Avsnitt
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London will host Climate Action Week from 20 to 28 June 2026, under the theme "Climate Cooperation in a Fractured World". As the world is beset by anxiety and upheaval fuelled by wars and the societal changes brought on by artificial intelligence, conversations around the climate crisis have receded into the background. But it continues to pose an existential threat to humanity. In this episode, we find hope on the front lines.
On this episode of the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge, we ask what would change if the people on the front lines of the climate crisis were actually in charge. Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and Kavita Nandini Ramdas are joined by Laura Garcia, President and CEO of the Global Greengrants Fund, which has moved more than 135 million dollars to over 17,000 grassroots groups across 168 countries since 1993.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
Laura argues that environmental destruction always happens in "somebody else's backyard", and that when communities control their own resources and decisions, the logic of extraction starts to break down. She tells the story of how small, flexible grants of 5,000 to 10,000 dollars to communities in South Africa's coal belt helped seed a 20-year movement, anchored by the environmental justice group groundWork, that pressured the government to commit to phasing out coal. She asks who development is really for, explains why less than 1% of philanthropic funding reaches grassroots communities in the Global South, and makes the case for participatory, trust-based giving.
She also connects climate, peace and militarisation. War, she says, is total destruction of the environment, and in much of Latin America militarisation directly protects the extractive industries that environmental defenders risk their lives to resist. It is a hopeful, clear-eyed conversation about who gets to decide, and why nature, given half a chance, does the homework.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More about our guest, Laura Garcia: https://www.greengrants.org/2020/03/11/laura/
More about the Global Greengrants Fund: https://www.greengrants.org
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
00:00 Development in the name of who?
00:18 Welcome and why climate, now
03:40 Climate headlines for 2025 and 2026
05:46 Meet Laura Garcia and the Global Greengrants Fund
07:10 If the people were in charge: somebody else's backyard
09:51 South Africa's coal belt: a 20-year story
13:00 Development in the name of who?
15:46 groundWork, and what has to change in philanthropy
19:52 Investing in trust, and the courage to do more than write a cheque
22:05 Trust in action: COVID community kitchens
25:51 The radical idea: flip the 1%
29:24 War is total destruction, and a nuanced take on USAID
36:37 Fortress conservation and false solutions
38:54 What gives you hope: nature does the homework
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In this short mid-season episode of the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini puts on her peace negotiation hat and asks a simple question: if she were in charge, how would she end the conflict with Iran?
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
Drawing on thirty years in peacebuilding, Sanam argues that war is not working and economic sanctions are not working, which leaves only one real option on the table: negotiations. But not the adversarial, who-won-who-lost kind we are seeing now. She makes the case for a more inclusive peace process, one built on two pillars, political will and inclusivity, where Iranians from the health, education, housing and environmental sectors have a seat at the table alongside UN agencies to decide how reparations and rebuilding are handled.
She also tackles the question everyone is asking: who is actually in charge in Iran right now? And she closes with a reminder, in the words of the poet June Jordan, that "we are the ones we have been waiting for", and a reflection on what she calls advanced citizenship.
A full episode returns in a couple of weeks to mark London Climate Week with Laura Garcia, CEO of the Global Greengrants Fund.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Feminist economist Naila Kabeer joins Sanam and Kavita on the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge to ask why we still measure success in GDP and what we could build if we counted care, peace and the planet. A clear-eyed, hopeful conversation about Beyond GDP, the absurd cost of the war in Iran for future generations, and the everyday agency that changes the world.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
On this episode before we get to the interview, Sanam and Kavita pick up the threads Naila weaves through the conversation. They look at the $20 trillion annual cost of war, the way the care economy quietly runs on immigrant women, and the Iranian paradox where 65% of university professors are women inside a theocracy. A vivid reminder of why we need new ways to measure what's actually working in our societies.
We then welcome in Naila who explains how GDP was invented in wartime to count what could be sold, and what it has always quietly excluded: the unpaid work that holds families together, the rivers and forests that hold up the planet, and a system now monopolised by a handful of oligarchs. She unpacks the staggering price tag of war nearly $20 trillion a year, around 11.6% of global GDP and asks what we could build instead if we counted care, peace, human capabilities, and the rights of the living world.
We also hear about her new book “Renegotiating Patriarchy: Gender, Agency and the Bangladesh Paradox” — a study of how ordinary women, in some of the most oppressive circumstances, have changed their societies not through revolution but through everyday persistence.
“Despair is a luxury for the well-off. I do not think we can afford to despair.”
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Naila Kabeer Links.
LSE faculty page: https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development/people/naila-kabeer
Naila's personal site (books, articles, talks): https://nailakabeer.net/
Renegotiating Patriarchy — free open-access download (LSE Press, 2024): https://press.lse.ac.uk/books/m/10.31389/lsepress.rpg
UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP — members: https://www.un.org/en/beyondGDP/members
IAFFE Feminist Economics Podcast (Kavita mentions this at the end): https://www.iaffe.org/feminist-economics-podcast
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On the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge, Italian peace activist Raffaella Bolini was on the streets of the 80s peace movement against the Euromissiles. Forty years later, she's back, pushing back on a Europe planning to spend €6.8 trillion on armaments over the next decade. In conversation with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and Kavita Nandini Ramdas, she makes the case for common security, the politics of care, and a multipolar Europe of intersectional regions. The only winning move, she argues, is not to play.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
Sanam and Kavita open the episode with the latest flotilla to be intercepted on the way to Gaza, the unfolding war in Iran, and the absurdity of trillions being spent on defence at the expense of future generations, while everything from healthcare to social services goes without.
But not without hope. They also remember the remarkable legacy of Cora and Peter Weiss, whose memorial was held this month, two activists at the forefront of the peace and justice movement for their entire lifetimes.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
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Email ICAN: [email protected]
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
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A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
What beliefs make people willing to commit violence, and what could change their minds? In this episode, we explore what makes individuals vulnerable to white supremacist beliefs, what it means when extremism becomes mainstream, the surprising permeability of these groups, and how to talk to people in your life who express racist ideology.
Peter Simi is a professor of Sociology at Chapman University, and an expert on extremist groups and violence in the US. Among his many publications, he is co-author of American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate, and Out of Hiding: Extremist White Supremacy and How It Can be Stopped. Find out more about Peter at: https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/pete-simi.aspx.
Sara Winegar Budge holds a doctorate in Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in Oregon. She is the Director of US Programs at Moonshot, which builds technology to identify and disrupt organized crime, child sexual exploitation, and trafficking, among other forms of abuse and violence. Her clinical work focuses on individuals who are or have been involved in violent extremism. Find out more at https://moonshotteam.com/
In this episode, we talk about Stephen Tyrone Johns, Bridget's former colleague from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum who was killed by a white supremacist. You can learn more about him, and contribute to a fund in his name, here: https://www.ushmm.org/information/press/in-memoriam/stephen-tyrone-johns-1969-2009.
Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung. This season was partially funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Special thanks to Lisa Avery and Alex de Waal, and the Tufts Digital Design Studio team.
Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.
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The internet is a monocrop. A plantation of knowledge in English, owned by a handful of mega corporations, built on the bones of colonial infrastructure. And we are no longer just the consumers and as ever we are the product, the training set, the data points. So who gets to imagine the future?
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
This week on If You Were In Charge, Sanam and Kavita sit down with Anasuya Sengupta, co-founder of Whose Knowledge?, a global multilingual campaign to centre the knowledges of marginalised communities (the minoritised majority of the world) online. Anasuya traces a direct line from the telegraph networks of the British Empire to today’s Big Tech monopolies.
But this is not just a story of extraction. Anasuya shares what it looks like when voices from the margins reimagine technology. From building sovereign language models in Bangla, Urdu and Hindi, to transforming Wikipedia so that women are no longer invisible.
The episode opens with Sanam and Kavita reflecting on the Iran ceasefire, the extraordinary Lego memes coming out of Iran, and what it means when the world is surprised that Iranians have both sophisticated technology and a sense of humour.
Anasuya Sengupta — Co-founder of Whose Knowledge?
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Production
Timeline
00:00 — Cold open: Anasuya on “plantation tech”
00:26 — Intro with Sanam and Kavita
00:36 — Hosts discuss the Iran ceasefire, Lego memes, and Iranian political humour
07:15 — Transition to the possibilities theme and Arundhati Roy quote
07:35 — Reflection on the ceasefire moment and what comes next
10:30 — Discussion of Anthropic, AI containment, and Palantir
12:13 — Main interview begins: Anasuya Sengupta on the internet and search
14:30 — Tech solutionism and the polycrisis
16:34 — Colonial history of the internet: telegraph to Big Tech
20:30 — Infrastructure: who owns the message vs the messenger
23:12 — “We are the training set” — AI and data extraction
24:21 — Founding of Whose Knowledge? and feminist tech activism
28:16 — Women’s invisibility in knowledge systems and Wikipedia
33:12 — “If you were in charge” — reimagining tech from the margins
35:37 — Language, plantation tech, and multilingual futures
38:26 — Disability rights and imagining from the margins in
40:09 — Scaling across, not scaling up
43:30 — The right to refusal and feminist archives
47:24 — Representation: necessary but insufficient
49:38 — A growing coalition for change
50:15 — Radical idea: knowledge as a commons
52:59 — Outro
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Hospitals in Iran are preparing to evacuate children. International institutions are issuing statements while bombs fall on petrochemical plants. And five women sit down in Berlin to ask: what radical ideas should actually be common sense?
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
This episode of If You Were In Charge opens with hosts Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and Kavita Ramdas in conversation about the Iran crisis. Trump’s threats of escalation, the spectre of nuclear disaster, and the devastating parallel with Gaza. They ask the question that frames the whole episode: have the institutions built by generations of careful, caring work, the UN, the IAEA, international law has finally failed us?
Then the episode moves to Berlin, where Sanam and Kavita are joined by three extraordinary guests for a live group conversation recorded at the Robert Bosch Foundation Forum:
Farhana Yamin — World-renowned climate lawyer. Attended COP 1 in Berlin in 1995. Now working on global governance and philanthropy for frontline communities.
Reetta Toivanen — Finnish legal anthropologist and Professor at the University of Helsinki. Researches refugee knowledge and just transition in Europe.
Rana Dajani — Palestinian-Syrian professor of molecular cell biology. Researches the epigenetics of trauma. Founded We Love Reading, now in 78 countries.
Together, they tackle: abolishing national borders, valuing care work, why trauma survivors inherit agency (not victimhood), diaspora economies that outperform foreign aid, AI that can’t tell a scientist from a nun, and what it really means to put feminists—of every gender—in charge.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Production
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What does it mean when the world's largest progressive Jewish organisation says "not in our name"? This week on the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge, Sanam and Kavita sit down with Stefanie Fox, Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), to explore the growing movement of Jewish anti-Zionism in America and beyond.
Stefanie walks us through how JVP now three times the size it was three years ago is organising hundreds of thousands of Jews to withdraw their complicity from Israeli apartheid and genocide through boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns, Israel bonds divestment at city and state level, and deep cultural work reclaiming Judaism beyond Zionism.
From the mechanics of how American taxpayer money flows to the Israeli treasury, to the personal cost of leading a movement under legal attack and White House scrutiny, Stefanie offers a clear-eyed, hopeful account of what collective organising can achieve and why refusing the politics of despair is itself an act of resistance.
We are also joined by Sanams daughter Soleh joins us from Cambridge. Where she gives her view on JVP and their role in the student protests over Gaza.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
Guest: Stefanie Fox, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)
Links:
Jewish Voice for Peace
Wrestling with Zionism storytelling project
If You Were In Charge
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Production
TIMESTAMPED CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 – 00:33 | Cold Open
00:33 – 01:27 | Intro & Welcome
Sanam introduces the episode. Soleh joins from Cambridge.
01:27 – 02:16 | How they got Stefanie
02:16 – 04:36 | Soleh on JVP's cultural impact
Separating anti-Zionism from anti-Semitism.
04:36 – 06:28 | JVP's statement on the war on Iran
06:28 – 08:50 | Asymmetric warfare
If Iran survives, it's winning. The logic of escalation on all sides.
08:50 – 09:40 | Iran's opposition & the monarchists
Both regime and opposition willing to sacrifice the nation. Reza Pahlavi's MAGA-style approach.
09:40 – 11:04 | Global ripple effects
Gas shortages in India, Sri Lanka rationing, Pakistan's crisis — the war's worldwide impact.
11:04 – 13:31 | Geography & supply chains
Soleh's generation discovering the Strait of Hormuz.
13:31 – 14:13 | Language & culture
14:13 – 15:43 | Happy Nowruz
15:43 – 16:35 | Human cost of targeted killings
Larijani's assassination and 100+ civilian deaths.
16:35 – 17:17 | Transition to interview
Stefanie welcomed on.
17:17 – 20:07 | Who is JVP?
World's largest progressive Jewish org for Palestinian rights. 100+ chapters. Three times the size it was three years ago.
20:07 – 21:05 | Growth amid horror
More grassroots power than ever, yet the genocide continues.
21:05 – 23:45 | What is Zionism? Why anti-Zionism?
Zionism as political ideology leading to expulsion and ethnostate. True safety through solidarity.
23:45 – 26:23 | Self-censorship & the anti-Semitism smear
Sanam on 20 years of self-censorship in America. South Africa parallel.
26:23 – 28:42 | JVP's day-to-day work
Three pillars: political, financial, cultural. BDS campaigns and Israel bonds divestment.
27:38 – 30:27 | Israel bonds explained
30:27 – 32:20 | BDS-proofing the economy
How Israel uses bonds to underwrite the war economy. Public opinion shifting.
32:20 – 34:31 | Complicity & tax resistance
Nuremberg tribunals, aiding and abetting through taxes. BDS as collective action.
35:03 – 39:50 | Culture shift
Anti-Zionist Jews since the 19th century. Identity fusion only since 1967. Wrestling with Zionism project.
39:58 – 42:54 | Sanam on Iranian Jews & identity
Iran's Jewish community. Being labelled anti-Semitic in America for criticising Israel.
42:54 – 44:44 | Anti-Semitism & Zionism as "cousins"
Montague and the Balfour Declaration. Both ideologies rooted in Western nation-state building.
44:44 – 47:17 | Threats, lawsuits & Project Esther
Five active lawsuits. Named in Project Esther. On a White House list.
47:17 – 48:46 | Q: Radical idea that should be normal?
47:59 – 49:56 | Q: If you were in charge of US policy?
Full divestment, end US funding of Israel, invest in life-sustaining programmes.
50:02 – 51:13 | Q: Billionaire / What gives you hope?
No billionaires. Hope = organising and refusing the politics of despair.
51:13 – 53:50 | Tangible wins
$30 million divested from Israel bonds in the last month. Mamdani's election.
53:50 – 58:41 | If you were in charge of the media
Manufacturing consent. The debunked NY Times piece. Passive voice on Gaza vs. Ukraine. Assassinated Palestinian journalists.
58:41 – 59:32 | Closing
"Hope is great, but it's the strategy that really matters."
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On the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge, we begin with Sanam and Kavita discussing the war in Iran.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
Sanam shares what she is hearing from inside Iran as US and Israeli forces continue to strike across the country. Reflecting on the school strike, the sinking of a naval vessel by a US submarine, and the election of a new Supreme Leader. She considers where this chaos and violence may ultimately lead.
Sanam and Kavita then sit down with Maya and Nancy Yamout, two extraordinary sisters from Lebanon who understand better than most the long-term consequences of war, extremism, and violence.
Maya and Nancy Yamout are forensic social workers renowned for their deradicalisation work targeting Islamist extremists within Lebanon's prison system. Following the death of a mutual friend who had joined an extremist group, they co-founded the non-governmental organisation Rescue Me in 2011, focusing on rehabilitating at-risk youth and inmates.
This conversation explores the complex world of countering extremism through personal testimony, rehabilitation, and community rebuilding in Lebanon. Maya and Nancy share their experiences working inside prisons, navigating family dynamics, and fostering empathy as a tool to prevent violence.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
If You Were In Charge Website
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A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
A world leader has been assassinated, schools and hospitals have been hit, and Donald Trump thinks that Keir Starmer is no Winston Churchill. It’s all kicking off as the US and Israel’s illegal war escalates across the Middle East. All of this with the open admission of no real plan for what comes next.
Struggling to absorb it all? Wondering if there’s another way? British-Iranian peace strategist Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE is here to fill us in. She joins Coco and comedian Sophie Duker, who is in the hotseat for Nish this week.
Soaring oil prices was not the backdrop Chancellor Rachel Reeves was hoping for ahead of her second Spring Statement. Finalised before the conflict broke out, her economic plan was “Trumped” before it was even delivered - so where does this leave the UK?
Plus - just as the UK gets dragged into this latest destabilising conflict, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood rips up the rules on UK asylum.
Got a burning question for Nish or Coco? Big or small - they will be answered in a special episode! Email: [email protected].uk
GUEST
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE, founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
USEFUL LINKS
Sophie Dukerhttps://thesophieduker.com/
If You Were In Charge with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and Kavita Nandini Ramdas.https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/if-you-were-in-charge/id1770618616
CREDITS
Sophie Duker - Live at the Apollo / BBC One Keir Starmer / XParliament TV PBS News Hour / YouTubeBBC News Zoe Gardner / IGManchester Evening News
Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk
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Welcome back to a new season of If You Were in Charge, the leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
This week, we sit down with Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, who has built a life creating an ice cream empire while also becoming a passionate activist fighting against military spending, which he believes is irrational and immoral, and is used to keep ordinary people poor and oppressed.
We explore his journey from ice cream to activism, and his unwavering belief in the power of collective action.
This episode also features Sanam’s daughter, Soleh. Together, they discuss the ongoing Epstein fallout and why it is cutting through the media noise, Marco Rubio’s imperialist speech in Munich, and Iran—along with what America is going to do next.
That's this week on If You Were in Charge, the leadership podcast about people, power, and possibilities, hosted by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, founder of ICAN and a peace strategist who has worked with women in conflict zones for over thirty years, and co-host Kavita Nandini Ramdas, senior advisor to the International Planned Parenthood Federation and former head of the Global Fund for Women.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
key topics
Ben Cohen's background and activism journey
The role of business in social justice
Campaign against militarism and Pentagon budget
Ben and Jerry's stance on Gaza and Palestine
Corporate social responsibility and social mission
The importance of collective action and community engagement
The influence of personal values on business decisions
Strategies for engaging the public on social issues
The intersection of peacebuilding and business
Inspiration for young activists and entrepreneurs
Chapters
00:00 Health Care vs. Militarism
01:50 Public Outrage: Epstein vs. Gaza
04:44 The Role of Youth in Activism
06:44 Political Extremism and Identity
08:50 The Absurdity of Militarism
13:02 Ben Cohen: Activism and Ice Cream
14:29 The Origins of Ben and Jerry's
15:13 Childhood Aversion to Militarism
17:42 Economic Violence and Lead Poisoning
20:57 Connecting Militarism to Everyday Issues
24:59 Human Security vs. National Security
25:26 Activism and Business: A Dual Role
30:44 The Game of Business and Social Responsibility
33:45 Innovative Financing and Community Engagement
35:10 The Balance of Wealth and Fulfillment
37:12 Corporate Responsibility and Social Justice
38:21 Ben & Jerry's Social Mission and Unilever
40:41 Political Stance and Corporate Complicity
42:43 Hope Amidst Outrage and Activism
47:01 Vision for a Better World
49:39 People Power and Collective Mobilization
51:32 Cultural Connections Through Ice Cream
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Welcome back to a new season of If You Were in Charge
The leadership podcast about people, power & possibilities from ICAN and ADA is excited to announce a new co-host!
Kavita Nandini Ramdas, senior advisor to the International Planned Parenthood Federation and former head of the Global Fund for Women, joins host Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, founder of ICAN and a peace strategist who has worked with women in conflict zones for over thirty years.
Sanam and Kavita represent voices rarely heard in podcasting. Two powerful advocates for peace and social justice, women leaders with roots in India and Iran, who have built careers as global citizens at the highest levels. Launching officially Tuesday February 24th!
Welcoming an extraordinary range of guests including…
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh on advocating for survivors of sexual violence in war
Ben Cohen, peace activist & founder of ‘Ben & Jerry’s’ on his battle with the Pentagon
Alex Crawford, celebrated foreign correspondent, on this moment of global uncertainty
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
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On the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and Kavita Ramdas offer a feminist take on the pervasive issues of misogyny, the culture of impunity surrounding powerful men, and the systemic exclusion of women from influential spaces. The implications of the Epstein case, the normalization of sexual exploitation, and the backlash against feminism. The dialogue emphasizes the need for accountability and the importance of recognizing the voices of women in power dynamics, while also highlighting the hope that exists amidst the darkness of these societal issues.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
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If You Were In Charge
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
In this special edition, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and new co-host Kavita Ramdas take an incisive look at the current crisis in Iran, where economic collapse, renewed protests, and a brutal government crackdown have converged into a pivotal moment for the nation. Sanam examines the latest developments and the historical roots of dissent, including her own family’s history as key actors in 20th-century Iran.
Kavita and Sanam also discuss the resurgence of women as visible leaders of resistance, and the complex interplay of sanctions, politics, and social change. Through deep analysis and personal testimony, the conversation explores why peaceful dialogue and inclusive solutions are essential, and how the resilience of the Iranian people could help shape a future beyond despair.
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Email ICAN: [email protected]
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If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
00:00 Introduction to the Conversation on Iran
02:59 Understanding the Current Unrest in Iran
05:57 Historical Context: The Roots of Iranian Resistance
09:04 The Role of Women in the Protests
11:56 Economic Factors Behind the Protests
15:02 The Impact of Sanctions on Iranian Society
17:59 The Complexity of the Iranian Regime
20:46 The Need for Dialogue and Non-Violence
23:55 Imagining a Future for Iran
26:55 Hope Amidst the Struggle
30:09 Final Thoughts and Call to Action
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Welcome back to our special “If You Were in Charge” summer series with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini. Each week, we’re thematically pairing some of our favorite conversations and this time, we’ve brought together two powerful voices on wealth and generosity.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
First, filmmaker and activist Abby Disney shares what it was like to grow up as an heiress to the Disney fortune, and why she’s urging the ultra-wealthy to give more, and give boldly.
Then, Chris Worman from Giving Tuesday explores how philanthropy can be reclaimed by ordinary people as a force for good, personal fulfillment, and even joy.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
And ICAN International Civil Society Action Network
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Productions
Chapters
00:00 Exploring Wealth Inequality and Philanthropy
07:27 The Impact of Extreme Capitalism
12:05 Fundamentalist Capitalism and Its Consequences
17:50 Political Power and Wealth Dynamics
25:28 Racial Justice and Economic Inequality
32:06 Philanthropy vs. Systemic Change
45:25 The Role of Civil Society in Crisis
57:06 Building Local Infrastructure for Generosity
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As we gear up for Season 3 of If You Were in Charge, we’re revisiting some of Sanam’s most compelling conversations, curated into thematic pairings to offer deeper insights into the complex issues we explore.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
This week, we bring you two powerful perspectives on building peace between Israelis and Palestinians—even in these dark and challenging times.
First, Sanam speaks with Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger about the surge in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. They discuss the urgent need for lasting peace and the difficult path to achieving it.
Then, she sits down with Mohammad Darawshe, a leading political analyst and expert on Jewish-Arab relations inside Israel. Darawshe unpacks the intricate realities of coexistence, the struggles faced by Palestinian citizens, and the transformative power of education in forging a shared future.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
And ICAN International Civil Society Action Network
You can find out more information or how to get in touch following the link to our homepage -
https://shows.acast.com/if-you-were-in-charge
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Productions
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Sir Richard Dalton, former British ambassador to Iran, joins Sanam Naraghi Anderlini on this week's episode of If You Were In Charge. They discuss the collapse of diplomacy following recent U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, examining how Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA, Netanyahu's hardline policies, and the Ayatollah's defiance have escalated regional tensions. Dalton argues that without renewed multilateral engagement, lasting peace will remain elusive, criticizing Britain's failure to lead in condemning Gaza atrocities. Despite these challenges, he maintains that dialogue and diplomacy offer the best path toward a collective future.
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
As Iran is Sanam's childhood home, she also speaks with her daughter Soleh before and after the main interview, both to hear how Soleh's college community has responded to recent events and to reflect on loved ones directly impacted by the conflict in Iran, as well as those watching from afar.
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
And ICAN International Civil Society Action Network
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Productions
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A personal reflection from Sanam on two weeks of war in Iran. What it is like watching the bombardment of her childhood neighborhood from afar. —
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
We also wanted to celebrate our former guests, Women of the Sun from Palestine, who won the 2025 Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment.
So we re-uploaded our conversation with Marwa Hammad of Women of the Sun in Palestine and Yael Braudo-Bahat of Women Wage Peace in Israel two remarkable women who refuse to give in to despair, and who refuse to give up on the future.
Women of the Sun - https://womensun.org/
Women Wage Peace - https://www.womenwagepeace.org.il/en/
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
And ICAN International Civil Society Action Network
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is anADA Productions
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
On the leadership podcast If You Were In Charge, Dr. Jessie Stone, a six-time U.S. freestyle team member, shares her journey of how an illness to one of her team during a kayaking trip led her to establish a health clinic in Uganda. Now she is on the front line as USAID cuts mean millions can no longer access life-saving care.
Welcome to If You Were In Charge with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini.
In the last ten years, Dr. Jessie Stone's clinic has served hundreds of thousands of patients and helped address critical health issues like malaria and community health. Speaking to Sanam, she stresses the importance of community education and describes the challenges faced in providing healthcare in a country with one doctor for every 25,000 patients. She highlights the extraordinary resilience of local communities and the need for grassroots solutions in healthcare.
And as always, listen to the end for news on upcoming episodes and words of wisdom from Soleh!
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
And ICAN International Civil Society Action Network
You can find out more information or how to get in touch following the link to our homepage -
https://shows.acast.com/if-you-were-in-charge
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Productions
ICAN’s newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
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The fall of the Assad regime came swiftly in the end, with far less violence than anyone imagined. How did this happen? Can Syria emerge from its decades of brutality and bloodshed to become a bastion of hope in the Middle East?
A leadership podcast about people, power and possibilities.
Sanam talks to Abir Hajibrahim, co-founder of Mobaderoon and one of Syria’s leading peacebuilders, who has built a network of dedicated peacebuilders and volunteers—preventing violence, reconciling communities, and mobilizing people to be active, engaged citizens determining their own futures.
This conversation explores the untold stories of Syria’s peacebuilders—individuals from all walks of life who stepped into the chaos of conflict to rebuild trust, heal communities, and drive reconciliation from the ground up.
This episode dives into the human cost of violence, the power of grassroots engagement, the unique role of women in peace efforts, and what sets peacebuilding apart from humanitarian work—all against the backdrop of a shifting political landscape.
It’s a candid, hopeful look at the future of Syria, shaped by the courage and determination of its people.
Mobaderoon https://mobaderoon.org
Enjoyed this episode? Follow If You Were In Charge wherever you listen and leave a rating to help more people find the show.
Get in touch and stay connected:
Email ICAN: [email protected]
Sign up to the ICAN newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/
More from us: adapodcasts.com
If You Were In Charge is brought to you by ICAN, the International Civil Society Action Network. An ADA Production.
And ICAN International Civil Society Action Network
You can find out more information or how to get in touch following the link to our homepage -
https://shows.acast.com/if-you-were-in-charge
Original Music, Little Monster Media
Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch
This is an ADA Productions
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices - Visa fler
