Better Angels with Sarah Brown
102 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsGlobal campaigner and author Sarah Brown chats with people who've had a positive influence on the world around them, and unearths the lessons to help us do the same. Find out how to develop the better angel inside yourself. Featuring stories from globally renowned campaigners, Nobel Prize winners, celebrities, politicians and remarkable young people, Better Angels with Sarah Brown champions the activist spirit.
Credits:
Executive Producer: Ben Hewitt
Music: Pete Lyons
Photo: Brian Aris
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Episodes
The global early years crisis
July 12, 2023 14:01 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBThis year, Theirworld launched the Act For Early Years campaign, calling on world leaders and global institutions to act to support the world’s youngest children. In March, Theirworld brought together a panel of experts to discuss at the critical issues around providing quality care and early learning for young children - and the burden that falls unfairly on women to plug the gap. Sarah Brown, Theirworld Chair, was joined on an Instagram Live by Professor Dame Leslie Regan, the first...
100th episode: In conversation with Sarah and Gordon Brown
November 17, 2022 05:00 - 27 minutes - 37.2 MBTo celebrate the 100th episode of Better Angels on World Children’s Day, Sarah handed over her hosting microphone to Andrew Jack, global education editor of the Financial Times, for a wide-ranging interview with her and her husband, Gordon Brown, about the state of global education. Andrew asked Sarah and Gordon, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, about their motivations for advocating for children’s education and what actions world leaders need to take to give all c...
Climate Education
October 27, 2022 04:00 - 20 minutes - 28.2 MBIn November, the world will gather in Egypt for COP27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, to discuss ways to tackle the climate emergency. In this episode, Sarah Brown speaks with Keya Lamba, the co-founder of Earth Warriors, an organisation bringing climate education to curriculums around the world, and most recently, with the support of Theirworld, to schools in Zambia and Botswana. Keya talks about how climate education empowers students to take action to make the planet...
Let Me Learn campaign
September 13, 2022 04:00 - 21 minutes - 30 MBRight now, 260 million children are not in school, and many more are in the classroom but not receiving a quality education. Let down by poorly trained teachers, outdated curriculums and lack of digital connectivity, they risk not reaching their full learning potential. Next week, world leaders will debate solutions to this crisis at the historic Transforming Education Summit in New York during the United Nations General Assembly. To mark the summit, Theirworld Chair Sarah Brown spok...
20th Anniversary Special #4: What next?
June 28, 2022 04:00 - 23 minutes - 32.1 MBIn the final episode of Theirworld’s 20th anniversary special, Theirworld Chair Sarah Brown talks with Beatrace Ndisha Mwanjala, a Global Youth Ambassador from Kenya, about what needs to be done to ensure we meet the United Nations goal of inclusive and quality education for all children by 2030. Beatrace shares some of her own struggles accessing education, including what it was like to walk long distances to school when faced with the threat from wild animals. Sarah also speaks with ...
20th Anniversary Special #3: How do you forge powerful partnerships?
June 21, 2022 04:00 - 27 minutes - 37.9 MBIn the third episode of Theirworld’s 20th anniversary special, Theirworld Chair Sarah Brown talks with Motunrayo Fatoke, a Global Youth Ambassador (GYA) from Nigeria, about how forging powerful partnerships has helped to get some of the world’s most vulnerable children back into school. We also hear from Maysa Jalbout, Senior Advisor on Education in Emergencies for Theirworld, about her work supporting refugee education in Greece. She is joined by Elias Bou Saab, former Lebanese Mi...
20th Anniversary Special #2: How do you create a movement?
June 14, 2022 04:00 - 25 minutes - 35 MBIn the second episode of Theirworld’s 20th anniversary special, Theirworld Chair Sarah Brown talks with Benedict Joson, a former Global Youth Ambassador (GYA) who supported Theirworld's 2015 #UpForSchool petition calling on world leaders to prioritise education. The petition gathered 11 million signatures, making it the largest petition for education in history – and Benedict took a starring role, delivering the petition with global pop sensation Shakira to Gordon Brown, the UN’s Special ...
20th Anniversary Special #1: How do you start a charity?
June 07, 2022 04:18 - 24 minutes - 34.1 MBTo celebrate Theirworld’s 20th anniversary, we have produced a special Better Angels podcast series about the history and evolution of the charity. In the opening episode of this four-part series, Theirworld Chair Sarah Brown talks with Dr Taha Khan, a former Global Youth Ambassador who was selected to support many of Theirworld’s early campaigns. Sarah shares how her daughter Jennifer, who died just 10 days after being born prematurely, inspired her to establish the Jennifer Brown Resea...
International Women's Day 2021 Special #2: Live from Theirworld's virtual event
March 08, 2021 09:24 - 54 minutes - 99.7 MBIn this episode, we hear some highlights from Theirworld's International Women's Day event and speak with some of the event's attendees about girls’ education and gender equality Theirworld hosted its 7th annual International Women’s Day event on Thursday 4 March - but went virtual for the first time ever, due to Covid-19. Covid-19 has put the issue of girls’ education firmly in the spotlight. Now more than ever, it’s important that we come together to hear from those who are campaignin...
International Women's Day 2021 Special #1: Youth Activism
March 04, 2021 08:55 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBIn this episode, Jamira Burley, Theirworld's Head of Youth Engagement & Skills, talks to two remarkable young women who are doing incredible work on the ground to open up education to the next generation of female leaders. Together we explore what the global recovery should look like, and why girls’ education needs to be front and centre. Educating girls creates not only greater equality for women but fairer, healthier and wealthier societies with benefits for everyone.
UN Special #12: Rangina Hamidi Interview
October 01, 2020 17:00 - 16 minutes - 36.7 MBRangina Hamidi, the Minister of Education in Afghanistan, talks to Sarah Brown about growing up as a child refugee in Pakistan. She says she was faced with threats of acid attacks just because she went to school. Her parents decided to flee to America to enable her and her sister to have an education. She says the struggles she faced as a child made her determined to fight against the injustices in the world.
UN Special #11: Sanda Ojiambo Interview
September 29, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutes - 28.2 MBSanda Ojiambo, Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, talks to Sarah Brown about how businesses can take positive action to address some of the world's biggest challenges. Talking about climate change, she says that businesses have a choice: they can grow in a "GDP-led way" or follow "a green model of growth". "If [these decisions] are made correctly, we can avert what looks like a very bleak future in terms of climate," she says. She says that the Covid-19 pandemic h...
UN Special #10: Danielle Green Interview
September 27, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutes - 19.9 MBDanielle Green, a Theirworld Global Youth Ambassador from the United Kingdom, speaks to Sarah Brown about the importance of children receiving a good quality education. Danielle says: “It really matters that children have not just an education or appear in an educational space, but that what they're being taught is really, really relevant and important.” She tells Sarah that a good quality education helps children “take charge of their own destiny.”
UN Special #9: Palak Sharma Interview
September 25, 2020 17:00 - 16 minutes - 37.9 MBPalak Sharma, a Theirworld Global Youth Ambassador from India, talks to Sarah Brown about the challenges facing the education system in her country. She says that if the country is serious about advancing education for children, they must address issues around sanitation at the same time. “The important task right now is to ensure that these two goals of education and sanitisation start working together in collaboration," she says.
UN Special #8: Marianne Bitar Karam Interview
September 23, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutes - 30 MBMarianne Bitar Karam, Country Director at DOT Lebanon, a non-governmental organisation, speaks to Sarah Brown about the challenges facing children in her country during Covid-19. She says that the digital divide in Lebanon meant that many children were excluded from education because they were unable to access online learning materials during the pandemic. She also says that children in Lebanon were missing out on important lessons in social cohesion. "We've lost something important," ...
UN Special #7: Obakeng Leseyane Interview
September 19, 2020 17:00 - 20 minutes - 48 MBObakeng Leseyane, a Theirworld Global Youth Ambassador, talks to Sarah Brown about the transformational impact of education on others. He says that educating even just one child has a "ripple effect" on their community. Growing up in Rustenburg, South Africa, Obakeng was told that the only way to be successful was to become a platinum miner. He changed his fortune after receiving the highest educational scholarship in South Africa, something his family could have never dreamed of. ...
UN Special #6: Theo Sowa Interview
September 17, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutes - 27.5 MBTheo Sowa, CEO, The African Women's Development Fund, talks to Sarah Brown about the rampant inequalities around the world which are depriving children of a better future. She says that in the current situation, children who have benefited the most are those "who are wealthier and who are in economically secure situations." To help the most marginalised children across the globe, she says it is time to get "radical about our inclusiveness.” Theo says that good quality education for...
UN Special #5: Annemiek Hoogenboom Interview
September 15, 2020 18:40 - 19 minutes - 44.3 MBAnnemiek Hoogenboom, Country Director, People's Postcode Lottery, tells Sarah Brown that "radical goals, patience and execution" are the building blocks for change. She also says that luck has a big part to play. She says: "When we admit that a big part of our success is pure luck, it makes us want to help other people more.“ Annemiek also touches on her mission to improve the plight of girls by advocating for their education.
UN Special #4: Emanuel "Boo Milton" Interview
September 13, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutes - 19.1 MBSarah Brown talks to Emanuel "Boo Milton", about his work as a community organiser and youth advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When Covid-19 struck, Boo created activity packs - called Spark Boxes - for children to ensure that they were able to continue their learning during the pandemic. Talking about the power of learning, he says: "Education unlocks that special light that is inside all of us. I feel like all of us have a greatness that lies within us and education helps us articu...
UN Special #3: Tariq Al Gurg Interview
September 11, 2020 17:00 - 18 minutes - 43 MBTariq Al Gurg, CEO of Dubai Cares, talks to Sarah Brown about the importance in developing countries of providing parents with incentives to send their children to school. He says that health and sanitation programs which ensure children are fed and kept clean in the classroom help to persuade parents of the benefits of sending their children to school. Al Gurg said that instead of going to school girls in poorer countries are often made to stay at home to help with the domestic respons...
UN Special #2: John Goodwin Interview
September 09, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutes - 29.4 MBJohn Goodwin, CEO of The LEGO Foundation, talks to Sarah Brown about the need to “redefine” play and “reimagine” learning. He argues that play is often overlooked by society when in fact it helps children to develop important skills for adult life, such as critical thinking and problem solving. “Play is the way that children are naturally wired to learn and by subjugating it to the end of line means that children are really inhibited from having the opportunity to get the maximum learni...
UN Special #1: Filippo Grandi Interview
September 07, 2020 18:40 - 17 minutes - 39.2 MBFilippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, speaks with Sarah Brown about the need for young people to vote - and to vote well - if they want to make a difference to people’s lives. In the inaugural episode of this Better Angels podcast series, he argues that voting is “the most basic and fundamental form of engagement” in democratic countries. He also discusses the education crisis facing millions of child refugees around the world - a crisis which has been ...
Refugee education in Greek islands special
April 29, 2020 14:10 - 1 hour - 139 MBRefugee camps in Greece remain overcrowded and unhygienic beyond imagination, but until Covid-19 struck new education centres were a daily lifeline for children who had fled conflict and persecution, many arriving after perilous journeys from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. This episode provides a glimpse into life in those camps and talks to the team behind Theirworld’s new report that offers a way forward out of the refugee education crisis. Sarah talks to organisations making a difference ...
The world of work interview special
April 22, 2020 14:40 - 54 minutes - 124 MBSarah Brown explores the themes of the new Penguin paperback How to Go Work, and its subtitle, the Honest Advice No Else Ever Tells You, with authors Lucy Clayton and Steven Haines. Initially recorded just before lockdown for young activists and those starting out on their careers, Steven and Lucy then added an interview about how the coronavirus crisis is requiring all of us who are lucky enough to still be working to re-evaluate the value and impact of what we are doing. Steven draws o...
International Women’s Day 2020 Special
March 08, 2020 19:30 - 37 minutes - 33.9 MBSarah Brown talks to guests at Theirworld’s sixth International Women’s Day event, where women from all walks of life, with a few men dotted around, gathered to talk and share their experiences, contacts and ideas on how to unlock big change for girls and young women. We hear Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian finance minister and World Bank managing director, nearly moved to tears as she accepted our first Unlock Big Change award. We hear from other inspiring women, including Jo Br...
Unlock Big Change: A People's Postcode Lottery Special
February 25, 2020 17:15 - 49 minutes - 114 MBThis is a special edition of the Better Angels podcast where we talk to iconic changemakers around the world. This episode has been recorded for the People’s Postcode Lottery – for everyone who plays it and everyone who works there supporting both the players and the charities – at Theirworld we want to say thank you and share some of our stories from our Better Angels interviews so you can hear about the impact that your support makes. Here you will hear from global leaders from the U...
Max Kenner: how prison education gives hope
December 20, 2019 16:09 - 37 minutes - 86.5 MBMax Kenner, founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative in the United States, discusses the impact of prison education with Sarah Brown. As he says, ‘nothing does more to create a sense of hope and purpose in otherwise desperate places than the opportunity to learn’. A leading advocate for his cause, Max’s programme enrols jailed men and women in academic courses that culminate in a degree from the prestigious Bard College in New York. He has a battle on his hands to m...
Social reform special: Edwina Grosvenor and Dan Snow
December 20, 2019 15:51 - 44 minutes - 102 MBIn something of a first for Better Angels, Sarah talks to husband & wife advocates for change - Dan Snow, the popular TV presenter and historian, and Edwina Grosvenor, philanthropist and prison activist. They discuss their passion for speaking up for under-privileged people and how understanding the past informs their activism and awareness. Edwina’s charity strives for positive change in the justice system, while she is also a founding investor and Ambassador of the Clink Restaurant chai...
Interview Special: Young campaigners on changing global education
November 12, 2019 13:16 - 35 minutes - 80.1 MBYoung activists share their ideas on campaigning to end the global education crisis. Sarah speaks to four of Theirworld’s Global Youth Ambassadors, inspiring young campaigners. They share their passion for helping children around the world gain access to education and talk about the important role education has to play in providing life skills that will serve them long into the future. Wanja Maina is an inclusive education campaigner from Kenya whose mother carried her several miles each...
Interview special: Vibhu Sharma
October 31, 2019 10:00 - 31 minutes - 71.5 MBSarah talks to remarkable campaigner and inclusion expert Vibhu Sharma about how to bring more children and young people with disabilities into education. Sharing the difficulties she went through at school, Vibhu speaks about making sure that others do not have the same experience. They discuss what makes education truly inclusive, for children with or without a disability, or young refugees or children living in conflict situations This interview was recorded in September 2019 during...
Interview Special: guest host June Sarpong and Justin van Fleet
October 17, 2019 15:14 - 35 minutes - 80.4 MBJune Sarpong MBE, writer and broadcaster, takes over as guest host, talking to Justin van Fleet, President of Theirworld and Executive Director of the Global Business Coalition for Education. Justin describes how a trip to Bolivia as a teenager inspired him to work in education, and how education is providing hope and a degree of normality to thousands of young people trapped in desperate conditions in refugee camps on the Greek islands. They discuss Theirworld’s #WriteTheWrong campaign...
Interview Special: Extinction Rebellion
October 11, 2019 10:15 - 53 minutes - 123 MBSarah talks to activists at the heart of the Extinction Rebellion campaign, which seemed to burst out of nowhere in the spring of 2019 with its demand for action to end the world’s climate crisis and ecological emergency. In the midst of new actions in London, Clare Farrell, Will Skeaping and Dr Deepa Shah discuss how the movement has made its mark, and how traditional campaigning methods were failing to influence governments. Clare Farrell is a fashion sustainability expert and co-foun...
Interview Special: Rosie Jones
September 18, 2019 14:28 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBComedian, Writer and Actor Rosie Jones joins Sarah for a conversation on what drew Rosie to comedy in the first place and the representation of people with disabilities on TV and in the media. Inspired by the passion for her call for disability, inclusion and equal rights, Sarah jumped at the opportunity to speak to Rosie during the Edinburgh Fringe 2019, where Rosie’s sold-out one-woman show entitled ‘Backward’ provoked the question - “Am I backward, or are they?” Sarah and Rosie disc...
Greatest Hits
September 12, 2019 15:30 - 42 minutes - 39 MBSarah looks back at 3 years of conversations with extraordinary Better Angels Sir Patrick Stewart, Caroline Criado Perez, Sarah Corbett, Theo Sowa CBE, Jamira Burley and Peter Tatchell. This one-off Greatest Hits episode revisits different campaigning styles, why these remarkable campaigners are advocates for change in their field, and their incredible journeys. Join Sarah and experience a sample of the magic moments where these incredible activists tell us how they’re taking down barriers...
Slay in Your Lane
September 05, 2019 08:45 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MBSlay in Your Lane Authors Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené join Sarah to discuss the success of their first book as a best-selling guide to life for black British women, and their newly published book Slay in Your Lane: The Journal. Yomi and Elizabeth explain the intentions of Slay in Your Lane steering Black British women to find role models, share advice and build stronger connections with each other and in their wider working environments. They also tell Sarah how their project de...
Kirsty McNeill Interview Special
May 14, 2019 13:11 - 38 minutes - 44.3 MBIn this new series of the Better Angels podcast, host Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change. For the final episode of this series, Sarah speaks with Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Change at Save the Children Kirsty McNeill, who is leading teams to galvanise the public and influence policy makers on humanitarian action, global development and help for children here in the UK.
New Styles
May 02, 2019 11:32 - 36 minutes - 41.9 MBIn this new series of the Better Angels podcast, Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change. In this episode of the series, Sarah speaks to a range of guests about the new styles of campaigning, ones that look different to what we usually see and don’t always start with big budgets. These campaigns are often down to one person, affected in a personal way, which can launch some of the most innovative ideas. First we hear from James Ashton and Viveka Alvestran...
Oscar's Book Prize Interview Special
April 26, 2019 11:17 - 22 minutes - 25.6 MBIn this Better Angels interview special, host Sarah Brown speaks with James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand, co-founders of Oscar’s Book Prize, an annual prize for the best books written for under-fives, awarded each year in memory of Oscar Ashton. Oscar’s Book Prize champions the vital importance of reading to young minds and as Chair of Theirworld, who recently mobilised a global campaign for investment in early learning and pre-primary education, Sarah understands the importance of advocac...
The Voices of Activism
April 24, 2019 09:48 - 30 minutes - 35.6 MBIn this new series of the Better Angels podcast, Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change. In this episode of the series, Sarah speaks to a range of guests about the Voices of activism. First we hear from Scottish actor David Tennant about his work supporting various charities, including Comic Relief and Worldwide Cancer Research. Sarah speaks to David about how to best use his well known voice for a good cause. Sarah then speaks with Omotoke Titilope Olo...
Caroline Criado Perez Interview Special
April 17, 2019 10:16 - 29 minutes - 34.2 MBIn this Better Angels Interview Special, Sarah Brown speaks to Caroline Criado Perez, a writer and feminist activist and one of Britain's best known campaigners for women’s rights and visibility. Starting with The Women’s Room project, a national campaign to call for female experts to be better represented in discussion, Caroline then took on the Bank of England, who were at risk of removing the only other female face, apart from the Queen, from British banknotes. This lead to the Bank of ...
The Noise of Activism
April 17, 2019 09:23 - 32 minutes - 38 MBIn this new series of the Better Angels podcast, Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change. In this episode of the series, Sarah speaks to a range of guests about the Noise of activism, and how the volume of a protest can help it reach audiences fast and with impact. First, we hear from British journalist and feminist activist Caroline Criado Perez about her work with The Women’s Room project and her campaign against the Bank of England, when they were at r...
Interview Specials: Quiet Activism with Claire Heuchan
April 10, 2019 11:25 - 36 minutes - 42.5 MBListen to Sarah Brown in conversation with Sarah Corbett, Claire Heuchan and Stuart Beveridge with special episodes of their interviews from the Quiet Activism podcast Claire Heuchan is the award-winning black feminist writer who blogs under the name Sister Outrider.
Interview Specials: Quiet Activism with Stuart Beveridge
April 10, 2019 11:11 - 37 minutes - 43.5 MBIn these interview specials, listen to Sarah Brown’s extended interviews with guests from the Quiet Activism Better Angels episode. Stuart Beveridge, who has been blind since birth, works for Seescape challenging large technology companies to improve their accessibility and better communicate what features they offer.
Interview Specials: Quiet Activism with Sarah Corbett
April 10, 2019 11:05 - 59 minutes - 68.2 MBIn these interview specials, listen to Sarah Brown’s extended interviews with guests from the Quiet Activism Better Angels episode. Sarah Corbett is a professional activist and founder of Craftivist Collective - a social enterprise that combines craft and activism to engage people with social justice in a non-confrontational way.
Campaigning Styles: Quiet Activism
April 03, 2019 09:19 - 29 minutes - 33.6 MBIn this new series of the Better Angels podcast, Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change. In this first episode of a new series, Sarah speaks to inspiring guests about quiet activism and how introverts are using their gentle voices to create big change. First, we hear from Sarah Corbett about the the challenges that introverts can face and the art of gentle protest. Sarah is professional activist and founder of Craftivist Collective - a social enterprise ...
Live Special - Theirworld’s International Women’s Day London Event
March 12, 2019 12:35 - 50 minutes - 58.1 MBLive from Theirworld’s International Women’s Day breakfast event in London and hosted by Sarah Brown and U.S. activist and youth skills campaigner Jamira Burley, this Better Angels episode features inspiring women from a variety of sectors joining together to discuss safe schools and how to break down barriers to girls’ education. You will hear from actor Indira Varma, TV presenters Anita Rani and Fiona Phillips and Labour MP Yvette Cooper. The event was headlined by young women, includi...
Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Denis Mukwege Interview Special
November 23, 2018 15:20 - 28 minutes - 20 MBAhead of today's Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, host Sarah Brown revisits her interview special with this years Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Denis Mukwege. Dr Mukwege is a modern-day hero and a truly remarkable man, with an unwavering dedication to the physical and mental health of women. Using his medical expertise, Dr Mukwege has become a trusted witness to the physical consequences of gang rape. He has enduring courage for speaking up for change and working hour after hour, to...
Gordon Brown and Liesbet Steer Interview Special
November 05, 2018 10:27 - 22 minutes - 16.2 MBIn this Better Angels interview special guest host Tom Fletcher speaks to former UK Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy for Education Gordon Brown and Director of the Education Commission Liesbet Steer about the new International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd). IFFEd has been proposed to generate the huge sums needed for countries to ensure all their young citizens can go to school and receive a quality education. The facility was announced earlier this year by the UN Secretary...
Valerie Amos Interview Special
October 29, 2018 17:14 - 23 minutes - 17 MBIn this Better Angels interview special guest host Tom Fletcher speaks with British politician and diplomat Baroness Valerie Amos, who served as the Leader of the House of Lords, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Secretary of State and Emergency Relief Coordinator and British High Commissioner to Australia. Valerie also served as Secretary of State for International Development and in doing so became the first black woman to sit in the Cabinet of the United K...
If we can see what change is needed, why is it so hard?
October 23, 2018 13:46 - 37 minutes - 35.1 MBThroughout the series we’ve heard from world leaders, teachers, tech entrepreneurs, CEOs and Prime Ministers from around the world about what the future of learning looks like, and what skills people will need in the future. The final episode explores the how...if we can see what change is needed, why is it so hard? Three gurus on social media and campaigning give their answers on how to make change happen in the Digital Age. And a philanthropist and former Prime Minister explain the pract...