Over the course of State of the Nation: Global Perspectives, we have travelled across countries, systems, and ideas to explore one central question: how can we build a social care system that works for the world we live in today?

In the final episode of State of the Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari Gerstheimer is joined by Adelina Comas-Herrera, a leading expert in international long-term care systems, to reflect on the lessons emerging from across the series.

In Episode 8 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari Gerstheimer is joined by Dr Sam Bennett, Disability Programme Director at the Grattan Institute and former senior leader at the National Disability Insurance Agency. With experience spanning both the UK and Australia, Sam brings a rare combination of policy insight and frontline understanding.

In Episode 7 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari Gerstheimer is joined by Andy McCabe to discuss the recent findings of the Casey Commission on social care, exploring societal changes, government responsibilities, and the future of social care reform in England. Featuring insights from Baroness Casey's speech at the Nuffield Conference, the discussion emphasises the importance of informed public engagement, transparency, and systemic change.

In Episode 6 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari Gerstheimer is joined by Brendan Martin to discuss his journey into social care and how small self managed neighbourhood teams in the Netherlands are delivering more relational, person centred care. The conversation explores why the model has been influential internationally and what has been learned from attempts to introduce similar approaches in the UK.

In Episode 5 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari Gerstheimer is joined by Marcus Riley. The conversation explores the structure of Australia’s social care system, including aged care, health and disability services delivered through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. While universal safety nets exist, the system remains fragmented, with tensions between federal and state responsibilities.

In Episode 4 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari Gerstheimer is joined by Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive of Scottish Care, for a wide-ranging and deeply reflective conversation about the state of social care in Scotland and what it reveals about the challenges facing care systems more broadly.

In Episode 3 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari speaks with Mansur Dalal, a leading voice in senior living and care. Mansur is a speaker and author, the former Chair of Common Age, which brings together ageing organisations across the 56 countries of the Commonwealth, and the founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Association of Senior Living India.

In Episode 2 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari is joined by Professor Vic Rayner OBE, Chief Executive of the National Care Forum, for a wide-ranging conversation that blends personal experience, international insight, and a clear challenge to how we think about social care.   

Welcome to our new series of our social care podcast 'State of our Nation.

In this series, Kari Gerstheimer, CEO and founder of Access Social Care speaks with international experts to explore social care systems around the world. She is then joined by Andy McCabe from Social Care Future for the second part of the episode, 'State of our Nation: In Conversation', to reflect on what those global insights could mean for legal rights and social care reform here in England.  

This final episode of the "State of Our Nation" podcast features a heartfelt conversation between co-hosts Kari Gerstheimer and Anna Severwright as they reflect on the series, and discuss the current challenging state of social care.

They double down on the onslaught of recent policy and financial decisions that seem to be negatively impacting people who rely on social care; discuss reactions to the newly launched Casey Commission and look forward to series 3.

This episode of the State of our Nation shines a light on the critical issue of health and social care inequalities faced by Black and other minority ethnic groups in the UK.

Our guest this time is Charles Kwaku-Odoi DL MFPH, Chief Executive of the Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN), a leading national Black health organisation at the forefront of reducing health inequalities and wider disparities.

Join Kari and Anna as they welcome Svetlana Kotova from Inclusion London to discuss the complexities of charging for social care.

Svetlana Kotova, Director of Campaigns and Justice is a lifelong advocate for disability rights, and shares her journey from her early years in Russia to her impactful work in the UK.

.Are strengths-based assessments a "wolf in sheep's clothing?" They're designed to help you focus on your strengths, but in this episode, Kari and Anna ask a critical question: are they actually doing more harm than good?

Anna Severwright and Kari Gerstheimer talk to guest, James Bullion, former director of Adult Services at Norfolk and president of ADASS, also DHSC lead for social care discharges and recently, interim Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care at CQC.

This omnibus edition of the podcast looks backwards over the past year as well as taking a look forward into 2025.

Anna Severwright and Kari Gerstheimer talk about the why language matters with Bryony Shannon.

Top Tips: Legal Language

There is no such thing as a magic wand but there are magic words. Listen to this section to help you spot when you need to use a phrase to transform your social care outcomes.

In the first part of the episode, Anna and Kari talk to data experts Amit Kohli and Hannah Hewish who co-authored the report. They discuss the stark findings from the latest State of the Nation report into adult social care.

Introduction to the new series & The power of truth: why government transparency on social care funding matters 

Featuring: Hannah Hewish (Legal Strategy Manager at Access Social Care) and Sarah O'Grady (Social Affairs Correspondent at the Daily Express).

This month, Access Social Care Founder and CEO Kari Gerstheimer is joined by Hannah Hewish and Sarah O'Grady for a special episode discussing the findings of our latest State of the Nation report.

The report is the result of an innovative data collaboration project working with nine different helpline organisations. It allows us to produce a comprehensive assessment of the complex issues facing our sector, and spotlights the emerging themes in social care advice provision.

In this episode, Hannah provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of the report and takes us through some of its key findings. We then hear from Sarah about some of the issues behind the numbers, based on her extensive experience reporting on social affairs.

Featuring: Dr Cecilia Anim CBE, Clinical Nurse and former President of the Royal College of Nursing

This month Kari is joined by Cecilia Anim for a special mini episode discussing overseas recruitment in the social care sector - a hot topic in the news right now.

They talk about government proposals to reduce immigration, staff shortages in the sector and the exploitation of international workers, as well as how to improve staff retention and why we must properly appreciate the vital work of those in the sector.