Decoding Culture with Dr John Curran

Decoding Culture with Dr John Curran

In the Decoding Podcast, Dr John Curran speaks to a range of interesting guests that provide insights into how everyday culture shapes how we work, consume and live our lives. The podcast will focus on the importance that culture plays in all areas of business and society, from how it shapes organisations and work to how it influences consumer experience, design, and larger societal trends. By exploring culture through anthropology, systems psychodynamics and ethnography, the podcast will give listeners new perspectives on organisational culture, work, innovation, leadership, team and ground dynamics, organisational design and consumer behaviour. If you would like to support the podcast then feel free to make a small donation here (https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=V24Q9JPLCJVY8) . It would be most helpful in regards to the technical/editing cost and overall time taken to create each episode. - With thanks John

Episodes

April 26, 2024 52 mins
In this second episode of series 4 I am going to explore how maybe we can begin to understand what the next few years might look like in terms of office design and use and how society perceives work.

To help me with this, I discuss with my guest Professor Jeremy Myerson his new book ‘Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office that he co-authored with Phillip Ross.

Jeremy is a leading international writer...
Why is having the ability to look in our everyday lives important when trying understanding how we behave and make sense of the world around us?

In this first episode of series 4 I am going to explore how Looking and observing provides us with rich cultural narratives that interweave into each other to produce tapestries of human behaviour. 

To unpack the benefit and power of looking I discuss with my guest C...
Mark as Played
Hi I am Dr John Curran your host of the Decoding Culture Podcast and welcome to series 4. For those that are first time subscribers, the podcast focuses on the ways in which everyday culture and psychology shape who we are as human beings and social groups. As an organisational consultant, anthropologist and executive and team coach, I am fascinated by organisational culture and team dynamics - so these topics will seep into m...
Mark as Played
This episode looks at how conflict exists within organisations and team dynamics. However, much of what I will talk about with my guest will also have relevance to all areas of conflict.

From my anthropological background and as an organisational consultant, I frame conflict as part of culture and not something that sits outside culture and threatens it. Instead of running away from conflict one can reframe it ...
Mark as Played
So……this episode is part 2 of my conversation with Professor Les Back. Les is a leading sociologist and thinker at Goldsmiths University in London. 

He’s written many books and in part 1 we discussed his book The Art of Listening and how having the ability to listen sociologically opens up new ways of getting closer to understanding society. 

Part 2 develops this further where Les and I discuss ...
Mark as Played
As a coach one of the central tools you have is to listen. Some call this active listening. Listening is not easy and something one has to practice because fundamentally you are listening to not just what is being said and what is not being said. Listening is therefore a holistic endeavour that is more an art than a technique. As an anthropologist I am also taught to listen to silence. Or as the anthropologist and FT journalis...
Mark as Played
I am also the CEO of JC & Associates which is a consultancy that helps businesses develop better working cultures and relationships with their stakeholders. 

I have been working as a business anthropologists for over 20 years. By business anthropologist, I mean that I use my anthropological training to advise businesses on how to improve their organisational cultures, or think about how they connect with th...
Mark as Played
I have been working as a business anthropologists for over 20 years. By business anthropologist, I mean that I use my anthropological training to advise businesses on how to improve their organisational cultures, or think about how they connect with their consumers, or begin to design future strategies that take into account the most complex and often messy concept that they are constantly faced with, culture. 
 
My name is John Curran and I am your host. I am a business anthropologist, executive coach, systemic team coach, facilitator and trainer. 
 
I am also the CEO of JC & Associates which is a consultancy that helps businesses develop better working cultures and relationships with their stakeholders. 
 
This episode is the second part of my interview with Professor Mark de Rond, who ...
Mark as Played
Over 20 years ago I spend 2 years carrying out an ethnographic study of a psychiatric hospital in London. This was for my PhD in Social Anthropology. To gain ethical approval for my research, I became a member of staff and worked as a nursing assistant. By working the shifts I was able to get a feel of the daily rhythm of the hospital and how the often laten aspects of everyday culture shaped behaviour and perceptions around t...
Mark as Played
I enjoy good food. I am lucky, I have eaten in some great restaurants and cities around the world. Trying to replicate the most simplest of recipes at home is an ordeal and usually ends in failure. To off-set these failures I tend to indulge in many hours watching food programmes on Netflix and wishing that I had the ability to cook like many of the chefs.
 
One thing that always enters my mind is the sys...
Mark as Played
Does the mind shape who we are, how we think, the decisions we make, the moral paths we take? Well that is what western thought has led us to believe after all. But what about the body? Is it simply a shadow to the greatness of the mind or can we be learning more about human behaviour, culture and society by giving the body equal importance?
 
To unravel this I spoke to the world renowned business anthrop...
Mark as Played
Hi, and welcome The Decoding Culture Podcast.
 
The podcast focuses on the importance that culture plays in all areas of business and society; from how it shapes organisations, work and leadership to how it influences consumer experience, innovation, design and larger societal trends. 
 
My name is John Curran and I am your host. I am a business anthropologist, executive coach and CE...
Mark as Played
Hi, and welcome The Decoding Culture Podcast and the first episode of Series 2. 
 
The Podcast focuses on the importance that culture plays in all areas of business and society; from how it shapes organisations, work to how it influences consumer experience, innovation, design and larger societal trends. 
 
My name is John Curran and I am your host. I am a business anthropologist, ex...
Mark as Played
August 1, 2020 2 mins
Hi, and welcome the new home of The Decoding Culture Podcast. My name is John Curran and I am your host. I am a business anthropologist, executive coach and CEO of JC & Associates which is a consultancy that helps businesses develop better working cultures and relationships with their consumers.
 
I had a great year running series One of the podcast under This is HCD. However, I felt the time was righ...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    True Crime Tonight

    If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.