Thinking Around the Question

How Far Into The Future Should We Think?
🏰 Imagine asking someone about their long-term strategy…
…and they answer:
“900 years.”
In this remarkable moment from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman recalls speaking with the custodian of a centuries-old historic estate.
His answer was simple:
“I’m not the owner. I’m the custodian. My responsibility is the next 900 years.”
That idea transforms the conversation.
It shifts the question from:
👉“What’s best for us today?”
to
👉“What are we leaving behind for the people who come after us?”
Whether we’re talking about the environment, institutions, communities, or culture, the real challenge may not be finding better solutions.
It may be learning to think beyond our own lifetime.
🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman&Dr. Musa Sami
💬 If you knew your decisions would affect people 900 years from now, what would you do differently?

What Is Ethnography Really Trying To Do?
🧠 Most people ask research one question:
“What should we do next?”
But what if that’s the wrong place to start?
In this fascinating moment from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman explains the difference between finding answers and understanding people.
He argues that ethnography isn’t just about collecting opinions or validating decisions.
It’s about observing.
Listening.
Finding patterns.
Understanding how people actually live, think, and relate to the world.
Sometimes that means discovering things no one thought to ask.
Because the richest insights don’t always come from ticking boxes.
They come from paying close attention to ordinary human life.
🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman&Dr. Musa Sami
💬 When you’re trying to solve a problem, do you look for quick answers—or try to understand what’s really going on first?

Can You Really Measure Democracy?
🗳️ We rank countries.
We score institutions.
We compare democracies.
But here’s the question:
👉 Can democracy really be measured?
In this thought-provoking exchange from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Musa Sami asks how we should measure the strength of a democracy.
Dr. Jonathan Newman responds by challenging the question itself.
Before we measure something, shouldn’t we first ask:
• What do we mean by democracy?
• What do people expect from it?
• Has its meaning changed over time?
• Does the public image match the lived reality?
Sometimes the hardest questions aren’t about finding better answers.
They’re about asking better questions.
🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman&Dr. Musa Sami
💬 If you had to judge the health of a democracy, what would you look at first?

What Makes Games So Addictive?
📱 Just one more level…
Just one more scroll…
Just one more notification…
Sound familiar?
In this fascinating moment from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman reflects on a conversation with game developers about how modern apps and games are designed to hold our attention.
Small rewards.
Unexpected outcomes.
Bright animations.
Progress loops.
Each feature may seem harmless on its own, but together they can keep us coming back again and again.
The conversation isn’t about blaming technology.
It’s about recognising that many digital products are intentionally designed to compete for one of our most valuable resources:
👉 Our attention.
Because in today’s world, attention isn’t just valuable.
It’s a business model.
🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman&Dr. Musa Sami
💬 Which app or game have you found hardest to put down—and why do you think it keeps pulling you back?

What If Politics Works Like Football?

⚽ Watch a great football team closely.

It’s not just about individual talent.

It’s about movement.

Timing.

Space.

Strategy.

In this fascinating analogy from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman suggests that politics can sometimes be understood in much the same way.

Just as football teams develop patterns of play and tactical routines, political actors also develop strategies to shape attention, influence public debate, and respond to opponents.

The players may change.

The tactics may evolve.

But the game itself is constantly adapting.

The real challenge isn’t simply watching the match.

It’s learning to recognise the patterns.

🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman & Dr. Musa Sami

💬 If politics is a game of strategy, what do you think is the most important skill: vision, teamwork, persuasion, or resources?

Can Any Text Be Read As Absolute Truth?

📖 Two people can read the same book…

…and come away with completely different conclusions.

Why?

In this thought-provoking exchange from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman and Dr. Musa Sami explore one of the oldest questions in philosophy and religion:

👉 What happens when a text is understood as conveying absolute truth?

Jonathan argues that people may treat sacred texts differently from novels or historical works because they often see them as carrying unique authority.

Musa immediately pushes back, challenging whether that description fairly represents religious traditions.

The result isn’t an argument about who’s right.

It’s a deeper conversation about interpretation, certainty, and how human beings make meaning from the texts they value most.

🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman & Dr. Musa Sami

💬 Why do you think people can sincerely read the same text and arrive at such different interpretations?

Can Human Behaviour Ever Fit Into Neat Labels?
🧩 Human beings are complicated.
But we often prefer simple labels.
We categorise people.
We create boxes.
We decide who belongs where.
In this thought-provoking moment from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman explores a difficult question:
👉 What happens when real human lives don’t fit the categories we’ve created?
Labels can help us communicate and understand the world.
But they can also oversimplify people’s experiences, behaviours, and identities.
When we expect everyone to fit neatly into predefined boxes, we risk overlooking the complexity that makes us human.
Perhaps the challenge isn’t eliminating categories altogether.
It’s remembering that every category has limits.
🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman&Dr. Musa Sami
💬 Have you ever felt that a label described only part of who you are?

What Actually Makes A Country?
🗺️ If you had to invent a country from scratch…
What would it look like?
An island?
High mountains?
Clear borders?
In this fascinating moment from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman shares the results of a classroom exercise where students were asked to design their own nation.
Something surprising happened.
Without being told, group after group imagined almost exactly the same thing:
🏝️ An island…
or
🏔️ A land protected by mountains.
Why?
What does that reveal about the way we imagine nations, borders, and belonging?
Perhaps our ideas of what a country should be are shaped by stories, geography, history, and culture long before we ever stop to question them.
🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman&Dr. Musa Sami
💬 If you were creating a brand-new country today, what would be the first rule, or feature, you’d include?

What Changed The Fight Against HIV?
📄 Reel Caption

🩺 There was a time when an HIV diagnosis was widely feared as a life-changing, and often life-limiting, condition.

Today, the story is very different.

In this informative moment from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Musa Sami reflects on how decades of scientific research transformed our understanding of HIV.

We now know:

🧬 HIV is caused by a virus.
💊 Modern antiretroviral medications can effectively suppress the virus.
❤️ With appropriate treatment, many people living with HIV can lead long, healthy lives.

It’s a reminder that medicine doesn’t stand still.

Some of the greatest advances in healthcare have come from decades of research, compassion, and scientific progress.

🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Musa Sami & Dr. Jonathan Newman

💬 Which medical breakthrough do you think has had the greatest impact on humanity?

Why Doesn’t Everyone Learn The Same Way?
📚 Some people read every page.

Others…

Open a book in the middle.

Follow an interesting chapter.

Jump between ideas.

And somehow still leave with a deeper understanding.

In this thoughtful moment from Thinking Around the Question, Dr. Jonathan Newman reflects on his unconventional way of learning.

He doesn’t always read books from beginning to end.

Instead, he follows curiosity.

He explores ideas.

He lets connections emerge naturally rather than forcing information into neat frameworks.

Perhaps learning isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Some minds thrive on structure.

Others thrive on discovery.

The important question isn’t how you learn.

It’s whether you keep asking better questions.

🎙️ Featuring:
Dr. Jonathan Newman & Dr. Musa Sami

💬 How do you read non-fiction: cover to cover, or by following whatever sparks your curiosity?