PUNCHCARD - the podcast about worker controlled businesses
Sick of businesses only maximising profits for their owners & shareholders? Tired of butting heads with management to improve working conditions & raise wages? Worker cooperatives are an alternative business model where the workers own & control the business.
PUNCHCARD explores the world of worker-controlled, democratically run cooperative businesses. Tune in to hear from a variety of guests sharing their stories, experiences and insights as members of worker cooperatives.
Replacing Banks with Savings Clubs w/ Rob Callender
There are a couple of thousand people working in worker co-ops across the UK. Collectively, that represents millions of pounds sitting idly in separate bank accounts, where it’s used by banks to pay shareholders and invest in things many of us would strongly oppose. What would it look like to pool more of that money... Read more »
19 Mar 2026
How to Resolve Conflict Cooperatively w/ Paul Kahawatte
Conflict is an inevitability, but most of us are surprisingly bad at dealing with it. We fall back on habits like avoidance, passive aggression, or lashing out. In a cooperative, when we’ve come together to increase our collective capacity, unresolved tensions can quickly bog us down, drain the energy and lead to disengagement. So what... Read more »
17 Feb 2026
Berlin’s Worker Co-op for Migrants & Cleaners w/ Rupay Dahm
Rupay is an employment lawyer in Germany, fighting for workers’ rights. Frustrated, working in a system rigged against workers, he sought out more empowering alternatives and discovered worker cooperatives. After years of researching and advising them as a lawyer, he went on to write A Practical Guide to Democratising Companies and to co-found a cooperative... Read more »
14 Jan 2026
The Growth of Unicorn Grocery Worker Co-op w/ Corrina O’Brien
Starting off as a small shop operating out of a loading bay to a thriving worker co-op that owns its own the entire building, has around 50 dedicated members and is a shining example of what worker cooperatives can accomplish. In this episode of Punchcard, Corrina and I talk about how Unicorn has become such... Read more »
11 Dec 2025
Classism in Cooperatives w/ Elle Glenny
Unfortunately not everybody’s experience of cooperatives is positive. For Elle, their time in co-operatives was both transformative, but also painful, marred by classism that often goes unnamed. In this episode of Punchcard, Elle and I talk about what classism looks like in co-ops, how we can transform it and why inclusion isn’t enough. Listen to... Read more »
11 Nov 2025
How to Radicalise an Accountant w/ Abbas Shapuri
Abbas Shapuri’s journey into the worker co-operative movement is not a typical one. Many worker co-operators arrive from the “alternative” or activist scenes. Abbas, however, came from the heart of capitalism: corporate accountancy. In this episode of Punchcard, Abbas and I talk about what led to him betraying his politics and values to work at... Read more »
25 Sept 2025
What Happened to Punchcard?
Over a year and 8 episodes later, Punchcard has proven itself as a valuable resource for sharing and learning within the worker co-op network – exploring everything from making decisions and workplace democracy, to overcoming financial difficulties, to rethinking traditional approaches to diversity & inclusion. The first season was funded internally by workers.coop, who unfortunately... Read more »
22 May 2025
Cleaning Up Sectarianism in Belfast w/ Alice McLarnon
Alice McLarnon recounts her experiences growing up in Belfast during the Troubles and how it led her to join the Trademark worker cooperative in an interview about sectarianism.
26 Mar 2025
We Don’t Want To Be Included w/ Taylor Le Melle
In this episode of Punchcard, we speak with Taylor Le Melle, a founding member of not/nowhere, a BPOC worker cooperative that supports artists to navigate the structures and institutions of the UK art world, unpacking harmful myths and helping artists to recognise and use their power in the industry. Taylor sees the arts as a... Read more »
12 Feb 2025
Saving Leeds Bread Co-op from Financial Collapse w/ Ai Van Kok
In this episode of Punchcard, we speak with Ai Van Kok, formerly a financial worker at Leeds Bread Co-op. Ai Van joined the co-op at a critical moment—just months away from financial collapse—and played a key role in turning things around. Facing an urgent crisis, she turned to traditional business management literature for solutions, finding... Read more »
15 Jan 2025
A Warning From The US Federation of Worker Coops w/ Rebecca Kemble
US Federation of Worker Coops' Rebecca Kemble issues a warning about the state of worker-owned cooperatives in the US, revealing key strategies for survival and growth.
11 Dec 2024
How to Make Decisions with 200 Worker Members w/ Beau Bulman
Beau Bulman shares insights on practicing direct democracy within a cooperative of 200 worker-members and improving member recruitment, induction, and culture.
2 Oct 2024
3 Keys to Strengthen Cooperative Democracy w/ Owen Powell
In this episode of Punchcard, we sit down with Owen Powell, a lecturer and researcher with a focus on cooperative democracy. Owen first cut his teeth in the Young Cooperators Network, a national initiative formed by young people seeking cooperative alternatives to traditional economic models following the 2008 financial crash. Since then, he has completed... Read more »
22 Jul 2024
The Rise & Fall of Black Cat Cafe Workers Cooperative w/ Nacho Gomez
In this episode Nacho speaks candidly about the highs & the lows of his & Carla’s 10 year journey with Black Cat Cafe. Even though from the outside Black Cat Cafe seems to be extremely successful Nacho shares about the constant challenges they faced – the difficulties paying members & staff fairly, and the set... Read more »
11 Jun 2024
Starting a worker coop cafe & working for workers.coop w/ Sam Nordland
Sam Nordland speaks to Punchcard about being a member of Gung Ho Housing Cooperative, a co-founding member of the Warehouse Cafe Workers Cooperative, a member of Stirchley Development Cooperative and now works for workers.coop the UK based federation of worker cooperatives. __________________________ Support us by contributing as little as £1 per month at opencollective.com/workerscoop/projects/punchcard Listen,... Read more »
16 May 2024
Welcome to Punchcard
Welcome to Punchcard! Listen to 1-on-1 interview with a worker cooperator sharing their stories, experiences and insights. Share & support Punchcard to move conversation away from traditional capitalist businesses towards worker controlled alternatives. Punchcard is produced by workers.coop and Principle Six.
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
1,443
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
33
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
0
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