The Sh*t Show: threatening civilizations ain’t cool

Send us Fan MailThe pressure keeps ramping up, and this week was like no other, with a potty-mouthed Potus threatening to destroy an entire civilization. While the media and experts try to determine what he meant by this statement – a war crime in its own right (not the act, just saying the words) - the only way a civilization the size of Iran could be destroyed is by going nuclear. Did we really get so close this week? Well, in this day and age, none of us can feel confident it won’t happen, but boy, it wouldn’t be very smart, would it? Of course, the markets rose and fell, the price of fossil fuels too, and almost immediately, the ceasefire was over, because Israel decided to carry out its largest bombing campaign of Lebanon straight after the announcement, so the Strait of Hormuz is “shut” once again. It makes you wonder if there is a way out of this mess that isn’t utter destruction? Nothing is giving us any confidence yet. Of course, plenty of other news worth our attention, from a deep dive into Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and whether he can be trusted, the US leaving NATO, JD Vance being JD Vance, recycled plastic is worth something at last, and oh, the US threatening the Catholic Church with the Avignon Papacy. Yep, things are weird, no doubt about it. To help us dig into this and more, we are delighted to welcome Andy Lopata. Andy is an internationally recognised authority on professional relationships, with more than 25 years of experience helping organisations and individuals unlock the commercial and cultural value of connection. The author of six books and co-host of The Connected Leadership Podcast, Andy is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and has written for Harvard Business Review. We’re going to discuss Andy’s professional advice on building professional relationships and networking, then translate that into how we can use it more broadly, as we all face deepening uncertainty. It’s going to be valuable.  Come and join us as we disentangle the complexity of this time, and with Andy, gain some tools to navigate the choppy waters. It’s all happening, this Friday, 10th April 2026, at 8am UK, 9am EU, 11am UAE, 2pm TH, 3pm SG, 5pm AEST. Streaming across various locations, and no doubt about it, we’d love your support. The Sh*t Show is a Livestream happening every Friday, where Andrea T Edwards, Dr. David Ko, Richard Busellato and Joe Augustin, as well as special guests, discuss the world’s most pressing issues across all angles of the polycrisis, working to make sense of the extremely challenging and complex times we are all going through, plus what we can do about it. Help us move the needle so we can change the name of the show to something more genteel when (or if) it is no longer a sh*t show. #TheShitShow #UncommonCourage You can find me Andrea T Edwards | The Digital Conversationalist and Welcome - Uncommon Courage - An Invitation. My book Uncommon Courage, an invitation, is here https://mybook.to/UncommonCourage My book 18 Steps to an All-Star LinkedIn Profile, is here https://mybook.to/18stepstoanallstar