie, we examine the complexities of gaming, uncovering the distinction between figures of influence, the role of...

Our host, Kosta Lucas speaks with Dr Katie Attwell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA). Dr Attwell leads the large interdisciplinary research project “Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government” with colleagues from UWA and Telethon Kids Institute. ‘Vax’ was the Oxford word of the year in 2021, with ‘Strollout’ being the word of the year in Australia according to the Macquarie Dictionary. The beginning of 2022 then became all...

Our host, Kosta Lucas speaks with Dr Katie Atwell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia. Dr Atwell leads the large interdisciplinary research project “Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government” with colleagues from UWA and Telethon Kids Institute. ‘Vax’ was the Oxford word of the year in 2021, with ‘Strollout’ being the word of the year in Australia according to the Macquarie Dictionary. The beginning of 2022 then became all about...

How does the person who admits to hating the concept of marriage proposals see the future of online dating? In this episode, we speak to Lucille McCart, APAC Communications Director of Bumble, who candidly speaks with us about how and why online dating has grown and evolved on apps such as Bumble since the first COVID lockdowns began. She steps us through her take on how technology and dating apps are being used and adapted in places such as India and Indonesia, and incorporated into the...

Our host, Kosta Lucas, speaks with Anisha Asundi, Research Fellow and a Gender Specialist at the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. “Our unconscious bias perceives women to be either likeable or competent, not both, which is kind of a horrifying example of how unconscious bias exists.” Anisha Asundi What does the Boston Symphony Orchestra installing curtains for auditions back in 1952 have to do with gender justice in 2022? And why could the rigour of data...

If you’ve seen shows such as the Tinder Swindler, Inventing Anna or The One, it would be easy to believe that technology enabled romance is rife with danger and subterfuge. Yet despite popular culture’s fixation with the risks of online dating, it has been the bread and butter of current personal relationships for years. So why is it still often hidden, demonized or stigmatized? In this episode speaking with Dr Lauren Rosewarne from the University of Melbourne, we unpick why online dating is...

On this episode of Undesign, we look back on our inaugural first season with host Kosta Lucas and DrawHistory founders Angel Chen and Jeffrey Effendi to share podcast learnings and insights from behind the scenes, as well as opportunities and pitfalls for aspiring podcasters seeking to make change in the world around them.

Joining Undesign on this special surprise episode to discuss inclusive technology is Garen Checkley, Product Manager at Google's Next Billion Users initiative. Garen shares plenty of insightful stories on Google’s mission to make technology helpful for everyone, everywhere, from their new research on building voice-first products, to an important report on gender equity online. This surprise episode was released to celebrate DrawHistory's sixth birthday, and the enduring role that technology...

Joining us on Undesign’s Season One finale to talk racial justice, online activism, and active allyship is our guest, Fadzi Whande. Fadzi is currently the Senior Programme Officer (Diversity and Inclusion Adviser) at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). She is also the Founding Director of the Whande Group, a consultancy and program development organisation extending this work. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/.

We drop by with two quick announcements we're excited to share. While we originally planned for 8 interviews this season, we have a special bonus episode with Google next week to talk about their Next Billion Users initiative on making technology inclusive for everyone, everywhere! Also, Undesign is up for the 2021 People's Choice Podcast Awards. To vote, go to podcastawards.com and click on the big blue button for “Nominations Voting”. We’re under the “Society & Culture category”. The...

On this episode of Undesign, we discuss using social media for social good with Nadir Nahdi. Nadir is the founder of BENI, a multi-platform space for a truly multicultural, pluralist, digital community to emerge, as well as a YouTube Creators for Change Ambassador. This episode is a personal, introspective chat where hard truths emerge. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/.

On this episode of Undesign, we are joined by Emmy Suzuki Harris. Emmy is the Asia Regional Director for the Change.org Foundation, the philanthropic initiative of Change.org. We dive into some of the questions that she and her team spend everyday trying to better understand, from what makes a campaign successful to assessing the effectiveness of petitions. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/.

On this episode of Undesign, we dive deeper into nationalism and its impacts on our identity with Dr Farida Fozdar. Farida is a distinguished sociologist with The University of Western Australia who has published over a hundred journal articles, chapters, books and reports on these fundamental questions of how diverse communities (and people) form relationships with one another. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/. Special thanks to Kai from Curiosity...

On this episode of Undesign, we unpack travel and tourism with Edmund Morris. Edmund is a well-travelled and experienced international economic development professional, currently Founder at Equator Analytics and formerly an economist with USAID. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/. Special thanks to Kai from Curiosity Digital for recording this episode. Learn more about Kai at kailovel.com.

On this episode of Undesign, we discuss free knowledge and open-source culture with Zack McCune — diving deep in everything that entails, from edit wars to the legacy of former President Trump. Zack is the Director of Brand for Wikipedia and various projects of the Wikimedia Foundation, arguably the most well-known, global mobilization of the free knowledge movement. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/.

On this episode of Undesign, we discuss online extremism and counterspeech with Dr Erin Saltman. Erin is an experienced researcher and practitioner who is the current Director of Programming for the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). She was also formerly Facebook’s Head of Counterterrorism and Dangerous Organizations Policy for Europe, Middle East and Africa. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/.

Launched by social change agency DrawHistory, Undesign is a collection of conversations untangling today’s big social challenges. With our host Kosta Lucas, we speak directly and frankly about wicked problems with guests from leading global brands to fierce grassroots movements. For more, go to DrawHistory's website: drawhistory.com/undesignpodcast/.