Podcast
ChangeMakers
Hosted by Iconoclast Network · EN
The ChangeMakers Podcast tells stories of people changing the world.
We produce ChangeMaker Chats with people who share why and how they make change, and we also do documentary style episodes about change making campaigns. W known change makers like the 2019 Hong Kong Protesters, Standing Rock activists, climate campaigners like Bill Mckibben and Australian of the Year Grace Tame, as well as
change makers, all of whom have stories and lessons to share.
Tune to our episodes that release every fortnight on a Tuesday to be inspired about what is possible, and learn from the insights, successes and failures of others! We bege so with over 120 episodes there is plenty to be inspired by in our back catalogue about how we can change the world. You can find out more about our episodes, join our email discover more change making content at https://changemakerspodcast.org/.
Our host Amanda Tattersall is an Australian ChangeMaker, co-founding GetUp, founding community organising in Australia with the Sydney Alliance, and now is a action-rese
Associate Professor at the Universitv of Svdnev.
ChangeMakers is sponsored by the Sydney Policy Lab at the University of Sydney.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
17episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Antoinette Lattouf - ChangeMaker Chat - Women Who Win
2w ago00:57:48Tap to summarizeAntoinette Lattouf not only fought and won a battle against the ABC - who unfairly dismissed her for sharing posts about the genocide in Gaza - but while she was doing that, she wrote a book about women who have fought and won across Australian history. Its called Women Who Win, and it was launched last week.In this chat we unpack what she found about what it takes to win - reflecting on her journey and that of other women. We explore the kinds of qualities and insight the help us make change.One of the great joys of this chat, and of Antoinette's book, is the vulnerability and honesty that she brings to thinking about change making. She calls on us to be bold, but never pretends that its easy. Instead, she shares some of the ways she held herself steady as she fought for the right to speak, and for a media landscape that respects difference and different ideas.To find out more and get a copy of Antonette's magnificent book "Women Who Win" - visit the Penguin Random House website (or all good bookshops) - https://www.penguin.com.au/books/women-who-win-9781761355370.You can also listen to Antoinette's podcast with Jan Fran "We used to be Journos" on ACAST here: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/we-used-to-be-journos.You can find out more about Antonette via her website: https://antoinettelattouf.com/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Crystal Simeoni - ChangeMaker Chat - African women writing the story
4w ago00:44:23Tap to summarizeRules and assumptions like economics are far from natural or neutral. They are written by a certain group of people and serve a particular set of interests. So what does it look like when a growing group of African women begin to disrupt these assumption by building approaches to economics, food, health and politics that starts with their lives?Crystal Simeoni has spent six years spearheading a pan-African feminist movement that is doing exactly this. We talk about her journey to this work that has been built out of her experiences working in community based economics in Kenya, and based on a long held critique of top-down policy systems. Crystal has strengthened community-led research methods to design change differently. She no longer wants a seat a table that has already been set by someone else. She is working with African women through NAWI to build a new table that is designed with African women in mind.You can find out more about NAWI Collective here: https://nawi.africa/The African Feminist Journal Crystal mentioned is here: https://feministafrica.net/The repository of African women's thought leadership on political economy questions is here: https://kofa.nawi.africa/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialFor more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Amanda’s website - https://amandatattersall.com/ Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference - here and via Hardie GrantPeople Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni PressOn Substack - https://substack.com/@amandatattersallOn Medium - https://amandatatts.medium.com/And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni PressAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sami Shah - ChangeMaker Chat - #ICYMI Change Making Comedy
Apr 800:49:48Tap to summarizeWhen war mongering has reached a new level of absurdity, this week we are tuning into a chat we recorded last year with comedian Sami Shah about the change making power of satire.Sami shares his story of finding comedy - and political satire in particular - as a way to cope with political instability in Pakistan, and how he brought those insights to his work as a comedian in Australia. He shares his reflections on the possibilities and limits of comedy, while also sharing some of its methods. He speaks of a way of seeing the powerful that uses ridicule to show that they aren't infallible.This chat was first released in March 2025.For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersall.bsky.socialAmanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mona Bani - ChangeMaker Chat #ICYMI - War and Refugees
Mar 2400:55:09Tap to summarizeThe world's attention is focused on War in Iran and across the Middle East, but less attention is being paid to the people who will have to uplift their lives and seek refuge in other countries because of the bombs.Mona Bani knows this journey as her family were refugees from Iran decades ago. In this podcast - that was recorded in 2024 - she tells the story about how her family's journey to seek refuge, and the community they created and the challenges they faced let her to establish a different kind of support service for refugees in the UK.This is a story of a community working out how to support and lift itself up in a context of heightened anti-immigrant politics. There are powerful lessons about the role of community leadership in providing community services, and there are also insights for how communities can provide a response to the rise in authoritarian anti-immigrant policies escalating across the world.For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)On Facebook, Instagram, Threads - https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Blue Sky Social - changemakerspod.bsky.aocial & amandatattersall.bsky.socialOn LinkedIn - Amanda.Tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Alex Kelly - ChangeMaker Chat - Climate disaster & Storytelling
Mar 1000:58:59Tap to summarizeAlex Kelly has been involved in climate and Indigenous campaigning and social change for decades - with a focus on communications, storytelling and the arts. She has long taught people about how to communicate their messages in the media. But in January 2026, she found herself at the centre of unprecedented bushfires then flooding in regional Victoria - and used her skills to project a message about disaster and climate change.In this episode we explore what she learnt from her experience on the frontline, and what her experience can teach others about how to communicate and link our personal experiences and testimony to bigger public causes and issues when talking to the media - and when telling stories more generally. For more:Alex's website and project archive https://echotango.org/The Unquiet Collective - Alex's film and impact home https://unquiet.com.au/The Things We Did Next speculative futures project https://www.thethingswedidnext.org/Economic Media Centre - free spokesperson training https://www.economicmediacentre.org/The Point op-ed on disaster levy: https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260115-harcourt-fires-show-need-for-disaster-levy350.org post on resilience https://350.org/wildfires-building-community-resilience/?r=AU&c=OCDuty of care & lived experience spokesperson resources https://docs.google.com/document/d/14OWJxTJ8y08iouwxg2E4MIsATT7Vv_Xtey4mpekgfXQ/edit?tab=t.0Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Lived Experience Guide to Climate Campaigning https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60ee407ec551f135b5c1a9a8/t/66e0e408260d51146efd7c06/1726014473102/Lived+Experience+Guide+to+Climate+Campaigning+2024.pdf Documentary Accountability Working Group https://www.docaccountability.org/For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)On Facebook, Instagram, Threads - https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Blue Sky Social - changemakerspod.bsky.aocial & amandatattersall.bsky.socialOn LinkedIn - Amanda.Tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Michael Bradley - ChangeMaker Chat - Relational Lawyering #ICYMI
Feb 2401:03:47Tap to summarizeWe talk with Michael Bradley who has taken on Murdoch as well as defending the rights of refugees about what it takes to be a lawyer and a change maker at the same time. He shares his 20 year journey from conventional law to a different kind of lawyering that he has now practiced for 17 years at Marque Lawyers – and how he now centres his legal practice around relationships.He also shares a few war stories of how he has used the law to fight for justice, including the battle against Lachlan Murdoch’s attempt to sue Crickey for defamation.Whether you are a lawyer or you are a lawyer sceptic – there is something powerful in Michael’s dissection of the legal profession and his identification of a different way to practice the law.This was first released in April 2025.Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)On Facebook, Instagram, Threads - https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Blue Sky Social - changemakerspod.bsky.aocial & amandatattersall.bsky.socialOn LinkedIn - Amanda.Tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Erik Peterson - ChangeMaker Chat - Minnesota vs ICE
Feb 1001:01:07Tap to summarizeTrump's abusive war against immigrants has been jailing children and extracting people's neighbours for years - but in Minnesota his abuses are being challenged directly, powerfully and with enormous bravery. For our first episode for 2026, we speak with Erik Peterson who is a 40 year resident and community organiser and also someone who has trained community organisers across Minnesota, the rest of the US and in Australia as well! Indeed he is a good friend of mine, and a friend of many big community groups and movements in Australia.Erik shares a deeper context to help us understand the ICE battle that goes far beyond the news - such as Minnesota's long history of progressive politics and organising, and then reveals how that context and history is playing out in the streets of Minnesota's cities.This story has radical lessons about how to mobilise against injustice, but also insights about how we make change in dark authoritarian times. Its a story about a horrible chapter in US history, and also about the hope that can emerge from taking action for what we believe in.For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)On Facebook, Instagram, Threads - https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Blue Sky Social - changemakerspod.bsky.aocial & amandatattersall.bsky.socialOn LinkedIn - Amanda.Tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Anat Shenker-Osorio - ChangeMaker Chat #ICYMI - Persuasion Politics
Nov 2400:57:55Tap to summarizeFor our last episode of 2025, we listen back to one of the leading communications specialists in US politics - Anat Shenker-Osorio. Lucky for listeners in Sydney, Anat is visiting Australia in December and you can get tickets to see her speak hosted by Australian Progress on December 11 at the University of Sydney. More details here: https://www.australianprogress.org.au/events/anat-in-conversation-sydneyThis episode was recorded back in 2024, before the 2024 US Presidential Election - and includes Anat sharing stories from her own podcast Words to Win By. Details below. And - we will be back in 2026 with our 10th Season at the beginning of February!! See you then.---------We talk with one of the world’s leading communication specialists for progressive change. Anat Shenker-Osorio has spend decades working with communities, movements and progressive political candidates across the world helping them to sharpen and improve how they communicate their ideas. Anat brings a deep understanding of change making principles in her work – and today she unpacks where her communications methodology came from and some of its key principles.This Chat is full of change making stories, many of which are drawn from her fantastic podcast Words to Win By.You can find out more about Anat’s work and method by:Listening to her podcast Words to Win By – which is now releasing its third season!Reading her book – Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense about the EconomyFor more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)On Facebook, Instagram, Threads - https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Blue Sky Social - changemakerspod.bsky.aocial & amandatattersall.bsky.socialOn X/Twitter - @changemakers99 or @amandatattsOn LinkedIn - Amanda.Tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Maurice Mitchell - ChangeMaker Chat - US and New Politics
Nov 1001:02:46Tap to summarizeWhen Zohran Mamdani voted in the New York Mayoral election last week he told the press that he followed the Working Families Party ticket. Who is the Working FamiliesParty? This episode is one we recorded earlier with the national leader of the Working Families Party - Maurice Mitchell. This episode was recorded in the wake of the Movement for Black Lives protests, but he also explains the origins of Working Families and their urban origins in community organising movements like ACORN in the US.There is a long story behind one of the many strands emerging in resistance politics in the US.For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)On Facebook, Instagram, Threads - https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Blue Sky Social - changemakerspod.bsky.aocial & amandatattersall.bsky.socialOn X/Twitter - @changemakers99 or @amandatattsOn LinkedIn - Amanda.Tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nick Bryant - ChangeMaker Chat - America the Long Story #ICYMI
Oct 2000:47:52Tap to summarizeWe have a chat with Radio Nation's Saturday Extra Host Nick Bryant about all things America - and the long story behind the intractable conflicts in the US. This episode was recorded in December 2024 - after President Trump's election but before he took office so it doesn't focus on what has happened in 2025. Instead it casts a long history that sheds light on the fissures and conflicts, the trend towards authoritarianism and the racism that is not new in American politics.It is also a lovely background to the indefatigable host of Australia's number one (or at least our number one) current affairs radio show!For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)On Facebook, Instagram, Threads - https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Blue Sky Social - changemakerspod.bsky.aocial & amandatattersall.bsky.socialOn X/Twitter - @changemakers99 or @amandatattsOn LinkedIn - Amanda.Tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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