What happens when a story crosses a border? Can it also help us move beyond our own boundaries?

In the first episode of season four of Our World, Connected, host Christine Wilson speaks with Elif Shafak about belonging, memory and the power of literature in divided times. Elif recalls on how, as a solitary child moving across cultures, she found both freedom and friendship in a place called “Storyland”. As now as an adult reflecting on a polarised world, she reflects on how stories can take us beyond ourselves, challenge divisions between “us” and “them”, and act as an “antidote to apathy”.

We also hear from Deepa Bhasthi, writer and translator of Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp, winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize. Deepa explores translation as a creative act and asks what is lost when distinctive voices and ways of seeing the world are “smoothed” for English-speaking readers.

Together, Elif and Deepa make the case for stories as a form of connection across languages, cultures and borders. In a world of polarisation and information overload, they ask how literature can keep us curious, compassionate and open to lives different from our own.

Listen to Our World, Connected, the award-winning podcast from the British Council, exploring culture, communication and the power of collaboration in a changing world.🏆 Winner of Gold for Thought Leadership at the 2025 Signal Awards.

Additional Resources:

Elif Shafak website

https://www.elifsafak.com.tr/home

Take 10 to Read campaign

https://www.britishcouncil.org/take-10-global-record-attempt

Our work in literature

https://arts.britishcouncil.org/what-we-do/literature

Our World, Connected, the award-winning podcast from the British Council, is back for season four. Join host Christine Wilson, Director of Research and Insight, as she meets experts and changemakers from around the world to discuss the most pressing issues of our time. Hear big ideas and personal stories about what connects us: from stories across borders to AI and the changing nature of soft power.

Follow Our World, Connected to be the first to hear the new season.

In this episode of Our World, Connected, host Christine Wilson speaks with Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Together, they explore why we need a new way of thinking about economic growth, one that places creativity, culture and the common good at the heart of prosperity. They discuss the role of governments in shaping innovation, why arts and culture should be seen as essential public infrastructure, the role of imagination, and how new measures of success could help build more sustainable, inclusive economies.

We also hear from Ojoma Ochai, Managing Director and CEO of CC Hub Group and co-founder of the Creative Economy Practice at CC Hub in Nigeria. Reflecting on nearly two decades working across technology, innovation and the creative industries, Ojoma shares how Nigeria's creative economy has become a powerful source of opportunity, identity and global influence, and why creativity and digital transformation are increasingly inseparable.

This episode explores how culture can drive both social and economic innovation, strengthen communities (not just the top 1% earners), and help shape economies that create lasting public value. It asks what prosperity should practically really mean in the 21st century, and why culture is crucial if we are to place Public Value at the centre of defining the future we build together.

Listen to Our World, Connected, the award-winning podcast from the British Council, exploring culture, communication, and the power of collaboration in a changing world.

Further resources:

Mariana Mazzucato, author of the “The Common Good Economy: A New Compass”

https://marianamazzucato.com/

The Missing Foundation: Culture’s place within and beyond the SDGs

https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-insight/missing-foundation-report

Our work in the creative economy

https://arts.britishcouncil.org/what-we-do/creative-economy