Lord Toby Harris chairs the UK’s new National Preparedness Commission. But it faces obstacles getting its core messages read and accepted. Here he asks why leaders still find preparing for the unexpected so problematic.

We face dark times. Very dark times. All of us. They will be darker times than almost all of us can visualise or have ever experienced. But few seem to realise the true enormity of what we all confront, let alone how to come to terms with this. For the vast majority of us it is unthinkable.

Be inspired to be positive by Tom Fletcher, a young and remarkable ex-diplomat. Take risks. Have mad ideas. Challenge yourselves: are you using technology or is it using you? A leadership conversation with ex-diplomat and Principal of Hertford College, Oxford, Tom Fletcher.

What leaders must learn about connecting risks. From the pandemic to the climate emergency, social media and the misuse of technology, the threats are increasing year on year. Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees reveals his greatest fears to TtU’s Nik Gowing and Chris Langdon.

It is unthinkable. We are even closer to war in Europe. The inevitability of what Putin is forcing upon us continues to be real. The date and numbers 22022022 are the new 9/11. History will remember February 222022 as the day the post World War Two security of Europe was shaken. I write this as the founder of the Thinking the Unthinkable (TTU) project in 2014.