Fatherhood is a brilliant yet daunting concept in any man’s life. While you’re worrying whether you’ve sterilised enough bottles or how many nappies to take out friendship is the least of your worries. But as we age and become fathers it can become an increasingly lonely and isolated time, you’ve got your family unit but outside of that, there may not be an awful lot.

Well, this is what happened to this week's podcast guest, Dan Flanagan, who founded Dad La Soul, a support group just for fathers! Whether you’re a single dad, married, gay, or trans Dad La Soul is there for any dad at any stage of their journey into Dadulthood.

On the podcast this week Andy and Dan talk about the history of Dad La Soul and why and how Dan set it up, how fathers often neglect their mental health and candidly talk about what it’s like when things aren’t going exactly how you thought they would.

All this and more on this week's Tea with the Changemakers.

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This week on the podcast we're opening the box marked too difficult once again - we're talking about miscarriage, discussing it openly and tackling the stigma surrounding it.

Jennie Agg, an award-winning freelance health journalist, who has been featured in newspapers and magazines including The Times and the Daily Telegraph joins us on this episode to talk about her lived experience of miscarriage.

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If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Invisibility, or maybe the ability to fly? Well, in this week’s episode, we’re speaking to a real-life superhero called Sebbie Hall, whose superpower is perhaps the greatest of all - his superpower is kindness.

Sebbie first discovered his superpower during the pandemic, whilst we were all in lockdown. He had told his mum that there was a boy in his school who was at risk of social isolation, as he hadn't got an iPad or laptop to talk to his classmates on or to do schoolwork with while confined to the house. Sebbie wanted to help his classmate, and was even prepared to give him his own iPad! Instead, they came up with the idea of raising money for charity, to help Sebbie's classmate as well as the wider community.

Inspired by Captain Tom Moore’s 100 laps of his garden ahead of his 100th birthday, Sebbie decided that he wanted to complete 100 acts of kindness in 10 days to raise £1,000. Sebbie's acts of kindness hugely benefitted the local community during the pandemic and spread happiness! Whether by popping notes through neighbours' doors or posting letters for people because they didn't want to leave their homes, Sebbie's simple but selfless acts brightened up hundreds of people's days!

But Sebbie didn’t stop there... he wanted to make more people smile up and down the country, and eventually the smiles spread around the globe! Sebbie was awarded a World Compassion Award along with $10,000. This cash award enabled the family to set up The Sebbie Hall Kindness Foundation in 2022. The foundation has the aim of helping other young people who are disadvantaged due to disability.

Combatting loneliness, spreading kindness, making people feel happy inside and making a difference, The Sebbie Hall Kindness Foundation is a huge player in fighting the social exclusion of people with learning difficulties and enables them to lead fulfilled lives, always keeping kindness at the forefront.

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Upskirting, as defined by the UK government, is a highly intrusive practice which typically involves someone taking a picture under another person’s clothing without their knowledge, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks (with or without underwear). Shockingly, it wasn’t a specific criminal offence until 2019 – but had been in Scotland for over 10 years. On the podcast this week, we talk to the woman responsible for introducing the 2019 Voyeurism Act, Gina Martin.

Gina, charged by what happened at British Summertime, aimed to change the law around voyeurism, starting and spearheading a social media movement that grew rapidly. Gina’s campaign eventually resulted in a petition that amassed over 110,000 signatures, and after an 18-month battle to illegalise upskirting, she finally won The Voyeurism (Offences) Act, commonly known as the Upskirting Bill. The Voyeurism (Offences) Act was introduced on 21 June 2018 and came into force on 12 April 2019.

You can read more about it on the UK Government website and find exactly what is covered by the law We would also encourage you to check out our Know Violence campaign for Cambridgeshire constabulary about acts that might not be illegal but are still unacceptable.

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‘Extinction’ – probably a word you associate with long-gone dinosaurs. How about ‘rebellion’? Thousands giving all for the cause on historical battlefields? Well, on this week’s Tea with the Changemakers, we welcome you to the rebellion, as we speak with Clare Farrell, who proudly co-founded the movement, Extinction Rebellion (XR). (You can choose not to join the rebellion, of course... that just means there’s more chance of us all ending up in the same state as stegosaurus and company – your call!)

Now, you may know something of Extinction Rebellion already, having garnered a reputation for blocking roads and holding up ambulances; however, in this episode, we dispel a few myths (especially the ambulance one) that have often been fuelled by tabloid tattle and then parroted by more mainstream media outlets.

Extinction Rebellion describes itself as an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse. On the surface, claims of societal chaos and ecological devastation may sound a little drastic and dramatic; however, with the tipping point of global warming approaching in 2030, the cost of living crisis, and the richest 1% of society getting ever richer while the vast majority are getting ever poorer, it could well be argued that society is already collapsing…

This week, we hope that you’ll put any pre/mis-conceptions you may have about Extinction Rebellion aside, and appreciate them as a genuine catalyst for change.

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Did you know there are now more food banks in the UK than there are branches of McDonald’s?

Shocking we know, but foodbanks are now vital and sadly accepted part of society; and for the survival of an ever-increasing number of people up and down the UK who are struggling through the cost-of-living crisis.

On this episode of Tea with the Changemakers we’re talking to an anti-poverty
campaigner and food writer Jack Monroe who’s had more than their (un)fair share of controversy and trolling over the years.

Jack Monroe at their core is a mother who found themselves in a tight situation with the cost of living, finding it difficult to feed their son. Jack started writing a blog about cheap and easy recipes back in 2010 (yes, the cost-of-living crisis was still a thing back in 2010…). Little did they know that their blog would resonate with a huge number of people and eventually led them to become a published author and a hugely influential figure in society.

There are few figures like Jack Monroe in society, who have the sheer grit and determination to speak out on poverty and ignite genuine social change, and on this week’s episode of Tea with the Changemakers we think you’ll see a different more tender and relaxed version of Jack.

Throughout their career they’ve been subject to scrutiny and their authenticity has been bought into question. There is no denying that Jack’s often-brash approach has rubbed some people up the wrong way – but isn’t that the point? Jack is authentic and saying it as it is, and has made it their mission to keep the conversation going around poverty and strives to genuinely help those who are struggling.

Check out our blog on this episode, McPoverty and a side of lies.

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Globally, 500 billion plastic bottles are used every year – that’s 66 bottles for every person on the planet! This week, we’re chatting to ape2o’s Anthony Newman, the man on a mission to tackle that alarming statistic.

Anthony identified that a lot of people clearly have a thirst for water on the go, and favour the taste of bottled water, but there is an indisputable crisis with our consumption. In the UK alone, seven million plastic water bottles are thrown away every day; 80% end up burned, in landfill, or in our oceans and some microplastics end up being ingested by us.

The B Corp-certified anti-plastic bottle water company operates an array of water dispensers in and around London, that provide commuters and travellers with on-demand chilled still or sparkling triple-filtered UV-treated purified water, for the affordable price of £0.25 per half litre!

ape2o has already saved hundreds of thousands of plastic bottles from polluting our oceans, and impressively 10% of what you do spend with ape2o goes towards marine and freshwater conservation and clean-ups. The first recipient of ape2o’s 10% promise was the Zoological Society of London, and the money donated helped ZSL develop their marine and freshwater conservation!

Check out ape2o’s website where you can find out where ape2o’s dispensers are located and get your hands on a variety of merch, including the 100% plastic-free SILVERBACK bottle mentioned in this episode.

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This episode contains conversations about and references to suicide.

This week on the podcast, we’re talking to Mike, Andy & Tim, the 3 Dads Walking. Coined ‘the club that no one wants to be part of’, the 3 dads all lost their daughters to suicide and have staged two country-spanning walks to support the charity, PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide), and to raise awareness of the fact that suicide is the biggest killer of under-35s in the UK.

Mike, Andy & Tim connected with each other in circumstances that no parent wants to find themselves in - losing a child. Beth (Mike’s daughter), Sophie (Andy’s daughter) and Emily (Tim’s daughter) took their own lives, and the 3 dads have channelled their immeasurable loss and grief into helping others.

By raising awareness, the dads have been able to ensure that conversation around admittedly difficult topics stays open and relevant in society. Most importantly, their efforts have helped to signpost where young people who are struggling can access support without feeling stigmatised.

PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK is a confidential support and advice service for:

Children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide.

Anyone concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide.

HOPELINEUK advisers want to work with you to understand why these thoughts of suicide might be present. They also want to provide you with a safe space to talk through anything happening in your life that could be impacting on your or anyone else’s ability to stay safe.

Call: 0800 068 41 41

Text: 07860 039 967

Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org

Opening hours:

9am to midnight every day of the year.

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