The Agenda Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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The curtain has now come down on the COP29 climate summit in Baku. And while a trillion dollar deal for climate financing was done at the last minute, some campaigners have called it a betrayal - as much of that figure will have to come from private financing or new sources which have yet to be agreed.
 
 To consider where the meeting really leaves us, and our planet, on this edition of The Agenda podcast, Juliet Mann speaks to Jeremy Rifkin, Author of many books including "Planet Aqua: Rethinking Our Home in the Universe", Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist at Institute for the Environment at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Jacopo Bencini from the Florence School of Transnational Governance and Michael Wilkins, Executive Director and  Professor of Practice at the Centre For Climate Finance And Investment at Imperial College London.

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In 1944 delegates from 44 countries gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in the United States to agree on a system of economic order and global cooperation. Eighty years later, the seeds sown there for the likes of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank still dominate the world. 
 
But with the rise of countries like China and the rest of the global south, many think it's time for a substantial rethink of those Bretton Woods institutions, especially in the wake of the recent meetings of APEC, G20 and COP29.

In this special edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann gets the opinions of Professor Marc Uzan, Executive Director and Founder of the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee.

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The Farnborough International Air Show is one of the world’s largest. Hundreds of thousands of people descend for the week to examine the very latest technology the aviation industry has to offer.

But this year, things were a little different, with much of the talk focused on supply chain issues and the ongoing woes of industry titan Boeing – which made a big statement by deciding not to take part in any aerial displays at this years event.

To take the true temperature of the sector, on this edition of The Agenda Juliet Mann heads to Farnborough to talk to Matteo Peraldo, Aviation Expert at AlixPartners and Sebastian Borel, Chief Commercial Officer at Lilium, a company hoping to revolutionize short-haul travel with its all electric vertical take off and landing plane.

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For many, COVID-19 will change the way we look at work forever. This week on The Agenda podcast with Stephen Cole we look at how the pandemic has changed where we work and also where we live. 

First on the podcast we speak to Carlos Moreno, professor at the Sorbonne and scientific advisor to the Mayor of Paris. He is a driving force behind the concept of the 15-minute city: a city where you can live, work and play all within a 15-minute walk. 

He tells us why this concept could change the way planners look at designing cities [02:00]. He also explains why this concept has taken so long to introduce and what needs to happen on a planning level in order to make it a reality [05:19].

Across Europe, and especially in Britain, out-of-town countryside homes are suddenly selling at a premium, as working from home means you no longer need to worry about how long it takes to commute to the office.

We spoke to Anna White, the lead property writer for London's Evening Standard newspaper, who tells us why life outside the city could be the answer for millions post-pandemic.  She explains why Britain is in a “micro-boom” in terms of real-estate prices and why it won’t last [10:56]. She also predicts a regeneration of the British high street as people become tired of working from home in the long term [13:20]. 

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The video game sector is now the biggest entertainment industry in the world. There are an estimated two and a half billion players worldwide. And it’s not just the social impact - there’s a lot of money to be made too. In fact, the global gaming market is worth 10 times as much as the film or music industry.

At the end of last year, one of the world’s most popular games, Fortnite, brought in revenues of $1.8 billion while the world of eSports generated over $1.1 billion globally – a figure that’s expected to rise by at least 50% next year.

First on this episode, we have Richard Garriott – a man who has been described as one of the Founding Fathers of Role-Playing Games [01:12]. 

We also speak to  Leo Lin, head of China for Riot Games, about the hugely successful League of Legends and its rise through eSports. He explains why the game has been so successful in China and how he sees the gaming technology as a whole developing  worldwide. 

Finally we talk to Tina Amini, the editor-in-chief at IGN, about whether she thinks Microsoft's Xbox Series X or Sony's PlayStation 5 will win the next-generation console wars. Amini explains how Microsoft and Sony have been approaching their new generation of gaming consoles and what we can expect from these companies in the future. 

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The latest predictions suggest that without a complete step change in our relationship with plastics, by 2050 there will be more of it in our oceans than there are fish. 

First on this episode of the Agenda podcast, we talk to Costas Velis from Leeds University. Velis is one of the lead investigators on a report that shows how we can cut the amount of plastic flowing into our oceans [00:53]. 

We also talk to David Katz, the CEO of The Plastic Bank who explains why the key to keeping plastic out of our oceans may be a new approach to making recycling pay - especially in the developing world. [07:14]. 

Finally we talk to Emily Pann, co-founder of anti-microplastics group eXXpedition and the website SHIFT. Pann explains what inspired her to start her organization and what each one of us can do to start addressing our dependence on plastic [12:03]. 

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 At a virtual summit on 14 September leaders from China and the European Union gathered online to consider the future of the relationship between China and the EU. 

Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel had their own points to make – the Chinese president calling for commitment to peaceful coexistence and multilateralism, and the EU making it clear they were looking for a more balanced relationship. On this episode of the Agenda podcast, we talk to experts who can shed light on the relationship between China and the EU and what this summit means for both sides. 

First on the podcast we talk to Lin Goethals, program director at the European Institute for Asian Studies in Brussels, and Wang Yiwei, director at the Center for European Studies at Renmin University. Both experts tell us what they noticed at the summit and what we can expect from this complex georelationship [01:18]. 

We also talk to Bernard Dewit, chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He explains why companies keep trying to do business in China despite a perception that it is a difficult market to crack [05:31]

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International students make up a significant proportion of the intake at many of the world’s top universities, and an even more significant amount of their income.This week on the podcast we look at international university students, and how they will have to adapt to a post COVID-19 world.

First on the podcast we speak to Vivienne Sterne, the director of Universities UK International, the umbrella group that represents all UK universities. Vivienne tells us why international students are vital for UK universities and how they will cope with the pandemic [02:03]. 

We also talk to 19-year old Wang Yuetong, from Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi province. She has already spent a year in the UK and is due to begin her first year at Sheffield University this  autumn. Yuetong explains why she chose to come to the UK to study abroad and how the pandemic has interrupted her plans [08:12]. She also tells us about what universities have been doing post Covid-19 to make life easier for students [11:01]. 

Finally we talk to Graham Virgo, Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at Cambridge. He tells us how his university has been coping with the pandemic and what they plan on doing to make life easier for students [11:33]. He also explains why Chinese students are particularly important for the university and what they are doing to try and accommodate those students [15:30]. 

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This week on the podcast we examine what a post-COVID-19, nature-forward global economy might look like, and most importantly, what it might be worth. 

First on the podcast we have Akanksha Khatri, the head of the World Economic Forum’s Nature Action Agenda. She’s one of the authors of a recent WEF report suggesting a greener approach by governments and industries. Akanksha explains why we shouldn’t go back to business as usual once the pandemic is over [01:00]. 

We also spoke to Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme. She tells us what the United Nations is doing to make the most of the current opportunity, and why she thinks businesses are balancing using nature as an asset while understanding that we can’t abuse it in an effort to drive growth [07:05].

Finally we talk to Jason Hickel, economic anthropologist and visiting senior fellow at the International Inequalities Institute of the London School of Economics. He explains why a green future for the planet is incompatible with economic growth unless there is a complete overhaul in the way we manage our economies and we make the most of green technology. 

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This week we examine whether the world's high streets can recover from the COVID-19 lockdown.

The pandemic has been a disaster for many retailers across Europe, with shops forced to shut during nationwide lockdowns and then having to spend money on implementing drastic safety measures prior to reopening their doors.

With public confidence still low and unemployment rising, the retail sector is likely to suffer for at least the foreseeable future. Many more shops are expected to be forced to shut down in the months ahead. 

Joining Stephen Cole is brand expert Mark Pilkington, trend forecaster Joe McDonnell and fashion journalist Dana Thomas to discuss if the traditional bricks-and-mortar shopping experience has changed forever.