ChangeMakers

In this digest Amanda and Samuel look at if and when writing and reading help us make a difference. Amanda shares some of her reflections in writing her new book Conscious Tribes, and together they compare the idea of writing as a conversation with the reader and writing as an act of persuasion used to convince the reader of a particular way of thinking.

Borrowing insights from Chris Nolan's adaptation of Homer's Odssey and Hannah Arendt's exploration of public and private, and story, they explore what it means to tell (and retell) our stories, and to share stories with others in mind.

You can find our more and order Amanda's book Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference here.

========
For more about ChangeMakers check us out:
Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcast
Blue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.social

For more about Samuel:
Personal site: https://www.samuelmchu.com
The Campaign for Hong Kong: https://www.thecampaignforhongkong.org
Democracy in Flight: https://www.democracyinflight.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelmchu
Twitter/X: https://x.com/samuelmchu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuelmchu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuelmchu

For more about Amanda:
Personal site: https://amandatattersall.com/
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersall
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall

Amanda's new books are called People Power in Cities & Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Garrett was not only the lead singer for one of Australia's most iconic bands, he has spent his life trying to make a difference. He has achieved so much, beginning with protests against Vietnam War and apartheid, to playing a leading role in environmental and anti-nuclear movements, to deciding to join the Australian Labor Party and make change from the inside as a government minister.

In this chat he shares some of what he has done and learnt over those decades of activism, and then, how he is bringing those experiences together to make space for public debate around AUKUS. This UK-US-Australia submarine deal is set to cost Australians more than $360 billion and yet neither the parliament nor the country have had a serious debate about this decision or contemplated alternatives.

Peter talks us through what the people's inquiry is and how it works - and if you are listening and curious you can visit its website to find out more, and even put in a submission to have your voice heard: https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/.

In the chat we talk about Peter's book, which shares more of what Peter has done in both music and politics. Its called Blue Blue Sky and you can find out more and buy it here: https://petergarrett.com.au/big-blue-sky/.

For more on ChangeMakers check us out:
Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcast
Blue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.social

For more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:
Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/
Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie Grant
People Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni Press
On Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersall
On Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/
And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni Press

Amanda is on Socials here:
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersall
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We jump on the World Cup band wagon to talk about what team support and our collective enthusiasm for it tells us about organisations, associational life and democracy.

Of course, there is plenty to chat about given all the political interference in these games - and we do talk about Trump and his sporting "knowledge" - but we focus on what we know, the analogies and lessons about strong and weak organisations and whether there are lessons for us all in how we make change.

For more on ChangeMakers check us out:
Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcast
Blue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.social

For more about Samuel:
Personal site: https://www.samuelmchu.com
The Campaign for Hong Kong: https://www.thecampaignforhongkong.org
Democracy in Flight: https://www.democracyinflight.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelmchu
Twitter/X: https://x.com/samuelmchu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuelmchu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuelmchu

For more about Amanda:
Personal site: https://amandatattersall.com/
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersall
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall

Her new books are called People Power in Cities & Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna Funder is one of Australia's most successful and accomplished writers. She has used her craft to explore power abuse and people's response, whether through stories about life under the Stasi in East Germany, the rise of Hitler, or by giving voice to the agency of Eileen O'shaughnessy - the wife of George Orwell. In telling new stories about power she has challenged the narratives of the powerful.

In this conversation we explore how her writing is an act of change making, but also what the perspective of a writer might offer to those who seek to make change. Its a celebration of the power of all of us - our ordinary extraordinariness. She also shares how the kind of everyday outrage that we all experience has effected her in particular, driving her to advocate for writing and against the wanton content stealing that is enabling AI and the Tech Bros to make money.

Photo credit: Michele Aboud.

Anna will be part of an Australian speaking tour in August 2026, dates and tickets can be found here: https://thinkable.events/tours/an-evening-with-anna-funder.

You can find out more about Anna's books here:
https://www.annafunder.com/

Anna's closing address at the 2025 Writers Festival, that we mention in the podcast, is here.

For more on ChangeMakers check us out:
Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcast
Blue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.social

For more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:
Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/
Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie Grant
People Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni Press
On Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersall
On Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/
And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni Press

Amanda is on Socials here:
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersall
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Prime Minister of the Labour Party in the UK just resigned, and looks set to be replaced by Andy Burnham.

It got us thinking, what can you change (and not change) when you change leaders? We aren't particularly focused on the specifics of the UK situation - but we wanted to reflect broadly on what it means for organisations to change leaders, and what it takes to change organisational culture, practice and impact in the process.

Amanda initiated this digest, having just spent time in the UK and being from Australia, where removing Prime Ministers is a kind of sport. Samuel chips in reflecting on the culture of political parties in the US and organisations he has been part of.

In the conversation Amanda mentions two books, they are:
People Power in Cities - order it via here - (which talks about the power of failure in strategy)
Conscious Tribes - which you can pre-order now (and has the story about the school in it)

For more on ChangeMakers check us out:
Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcast
Blue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.social

For more about Samuel:
Personal site: https://www.samuelmchu.com
The Campaign for Hong Kong: https://www.thecampaignforhongkong.org
Democracy in Flight: https://www.democracyinflight.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelmchu
Twitter/X: https://x.com/samuelmchu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuelmchu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuelmchu

For more about Amanda:
Personal site: https://amandatattersall.com/
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersall
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.