Circular Hot Takes
Bocken, Das, Jørgensen & Pedersen 3 afleveringen nov. 4, 2026
Circular Hot Takes is a podcast about the circular economy, hosted by Nancy Bocken, Ankita Das, Sveinung Jørgensen and Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen. Each episode examines a real case, a new tool, or a policy shift, often with guests from industry, startups, and research. The hosts give honest assessments of what works, what does not, and why the gap between ambition and adoption persists. The show is aimed at listeners who want practical insight into the challenges of moving toward circularity.
Afleveringen
#CHT008: Platforms in circular and digital innovation with Paavo Ritala
In this episode of Circular Hot Takes, we are joined by Paavo Ritala, Professor of Strategy and Innovation at LUT University, to explore the intersection between the circular and digital transitions. We discuss why circular systems depend so heavily on data, coordination and information flows, and how digital platforms can help connect buyers, sellers, materials and resources at scale. Paavo expla
#CHT007: Does Sustainability Have to Feel Like Sacrifice?
In this episode of Circular Hot Takes, we start from the realities of a summer marked by extreme heat and ask what effective sustainability action actually looks like. We discuss the role of the circular economy in climate mitigation, the appeal of technological fixes, and whether tools such as AI can help us identify better choices — or simply make old patterns more efficient. The conversation th
#CHT006: Achieving Circularity through Gaming, with Katherine Whalen
In this episode of Circular Hot Takes, we are joined by Katherine Whalen, researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, host of the Getting in the Loop podcast and creator of two circular economy games. We explore what games can do that research papers often cannot: make complex systems tangible, memorable and engaging, while giving people a space to experiment with different choices and see w
#CHT005: How to Design Circular Business Models
In this episode of Circular Hot Takes, we explore how circular business models can be designed, tested and improved in practice. We discuss design science research as a way of developing tools and frameworks iteratively with the people who will actually use them, and why experimentation matters when moving from promising ideas to workable solutions. Nancy Bocken and Ankita Das share examples inclu
#CHT004: Sufficiency-Based Business Models with Laura Niessen-Wade
In this episode of Circular Hot Takes, we are joined by Dr. Laura Niessen-Wade from Maastricht University, an expert on sufficiency-based business models. We explore what sufficiency actually means and how it can play out in business, both in production and consumption. Drawing on Laura and Nancy Bocken’s How Can Businesses Drive Sufficiency? The Business for Sufficiency Framework, we discuss how
#CHT003: What Does Regenerative Business Actually Mean?
In this episode of Circular Hot Takes, we turn to regeneration. What does it actually mean for a business to be regenerative — and does every company need to become one? We move beyond regenerative agriculture and explore what regeneration can mean for ecosystems, communities, employees, finance and the resources businesses depend on. We discuss regenerative finance, place-based responsibility, in
#CHT002: How to Make Sense of the Circular Economy
In this episode of Circular Hot Takes, we go back to some of the ideas that helped make the circular economy easier to understand. Marking the tenth anniversary of the 2016 paper Product Design and Business Model Strategies for a Circular Economy, we revisit the logic of narrowing, slowing and closing resource loops—and how regeneration later became part of the picture. We look at where these idea
#CHT001: Welcome to Circular Hot Takes!
Welcome to Circular Hot Takes. In this first episode, Nancy Bocken, Ankita Das, Sveinung Jørgensen and Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen bring the band together and take stock of where the circular economy stands in 2026. Circularity has moved from the margins into corporate strategies, policy agendas and boardrooms, yet the gap between ambition and adoption remains stubbornly large. We discuss why so man
