Since the first lockdown in 2020 - when all of the most baffling parts of the economy, health, politics, society, science and culture took centre stage - I've been developing the idea for a project. A collaborative project that uses a mix of podcasts, animation and research to explain How England Works.
Huh?
I mean how the economic / social structures and systems around us work. The things that we all take for granted, but probably don't fully understand.
Things like Police & Crime Commissioners, apprenticeships, startup business incubators, national parks, NHS trusts, the British music industry, universities and loads more.
I keep finding smart professionals working at the top of their field confessing that they don't know how some of these work. How they are actually funded, and who is accountable for them? What are the measures of success?
English policy, politics and funding aways seems to be more complicated than most other countries. Even than in other parts of the UK. But we've ended up with a narrative that nothing works.
What if...?
The How England Works project is an attempt to cut through the noise, and find some clarity. To look at the facts behind the opinion, in a clear, fun and accessible way. Short, useful explainers.
If it's OK, I need your help with a short crowdfunder that is being launched on 14th February.
always possible will cover half of the production and marketing costs. But we want to open up opportunities for partnership and collaboration on this project in new ways. We think the sky is the limit for a project like this.
And so we're looking to crowdsource the rest of the funding that we need for the first series.
We're looking to initially produce:
- 12 short (20 minute) podcast episodes
- a whole series of 2-3 minute animations
- a website with accessible and searchable summaries and resources
The same creative and technical team is in place, and we have already recorded some interviews with leading figures from business, academia and public services to help humanise and simplify some key topics.. But now we're also working with a fantastic group of student animators and designers who are helping to visualise it.
On 14th February we'll go live with a crowdfunder packed full of rewards for individuals and businesses that share our curiosity and want to be part of making sense of all of this.
Whether you are able to put in a few quid and be part of the journey, or you could share with your network and colleagues. Or perhaps you run an organisation for which this could be an amazing value brand partnership opportunity?
Crowdfunders are only successful when there is momentum from day one. Thank you so much! All help is appreciated.
Richard and the always possible / How England Works / Brighton Paradox team
*What people said about The Brighton Paradox
That is great great story telling and I can't wait for the next install. This was a podcast that needed to be made. Brilliant.
I really hope this get shared and listened to by people in the city because if the rest of it is anything like the first episode - we all have A LOT to learn and benefit from reflecting on the ideas you are opening up here.
This is the podcast about Brighton that I never realised I needed. In awe of how much work has gone into it! So good. Informative, insightful, inspiring, entertaining and thought provoking. I've learnt so much about the details and big themes of what makes Brighton & Hove special.
The Brighton Paradox podcast has been so important to me. It's more than just a series of conversations, it's a deep exploration of the contradictions and complexities that make Brighton what it is. I want to give a heartfelt thank you to Richard Freeman and the always possible team for pouring so much passion into this project. What they've created isn't just a podcast, it's a platform for real reflection and growth. It's about understanding the challenges we face as a community and using those insights to build a better, brighter future.
The contributors range from the most influential politicians, global stars, regional moguls and everyday citizens, just looking to help shape a city that we can all be proud of. The podcast itself is exceptional. But the insight it helps shed is priceless. The fact that something so powerful and relevant exists in such a small place, while also being known by such a small percentage of the residents is telling.
[00:00:01] Hello, listeners to The Brighton Paradox. It's been a while. I thought I'd pop back into your podcast feed very briefly to let you know about another extraordinary project that is about to launch, but that I need your help with. I'm creating a new podcast, well it's bigger than a podcast, it'll be animations, it'll be events, it'll be a multimedia extravaganza project called How England Works.
[00:00:29] And the idea is to try and make sense of the policies, the systems, the structures, the funding that affects our everyday life in England and in towns and cities, but frankly a baffling complex and most people can't get their heads around. What does a police and crime commissioner do? How do high streets actually work and what are the plans for them? What's this devolution and mayors stuff all about? How does the music industry in England actually work? Who funds it? Who's benefiting?
[00:00:59] We're told it's not working. Why? Who funds libraries and national parks? And what exactly is an apprenticeship? So we're going to explore all of that. And I'm going to be interviewing the decision makers, the implementers, the policy makers, CEOs, civil servants, frontline staff, who are meant to know how it works and I think do, but have sometimes trouble explaining it.
[00:01:21] So we're going to simplify it, humanise it into little bite-sized episodes. We're going to have interviews with really cool people and get under the skin so that it's made accessible for all of us that are just trying to make our places and our businesses and our public services effective.
[00:01:39] But I'm launching a crowd funder today and we've secured half of the funding for the program, but we need to raise a little bit more to employ some student animators to make sure that the marketing makes it go as far as it can. All the money will be used to employ people in a, frankly, precarious time for work. So it's not about profit.
[00:02:03] And we've got some amazing rewards and pledges that you can buy for very good value from tickets to events to one-to-one coaching to talks and special sort of experiences for your team if you run a business or for you if you want to have a bigger role within the project. So have a look. The link is at alwayspossible.co.uk forward slash howenglandworks.
[00:02:36] And crowd funder is running for 30 days, so we want people to get in early, get pledging. Even if you can only bung in the tenner, that would be absolutely extraordinary. We want this to be a democratized, crowdsourced project that everyone kind of co-owns. So have a look, and we'd love to have you on the journey with us. So that's alwayspossible.co.uk forward slash howenglandworks. Thank you.