The Human Risk Podcast
People are often described as the largest asset in most organisations. They are also the biggest single cause of risk. This podcast explores the topic of 'human risk', or "the risk of people doing things they shouldn't or not doing things they should", and examines how behavioural science can help us mitigate it. It also looks at 'human reward', or "how to get the most out of people". When we manage human risk, we often stifle human reward. Equally, when we unleash human reward, we often inadvertently increase human risk.
Episodes
July 12, 2025 • 62 mins
What if we treated mental health like a capability instead of a crisis? On this episode, I'm talking to a business school professor and a counselling psychologist about their new book that looks at practical ways we can manage mental health. Not after it manifests itself, but beforehand.
Episode Summary
Mental health has become part of the workplace conversation, but all too often, that conversation stops at slogans and superficial g...
Episode Summary
Mental health has become part of the workplace conversation, but all too often, that conversation stops at slogans and superficial g...
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July 6, 2025 • 62 mins
What if joy became the most important metric when we organised events? Or, to put it another way, why are so many events uninspiring and not very joyful?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by event strategist, educator, and author Tahira Endean to explore a provocative question: what if we measured events not just by financial metrics, but by the joy they deliver?
Drawing from her new book Our KPI is Joy: How Live Events Cata...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by event strategist, educator, and author Tahira Endean to explore a provocative question: what if we measured events not just by financial metrics, but by the joy they deliver?
Drawing from her new book Our KPI is Joy: How Live Events Cata...
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June 29, 2025 • 70 mins
Why is getting shit done so hard, and what can we do about it?
Episode Summary
Getting shit done isn’t just about motivation or tools, it’s about design. In this episode, I speak to Claus Raasted: consultant, author, speaker, experience designer, and someone who describes himself — with tongue firmly in cheek — as an “overpaid rockstar consultant.”
But behind the flair is a deep understanding of how to remove friction, reframe work,...
Episode Summary
Getting shit done isn’t just about motivation or tools, it’s about design. In this episode, I speak to Claus Raasted: consultant, author, speaker, experience designer, and someone who describes himself — with tongue firmly in cheek — as an “overpaid rockstar consultant.”
But behind the flair is a deep understanding of how to remove friction, reframe work,...
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June 21, 2025 • 53 mins
What happens when a British communications expert takes her political instincts and corporate storytelling skills to Germany?
🎙️ Overview
On this episode, I speak with Katy Diggory, who’s done exactly that — and learned a lot about tone, culture, and translation along the way. It’s a brilliant conversation that blends politics, international business, and linguistic nuance.
We explore the difference between translating and localis...
🎙️ Overview
On this episode, I speak with Katy Diggory, who’s done exactly that — and learned a lot about tone, culture, and translation along the way. It’s a brilliant conversation that blends politics, international business, and linguistic nuance.
We explore the difference between translating and localis...
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June 14, 2025 • 68 mins
What can a global pop icon teach us about business strategy? In the case of Taylor Swift, more than you might think.
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by Kevin Evers, senior editor at Harvard Business Review and the author of There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift.
We dive deep into what makes Swift not just a pop icon but a master strategist — someone who has repeatedly made bold, counterintuitive ...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by Kevin Evers, senior editor at Harvard Business Review and the author of There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift.
We dive deep into what makes Swift not just a pop icon but a master strategist — someone who has repeatedly made bold, counterintuitive ...
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June 7, 2025 • 66 mins
Why do people have affairs? What lessons can we learn from infidelity?
It's estimated that an affair will impact one in five of us, yet it tends to be a taboo subject.
So, on this episode, I'm going to break that taboo and explore the hidden world of affairs with psychoanalyst and author Juliet Rosenfeld.
Juliet’s book, Affairs: Stories of Love, Lies, Hope and Desire, is an intimate look at why people have affairs, how those relatio...
It's estimated that an affair will impact one in five of us, yet it tends to be a taboo subject.
So, on this episode, I'm going to break that taboo and explore the hidden world of affairs with psychoanalyst and author Juliet Rosenfeld.
Juliet’s book, Affairs: Stories of Love, Lies, Hope and Desire, is an intimate look at why people have affairs, how those relatio...
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June 1, 2025 • 63 mins
Have you ever wondered how much of your success is down to luck? What if the world is far less fair and predictable than we’d like to think?
On this episode, I explore the complex and fascinating role of luck in our lives and decisions with Dr. Chengwei Liu, Associate Professor of Strategy and Behavioural Science at Imperial College London. Chengwei shares how his research challenges our assumptions about skill, effort, and fairnes...
On this episode, I explore the complex and fascinating role of luck in our lives and decisions with Dr. Chengwei Liu, Associate Professor of Strategy and Behavioural Science at Imperial College London. Chengwei shares how his research challenges our assumptions about skill, effort, and fairnes...
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May 24, 2025 • 62 mins
What is psychological harm, and can we really regulate it? Should an AI-companion app be allowed to dump the person who is using it?
📝 Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined once again by Professor Magda Osman, someone who’s been on the show several times before, who always has something compelling to say.
This time, we're talking about psychological harm, a term you’ve probably heard, but which remains vague, slippery, and s...
📝 Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined once again by Professor Magda Osman, someone who’s been on the show several times before, who always has something compelling to say.
This time, we're talking about psychological harm, a term you’ve probably heard, but which remains vague, slippery, and s...
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May 18, 2025 • 65 mins
What do chemistry, committees and cooking have in common? They’re all things which have formed part of the career of my guest on this episode. She’s Sarah Ward, owner of The Cookery Lab, a unique cookery school that uses a science-led approach to teaching cooking skills.
I first met Sarah when we worked together on governance at the Bank of England. She began her carerer as a chemist, before switching — for reasons she explains o...
I first met Sarah when we worked together on governance at the Bank of England. She began her carerer as a chemist, before switching — for reasons she explains o...
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May 11, 2025 • 64 mins
What do people have to do with cybersecurity? A lot. As with other fields of human risk, it’s people that are typically the root cause of problems in the cybersecurity world. Which is where my guest’s expertise in behavioural design comes into play.
On this episode, I’m speaking with Sarah Aalborg, a cybersecurity and behavioural design expert who’s on a mission to change how organisations approach IT security.
Rather than focusing...
On this episode, I’m speaking with Sarah Aalborg, a cybersecurity and behavioural design expert who’s on a mission to change how organisations approach IT security.
Rather than focusing...
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May 3, 2025 • 92 mins
What really happens Behind The Scenes at Human Risk?
📝 Episode Summary
In this special ‘takeover’ episode of the show, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my work at Human Risk. Because interviewing myself would be odd, friend of the show Sarah Abramson takes the interviewer’s seat. She delves into my journey, exploring the intersections of curiosity, compliance, and creativity that have shaped my career.
We discuss the origins of ...
📝 Episode Summary
In this special ‘takeover’ episode of the show, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my work at Human Risk. Because interviewing myself would be odd, friend of the show Sarah Abramson takes the interviewer’s seat. She delves into my journey, exploring the intersections of curiosity, compliance, and creativity that have shaped my career.
We discuss the origins of ...
Mark as Played
April 27, 2025 • 61 mins
What's the most important thing we can all do to be happy? According to my guest on this episode, it's embracing the thing that made us weird as kids.
🎙️ Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined once again by the inimitable James Victore — artist, author, and creative provocateur — to explore the power of embracing your inner weirdo.
James has just published Hey Weirdo, an eBook that argues the very things that made us weird a...
🎙️ Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined once again by the inimitable James Victore — artist, author, and creative provocateur — to explore the power of embracing your inner weirdo.
James has just published Hey Weirdo, an eBook that argues the very things that made us weird a...
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April 18, 2025 • 66 mins
Why was there a women’s orchestra in Auschwitz, and what can that help us understand human resilience?
In this deeply moving episode of the show, I speak with Anne Sebba — renowned biographer, historian, and journalist — about one of the Holocaust’s most extraordinary and little-known stories: the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz.
Anne’s latest book tells the story of how a group of female prisoners were forced to form an orchestra i...
In this deeply moving episode of the show, I speak with Anne Sebba — renowned biographer, historian, and journalist — about one of the Holocaust’s most extraordinary and little-known stories: the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz.
Anne’s latest book tells the story of how a group of female prisoners were forced to form an orchestra i...
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April 12, 2025 • 61 mins
What makes people want to go to museum? How can they ensure they still remain relevant?
I spend a lot of my time in museums. They inspire me, inform me and put me into mindsets I wouldn't otherwise be in. So I wanted to learn more about them.
Episode Summary
On this episode, I sit down with Matthew McNerney, Chief Creative Officer of Luci Creative, to explore the hidden psychology behind museum design. Matthew has worked on everyt...
I spend a lot of my time in museums. They inspire me, inform me and put me into mindsets I wouldn't otherwise be in. So I wanted to learn more about them.
Episode Summary
On this episode, I sit down with Matthew McNerney, Chief Creative Officer of Luci Creative, to explore the hidden psychology behind museum design. Matthew has worked on everyt...
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April 5, 2025 • 64 mins
What if the problem isn’t that you’re not happy enough — but that you’re chasing the wrong kind of happiness altogether?
Show Summary
On this episode I’m joined by Dr Mark Fabian, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Warwick and author of Beyond Happy: How to Rethink Happiness and Find Fulfillment.
Mark argues that our modern obsession with happiness often leads us astray, locking us into an endless cycle of str...
Show Summary
On this episode I’m joined by Dr Mark Fabian, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Warwick and author of Beyond Happy: How to Rethink Happiness and Find Fulfillment.
Mark argues that our modern obsession with happiness often leads us astray, locking us into an endless cycle of str...
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March 29, 2025 • 62 mins
What makes an organisation toxic, and how can we spot the signs before it’s too late? What are the common traits that make seemingly unrelated organisations, ranging from the Catholic Church to corporations, do harm?
On this episode, I’m joined once again by one of my favourite guests — Professor Benjamin van Rooij — for a deep dive into the hidden dangers of organisational life.
Benjamin and his co-author, Professor Nicholas Lord, a...
On this episode, I’m joined once again by one of my favourite guests — Professor Benjamin van Rooij — for a deep dive into the hidden dangers of organisational life.
Benjamin and his co-author, Professor Nicholas Lord, a...
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March 1, 2025 • 90 mins
How can we prevent violence against women? And what role do men who don't engage in violence, have to play?
This episode tackles a serious, but important topic. Violence against women affects millions worldwide, yet too often, the focus is placed on how women can protect themselves rather than addressing the behaviors and systems that enable violence in the first place. This isn’t a problem women can solve alone—society as a whole...
This episode tackles a serious, but important topic. Violence against women affects millions worldwide, yet too often, the focus is placed on how women can protect themselves rather than addressing the behaviors and systems that enable violence in the first place. This isn’t a problem women can solve alone—society as a whole...
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February 15, 2025 • 49 mins
What does tea have to do with human behaviour? A lot more than you might think. On this epusoed, I'm exploring one of the world's most popular drinks and what we can learn from it.
Summary
My guest is Giles Oakley, a professional tea taster, entrepreneur, and long-time friend. Giles began his career at Tetley before co-founding Two Spoons Tea, a company dedicated to celebrating tea as the hero crop it is.
Over the course of our conve...
Summary
My guest is Giles Oakley, a professional tea taster, entrepreneur, and long-time friend. Giles began his career at Tetley before co-founding Two Spoons Tea, a company dedicated to celebrating tea as the hero crop it is.
Over the course of our conve...
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February 1, 2025 • 71 mins
How do we create systems that encourage whistleblowing without incentivizing malicious reporting? Should we reward whistleblowers financially? Why is closure important, both for whistleblowers and the organisations they are whistleblowing on?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I speak with Pav Gill, the whistleblower behind the Wirecard scandal and former General Counsel for Wirecard’s Asia Pacific operations.
But this conversation is...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I speak with Pav Gill, the whistleblower behind the Wirecard scandal and former General Counsel for Wirecard’s Asia Pacific operations.
But this conversation is...
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January 25, 2025 • 63 mins
What is the edge of possibility and how can storytelling help us to find it? My guest isn't a storyteller — she's a lawyer, working in compliance — but she's got some fascinating insights to share about how it can help us to effect change. Or, in her words, to find the edge of our possibility.
I've been wanting to get Dr Hemma Lomax on the show for some time, and I'm delighted that in this episode, I've managed to make that happen...
I've been wanting to get Dr Hemma Lomax on the show for some time, and I'm delighted that in this episode, I've managed to make that happen...
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