Author Archives: bradhowarth

My favourite YouTube channels for 2026

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I spend a lot of my time walking from one place to another, and have found this time to be incredbly valuable for listening and learning. So in the spirit of the Season, I’ve curated a list of my 12 favourites, ranked in alphabetical order. This list covers everything from linguistics and etmology to astro and quantum physics, including a fair dose of folklore, mythology and narrative theory, and even a fair coverage of reseach into ancient relgious texts.

These YouTubers have not only been invaluable to me as a source of knowledge, but they have often reshaped my thinking, and proven highly entertaining too. If you want to master storytelling, you need to understand not just the role it plays today, but the role it has played in shaping history, and how storytelling has engaged the human psyche over the centuries.

And if you want to know how I managed to link the non-cannonical Gospels to the Star Wars Expanded Univese and 50 Shades of Grey, you might find some the answer in one or two of these videos ….

Language, Thought & Persuasion: How stories get encoded into words

languagejones: Dr Taylor Jones has a PhD in linguistics and is not afraid to use it – at high speed, and across a massive number of topics relating to how we speak (his dissertation on the Gen-Alpha ‘6-7’ brain-rot phenomenon is eye-opening). He explores the complexities in slang and dialects and is not afraid to call out spreaders of false information, or explain how language is used to shape opinion. His most recent exploration of how language shapes engagement on YouTube should be essential viewing (for both manipulators and the manipulated).

RobWords: A fun channel for anyone who has wondered why a dog is called a dog (sadly, no one really knows the answer to that one). Rob Watts delves into the history, etymology, quirks, idioms and word origins of the English language in a way that is quick to curry favour with word enthusiasts (and I recommend you look up the origin of ‘curry favour’). If his channel doesn’t expand your vocabulary, it will at least give you a stronger sense of why you might choose the words you use.

Myth, Meaning & Belief: The oldest stories

Crecganford: An unparalleled authority on mythology and history, with a focus on Indo-European mythic traditions. It takes a scholarly approach to mythology and is brilliant in its exploration of how stories transfer from one culture to another, and the motifs they take with them. One of his latest videos, on whether or not Neanderthals were storytellers, brings rare context to the idea that at one time there was more than one species of human on the planet and raises the question of whether humanity’s abilities as storytellers played some role in our rise to hominid supremacy. Grab a cup of tea and settle in for some amazing explorations of ancient lore from the earliest days of human storytelling.

Esoterica: Dr Justin Sledge has created a wealth of content exploring the esoteric in history, philosophy, and religion. His explorations of everything from mysticism and the Kabbalah through to the occult and witchcraft are both thoughtful and thought-provoking and provide rare insights into the origins of many of the narratives that influence our lives today.

Dan McClellan: Dan is a scholar of the Bible and religion, and while that might initially seem to be an odd choice for me, his examination of ancient texts provides an excellent perspective from which to understand some of the oldest stories still told today—their origins and their influence. Most importantly, he brings a highly critical perspective to both the texts and how they are interpreted, and he is exceptional in his use of scholarship to dismantle many of the dogmatic perspectives that exist within religious communities today. In doing so, he provides a host of examples of how reason and evidence can be wielded to support arguments against even the most fervent believers. And when you begin to understand that the behaviours of those writing ancient texts were not so dissimilar to those of many storytellers today, his channel becomes mandatory viewing.

Fiction as a mirror: Stories we invent to understand the world we live in

Feral Historian: This creator manages to find the political, social, and economic theming in even the most seemingly banal of science fiction worldbuilding, and his ability to relate fictional constructs to the real-world ideas that birthed them is enlightening. By teasing out the narratives and their underpinning philosophies, Matt offers up something both for those who want to understand fictional worldbuilding, and how fictional worldbuilding can reflect and even influence the world that birthed it.

Money, power, and systems: Stories of why the world is the way it is

Patrick Bolye: The king of the deadpan takedown, Patrick covers everything from rogue trading and crypto-bros to the Epstein Files and the financing of Saudi megaprojects (his videos on NEOM and the Epstein birthday book are really worth a watch). Sceptical without ever being mean-spirited, critical but with an insider’s knowledge of how things happen the way they do, Patrick is my number one source when trying to make sense (or quantify the insanity) of global financial markets.

EconomicsExplained: This Australian economics education channel is a brilliant resource for understanding the economies of different countries and how they work (or why they don’t), while also looking into issues such as the impact of taxation and monetary policy. A great example of data-driven storytelling, the channel offers something for both the casually-curious and seasoned geopolitical hacks.

How Money Works: US-based former investment banker Darin Soat is terrific at explaining the complexities within the financial system and at articulating problems that most are willing to ignore. His exposition of the fragility of the Australian economy ruffled a number of feathers but was no different to the type of analysis he brings to a wide range of economies and topics.

Wall Street Millennial: My favourite channel for regaining a sense of sanity after diving too deep into the goings-on of the innovation investment market. Another YouTuber who isn’t afraid to call ‘bullshit’ on the utterances of Sam Altman, Elon Musk and others, and who brings a critical eye to business deals often long before other sources start to look into them.

The Universe and Reality Itself: Stories that are bigger than any of us

Sabine Hossenfelder (Science News): German physicist Sabine Hossenfelder is a voice of reason in the increasingly crazy world of academic research, providing in-depth analysis of the latest news, and not being afraid to call bullshit on specific papers and press releases, or on the fundamental flaws in the academic research community. Her news spreads across a wide range of topics from climate change and energy through to particle physics and the nature of the universe.

Anton Petrov (Wonderful Person): A tireless science communicator who strives to make the complex clear in fields such as astrophysics, mathematics, and quantum physics. Anton’s short videos are easy to digest and will keep you up to date with what’s happening both close to home and in the furthest reaches of the visible universe (literally).

Forget Perfect. Aim for Effective

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epa03421771 US President Barack Obama waves after addressing a large crowd at a campaign event at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, USA 04 October 2012. Obama returned to the campaign trail following his debate on 03 October with Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

No one in your audience knows what you meant to say. They don’t know the line you forgot, or that the sentence you just delivered wasn’t delivered with perfect cadence.

And yet the pursuit of perfection remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks I see speakers struggle to overcome.

When we watch someone on stage, we are almost never witnessing the “best” version of their presentation. We’re simply seeing the latest version, which may skip a detail, underplay a key point, or trip over a phrase.

But if the core message gets through – if it is clear, memorable, and compelling – then perfection becomes irrelevant, because you have achieved what you set out to achieve.

A presentation only needs to be good enough to be effective. Not flawless.

In fact, many great presentations are great precisely because they aren’t perfect. There is something deeply engaging about watching a speaker stumble slightly, then recover. It reminds us they are human – not a polished, faceless, corporate automaton.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in a failed demo. A flawless demo is impressive, but recovering from a failing demo is unforgettable.

This is not an argument against preparation. You should rehearse. You should test everything. You should stack the odds in your favour.

But you shouldn’t rehearse yourself into sterility, or catastrophise the moment something slips.

It’s worth remembering that when you’re on stage, you’re not reciting Shakespeare. You don’t need to be word-perfect.

So don’t strive for perfection.

Strive for effectiveness.

For the audience, every presentation is personal

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There’s a simple mistake that derails countless presentations, and most speakers don’t even realise they’re making it. They talk to an audience – as if communication flows one-to-many. But that’s not how audiences experience a presentation.

When I’m sitting in a room—whether it’s ten people or a thousand—I’m not thinking, “I am part of an audience.” I’m thinking as an individual, with my own priorities, questions, hopes and frustrations. The people around me are irrelevant to my needs in that moment.

For me, the communication is one-to-one.

So if the speaker isn’t saying something that matters to me, I switch off. I’m not engaged, and I’m certainly not influenced. Which is why every presenter needs to remember this:
An audience is not a crowd. It’s a collection of individuals—each with their own wants, needs, pressures and fears.

And they’re all asking the same silent question: “What am I getting out of this?”

To answer that question, you need to know them. Really know them. Who are they?
What do they do? What do they already understand? What are they struggling with? What are they hoping for—and what are they afraid of? And most importantly, what do you have that can help them?

If your goal is to influence thinking or drive action, the worst thing you can do is deliver the same presentation to every room without doing this work. Because if you speak to a faceless mass, you’re not speaking to people.And if I’m in that room, I will very quickly feel like you’re not talking to me.

And once I feel that—why should I keep listening?

We need to stop saying what we need to do

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English language is a brilliant tool for anyone who wants to spend a lot of time saying nothing.

I was reminded of this recently while listening to a NSW Government minister speak about intergenerational challenges. What struck me wasn’t the topic – it was the number of times they talked about what “we need to” do.

It wasn’t a long speech, but the phrase surfaced at least half a dozen times. Each instance framed a challenge, followed by the comforting assertion that we “need to” act.

What was missing was everything that actually matters:

Not what we ‘have done’.

Not what we are ‘going to’ do.

Just what we ‘need to’ do.

Saying we ‘need to’ do something is one of the most efficient ways to sound concerned without committing to anything at all.

Just think about the number of times you will hear people say:

“We need to meet the challenge of climate change.”

“We need to fix Australia’s innovation system.”

“We need to stop violence against women.”

“We need to ensure the safety of citizens.”

“We need to close the gap for Indigenous Australians.”

Lots of empathy. Zero obligation. And absolutely no action.

Acknowledging a problem is a good first step in resolving a problem – but not if it is the only step.

Next time you prepare a presentation, look carefully at your “we need to” statements. Consider replacing them with what you are going to do. It signals ownership, intent, and commitment – all far more powerful than vague expressions of support.

If you want to influence people, don’t tell them what needs to be done. Tell them what you’re doing next. It might just raise their level of respect for you, and perhaps even encourage them to do the same.

iTnews – State of HR Tech 2025

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Blurred crowd of unrecognizable at the street

AI is a team sport – one with profound implications for an organisation’s people. That alone is reason enough for human resources leaders to take an active role in shaping their organisation’s AI strategy.

iTnews has just published my State of HR Tech Report 2025, and while AI dominates the conversation, what stands out is the strong duty of care HR leaders feel for their people during this period of rapid change.

Alongside AI, the familiar priorities remain: creating productive workplaces, developing skills, improving recruitment, and nurturing supportive, high-performing cultures. Technology remains central in enabling these outcomes, particularly the shift toward HRIS platforms that don’t just streamline HR workflows but genuinely improve the day-to-day experience of the people who rely on them.

Yet through every chapter, AI looms as both a catalyst and a challenge. While its long-term effects are still emerging, its short-term risks and responsibilities fall squarely into the hands of HR leaders. The future may be uncertain, but the need for thoughtful leadership today is not.

If you’d like to explore the full findings, you can read all four chapters of the report here.

Why AI’s greatest risk isn’t what you expect

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While no technology has attracted as much hype as AI, I struggle to recall another in the past 30 years that has arrived with so many warnings attached. Even the launch of the World Wide Web in the 1990s was greeted with unbridled optimism – although, at the time, few imagined the negative uses it would eventually enable.

Today, the AI debate is split between two extremes. On one side stands relentless vendor enthusiasm. On the other, a chorus of independent commentators, analysts, and media voices issuing warnings about bias, errors, skills erosion, job displacement, and broader social disruption.

But there is one risk that dominates the thinking of many business and public-sector leaders, even if it is not spoken of publicly – the fear that if they don’t embrace AI, they will be outpaced by those who do.

In short, the perceived risk of doing nothing now outweighs the risk of doing something.

This tension sits at the heart of a new report, Turning Hesitation Into Action: How Risk Leaders Can Unlock AI’s Potential, which I had the privilege of authoring for Cisco and the Governance Institute of Australia. Its central thesis is simple: risk assessment is a critical factor in successful AI adoption, and we must ask what role risk professionals should play in guiding organisations toward AI maturity.

The report draws on extensive discussions with Australian risk professionals and reflects their lived experience. While many do not consider themselves technologists, they already possess a strong appreciation of AI’s inherent risks, albeit with limited visibility into how those risks can be understood, mitigated, and governed.

What emerged even more strongly, however, was the breadth of responsibility today’s risk professionals see themselves carrying. Their role extends well beyond managing the tangible risks of today, such as safety, compliance, and financial controls. Increasingly, they view themselves as custodians of the organisation’s long-term sustainability. That includes encouraging leaders to adopt new technologies and approaches where these may provide competitive advantage or at least protect against falling behind more agile competitors.

That means embracing AI — but doing so intelligently. As one participant put it:

“I have spent a lifetime trying to encourage people to take a risk intelligently. That is the job of the risk officer.”

The report outlines several recommendations for how risk leaders can help their organisations move forward safely and confidently, and you can read all of them here.

My strongest insight however was about the risk profession itself. Every decision in business carries risk – including the decision to delay. Risk professionals bring a unique blend of judgement, structure, and foresight that is essential for balancing innovation with responsibility.

For this reason, they have a pivotal role to play in helping organisations harness AI safely, effectively, and to their long-term benefit.

Avoiding the ‘And’ Trap

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Why do so many presenters assume their audience has an unlimited memory?

Unfortunately, human minds have limitations, and one of those is the number of things we can remember (aside from a few remarkable outliers, at least).

This idea tends to go out the window in a lot of presentations – and especially when someone is pitching credentials.

And there is one word to blame here – which happens to be ‘and’.

 Does the following presentation flow sound like something you’ve heard before?

  • We can do ‘thing’.
  • And we can do ‘next thing’.
  • And we can also do ‘next next thing’.
  • And if ‘next next next thing’ is important to you, we can do that too
  • And so on.
  • And so on.
  • And so on.
  • And ‘thing’.

Who’s going to remember all the ‘ands’? And how will they know which ‘ands’ are worth remembering?

It’s a common failing, born out of the desire to present as many different service offerings as possible in the hope that one will prove appealing, rather than focusing in on the client’s need and just presenting those specific solutions.

It also crops in keynote presentations, where the speaker runs through example after example after example, rather than crafting a narrative that builds towards a compelling outcome.

One method for avoiding the ‘and’ trap is to think about how the different things can be used to build towards that outcome. A technique commonly used in fiction is to switch to ‘because’ rather than ‘and’.

For example:

  • “Because we do ‘thing’, we can also do ‘next thing’, and that led us to build out a capability in ‘next next thing’.

There is clear linkage between the ‘things’. Which means there is greater storytelling goodness tying them together. Which is useful, because human beings are much better at remembering (and being influenced by) stories rather than things.

‘And’ has proven to be one of my biggest challenges as a trainer and coach. Training requires knowledge to be passed from one person to another. That can mean lots of ‘things’ – and therefor lots of ‘ands’. Trying to find compelling ways to convey many things without falling into the ‘and’ trap is a struggle I am still striving to master – but ‘because’ is proving useful for conveying knowledge in a way that can be better retained. Stay tuned for further developments on that front.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the more you say, the less they will remember. Next time you are putting together a presentation, count the number of ‘things’ you discuss, and the number of ‘ands’ that join them together (unless Steve Jobs. Steve was a master of ‘and’ – especially how he would end presentations with ‘just one more thing’ – the perfect blend of storytelling and stagecraft. But if you’re not Steve Jobs …).

I can guarantee that the fewer ‘ands’ you use, the happier the audience will be, and the more effective your presentation will become.

Why ‘Co-pilot’ is the wrong metaphor for AI

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airplane flying in sunset sky

As a regular flyer, one of my favourite YouTubers is Swedish airline pilot Petter Hörnfeldt and his channel, Mentour Pilot. Petter dives deep into the inner workings of commercial aviation, especially the systems and protocols that keep millions of people safe in the air every day.

One of his most memorable explanations isn’t about technology at all – it’s about how pilots decide who’s actually flying the plane.

In a modern commercial cockpit, there are two pilots: a captain and a first officer. Before every flight, they decide who will be the “pilot flying” (the one with hands on the controls) and who will be the “pilot monitoring” (the one who manages supporting tasks, checks systems, and keeps an eye on the pilot flying).

Crucially, both pilots are fully briefed and capable of performing every part of the flight plan. If the pilot flying becomes incapacitated, the pilot monitoring can seamlessly take control. That’s the essence of co-piloting – two fully trained, fully capable humans working in tandem, ready to back each other up when things get difficult.

That’s not a job for AI.

When Microsoft and others use “Copilot” to describe AI, they’re unintentionally assigning it a role it was never designed to play.AI is much closer to an autopilot system:

  • Great at handling routine tasks.
  • Helpful for reducing workload during normal operations.
  • Useful in assisting during certain critical phases of flight.

But the autopilot does not step in when things go wrong. It doesn’t take over from the captain in an emergency. In fact, in turbulent or unexpected scenarios, pilots often switch it off. It’s the pilot monitoring — a fully capable human — who steps up. Not the autopilot.

The aviation industry is built on layered safety systems and shared responsibility. The co-pilot metaphor implies equivalence, or at least shared accountability. AI doesn’t meet that bar. AI can:

  • Accelerate routine work
  • Spot patterns humans might miss
  • Improve decision-support in stable conditions

But it cannot:

  • Fully understand context
  • Manage edge cases outside its training
  • Take accountability when the unexpected happens

We’ve already seen what happens when automation is trusted too far. The recent AWS outages were a reminder: when the system encounters something outside its model, everything stops, and humans scramble to fix it.

The lesson from aviation is simple: Use AI as autopilot. Keep people as co-pilots.

Never use AI as an excuse to not train your people to the fullest extent necesary. Invest in their ability to understand, monitor, and override AI when needed. Don’t let the “copilot” marketing metaphor lull you into delegating responsibility to a system that isn’t designed to carry it.

AI can make the flight smoother. But when the storm hits, you’ll want a human in the left seat.

Keynote theme – Better Choices = Better Futures

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When it comes to professional communication, you often only need one powerful idea – but it needs to be a good one.

A little while ago, someone asked me how I structure my keynote presentations – how do I decide on the themes I build them around? The truth is, I don’t have a dozen themes. I have one. It’s a single idea that has shaped how I think about business, leadership, and life.

It came to me many years ago in a place far removed from boardrooms or strategy offsites: a refugee camp in northern Uganda.

Many years ago while reporting in Africa, I witnessed an event that made me reassess exactly what it means to have a good life. I’d been visiting a refugee camp in Northern Uganda, which at the time was a hotspot for activity of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) under its leader, Joseph Kony.

As we made our way back to Gulu (the regional centre) that evening, I noticed dozens of people walking into town. The longer we drove, the more the numbers increased, even as the light faded.

These were the “Night Commuters.” Each evening, they faced an impossible choice: stay on their farms and risk abduction or attack or walk for hours into Gulu to sleep in makeshift community shelters, then return home the next morning. Neither option was good. But one offered a better chance of safety.

Neither choice was a ‘good’ choice, but it was easy to see why they chose one over another.

As a journalist, I’d spent much of my career reporting on businesses that struggled – or failed – to adapt. Many didn’t collapse because they made spectacularly bad decisions. They collapsed because they made no decisions at all. They delayed. They hoped. They waited. And as time passed, their choices narrowed. Eventually, they were left with a bleak version dilemma: “Do we end it today, or do we end it tomorrow?”

The key difference, of course, is that the Night Commuters’ situation was imposed on them by circumstance. The businesses, on the other hand, created their own lack of options through inaction.

The choices we make today shape the choices available to us tomorrow. Failing to choose isn’t neutral – it’s a decision with consequences.

Leaders who act early, thoughtfully, and decisively keep more doors open. Those who stall or hesitate often find themselves backed into a corner with only bad options remaining.

The ability to make good decisions isn’t luck. It’s a skill – one built on gathering and synthesising information, weighing risk, and acting before the window narrows. It’s something individuals and organisations can learn. And it’s something they must learn if they want to thrive over time.

Because in business, as in life, the most dangerous place to be is where the only choices left are the ones you never wanted to make.

And this is what I talk about in keynote presentations.

No one is waiting for you to deliver value

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There is a reason why news stories have headlines. They are the advertising for the story that follows, saying just enough to catch your attention, provide a spark of relevance, and make you want to read on.

Then comes the sentence that follows — the lede (in old newsroom parlance — not lead, as it’s often misspelled today). The lede tells you everything essential in a single breath.

“A bus crash on the Monash Freeway this afternoon resulted in the deaths of four people”.

In that one line, you know what happened, when and where it happened, and its tragic outcome. You’re also probably hooked – curious to find out why and how it happened.

This form of newswriting is called the ‘inverted pyramid’. All the value sits at the top, tapering off as you move down. The style emerged in the print era, when writers never knew how much space their story would get. Subeditors would trim from the bottom, and a good reporter made sure that nothing important was lost in the process.

It’s also incredibly effective at holding attention – and that’s something every presenter should aspire to.

When you’re building a presentation, especially for an audience that’s tired, busy, or distracted, start with the value. Tell people what matters most first, when they’re most alert and receptive. Hook them early, and they’ll stay with you for what follows – just like a strong news story.

The difference is that unlike a news article, your presentation needs to finish strong. That’s easy – just circle back to where you began. Remind your audience of the promise you made at the start and show how you’ve delivered on it.

The key difference with a presentation however is that you also want to finish strong. That’s easy – just go back to the start.

A good presentation doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be profound. But it does have to be engaging.

Borrowing from journalism might seem reductive, but after a couple of hundred years of refinement, it’s proven to work.