Kate Kemp discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Kate Kemp is an Australian writer living in the UK. She trained as an occupational therapist and then as a systemic psychotherapist, and has worked with families and individuals in mental health services in both Australia and the UK. In 2021, she won the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction and the Yeovil Literary Prize. The Grapevine is her first novel.
Shari Dunn discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Shari Dunn is a polymath, an accomplished journalist, and a former attorney, news anchor, CEO, and university professor. She is an American Leadership Forum Fellow and has been awarded the prestigious Executive of the Year Award in 2018, the 2019 Women of Influence Award (Portland Business Journal), the Associated Press Award for Best Spot News, and the Wisconsin Broadcasting Association Award for Best Morning News Show. Her work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal and quoted in TIME and Fast Company among others. Shari is also a sought-after speaker. She holds a BA in philosophy from Marquette University and a JD from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Her new book is Qualified.
Imran Mahmood discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Imran Mahmood is a criminal defence barrister with over thirty years’ experience. His debut novel You Don’t Know Me was longlisted for both the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year and the CWA Gold Dagger in 2017, and selected by Simon Mayo as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club choice in the same year. It was then adapted into a four-part BBC crime drama, airing on a prime-time BBC One slot in 2021, before being released internationally on Netflix the following year and becoming one of the platform’s most streamed shows. His second novel, I Know What I Saw (2022) was named a Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Month and reached No. 2 on the Audible charts. Mahmood has written three screenplays and is a regular contributor to the Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast. His new novel is Finding Sophie.
Dani Heywood-Lonsdale discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Dani Heywood-Lonsdale is a writer with family roots in Hawaii and the Philippines. She holds a Doctorate in Education and teaches English Literature in Oxfordshire, having previously taught in Florence and London over the past decade. Before pursuing a career in academia, she worked for a nonprofit in New York City and studied social policy and development at LSE. The Portrait Artistis her first novel, and she is an alumna of the Faber Academy.
1. Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci in the Uffizi museum, Florence
An unfinished masterpiece. Da Vinci was commissioned by the monks of San Donato in Scopeto in 1481, but he left for Milan the following year leaving it unfinished. Ghostly, mesmerising and not nearly as famous as some of the Uffizi’s other treasures (i.e. Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’, Caravaggio’s ‘Medusa’ on a wooden shield, Tiziano’s ‘Venus of Urbino’, da Vinci’s ‘Annunciazione’)
2. Ristorante Academia. In Piazza San Marco: quiet, unassuming, unpretentious, DELICIOUS authentic food. The kindest, friendliest staff; every friend I have sent raves about it (and often returns). Wine-and-dine menu is something to behold; my favourite dish is the pappardelle with wild boar
3. The dark, sad and beautiful origins of the original Peter Pan text by JM Barrie James Barrie lived in his brother David’s shadow until he was 6. In 1867, David died in a skating accident, age 14; Barrie forever tried to cheer his devastated mother—who eventually found comfort in the idea that David would remain a boy forever. Barrie had a realisation much later: ‘When I became a man…he was still a boy of thirteen.’
4. Wired to Create by Scott Barry Kaufman ‘Offers a glimpse inside the “messy minds” of highly creative people. Revealing the latest findings in neuroscience and psychology, along with engaging examples of artists and innovators throughout history, the book shines a light on the practices and habits of mind that promote creative thinking.’
5. Molokai hot bread A secret delicacy on the tiny island of Molokai, Hawaii: Down a dingy alleyway at 10pm for freshly baked bread, served by an utterly terrifying man (as my childhood memory serves and to my cousins’ entertainment). A rival between cinnamon-sugar hot bread and strawberry-cream cheese hot bread.
6. Archimede ceramic shop in Ortygia, Sicily In a deceptive location (right by the cathedral and seemingly touristy), this shop has the most exquisite works of art: the traditional moor heads of Sicily with their own twist: 4x baked, pearlized, 24c gold snakes on variations of nontraditional Medusa and Poseidon.
Kathleen deLaski discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Kathleen deLaski is an education and workforce designer, as well as a futurist. She founded the Education Design Lab in 2013 to help colleges begin the journey to reimagine higher education toward the future of work. Her non-profit has helped 1200 colleges, orgs and economic regions design shorter, more affordable pathways for learners to achieve their economic goals. She spends time as a senior advisor to the Project on Workforce at Harvard University and teaches human-centered design and higher ed reform as an adjunct professor in the Honors College at George Mason University. In a previous career, Kathleen spent twenty years as a TV and then a digital journalist, including time as ABC News White House correspondent. Followed by a political appointment as the first female Pentagon spokesperson. Her new book is Who Needs College Any More?
1. Only 38% of Americans have a 4 year college degree, yet American education and hiring system is really only set up to help this minority succeed.
2. The “College for all” movement of the last several decades is basically dead and that may not be a bad thing
3. White people, generally, are best positioned to skip the college degree.
4. A lot of the focus and debate is on elite colleges, which is odd, because they provide 2% of the college “seats” in America
5. We are in a period of the great skills shakeup in history, which has upended hiring and will continue to do so.
6. Ai is both “the race track” for fixing or democratizing the hiring system, but also could be the nemesis for entry level workers.
Jeff Sebo discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Jeff Sebo is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Affiliated Professor of Bioethics, Medical Ethics, Philosophy, and Law, Director of the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection, Director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy, and Co-Director of the Wild Animal Welfare Program at New York University. His research focuses on animal minds, ethics, and policy; AI minds, ethics, and policy; and global health and climate ethics and policy. He is the author of The Moral Circle and Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves and co-author of Chimpanzee Rights and Food, Animals, and the Environment. He is also a board member at Minding Animals International, an advisory board member at the Insect Welfare Research Society, and a senior affiliate at the Institute for Law & AI. In 2024 Vox included him on its Future Perfect 50 list of “thinkers, innovators, and changemakers who are working to make the future a better place.”
1. There is a realistic possibility of sentience in all vertebrates and many invertebrates, including insects.
2. There will be a realistic possibility of sentience in advanced AI systems within the next decade as well.
3. We have the ability (and the responsibility) to consider welfare risks for all potentially sentient beings in decisions that affect them.
4. Industrial animal agriculture is bad for humans, nonhumans, and the environment at the same time. Fortunately, we can replace it.
5. Rapid AI development creates risks for humans, nonhumans, and the environment at the same time. Fortunately, we can slow it down.
6. Human-caused global changes affect wild animals too. Fortunately, we can build a safer infrastructure for humans and animals alike.
Diana McCaulay discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Diana McCaulay is a Jamaican environmental activist and the award-winning author of five novels. Winner of the Gold Musgrave Medal, Jamaica’s highest award for lifetime achievement across the arts and sciences; twice Winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Caribbean region (in 2022 and in 2012), she has also been shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Award, among other nominations, and is the winner of the Watson, Little 50 Prize for unrepresented writers aged 50+. Her new novel is A House For Miss Pauline.
Adam Howorth discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Adam Howorth was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire and grew up in rural Northamptonshire. After moving to London to work in the music industry, he later contributed to The Times and Billboard before joining Apple, where he worked for 18 years. Adam lives near the river in Southwest London, with his wife and two daughters. His new book is Fallen Feathers.
Better Known 