Series Five

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Marie Stafford, Global Director (Intelligence) at VML. She's a strategic foresight consultant skilled in creating inspiring future narratives, transforming futures insights and trends into commercial opportunity across a top tier multinational client portfolio.

Specialised in foresight at the intersection of consumers, culture and innovation, Marie is also a seasoned speaker and panellist cited in outlets like the FT and New York Times.

In this episode, she discusses the latest 'Future 100' from VML (the renowned industry report that examines key trends from around the world, and features interviews with a range of sector experts) along with her take on dynamic issues illuminated at the recent SXSW London.

So, if you're interested in listening to the views of an industry-expert across a range of subjects from Sharing to Solitude and from Pets to Architecture...enjoy!

Series Five

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Peter Cunliffe-Jones, visiting researcher at the University of Westminster and Director of Facts Matter Research, a misinformation research and strategy consultancy, where he advises organisations in effective ways to both counter the harmful consequences of misinformation and protect wider freedom of speech.

Peter started his career as a news journalist for the AFP new agency - working for more than 20 years in Europe, Africa and Asia. He reported from Bosnia and Croatia on the last year of war and first 12 months of peace, from Nigeria on the end of decades of military rule, oversaw the agency's coverage of the Asian tsunami, developed its online news services. In 2012, he founded Africa Check, the African continent's first independent fact-checking organisation, which operates in South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya.

He's also run training courses for fact-checkers in countries from Afghanistan to Myanmar, worked as a strategic adviser to the Arab Fact-Checkers network, which seeks to foster nonpartisan fact-checking in the Arab world, and served on the Safety Advisory Council for TikTok in Africa.

His new book is called "Fake News - what's the harm?" and presents four dynamic ideas for fact-checkers, policymakers and platforms on the challenge of information disorder.

In our conversation, Peter discusses all of the above and more, in what I hope you’ll agree is a fascinating episode. So – enjoy!

Series Five

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Faris Yakob, co-founder of Genius Steals, who began his career as a strategist during the first dot com explosion, before moving into agency world. He worked for some dynamic agencies inc Naked Communications (as their 20th employee) before moving on to be EVP Chief Tech Strat at McCann Erickson NYC. He subsequently went to MDC Partners - a network of best-in-breed agencies inc CPB, Anomaly, 72 & Sunny, and kbs+, and then co-founded the superbly named Spies & Assassins.

Faris was a founding member of the IPA Social Committee, and has blogged about - and been involved in discussion around - social in the industry for a decade. He's also written for those inc Campaign, Fast Company, Forbes, Contagious, Canvas8, etc.

We discuss all of the above and more, in a conversation which takes in Marx, uncertainty & risk, Kant, Severance, Cannes Lions, and the realities of Nomadic Consulting. So...enjoy!