Civil Society Podcast

In recent months, civil society organisations such as the RNLI have faced attacks as they deliver their vital services from anti-migrant protestors and other groups .Social Enterprise UK chief executive Peter Holbrook joins the podcast to discuss his own efforts at helping to form a sector-wide response, and shares his thoughts on government relations and hope for the future.

In this episode, Civil Society speaks to Yeme Onoabhagbe, chief executive of Board Racial Diversity. We discuss the barriers facing people of colour in attaining senior positions, how budding trustees can make an impression and her own charity's plans for increasing representation at board level.

In this episode, Civil Society talked to James Lewis, founder and chief executive of Action for Elders. We discussed why trustees should be paid and why there should be fewer charities, among other things.

Emily Moss and Lisa Farmer, chief executive of the Royal British Veterans' Enterprise, discuss the RBVE’s recent rebrand and name change from Royal British Legion Industries, as well as its pioneering Veterans’ Village model and how its social enterprise model could be adopted by other charities.

In this episode, Civil Society talked to Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change (DSC). We discussed Allcock Tyler's 25-year tenure at DSC, leading through tough times and dealing with moral fatigue, among other things.

To mark Volunteers’ Week, the RVS's head of DEI discusses digital volunteering platform, GoVo, issues surrounding accessibility across the volunteering sector, and more...

The latest Civil Society Podcast episode has been published with David Holdsworth, chief executive of the Charity Commission. In this interview, Holdsworth discusses increasing casework for the regulator, mooted new powers for it to clamp down on extremism, the debate over paying trustees and the need to boost philanthropy in the UK, among other areas.

In this episode, Civil Society spoke to Jen Shang about her book Meaningful Philanthropy. We discussed the psychology behind giving, donor motivations, engagement strategies for charities and moral conviction, among other subject areas.

The Fundraising Regulator chief executive talks the recently revised Fundraising Code of Practice, the new soft opt-in rules, AI in fundraising, and more...Editor's note: This podcast was recorded at the end of January 2026, prior to the formal implementation of the soft opt-in rules in early February 2026.

Anand Shukla, chief executive of the Henry Smith Foundation, and Emma de Closset, chief executive of UK Community Foundations, discuss their thoughts, feelings and reflections on their new partnership and the expansion of the care leavers’ programme so far; the benefits of multi-year funding; the importance of creativity in grantmaking; the role of community foundations and the future of place-based philanthropy in the UK.