Voices of the New Economy

Changing Times
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Voices of the New Economy shares stories from the people, projects, and communities building a more just, sustainable, and democratic economy. Produced by the NENA (New Economy Network Australia) Storytelling Hub in partnership with the Humanitarian Changemakers Network, this podcast explores how Australians are reimagining work, enterprise, governance, and care — from community-owned energy to regenerative agriculture, social enterprises, cooperatives, and circular economies.

  1. 14. The End of the Economy? Yin Paradies on Returning to Indigenous Wisdom and the Future of Human Society

    5d ago

    14. The End of the Economy? Yin Paradies on Returning to Indigenous Wisdom and the Future of Human Society

    What if the crises facing humanity are not simply failures of policy or economics, but symptoms of a much deeper civilisational problem? In this conversation, Tiyana speaks with Yin Paradies about modernity, Indigenous ways of knowing, and the possibility of returning to more relational, place-based, and community-centred ways of living. Together they explore the origins of hierarchy, cities, households, and economic systems; the psychological and spiritual impacts of modernity; and what it means to reconnect with country, ancestors, kinship, and Indigenous knowledge systems in an age of ecological and social breakdown. Yin Paradies is an Indigenous scholar, educator, and researcher whose work explores decolonisation, Indigenous knowledges, racism, modernity, and relational ways of living. As Chair in Race Relations, his research spans anti-racism theory and practice, Indigenous knowledge systems, health and social inequality, and critiques of colonial institutions and structures. Drawing on Indigenous philosophies, systems thinking, and decolonial approaches, Yin’s work challenges dominant assumptions about economy, progress, hierarchy, and human society while exploring pathways toward more relational and place-based futures. Check out these resources: https://www.anamcarahomestead.com.au/resources https://events.humanitix.com/decolonial-perspectives-online-study-circle-one-july-dec-2026 Voices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    25 min
  2. 13. Beyond Money, Beyond Poverty: Anitra Nelson on Nonmonetary Futures and New Economies for Eradicating Poverty

    Jun 5

    13. Beyond Money, Beyond Poverty: Anitra Nelson on Nonmonetary Futures and New Economies for Eradicating Poverty

    Anitra Nelson joins Voices of the New Economy for a powerful conversation about degrowth, ecological economics, nonmonetary futures and the New Economies for Eradicating Poverty initiative. Together, we explore why money is not a neutral tool but a central mechanism of capitalism, how communities can organise work, care and resources beyond monetary exchange, and why poverty cannot be solved through economic growth alone. Anitra also shares insights from her involvement in the NEEP initiative, which proposes a human rights economy beyond growth, grounded in democratic governance, universal basic services, care, economic democracy and ecological limits. This episode invites listeners to question some of the deepest assumptions of the current economy and imagine what it would mean to build societies where everyone’s needs are met within the limits of the Earth. Anitra Nelson is an activist scholar, writer and researcher whose work focuses on degrowth, ecological economics, postcapitalist futures and nonmonetary ways of living. Affiliated with the University of Melbourne’s Informal Urbanism Research Hub and President-Elect of the International Society for Ecological Economics (2026–2027), she has spent decades exploring alternatives to growth-dependent economic systems. Anitra is the author and editor of numerous books, including Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy and Life Without Money, and recently contributed to the United Nations-backed New Economies for Eradicating Poverty (NEEP) initiative, which is developing pathways towards a human rights economy beyond growth. Voices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    47 min
  3. 12. Urban Planning, Ecology, and Michael Bayliss on Post-Growth Futures

    Mar 18

    12. Urban Planning, Ecology, and Michael Bayliss on Post-Growth Futures

    What if the real challenge is not designing a shinier new economy, but learning when to stop? Michael Bayliss, host of the Post Growth Australia podcast, joins Voices of the New Economy to explore what it means to move beyond an economic system that depends on endless expansion on a finite planet. Drawing on years of activism across environmental, post-growth, population, and grassroots community movements, Michael reflects on the philosophical heart of post-growth thinking, why urban planning matters more than many people realise, and what he has learned from years of conversations with thinkers and organisers across the movement. The discussion also touches on intentional living, gardening, music as climate catharsis, and the tension between optimism and collapse in a time when many people can sense that business as usual is no longer viable. Michael Bayliss is an environmental activist, communicator, and host of the Post Growth Australia podcast. Over the past decade he has worked across post-growth, sustainability, and grassroots community movements, including roles with Sustainable Population Australia, urban gardening networks, intentional living projects, and local environmental organising. He is currently Deputy Convenor of the Albany Community Environment Centre and has been a guest presenter on degrowth in Curtin University’s Global Futures and Just Transformations course. Michael’s work brings together ecological limits, urban planning, community resilience, and cultural change, and he also channels environmental themes into music through his Albany-based band, Mobile Zebra. Voices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    43 min
  4. 11. uForage and the Local Food Economy: Turning Surplus into Community with Tianda Williams

    Mar 11

    11. uForage and the Local Food Economy: Turning Surplus into Community with Tianda Williams

    A head of lettuce hits $12, supermarket shelves start looking a little thinner, floods cut communities off for weeks — and suddenly “local food” stops being a lifestyle trend and starts looking like common sense. Tianda Williams joins Voices of the New Economy to explore how uForage is helping people re-localise food systems by turning surplus into shared nourishment. uForage is a community-powered food map that connects backyard growers, small producers, foragers and neighbours — making it easier to find local eggs, honey, herbs, seasonal produce, and even wild food growing in plain sight. The conversation moves from lived experience to practical systems change: why food insecurity is often a distribution problem, how community networks become lifelines during climate disruption, what foraging can teach us about abundance and place, and why the “technology that disconnected us” might also help reconnect us — if it’s built with the right values. Tianda Williams is a rural Australian advocate for sustainable, community-driven food systems and the co-founder of uForage, a grassroots platform helping people connect with local growers, backyard abundance, and foraged food. A mother and survivor of domestic violence, Tianda’s work is shaped by lived experience and a deep commitment to making sure no one goes hungry — especially as climate disruption and supply shocks make big food chains feel increasingly fragile. Through uForage, she’s helping communities re-localise food, reduce waste, and rebuild the everyday networks that make resilience possible. Voices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    38 min
  5. 10. Beyond Tech Fixes: Reconnecting People, Place, and Power - People For Nature’s Approach to Change with Audrey Barucchi

    Mar 4

    10. Beyond Tech Fixes: Reconnecting People, Place, and Power - People For Nature’s Approach to Change with Audrey Barucchi

    What does a “new economy” look like when it’s grounded in democracy, agency, and the limits of the living world? Audrey, co-founder of People for Nature, shares how a lifelong connection to insects and the mountains eventually led her from corporate communications and decarbonisation tech into citizen-powered climate and biodiversity work. Together we unpack why information alone doesn’t shift systems, how tools like Climate Fresk and Biodiversity Collage help people see interconnections, and what it takes to turn eco-anxiety into eco-agency. Audrey also reflects on the promises and pitfalls of technocratic solutions, the power of local stewardship (from backyard pesticide choices to koala monitoring), and why meaningful change is built through thousands of “do your part” actions that ripple outward through communities. Audrey Barucchi is the co-founder of People for Nature and a passionate advocate for climate and biodiversity literacy as the foundation for systems change. With a background spanning economics, corporate communications, and decarbonisation technology, she bridges science and storytelling to help people understand complex environmental challenges — and feel empowered to act on them. Originally from France and shaped by a lifelong love of insects and the natural world, Audrey now works to transform eco-anxiety into eco-agency, equipping communities with the tools, confidence, and connection needed to build a more regenerative, nature-aligned future. oices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    41 min
  6. 9. Built to Collapse: Insights For Changemakers From the World Economic Forum in Davos with Eugene Theodore

    Feb 25

    9. Built to Collapse: Insights For Changemakers From the World Economic Forum in Davos with Eugene Theodore

    Economics doesn’t need reinventing, Eugene argues — it needs remembering. Fresh from his tenth year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he shares what it looks like when the world’s most powerful rooms split into two camps: those still polishing strategy on paper, and those ready to tear it up and act. The conversation moves from trillion-dollar talk to street-level reality: why modern systems can “perform exactly as designed” even when they’re failing most of us; how the doctrine of growth collides with the doctrine of significance; and what it means to build an economy that elevates individuals and communities without creating harm elsewhere. Eugene also unpacks the rise of AI and “responsibility diffusion”, offering a grounded challenge for changemakers: stay in critical-thinker mode, keep agency alive, and design for long-term service rather than short-term returns. Eugene is a strategist, storyteller and former photojournalist whose work sits at the crossroads of business, culture and systems change. After starting his career in New York newsrooms in the wake of 9/11, he moved through advertising and corporate strategy in Australia, building a behind-the-scenes view of how organisations shape behaviour, markets and narratives. For the past decade, he’s been immersed in global convenings like the World Economic Forum in Davos — this year marking his tenth time on the ground — translating “ivory tower” conversations into practical insights for founders, creatives and changemakers. He’s the author of Built to Collapse: A Tale of Unlimited Growth When Growth Costs You Everything, a business-fiction critique of the growth machine that calls us back to first principles: service, sustainability, and significance. Voices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    45 min
  7. 8. Co-operatives in the New Economy: When Businesses Can Own Their Own Problems with Antony McMullen

    Feb 18

    8. Co-operatives in the New Economy: When Businesses Can Own Their Own Problems with Antony McMullen

    This episode dives into the world of co-operatives and why they are such a powerful — and often overlooked — foundation of the new economy. Antony McMullen unpacks what actually makes a co-op different from a conventional business, and why those differences matter in practice, not just in theory. From democratic decision-making and shared ownership to responsibility for people, place and purpose, the conversation explores how co-operative principles shape the everyday realities of running an enterprise. Drawing on examples from Australia and around the world, the episode reveals the surprising scale and diversity of the global co-operative movement — from mutual banks and agricultural co-ops to worker-owned businesses and community-led infrastructure. Rather than treating co-operatives as a utopian fix, this discussion is grounded and honest, exploring both their strengths and their challenges, and showing how they offer a practical way for people to participate more meaningfully in economic life. Antony McMullen is a co-operative developer working at the intersection of the social economy and community-led enterprise. He is Chair of Co-operative Bonds, co-founder of 888 Co-operative Causeway, and host of Mutual Mindset, a national learning program supporting co-operative development in Australia. With qualifications in community development, social impact, and theology, Antony has supported the design and growth of co-operatives across a wide range of sectors, including community services, energy, agriculture, and finance, and brings a long-standing commitment to democratic ownership models that align economic activity with social and ecological wellbeing. Voices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    39 min
  8. 7. Learning to Live Differently: Education at the Heart of Unfolding the New Economy with Elizabeth McDougal

    Feb 11

    7. Learning to Live Differently: Education at the Heart of Unfolding the New Economy with Elizabeth McDougal

    This conversation with Dr Elizabeth McDougal explores why education is not a supporting player in economic transition, but one of its deepest foundations. Drawing on contemplative pedagogy and Buddhist approaches to learning as whole-person cultivation, Elizabeth reflects on how modern education systems often privilege cognitive performance and measurable outcomes, while sidelining relational, somatic, imaginative, and reflective ways of knowing. The discussion connects learning to the wider patterns of modernity and extraction, and asks what it would take to cultivate the kinds of discernment, metacognition, and capacity to hold complexity that regenerative futures require. The episode offers a grounded invitation to slow down, rethink what counts as knowledge, and recognise that new economies emerge through the ways we learn to live. Dr Elizabeth McDougal is a lecturer in Contemplative Pedagogy and Applied Buddhist Studies at Nan Tien Institute, where learning is approached as whole-person cultivation. Her work focuses on bridging pre-modern Tibetan contemplative culture with contemporary education and social change, and she has spent many years living and learning within Tibetan Buddhist monastic contexts across India and the Tibetan plateau. Elizabeth’s research explores how cultural change reshapes ways of knowing, and how pedagogies that integrate relational, somatic, intellectual, and imaginative intelligences can strengthen critical discernment and the capacity to navigate complexity. She also serves as a translator and community coordinator supporting the transmission of Tibetan contemplative traditions in the modern world. Check out the NTI’s Conversations series. Voices of the New Economy is a collaborative storytelling project of NENA. The podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN), an Anchor Organisation of NENA, as part of its commitment to strengthening economic literacy, amplifying community innovation, and supporting pathways to systemic change. Each episode features researchers, practitioners, organisers, and everyday changemakers working across disciplines and communities to re-imagine how our economies can serve people and planet. LISTEN & EXPLORE FURTHER A full companion article for this episode is available here. Connect with NENA: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Connect with Humanitarian Changemakers Network (HCN): Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Get involved: NENA members and friends are warmly invited to participate in the podcast — as interviewees, storytellers, or contributors to the NENA Storytelling Hub. To get involved, visit the Hub page or email: nena@neweconomy.org.au

    40 min
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About

Voices of the New Economy shares stories from the people, projects, and communities building a more just, sustainable, and democratic economy. Produced by the NENA (New Economy Network Australia) Storytelling Hub in partnership with the Humanitarian Changemakers Network, this podcast explores how Australians are reimagining work, enterprise, governance, and care — from community-owned energy to regenerative agriculture, social enterprises, cooperatives, and circular economies.

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