Our first episode! My chat with Allie Pepper

Veteran mountaineer and now a record holder

A year in the making, we're thrilled to launch the first season of Tomorrow Could Be Good – a six-part podcast that uses the three most influential texts in a guest's life as a way to crack open their opinions, experiences, hopes and fears. Creator and host, author Jo Smythe (In The Time of Foxes, Simon & Schuster), speaks to change-makers in myriad fields, from around the world.

Author Jo Smythe, host of Tomorrow Could Be Good

"I always wanted to create a podcast around the concept of marrying the literature that people love with their life choices and beliefs – to me it's the perfect frame for making sense of why someone is who they are," Jo says.

"In Tomorrow Could Be Good I'm using that frame to gain perspective on some of the most interesting people I know – people who I believe are true change-makers in their various fields and contexts."

"We're incredibly proud of this experiment," says Alice Gage, General Manager of General Experiments.

"I've known Jo for years and always admired her unique perception and hunger for knowledge. Jo is an incredibly talented writer, and equally eloquent interviewer – she has a second-sense for asking people the questions we all want answers to. I can't wait to see how her podcast evolves throughout the year."

The change-makers interviewed in season 1 include Yatu Widders Hunt, General Manager at Indigenous social change agency Cox Inall Ridgeway and founder of the online community Australian Indigenous Fashion; William Lee Adams, founder and editor of Eurovision fansite Wiwibloggs, and Aidyn Fitzpatrick, senior editor for TIME based in Hong Kong.

Episode 1 features Leo Schick, an investigative author and co-parenting advocate residing in London.

Leo hopes to start a family, and here's the thing. She wants to do this not just with her partner, but also with another like-minded couple. So she organised a platonic co-parenting speed meeting event. With birth rates falling and costs of living rising, the idea of platonic co-parenting is drawing interest.

"It strikes me that Leo and her partner are doing a couple of things here," says Jo.

"One is very, very personal in that they're looking for co-parents, and the other thing they're doing is creating a space for others to think about this idea."

Listen to Tomorrow Could Be Good on all your streaming services and visit the website.