The People's Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast
Representation with Purpose
Published: 16 February 2025 at 10:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
This is the podcast where questions sent in by listeners are discussed by your co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow. Send yours today by emailing thepeoplescountryside@gmail.com.
In today’s episode the first question to be explored comes from Brenda in Northumberland, England - “How much of human life is lost, waiting?”
Off the back of Brenda’s question William observes that a significant portion of life is spent waiting. However, he distinguishes between different types of waiting, such as waiting for a train, waiting for a kettle to boil, and waiting for the right moment.
Stuart expands on this idea by exploring the difference between procrastination and strategic thinking. He continues William’s argument by highlighting how waiting can be purposeful, such as in chess, where one must wait for the right opportunity to make a move.
The second question was sent in by Gary from Hull, England - “Is the pursuit of diversity putting at risk excellence? Are the best people getting the key jobs, if we are playing the diversity card too readily?”.
Inspired by this question, Stuart begins by expressing concern that some appointments are made for the wrong reasons, feeling that, regardless of skin color, a more suitable candidate potentially could have been chosen. He sees some appointments as mere token gestures, rather than genuine selections based on merit.
Stuart then leads the discussion towards interconnectedness, referencing ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’, which suggests that a woodland functions as a single organism, where the strong support the weak. He argues that even if the best person isn’t always chosen for a role, diversity in culture, viewpoints, and perspectives, can ultimately strengthen the whole. He acknowledges both sides of this debate.
William shares an example from his wife’s workplace, where application information was removed to reduce unconscious bias in hiring. He also notes that hiring someone solely based on their minority status can, in some ways, be insulting.
Stuart concludes with a call to action: reconsider what defines the "best" candidate for a role. He is particularly ardent about representation, emphasizing that if it is to be done, it should come from a place of sincerity rather than obligation.
What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to thepeoplescountryside@gmail.com
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This podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice.
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