Richard Brown on London's future - a capital in pivot

In this episode, Mark's guest Ky Nichol, CEO of Cutover reflects on an extraordinary year for his firm and the tech sector in general.

The last 100 years have been the century of the motor car. In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to Hannah Elliott, Bloomberg's motoring correspondent, about the way we use automobiles, how the industry is adapting to economic circumstances and emerging technology, and how the car's relationship with society will affect and be affected by policy-making over the next decades.

Digital technology has transformed the way countries interact with each other at a state-to-state level. In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to former diplomat Tom Fletcher, author of The Naked Diplomat, about his time as ambassador to Lebanon, when he transformed the embassy's media output, the new ways in which diplomacy is being practised and how politicians and public servants will have to adapt to new technology on an evolving basis.

Every country wants to be a leader in the tech world. In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to Stephen Kelly, chair of Tech Nation, the UK’s leading growth platform for tech companies and entrepreneur, about how he picks winners and incubates success. They discuss how government can work with the private sector to create the conditions for growth, what infrastructure is needed, and how the UK has been able to produce so many high-performing tech companies.

Television has been in the ascendant for some years and the pandemic has strengthened its hold on the public imagination. In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to legendary TV executive Lord Grade of Yarmouth about his time at all of the UK's major broadcasters and discusses the future of television in the 2030s. They talk about public funding and how the BBC will address itself to its second century, the unique status of Channel 4 and the extraordinary boom in the British creative industries.

The withdrawal of the US from Iraq and Afghanistan after costly but unsuccessful deployments has challenged the ability of the international community, through the United Nations and other organisations, to effect lasting geopolitical change.In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to Dr Sean McFate of the Atlantic Council about where pulling out of Afghanistan leaves Biden-era US foreign policy and whether there is a public appetite for intervention abroad.They discuss the role of private military contractors, or mercenaries, so long regarded as a taboo for developed nations, and explore whether such forces could be used as a more efficient and effective tool for the global community to carry out foreign policy aims.

Foreign policy, defence and international trade and more closely intertwined than ever in the 2020s: governments must approach them holistically rather than in silos.In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to Professor Michael Clarke, former head of the Royal United Services Institute, about the UK’s Integrated Review and how far it represents a break from traditional thinking on our place in the world.They discuss the increasing threat of China, the post-Brexit identity of “Global Britain” and how the UK can maintain a powerful voice on the world stage despite financial pressures on its armed forces and the transformation of international relations by technology."

We take so many aspects of international trade for granted. But the way in which goods circle the globe is changing all the time. In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to Dr Marc Levinson, author of books like "The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy" and "Outside the Box: How Globalization Changed from Moving Stuff to Spreading Ideas". They discuss the evolving mechanics of globalisation and how it has been affected by the pandemic, as well as the power of commerce to create change throughout societies.

Commentating on business and public policy gives a unique viewpoint on changing trends and development. In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to Adi Ignatius, editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business Review, exploring how the commercial world has changed since he took up his post in 2009, and suggesting what innovations the 2020s might see. He also looks at the demand for 'thought leadership' and public respectability that many entrepreneurs and business leaders seek through the pages of publications like the HBR, and how their messages are disseminated.

Few cities have seen so much change this century as London. In this episode, Eliot Wilson talks to Richard Brown, acting director of the Centre for London think tank. He traces the development of the elected mayoralty from its inception in the late 1990s, through the Ken Livingstone years and Boris Johnson's tenure, to today's mayor and the 2021 election. He describes the political turmoil in which the first mayoralty began, the hosting of the 2012 Olympics and the balance of power in a city with a Labour core and Conservative-leaning suburbs; before outlining the Centre for London's forward-looking 'London Futures' project which examines what the capital ought to look like by 2050.