In this first episode, I speak with pioneering journalist Vince Beiser, innovative policy maker Dr Louise Gallagher and eminent storyteller and changemaker, Kiran Pereira. We draw out some of the relationships between sand and cities, thinking about concrete, glass and paints; discuss some of the implications of this vast extraction; unpick the value of storytelling and trace out some of the biggest shifts surrounding sand and sustainability in the sphere of global policy.