If you're working to make the world a better place, I think you'll find my new Thrivable Scotland podcast inspiring and useful.

I'm Osbert Lancaster and after working in sustainability for 30 years I've decided we need to try a fresh approach.

In this short trailer I'll tell you how Thrivable Scotland came about and what you can expect, including:

👉 The three key elements of this new approach: focus on thriving, not survival; focus on the present, not the future; focus on what's working, not what's wrong.

👉 How I'll be interviewing people across Scotland who are building resilience, regenerating natural systems and healing society.

👉 How with my co-host Morag Watson and guest listeners, I'll be discussing how lessons from successful projects can be shared, scaled and applied in different contexts.

Listen to this trailer to find out more!

I'm Osbert Lancaster and I want to tell you a bit about the background

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to my new podcast, Thrivable Scotland,

and to let you know what you can expect.

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When I started working in sustainability,

I felt part of a growing movement

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that had a real chance of creating

a better fairer world where we would

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live within the planet's limits.

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Now, 30 years later, climate change

is accelerating, natural systems

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are collapsing, and society seems

to be heading for breakdown.

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It seems to me that our old vision of

sustainability is no longer achievable.

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Is survival in a harsh and dangerous

world the best we can hope for?

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And this isn't just about the

future, it's also about right now

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too many people in this country

and across the world are living in

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difficult, precarious situations.

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On top of that, we have the cost of

living crisis and increasingly fragile

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global food system wars, political

instability, and so much more.

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I've been thinking about all this for a

while now, wondering whether all the work

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that countless people have been doing

for so long to create a better world was

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worthwhile wondering what I should do now?

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After all, we used to think

that once everyone knew about

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climate change, politicians

would be forced to take action.

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But now most people do know.

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And it seems like as a society,

we're carrying on as usual, either

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oblivious to what's happening

or hiding our heads in the sand.

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Any rational analysis shows that we're

facing very real challenges to the ways of

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life we're used to and that we'd want for

our children and for future generations.

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It is easy to talk about how bad the

situation is and that we need to take

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urgent action, but we, the environment

movement or the sustainability movement,

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or whatever you call it, has been

doing that for years, myself included.

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If telling people how bad it has worked,

we wouldn't be where we are today.

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I've come to believe we need to

try a different approach, and this

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approach has three key elements.

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One, stop emphasising all the

challenges we face and how our

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survival depends on tackling them.

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Instead of survival, focus on thriving

and work to create the conditions

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for people and nature to thrive.

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Two, stop trying to inspire

people with a better future.

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For ages we've been

promising jam tomorrow.

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If people make sacrifices today,

why should people believe us now?

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Instead, focus on jam today by

helping people and nature to thrive

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right now and into the future.

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And three, stop worrying

about what's wrong.

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I'm not suggesting we ignore the problems,

but if we fixate only on the problems,

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we are setting ourselves up to burn out.

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Instead, focus on what's

already working and how we can

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have more of what's working.

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This is the approach I'm

taking with Thrivable Scotland.

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I'll not be talking about

the actual approach much.

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Instead, I'll be putting it into practise.

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I'll be going out and about taking a

walk with people across the country

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who are working to build resilience,

regenerate nature, and heal society,

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I'll be talking with them about

their work and their projects.

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I'll be asking, what are you doing?

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Why does it matter?

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And what's working.

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Now, I have a bit of an issue

with good news stories, and I've

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discovered that I'm not the only one.

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I've tried subscribing to positive

newsletters and magazines, but the

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stories generally leave me feeling flat.

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So often it feels like too little given

the scale of the problems we face.

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I think the issue is that these

publications rarely make any connection

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between the projects, and any

plausible way in which we can make

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a meaningful difference ourselves

given the scale of the crises.

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That's why I'm trying to go further

in this Thrivable Scotland podcast.

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When I meet people doing great work I'll

not just be asking what they are doing.

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I'll be asking them why it's working,

and then back in the studio, I'll

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be joined by my co-host, Morag

Watson and expert guest listeners.

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Together we'll discuss the interview

we've just heard and dig into how

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what works could be shared and scaled

and applied in different contexts.

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Since starting to interview people for

this podcast, I've met so many amazing

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people doing great work, building

resilience, regenerating nature, and

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healing society in Scotland, not just

in areas you might expect like nature

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conservation and community agriculture,

for example, but also in social housing,

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the health service, and in politics.

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If you are working to make the

world a better place, whether you're

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in the public, private or third

sector, I hope you'll find these

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stories, insights, and lessons

fascinating, inspiring, and useful.

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I'm Osbert Lancaster, this

is Thrivable Scotland.

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I'll be releasing a full episode

on the first Friday of the

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month, plus occasional, extra

episodes from time to time.

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I hope you'll join me and be part of this

amazing community of change makers as we

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explore what's working in the polycrisis.