Be Hope Podcast Takeover Returns Bigger and Bolder Than Before

“What is the sound of hope we can make above the noise of despair?”

This is the question Richard Curtis, filmmaker, campaigner and co-founder of Project Everyone posed last year. When the news cycle feels overwhelmingly dominated by growing conflict, natural disasters and division, it’s easy to question whether progress is still happening – and crucially whether there’s anything we can do about it.

At Project Everyone, our answer is a resounding yes. And this week we’re taking over your podcast feeds to prove it. Coinciding with world leaders gathering in New York for the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the “Be Hope” Podcast Takeover has returned for its second year. Bigger and bolder than before, major shows from across the UK, India, the US, Canada, South Africa and Australia have united to push back against fatalism, reaching millions of listeners across the globe:
  

• The Rest Is Politics: Leading with Alastair Campbell and  Rory Stewart: With special guest Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados
• Office Hours with Arthur Brooks: With special guest Simon Sinek, Author and Founder of The Optimism Company
• All About Her with Soha Ali Khan: With special guest Shruti Haasan, Actress, Music Director and Singer
• KK Create with Kavya Karnatac: With special guest Jimmy Wales, Author and Co-founder of Wikipedia
• Be A Man, Yaar! with Nikhil Taneja: With special guest Ali Fazal, Actor and Producer
• The Rest is Politics: With Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci: Exploring the future of multilateralism.
• All The Cool Girls: With Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill: With special guest Clarissa Ward, Chief International Correspondent for CNN
• The Imperfects: with Hugh van Cuylenburg, Ryan Shelton and Josh van Cuylenburg: With special guest Luke Bateman, Former Rugby Player, Gambling-Harm Advocate and BookTok Creator.
• Kelly Corrigan Wonders: With special guest Nicholas Epley, Behavioral Scientist and Author of A Little More Social
• The Anurag Minus Verma Podcast: From Indian pop culture to AI, a conversation on finding hope amid growing uncertainty.
• Mindful Mondays with Shudu Musida: Reflections on hope, from the resilience of FGM survivors to progress in gender equality
• Live Well, Be Well with Sarah Ann Macklin: With special guest Rob Rea, Human Potential Coach and Breathwork Practitioner
• The Week Junior Show: With special guest Kalpana Arias, Nature Rights Campaigner, Founder of Nowadays on Earth and Glitch
• Outrage and Optimism: With Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson
• Cities 1.5:  Bonus trailer for their upcoming season, featuring soundbites on hope from interviewees.

You can dive into all the episodes on the official playlist. More shows to be added every day this week!

Why Podcasts? Why Now?

Social media and video networks have officially become the top ways people get their news worldwide. We’re tapping into that shift to meet people where they are by bringing together some of the world’s top podcasts to elevate stories of progress, optimism and collective action.

In the words of Kate Garvey, Project Everyone co-founder:

“At Project Everyone we say to make things happen you have to make things – and podcasts are where powerful conversations are happening right now. This is the second Be Hope Podcast Takeover and it’s bigger and bolder with a global network of hosts and guests who push back against despair and inspire hope that progress is not only within reach, it’s already happening.” 

To make discovering these conversations even easier, YouTube – the world’s largest podcast platform – is supporting the Be Hope Takeover with a dedicated playlist on its Social Impact Channel.

Hope Is a Choice

This Podcast Takeover reflects the core message of our latest publication, The Hope Report: The Next Era of Progress: despite rising conflict, aid cuts, and declining trust in international institutions, progress is far from over. 

International cooperation isn’t disappearing.It is changing.

Hope isn’t about ignoring the scale of the world’s challenges, it’s about knowing we have the tools, creativity and power to confront them.