In the 12th episode of the 2nd Renaissance, Frans Johansson, author of the Medici Effect shares his insights on how diversity drives innovation and creativity. He shares his lessons from his best-selling book on how the intersection of fields of thought exponentially increase teams' and organisations' propensity for innovation, and why homogenous cultures pay a revenue and innovation penalty - as well as do brand damage to their employment brand. We embark on a future odyssey to explore how virtual / remote work might impact innovation output, and which talent clusters around the world will shape the future of humanity. This interview was a tour de force of Frans' intellect and as a futurist and friend, it was great to reconnect with Frans for this equally historic and futuristic voyage.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does the future of retail look like? Who better to ask than Matt Newell, CEO of the General Store, who is the designer and mastermind behind some of the world's top brands and their store concepts - both digital and analogue. Matt is passionate about translating future brand stories through experiential and immersive consumer touchpoints - from end to end. COVID-19 has unleashed the fastest and biggest human behaviour change program at scale - ever - and consumer values and beliefs have fundamentally shifted. We are not going back to 2019 in 2021. We uncover how the pandemic was a time for retailers to simultaneously slow down and take stock and re-imagine their futures - at speed. We sit down for a deep and meaningful in this episode of the 2nd Renaissance to look at how retail brands must re-invent themselves to accelerate out of the curve and who the winners and losers of tomorrow's Retail Renaissance might be, and what determines where a retail brand will sit on the K-shaped economic recovery journey in Tomorrowland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Catriona Wallace symbolises the fusion of Silicon Valley with Byron Bay. She leaves no AI stone unturned in this rivetting discussion on everything from spirituality, transhumanism, and consciousness to entrepreneurship, indigenous cultures and psychedelics. We go deep into what it means to be human and what ethics we need to program into machines when eventually they become sentient. This is a true trip down the rabbit hole and explores the future of humanism and human skills in a tech-driven world. Take the blue pill and the red pill and decode the matrix with Dr Catriona.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the 2nd Renaissance, I learn why as a 40-year-old I should no longer be considered middle-aged courtesy of medical advancements and exponential technologies. Nichol Bradford - co-founder of the Transformative Technology Lab -  works at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, behavior, tech and science and her purpose is to accelerate human transformation by leveraging tech to heal, upskill, and enhance humanity. She seeks to catalyze new ways to use technology to discover ourselves and to reach our fullest potential, and in this episode we go on a future odyssey that feels as much as health science fiction as -re-assuringly - science fact. We cover topics like emotional intelligence, managing our inner landscape, Montessori education and friendly robots - as well as Nichol's favourite biohack apps. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swiss-Australian Franziska Iseli sits down with Swedish-Australian futurist Anders Sörman-Nilsson to discuss Franziska's creative and entrepreneurial journey. They explore how creative ideas that used to emerge for Franziska Isely of Basic Bananas during inter-continental flights above the clouds, on Swiss ski slopes, or on motorbike trips through Tajikistan - now in a world of lockdowns - might now emerge from the stillness of the subconscious mind instead. When you can no longer experience extreme contrasts in distant cultures or travel grit, how do you re-create the same immersive experiences that lead to valuable creative outputs from the confines of your home office? What does the shift from 2020 to 2021 mean in terms of rebooting for the future, and how can entrepreneurs and creatives design 'moments of humanity' for their clients, families and teams? In this episode of the 2nd Renaissance, Anders' Entrepreneurs Organization mate Franziska uncovers and decodes how her personal journey from the Swiss Alps to the Northern Beaches of Sydney have led her to become a serial entrepreneur and where the energetic counter-cultural embryo of her creativity resides. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elise Pioch Balzac sits down with futurist Anders Sörman-Nilsson to discuss rebirths, renovations, revivals, and how childhood impressions can be the embryonic kindling for future entrepreneurship and creativity. In this dialogue, we uncover and decode the meaning of Elise's childhood in the south of France, and how it has shaped her as a human, thinker, and creator. We explore the dichotomy between the Australian and French approaches to entrepreneurship and how Elise Pioch Balzac childhood cadence on Sundays became the springboard to her first collection, and why scents and perfumes can trigger new creative expressions and ideas - particularly during a pandemic that has spawned a revival of our personal abodes.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020 was brutal for small business entrepreneurs. How will the little guy and girl bounce back and re-emerge from the pandemic shock? Futurist Anders Sörman-Nilsson sits down with his favourite hairdresser and CEO of the Australian Hairdressing Council, Sandy Chong, to speak about scenario planning, creativity, small business resilience, the mental health importance of the beauty and hairdressing industries, and how the backbone of the economy - SMBs - are now experiencing the early dawn of an emerging renaissance.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Singularity is near. Exponential technologies have saved us during the pandemic and become our lifeline. But we are really just scratching the surface of technological potential. In this dialogue with Lisa Andrews, the Co-CEO of SingularityU Australia we explore the intersection of biology and technology and how AI might usher in an enhanced era of humanism, and the opportunities this holds for humanity, entrepreneurs, students, parents as Lisa and the community around Singularity University seek to positively impact 1 billion people through the ethical application of exponential technologies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was creativity impacted negatively during lockdowns, or was there boosted creativity within quarantine? During the COVID-19 crisis, Dave has been philosophising about the future of humanity and how technology has become our lifeline. As a digital evangelist, Dave's passion lies in technologies that liberate humanity and humans from the menial, so we can focus on meaningful troubleshooting and the big questions affecting our planet, as well as the local problems that can be solved by beautiful software.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can automation enhance human creativity, and why is empathy one of the key human skills we have to nurture in an age of machines? How can a career as a speechwriter to a Lord at the House of Lords in the UK, agribusiness ventures in Harare (Zimbabwe) and family office advisory work in Vienna (Austria) lead to a role as a CEO for a FinTech (Moonova) which keeps winning digital disruption / collaboration awards? Find out in this interview with my fellow Swedish compatriot, Christian Westerlind Wigström, in Episode 3 of the 2nd Renaissance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.