Raj Patel

Raj Patel

Author: Sydney Opera House March 18, 2019 Duration: 40:20

What do you do when you decide at the age of seven that the world is an unfair place and you need to try and change it? Raj Patel’s career has been dedicated to ending inequality. From studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, London School of Economics and Cornell, to learning about the inner workings of the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank as an intern, Raj was always going to be an activist. His writing about capitalism and contemporary politics is globally influential, and he continues to look for ways to change the political and economic systems that we live in.

This episode is hosted by Edwina Throsby.

Show notes:

Watch Raj in Three Ways To Change The World

Listen to his talk Smashing Capitalism for Beginners


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Behind every significant idea, there is a rich and often winding narrative waiting to be told. It's a Long Story is where those narratives unfold, brought to life by the Sydney Opera House as a key part of its Talks and Ideas program. Host Edwina Throsby guides these explorations, sitting down for deep conversations with a fascinating array of global thinkers, artists, and culture creators. Each episode delves beyond the headlines and finished works, uncovering the personal journeys, creative struggles, and pivotal moments that shape groundbreaking contributions to the arts, commentary, and current affairs. This podcast offers a rare, intimate space to hear the nuanced stories behind the public personas, providing listeners with a deeper understanding of the forces that drive innovation and cultural dialogue. Tune in for thoughtful, extended dialogues that remind us that the most compelling concepts are rarely born in an instant, but are instead the product of a long, considered, and human process.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 62

It's a Long Story
Podcast Episodes
Adam Liaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:22
Adam Liaw understands how Australian families eat. Emigrating to South Australia from Malaysia in the 1980s his childhood was a delicious mix of international cuisines. Adam’s precocious smarts fast-tracked his academic…
Liz Jackson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:57
When Liz Jackson woke up one morning back in 2012 unable to feel her legs, her life radically changed direction. Diagnosed with a neuromuscular disease, Liz left her successful career in television to become a designer a…
Yotam Ottolenghi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:35
It’s hard to remember what we used to cook before Yotam Ottolenghi burst into our culinary consciousness. His brand of colourful, vegetable-based food has transformed kitchens and tables the world over. Born in Jerusalem…
Sarah Wilson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:18
As a hugely successful journalist and writer, and the founder of the international diet and lifestyle empire I Quit Sugar, Sarah Wilson might seem like the poster girl for perfect health. Yet anxiety and bipolar disorder…
Jonathan Drori [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:58
Walking through Kew Gardens in London with his family was formative for polymath, writer and tree-lover Jonathan Drori. With a career bridging engineering and broadcasting, he was part of the trailblazing team which crea…
Lisa-Ann Gershwin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:30
What Lisa-Ann Gershwin does not know about jellyfish probably doesn’t count, and no one gets quite as excited about gelatinous medusas as she does. Raised in California by hippie parents, her undiagnosed Asperger’s syndr…
Kevin McCloud [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:19
Kevin McCloud had a childhood where everything was built from scratch, and his home was more like a workshop. So it’s no surprise that the built world eventually became the focus of his life and work. Yet in his earlier…
Marwa Al Sabouni [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:36
When the war in Syria was tearing apart their home city of Homs, architect Marwa Al-Sabouni and her husband made the decision to stay there with their two young children, rather than to become refugees. In her memoir, Th…
Mark Lynas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:23
Back in his student days, science writer and journalist Mark Lynas was one of the first and loudest voices of the anti-GMO movement. He wrote some of the most-read articles about genetically modified organisms, led prote…
Barbara Kingsolver [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:18
How might literature change the world? American author Barbara Kingsolver has been asking this question through her best-selling novels and essays for years. After a self-described ‘curious childhood’ split between rural…