Hello? Is that the government? … can we talk?Debra and Peter are back just as Easter arrives, and this week they take on a question that feels far too familiar: when government gathers the grown-ups in the room to tackle a national crisis, why is civil society still so often left outside the door?Starting with the latest response to oil price shocks, they explore why business is so often treated as a strategic partner while charities are seen as the people who arrive later to mop up the consequences. Drawing on lessons from COVID, local knowledge, fuel poverty, food insecurity and community resilience, they make the case that charities do not just respond to crisis. They help design better answers to it.Debra and Peter also get into the sector's own storytelling problem. Are charities still framed too often as worthy, gentle and grateful, rather than as essential contributors to the economy and society? And if government, business and civil society are all serving the same people, why are charities still fighting to be taken seriously as part of the solution?There is also a thoughtful discussion about the risks that come with funding and advocacy, prompted by debate in Scotland over whether government support makes charities less likely to criticise. It opens up a wider question about independence, influence and the vital role infrastructure bodies can play in speaking out when individual charities may feel too exposed to do so.And finally, in one of the most honest parts of the episode, Debra offers a message for charity leaders facing closure, burnout or impossible decisions: this is not a personal failure. Sometimes survival means stabilising, stopping, or recognising with pride what has already been achieved in a brutal environment.Sharp, frank, occasionally funny, and quietly determined as ever, this is a conversation about voice, value and not giving up.P.S. This is not a cricket podcast. Or is it?Send your questions to jblazquez@dsc.org.uk or comment below for the next episode!YouTube Subscribe: YouTube.com/@DSCOnlineMore Debra Allcock Tyler LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-allcock-tyler-8013214/More Peter Wanless LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sir-peter-wanless-b43aa372/Produced by: Directory of Social Change https://www.dsc.org.uk Podcast Producer: José Blazquez