The Learning Future Podcast with Louka Parry

• Power, Privacy and Protecting Childhood in the Digital Age with Sarah Davies AM S9E9 (129)

  In this powerful and timely conversation, Louka Parry is joined by Sarah Davies, CEO of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation and Dolly’s Dream, to explore how technology, power, and purpose intersect in the lives of young people. Together, they confront the hidden harms of data extraction, dark patterns, and wellbeing bots, while also spotlighting the enduring resilience of childhood. From the dangers of cognitive offloading to the urgent need for data privacy reform, this episode challenges listeners to reclaim agency—as parents, educators, and citizens—and protect the relational heart of childhood in a rapidly digitising world.

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• From Cognitive Debt to Purposeful Learning: Reimagining Education with Prof. Martin Westwell S9E8 (128)

  In this rich and expansive conversation, Professor Martin Westwell, Chief Executive of the South Australian Department for Education, joins Louka Parry to explore the deep shifts required in education to truly prepare young people for the complexity of today’s world. From the role of dispositions and student agency to the transformational potential of generative AI in classrooms, the dialogue challenges dichotomous thinking and calls for a purpose-driven, flexible, and learning-focused education system. Together, they unpack what it means to shift from achiever to explorer and build a system where students thrive—not just perform.

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• Imagining Education: Teaching the Future with Dr. Peter Bishop S9E7 (127)

  If the goal of education is to prepare students for the future, why are we not teaching them explicitly about the future?In an age of rapid change and uncertainty, what might education look like if imagination was treated as essential as literacy or numeracy?🎙️ Episode SummaryIn this episode of The Learning Future Podcast, host Louka Parry speaks with Dr. Peter C. Bishop, executive director of Teach the Future and retired professor of strategic foresight from the University of Houston. Together, they explore why futures thinking is not only possible but essential in education. Dr. Bishop challenges conventional education models that overemphasize empirical certainty and neglect imagination, agency, and the capacity to navigate uncertainty. With stories from global classrooms and reflections on decades of foresight education, this episode is a compelling call to reimagine schooling as a place of skills-based learning, deep engagement, and preparation for an unpredictable future.👤 About Dr. Peter BishopDr. Peter C. Bishop is a leading futurist, educator, and executive director of Teach the Future, a global movement promoting futures thinking in education. He served as Associate Professor of Strategic Foresight and Director of the Graduate Program in Foresight at the University of Houston until his retirement in 2013. A passionate advocate for futures literacy, Dr. Bishop has authored key texts including Thinking About the Future and Teaching About the Future (with Andy Hines). His work focuses on helping educators and students develop the mindset and tools to navigate uncertainty, embrace imagination, and become agents of change in their own communities.

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• Everyday Habits for Radical System Transformation with Adam Kahane S9E6 (126)

  What if peaceful system transformation isn’t led from the top, but from within — through the everyday choices of those embedded in the system?In a world craving certainty, how might we learn to embrace dissonance and cracks as the starting points of meaningful change?Episode SummaryIn this episode of The Learning Future Podcast, Louka Parry speaks with renowned systems thinker and facilitator Adam Kahane, author of Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems. Drawing on more than 30 years of global experience—including his involvement in South Africa’s democratic transition—Adam explores how radical engagement and individual agency contribute to peaceful system transformation. Together, Louka and Adam unpack the hidden grammars of schooling, the pitfalls of top-down reform, and the power of everyday habits to drive sustainable change. From Leonard Cohen to the Bhagavad Gita, this conversation is a deep and practical exploration of how we might lead with love and power in a time of profound flux.About Adam KahaneAdam Kahane has more than 30 years of experience in more than 50 countries working with thousands of leaders to transform social systems at all scales (organization, city, country, globe). His work has addressed many of the most important challenges of our time, including racial oppression, violent conflict among warring groups in countries, insecurity and inequity, drug problems, social unrest, unsustainable food systems, and climate change. Kahane is a bestselling author whose five previous books each have sold between 20,000 and 100,000 copies: Solving Tough Problems, Power and Love, Transformative Scenario Planning, Collaborating with the Enemy, and Facilitating Breakthrough. He is the director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues.

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• System Design, AI and the Future of Education with Tracey Burns S9E5 (125)

  What are we at risk of losing in our pursuit of efficiency, innovation, and AI-driven transformation in education?Are we designing systems for resilience—or are we unintentionally reinforcing inequality through the paths of least resistance?In this insightful conversation, Louka Parry is joined by Tracey Burns—Chief of Global Strategy and Research at the National Center on Education and the Economy, former OECD leader, and international systems thinker. Speaking from Paris, Tracey draws on her global experience to explore how education systems are evolving—and what we risk losing in the process.Together they dive into the accelerating impact of AI, the legacy of the OECD’s Four Future Scenarios for Schooling, and the urgent need for wisdom, not just innovation, in navigating complexity. From learning models to system inefficiencies, Tracey unpacks why we must be more intentional in preserving what matters—especially the deeply human relationships at the heart of learning. This episode is a call to anticipate, adapt, and interrogate the uncomfortable truths shaping our futures.

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