Nature is naturally on the move. But how does wildlife move through and across urban environments that are not designed for it? And what can people and businesses do to support movement? This is where nature corridors come in.

Duncan Pollard, Honorary Professorial Fellow with the Pentland Centre, joins us to expand on his previous discussion of business and biodiversity with a talk about helping species move.

With a focus on agriculture, forestry, lineal infrastructure (such as power lines or railways cutting across landscapes), and asset owners, Duncan looks at the actions that companies have taken, and what they might do going forward.

We talk about the dynamism of nature, what a nature corridor can be – both naturally and artificially – why governments and business have focused on protected areas rather than connectivity in the past, and the importance of neighbouring organisations working together to make a substantial difference.

Discover how golf courses can encourage nature, whether there are any companies reporting well on their dependency on nature, and what might be coming next.

Plus, is Jan’s garden a menace to her neighbours? How has this podcast aged its hosts? And what has Jan geeking out?

For more information on the Pentland Centre’s Business and Biodiversity Knowledge and Action Hub, see here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/activities/knowledge-and-action-hubs/business-and-biodiversity/

And details of the free business briefings from the Pentland Centre can be found here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/activities/knowledge-and-action-hubs/business-and-biodiversity/biodiversity-literacy/

The Global Reporting’s standard on biodiversity can be found here: https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/standards-development/topic-standard-for-biodiversity/

For more detail on Suzano’s restoration in Brazil activities see here: https://www.suzano.com.br/news/suzano-will-restore-cerrado-atlantic-forest-and-amazon-biomes and see the funding model they have adopted here: https://www.suzano.com.br/en/sustainability/planet/environment-and-biodiversity/biomas

How do teachers, students and researchers carry on in a time of war. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and life changed overnight.

Dniprotech University, in Dnipro, is in an area that has experienced power outages, bombing, drones and jets flying over. Yet, they have maintained a full education programme – utilising blended learning – and continue to build relationships with business and with international partners.

We spoke to Kseniia Tiukhmenova, Olena Krasovska and Tetiana Kuvaieva, from Dniprotech, in late 2025 about how they are operating in such a difficult situation.

Lancaster is twinned with Dniprotech as part of Universities UK’s Twin for Hope initiative, supporting Ukrainian universities through the crisis in matters relating to the brain drain, resilience, research, skills and knowledge exchange. We learn how this works, and the benefits both sides are gaining from the new relationship – even if our guests are too polite to admit they had not heard of Lancaster before the partnership started!

We find out about how a university in the industrial heart of Ukraine has grown and developed, how it has built expertise around sustainability, the enthusiasm of students for these topics, and the setting up a new rival (or partner) to the Pentland Centre.

Kseniia, Olena and Tetiana tell us about the power of universities in uniting people in a time of war, the importance of relationships with business, and the strength they gain from their endeavours now as they plan for post-war recovery.

Plus, Paul finds something positive to say about rankings, Jan smiles as the word benchmarking comes up unprompted, and there is talk of the legendary status of Ukrainian soil.

Find out more about the Twin for Hope initiative here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/creating-voice-our-members/campaigns/twinforhope-uk-universities-standing

What do you think of the economy? What would you do if you couldn’t afford insurance? What does a thriving community look like? And how can economic policy help that flourishing? These are all key questions when it comes to addressing societal equality and resilience.

Susan Murray is Director of the David Hume Institute, an Edinburgh-based economics-focused thinktank – despite not classing herself as an economist.

She joins us to talk about the importance of diversity in economic thinking, how resources are allocated across society, the changing nature of migration over the last 40 years, and three major projects the David Hume Institute is involved in.

We discuss the importance of local communities and place in contributing to shaping action and policy, how to reach and include ‘normal people’ in otherwise ignored places, the importance of recognising what we all have in common, and what it actually means to be thriving.

Susan introduces us to the Great Risk Transfer, how people consider risk in their own lives, the importance of having resources to manage those risks, and why people don’t always trust organisations such as insurance providers.

We look at public attitudes towards the economy and how they change; what people wanting to save rather than spend can tell us; and how economic and sustainability issues tie in with politics at a national level.

Plus, we discover how sustainability became a part of Susan’s life when she was young – via the media of Blue Peter and Raymond Briggs, the cause of Save the Whales, and under the threat of nuclear war.

And finally, we ask the important questions: When is an economist not an economist? What’s the difference between an accountant and an economist? Do accountants and economists ever walk into bars together? To hear if we ever get to the punchlines of these and other bad economics jokes, listen in.

To find out more about the David Hume Institute, visit: https://davidhumeinstitute.org/