Where Shall We Meet - podcast cover

Where Shall We Meet

Omid Ashtari & Natascha McElhonewww.whereshallwemeet.xyz

Explorations of topics about society, culture, arts, technology and science with your hosts Natascha McElhone and Omid Ashtari.

The spirit of this podcast is to interview people from all walks of life on different subjects. Our hope is to talk about ideas, divorced from our identities - listening, learning and maybe meeting somewhere in the middle. The perfect audio diet for shallow polymaths!

Natascha McElhone is an actor and producer. 
Omid Ashtari is a tech entrepreneur and angel investor.

Episodes

On Death with Paul Bennet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Paul Bennett is a designer. For 23 years he worked at design and innovation powerhouse IDEO, where he was Chief Creative Officer and then co-CEO. There he was responsible for content excellence across the whole firm, and was active in developing and publishing new thinking in the field of human-centered and design-led innovation. Today, Paul is a Senior Advisor at McKinsey, where he continues to provide creative leadership and cross-pollina...

Jun 25, 202556 minSeason 2Ep. 7

On Prisons with Carine Minne

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Dr Carine Minne is Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis at England’s High Security Hospital, Broadmoor. She was also based at The Portman Clinic, London for three decades - an out-patient psychotherapy clinic for people suffering from problems of violence and sexual paraphilia - both under the NHS public health service. She chairs the International Psychoanalytic Association Violence Committee and is editor...

Jun 11, 20251 hr 6 minSeason 2Ep. 6

On Consciousness with Anil Seth

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, where he is also Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science . He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness Oxford University Press. Anil is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (2019-2024), which recognizes the top 0.1% of scientists in the world, by the impact of their publications. N - In 202...

May 28, 20251 hr 4 minSeason 2Ep. 5

On Climate Law with Laura Clarke

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Laura Clarke. She is the CEO of ClientEarth . She was recognised as one of the most influential climate business leaders globally in Time magazines top 100 climate list. Her background is in diplomacy and environmental advocacy. Laura was British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Governor of the Pitcairn Islands, High Commissioner to Samoa and has an OBE. Laura holds an MA in German and Russian from Cambridge University a...

May 14, 202554 minSeason 2Ep. 4

On Meditation, Morality & Free Will with Sam Harris

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Sam Harris. Sam is the host of the Making Sense Podcast and an the author of five New York Times best sellers. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance (with Maajid Nawaz). His writing and public lectures cover a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, human violence,...

Apr 30, 20251 hr 34 minSeason 2Ep. 3

On Overdiagnosis with Suzanne O'Sullivan

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Suzanne O'Sullivan, the author of the book The Age of Diagnosis: Sickness, Health and Why Medicine Has Gone Too Far . Suzanne is a neurologist, clinical neurophysiologist, and writer. She has been a consultant since 2004 and has been at The National Hospital for Neurology and The Epilepsy Society since 2011. Her specialist interests are in epilepsy and in improving services for people who suffer with functional neurologic...

Apr 16, 20251 hrSeason 2Ep. 2

On Life's Beginnings with Nick Lane

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Nick Lane, who offers fresh insights on the theories of the origins of life. He is a Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. Nick’s research is on the way that energy flow has shaped evolution over 4 billion years, using a mixture of theoretical and experimental work to address the origin of life, the evolution of complex cells and downr...

Apr 02, 20251 hr 4 minSeason 2Ep. 1

On The Precariat with Guy Standing

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest this week is Guy Standing, who is a British labour economist. He is professor of Development Studies at SOAS and co-founder of BIEN, the Basic Income Earth Network. He is best known as a long-standing and prominent advocate of Basic Income, but he is also responsible for redefining and revitalizing the term ‘precariat’. Guy has written extensively about capitalism and labour market policy. Among his many books are Basic income: an...

Dec 11, 20241 hr 8 minSeason 1Ep. 17

On Consolations with David Whyte

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest this week is David Whyte. David is a philosopher poet who, is the author of eight volumes of poetry and four books of prose, as well as a collection of audio recordings. He travels and lectures throughout the world, bringing his own and others' poetry to large audiences. He also works with corporations to teach them about conversational techniques. He holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has worked as a naturalist guide in the Gal...

Nov 27, 20241 hr 36 minSeason 1Ep. 16

On Visual Effects with William Sargent

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest this week is William Sargent. He co-founded Framestore in 1986 and led its rise from an award winning commercials production house to world renowned film and digital studio. During three decades the company has worked on all the Harry Potter films (and the JK Rowling 'Fantastic Beasts') , Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Paul King’s Paddington, Dr Strange, Christopher Robin, Blade Runner 2049 and Mar...

Nov 13, 202457 minSeason 1Ep. 15

On Biomimicry with Janine Benyus

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Janine Benyus, who is the Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8. She is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Since the book’s 1997 release, Janine’s work as a global thought leader has evolved the practice of biomimicry from a meme to a movement, inspiring clients and innovators around the world to learn from the genius of nature. She has personally intro...

Oct 30, 202454 minSeason 1Ep. 14

On Ancestry with Maya Jasanoff

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! We are talking about Ancestry today. Our guest is Maya Jasanoff who is the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard University’s History Department. Maya’s teaching and research extend from the history of the British Empire to global history. She is the author of three prize-winning books. The Dawn Watch examines the dynamics of modern globalization through the life and times of the novelist Joseph Conrad. Her other books are Liberty’s Exil...

Oct 16, 20241 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 13

On Hypocrisy with Tim Minchin

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Today we managed to catch Tim Minchin on his book tour between Brighton and Piccadilly London. He is an Australian actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter. Tim is also a piano playing comedian extraordinaire. His recent book “ You Don't Have To Have A Dream: Advice for the Incrementally Ambitious ” became an instant Sunday Times bestseller. He has released several albums, comedy specials, and live comedy shows that he has pe...

Oct 02, 202452 minSeason 1Ep. 12

On Sharing with Tessa Clarke

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Tessa Clarke. She the is Co-Founder & CEO of Olio , the anti-waste app tackling the climate crisis by solving the problem of waste in our homes & local communities. Olio does this by connecting people with their neighbours so they can give away rather than throw away their spare food and other household items. It is powered by volunteers who collect unsold food from local businesses such as Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda...

Sep 18, 20241 hr 5 minSeason 1Ep. 11

On Yearning with Maria Popova

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Our guest today is Maria Popova, who thinks and writes about our search for meaning — sometimes through science and philosophy, sometimes through poetry and children's books, always through the lens of wonder. She is the creator of The Marginalian (born in 2006 under the name Brain Pickings), an online publication, which she has fought to keep free and advertisement free. It features her writing on books, art, science, philosophy and poetry...

Sep 04, 202456 minSeason 1Ep. 10

On History with Ben Macintyre

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we talk to Ben Macintyre. He is a columnist and Associate Editor on The Times. He is also an award winning authour and one of the most acclaimed writers of espionage history. His books Agent Zigzag A Spy Among Friends, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy, Operation Mincemeat, Double Cross and SAS: Rogue Heroes have reached bestseller status and many have been adapted for the screen. Ben’s latest...

Aug 21, 20241 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 9

On Psychedelics with Dr. Rosalind Watts

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we speak to Dr. Roslind Watts. Dr Watts is a clinical psychologist, and a nature lover. Her work as the Clinical Lead for Imperial College London’s psilocybin trial has made her one of the most prominent voices and minds in the field of psychedelic research. Dr Watts has been named as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics. She builds tools and structures to foster connectedness after psychedelic experiences, ...

Aug 14, 20241 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 8

On AI with Ali Eslami

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we talk to Ali Eslami, who is a Principal Research Scientist at Google DeepMind studying artificial intelligence. He's currently also Director of Research Strategy for Google Gemini. Prior to this, he led a team at DeepMind working on generative models, self-supervised learning, multi-modal large language models. He also led the Quantum Chemistry and Materials team in Science. Prior to DeepMind, he was a post-doctoral resear...

Aug 07, 20241 hr 15 minSeason 1Ep. 7

On Exploration with Erling Kagge

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we talk to Erling Kagge who is an explorer, author, publisher, art collector, and the first person to have completed the Three Poles Challenge on foot—the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. He has written eight books on exploration, philosophy, and art collecting. They have been published in 42 different languages. His next book is 'The North Pole - The History of an Obsession', which out later this...

Jul 31, 202455 minSeason 1Ep. 6

On Music with Nitin Sawhney

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we are speaking to Nitin Sawhney, who is a multifaceted artist whose career spans music, film, theatre and dance. Nitin is a world-renowned composer, producer, and musician, celebrated for his ability to blend a wide array of musical styles, including classical, jazz, electronica, and traditional Indian music. He also produces other artists work, offering stewardship to many talented young musicians. His work has earned him ...

Jul 24, 202453 minSeason 1Ep. 5

On Dating with Tugce Bulut

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we'll talk to Tugce Bulut. She recently launched Luna, a GenAI dating coach that aims to transform the dating market. She is committed about providing a solution to what she believes is a loneliness crisis. Previously, Tugce was a strategy consultant at EY Parthenon advising Private Equity houses on M&A. Tugce is a published author and a Cambridge economist, specialising in the use of technology to bolster economic devel...

Jul 17, 20241 hr 11 minSeason 1Ep. 4

On Media with Roy Greenslade

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we speak to Roy Greenslade, a renowned journalist with a career spanning over 40 years. He was the media commentator for the Guardian newspaper for 28 years and ex-editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper. He is also an author, historian and former professor of journalism at City University London where he has had an influence on the next generation of journalists. Despite his frequent criticism of the press, Roy continues to ho...

Jul 10, 202452 minSeason 1Ep. 3

On Technology with Sophie Hackford

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we talk to Sophie Hackford about technology. Sophie is a futurist, and has given 220+ provocative talks to boards and exec teams on novel science and tech. Sophie is an advisor to John Deere & Co, on the future of food, climate, and agriculture. Sophie is also an advisor to New Lab in Brooklyn. Sophie co-founded and chaired 1715Labs: a spinout from Oxford University’s Astrophysics Department, labelling data to train algo...

Jul 02, 20241 hr 5 minSeason 1Ep. 2

On Democracy with Alastair Campbell

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! In this episode we talk to Alastair Campbell about Democracy. Alastair Campbell, who doesn’t really need an introduction if you already listen to his podcast The Rest is Politics. Alastair served under Tony Blair as Downing Street Press Secretary from 1997–2000 and then became Downing Street's director of communications and spokesman for the Labour Party 2000–2003 playing a pivotal role in shaping the New Labour. He's an accomplished author...

Jun 25, 20241 hr 9 minSeason 1Ep. 1

A Medley of our Upcoming Episodes

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message! Welcome to 'Where Shall We Meet' a new podcast with your hosts Natascha McElhone and Omid Ashtari. This is a medley of our upcoming Episodes. Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyz Twitter: @whrshallwemeet Instagram: @whrshallwemeet...

Jun 23, 20247 min
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