This episode of The New Abnormal features Lourdes Rodriguez, a Strategic Foresight Consultant with the European Commission and Co Exec Director at Teach the Future.

With a background in Psychology, her work has been focused on trends research and foresight for more than 15 years, and she's therefore deeply experienced in discovering new signal of change and seeds of the future in the present.

Lourdes is currently also doing a Master’s in Cyber Politics and Government, as she's interested in learning more about the impact of emerging technology in a geopolitical context, how it could affect our governments, our democracies and ultimately, our lives.

You'll understand why Forbes magazine describes her as 'one of the best futurists in Spain' as she describes her past career and current activity in our conversation.

So...I hope you enjoy the discussion!

Series Five

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Marie Stafford, Global Director (Intelligence) at VML. She's a strategic foresight consultant skilled in creating inspiring future narratives, transforming futures insights and trends into commercial opportunity across a top tier multinational client portfolio.

Specialised in foresight at the intersection of consumers, culture and innovation, Marie is also a seasoned speaker and panellist cited in outlets like the FT and New York Times.

In this episode, she discusses the latest 'Future 100' from VML (the renowned industry report that examines key trends from around the world, and features interviews with a range of sector experts) along with her take on dynamic issues illuminated at the recent SXSW London.

So, if you're interested in listening to the views of an industry-expert across a range of subjects from Sharing to Solitude and from Pets to Architecture...enjoy!

Series Five

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Peter Cunliffe-Jones, visiting researcher at the University of Westminster and Director of Facts Matter Research, a misinformation research and strategy consultancy, where he advises organisations in effective ways to both counter the harmful consequences of misinformation and protect wider freedom of speech.

Peter started his career as a news journalist for the AFP new agency - working for more than 20 years in Europe, Africa and Asia. He reported from Bosnia and Croatia on the last year of war and first 12 months of peace, from Nigeria on the end of decades of military rule, oversaw the agency's coverage of the Asian tsunami, developed its online news services. In 2012, he founded Africa Check, the African continent's first independent fact-checking organisation, which operates in South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya.

He's also run training courses for fact-checkers in countries from Afghanistan to Myanmar, worked as a strategic adviser to the Arab Fact-Checkers network, which seeks to foster nonpartisan fact-checking in the Arab world, and served on the Safety Advisory Council for TikTok in Africa.

His new book is called "Fake News - what's the harm?" and presents four dynamic ideas for fact-checkers, policymakers and platforms on the challenge of information disorder.

In our conversation, Peter discusses all of the above and more, in what I hope you’ll agree is a fascinating episode. So – enjoy!