Change That Podcast

An innovative series of conversations with change-makers re-imagining tomorrow

Andrea Makhlouf

KEYWORDS

Project

Change has been a big theme this year. The friction in our current systems leads us to an inevitable conclusion, a place we must go. This project was born out of the opportunity to re-imagine how things can be.
Change That is a podcast series designed to share illuminating stories, ideas and projects around the world from change-makers that are re-imagining the future through acts of positive change. The vision is to host different series tackling themes about the future of industries - such as work, healthcare, education, urban planning, policy making, retail, crypto, fitness, food etc. - and inviting guests to participate in the conversation about being an agent of change in their own field. The body of the conversation will aim to inspire in challenging times by sharing tips and tools to become initiators of change. Guests will share their experience finding the inspiration in uncertainty, to re-shape the current systems and propose innovative ideas, with a goal to enhance our collective behavior and pave the way to a new version of normal.

challenge

My capstone journey was inspired by my personal experience of dealing with the frustration and uncertainty caused by change. A change that has affected multiple areas of my life, from physical relocations to virtual social connections, completing my senior year of college online, the emotional pain, safety and financial consequences of corruption in my hometown Beirut, adopting new safety measures to care for my health, altogether forcing me out of the familiarity of my comfort zone. This inspired me to dive deeper into the topic in order to make sense of the uncertainty we are living in and find an opportunity to influence change as it happens. My research process and gathered insights inspired me to introduce a prototype that will facilitate the transition into the new normal. According to Spotify, in 2020, over 155 million people listen to a podcast every week. I found this medium to be the most effective as it can seamlessly fit into people's lives, allowing them to actively or passively listen and learn from the podcast while also doing something else. With a goal to reach a large global audience and a mission to inspire a generation, I decided to use the medium of Podcasting to share conversations around the new ideas and projects that are reshaping the future.

Outcome

This podcast was born out of labor of passion during the completion of my final year capstone project, exploring a year of change and how our new habits are re-shaping our culture. My research process led me to ask myself what will we be craving in a post-pandemic world? The area of opportunity was very clear. A whole new world is waiting to be re-designed, re-imagined. I launched the podcast intro series with three episodes around the themes of design thinking for the future, global mega trends shaping the post-covid era and understanding actionable change to create impact and build resilient systems. Hosting guests speakers with a passion for social change through design and discussing innovative trends to imagine our possible futures. This prototype is hopefully the start to launch many other series around the future of our industries and systems to shift the way people perceive change and share stories that create impact.