Screw This… Let’s Try Something Else Podcast Explores Grassroots Solutions Across UK Communities
In an age dominated by crisis headlines, political deadlock, and rising public fatigue, a new podcast is cutting through the noise—not by offering false optimism, but by spotlighting something far more powerful: ordinary people taking extraordinary action.
“Screw This… Let’s Try Something Else”, a newly launched podcast series by media brand Immediate in collaboration with storytelling lab ANTIDOTE, sets out to explore how communities across the UK are quietly building solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of modern life.
From housing and food security to energy, civic decision-making, and social division, the podcast tells grounded, human stories that prove meaningful change is already happening—often without waiting for permission.
At its core, Screw This… Let’s Try Something Else is driven by a simple yet radical question:
What if people stopped waiting for institutions to fix things—and started doing it themselves?
Hosted by journalists Maryam Pasha and Matt Golding, the series travels across the UK, meeting individuals and neighbourhoods who have reached a breaking point with the status quo and decided to act.
The title itself captures the mood of the moment—a collective shrug at systems that no longer feel responsive, followed by a decisive step toward experimentation, creativity, and community-led problem-solving.
Why This Podcast Feels Timely in 2026
The launch of the podcast coincides with a period marked by:
Rising cost-of-living pressures
Persistent housing shortages
Growing climate anxiety
Increasing social fragmentation
Declining trust in traditional institutions
Rather than framing these as insurmountable crises, the podcast reframes them as starting points for innovation.
Launching on Blue Monday—often dubbed the most depressing day of the year—the series positions itself deliberately as an antidote to pessimism, without slipping into naïve positivity.
Six Episodes, Six Communities, One Shared Philosophy
Across six in-depth episodes, listeners are taken inside communities that are refusing to accept “no” as the final answer.
Key Locations Featured in the Series
Grimsby – Residents taking housing matters into their own hands
Bristol – A community-owned wind turbine redefining local energy
Birmingham – Neighbourhoods redesigned for the realities of the future
Each episode focuses on practical action, showing how people are responding to challenges with imagination, persistence, and collective effort.
Housing, Energy, Food, and Power: The Issues That Shape Everyday Life
Rather than tackling abstract policy debates, the podcast zeroes in on the areas that shape daily experience:
Core Themes Explored
🏠 Housing access and affordability
⚡ Community-owned renewable energy
🥦 Food systems and local resilience
🗳️ Participatory decision-making
🤝 Bridging social and cultural divides
What unites these stories is not scale, but replicability—the idea that solutions don’t have to be massive to be meaningful.
Storytelling Designed to Restore a Sense of Agency
One of the podcast’s most distinctive features is its storytelling approach.
Developed by ANTIDOTE in collaboration with the University of Bristol, the format is rooted in research showing that people are more likely to feel hopeful and empowered when stories:
Highlight real people, not heroes
Focus on process, not perfection
Show obstacles alongside breakthroughs
The goal is not inspiration alone—but activation.
Listeners are invited to see themselves not as spectators to global crises, but as participants in shaping their own communities.
Beyond Listening: Tools That Turn Inspiration Into Action
The project doesn’t stop at audio storytelling.
Innovative Add-Ons Supporting the Podcast
Hope Survey (with Climate Outreach): Examines how listening impacts optimism, motivation, and perceived control over life challenges.
AI-Powered Postcode Search Tool: Available on the ANTIDOTE website, this tool allows users to:
Enter their postcode
Discover five positive community projects within five miles
Find immediate ways to get involved locally
This bridges the gap between passive consumption and real-world engagement.
A Quiet Revolution Already Underway
One of the recurring messages throughout the series is that transformation rarely arrives with fanfare.
It happens:
In community halls
On housing estates
Through local energy cooperatives
Via neighbourhood conversations
As Mark Pepper, from Ambition Lawrence Weston in Bristol, puts it in the series:
“We don’t take no for an answer anymore. So we just try and find a way around that.”
That sentiment captures the ethos of the podcast perfectly—persistent, pragmatic, and grounded.
Not Denying the Crisis—Redefining the Response
Importantly, Screw This… Let’s Try Something Else does not dismiss the scale of today’s challenges.
Instead, it challenges the idea that:
Change must come from the top down
Progress requires permission
Solutions only matter if they are national
By spotlighting collective, local action, the series reframes hope as something built—not wished for.
Why This Podcast Stands Out in the Crowded Audio Space
In a landscape saturated with commentary, opinion, and doomscrolling, this podcast offers something different:
What Makes It Distinct
✔️ Journalistic credibility
✔️ Research-backed storytelling
✔️ Real-world tools for action
✔️ A focus on solutions without oversimplification
It’s not about escaping reality—it’s about engaging with it differently.
Who Should Listen to “Screw This… Let’s Try Something Else”?
This podcast will resonate with:
Community organisers and activists
People feeling stuck or powerless
Listeners fatigued by negative news cycles
Anyone curious about grassroots innovation
Students, educators, and policymakers
It’s especially relevant for those searching for agency in uncertain times.
Final Thoughts: A Podcast for the Age of Collective Action
Screw This… Let’s Try Something Else arrives as both a mirror and a map.
It reflects widespread frustration—but also points toward paths already being walked by people who decided that waiting was no longer an option.
In doing so, it reminds listeners that the future isn’t just something that happens to us. It’s something we build—together.
