Episode
Going viral - Lessons for sustainability from Memes & the Romans
- Published
- Mar 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1374
- Processing state
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- https://straight-talking-sustai.captivate.fm
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Summary
In this intellectually stimulating solo episode of Straight Talking Sustainability , host Emma Burlow draws unexpected connections between Richard Dawkins' 1976 concept of memes from "The Selfish Gene," Professor Alice Roberts' book "Dominance" exploring Christianity's spread across the Roman Empire, and the historic Green Party by-election win in Manchester to explain why some workplace sustainability ideas thrive whilst others die despite passionate advocacy, brilliant facts, and months of effort. The answer is not about working harder or having better data; it is about understanding that survival of the fittest means fit for the conditions, not strongest or most factually correct. Emma opens with her girl crush on Professor Alice Roberts (anatomist, trained doctor, Birmingham University professor) whose Dominance book tour revealed a crucial insight: Christianity succeeded across the Roman Empire because conditions made the idea fit, not because the idea was objectively superior. This led Emma to discover that Richard Dawkins coined the term "meme" in 1976 (not the internet), derived from Greek mimeme meaning "something imitated," shortened to sound like gene. Memes spread through culture exactly as genes spread through populations: they replicate, mutate, and compete for attention and survival. Crucially, memes thrive when conditions are right (timing, wit, playing on fears or humour), just as sustainability ideas compete in seas of news, business priorities, and workplace distractions. Dawkins' "survival of the fittest" does not mean strongest or only heroes survive; fit means suited for the environment, perfect to thrive in those conditions. This is workplace sustainability: why some initiatives take off whilst loads flop, leaving professionals wondering how hard…