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The All Things Risk Podcast

The All Things Risk podcast explores the themes of risk, uncertainty and resilience as applied to sports, the arts, current affairs and just about any other domain. We feature long-form conversations with interesting guests who have loads of fascinating stories, tips and tools.
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Now displaying: 2022
Dec 30, 2022

This episode is about something with which our society has a very unhealthy relationship: quitting. The advice of the legendarily successful is often boiled down to this: stick to things, don’t quit. But that advice is very wrong. Annie Duke makes her third appearance on the podcast to tell us that quitting is far from a vice. Contrary to popular belief, winners quit a lot. That’s how they win.

If you are unfamiliar with Annie, she is a best-selling author, decision scientist, and a former professional poker champion. Her latest book is called Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. In it, she draws on a wealth of findings in behavioural science, real-life examples, and thoughtful analysis to make the case for quitting. She joins to talk about that, why quitting is such an important skill, and how to get better at it.

Show notes:

Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away

Annie’s website

How to Decide

Thinking in Bets

Michael Mauboussin

Daniel Kahneman

Amos Tversky

Richard Thaler

Pete Carroll

Expected Value

Loss Aversion

Status Quo bias

Survivorship bias

Escalation of commitment

John List’s piece on quitting

Ep 157 of All Things Risk with Annie

Ep 90 of All Things Risk with Annie

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Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Dec 23, 2022

I am delighted to welcome Alison Taylor back to the show. Alison works on challenges at the intersection of corporate integrity, risk, and responsibility. She is the Executive Director at Ethical Systems, a collaboration between leading academics working on behavioural science, organisational psychology, and systems thinking. She is also an adjunct professor at the NYU Stern School of Business. She has advised companies for many years on integrity, anti-corruption, sustainability, and political risk.

On top of that, and for the purposes of this conversation Alison is one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices for 2022. And this is where we get into the topic of focus for this episode. Alison is one of the world’s top voices when discussing the myths and misconceptions of ESG. ESG stands for Environment, Social and Governance. It is ostensibly about how investors reward or punish companies for their performance in these areas (and in so doing help make the world a better place).

However, as you will hear from Alison, it really isn’t that. And, the fact that it really isn’t is a problem for companies, stakeholders, and indeed, the planet. Alison explains what ESG is, better ways to address some of these challenges, transparency and its limits, and much more.

Show notes:

Alison on LinkedIn

Ethical Systems

Alison on Twitter

Jonathan Haidt

Alison on ESG

Larry Fink’s 2022 letter to CEOs

Alison on Patagonia

Stuart Kirk’s infamous ESG presentation

That Milton Friedman piece on the social responsibility of business

The Balkanisation of the internet

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Nov 29, 2022

Today’s conversation is all about things going badly wrong. We cover this by talking about situations that feature in the plots of action movies. My guest is Mark Harris. Mark is a crisis management and crisis communications expert with decades of experience working at the forefront of these areas. Mark has worked on over 150 incidents of kidnapping, extortion, and hostage-taking around the world. He has also dealt with 19 cases of vessel hijacking, the majority of which were undertaken by Somali pirates. Prior to that, mark served for 14 years in the British Army. And as you will hear, saw service in Germany at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, in Cyprus as part of the UN Peacekeeping contingent, and as a Military Observer in Cambodia when he and his team were taken hostage by the Khmer Rouge.

Mark knows of what he speaks and his experience helping organisations and individuals deal with these types of acute crises offers a number of lessons that are applicable to a range of contexts. We talk about all of that including the dynamics of kidnapping, crisis preparedness, management and communication, and much more.

Show notes:

Mark on LinkedIn

CrisisFit

Mark’s blog post “Agile Leadership in a VUCA World”

Proof of Life

The Weaponisation of Everything by Mark Galeotti

Sheena Thomson Consulting

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Like what you heard?

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Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7z8jmcbiemLawrHmay65kH

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Nov 3, 2022

This episode is all about our ‘built environment’. In other words, infrastructure – our roads, bridges, water system, and digital infrastructure. After listening to this one, it’s more than likely that you will never think about this topic in the same way again.

Think about when our roads and bridges were built. Who was in the room (often decades ago) making the decisions? What did they know? How do these decisions impact us today? What does that mean for current infrastructure decisions? A lot. Infrastructure can be viewed as 'institutional relics".

Meet today’s guest, Daniel Armanios. Daniel is the BT Professor of Major Programme Management at the University of Oxford’s Säid Business School. His research and teaching integrates civil engineering with organisational sociology to better understand how organisations can coordinate to build, manage, and maintain infrastructure systems. Daniel is a super interesting guy – a Rhodes Scholar with a Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, he is an interdisciplinary expert yet a practical thinker. He has amazing insights and this leads to a fascinating conversation.

 

We cover things like:

  • How infrastructure decisions that are ‘rational’ can sometimes create unequal outcomes;
  • Why it’s important for those designing and building infrastructure to think about who they might be excluded – and how to do that;
  • Infrastructure as an 'institutional relic';
  • Political turmoil;
  • Risk and uncertainty in infrastructure;
  • Risk-taking as an academic

Show notes:

Daniel Armanios

Daniel on LinkedIn

Daniel’s inaugural lecture at the University of Oxford

Daniel’s research on bridges
Flint Michigan water crisis

Jackson Mississippi water crisis

Cancer Alley

Grenfell Tower Fire

Pittsburgh Fern Hollow Bridge and its collapse

Social sensing

Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt

Gerd Gigerenzer on heuristics

Kathleen Eisenhardt on simple rules

Agile methodology

Boeing 737 max case

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Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

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Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Oct 10, 2022

Nathan and Susannah Furr are the co-authors of a phenomenal book that is firmly in the wheelhouse of our show. It’s called The Upside of Uncertainty – A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown. It’s been described as a “science-backed guide for navigating and thriving through uncertainty,” and it’s a book that is well overdue given the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

I am reminded of that lovely Voltaire quote – “Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position but certainty is an absurd one.” And it’s appropriate to quote a French philosopher as Nathan and Susannah are Americans based in France. Nathan is an associate professor of strategy at the world-renowned INSEAD in Paris. He teaches innovation and tech strategy and is a recognised expert in these fields having written several books on these topics. Susannah is a designer, art historian with a focus on the Dutch baroque period, and entrepreneur. She founded her own clothing line which was inspired by the intricate embroidery of Dutch women in the baroque.

This conversation is fabulous.

We not only get into the beauty of uncertainty, but Nathan and Susannah share a number of tools and techniques from their uncertainty ‘first aid cross’ that you will hear about. This is all about how to prime, do, reframe and sustain in the midst of uncertainty. These are all essential skills very few of us are formally taught.

Show notes:

Nathan and Susannah

The Upside of Uncertainty – A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown

Nathan and Susannah’s site

“The Peace of Wild Things” – poem by Wendell Berry

Transilience

World Uncertainty Index

The ‘uncertainty first aid cross’

John O’Donohue

Raymond Poulidor vs Jacques Anquetil on the Puy de Dôme

James Carse – Finite and Infinite Games

Carol Dweck and a growth mindset

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

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Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

 

Sep 13, 2022

I am delighted to share today’s conversation with you because not only is it fascinating, but it also deals with one of our favourite topics – decision-making. My guest is Cheryl Einhorn, founder of Decisive, a decision sciences company that trains people and teams in complex problem-solving and decision-making skills using a method that she created. The method, called AREA, is something Cheryl developed during her two decades as an investigative journalist for the likes of the New York Times, Barron’s, and Foreign Policy. If you think about how demanding that job is, it becomes clear that having a way of testing and reinforcing your conclusions is incredibly valuable.

We get into that, as well as Cheryl’s background, problem-solving and decision-making as skills, the difference between ambiguity and uncertainty, something Cheryl developed called a ‘Problem Solver Profile,’ regret, the importance of slowing down, and much more.

Show notes:

Cheryl’s profile

AREA method

Cheryl’s article on Problem Solver Profiles

Find your Problem Solver Profile

Cheryl’s TEDx talk

Cheryl’s Harvard Business Review articles

Investing in Financial Research

Problem Solved

Problem Solver – Maximising Your Strengths to Make Better Decisions – Cheryl’s forthcoming book

Analysis of Competing Hypotheses

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Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

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Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7z8jmcbiemLawrHmay65kH

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Aug 15, 2022

Today’s conversation is another look at inclusion – and more specifically, the gap between what is being said and what is being done. If we think about the amount of time we are hearing about diversity and the proliferation of programmes in this space, we might thing that there is a lot of progress being made. The reality however, is very different – on the whole, diversity efforts are moving at a glacial pace. That is not only a problem, it also presents plenty of risk. Homophobia, racism, transphobia and misogyny are very prevalent.

I want you to meet our guest, Suzy Levy. Suzy is the founder and Managing Director of The Red Plate, a non-executive board member of the Department of Education, a Trustee of the Women’s Sport Trust, a member of the Advisory Board at Foundervine, and a member of the Strategic Race Board at the Home Office. Suzy’s book Mind the Inclusion Gap draws on her extensive experience designing and implementing some of the most progressive and recognised diversity and inclusion programmes in the UK.

In this episode, Suzy shares a number of great insights, including:

  • Why being kind and having a moral compass isn’t enough;
  • What many organisations get wrong in this space;
  • Why we shouldn’t fear causing offence;
  • How to address some of the failings

Show notes:

Mind the Inclusion Gap

Suzy on socials:

            LinkedIn

            Twitter

            Instagram

Suzy’s consultancy Red Plate

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Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7z8jmcbiemLawrHmay65kH 

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Jul 18, 2022

One of the things we love on this show (and as human beings for that matter – I think), is adventure. I think that’s because adventures are one of the best ways we have to embrace uncertainty. They involve not being quite sure of the outcomes of something we may be trying to do, or what we will encounter along the way. Adventure also necessarily involves risk – and that is a good thing. And of course, a good adventure, in whatever form it takes, is fun.

So, it’s a pleasure to welcome back Oscar Scafidi to the show. Oscar is currently based in Tunisia. He is a travel writer, educator, and an Africa political risk consultant. Oscar’s first appearance on All Things Risk involved his expedition kayaking the Kwanza river in Angola. In this episode, Oscar share his most recent adventure in which he and his friend Ben Stephen attempted to kayak the Mangoky River in Madagascar from the source to the sea – a total of about 500 kilometres. In the process, they attempted to set a Guinness World Record and raise money for two charities – The World Food Programme and Our Kids, Our Future Madagascar.

Like any good adventure, Oscar and Ben’s draws you in. We get into the detail of the adventure and at a certain point, you almost feel like you’re there, experiencing it with Oscar and Ben. However, we also take a step back and talk about purpose, resilience, mental strength, planning, and loads more.

Show notes:

Kayak the Mangoky

The World Food Programme Madagascar

Our Kids, Our Future Madagascar

Oscar’s YouTube channel

Oscar’s first appearance on All Things Risk – Kayaking the Kwanza

Klepper kayaks

Security issues in Madagascar’s Dahalo region

Bilharzia

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Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Jun 24, 2022

Today, we talk about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. I welcome to the show Cynthia Owyoung. Cynthia is the vice president of inclusion, equity and belonging at Robinhood. She is also the founder of Breaking Glass Forums where she develops strategies to accelerate an increase in more diverse and inclusive organisations. She has worked on these types of initiatives for over twenty years.

She has also recently authored All Are Welcome – How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion That Delivers Results. From the perspective of risk, organisations that have a high degree of diversity should make better decisions under uncertainty because they ostensibly have more experiences and perspectives on which to draw. But, as Cynthia points out, diversity isn’t enough. People need to be included and have a sense of belonging in their organisations.

We get into that in this episode. Cynthia shares her background, she discusses a number of the myths and challenges associated with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, how to overcome these, and the benefits of doing so – and more.

Show notes:

Cynthia Owyoung

All Are Welcome – How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion That Delivers Results

Cynthia on Twitter

Marcus Buckingham’s Nine Lies About Work

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Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

www.allthingsrisk.co.uk

May 31, 2022

Today’s episode has a bit of everything. My guest is Benj Gallander. Benj is one of Canada’s most successful contrarian investors. Benj started investing in the 1970s and in 1995 with his friend Ben Stadelmann, he co-founded Contra The Herd, an investment newsletter that has achieved an astonishing annualised return of 19.6%. Benj is the author of three best-selling books, including The Contrarian Investors’ 13 and The Uncommon Investor III – How to Earn Superior Returns in the Stock Market. He writes a column in the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, is a regular speaker in the investment media, and is on the board of two companies.

Now, I thought this was going to be a conversation about contrarian investing but it turned out to be so much more. Benj has a wide array of interests and experiences and the conversation reflects that. I think it also reflects the big lesson of this episode – curiosity and diversity of interests and thoughts are fundamental to enduring, sustainable success – and I think they most certainly have played a big role in Benj’s success.

This also comes through throughout the episode – from when Benj describes his investment philosophy, co-founding Contra the Herd, discussing learning from mistakes, the importance of reading and learning, cryptocurrencies, Benj’s take on fear, doing uncomfortable things, and so much more.

Show notes:

Benj Gallander

Contra The Herd

Benj’s Globe and Mail column

The Contrarian Investors’ 13

The Uncommon Investor III – How to Earn Superior Returns in the Stock Market

Meme stocks

Technical analysis

Ron Meisels on technical analysis

Alpha Pro Tech (APT)

Fairfax

Books and authors mentioned:

            Walden by Henry David Thoreau

            Sylvia Plath

            My Stockbroker is a Bum: Or, Where are all the Customers’ Yachts by Charles D’Ambrosio

            The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre

            A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Shel Silverstein

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

            How to Decide by Annie Duke

Annie Duke on All Things Risk

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

May 12, 2022

Today, we look at how and why some ideas take off and others don’t – in other words, how and why things scale. I am delighted to bring to you my conversation with John List. John has been described as a ‘master economist’ and a ‘revolutionary experimenter’. He is certainly a pioneer in combining economic theory with field experiments. John is currently the Chief Economist at Walmart and has held the same role at Lyft and Uber. He is also the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago’s Department of Economics and has been an economic advisor to the Bush White House.

For the purposes of this episode, John discusses his latest and fabulous book The Voltage Effect – How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale. In it, John argues that scalability is critical to just about everything from medical breakthroughs to social movements. John shares a number of insights from the book, including the conditions necessary for something to scale and the secrets to high voltage scaling.

We also spend some time on a topic I consider fascinating – when and how to quit something that is not serving us. This is one of the secrets to high voltage scaling. It’s a fascinating conversation!

Show notes:

The Voltage Effect

John’s University of Chicago page

John on Twitter

John on LinkedIn

The Khasi people of India

Vince Lombardi

John’s piece in the Wall Street Journal on quitting

The quitting ‘coin flip’ experiment

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Apr 11, 2022

I’ve been wanting to have an episode in which we take a ‘big picture’ look at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, there is so much analysis out there about the conflict that I wasn’t sure if I could bring on the right guest who could be highly credible and offer a unique perspective, preferably steeped in a wider historical context. This is why I am so delighted to bring to you my conversation with Susan Eisenhower.

Susan is the granddaughter of General and President Dwight Eisenhower. She wrote a critically-acclaimed book about her grandfather’s leadership principles entitled How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions. She is also an expert on Russia-US relations, international security, energy, and space policy. She has served on numerous government task forces, is the Chair of Public Policy Programs at the Eisenhower Institute, and the founder of the Eisenhower Group, a consulting firm. So, she knows of what she speaks.

This episode proceeds in two parts. In the first half, Susan covers General President Dwight Eisenhower’s leadership principles, particularly how he made decisions. We focus on D-Day and when, as President, Ike looked at options to contain Soviet expansionism. These leadership and decision-making principles are not only fascinating, but they are also highly transferable.

In the second half, we fast forward to the present and discuss Russia’s war with Ukraine. Susan shares how we got here, a number of concerns she has, as well as the longer-term implications of the conflict. She also discusses decision-making in the context of nuclear war more broadly.

Show notes:

Susan Eisenhower

How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions

The Eisenhower Foundation

The Great Man Theory of leadership

D-Day

Project Solarium

Atoms for Peace

Gettysburg College

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Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Mar 31, 2022

What happens when your ability to make decisions gets clouded – and driven – by addiction? Why does ‘letting go’ make sense in these circumstances? What does it feel like when doing the right thing for your health seems somehow risky and frightening? And what in the world does running have to do with all of this?

Making his second appearance on the podcast is my good friend Robert Earl Stewart. Based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Robert (or Bob as I’ve always known him) is a writer, poet, and former journalist and bookseller. He is also a recovering alcoholic and has struggled with food addiction. At one point in his life, he weighed nearly 400 pounds and struggled to breathe while talking.

As you will hear, he took up running in an effort to save his life and ended up writing a fabulous book about his journey. The book is called The Running-Shaped Hole. It’s funny, moving, and inspirational as it chronicles how Robert lost 140 pounds, ran the Detroit Free Press half marathon, ended up in jail at one point, and tons in between. He shares his thoughts on all of those things in this episode and more, including what addiction feels like, family, the importance of surrender, and how authorities suspected he may have been at the head of an international organsised crime syndicate that provokes monied interests at picnics (you will have to listen to learn more about that last one). Like his book, this is an entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking conversation.

Show notes:

The Running-Shaped Hole

Robert on Goodreads

Robert on Twitter

Robert’s first appearance on All Things Risk

Blaise Pascal’s God-shaped hole

Michel Foucault’s heterotopia

Willistead Park

Hiram Walker

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Mar 8, 2022

Recent events – at the time of writing, Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine – reinforce that uncertainty is an inherent human condition. Our guest on this episode offers an approach to this reality that is useful. Paula Reid is an adventurer, and more precisely, an adventure psychologist. She has completed a number of epic things like skiing to the South Pole, sailing around the world, and paddling the Mekong river.

While we have had many adventurers on the show, I invited Paula to appear because she is a trailblazer in the field of adventure psychology – which is all about using applied psychology and experience to facilitate enduring performance and well-being. She helps individuals and organisations survive, cope and thrive during change. Given the state of the world, that is something all of us can use.

Show notes:

Paula’s website

Anticipatory thinking

The Brave Athlete by Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson

The film “Backdraft”

Alex Honnold

Adam Grant on Languishing

Safety and wingsuit BASE jumping

Alistair Humphreys on All Things Risk (including references to the ‘doorstep mile’)

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Feb 18, 2022

Today, we look at organisations and the people within them. I want you to meet our guest, Minal Bopaiah. Minal is the founder of Brevity and Wit, a strategy and design firm dedicated to designing a more equitable world. She is also the author of a great book Equity – How to Design Organisations Where Everyone Can Thrive. Minal is based in the USA but her expertise and experience in combining human-centred design, behaviour change science, and the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity and accountability is relevant to people everywhere.

From the perspective of risk, uncertainty and decision-making, the concept of equity – the way Minal addresses it – leads to better outcomes. I think that’s because it creates more robust and higher-quality decisions. Minal also makes the distinctions between diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility very clear. Her approach is down-to-earth and pragmatic – and very engaging.

Show notes:

Minal Bopaiah

Brevity and Wit

Equity – How to Design Organisations Where Everyone Can Thrive

Article – “How Putting Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes May Backfire”

The BJP political party in India

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 Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

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Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Jan 30, 2022

Today, we talk about the science of fear. Fear is a theme that unsurprisingly comes up a lot on this podcast, as it is so closely associated with risk and uncertainty. We get to discuss fear in a great way with our guest Eva Holland, author of the book Nerve – A Personal Journey Through the Science of Fear. Eva is a freelance writer based in Whitehorse in the Yukon territory of Northern Canada. She is a correspondent for Outside magazine and has had her work published in the likes of Wired, Bloomberg and National Geographic News.

In 2015, Eva was forced to face her greatest fear when her mother sadly passed away suddenly from a stroke. After her grief subsided, Eva began to explore how her fears may have limited her, and whether or not it was possible to move past them. This led to a deep dive into the science of fear, including where phobias come from, how they differ from trauma or anxiety, and whether we can find better ways to feel afraid.

We get into all of that in this episode. We discuss the different types of fear, what Eva learned, some insights into what happens to people who have a rare disease that prevents them from feeling fear, how people like rock climber Alex Honnold process fear, and much more.

Show notes:

Nerve: A Personal Journey Through the Science of Fear (in N America “Adventures in the Science of Fear”)

Eva’s website

Eva on Twitter

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne

Alex Honnold

Patient S.M.

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Like what you heard?

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Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

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Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

Jan 9, 2022

One of the ways in which to manage uncertainty is by creating routines and rituals that drive a degree of certainty in our lives. In previous episodes, we’ve talked about decision-making and decision quality – that we cannot control outcomes but we can control the quality of our decisions. That requires focus. And focus isn’t easy in this day and age of seemingly infinite distraction.

 

With that, I want you to meet our guest, Thatcher Wine. Thatcher is the CEO of Juniper Books. You may have come across them for their beautiful, hand-crafted book sets. The reason I invited Thatcher on the show however is because he recently wrote his own fabulous book – The Twelve Monotasks: Do One Thing at a Time to Do Everything Better.

 

I think that we believe – even subliminally – that we need to multi-task to be successful. Thatcher’s book tackles that myth and introduces the concept of “monotasking muscles”. He believes we can use monotasking as the foundation for everything in our lives. The book presents twelve monotasks – from reading, listening, playing, creating, sleeping, and more. It is based on research in neuroscience, productivity, and the attention economy which all demonstrate monotasking’s benefits.

In the episode, we cover Thatcher’s background, the origins of the book, what monotasking is, we dive into some of the monotasks most related to the themes of this show, and Thatcher shares some tips on how we can strengthen our monotasking muscles.

Show notes:

The Twelve Monotasks: Do One Thing at a Time to Do Everything Better

Monotasking Tips

Juniper Books

Thatcher on Twitter

Peter Drucker

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Like what you heard?

Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK

Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast

Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo

Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings

Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Our free course module “How to Set Up Any Decision for Success” from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence

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