Over a year and 8 episodes later, Punchcard has proven itself as a valuable resource for sharing and learning within the worker co-op network – exploring everything from making decisions and workplace democracy, to overcoming financial difficulties, to rethinking traditional approaches to diversity & inclusion.
The first season was funded internally by workers.coop, who unfortunately are unable to continue supporting Punchcard in the same way.
For Season 2, it’s moving to a listener-funded model. The goal is simple: 🎯 50 listeners contributing £5/month to keep Punchcard going.
Punchcard has been an invaluable resource for me,
as someone who is new to the world of worker co-ops
Ali Francis, £8.00/month supporter
Highlights from Season 1
- Ai Van Kok (Leeds Bread Co-op) → demystifying finances with the £1 model and overcoming financial difficulties.
- Alice McLarnon (Trademark, Belfast) → on using co-ops to break down racist & sectarian division in Northern Ireland.
- Taylor Le Melle (not/nowhere, London) → why inclusion isn’t enough, and how redistribution should guide co-ops.
- Rebecca Kemble (US Federation of Worker Co-ops, Madison) → lessons from a movement drifting away from its grassroots.
- Nacho Gómez (Black Cat Café, London) → reflections on why co-operatives close and ideas on how to save them
The podcast gives time and space to get into the complexities and nuances of the worker
co-op movement – I’ve learnt so much about what folks are doing (and why!)
Danny Garside, £5.00/month supporter
What’s Coming in Season 2
🎙 Better production & regular episodes
I’m now working with Vilte from Media Co-op, who’s improving editing, audio quality, and creating clips & reels to reach wider audiences.
🎤 More live shows
– 2 live recordings at London’s Anti-University Festival with Cooperation Town & kin.coop
– 1 live recording at workers.coop’s Autumn Assembly – guest TBC
🌍 More global voices
We’ve had interest & engagement from the international co-op movement and I 2 more international guests lined up, bringing perspectives from across the world.
– Rupay Dahm – cofounder of a migrant led cleaning co-op in Berlin
– Àlex Badia – Barret.coop, a video production studio and part of the local co-op federation in Valencia, Spain
Excellent work! Exactly the sort of thing we should be doing!
John Atherton – £1/month supporter
Why Your Support Matters
Worker cooperatives are still a relatively unknown and confusing concept to most people. The dominant narrative tells workers to either accept exploitation or climb the ladder by exploiting others, and nothing about worker cooperatives.
Punchcard is the only podcast dedicated to spotlighting and showcasing that worker cooperatives are innovating and creating the worker owned and control future we need.
But Vilte & I can’t make Punchcard alone.
If just 50 listeners contribute £5/month, we’ll be able to release episodes more regularly, improve production quality, and expand our reach with short clips and reels that will reach more people.
🎯 Help increase awareness of worker co-ops – start contributing £5/month today
Thanks you !
A massive thank you to everyone who is already supporting Punchcard – on Open Collective, and to workers.coop, and the co-ops who helped us get this far.
– Caleb Elliott & Punchcard
🎧 Listen, follow & rate Punchcard on workers.coop/podcast, Overcast, PocketCasts, RSS, Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts
