103 - Kate Pickett

In this powerful episode of From What If To What Next, host Rob Hopkins welcomes Professor Kate Pickett, epidemiologist and co-author of The Spirit Level, to discuss her new book, The Good Society and How We Make It. Pickett envisions a transformed 2036 where deep equality, care, and wellbeing are central to society—where people feel at ease, relationships are grounded in mutual respect, and systems prioritize prevention over crisis response. She argues that despite overwhelming evidence linking inequality to poor health, social fragmentation, and environmental degradation, progress has stalled due to powerful vested interests and short-term political thinking. Pickett challenges myths about wealth creation and laziness, advocating instead for transformative policies like universal basic income and wealth taxation, which she sees as both practical and psychologically empowering. She emphasizes the need for a holistic, evidence-based approach to public spending—modeled on systems like NICE in healthcare—and calls for a shift from siloed policymaking to integrated, wellbeing-focused governance. Ultimately, she insists that imagining a better world isn’t a luxury but a necessity, especially in times of rising fascism and despair, because hope and solidarity are essential tools for change.