Bestselling author, Sal Naseem, is a former Regional Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), where he spent many years working on policing oversight and within the police accountability framework in England and Wales.
Sal has dealt with some of the most high-profile misconduct cases featuring the Metropolitan Police Service in its recent history.
As the bestselling author of True North: A Story of Racism, Resilience & Resisting Systems of Denial, Sal is a policing expert and media commentator, using his platform to discuss male allyship as a necessity in the fight against male violence against women and girls, as well as broader issues related to inclusion.
Join the conversation and be inspired by a true patriot who dedicated his life to public service through real actions and delivery. Not through empty and meaningless flag-waving platitudes.
Timestamps:
(00:00:00) – Preview
(00:04:22) – Sal Naseem's background and mission
(00:07:56) – The Stephen Lawrence case and police misconduct and racism
(00:10:49) – Racism and Sal’s career challenges in public sector leadership
(00:14:06) – Why racism and discrimination still exist and are getting worse in 2025
(00:22:37) – Media’s negative influence and social media misinformation
(00:26:50) – The current toxic political landscape and the rise of fascism
(00:32:38) – Why you must keep up with politics as part of your strategy and general knowledge
(00:40:34) – The need for moral courage in leadership to achieve positive change in toxic environments
(00:50:31) – It’s not “the system”, it’s the people behind the system and cowardly leadership
(00:58:39) – The real meaning of weak and risk-averse leadership and its consequences
(01:05:42) – How extremist governments are great at communicating and how to challenge them
(01:16:48) – The failure of educating kids about racism and the lack of personal responsibility
(01:27:13) – The current wide influence of far-right politics throughout society
(01:45:00) – How social media algorithms spread hateful content by design
(01:50:27) – The role of business leaders in achieving positive social change, their need to speak out
Episode Notes & Citations:
https://ceoretort.com/podcast/guest/2025/09/22/sal-naseem-we-allowed-racism-to-grow/
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