BrainFuel – A Podcast for Health Leaders & Health Communicators
Decoding health decisions with behavioural science, real-life stories, and mindfulness—fueling clarity and empathy for better decisions.
E86: We Are Undefeatable - 3 Lessons for Local Success
Alison Whitaker Stewart & Peter Dutton — localising We Are Undefeatable in Blackburn with Darwen
In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Alison Whitaker Stewart, Physical Activity Campaigns Lead at Together in Active Future (a Sport England place-based partner), and Peter Dutton, Senior Engagement Manager at the Richmond Group of Charities.
They share how they took the national We Are Undefeatable campaign and made it work locally — using real residents’ stories, strong system partnerships, and evaluation that goes beyond reach and impressions. This is a practical, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a behaviour change campaign that actually lands.
🧠 What you’ll learn
The three things to do first when starting a local campaign: stakeholder buy-in, strategic alignment, and realistic resourcing
How they built community partnership by recruiting 16 local storytellers through trusted networks
How to link inspiration to action by signposting directly to local sessions and services
Why agile content wins (reels, WhatsApp-friendly edits, community-led tweaks)
How they measured impact with both numbers and qualitative insight
What “system change” looks like after the campaign goes live
📊 Outcomes & impact shared
85% said it showed people with health conditions can be active
87% said it showed being active helps you enjoy more of life
62% said it encouraged them to visit the campaign website
Stakeholders reported strong fit with local needs and priorities (including 73% saying it reflected local demographics)
The work helped trigger ongoing system activity (including funded local offers and continued partnership working)
🚪 Room 101
Peter: bin “traditional before/after case studies” — the power is in lived experience, emotion, and solidarity
Alison: bin short-term thinking — campaigns work better when you can build, iterate, and keep going
🎉 Free Event — Making Hidden Voices Heard (26 March 2026)
To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard, we’re hosting a free training event:
📅 26 March 2026
➡️ www.hiddenvoicesheard.com (http://www.hiddenvoicesheard.com/) to save your spot.
21 Jan 2026
E85 - Embedding Behavioural Science in Your Organisation - Local Learning
In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Johanna Jefferies, Public Health Consultant and Associate Director at Hampshire County Council, and Jonathan Baker, Senior Insight Lead, to share how they’ve successfully embedded behavioural science into council and public health work in a way that’s practical, memorable, and genuinely usable.
Jo and Jonathan unpack what it really takes to roll behavioural science out across an organisation iincluding what didn’t work at first, what they changed, and why training alone is never enough. You’ll hear how Hampshire redesigned its approach to focus on real-world application, post-training support, and building confidence (not overwhelm).
We also dive into their personal behaviour change stories, the biggest myth they’d throw into Room 101, and the three ingredients they believe every council needs if they want behavioural science to stick.
🧠 What You’ll Learn In This Episode
Why “good training” isn’t the same as behavioural science actually being used in day-to-day work
Why councils need to apply behavioural science to how they embed behavioural science
Why training should focus on mechanism and practice, not just theory
The biggest blocker: behavioural science being seen as “for frontline behaviour change”, not strategic council work
Why follow-up support matters more than templates
Three ingredients councils can copy if they want behavioural science to scale internally.
🚪 Room 101: Training Without Support
If Jo and Jonathan could throw one thing into Room 101 forever, it would be this:
The idea that you can train people in behavioural science and then leave them to figure it out alone.
Even great training doesn’t translate into real practice without follow-up support, confidence-building, and early case studies that show it working inside the organisation.
🎉 Free Event - Making Hidden Voices Heard - 26 March 2026
To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard (and our much-loved Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp training), we’re hosting a free event dedicated to just that 'Making Hidden Voices Heard' on:
📅 26 March 2026
➡️ Head to www.hiddenvoicesheard.com (http://www.hiddenvoicesheard.com/) to save your spot.
16 Jan 2026
E84 Stop Chasing Quick Wins - Behavioural Science for Real world Complexity with Dr Paul Chadwick
In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Dr Paul Chadwick Chief Executive of the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network (BSPHN), clinical psychologist, and former Co-Director at the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change.
Paul shares what’s changing inside BSPHN, why the organisation is expanding beyond public health, and what it will take to embed behavioural science across the public sector in a way that’s practical, inclusive, and built for real-world complexity.
We also dive into Paul’s personal behaviour change story, why applied behavioural science can be a lonely job, and the big myth he’d send straight to Room 101…
🧠 What You’ll Learn In This Episode
Why BSPHN believes the question is no longer “Do we need behavioural science?” but “How do we make it happen?”
Why behavioural science must expand beyond public health because everything connects back to public health
The value of the applied behavioural science practitioner (and why their wisdom needs amplifying)
The four strategic pillars shaping BSPHN’s next chapter:
Community of practice
Capacity building
Advocacy
Partnerships
Why behavioural science should never be treated as something “only for PhDs”
How BSPHN is redesigning its approach to be more useful to practitioners and academics
Why we need to stop hunting for quick-win “magic fixes” and take complexity seriously
⭐ Standout Moments
📌 Paul on moving from clinical settings into public health:
“The origins of the behaviours I was trying to change had their roots in people’s childhoods… shaped by social and cultural circumstances.”
📌 Paul on community:
“Being a behavioural scientist or applying behavioural science can be a lonely business.”
📌 The best Room 101 moment:
The Behavioural Science Unicorn — the myth that tiny interventions must always create massive cost savings to be “worth it”.
🦄 Room 101: The Behavioural Science Unicorn
Paul would send this idea into Room 101:
The belief that behavioural science is only valuable when it produces simple, tiny, low-effort interventions with huge measurable impact and cost savings.
Yes nudges can be powerful.
But chasing mythical “unicorn wins” can stop teams from doing the deeper work of embedding behavioural science in systems, services, leadership, and culture.
📚 Mentioned in the Episode
Paul’s book: Do I Drink Too Much? (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drink-Too-Much-life-limiting-addiction-ebook/dp/B0F2TNFB57)
A practical, psychologically-informed guide to reflecting on alcohol use and exploring a strategic break.
📅 BSPHN Conference 2026 (Don’t Miss This) (https://www.bsphn.org.uk/news-and-events/bsphn-conference-2026-complexity-and-behavioural-science-practical-strategies-and-innovation-for-complex-problems#keynote-speakers)
Paul also shares details of the upcoming BSPHN conference:
🗓 8–9 March 2026
🎯 Theme: Complexity — using behavioural science to make complexity more manageable (without dumbing it down)
Don't forget to register to x
Who has been a guest on Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Elina Halonen
Neil Hopkins
Daniel Preece
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100
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Quality
80
Social presence
0
YouTube
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Engagement
32
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