Shows / The Sovereign Hub Podcast
The Sovereign Hub Podcast
The Sovereign Hub offers conversations and resources to help you decide where AI belongs in your life and work, where it is risky, and where it is not needed at all. Hosted by Carolyn Shepherd, champion of human judgement in the age of AI, creator of Jobscaping and one of HR Magazine's Most Influential Thinkers 2025.
carolynshepherd.substack.com
Episodes
The Sovereign Hub PodcastHR’s Most Popular AI Questions Answered. Part 1
Hi, Which AI tool can you actually trust? Is the free version safe to use at work? And do you really have to read everything AI produces? HR professionals in…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastHR is transforming. Are you ready?
Has anyone asked you yet whether their job is safe? If not, they will. I’m hearing it in corridors, in one-to-ones and in that quiet moment at the end of a…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastCheck Your AI Outputs for Potatoes and Bacon
About Ruhul Ruhul Saiyed is Business Development Director at Ergaris HR, where she is extending her HR remit into commercial strategy and growth. She started…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastThe Quest to Know ‘Enough’ about AI is Distracting HR from the Real Work
Hi, Last week I asked what you’re still researching that, if you’re honest, you already know enough to decide. If you ran a decision through the four tests I…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastThe Truth about Applying for HR Jobs in 2026
What happens when someone who has spent their career putting people at the centre of change ends up on the receiving end of it? That’s the question I put to…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastIt’s webinar day are you registered
At midday today I'm running a free session for HR leaders who've been asked to own AI and are still working out where to start. If that feels familiar it's…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWhat If I'm Missing Something Important?
Shownotes What If I'm Missing Something Important? (The Sovereign Hub, Season 2, Episode 2) You've spent years being the person people trust to get it right…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastCould AI really kill us all by the end of the decade?
Hi, I had a different episode ready for you this week. Then a researcher walked out of Anthropic saying the people building AI believe it could kill us all by…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastI don't lie awake worrying about AI governance.
Hi, Six months into hosting the show, I noticed something changing. People weren’t bringing me career questions any more. They were bringing me decision…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWho Cares if the Boss is Watching?
Ep 13: Who Cares if the Boss is Watching? First, Some Important Context In 2006 Gaelle Watson was given the task of running virtual classroom sessions. The…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastLeaning into her Personality
Somewhere inside a council, a woman whose job was to assess support applications for children with additional needs was given an instruction. ‘Turn down 98 out…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastFrom 5,000 LinkedIn Views to 300,000 overnight
First, Some Important Context It was a Friday lunchtime. Not a great time to post on LinkedIn, as anyone who watches the algorithm will tell you.Caroline…
The Sovereign Hub Podcast10/10: Promote that Agent Pronto!
Ep 15 – Build Your Own Copilot Agent The ready-made agents come close, but this week you build the one that does your job, your way, with your documents…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastNamed: 68 Steps to hand over to Copilot Analyst
Show Notes: Ep 14 Named: 68 Steps to Hand to Copilot AnalystWebsite: [merrillconsultants.com](https://www.merrillconsultants.com/)LinkedIn…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWhy Pay AI Tax? Copilot Researcher Agent May Be The Answer
Valerie Merrill Valerie Merrill is a Microsoft and people skills specialist, Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute, award-winning L&D podcaster and…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastEver wondered if an AI agent could help you prompt better?
Shownotes: Valerie Merrill, FLPI.Learning and Development SpecialistDirector, Merrill Consultants Website: merrillconsultants.comLinkedIn…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastAre you worrying about using AI?
The First Part of the New Series If work is arriving faster than you can clear it, and you have been handing work to AI because everyone says you should, but…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastUsing AI: What's In It For You?
Before you touch the technology, you have to answer one question.Why would I use this?Not as a policy. Not as a business case. As a person.That is the question…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastFirst the Data, Then the AI Agent
The agent is not the starting point.The data is.That is what every business rushing toward AI implementation is missing. And it is costing them more than they…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastL&D's Four Enablers with Jo Cook. Ep 08
Show Notes: Ep 08 – L&D's Four Enablers with Jo Cook Jo Cook Editor, Training Journal Director, Lightbulb Moment Training Journal: trainingjournal.com Jo's…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastPrinciples Over Strategy with Andrew Jacobs
Thank you to my guest Andrew Jacobs Andrew is a learning strategist and organisational impact advisor, and founder of Llarn Learning. He is a Fellow of the…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWhere Is Your Time Actually Going? The HR Time Audit That Builds the Commercial Case
Most HR functions are genuinely busy. But busy is not the same as valuable, and pace is not the same as impact. The case for HR investment keeps not landing…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastEp 06: HR: Before You Transform, Get Strategic (with Nebel Crowhurst)
Nebel Crowhurst is a Fractional Chief People Officer and strategic people leader who helps organisations build workplaces where people, culture and performance…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWK 05 — Are You Ready to Roll Out AI?
Most AI rollouts don’t fail because of the technology. They quietly run into trouble in the gap between what leaders assume is in place and what their people…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastLive with Danielle Shroyer
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carolynshepherd.substack.com
The Sovereign Hub PodcastEp 05: The Return on Investment Gap with Valerie Merrill
In this episode (Ep 05), Carolyn is joined by Valerie Merrill, a London-based learning and development specialist, consultant and trainer with over 35 years’…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastEp 04: Solving the problem first. Letting AI follow (not lead)
This week’s episode with transformation consultant and founder of People Efficient, Kate Maddison-Greenwell, explores what AI adoption really looks like inside…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWeek 03: Small decisions, real judgement.
In this short audio, we’re focusing on a single moment that’s becoming more common in our work -deciding whether AI should be involved in a task at all, and if…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastEp 03: A Conversation About Control
The Sovereign Career Hub is all about humans at work in the Age of AI. This podcast and its companion resources can be found at…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWeek 02: The 'Confidence Booster Guide' - starting small, staying in control
In this short audio, I introduce the ‘Confidence Booster Guide’ and share a tried and tested way to use AI at work without feeling overwhelmed - and if you…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastEp 02: 'Confidence with AI grows through seeing, asking, and trying'
This week’s episode with the popular leadership coach, Fay Wallis covers a wide range of ground, from HR practice and coaching to marketing workflows and the…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastWeek 01: 'Power Verbs' Cheat Sheet. Ready to Use
📝 Show Notes A small moment from this week where AI didn’t respond as expected - and what it revealed about intent. In this short solo audio, I share a real…
The Sovereign Hub PodcastEp 01: Use AI on your terms. Protect what’s yours.
Episode 1 Sharon Green is a professional HR interim, coach and consultant - and one of the quieter connectors in the independent HR world. She founded Chiara…