20 - What if we Addressed the Trauma that Lies Beneath the World's Problems?

Today we are exploring the question of trauma, and I must confess that recording this conversation rather blew my mind, as it will no doubt blow yours. I had to lie down afterward and digest it for a while. I am joined by two amazing thinkers for this conversation. I hope you love it.

Susan Raffo is a bodyworker, cultural worker and writer. For the last 15 years she has focused her work through the lens of healing justice with a particular interest in supporting individual and collective practices of safety and wellness. This also means attending to how generational and historical trauma shapes the present moment , including both internalised and systemic supremacy. She spent her first seven years of adulthood living in Bristol, England, particularly shaped by the anti-imperialism and sustainability movements of the 1980s (the protests at Greenham Common being an especially life-shaping experience). She has lived in south Minneapolis in the US for 30 years with her awesome partner, Rocki, and their daughter, Luca.

Staci K. Haines is a national leader in the field of Somatics, specialising in intersecting personal and social change. Staci is the co-founder of generative somatics, a multiracial social justice organisation bringing somatics to social and climate justice leaders and organisations. She specialises in somatics and trauma, and leads programs for healers, therapists, and social change leaders to transform the impact of individual and social trauma and violence. Her new book The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing and Social Justice (North Atlantic Press 2019) is based on that work. She is the founder of generationFIVE, a community based organisation whose mission is to end the sexual abuse of children within five generations.

As mentioned in the podcast, Staci and Susan sent in the list of recommended readings, which are available at https://bit.ly/3eoPRdT

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