Best Penguin Random House Podcasts (2025)

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Asi Sharabi on scaling Wonderbly from the kitchen table to an award-winning business & selling to Penguin Random House 35:45

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19d ago35:45

35:45

Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Asi Sharabi, Co-Founder and CEO of Wonderbly, the world’s leading personalised publishing company. Founded in 2012, Wonderbly is on a mission to inspire boundless self-belief in children through clever and sophisticated personalisation. Over the last decade, Asi and the team have gone from strength to strength, raising m…

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BONUS EPIOSDE: Driven by Data LIVE; Panel Discussion 2: Making Data Count by Providing Tangible Value the Business Can Touch! 43:20

33m ago43:20

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In October 2025, Orbition Group hosted Driven by Data LIVE, where they welcomed 120 CDOs/Data Leaders to Tobacco Dock in London for a half-day event, which included 3 panel discussions and some roundtable conversations. The second panel discussion saw Kyle Winterbottom joined by; Ranil Boteju, Chief Data Officer, Lloyds Banking Group Loretta Franks…

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Shimona Mehta on scaling Shopify Plus to $1B & transitioning into the CEO role at F11 44:59

7h ago44:59

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Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Shimona Mehta, CEO at F11 - the one-stop platform for digital advertising. Prior to joining F11, Shimona spent 6 years at Shopify, working across the Revenue function and becoming Managing Director of EMEA, where she built the rocketship commercial offering Shopify Plus from 0 to $1 billion. It doesn’t take a lot of digg…

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BONUS EPIOSDE: Driven by Data LIVE; Panel Discussion 1: The Biggest Challenges in Data, Analytics & AI and How They're Being Tackled! 55:37

7d ago55:37

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In October 2025, Orbition Group hosted Driven by Data LIVE, where they welcomed 120 CDOs/Data Leaders to Tobacco Dock in London for a half-day event, which included 3 panel discussions and some roundtable conversations. The first panel discussion saw Kyle Winterbottom joined by; Davin Crowley-Sweet, Chief Data Officer at National Highways Kelly Hum…

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Pierre-Yves Donzé & Maki Umemura, "Pierre-Yves Donzé & Maki Umemura, Japan and the Great Divergence in Business History" (JESB, 2025) 32:37

12d ago32:37

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For much of the late 20th century, Japanese business historians were core contributors to the global field. They published, collaborated, and shaped debates. But something shifted after 2000. Their international visibility - and participation in emerging theoretical conversations - declined. In Japan and the Great Divergence in Business History (Do…

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Duncan Clark on staying purpose-driven in a $42 billion company 44:05

13d ago44:05

44:05

Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Duncan Clark, Head of EMEA at Canva, the world-leading visual-communication platform on a mission to empower the world to design. Before joining Canva, Duncan co-founded Flourish, the data-storytelling platform used by newsrooms and organisations worldwide to bring data to life. Duncan’s journey from data journalist at T…

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Eduardo Mercado III, "Why Whales Sing" (JHU Press, 2025) 1:05:37

31m ago1:05:37

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With breathtaking complexity and haunting beauty, the songs of whales have long fascinated scientists. Whales are the only mammals that can sing continuously for ten hours or more, changing the unique songs they sing every year. In Why Whales Sing (JHU Press, 2025), bioacoustician and cognitive scientist Eduardo Mercado transforms our understanding…

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S5 | Ep 50 | Rebuilding Trust: How the ONS Is Turning Data Lessons into Lasting Change with James Benford, Director General for Economic, Social and Environmental Statistics at Office for National Statistics ... 50:59

15d ago50:59

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In Episode 50, the season finale of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by James Benford, Director General of Surveys, Economic and Social Statistics at Office for National Statistics, where they have a candid discussion regarding the turnaround job at hand after recent public scrutiny and high-profile errors. They…

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Fang Yu Hu, "Good Wife, Wise Mother: Educating Han Taiwanese Girls Under Japanese Rule" (U Washington Press, 2024) 1:01:17

5h ago1:01:17

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In Good Wife, Wise Mother: Educating Han Taiwanese Girls Under Japanese Rule (U Washington Press, 2024), female education and citizenship serve as a lens through which to examine Taiwan’s uniqueness as a colonial crossroads between Chinese and Japanese ideas and practices. A latecomer to the age of imperialism, Japan used modernization efforts in T…

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Christopher Nelson, "When the Bones Speak: The Living, the Dead, and the Sacrifice of Contemporary Okinawa" (Duke UP, 2025) 1:08:00

20d ago1:08:00

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Haunted by the past, ordinary Okinawans struggle to live with the unbearable legacies of war, Japanese nationalism, and American imperialism. They are caught up in a web of people and practices--living and dead, visible and immaterial--that exert powerful forces often beyond their control. In When the Bones Speak, Christopher T. Nelson examines the…

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S5 | Ep 49 | AI Innovation; Succeed by Letting the Business Lead with Adrian Estala, Field Chief Data & AI Officer at Starburst 48:21

2d ago48:21

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In Episode 49, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Adrian Estala, Field Chief Data & AI Officer at Starburst, where they discuss how to deliver successful AI innovation and transformation by letting 'the business' lead, which includes; Why we need to let business teams to lead AI innovation for meaningful tra…

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Stephen C. Mercado, "Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito's Scientists and Technicians Served in the Second World War and the Cold War" (Pen & Sword Military, 2025) 38:33

26d ago38:33

38:33

War, and the threat of war, spurs governments to invest in secret military technologies and weapons. Imperial Japan, ahead of the Second World War, was no exception. After the First World War, Japan set up the Noborito Research Institute: a division of scientists and technicians to invest in overt and clandestine warfare. Stephen Mercado dives into…

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Gaurav Suri and Jay McClelland, "The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines" (Basic Books, 2025) 2:20:51

27d ago2:20:51

2:20:51

When we are trying to solve a problem, what happens? We find ourselves weighing arguments, or relying on intuition, then reaching a conscious decision about what to do. What is going on behind the scenes? In The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines (Basic Books, 2025), Gaurav Suri and Jay McClelland show that our experience…

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Thomas Plantenga on taking Vinted from near bankruptcy to a €5 billion valuation 48:04

8d ago48:04

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Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Thomas Plantenga, the CEO of Vinted - Europe’s largest secondhand marketplace and Lithuania’s first-ever unicorn. What started as a small Lithuanian startup in 2008 has evolved into a fast-growth business with millions of users, 2,000+ employees and a €5 billion valuation. In today’s conversation, Thomas shares the ins a…

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Bertelsmann Business Podcast with Immanuel Hermreck and Charles Galunic [EN] 1:07:26

17d ago1:07:26

1:07:26

Chief Human Resources Officer Immanuel Hermreck on the Bertelsmann Business Podcast with INSEAD Professor Charles GalunicIn the latest episode of the Bertelsmann Business Podcast “Creativity & Entrepreneurship,” n-tv presenter and podcast host Isabelle Körner speaks with Immanuel Hermreck, Chief Human Resources Officer at Bertelsmann, and Professor…

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Bertelsmann Business Podcast mit Immanuel Hermreck und Charles Galunic [DE] 1:07:19

11d ago1:07:19

1:07:19

Personalvorstand Immanuel Hermreck im Bertelsmann Business Podcast mit INSEAD-Professor Charles GalunicIn der neuesten Folge des Bertelsmann Business Podcasts „Kreativität & Unternehmertum“ spricht n-tv-Moderatorin und Podcast-Host Isabelle Körner mit Immanuel Hermreck, Personalvorstand von Bertelsmann, sowie mit Professor Charles Galunic von der I…

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S5 | Ep 48 | Building AI for AI: How Trust Models and Data Marketplaces Are Changing the Game with Susan Laine, Chief Technology Officer (Data) at Quest Software 57:15

21d ago57:15

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In Episode 48, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Susan Laine, Chief Technology Officer (Data) at Quest Software, where they discuss the concept of building 'AI for AI', which includes; The state of data in the AI era and why garbage in equals disaster out How ‘AI for AI’ is helping organisations manage data…

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Joe Watkins, "Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future" (U Arizona Press, 2025) 44:06

24d ago44:06

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In Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future (University of Arizona Press, 2025), archaeologist Joe E. Watkins provides a comprehensive look at the rich history and cultural resilience of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan, tracing their journey from ancient times to their contemporary struggles for recognition. Relaying th…

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Jevan Soo Lenox on building AI-first cultures & high-performing teams at fast-growth Unicorn WRITER 46:22

1M ago46:22

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Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Jevan Soo Lenox, the Chief People Officer at WRITER, a leader in agentic AI for the enterprise. Founded in 2020, WRITER helps businesses launch products faster, run deeper financial research and clinical trials. The high-growth startup is backed by some of the best investors, including Balderton, Radical Ventures, ICONIQ…

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Jeffrey D. Sharon, "The Great Balancing Act: An Insider's Guide to the Human Vestibular System" (Columbia UP, 2025) 1:07:34

1M ago1:07:34

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What's the secret to keeping your balance? The ear does more than hear: it helps us stay stable by perceiving movements and gravity. Elegant sensors deep within the skull detect every twist, turn, and tumble, powering swift reflexes that keep vision and balance steady. This is the vestibular system. It's primordial and ubiquitous: every animal has …

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S5 | Ep 47 | AI Readiness: What Comes Next for Data Teams and Their Careers with Mike Leverington, Senior Director of Data & Analytics at SkyScanner 54:02

18d ago54:02

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In Episode 47, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Mike Leverington, Senior Director of Data & Analytics at Skyscanner, where they discuss the evolving landscape of data analytics in the era of AI, which includes; How AI and GenAI are transforming not only the way we work but the way we think, impacting creat…

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Stevie Suan, "Anime's Identity: Performativity and Form Beyond Japan" (U Minnesota Press, 2021) 58:38

1M ago58:38

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A formal approach to anime rethinks globalization and transnationality under neoliberalism Anime has become synonymous with Japanese culture, but its global reach raises a perplexing question--what happens when anime is produced outside of Japan? Who actually makes anime, and how can this help us rethink notions of cultural production? In Anime's I…

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Claire Davenport on career bets, leading through change & getting more women into the C-suite 39:12

1M ago39:12

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Welcome back to Season 14 of 40 Minute Mentor! In today’s episode, we’re joined by Claire Davenport, a seasoned tech operator whose career spans investment banking at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, Chief of Staff at Skype, CEO roles at VoucherCodes, HelloFresh UK and Not On The High Street, as well as board and angel investing. Today, Claire is a p…

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S5 | Ep 46 | Data & Digital and the Future of Healthcare with Ming Tang, Chief Data & Analytics Officer & Chief Digital & Information Officer at NHS England 48:53

1M ago48:53

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In Episode 46, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Ming Tang, Chief Data & Analytics Officer & Chief Digital & Information Officer at NHS England where they discuss the the governments 10-year strategy for the future of healthcare and the role that data and digital will play, which includes; From pharmacist t…

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Season 14 Trailer 4:45

1M ago4:45

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Welcome back to Season 14 of 40 Minute Mentor! We’re so excited to kick off the season this Wednesday, and with that, the launch of episode 300! Before we get into this new season, here is a short preview of the brilliant conversations we’ve got lined up for the coming 10 weeks. If you’re new to 40 Minute Mentor, don’t forget to hit subscribe so yo…

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S5 | Ep 45 | Climbing the Data & AI Literacy Ladder with Pete Williams, Director of Data at Penguin Random House and Greg Freeman, CEO at Data Literacy Academy 51:16

2M ago51:16

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M. G. Sheftall, "Nagasaki: The Last Witnesses" (Penguin Random House, 2025) 53:42

2M ago53:42

53:42

Nagasaki: The Last Witnesses (Penguin Random House, 2025) is the second volume in a prize-worthy two-book series based on years of irreplicable personal interviews with survivors about each of the atomic bomb drops, first in Hiroshima and then Nagasaki, that hastened the end of the Pacific War. On August 6, 1945, the United States unleashed a weapo…

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S5 | Ep 44 | From Loyalty to Literacy: Using Data for Good with Nick Blewden, Director of Data at Co-Op 51:11

2M ago51:11

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S5 | Ep 43 | Measuring for Success with Sarah Hardison, Product Director, Analytics Enablement at GSK. 43:17

2M ago43:17

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In Episode 43, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Sarah Hardison. Product Director, Analytics Enablement at GSK where they discuss the results from a research project on the investment and value in Data and AI that was conducted to support an MBA Thesis in partnership with University of Cambridge, which incl…

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Aaron L. Miller, "Basketball in Japan: Shooting for the Stars" (Routledge, 2024) 1:03:34

2M ago1:03:34

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Today we are joined by Aaron Miller, Lecturer in Kinesiology at California State University, East Bay and the author of Basketball in Japan: Shooting for the Stars (Routledge, 2025.) In our conversation, we discussed the beginnings of basketball in Japan, the ongoing legacy of Samurai culture in Japanese sport, and what Japanese basketball’s succes…

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S5 | Ep 42 | The Leadership Shift; Running Data Like a Business Function with Carl Smith, Group Data Officer at JCB 57:38

2M ago57:38

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In Episode 42, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Carl Smith, Group Data Officer at JCB, where they discuss why everyone hates data governance, the motivation behind his 3-part book series, and why organisations face in implementing effective data strategies, which includes; Why everyone hates governance (un…

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S5 | Ep 41 | Effective Change Leadership with Joyce Myers, Chief Data Officer at MTSI 52:10

2M ago52:10

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In Episode 41, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Joyce Myers, Chief Data Officer at MTSI where they discuss the critical facets of effective change leadership, which includes; Why we should aspire for 'Change Leadership' not 'Change Management' Joyce's journey from the military to Data Leadership. The use o…

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S5 | Ep 40 | Two Streams of Transformation; Accelerating Value While Building for Scale with Carlos Soares, SVP Data, Analytics & AI at Brenntag 59:23

2M ago59:23

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In Episode 40, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Carlos Soares, SVP Data, Analytics & AI at Brenntag, where they discuss how Brenntag is reshaping global operations by applying data, analytics, and AI to drive measurable business value. From tackling transformation through dual streams to building a data cu…

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Maren A. Ehlers, "Give and Take: Poverty and the Status Order in Early Modern Japan" (Harvard U Asia Center, 2018) 1:08:51

3M ago1:08:51

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Maren A. Ehlers’s Give and Take: Poverty and the Status Order in Early Modern Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2018) examines the ways in which ordinary subjects—including many so-called outcastes and other marginalized groups—participated in the administration and regulation of society in Tokugawa Japan. Within this context, the book focuses…

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News: Interim Report 2025 [EN] 6:46

3M ago6:46

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News: Interim Report 2025 [EN] by Bertelsmann Podcast Kreativität & UnternehmertumBy Bertelsmann Podcast Kreativität & Unternehmertum

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News: Halbjahreszahlen 2025 [DE] 6:30

3M ago6:30

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News: Halbjahreszahlen 2025 [DE] by Bertelsmann Podcast Kreativität & UnternehmertumBy Bertelsmann Podcast Kreativität & Unternehmertum

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Victoria Young, "Translation and the Borders of Contemporary Japanese Literature: Inciting Difference" (Routledge, 2024) 56:21

3M ago56:21

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Translation and the Borders of Contemporary Japanese Literature: Inciting Difference (Routledge, 2024) examines contemporary debates on such concepts as national literature, world literature, and the relationship each of these to translation, from the perspective of modern Japanese fiction. By reading between the gaps and revealing tensions and bli…

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S5 | Ep 39 | Successful AI Adoption with Alex Sidgreaves, Chief Data Officer at Zurich Insurance, Indhira Mani, Chief Data Officer at RSA and Greg Freeman, CEO at Data Literacy Academy 56:28

3M ago56:28

56:28

In Episode 39, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Alex Sidgreaves, Chief Data Officer at Zurich Insurance, Indhira Mani, Chief Data Officer at RSA and Greg Freeman, CEO at Data Literacy Academy where they discuss how to successfully adopt AI inside organisations, which includes; Why AI adoption is a business…

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Christopher Kemp, "Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation" (Norton, 2022) 50:51

3M ago50:51

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Inside our heads we carry around an infinite and endlessly unfolding map of the world. Navigation is one of the most ancient neural abilities we have―older than language. In Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation (Norton, 2022), Christopher Kemp embarks on a journey to discover the remarkable extent of what our minds can do. Fueled…

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Paul Thomas Chamberlin, "Scorched Earth: A Global History of World War II" (Basic Books, 2025) 1:04:46

3M ago1:04:46

1:04:46

In popular memory, the Second World War was an unalloyed victory for freedom over totalitarianism, marking the demise of the age of empires and the triumph of an American-led democratic order. In Scorched Earth: A Global History of World War II (Basic Books, 2025), historian Paul Thomas Chamberlin opens a longer and wider aperture on World War II a…

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S5 | Ep 38 | The Evolving Data Leadership Landscape; What It Means for Your Next Career Move with Executive Career Coach, Julia Westland 59:21

3M ago59:21

59:21

In Episode 38, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Executive Career Coach, Julia Westland. Julia spent many years as a Data & Analytics professional working in management consulting before transitioning into headhunting where she led Spencer Stuarts Digital, Data & AI practice, before becoming a career coach.…

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James Kimmel, Jr., "The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World's Deadliest Addiction—and How to Overcome It" (Random House, 2025) 52:29

3M ago52:29

52:29

There is a hidden addiction plaguing humanity right now: revenge. Researchers have identified retaliation in response to real and imagined grievances as the root cause of most forms of human aggression and violence. From vicious tweets to road rage, murder-suicide, and armed insurrection, perpetrators almost always see themselves as victims seeking…

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S5 | Ep 37 | $100m+ in EBIT Impact with Ash Dhupar, Chief Data & AI Officer at Analog Devices 52:12

3M ago52:12

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In Episode 37, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Ash Dhupar, Chief Data & AI Officer at Analog Devices (Fortune 500) where we explore how data leaders can link their work directly to measurable EBIT and revenue gains, and how the Chief Data Officer role has shifted from “data quality” to “profitability driv…

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Frances Egan, "Deflating Mental Representation" (MIT Press, 2025) 1:02:21

3M ago1:02:21

1:02:21

The human mind has the curious, even mysterious, ability to generate thoughts about things with which we are not in causal contact, such as when we think about yesterday’s tennis final, or Aristotle, or unicorns. Naturalizing mental content has usually meant explaining how this is possible in terms that eliminate the mystery while retaining commitm…

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Paul Thagard, "Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?" (MIT Press, 2021) 59:54

4M ago59:54

59:54

Octopuses can open jars to get food, and chimpanzees can plan for the future. An IBM computer named Watson won on Jeopardy! and Alexa knows our favorite songs. But do animals and smart machines really have intelligence comparable to that of humans? In Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart? (MIT Press, 2021), Paul Thagard l…

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Eiko Maruko Siniawer, "Ten Moments that Shaped Tokyo" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 49:03

4M ago49:03

49:03

How did Tokyo—Japan’s capital, global city, tourist hotspot and financial center—get to where it is today? Tokyo–or then, Edo–had a rather unglamorous start, as a backwater on Japan’s eastern coast before Tokugawa decided to make it his de facto capital. Eiko Maruko Siniawer picks ten distinct moments in Edo’s, and then Tokyo’s, history to show how…

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S5 | Ep 36 | Why Most Businesses are Placing the Wrong AI Bets with Daniel Hulme, Chief AI Officer at WPP / CEO at Satalia and Conscium 54:38

3M ago54:38

54:38

In Episode 36, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom i re-joined by Daniel Hulme, a leading authority in the world of AI and Chief AI Officer at WPP (as well as being CEO at Satalia and Conscium) Kyle and Daniel discuss the rapid evolution of AI and its implications for various sectors. They explore the concept of agentic AI…

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Judith Grisel, "Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction" (Doubleday, 2019) 1:00:13

4M ago1:00:13

1:00:13

Not a lot of authors go from spending their early twenties homeless and addicted to cocaine to becoming one of the world’s leading researchers on the neuroscience of addiction. But Dr. Judith Grisel, in her new book Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction (Doubleday, 2019), uses her personal story to illuminate the ways in which …

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S5 | Ep 35 | Data Products: The Key to Value Delivery with Dan Taffler, Group Director of Data & Analytics at Reach Plc 58:17

4M ago58:17

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In Episode 35, of Season 5 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined by Dan Taffler, Group Director of Data & Analytics at Reach Plc, where they discuss Dan's journey in data leadership, and managing Data & Analytics for a group of 120 brands. They also delve into the impact of AI on journalism, and the importance of a product mi…

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Frank Jacob, "Japanese War Crimes during World War II: Atrocity and the Psychology of Collective Violence" (Praeger, 2018) 1:06:07

4M ago1:06:07

1:06:07

When you mention Japanese War crimes in World War Two, you’ll often get different responses from different generations. The oldest among us will talk about the Bataan Death March. Younger people, coming of age in the 1990s, will mention the Rape of Nanking or the comfort women forced into service by the Japanese army. Occasionally, someone will men…