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Fearless Diversity

Fearless Diversity

By: Rachel Cashman and Simon Fanshawe
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Leaders are faced with dilemmas every day that flow from human interactions at work. And they are so often disruptive, time-consuming, potentially create division among your staff and test you as a leader. You need time to reflect…..you need space in the morning to listen to Rachel Cashman and Simon Fanshawe eating these problems for breakfast. Fearless Diversity is the candid podcast that tackles the real dilemmas bosses, managers, and leaders face every day – around accountability, decision-making, workplace dynamics, conflict, and organisational culture and their people. Join Rachel Cashman and Simon Fanshawe — two of the foremost thought leaders in workplace diversity, leadership, and inclusion — as they dive into honest conversations that get to the heart of it. We have the conversations you want to have.



Rachel brings real-world, high-level implementation experience - expertise that CEOs and managers can trust, learn from, and enlist when they need results and to ensure their teams perform at their best. Simon adds his clout as a highly respected broadcaster, author, and inclusion specialist. They don’t always agree — and that’s the point. Rachel and Simon argue, disagree, and explore different perspectives, and always with resolution and insight – modelling the difficult conversations leaders need to have. It’s a podcast for thoughtful leaders who want to reflect, rather than shout or be shouted at. Fearless Diversity is the place to think differently about today’s trickiest human issues at work.

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

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Episodes
  • Joanna Cherry and Alison Payne

    Joanna Cherry and Alison Payne
    1 Oct 2026
    This week on Fearless Diversity, Rachel Cashman and Simon Fanshawe are joined by former SNP MP and KC Joanna Cherry and Alison Payne, Research Director at the independent Scottish Think Tank Enlighten, for a big conversation about Scotland, power, identity and what happens next.Why has support for Scottish independence barely shifted since the seismic referendum of 2014? Why has the SNP been unable to deliver it? What does tactical voting tell us about what voters really think rather than what political parties think they think?We get into devolution, nationalism, the SNP, Scottish Conservatives, the new Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, recent international data on drug deaths and educational outcomes, gender identity politics, and why disagreement so easily becomes disloyalty.But this is also a conversation about something much bigger than Scotland.Can you believe passionately in a cause and still challenge your own side? And how do we escape “bucket politics” where believing one thing apparently requires you to believe another six things too?And finally, beyond division and constitutional wrangling: what is the opportunity for Scotland now?A conversation about disagreement, belonging, power and the possibility of a better politics.

    For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

    For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    55 min
  • After the Conversation: Reflections on Nazir Afzal OBE

    After the Conversation: Reflections on Nazir Afzal OBE
    6 Aug 2026

    The interview might be over, but the conversation certainly isn’t.

    In our first After the Conversation episode, we sit down without a guest to reflect on what has been buzzing in each of our minds after their live recording with Nazir Afzal OBE.

    What surprised us? Which moments challenged our own thinking? What did we learn about trust, accountability, and leadership? What are we kicking ourselves for not asking?

    These short episodes are a chance to step back from the headlines and make sense of the ideas that emerge through Fearless Diversity. Sometimes the most valuable insights arrive after the microphones have been switched off.

    Expect honest reflection, a few points of disagreement, plenty of curiosity, and connections back to the bigger questions at the heart of this podcast: how we navigate difference, build trust, reduce polarisation and create the conditions for better conversations.

    Understanding doesn’t end when the interview finishes, often that’s where it begins.

    For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

    For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    22 min
  • Nazir Afzal

    Nazir Afzal
    28 Jul 2026

    Fearless Diversity | Live from Manchester with Nazir Afzal OBE

    First in our new format of meeting, greeting, and interviewing some of the most interesting leaders and exploring what Fearless Diversity means for them.

    On the day one of the men prosecuted for the Rochdale child sexual exploitation scandal was released from prison, Fearless Diversity recorded a live conversation with Nazir Afzal OBE at the REG Connect Race Equality Conference in Manchester.

    The timing could hardly have been more significant. Nazir reflects on violence against women and girls, the enduring impact of child sexual exploitation, why accountability matters more than ever, and what happens when institutions stop asking difficult questions. He also explains why he has moved away from describing organisations as "institutionally racist", arguing instead that Britain's deeper challenge is a widening deficit of trust and accountability and what leaders can do to rebuild both.

    This episode is about much more than policy. It is about Manchester. What is Manchesterism? Why has this city produced generations of people prepared to challenge power, confront injustice, and build communities that refuse to look away? What makes Manchester different and what can the rest of the country learn from it?

    Rachel Cashman and Simon Fanshawe explore these questions with one of the city's most influential public figures. Along the way, Nazir shares reflections on leadership, public service, moral courage, and his experience of advising the man, Andy Burnham MP, who now leads the country, offering a rare insight into the values and relationships that have shaped modern Manchester politics.

    This is a conversation about more than race. It is about place. About leadership. About accountability. And about how we begin repairing trust at a time when so many people feel our institutions have lost their way.

    Between each interview, we will be recording a reflection on the discussion and exploring what we wished we had asked and what we might follow up with. So, if you enjoyed this episode, let us know what you would like to ask Nazir. He has offered to join us again. Advance notice we have secured an interview with Alan Milbun who is due to launch his much-anticipated review of young people not in education or employment. Diversity of opportunity for young people and the fearless approach that Government and employers may have to face up to. Let us know what you would like to ask Alan Milburn.

    Please do listen, like and share.

    For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

    For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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