Radical Truth

Robert Rubinstein
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

Radical Truth is a podcast produced by TBLI Group and hosted by Robert Rubinstein. TBLI is making the financial system work for all. Our podcast cover the wide range of ESG and Impact Investing topics. What it is? Why is it booming? Is it really helping? Is Impact regenerative in nature? How will climate change impact investments? There will be regular interviews with thought leaders, some known and some not known, but all brilliant and we will have engaging conversations with all of them. Let’s make the financial system work for all. This is Radical Truth. Visit https://tblicircle.com/

  1. From Family Retail Empire to Impact Investor: Stephen Brenninkmeijer

    6d ago

    From Family Retail Empire to Impact Investor: Stephen Brenninkmeijer

    What does it take to walk away from a global retail dynasty and redirect your wealth toward healing the planet? Stephen Brenninkmeijer did exactly that — and in this episode, he tells us how.In this episode of TBLI Radical Truth, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Stephen Brenninkmeijer, private investor and founder of Willows Investments, to explore his remarkable journey from family business leader to pioneering impact investor.💡 What you'll learn:How a 30-year career in global retail (C&A across the USA, Japan, England, and Europe) shaped Stephen's investment philosophyWhy he pivoted to strategic impact investing in 2002 — and what triggered that shiftHow Willows Investments identifies and supports ventures with a genuine social missionStephen's perspective on climate change, education, and where impact capital is most needed todayAbout Stephen Brenninkmeijer:Stephen Brenninkmeijer is a private investor focused on climate change, impact investing, and education. For three decades, he held senior roles in C&A, one of the world's largest family-owned retail businesses. Since founding Willows Investments in 2008, he has backed promising ventures that put social mission at the centre of their model. About TBLI Radical Truth Podcast:Every week, host Robert Rubinstein brings you honest, unfiltered conversations with the investors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are doing the real work of repairing the global financial system — through impact, intention, and radical accountability. 🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes#ImpactInvesting #ClimateInvesting #SocialEntrepreneur #WillowsInvestments #ESG #ImpactFinance #TBLI #SustainableInvesting #PhilanthropicCapital #PurposeDrivenBusiness #radicaltruth

    1h 4m
  2. How pension funds integrate ESG and impact investing | Denise Le Gal, Brunel

    Jun 1

    How pension funds integrate ESG and impact investing | Denise Le Gal, Brunel

    Can a pension fund managing £30 billion in public money genuinely integrate ESG and impact investing — without sacrificing returns?Denise Le Gal, Chair of Brunel Pension Partnership, says yes. And she has the results to prove it.Brunel is one of eight national Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pools in the UK, bringing together the investments of 10 like-minded funds. In this episode of TBLI Talk, Denise shares what responsible investing looks like at institutional scale — and why managing financial, environmental, social, and governance risk is no longer optional for pension funds.In this episode:• Why pension funds can no longer ignore ESG risk in their investment strategy• How Brunel pools £30 billion to drive responsible investing at scale• The real challenges of integrating impact into a public pension mandate• What other pension funds and institutional investors can learn from Brunel's approach• How ESG integration protects beneficiaries — and the planetAbout Denise Le Gal:Denise is Chair of Brunel Pension Partnership Limited, one of the UK's leading responsible investment institutions. A recognised thought leader in sustainable finance, she brings deep expertise in governance, fiduciary duty, and long-term value creation.About TBLI Radical Truth:TBLI Group is the world's leading ESG and impact investing network — educating, advising, and connecting investors for 25 years. TBLI Talk: Knowledge that Inspires.Website: https://tbligroup.comYoutube: https://youtu.be/fPQwM5f5nsE#PensionFund #ESGInvesting #ResponsibleInvesting #BrunelPensionPartnership #DeniseLegal #ImpactInvesting #LGPS #SustainableFinance #TBLI #TBLITalk #InstitutionalInvesting #ESG #Governance #SustainableInvesting #PensionFundESG

    1h 1m

  3. May 28

    The $91 Million Math Problem: Why Finance Funds "Future Forests" While Real Ones Burn

    Why did a consortium of the world's most risk-averse institutions—including the World Bank Treasury, BNP Paribas, and Amazon—just pour $91 million into a forest that does not yet exist? In this episode, Robert exposes the bizarre, inverted logic of modern climate finance. We break down the strange math behind a massive cross-border deal funding 50,000 hectares of "future forest" in South Africa at a staggering $1,820 per hectare—all while existing, high-integrity ecosystems are left to burn because they don't fit the financial sector's securitisation models. Discover the structural flaw at the heart of the Restoration vs. Conservation debate. Wall Street and corporate giant offtake buyers have fallen in love with a photogenic future asset class while entirely ignoring the cheap, fast, and unglamorous work of protecting the standing forests we already have. This is an unfiltered look at the performative arithmetic driving today's green bond and carbon market landscape. The $91 Million Deal: A look inside the capital stack involving the World Bank Treasury, sovereign wealth, and corporate offtakes like Amazon. Future Forests vs. Existing Ecosystems: The dangerous financial incentive structures that value hypothetical future trees over standing, high-biodiversity primary forests. The Securitisation Trap: Why institutional finance is obsessed with funding risky, long-term restoration projects instead of deploying immediate capital to conservation. A Financial Reality Check: Deconstructing Amazon's own celebratory data to show the deep contradictions in "risk-averse" climate investing. #ClimateFinance #GreenBonds #CarbonMarkets #NatureBasedSolutions #ConservationFinance #WorldBank #Amazon #ESG #SustainableFinance #Greenwashing #RadicalTruth

    13 min

  4. May 27

    Grassroots Over Big Capital: Lessons from an Upset Election Victory

    How does a true political underdog come from absolute obscurity to win the election for Mayor of New York City, defying every expert who said it was impossible? In this reflective episode, recorded on a brilliant Indian Summer day along the canals of Amsterdam, Robert looks back at his roots as a Brooklyn kid to unpack the monumental upset victory of Zohran Mamdani. This isn’t just a conversation about politics; it’s an exploration of the heavy lifting, unglamorous street-level work, and sheer structural grid-shifting required to build real grassroots change in America today. Robert dissects a singular, haunting image: a young assemblyman standing on Fordham Road in the Bronx with a handwritten sign, ignored by passersby, putting in the invisible work that nobody celebrates but few are willing to do. Discover what this historic win says about the changing face of modern leadership, systemic resilience, and why the real work of transformation always begins long before the crowds finally show up. The Anatomy of an Upset: How Zohran Mamdani overcame institutional inertia and massive financial blockades to capture the soul of New York City. The Invisible Heavy Lifting: Why real systemic change is never built on flashy marketing or performative announcements, but on unglamorous, solo work in the trenches. A Brooklyn Kid's Perspective: Connecting the lessons of grassroots community building back to structural problems in global institutions and finance. The America We Are Becoming: What this victory signals about the shifting appetite for authentic, bold, and untraditional leadership. #ZohranMamdani #NYCMayor #UnderdogWin #GrassrootsMovement #NewYorkCity #SystemicChange #BrooklynRoots #PoliticalUpset #HeavyLifting #RadicalTruth

    18 min
  5. Arvind Narula: 3 Decades of Impact Investing in Organic Agriculture | TBLI

    May 26

    Arvind Narula: 3 Decades of Impact Investing in Organic Agriculture | TBLI

    How do you lift the poorest farmers out of poverty while building a world-class business? 🌾 On the latest TBLI Radical Truth podcast, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Arvind Narula, Chairman & Founder of the Urmatt Group. With 30+ years pioneering organic agriculture across Thailand, Argentina, and Laos, Arvind drops unfiltered wisdom on what it actually takes to scale purpose-driven businesses in frontier markets. 🌱 What you'll learn: Raising Capital: The brutal do’s and don'ts for social entrepreneurs. Team Building: Who to hire (and who to avoid) in emerging markets. Risk Management: Why you can't fully de-risk a project—and how to stay resilient. 🎙️ About the Podcast:TBLI Radical Truth cuts through the noise of mainstream finance. Hosted by Robert Rubinstein, it delivers unfiltered conversations and radical honesty from the changemakers repairing the global financial system through genuine impact investing. 👇 Listen & Subscribe:🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tbliconference🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3h3sUhuclxb2BETNEXY1mN?si=15980bb71561420b #ImpactInvesting #OrganicAgriculture #SocialEntrepreneur #FrontierMarkets #ESG #Sustainability #TBLIRadicalTruth

    1h 1m

  6. May 25

    Pledges vs. Capital Flows: Exposing the Structure of Extractive Finance

    Why, after decades of high-profile "impact" conferences and trillions in capital pledges, have the underlying mechanics of the financial system barely moved? In this episode, recorded in the run-up to the PEI Impact Investor Global Summit in London, Robert delivers a sharp, structural critique of why the financial system aggressively resists working for all stakeholders. Every year, asset owners, pension fund CIOs, and global elites gather in Davos, Monaco, and New York to sign stewardship pledges and print glossy sustainability reports—yet on Monday morning, the capital flows exactly where it always has. We don't have a failure of awareness; we are drowning in awareness. We have a failure of structure. Discover why the same extractive industries get funded while regenerative entrepreneurs get a polite "no," and learn what it will actually take to shift the real plumbing of global finance. This is the audiobook version of Robert's urgent call to action. The Conference Ritual: Why the annual cycle of inspiration at events like the PEI Impact Investor Global Summit results in business-as-usual capital allocation. Awareness vs. Structure: Moving past "purpose drives profit" slogans to look at the structural blockades keeping money trapped in extractive finance. The Monday Morning Reality: Why fossil-fuel pipelines get refinanced while high-integrity, regenerative solutions are left out in the cold. Fixing the Plumbing: What a real structural shift in the global financial architecture looks like. #PEIImpact #ImpactInvestor #FinancialSystem #RegenerativeFinance #SustainableFinance #CapitalFlows #ESG #ClimateFinance #SystemicChange #RadicalTruth

    15 min

  7. May 22

    Radical Truth: Shaking Up the Elite "Impact Mafia"

    Have the global financial elite invented an entirely new way to feel good about themselves while doing absolutely nothing to fix the system? In this episode, Robert exposes The Impact Mafia—the exclusive club of high-net-worth individuals and fund managers using the beautiful language of "impact investing" as a convenient smokescreen. We look past the $5,000 suits, the champagne galas, and the high-minded rhetoric to pull back the curtain on what is frequently just an accountability facade designed to protect capital while performing virtue. This episode is a direct adaptation from the upcoming book, Radical Truth. It’s an unfiltered, unapologetic look at how the financial sector replaced systemic change with performative metrics. If you are tired of the "Impact Theater" and want to talk about true non-extractive finance, this conversation is for you. The Impact Mafia Defined: Who they are, how they operate, and why the current system rewards virtue signaling over actual social and environmental outcomes. The Ultimate Smokescreen: How the beautiful terminology of sustainable finance is used to obscure business-as-usual wealth accumulation. Radical Truth: Moving past the elite comfort zone to spark a disruptive, honest conversation about where capital actually flows. #ImpactInvesting #TheImpactMafia #RadicalTruth #SustainableFinance #ESG #Greenwashing #ImpactTheater #CorporateEthics #WealthManagement #FinancialSystemicChange #NonExtractiveFinance

    45 min

  8. May 21

    Niceness is Killing the Planet: ESG, Greenwashing, and Radical Truth

    A high-powered banker walks away from a massive salary and a prestigious title. Why? Because he realized he was optimizing spreadsheets for people strip-mining the planet, and he wanted true, nature-based solutions. In this episode, Robert breaks down why the financial industry’s obsession with being "nice" is actually fueling the climate crisis. We dive into the critical difference between Conservation vs. Restoration, and why we continue to fund the wrong environmental solutions because the right ones can’t be securitised. Using a powerful distinction inspired by Simon Sinek and Trevor Noah, Robert explains why niceness is a performance, but kindness is a posture. Discover how conflict-avoidance, performative ESG metrics, and polite greenwashing in the wealth management space are deferring catastrophic costs to the next generation. It’s time to trade comfortable politeness for radical honesty. The Great Escape: Why top-tier financial professionals are leaving banking for true nature-based solutions and big purpose. Conservation vs. Restoration: Why we fall in love with photogenic restoration while ignoring fast, cheap, and unglamorous conservation. Kindness vs. Niceness: Why "nice" is conflict-avoidance dressed up as virtue, and why finance is the most aggressively nice (and quietly cruel) profession on Earth. The Frictionless Economy: How performative arithmetic and ESG reporting protect bonuses while stalling real climate action. #ESGInvesting #ClimateFinance #Greenwashing #NatureBasedSolutions #EnvironmentalConservation #ImpactInvesting #SustainableFinance #CorporateEthics #SimonSinek #KindnessVsNiceness #WealthManagement #ClimateChangeSolutions #RadicalTruth

    12 min
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About

Radical Truth is a podcast produced by TBLI Group and hosted by Robert Rubinstein. TBLI is making the financial system work for all. Our podcast cover the wide range of ESG and Impact Investing topics. What it is? Why is it booming? Is it really helping? Is Impact regenerative in nature? How will climate change impact investments? There will be regular interviews with thought leaders, some known and some not known, but all brilliant and we will have engaging conversations with all of them. Let’s make the financial system work for all. This is Radical Truth. Visit https://tblicircle.com/

Information

  • Creator
    Robert Rubinstein
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    144
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Robert Rubinstein
  • Show Website
    Radical Truth

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