A new Australian podcast focused on leadership, accountability and workplace culture is joining the iHeartRadio network.
Culture Capital is co-hosted by Prabha Nandagopal and Mundanara Bayles, and forms part of the BlakCast podcast network.
In each episode, the hosts draw legal, executive, and First Nations perspectives to examine how leadership is changing across Australian workplaces.
The series arrives as workplace culture, power imbalances and diversity debates continue to shape leadership conversations across business and government.
A podcast built around accountability
Bayles said the podcast was created to move leadership conversations beyond formal corporate language and into lived workplace experience.
“Respect and inclusion aren’t optional anymore – they’re legal requirements and baseline expectations, particularly for younger generations entering the workforce,” said Bayles, CEO of BlackCard and host of Black Magic Woman Podcast.
“We created Culture Capital as a space where leaders share not polished statements, but real stories, about courage, blind spots, mistakes, and accountability.”
The launch comes as recent research shows 39% of Australian employees would consider leaving their jobs if diversity, equity and inclusion were not prioritised.
Nandagopal said the series focuses on the gap between organisational messaging and workplace experience.
“The expectation-action gap is exactly where our podcast begins,” said Nandagopal, human rights lawyer and corporate advisor.
“We’re living through a time of deep political and cultural division, and that tension doesn’t stop at the office door. When leaders avoid the hard conversations or retreat into safe language, it creates a fracture between what organisations say and what people are actually experiencing.”
“This isn’t just about policy, it’s about truth, authenticity, and having the courage to lead through cultural unrest with clarity and conviction.”
Guests span politics, defence and governance
Each 25-minute episode combines personal leadership stories with practical discussion around trust, power, reform and inclusion.
Early guests include Linda Burney, Member of Parliament and Indigenous advocate, who discusses workplace culture inside Parliament, gender harm and leadership following the Voice referendum.
Also featured is Jacqui Kernot, Vice President of Thales Group, from Thales Group, speaking about structural bias, gaslighting, neurodivergent leadership and AI governance following her autism diagnosis at 49.
Other guests include Mark Rigotti, CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and George Williams, Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University.
Leadership when the cameras are off
Nandagopal said the conversations are designed to reflect what leadership looks like when public scrutiny is removed.
“Culture is what happens when the cameras are off; it’s how people feel seen, valued, and safe, or not,” said Nandagopal.
“Our conversations explore both the breaking points and the breakthroughs that define modern leadership. The content will be of interest to all leaders – those emerging as well as established leaders.”
Top Image: Prabha Nandagopal and Mundanara Bayles