Kia Ora, Ni Hao and Hello, welcome to the Chiwi Journal Podcast. I’m your host, Camellia Yang.

Today’s guest is Dawn Musil, a Network School active member, consultant in natural capital, writer on biotech and community, and someone with an extraordinary personal journey—from growing up in a cult, to Oxford, to McKinsey, to building businesses inside an experimental intentional community.

This conversation moves through identity, community, resilience, curiosity, and the courage to rewrite your own story. If you’re interested in alternative education, Network States communities, or simply how people rebuild their lives with openness and grit, this episode is for you.

Leaving a high-control cult at seventeen and rebuilding life with no map, no support system, and no blueprint
What Network School feels like from the inside
Micro-businesses emerging in community: bikes, scooters, smoothies, and more
Natural capital and what “working with nature” actually looks like
Behind the scenes of McKinsey’s AI tool launch
Oxford’s enduring traditions and why they still matter
Beekeeping, insects, and the search for Malaysia’s legendary honey harvesters
Long-distance bike riding and the generosity of strangers
The rising importance of community in modern life
The note she’d leave for her younger self

Links/Resources Mentioned:

Talking Simpsons - Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers" With Stephen Sajdak