Unified Threads

What does it mean to stay with yourself? “There’s no wiki-how to this. There is no formula.” – Maleka Diggs, Founder of Eclectic Learning Network and Co-Founder and Core Member of Philly Children’s Movement In this episode we discuss deschooling, a few ways to navigate when triggers show up (Maleka’s focus falls on what we do with those triggers, and the why behind them), along with some of the common myths behind this type of work. We also talk about what Maleka is hearing from parents transitioning to home-based education, whether forced or not, and how this type of learning is nothing new. When we are in a space to face ourselves. Sometimes that work creates friction outside of yourself.” – Maleka Diggs This episode’s guest Maleka Diggs is a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) centered, Unschooling/SDE (Self-Directed Education), Youth advocate, Racial Equity and Inclusion Trainer, Presenter, Workshop Development and Facilitator. Links mentioned in this episode: Eclectic Learning Network: https://

How will the world look 20 years from now? Our collective trauma and individual trauma have merged. COVID-19 and the uprising for liberation have collided. We must find ways to utilize technology to liberate ourselves and each other. "Community is an acknowledgement of our interconnectedness, and healthy community is the way we share this love, safety and freedom." - Anne Kinsey This episode features perspectives from Anne Kinsey in Concord, NC. Anne is the founder and executive director of Love Powered Life, a nonprofit organization that serves human trafficking survivors and their families. She is also a trauma recovery coach, a writer, a mother of 3 unschooled young people, a biofeedback, and a neurofeedback practitioner. Her work is guided by the values of love, safety, and freedom. This episode is all about our thoughts on nurturing healthy and safe relationships in the world. As a biofeedback and neurofeedback, practitioner and writer, she sees these as bottom up paths to get into our nervous system,

"Samanvay" is a Hindi word with a translation into English: "to come together as a group to work for a common purpose." This episode features perspectives from Megha from Ajmeer, Rajasthan (a state in India), and the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. In this episode, Megha and Amy discuss access to education, self-directed education, and Megha’s journey as an industrial design student at the Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology. Megha completed her master’s thesis while working in the handicraft sector across several different NGO (non-governmental organizations) projects in different states in India. The word "craft" to Megha is a practice where a group of people share a similar process to create something useful and necessary. Crafts originated from a person within a community contributing to the needs of the community with something they are able to create through their material of choice. This is how the exchange of handcrafts was done in healthier times. Her main motivating factors for her work a

This episode is part 2 of a conversation with Ethan Hughes, co-founder of the Possibility Alliance in Belfast, Maine, and Grace Yoder of Polliwog Farm in Ypsi, Michigan. We talk about showing up, seeing the world as it is, white supremacy, grief, shame and trauma work, accepting disruption, self-organizing, seeking leadership from those who have been and are still most affected and oppressed by the dominant culture, and activating/cultivating our unique giftedness. Ethan also outlines for us the guiding principles they use to inform their work at the Possibility Alliance. Recorded August 7, 2019.Threads mentioned in this episode...Layla Saad’s book “Me and White Supremacy” to be released Feb 4th, 2020. www.laylafsaad.com Sonya Sanchez https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sonia-sanchez Audre Lorde https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/audre-lorde Grace Lee Boggs http://www.boggsschool.org/grace-and-jimmy Sheri Mitchell: https://sacredinstructions.life  (book mentioned: Sacred Instruction)adrienne marie brow

Questioning what other people told you is possible is always a good place to start. This episode is part 1 of a conversation with Ethan Hughes, one of four co-founders of the Possibility Alliance in Belfast Maine, and Grace Yoder of Polliwog Farm in Ypsi, Michigan.  Grace shared her work on the first episode of this season, in an episode called "Belonging", and connected the threads to Ethan. Ethan and the people at the Possibility Alliance have spent over a decade working to solve practical problems through permaculture, while living true to a set of principles, one of which they call “pathways out of empire.” Grace and Amy ask questions around why Ethan and his partner & co-founder Sarah Wilcox moved from an established off-grid community in Missouri to start fresh in Maine. Together, we talk about our white privilege, getting to the point of being honest with what we’re exchanging and how much energy still needs to be freed up, and showing up to build resilience in response to this planet’s ecological

Where does it all spin out? Relationships. This episode features two beings sharing discoveries about how relationships influenced their experience with education. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

A volunteer shares about a creative center she helped spark with other volunteers on Chios Island, Greece. What started with volunteering for 3 weeks, turned into a summer of nurturing relationships. Volunteer and former Al-Jazeera Producer Ali speaks about how she created a space for refugees to have a place to express themselves in a playful way on the island of Chios (recorded July 2017). --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

Are we filling humans up like a pail or lighting a fire in them? “The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning.” - John Dewey  Digging into what it means to learn and grow in the grassroots movement of education.  Featuring perspectives from Stef, a mom in Ann Arbor, Michigan who’s studying for her MA in progressive education at Prescott College, along with Omar, a Syrian doctor now seeking refuge in Germany because of the Syrian Civil War. Definition of “community” from episode guest Stef: “Being in a group of people that hold themselves accountable, and also you accountable, for the harmony of the whole.” Additional quotes from inventor Nikola Tesla (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikola-Tesla), Jeff Salaway (contributing founder of Hayground School-http://www.hayground.org/), and marketing guru Seth Godin (http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com) are featured in the episode. Learning tool mentioned by Stef: a "Kanban Board" (originally invented in Japan)  Learning sourc

“There’s something that led us to share and exist with each other.”-Sarah Ann from Rythmic Synergy, featured musician on this episode.    Discussing community, land bases, and driving with your values. Perspectives about Belonging from Ypsilanti, Michigan native Grace Yoder of Pollywog Farms followed by a song called ‘Blip’ from Sarah Ann of Rythmic Synergy.   Additional music mastery provided by Ana Gomulka and Taylor Greenshields of the band Honey Monsoon.   Produced by Corey Coates of Podfly Productions.   www.unifiedthreads.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

This episode, we pull back the curtain and peer in on the fortress that is Europe. Featuring perspectives from Cari Naftali, Yeppe the rescue diver, former Greek Finance Minster Yanis Varouvakis, and Atiq from Afghanistan. Help moms with babies stuck in refugee camps: https://nurtureprojectinternational.org This brings Season 1 to a close. What an incredible journey it has been. Thank you friends, family and listeners! Looking forward to connecting with many more of you in Season 2. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

Polarity: “The state of having two opposite or contradictory tendencies, opinions, or aspects.” In 2015, the Greek island of Lesbos became a learning ground of the Law of Polarity. This episode features Andrea from YpsiTVYpsiTV's perspective as a local facing the mass migration crisis from the front lines.  Sappho said it best: “You may forget but let me tell you this: someone in some future time will think of us.“ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

Featuring mass migration thoughts from Alexandra Wynne, an Istanbul business owner, and an emotional recollection from two rescuers involved with a real-life shipwreck that happened on a shore of Lesbos island, Greece. Key takeaways:  #1: Across the world, we're more alike than we might think. #2: Terrorists win when we’re terrified of each other.  #3: Always check your life jackets and make sure they’re one solid block of flotation foam and not multiple layers. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

This episode features thoughts from Lee the Homeless Bard, Maria Tran from Sea of Solidarity, and never before heard perspectives from Team Kunkush members, Ashley Anderson and Michelle Nihn. Key takeaways: #1: There are MORE people displaced in 2016 then there were during the second World War. #2: Everyone has the Power to take one step towards helping another being. #3: Cats have magical powers that bring people together. (We have evidence!) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

Understanding is what we’re all trying to achieve with each other.  Featuring thoughts from Richard Wolfe, co-founder of CrowdRise, Samuel in Montreal, Andrew in Putney, England, and a poem called LOVE from Lee the Homeless Bard. Key Takeaways: #1: A common weed called Plantain Leaf can relieve health ailments.  #2: Giving back can be fun when you do it together. #3: Once a concept is introduced, you must revisit it over and over again before you can reach mastery. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

Movement can alter our emotions.  Emotions can and do create our world. This episode features perspectives from Ypsi Melissa (otherwise known as Jamie Berlin), who shares what we can learn from our pollinator friends, and Solomon Kreuger from Flow Dance Montreal, who shares about the creation of an intentional space with the goal of bringing people together through freedom of dance. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

Resilience is about creating mental and physical conditions in which traumatic overwhelming responses are less likely to happen. This episode is about me learning more about how confident, empowered people can work together more effectively, and in turn solve more problems. Featuring thoughts from Caroline Weigman, Program Coordinator for the Long-Term Area Recovery Committee for Oklahoma County, and Taqqee Khabir, martial arts instructor and founder of Close Quarters Combat Academy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

Recounting how I first came to be a Ypsilanti, Michigan resident.  Featuring K-Rae, Ypsilanti connector extraordinaire, organic information databank and clothing swap founder. Music from Nicole Pee and the #YpsiLove Neighborhood Theatre Company.  Episode takeaways:  -A geiger counter is an instrument used for measuring ionizing radiation  -Hugging 12 times a day is when you start to receive health benefits.  -Falls are going to happen --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

This episode lays the foundation for the vantage points that will be shared in this project. It’s centered around the place where I feel like I first conciously discovered the power of love in a community context... Oklahoma City. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message

My name is Amy Shrodes, and I've decided to let go and trust Life. While listening to my heart, I felt called to expand my perspective on the importance of community around the world. While preparing for this journey, I was inspired to create a podcast project weaving together what I learn along the way. This is me practicing what this is going to be all about. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unifiedthreads/message