Freedom Matters Freedom

Chris Bailey is an author and lecturer who explores the science behind living a deeper, more intentional life. He is the international bestselling author of How to Calm Your Mind, Hyperfocus, and The Productivity Project—which have been published in 35 languages around the world. He is also the author of the Audible Original, How to Train Your Mind.

Alongside his wife, Chris is the host of the podcast Time and Attention, and writes a weekly column at ChrisBailey.com, which is read by tens of thousands of people every week. In addition to his writing, Chris speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more productive, without hating the process. His latest TED Talk, How to Get Your Brain to Focus, has been viewed over 13 million times.

However, it took an on-stage panic attack for productivity expert Chris to recognize how critical it is to invest in calm at the same time that we invest in becoming more productive. Productivity advice works—and we need it now more than ever—but it’s just as vital that we develop our capacity for calm. By finding calm and overcoming anxiety, we don’t just feel more comfortable in our own mind—we build a deeper, more expansive reservoir of energy to draw from throughout the day.

Today we dive into his most recently book, How to Calm Your Mind, to understand the difference between anxiety and calm, why calm is so powerful and importantly, how crucially, how to find it.




You can find out more about Chris here: https://chrisbailey.com


Purchase the book, How to Calm your Mind here: https://chrisbailey.com/how-to-calm-your-mind/
Or purchase the burnout assessment here:  A Two-Minute Burnout Checkup



Host and Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Georgie Powell⁠⁠⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠⁠⁠Toccare⁠⁠⁠ 

In this episode we speak with Henry Ajder, a globally recognised advisor, speaker, and broadcaster working at the frontier of the generative AI and synthetic media revolution. Henry’s work has transformed society’s understanding of deepfakes and generative AI.

He has led pioneering research at organisations including MIT, WITNESS, and Sensity AI, influencing international legislation and corporate AI strategy.

A "deep fake cartographer", henry's work has mapped the emergence and evolution of generative technologies and the impact that they have on our lives.

In this episode we discuss:


the current fear around how these technologies are evolving,
many of the use cases of Generative AI, and the consequences of those use cases,
some of the technological solutions for managing generative AI platforms,
what users can do to ensure that they use the tools in a productive and reliable way.

More about Henry:

Henry presented the BBC documentary series, The Future will be Synthesised, and regularly features in global media including The New York Times, MIT Tech Review, CNN, Reuters, and The Financial Times. He has been published by outlets including WIRED, The Next Web, NYU, and The World AI Summit.

Previously, Henry led Synthetic Futures, the first initiative dedicated to ethical generative AI and metaverse technologies, bringing together over 50 industry-leading organisations.

An established keynote speaker and guest expert, Henry has spoken at venues including SXSW, CogX, The University of Oxford, and Adweek and advises organisations on the opportunities and challenges these game-changing technologies present, including Meta, The European Commission, BBC, The Partnership on AI, and The House of Lords.



Henry Ajder

BBC Radio 4 - The Future Will Be Synthesised



Host and Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Georgie Powell⁠⁠⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠⁠⁠Toccare⁠⁠⁠ 

Over the past decade, companies have invested more and more in employee wellbeing. And yet, in recent years, employees perceptions that their companies care about their wellbeing has fallen rapidly. Why is the increase in spend not translating to improved employee wellbeing, and what can be done about it?

This week, I'm in conversation with the Tyler Rice, who is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Digital Wellness Institute. As a leading digital wellness innovator, Tyler’s work focuses on designing new tools, training, and data measurements to drive awareness of the importance of digital wellbeing for enterprise clients.

Today, we'll be discussing workplace wellbeing, and how to create a culture where digital wellbeing can flourish. We explore:


investment in wellbeing and why that hasn't paid off,
how to put in place changes to encourage workplace wellbeing,
and we touch on the implications of generative AI for the way we work.

If you want to learn more about the digital wellbeing institute, then support us and them on Digital Wellness Day, on the 5th of May, by joining our free virtual co-working session, powered by Caveday. You can register here: https://www.caveday.org/freedomcave



Find out more:

Digitally Well Workplaces: https://www.digitalwellnessinstitute.com/workplaces

Digitally Well Workplace Certification: https://www.digitalwellnessinstitute.com/certifiedworkplaces



Host and Producer: ⁠⁠Georgie Powell⁠⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠⁠Toccare⁠⁠ 

It is impossible to ignore the rapid rise and adoption of Generative AI programs, like chat GPT and Midjourney. At Freedom, we are fascinated with the conversation about whether these tools will support or undermine digital wellbeing and productivity, and the impact that they will have for the future of work. The likelihood is that it will depend a lot on how thoughtfully we use them.

In this episode we welcome consumer psychologist, Dr Paul Marsden, to discuss this very issue. As a positive psychologist, he believes that technology should be designed to support the ARC of happiness, and that there is huge potential for the positive application of generative AI. We are no longer in a situation where AI will simply replace menial, repetitive tasks; it is being proven to be incredibly creative.

We discuss:


Autonomy, Relatedness and Competency in technology
The rise of generative AI, it's creative applications and how it is beating humans
How generative AI provides insight into the human psyche
The place for generative AI and how we can use it for good.

Dr Paul Marsden (CPsychol) is a consultant psychologist specialising on the psychological effects of technology on we think, feel and behave. Paul works with businesses to help them understand how tech transforms people’s expectations, relationships and experiences. Paul appeared as himself in the 2022 award-winning movie ‘I am Gen Z’ - a documentary film on teens, tech and wellbeing, and has recently completed a study for WPP digital agency, SYZYGY, on how people feel and respond to new AI technology like ChatGPT.



Learn more about Paul and his work:

Imagine: Public Perceptions of Generative AI in Germany (Survey on the Public Perceptions of Generative AI in Germany - SYZYGY GROUP)I am Gen Z: I Am Gen Z (I Am Gen Z)Website: digitalwellbeing.org



Host and Producer: ⁠Georgie Powell⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠Toccare⁠ 

Silence isn’t just the absence of noise. It’s a presence that brings us energy, clarity, and deeper connection.

In this episode, we meet with Justin Zorn & Leigh Marz, to discuss just this. Their book, Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise, explores the meaning of silence and the art of finding it in any situation. The book reveals how to go beyond the ordinary rules and tools of mindfulness. It’s a field guide for navigating the noise of the modern world—not just the noise in our ears, but also on our screens and in our heads.

Drawing on lessons from neuroscience, business, spirituality, politics, and the arts, Marz and Zorn explore why auditory, informational, and internal silence is essential for physical health, mental clarity, ecological sustainability, and vibrant community.

In this episode we discuss:


what silence means to an individual
why it is so important
how to find silence in your life and work.

Justin Talbot Zorn has served as both a policymaker and a meditation teacher in the U.S. Congress. A Harvard- and Oxford-trained specialist in the economics and psychology of well-being, Justin has written for the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, Wired, CNN, and other publications. He is cofounder of Astrea Strategies, a consultancy that bridges contemplation and action, helping leaders and teams envision and communicate solutions to complex challenges. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife and three children.

Leigh Marz is a collaboration consultant and leadership coach for major universities, corporations, and federal agencies as well as a longtime student of pioneering researchers and practitioners of the ritualized use of psychedelic medicines in the West. In her professional work, she has led diverse initiatives, including a training program to promote an experimental mindset among teams at NASA and a decade-long cross-sector collaboration to reduce toxic chemicals in products in partnership with the Green Science Policy Institute, Harvard, IKEA, Google, and Kaiser Permanente. She is the co-founder of Astrea Strategies. Leigh lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband and daughter.

You can find Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise at Amazon, Bookshop.org  or anywhere you buy books.

For audiophiles, we highly recommend the Audible audio book —read by Prentice Onayemi.

For recent media and articles written by Justin and Leigh, go to Golden Media.

If you’d like to learn more about Justin and Leigh’s consulting work with Astrea Strategies—helping individuals and organizations address challenges and communicate solutions from a deeper place of attention and centeredness—you can find them at astreastrategies.com

If you’d like to learn more about Jarvis Jay Masters, a primary teacher in the book, and his appeal for his freedom—please visit freejarvis.org.

Host and Producer: Georgie Powell 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | Toccare 

In this episode we speak with Gloria Mark. Gloria is Chancellor's professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. She received her PhD from Columbia University in Psychology and studies the impact of digital media on people's lives. Her new book, Attention Span is the culmination of years of research, understanding attention, distraction, and how to live with digital devices.

In this episode, we discussed the important arguments of her book:



that there are different states of attention
controversially, that a flow state is not always optimal nor achievable
that different people are more or less susceptible to distractions, and,
that it's not just our devices that are degrading our attention spans.

Finally, we discuss a number of ways in which we can reclaim control over our valuable attention.

Find out more about Gloria and order her book here: www.gloriamark.com

Follow her on social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriamark/
@gloriamark_phd

Freedom Matters Host and Producer: Georgie Powell https://www.sentientdigitalconsulting.com

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | Toccare https://spoti.fi/3bN4eqO