We’re kicking off series 2 with a series of podcasts looking at how to put people back into planning. We will be exploring everything from cultural immersion and new research techniques powered by data to the impact of semiotics, and the uses and misuses of Big Data to understand what makes people tick. For our first episode, we spoke to Dougal Shaw. A Cambridge graduate, Dougal joined the BBC as a researcher and trained himself to become a new breed of journalist, one whose primary tool is his mobile phone. We thought Dougal would make a perfect first guest not only because he interrogates and immerses himself in modern culture but also because his unmediated relationship with his subjects can teach us about new techniques of observation and insight discovery. Finally, we also enjoyed his frank musings on popular and digital culture and we hope you'll find those valuable too.