Culture Capital

BlakCast Podcast Network
BlakCast Podcast Network

Where leadership meets lived experience. Prabha Nandagopal and Mundanara Bayles speak with the thinkers shaping the future - political leaders, changemakers, cultural icons and business innovators. Culture Capital explores power, influence and the people moving Australia forward with courage, nuance and deep cultural grounding.

Episodes

  1. Jul 14

    It's a Grift: Why Lisa Annese Says Men Are Being Sold a Lie About Women's Empowerment

    Want this conversation before anyone else? Become a BlakCast Patreon member for early access to new episodes, ad free listening, and exclusive bonus content. Join at Patreon.com/BlakCastNetwork Women get handed the top job when the company is in trouble. Men get it when things are going well. Lisa Annese knows exactly why women say yes anyway, and the answer is uncomfortable. Annese is the CEO of Chief Executive Women. Before that she spent a decade running the Diversity Council of Australia. She has spent thirty years building the evidence on who gets to lead in this country and who never gets the call, and she is not interested in polite explanations anymore. In this conversation with Mundanara Bayles and Prabha Nandagopal, she has some things to say about how the path to CEO was built, who it was built to exclude, and what is really going on behind the sudden corporate silence on diversity. As she puts it, the masks have come off. This one will make a few boardrooms uncomfortable. Good. Resources mentioned in this episode Professor Michelle Ryan, who coined the term "glass cliff" with Alex Haslam, is the inaugural Director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at ANU. Her research found that women are more likely to be appointed to leadership roles that are risky or precarious.Global Institute for Women's Leadership (ANU): https://giwl.anu.edu.auMichelle Ryan profile: https://giwl.anu.edu.au/about/michelle-ryan Chief Executive Women: https://cew.org.auCEW Senior Executive Census: https://cew.org.au/censusreportDiversity Council Australia: https://www.dca.org.auWorkplace Gender Equality Agency: https://www.wgea.gov.au If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  2. Jul 1

    Fascism Never Lasts Forever: Why Roxane Gay Says There's Nothing There to Sustain It

    Want this conversation before anyone else? Become a BlakCast Patreon member for early access to new episodes, ad free listening, and exclusive bonus content. Join at Patreon.com/BlakCastNetworkFascism never lasts forever. Because there's nothing there to sustain it. Just anger. In this episode of Culture Capital, Mundanara Bayles and Prabha Nandagopal sit down with one of the most important cultural voices of our time. Roxane Gay is a New York Times bestselling author, professor, and social commentator whose work has reshaped how the world thinks about feminism, power, and who gets to belong. What emerges is a conversation about who actually holds power, who gets blamed for the problems power creates, and why the whole system depends on people never looking in the right direction. Roxane doesn't offer comfort. She offers something better. Resources and LinksRoxane Gay — roxanegay.comRoxane Gay Books — http://roxanegay.com/books/Bad Feminist — available at all good bookstoresHunger — available at all good bookstoresDo The Work (with Megan Pillow) — available at all good bookstores If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  3. Jun 17

    237 Years of Resistance: What Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Wants You to Understand

    Want this conversation before anyone else? Become a BlakCast Patreon member for early access to new episodes, ad free listening, and exclusive bonus content. Join at Patreon.com/BlakCastNetworkHe leads Australia's national fight against racism and he's not afraid to say the system was built to exclude people like him. Giridharan Sivaraman became Race Discrimination Commissioner months after the Voice referendum failed. In this conversation he tells the true story of Fatima, a qualified engineer who never once heard a slur but was pushed out of the workforce by racism so structural she didn't even recognise it as racism. He explains why he opens every public appearance with an Acknowledgement of Country even though he isn't Aboriginal, why anti-Indian hate is now one of the fastest growing forms of racism in this country, and why he believes freedom from humiliation matters more than freedom of speech. This is a conversation about power, about who gets to belong, and about what it actually takes to dismantle a system built to keep some people out. Resources and LinksNational Anti-Racism Framework — humanrights.gov.auRacism at Universities report — Australian Human Rights CommissionStan Grant, "The Australian Dream" speechRacial Justice Centre — racialjusticecentre.au If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  4. May 26

    He Runs a Global Engineering Empire. Here's Why Gender Equity Keeps Him Up at Night.

    James Phillis is Chief Executive of SJ Group's global Infrastructure and Energy Business Line and one of Australia's most respected voices on gender equity in male-dominated industries. With over 35 years leading complex engineering businesses, he brings a refreshingly direct perspective to a conversation many CEOs still sidestep. In this episode of Culture Capital, he sits down with Mundanara Bayles and Prabha Nandagopal to talk about what actually moves men from bystanders to allies, why targets matter more than quotas, and how to bring resistant male colleagues along for the ride. He's honest about where he's slipped up, clear about where the industry still has a long way to go, and unequivocal about one thing - this is a personal responsibility, not a HR agenda. This is leadership accountability without the corporate spin. EPISODE RESOURCES Guest James Phillis - Chief Executive, Infrastructure and Energy, SJ Group (SMEC) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/james-phillis-3174184 SMEC: smec.com Organisations Mentioned Consult Australia Champions of Change Group - A coalition of CEOs across the design, advisory and engineering sector committed to gender equality. James was previously Chair. consultaustralia.com.au/home/policy/champions-of-change Champions of Change Coalition - The broader coalition that the Consult Australia group sits within. Publishes annual progress reports. championsofchangecoalition.org Programs Mentioned Cultivate Sponsorship Program - SMEC's internal program pairing senior leaders with high potential women to actively sponsor their careers. Now expanding globally.  If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  5. Apr 23

    "No Job Is Worth Suffering For": The Unfiltered Truth About Toxic Workplaces

    When a workplace scandal hits the headlines, leaders are quick to blame a few bad apples.But what if the rot goes all the way to the roots? In this powerful episode, Prabha and Mundanara sit down with one of Australia's most respected experts in organisational culture and integrity for a candid, unflinching conversation about what's really going on inside our workplaces. With over two decades leading cultural reviews at some of Australia's most high-profile institutions — including Qantas, Rio Tinto, the NSW Parliament, and the Australian music industry — Alexandria Shehadie has sat across the table from the broken, the silenced, and the powerful. And she's not pulling any punches. Together they explore why so many organisations get cultural reform dangerously wrong, why racism remains the most under-acknowledged harm in Australian workplaces today, and why middle management are the true keepers of culture — for better or worse. Plus, practical advice for leaders hitting a wall with resistance, and what to do if you're the one suffering inside a toxic workplace right now. This is not theory. It's lived leadership. Resources Safe Work Australia — https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au Australian Human Rights Commission — https://humanrights.gov.au Fair Work Commission — https://www.fwc.gov.au Gari Yala 2 (Speak the Truth) — https://www.uts.edu.au/about/faculties/business/research/centre-for-indigenous-people-and-work-cipw/gari-yala-2 Racism@Uni (Respect at Uni) — https://humanrights.gov.au/resource-hub/by-resource-type/projects2/study-racism-australian-universities If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  6. Apr 22

    The AI Arms Race Is a Lie — And HR is Paying the Price

    Aubrey Blanche is an ethical technology executive, director at the Ethics Centre, and founder of The MathPath — and she's not here to sell you on AI. She's here to tell you what no one in a sponsored webinar ever will. In this episode, Aubrey unpacks why the pressure to adopt AI fast is largely a marketing play, how people and culture leaders are being put in the firing line without the training to protect themselves or their people, and why doing nothing isn't neutral — it's actively choosing to allow discrimination into your workplace. We go deep on algorithmic bias in hiring (including the cautionary tale of Amazon's resume-sorting disaster), the legal risks of dropping candidate data into ChatGPT, and why the companies announcing "AI-driven" layoffs may actually just be covering for bad financial decisions with a flashy press release. We also explore the colonial logics baked into AI systems, what "women lagging in AI adoption" actually tells us, and why Aubrey's graduate research on the eugenics-adjacent beliefs of the AI elite might just keep you up at night. If you're a P&C leader trying to figure out where to start — and what traps to avoid — this is the episode you need. RESOURCES & LINKS Aubrey Blanche Website & Consultancy (The MathPath): aubreyblanche.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adblanche The Ethics Centre ethics.org.au Aubrey is a Director here — they offer consulting, events, and free ethics courses EthicAI (Australia) Website: ethicai.au TikTok: @ethicai_au — Aubrey's top recommendation for accessible, critical AI analysis Book Mentioned Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back by Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias — available via Amazon or your local bookshop Australian Government AI Resources Guidance for AI Adoption: industry.gov.au/publications/guidance-for-ai-adoption Australia's AI Ethics Principles: industry.gov.au/publications/australias-ai-ethics-principles If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  7. Apr 16

    Beyond the Boardroom: What Happens When Culture Isn't Just a Report

    This episode of Culture Capital is proudly supported by BlackCard — 60,000 years of history and knowledge, alive in the present. BlackCard is a 100% Aboriginal-owned cultural capability consultancy, co-founded by Mundanara Bayles and Dr Lilla Watson, and grounded in Elder knowledge. Their eLearning platform makes culturally grounded learning accessible to individuals and organisations across Australia. Culture Capital listeners get an exclusive discount on BlackCard's eLearning — use promo code AICD26 at theblackcard.com.au What does it actually take to govern something you can't see? In this episode of Culture Capital, hosts Prabha Nandagopal and Mandanara Bayles sit down with Mark Rigotti — Managing Director and CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), and former Global CEO of Herbert Smith Freehills — for a conversation that is equal parts honest, challenging, and deeply practical. Mark doesn't come with a glossy playbook. He comes with hard-won lessons from leading across 25 countries, navigating cultural complexity in real time, and sitting inside some of Australia's most influential boardrooms. And what he's learned? Culture isn't a standing agenda item. It's everything. Together, they unpack the gap between the culture on the wall and the culture in the room — and what boards, CEOs, and leaders at every level can actually do about it. This is a conversation for anyone who sits on a board, leads a team, or has ever wondered why culture initiatives are always the first thing cut when the numbers get tight — and why that might be the most expensive decision an organisation ever makes. "Whenever there's been a problem, you can almost always find a thick black line back to a problem with the culture." — Mark Rigotti FURTHER READING & RESOURCES About Our Guest 🔗 Mark Rigotti — MD & CEO, AICD: aicd.com.au/about-aicd/authors-speakers/n-t/mark-rigotti.html 🔗 Mark Rigotti on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/markrigotti About Your Hosts 🔗 Prabha Nandagopal — Founder, Elevate Consulting Partners & SafeSpace@elevate: linkedin.com/in/prabha-nandagopal 🔗 Mundanara Bayles — MD, BlackCard: linkedin.com/in/mundanara-bayles AICD Programs Mentioned 🔗 AICD Chair's Mentoring Program (now open to First Nations & culturally diverse women): aicd.com.au/courses-and-programs/all-programs/chairs-mentoring-program.html 🔗 AICD First Nations Director Scholarship Program: aicd.com.au/organisational-culture/business-ethics/change/first-nations-director-scholarship-program.html 🔗 AICD Board Diversity resources & Watermark Index: aicd.com.au/about-aicd/governance-and-policy-leadership/board-diversity.html Legislation & Regulation Referenced 🔗 The Positive Duty — Australian Human Rights Commission: humanrights.gov.au/know-your-rights/rights-of-individuals/workplace-rights/positive-duty-sex-discrimination-act 🔗 Respect@Work — the landmark national inquiry that informed the legislation: humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/projects/respectwork-sexual-harassment-national-inquiry If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  8. Apr 12

    Leading at the Highest Level of Government

    In this episode of Culture Capital, we sit down with the Honourable Linda Burney, former Australian Minister for Indigenous Australians, to explore what leadership looks like inside one of the country’s most powerful institutions. Drawing on over two decades in politics, Linda reflects on workplace culture within Parliament, the realities of power, and the behaviours that would never be accepted in any other workplace — yet continue to persist. This conversation goes beyond politics. It’s about responsibility, identity, and what it truly means to lead. From challenging inequity and cultural load to redefining leadership as care, connection, and collective vision, Linda shares the lessons that shaped her — and what must change if workplaces are to become safer, fairer, and more accountable for everyone. Further Reading & References The First Australians https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/first-australians Dark Emu https://www.magabala.com/products/dark-emu If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  9. Mar 24

    From Military to Leading a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company

    What happens when leadership is forged in environments where authority is absolute — and later tested in workplaces where culture is far more complex? In this first guest episode of Culture Capital, Mundanara Bayles and Prabha Nandagopal are joined by cybersecurity leader and former military officer Jacqui Kernot. Drawing on nearly three decades across defence, intelligence, technology and government, Jackie shares what she’s learned about power, allyship, high-performance teams and why workplace culture is not a “soft” issue — but a leadership risk with real consequences. Together, they unpack the hidden pressures faced by women in leadership, the uncomfortable work required to build truly inclusive teams, and how emerging technologies like AI are reshaping both risk and opportunity inside organisations. It’s a conversation about courage, clarity and what it really takes to lead when the stakes are high. Resources & Links Females in Information Technology & Telecommunications (FITT) https://fitt.org.au Australian Information Security Association (AISA) https://www.aisa.org.au UNICEF Australia https://www.unicef.org.au eSafety Commissioner (Australia) https://www.esafety.gov.au Further Reading — Brené Brown (Leadership & Vulnerability) https://brenebrown.com If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  10. Mar 11

    Leadership When It Matters Most — Introducing Culture Capital

    What really makes or breaks culture in the workplace? In the very first episode of Culture Capital, hosts Prabha Nandagopal and Mundanara Bayles introduce the ideas, experiences, and leadership moments that will shape this podcast. Together, they explore why culture is not a set of corporate slogans or values on a wall — but something revealed when leadership is tested. Through personal stories, reflections on identity and career, and insights from decades of experience across business, community, media, and governance, Prabha and Mundanara set the tone for honest conversations about what it means to lead with accountability, courage, and clarity. Culture Capital is about real decisions, real consequences, and the people shaping workplaces across Australia — from boardrooms to classrooms and beyond. If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures. Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  11. Trailer

    Introducing "Culture Capital"

    Where leadership meets lived experience. Prabha Nandagopal & Mundanara Bayles speak with the thinkers shaping the future - political leaders, changemakers, cultural icons and business innovators. Culture Capital explores power, influence and the people moving Australia forward with courage, nuance and deep cultural grounding. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Where leadership meets lived experience. Prabha Nandagopal and Mundanara Bayles speak with the thinkers shaping the future - political leaders, changemakers, cultural icons and business innovators. Culture Capital explores power, influence and the people moving Australia forward with courage, nuance and deep cultural grounding.

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