What happens when technology makes life easier, and also starts to take something from us?

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with designer, author and creativity activist Ben Rennie about technology, agency, adventure, family, systemic design and creating with technology.

Ben reflects on writing Be Kind, Rewind, leaving his phone behind, raising children through adventure and snow sports, building an independent creative studio, and why design needs to look beyond the immediate brief. This is a conversation about values, connection, creativity, and designing for the lives and the lives and communities we want to shape.

This episode explores

• Technology, agency and potential boundaries for digital tools
• AI, writing, critical thinking and trusting your own voice
• Adventure, family, skiing and building a life close to nature
• The pressure and possibility of growing a founder-led design business
• Systemic design, human-centred design and seven-generational thinking
• Values, connection, climate, community and designing for what comes next

Guest bio

Ben Rennie is a designer, author, speaker and creativity activist working across design, climate, sport and community. He leads Rennie Lab, chairs Design Declares Australia, and is the author of Lessons in Creativity. After 20 years building and leading Reny Studio, Ben’s work now explores systemic design, creativity, technology, and how we reshape the ways people live, connect and build.

Guest links

• Ben Rennie: https://benrennie.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrennie/
• Reny Studio: https://reny.studio/services/
• Ben's book: Lessons in Creativity: https://benrennie.com/pages/lessonsincreativity
• Ben’s writing: https://substack.com/@benrennie/posts
• Dear Luke & Ben podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/dear-luke-ben/id1598107677

Conversation references

• Miff Rennie: https://www.instagram.com/miffrennie/
• Zach Bush: https://www.instagram.com/zachbushmd/
• IDEO: https://www.ideo.com/
• frog: https://www.frog.co/
• Christian Duell’s Natural Genius episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1GdoioUsgMWdFLDOb5Motl

Chapters

01:33 Leaving the phone behind and Be Kind, Rewind
07:09 Boundaries, AI and agency
12:31 Adventure, writing and the last 10%
21:29 Systemic design, wayfinding, connection and seven-generational thinking
30:00 Snow, family and rebuilding life around nature
40:43 Values, separation and how we show up

Explore further

Book a Lab: https://naturalgenius.com.au
Learn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.au
Subscribe to hear future episodes.

About Natural Genius

Through conversations with leaders, thinkers, builders and practitioners across many fields, the podcast explores the signals that guide meaningful work and the choices that shape a life.

Credits

Hosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Sydney and Kiama, 14 April, 2026
Produced at the Kiama office, 14 - 28 April, 2026
Natural Genius Podcast https://naturalgenius.com.au

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Aprill Enright about moving through a sometimes murky transition from co-founder and operator to artist, creative partner, and a clearer new chapter.

Drawing on work across technology, customer operations, Knowledge Bird, startup investing, Tractor Ventures, and visual arts, Aprill shares how she has been reconnecting with art, rethinking what her skills are actually for, and bringing systems thinking and creative instinct back into one integrated identity.

They talk about personal rebranding, human design, career coaching, AI, art, and the practical value of many coffees when the future is still forming.

This episode explores:

• Growing up in a creative family and choosing science over art at school
• Building a career across technology, customer operations, knowledge management, and startup leadership
• Co-founding Tractor Ventures and the toll of extended ambiguity
• Career coaching, human design, and personal rebranding as tools for clarity
• Using AI to think more deeply, articulate intent, and support creative work

Guest bio:

Aprill Enright is a Melbourne-based artist and creative partner, NED, startup coach, and former co-founder of Tractor Ventures. Her background spans 13 years in technology and customer operations, 10 years as an independent knowledge management consultant through Knowledge Bird, and 13+ years as a startup investor. She is GAICD qualified, a Venture Catalyst alumna, and was recognised as Investor of the Year at the Governor of Victoria Startup Awards in 2023.

Guest links:

• Aprill Enright: https://aprillenright.com.au/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprillenright/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprill.enright/

Conversation references:

• Tractor Ventures: https://www.tractorventures.com/
• Knowledge Bird: https://knowledgebird.medium.com/
• National Gallery of Victoria: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/
• Jacqui Stockdale: https://www.jacquistockdale.com/
• Human Design: https://human.design/reports/free-report-3
• Claude: https://claude.com/product/overview

Chapters:

02:32 Art, science, and growing up in a creative family
04:38 Knowledge Bird, consulting, and building Tractor Ventures
08:19 Leaving the co-founder role and learning what her skills really are
15:50 Courage, ambiguity, and the shape of a new chapter
20:16 Family, vision, and creative lineage

Explore further:

• Book a Lab: https://naturalgenius.com.au
• Learn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.au
• Subscribe to hear future episodes.

About Natural Genius:

Natural Genius is a podcast and platform exploring how thoughtful people build meaningful lives, good work, and things that last. In conversation, ideas, qualities, and ways of being that help people access their natural genius come.

Credits:

Hosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Violet Town and Melbourne, 27 March, 2026.

Produced at the Violet Town and Kiama offices, 27 March - 25 April, 2026.

Natural Genius Podcast https://naturalgenius.com.au

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Peppie Simpson about the ocean as medicine, whale song, and what nature helps us remember.

A pioneer of women’s surfing in Australia, Peppie brings decades across surfing, swimming, teaching, ocean guiding, and whale and dolphin work in Noosa. This is a wide, heartfelt conversation about deep connection to water, nature as intelligence, and the ways whales, dolphins, and the ocean can open people back into feeling, steadiness, and wonder.

This episode explores:

• the ocean as medicine for the nervous system, body, and mind
• a life shaped by surfing, swimming, and deep relationship with water
• Hawaii, Joan Ocean, and extraordinary experiences with dolphins and whales
• whale song, dolphins, and animal communication
• nature as intelligence, subtle signals, and remembering who we are
• songlines, migration, and listening more closely to the natural world
• grandmothering, guidance, and simple ways of living well
• Noosa waterways, the Everglades, and connection to place

Guest bio:

Peppie Simpson is an ocean guide, surfer, swimmer, teacher, and lifelong water woman based in Noosa.

A pioneer of women’s surfing in Australia, she founded the Victorian Women’s Surfing Association, which later became the Australian Women’s Surfing Association. She is a 2x Australian surf champion, a multiple state surfing champion, a 4x world champion in surf life saving ironwoman and swim events, and was recently recognised with both an Australia Day Award for services to surfing and the Noosa Festival of Surfing, and the Spirit of Longboarding Award at the Australian Titles.

Through Whalesong Noosa, Peppie takes people onto the water to experience whales, dolphins, songs, and deep connection to nature. Her work also draws on decades of swimming, surf coaching, teaching babies and children in the water, time spent in Hawaii with spinner dolphins, and contributions to whale research.

Guest links:

• Peppie Simpson: https://www.instagram.com/peppiesimpson/

• Whalesong Noosa: https://whalesongsnoosa.com.au/

• Whalesong Noosa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whalesongsnoosa/

Conversation references:

• Peppie dives deep into dolphin research: https://noosatoday.com.au/news/13-01-2025/peppie-dives-deep-into-dolphin-research/

• Joan Ocean film: https://www.instagram.com/joanoceanfilm/

• Ocean Films: https://oceanfilms.vhx.tv/

• Pea Horsley: https://animalthoughts.com/

Books:

• Dolphin Connection - Joan Ocean

• Dolphins into the Future - Joan Ocean

• Whale Whisperer - Joan Ocean

• Heart to Heart - Pea Horsley

• Animal Communication Made Easy - Pea Horsley

Chapters:

00:54 Hawaii, Joan Ocean, and returning charged by the ocean

04:22 Dolphins, whales, and extraordinary moments

08:54 A life shaped by water, surfing, and Whalesong Noosa

11:44 The ocean as medicine

14:45 Dolphins, communication, and remembering who we are

20:50 Whale song, songlines, and nature’s intelligence

29:35 Grandmothering, guidance, and the Everglades

44:17 Love, focus, and being a dolphin in daily life

Explore further:

Book a Lab: https://naturalgenius.com.au

Learn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.au

Subscribe to hear future episodes.

About Natural Genius:

Natural Genius is a podcast hosted by Samantha Bell. Through thoughtful conversations with grounded, capable people, it explores how people build, lead, create, heal, and live in ways that are true to who they are, with greater signal and less noise.

Credits:

Hosted by Samantha Bell in Noosaville, 15 February, 2026 and Violet Town and Noosa, 1 April, 2026.

Produced at the Violet Town, Peregian Beach and Kiama offices, 15 February - 24 April, 2026.