ChangeMakers

25/05/2026

Democracy is under pressure - from Trump’s attacks on democratic checks and balances in the US, to Reform’s rise in the UK, to One Nation’s resurgence in Australian by-elections.

But democracy is not only defended in parliaments and elections. It is also rebuilt locally, through the practices that help people work across difference.

In this ChangeMakers conversation, host Amanda Tattersall speaks with democracy scholar Hahrie Han ahead of the UCL Policy Lab’s Ecosystem Project gathering in May 2026.

They explore where hope comes from when politics feels grim — and how people can still build power together.

Listen now: https://changemakerspodcast.org/hahrie-han-changemaker-chat-building-a-progressive-ecosystem/

21/05/2026

Something new from us!

Today we’re releasing a new podcast format on the ChangeMakers Channel: ChangeMakers Digest.

Hosted by Amanda Tattersall and Samuel Chu, a long-time US-based community organiser, the Digest will take an issue in the news — or something that has caught our attention — and try to make sense of it.

The idea comes from Saul Alinsky’s observation that happenings only become experiences when they are “digested”: reflected on, connected to wider patterns, and turned into learning.

That’s what we want this new podcast to do.

Not hot takes. Not tragedy p**n. Not polished certainty. Just conversation, reflection, disagreement, storytelling and strategy — trying to think more honestly about public life and how people still manage to build trust, move others and act together.

We’re aiming to release ChangeMakers Digest fortnightly. And we working on a plan to build a community around this kind of reflection and discussion.

First episode is out now. And we will publish ChangeMakers Digest on the ChangeMaker Podcast channel.

https://changemakerspodcast.org/introducing-changemakers-digest/

19/05/2026

Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, US politics has polarised sharply — with the rise of Trump and right-wing populism, but also a renewed class-based left around figures like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani.

This week on ChangeMakers, we speak with Bhaskar Sunkara, founding editor of Jacobin, about the revival of democratic socialism in the US, the role of radical media, and how simple demands — like free buses and rent freezes — can shift people’s sense of what government can do.

He also shares a preview of his upcoming book The Blueprint, and what he’ll be talking about when he visits Australia in May and June 2026 (thanks to SEARCH Foundation).

https://changemakerspodcast.org/bhaskar-sunkara-changemaker-chat-jacobin-and-the-us-democratic-socialists/

05/05/2026

This week on ChangeMakers, we speak with Antoinette Lattouf about her new book "Women Who Win".

Antoinette not only fought - and won - her battle against the ABC after being unfairly dismissed for sharing posts about the genocide in Gaza. While doing so, she wrote a book about women across Australian history who have fought, endured and won.

In our conversation, we unpack what winning really takes: courage, discipline, solidarity, vulnerability and the ability to stay steady when the pressure is intense.

One of the great joys of this chat, and of Antoinette’s book, is the honesty she brings to change-making. She calls on us to be bold, but never pretends it is easy.

🎙️ https://changemakerspodcast.org/antoinette-lattouf-changemaker-chat-women-who-win/

Stories of People Changing the World

21/04/2026

Economics is often presented as natural or neutral. It isn’t. Its rules and assumptions are written by particular people and serve particular interests.

So what happens when African women begin reshaping economics, food, health and politics from the ground up, starting with their own lives and communities?

In this episode of ChangeMakers, we speak with Crystal Simeoni, who has spent six years helping lead a pan-African feminist movement doing exactly that. Crystal reflects on her journey from community-based economics in Kenya to challenging top-down policy systems, and shares how NAWI is strengthening community-led research to design change differently.

This is a conversation about refusing to settle for a seat at someone else’s table — and building a new one instead.

👉 https://changemakerspodcast.org/crystal-simeoni-changemaker-chat-african-women-writing-the-story/

30/03/2026

The world’s attention is fixed on war in Iran and across the Middle East. But far less attention is given to what comes after—the people forced to rebuild their lives elsewhere.

Mona Bani knows that journey. Her family fled Iran decades ago, and in this episode (recorded in 2024) she reflects on what it took to find safety, build community, and face the challenges that followed.

Those experiences led her to create a different kind of refugee support service in the UK—one grounded in community leadership.

This is a story about how communities organise to support themselves in the face of rising anti-immigrant politics. And it offers sharp lessons for how people can respond to authoritarianism—not just with critique, but with collective action.

👉 https://changemakerspodcast.org/mona-bani-changemaker-chat-icymi-war-and-refugees/

12/03/2026

What happens when a climate communications expert suddenly finds herself living through a climate disaster?

In this episode of ChangeMakers Podcast, we talk to Alex Kelly about what she learnt and explore the lessons her experience offers for how all of us can talk about climate action more effectively.

https://changemakerspodcast.org/alex-kelly-changemaker-chat-climate-disaster-storytelling/

26/02/2026

Can lawyers be changemakers?

This week's podcast is with Michael Bradley. He has taken on Murdoch as well as defending the rights of refugees about what it takes to be a lawyer and a change maker at the same time. He shares his 20 year journey from conventional law to a different kind of lawyering and how he now centres his legal practice around relationships.

This was first recorded in April 2025.

https://changemakerspodcast.org/michael-bradley-changemaker-chat-relational-lawyering-icymi/

12/02/2026

We are back for 2026 - and our first episode heads to Minnesota!

We chat with Erik Peterson, long time Minnesota community organiser and trainer (who has spent lots of time working with Australian NGOs). He shares with us what ICE is doing and the extraordinary people's response. We go way beyond the news to explore the novel and imaginative strategies that are being organised so people can defend and protect their neighbhours and community.

https://changemakerspodcast.org/erik-peterson-changemaker-chat-minnesota-vs-ice/

Stories of People Changing the World

26/11/2025

What is the best way to communicate as a ChangeMaker? This week we re-share a fantastic chat with one of the US's top progressive communications specialists - Anat Shenker-Osorio.

https://changemakerspodcast.org/anat-shenker-osorio-changemaker-chat-icymi-persuasion-politics/

And good news for Sydney listeners- she is visiting Sydney in December and giving a lecturer - tickets and information available on the above link.