S1 Ep8: The Extraordinary Ordinary with Katrin McMillan and Kathy Lette

The Extraordinary Ordinary, the podcast from Women of the Year

Katrin McMillian is the founder of Hello World, which offers a remarkable solution to the challenge of delivering accessible, affordable education to communities in the developing world, through innovative solar powered, internet-enabled education Hubs, each built by the community, for the community, giving them education materials and internet access.

In this inspiring episode Katrin describes how a TED talk changed her outlook on the world of education, and how she realised, and then witnessed, that children are capable of learning even in the absence of school rooms and teachers. She talks passionately about her frustrations with international development methods, and openly describes how she ended up in tears after some pitching meetings to potential funders. She admits she doesn’t always cope with the demands of the charity and the rest of her life with her diplomat husband and four children and calls on us all to stop praising dads for taking on their share of domestic and parenting duties.

In this episode we’re also joined by author and writer, the brilliantly witty Kathy Lette. When Kathy first came to the Women of the Year lunch she was worried it might be too posh, but she discovered that “the opposite was true. It confirmed what I’ve always believed, that women are each other’s human wonderbras. They make each other look bigger and better.” In her own inimitable style, Kathy describes the changes that have taken place at the lunch over the years, and the way life has moved on for women in society in general.