Seeking out positive news stories is often promoted as an antidote to doom scrolling. I’ve tried it, and I continue to do it, but I often find that instead of being inspired, uplifted and given hope, I feel unsettled and disempowered.

This is important, not just for our individual mental health, but also for how we communicate and engage with others in our work for sustainability, climate, nature etc.

I think I’ve got a handle on what the problem is, and I have some ideas about how to tell positive stories better. I’m going to be putting this into practice with our new podcast Thrivable Scotland, thrivable planet - read about this below.

The positive news stories that don’t do it for me, seem saccharine – artificially sweet. They present the positive stuff while stripping out the reality - the past, present and future realities.

They strip out the reality of the past by ignoring, or skipping over, the hard work that went into making the achievement happen, all the trials and failures, the false starts and the dead ends.

They strip out the reality of the present by implying that the achievement is pretty near perfect, that the achievement is enough despite everything that’s going on in the world.

And most importantly, they strip out the reality of the future by stopping at the most important bit – how can this achievement grow, be replicated or copied to have impact at the scale we need?

Does this feeling of dis-ease with some positive news stories resonate with you? If so, have I missed anything above? Or perhaps you have a different take?

Maybe I’m being harsh, but I’m not thinking about all positive stories here, just those that score 10 on my private saccharine scale.

Read on to find out how I plan to tell positive stories differently…

I’ve been planning a new podcast for several months, and my plans have gone through many iterations. They seem to be settling here:

Thrivable Scotland, thrivable planet is a podcast for people building a better world, people hungry for genuine hope and meaningful action amid the climate, nature and political crises.

In each episode, Osbert takes a walk with someone who’s working in Scotland to create the conditions for people and nature to thrive – whatever happens.  We talk about what they’re doing, what works, and why it matters.

Back in the studio, our team discusses how the guest’s approach could be shared and scaled, and applied in different contexts, helping you and your organisation build resilience, regenerate nature and heal society.

**Thrivable Scotland, thrivable planet: **doing what works in the polycrisis.

That’s the description. Here’s what we’re planning to do, and why:

In part 1, I’ll be talking with someone who has an inspiring story to tell. But rather than a typical remote interview over the internet, we’ll be walking together, generally in a place that’s connected with their work.

That’s because I know from experience that talking while walking results in a very different conversation – more of a genuine conversation than the Q & A of an interview, more reflective and with the potential to go deeper.

These are the broad questions that will shape our conversation:

• Where are we? Why have you chosen this walk? (To connect with the place and how the place is relevant to their work and their motivation.)

• What is the project trying to do? Why does it matter? (To understand not just the project’s aims, but the motivations behind it.)

• How is it building resilience, regenerating nature and/or healing society? (To understand the project’s impact.)

• What’s working well? Why? (I’ll be featuring projects that are able to demonstrate success, and I want to draw out and celebrate what’s working well. While I don’t want to dwell on the challenges and barriers, I want to create space to acknowledge that it’s not always easy. “Why?” is a crucial question – I want to understand what my guest sees as being behind what’s working well.)

So, in this conversation we’ll be exploring the reality of the project past and present.

In part 2, I’ll be “in the studio” (actually on the equivalent of group Zoom call, but with higher audio quality) with Morag and Rich, my co-founders at Realise Earth. Sometimes we’ll be joined by a variety of expert panellists to bring different perspectives to the show.

Together we’ll reflect on the guest’s story, and try to tease out important insights and lessons, that could help not just similar projects, but perhaps offer bring new thinking and approaches to people working in different sectors.

This discussion is where we’ll explore “how can this achievement grow, be replicated or copied to have impact at the scale we need?“

Hopefully the podcast will be interesting, inspiring and useful – and definitely not saccharine. What do you think?

I’m lining up guests at the moment – if you have any people or projects (in Scotland) you think would be a great fit, please let me know!

More…

[Adaptation] “Done well, with measures that are strategic, regenerative and transformative, adaptation has the potential not just to build community resilience, but – in the face of the weaponisation of climate action by the populist right – to restore collective purpose and identity, offering people both agency and authentic hope.” / We Need To Talk About Adaptation (Read the executive summary.)

[Change Making] “So I want to talk about change, about people, about systems, what it takes to make progress, and why being difficult is so important.” / The Art of Being Difficult (Long read, but worth it. I’m trying something new here - sharing a link with my highlights and comments. Useful?)

[Facilitation Activity] “You can clear space for innovation by helping a group let go of what it knows (but rarely admits) limits its success and by inviting creative destruction. TRIZ makes it possible to challenge sacred cows safely and encourages heretical thinking.” / Making Space with TRIZ (Other useful resource here too.)

Connecting locally…

I’m making a conscious effort to get off screen and outside to visit places and meet people.

• Last week hardy members of the Edinburgh Circular Economy Network braved the torrential rain for supper and conversation. No cheesy icebreakers, no speed networking. Just good company, good food and good conversations. Hard outcomes? Wins? Probably. Most importantly, we had a great time and everyone agreed the network should have more events with the space for real conversation. Get in touch if you’d like to help with something similar.

• Despite my aim to get off screen, I spent several days last week participating in the Applied Improvisation Network’s virtual conference. One of the best, if not the best, online events I’ve attended - both the content and the imaginative use of facilitation and improv techniques in a simple Zoom meeting. I left inspired to bring more improv into my facilitation, and to organise an event in Edinburgh for applied improvisers, facilitators and change makers. Let me know if you’re interested.

• Following minor surgery (recovering nicely thanks!), I’ll not be getting out and about much for several weeks. Luckily I’ve got a some chats lined up with potential guests for the Thrivable Scotland, Thrivable Planet podcast, most online, some in local cafes. Don’t forget to give me your suggestions!