LH126 Polynesian Navigators with Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers
The Learning Hack podcast
Does L&D know where it's going? What separates the L&D functions that genuinely move organisations forward from those that stay busy but never quite shift the dial? That question has driven 's research for over two decades — and it sits at the heart of The L&D Leader, the new book she co-authored with . Their answer, drawn from more than ten thousand L&D professionals and two hundred learning leaders, points not to new tools or models, but to something older and harder to teach: the ability to read the organisation, sense its currents, and navigate your own way to somewhere...
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LH125 What’s The Vibe, Don?
The Learning Hack podcast
The results of the 2026 Global Sentiment Survey are out — and the mood in workplace learning is uneasy. In this episode, John speaks with about AI’s “hangover moment,” rising pressure on L&D teams, diverging regional trends, vendor anxiety, and what showing value really signals this year. Is this a temporary wobble — or a structural shift in what L&D is for? Timestamps 00:00 - Start 02:21 - Intro 04:14 - Overview of this year’s GSS 12:50 - Metaverse and virtual environments 21:59 - Opportunities and Challenges of AI 26:49 - More US respondents this year? 28:33 -...
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LH #124 Learning Hive: What's the Buzz? with Kinga Petrovai
The Learning Hack podcast
What if the most powerful learning system in your organisation is already there — hidden in plain sight? In this episode, Dr Kinga Petrovai introduces The Learning Hive: a structured, research-informed model for peer learning that amplifies tacit knowledge, builds community, and accelerates learning transfer. Drawing on her academic background and real-world practice, Kinga explains why informal learning is often undervalued — and how deliberate design can make peer learning both human and effective. Timestamps 00:02 – Introducing the Learning Hive 00:06 – What makes it true...
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LH123 – OEB Special: Learning and Humanity
The Learning Hack podcast
Voices from Online Educa Berlin 2025. Recorded at Online Educa Berlin 2025, this episode brings together five perspectives on keeping the human at the centre of learning in the age of AI. From global learning trends and AI maturity, to human-centred education, the Global South, emerging talent, and the long view of digital learning, these conversations capture the diversity, tensions, and possibilities shaping education and workplace learning worldwide. Guests Timestamps 00:02:19 – Intro: OEB 2025 00:02:52 – Donald H. Taylor:...
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LH122 The Changing Shape of Work with Josh Bersin
The Learning Hack podcast
The year ahead for learning, skills and work As organisations head into 2026, Josh Bersin returns to The Learning Hack to make sense of what is really changing in work, skills and learning. Drawing on his latest research and global advisory work, Josh explains why AI has crossed a threshold, how jobs are being reshaped rather than eliminated, why skills velocity is fundamentally cultural, and why L&D is facing a once-in-a-generation structural reinvention. Timestamps 01:28 – Intro 03:12 – What happened in 2025? 05:08 – ‘Superworkers’ & ‘supermanagers’ ...
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AI Learning and the Global South (an episode of the Great Minds on Learning podcast)
The Learning Hack podcast
Recorded live at Online Educa Berlin, this episode of Great Minds on Learning explores AI and the Global South through history, hard lessons, and contemporary debate. John Helmer and Donald Clark examine early techno-utopian experiments, the ethics wars around AI, and newer perspectives rooted in language, power, and lived experience. From Negroponte and Mitra to Gebru, Arora, Manyika, and Mugane, the conversation asks who AI is really for—and who gets to decide. Timestamps 00:57 – Intro 01:58 – Introduction to AI & the Global South 14:11 – Nicholas Negroponte...
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LH #121 A Make Or Break Year? 2025 in review with Myles Runham
The Learning Hack podcast
2025 was billed as a “make-or-break year” for L&D. But what actually happened? To make sense of a turbulent twelve months in learning, talent and HR, John Helmer speaks with Myles Runham of Fosway Group, Europe’s leading analyst firm. They explore AI’s real impact, shifting buying patterns, skills intelligence, evaluation, and whether L&D is heading for reinvention or obsolescence. A clear-eyed, data-led look at where we stand — and where we’re heading. Timestamps 00:59 – Intro 03:30 – Did we make it or break it? 07:02 – Are organisations spending smarter or...
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LH #120 Agent Provocateur with Dr. Ashwin Mehta
The Learning Hack podcast
How AI agents are reshaping learning workflows and the L&D ecosystem “Agentic AI” is the buzzword of the moment. But how many people fully understand what it really means—or how it will change learning and work? Dr. Ashwin Mehta, Chief AI Strategist at the Learning & Performance Institute and founder of Mehtadology AI, joins John Helmer to unpack the hype and explore the practical realities of AI agents, workflow re-engineering, and the emerging skills ecosystem in learning and development. Timestamps 00:00 - Start 01:51 - Intro 03:52 - AI strategist role with LPI...
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LH #119 Learning To Love America with Christian Ray Flores
The Learning Hack podcast
From refugee to Russian pop star, startup founder to life coach and evangelist pastor — Christian Ray Flores’s journey has spanned continents, ideologies, and careers. In this remarkable conversation, John explores how those experiences shaped Christian’s views on creativity, entrepreneurship, AI, faith, and the American dream. Can such diverse identities truly fit together? The result is a thought-provoking dialogue across boundaries of culture, belief, and experience. Timestamps 00:00 – Start 00:51 – Intro 03:00 – Christian’s extraordinary backstory: refugee, pop star,...
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LH #118 Human Moments: the View from Crotonville w. Jay Moore and Doug Scott
The Learning Hack podcast
The human heart of learning in a digital age. Jay Moore and Doug Scott look back on the legendary Crotonville leadership institute — and forward to what its ethos means for learning in the age of AI. They tell John Helmer how a culture built on humility, connection and trust continues to shape GE’s learning legacy today. As training becomes more digital, how do we preserve those “human moments” that make real development possible? Timestamps: 00:51 - Intro 03:00 - What is Crotonville? 07:44 - What is the ethos and culture of Crotonville? 13:11 - How much learning is now digital...
info_outlineHow AI agents are reshaping learning workflows and the L&D ecosystem
“Agentic AI” is the buzzword of the moment. But how many people fully understand what it really means—or how it will change learning and work? Dr. Ashwin Mehta, Chief AI Strategist at the Learning & Performance Institute and founder of Mehtadology AI, joins John Helmer to unpack the hype and explore the practical realities of AI agents, workflow re-engineering, and the emerging skills ecosystem in learning and development.
Timestamps
00:00 - Start
01:51 - Intro
03:52 - AI strategist role with LPI
08:33 - What are AI agents?
12:41 - Is agentic AI tech widely available yet?
23:25 - What skills do L&D need to use Agentic AI?
29:25 - How Dr Mehta uses AI agents in his business
34:54 - Workflow re-engineering
40:14 - AI negatives Q&A: cost-cutting, slop, bias and AI armageddon
50:16 - How AI reshapes the L&D ecosystem
56:51 - End
Connect
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Website: learninghackpodcast.com