What happens when you fill a room with young creators and ask them how they really feel about AI?

This is the second episode in a three-part Creative Futures Lab series on Be the Change Podcast, so if you haven’t listened to the first part yet, it's worth starting there for more context:

• Part 1 on Apple Podcasts
• Part 1 on Spotify
• Part 1 on YouTube
• Part 1 on Podbean

On 2 September 2026, Be the Change Media Network and Studio Self-Made, together with 100% Human at Work, Spark UK, and FlippGen, hosted the Creative Futures Lab. At the event, participants engaged in honest conversations about whether and how we can use AI creatively, ethically, and intentionally.

In this episode, Lily Mott shares a selection of quick interviews she recorded with nine of the people in the room on the day: podcasters, bloggers, communications professionals, and changemakers, each with a very different relationship with AI. Some use it every day, some have drawn firm lines around when they will and won’t use it, and most sit somewhere in the middle.

They talk about how AI shows up in their work, whether they’re comfortable with that, and what worries them most. The mood in the room leaned more nervous than excited, but as the guests in this episode discuss, it’s not as simple as being for or against AI.

They also share advice for other young creators trying to work all of this out: explore widely and talk to people with different experiences, think about your values and your impact on the planet, don’t rely too heavily on any single tool, and be brave enough to stick to what you believe.

To get connected with the guests, find them on LinkedIn:

• Aaron Campbell - Working across mental health, LGBT rights, youth advocacy, and more
• Paddy Crump - Campaigns Director at FlippGen
• Tanya Roy - Marketing Lead at Spark UK
• Remi Olokun - Content Creator and Social Media Lead at My Life My Say
• Siddhartha Kurapati - Working in digital media at an independent investigative news organization and co-host of The Political Dispatch
• Natasha Pavey - Host of the Imperfect Activist Podcast
• Sandra Rowinska - Host of Formula Amateur
• Jake Richings - Author of the Authentic Engagement blog
• Urban Judge - Group CEO of YouthTV

To learn more about:

• Be the Change Media Network: www.bethechangemedianetwork.com
• Studio Self-Made: www.studioselfmade.com
• FlippGen: www.flippgen.com
• Spark UK: www.sparkuk.co.uk
• 100% Human at Work: www.human-atwork.org

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at lily@bethechangepodcast.org.

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

Whether you use AI every day, refuse to touch it, or fall somewhere in the middle, chances are you’re still finding your line, and we need to talk about that.

This is the first episode in a three-part Creative Futures Lab series on Be the Change Podcast. Lily Mott talks with Conor Warren, founder and CEO of Spark UK, and Paddy Crump, Campaigns and Content Lead at FlippGen, about why they partnered with Be the Change Media Network and Studio Self-Made to launch the Creative Futures Lab.

On 2 September 2026, around 40 young creators, founders, AI professionals, funders, and organizations came together at Canva's event venue for an honest conversation about AI, one that wasn’t about deciding whether it’s good or bad.

Conor and Paddy open up about their own, very different relationships with AI. Conor shares how it has helped a small charity team stretch further and build a platform for a fraction of the usual cost, while also worrying about the young people turning to chatbots for mental health support. Paddy reflects on the moment when polishing every email with AI became a habit and how that led him to rethink how and why to use it. Together with Lily, they unpack the growing divide between how charities and corporate teams use AI, why we need to have these conversations, and what’s still giving them hope: young people who care about getting it right and a renewed appreciation for work made by humans.

Whether you use AI constantly, avoid it completely, or sit somewhere in the messy middle, this conversation isn’t about changing your mind. As Conor, Paddy, and Lily discuss in the episode, there’s no guidebook for any of this, so be kind to yourself.

To get connected with Conor, find him on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To get connected with Paddy, find him on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To more about:

• Be the Change Media Network: www.bethechangemedianetwork.com
• Studio Self-Made: www.studioselfmade.com
• FlippGen: www.flippgen.com
• Spark UK: www.sparkuk.co.uk
• 100% Human at Work: www.human-atwork.org

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at lily@bethechangepodcast.org.

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence, drugging, and the aftermath of assault. Please take care while listening.

Today, October 8th, is the National Day of Action to end sexual violence, and Grace Wankelman is helping organize the "From the Frat House to the White House" action in Washington, DC.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, recorded the day before the National Day of Action, Lily Mott talks with Grace about her experiences with sexual violence and how those experiences led her into advocacy. She also talks about what it was like to be met with dismissal by the institutions she turned to for help.

Grace shares what she learned from years of campus advocacy: that healing doesn’t follow one path, that you don’t have to be healed to do this work, and that stepping back to rest is part of keeping a movement going. She explains why this National Day of Action is meant as a catalyst rather than a one-off event, as well as what she hopes this day will start and how it can be sustained.

She also speaks directly to men about how to making people feel safer, holding their friends accountable, and sometimes "killing the vibe" are great ways to start making change.

Her message for anyone wondering what they can do to get involved: start small, show up for the people in your life, and keep going after the headlines fade.

If you or someone you know has been affected by anything discussed in this episode, support is available. In the US, you can call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). It’s free, confidential, and open 24/7. You can also chat online at https://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/.

To get connected with Grace, find her on Instagram.

Please engage with the following organizations to learn more and get involved in the fight to end sexual violence:

• me too. International: https://metoomvmt.org/
• Women's March: https://www.womensmarch.com/
• FEMINIST: https://www.instagram.com/feminist
• Feminist Generation: https://feministgeneration.org/
• Reckoning Action: https://www.reckoningaction.org/

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at lily@bethechangepodcast.org.

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.