Spare a Thought

24/02/2026

My podcast amplifies voices, stories, and ideas that are often overlooked or misrepresented in the media.

49 episodes down. New mini series on the way.

But I need your help to shape where we go next.

Complete our 10-minute survey in the comment with a chance to win 1 of 3 x £50 vouchers.

Listen to other shows on Be the change. Media Network? Submit feedback for each one for more chances to win.

Closes 4th March.

Link to survey: https://shorturl.at/aQhBg

24/12/2025

Christmas is a time of celebration, family gatherings, and familiar traditions. We often picture the nativity scene too: the stable, the shepherds, the star.

But there's another side to the Christmas story. One we don't always talk about. At the heart of the nativity is a family fleeing violence, seeking safety in a foreign land. Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus were refugees, dependent on the kindness of strangers.

Today, 117.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes globally due to persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations. Among them are nearly 42.5 million refugees.

In the lead-up to Christmas, I have produced a special episode which I ask: if one of our oldest and most celebrated stories is about displacement and seeking sanctuary, what does that mean for how we respond to refugees today?

This episode features Rosa Brown from the Welsh Refugee Council talking about the realities facing people seeking sanctuary in Wales, as well as three of Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd's chaplains: Rev Delyth Liddell, Rev Joe Smith, and Father John Patrick Thomas. My thanks to the WRC and the University Chaplaincy for contributing to this episode.

You can listen to the podcast now:

🎧 Spotify: https://shorturl.at/fV32w

🍏 Apple Podcasts: https://shorturl.at/2i8yG

🛜 Everywhere else: https://shorturl.at/6h7oM

Since I started Spare a Thought, I have intentionally wanted to tell stories that often go underreported or are misrepresented in the media. I have written on my Substack about this epispde and the others I've made related to refugees, asylum seekers and migrant, you read here: https://shorturl.at/0WIE8

09/10/2025

Climate change is often seen as a big scary global issue or an individual choice problem.

We rarely talk about the powerful, missing middle: what can neighbourhoods and communities do together to go green?

This is where CIVIC SQUARE comes in. A brilliant, community-led organisation in Birmingham. Their mission? To demonstrate neighbourhood-scale civic infrastructure for social, ecological, economic, and climate transition.

In the latest episode of Spare a Thought, Tom speak to Charlie Edmonds from Civic Square to discuss their three demonstrator projects and how they are building the neighbourhoods of the future.

If you work in housing, sustainability or community development, this one is for you!

Listen now:

🎧 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e9KynrxY

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eP6MAD9D

🌐 Everywhere else: https://lnkd.in/e_ktcTRH

Spare a Thought is a Be the Change. Media network production.

03/10/2025

A short clip from Spare a Thought Season 4, Episode 5: Black Authors of the Future with the the episode where Clarice Rodney, the festival's Operations Manager talks about the power of reading as a bridge to understanding.

03/10/2025

Happy 1st Birthday to Spare a Thought.

On October 1st 2024, I released the first ever episode of the podcast with the Be the change. Media Network.

So far that's worked out as...

33 episodes, 55 guests and 19 hours and 51 minutes of content. Not too chabby for 12 months. Of course the episodes, guests and content put out there does not include the many more hours of planning, interviewing, editing, promotion and yes thinking that goes on behind the scenes.

I knew early on I didn't want to be just another priveleged white bloke with a podcast. I wanted to shine a light on important causes, explore big ideas and get listeners thinking differently about the topics each episode covered.

My thanks to all the amazing guests that have taken part in the show. To Emily and Lucy Z for your advice and guidance. And of course to the network's founder and Director Lily Mott. Without her support there would be no Spare a Thought podcast.

And finally to every listener. To the one-timers and every-timers, thank you for downloading, streaming and listening in. Because of you the show is closing in on 2,000 downloads!

The latest episode of Spare a Thought with Clarice Rodney from the Black British Book Festival is out now wherever you get your podcasts from or you can click on the links below. The Black British Book Festival is taking place on 19th October Barbican Centre.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0YiZ0zNQsb603hJKe4E1zC?si=MdQ2yyIERl6vzqUT2Fm3bw

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-authors-of-the-future/id1786136605?i=1000729231652

Everywhere else: https://spareathought.podbean.com/

20/09/2025

Are universities complicit in climate breakdown?

This is the big question we're tackling in the latest episode of my podcast, Spare a Thought. I'm joined by Jay Chard, a PhD student at the University of South Wales , who's researching the role of universities in a just climate transition.

We dive into climate justice, explore the terminology used by climate scientists, and debate the role of higher education in helping us adapt to ecological and social change. Are they preparing students for the challenges ahead?

Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/ezGV5erh

Spare a Thought is a Be the change. Media Network production.

06/09/2025

With the summer nearly over and the new school year upon us, I wanted to kick off the new season of Spare a Thought on the theme of educating for the future.

In episode 1 I had the great pleasure of interviewing my old uni buddy Christopher Thorpe. Chris now works for G&H Photonics. Part of his role is encouraging sixth formers and university students into careers into engineering. Chris failed maths at High School and graduated from university on his third attempt, his story is proof you don't have to follow a convetional path to follow the career that's right for you.

Together Chris and talk about how we can get school kids into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Spare a Thought is a Be the Change. Media network production, its creator, host and producer is Tom Spare

Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Available wherever you get your podcasts from or listen here: https://spareathought.podbean.com/e/getting-kids-into-stem/

02/09/2025

Will, Izzy, Emma, Eden and Emily. Five young people who were hopeful about the future, until rumours started to spread like the virus that was travelling fast thousands of miles away in China. Within weeks, they were all thrown into lockdown and their plans turned completely upside down…

This is the story of Generation Covid, the cohort of students and young people whose education and futures were put on hold by the lockdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listen to Spare a Thought: Generation Covid wherever you listen to your podcasts

https://spareathought.podbean.com/

02/09/2025

Love Oasis? Me too. At school I drew Noel Gallagher for my GCSE final project. When the band reform for their reunion tour I felt drawn to take a trip down memory lane. I went on to explore the power of nostalgia, its ability to both comfort and shelter us from what is a very messy world.

Live Forever? Or death by nastalgia? Find out 👇

Or death by nostalgia

02/09/2025

On this page I will be sharing podcast episodes, as well as reviews, essays and thoughts on my Substack. For example last month I posted an edition of 'The Spare Time Review', where I reviewed Superman, the Fantastic Four, The Materialists and Olivia Dean's new singles.

Follow the link 👇

Superman, The Fantastic Four, Olivia Dean and The Materialists

02/09/2025

I am excited to launch this page for my podcast, Spare a Thought. If you're new here, swipe through to learn more about the show, meet your host (that's me!), and discover why you should give it a listen.

Spare a Thought is the podcast amplifying voices, stories, and ideas that are often overlooked or misrepresented in the media. Whether you're looking for a fresh perspective or a deeper understanding of the world, this is the place for you.

You can listen to all episodes right now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. Find the link to listen here: https://spareathought.podbean.com/

What's a story you think is often overlooked? I'd love to know what you'd like to hear about in the comments below! 👇