

What Could Possibly Go Right?
Vicki Robin
In this interview series sponsored by Post Carbon Institute, Vicki Robin, activist and best-selling author on sustainable living, talks with provocative thought leaders about emerging possibilities and ways humanity might step onto a better, post-pandemic path.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 2, 2021 • 32min
#59 Ann Randolph: Sharing Our Vulnerable Truths
Ann Randolph is an award-winning writer and performer. She has performed her solo shows in theaters across the U.S, garnering awards along the way including the Los Angeles Ovation Award for “Best Solo Show” and the San Francisco Bay Critic’s award for “Best Solo Performer.” Mel Brooks produced her first big hit, Squeeze Box, Off-Broadway.She addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:That in these times, more people are feeling compelled to tell their stories and speak their truths That our stories of flaws and shame can give others permission to live authentically and to be fully themselvesThat healing, integration, and transformation can come from sharing storiesThat preaching rarely works when trying to change minds, but vulnerable story-telling will create impactThat finding commonality in our human experience allows for unity in conflictResourcesOnline non-religious church of sharing stories: www.happycockchurch.com Connect with Ann RandolphWebsite: www.annrandolph.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/annrandolph12 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ann.randolph.56 Follow WCPGR/Resilience.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilienceTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn More: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Oct 26, 2021 • 38min
#58 John de Graaf: Greening Neighborhoods, 4-Day Work Weeks, and Sustainable Living
John de Graaf is an author, award-winning documentary filmmaker, speaker, and activist “with a mission to help create a happy, healthy and sustainable quality of life for America.” He was the Executive Director of Take Back Your Time and co-founder of The Happiness Initiative. Since 1977, he has produced more than 40 documentaries, and dozens of shorter news stories and films. He is the author of books including international best-seller Affluenza, Running Out of Time and Hot Potatoes.He addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:That beauty in nature and the built environment can be a uniter in our polarized communities.That greening local neighborhoods can have broader positive implications, like reducing violence and having a healing influence.That experiments in increasing vacation time or introducing four day workweeks can make workers healthier, happier and more productive.That movements towards simplicity, sustainable living and getting outdoors has been boosted during the pandemic.Connect with John Website: https://www.johndegraaf.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.degraaf.71 Follow WCPGR/Resilience.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilienceTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn More: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Oct 19, 2021 • 33min
#57 Sky Nelson-Isaacs: Synchronicity, Wholeness, and Vulnerable Connection
Sky Nelson-Isaacs is a physics educator, speaker, author, and musician. He brings together the connection between synchronicity, physics, and real-life using research and original ideas. An educator with nine years of classroom experience, with experience in the industry as a software engineer, Nelson-Isaacs is also a multi-instrumentalist and professional performer of award-winning original musical compositions.He addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:The importance of wholeness in synchronicity; “from the whole, we get solutions from unexpected places.”The need for “a certain mindset of openness and receptivity” to see opportunities through the noise.The understanding that many of our “systems entice us, not towards wholeness, but towards separateness”.The value of vulnerability in creating connection; “If I sit with you, and you have a different view from me, and I want to understand and expand my view, I have to sit with insecurity and uncertainty.”Resources“Wholeness: Transforming Our Relationship to Power” (Part 1 & 2) https://synchronicityinstitute.com/blog/2021/7/15/wholeness-transforming-our-relationship-to-power-part-1 and https://synchronicityinstitute.com/blog/2021/7/20/wholeness-transforming-our-relationship-to-power-part-2“How do we define Wholeness?” https://synchronicityinstitute.com/blog/2021/1/18/to-be-whole“How a Science of Wholeness Can Change Leadership” https://synchronicityinstitute.com/blog/2021/8/13/how-a-science-of-wholeness-should-change-leadershipConnect with SkyWebsite: https://synchronicityinstitute.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynelsonisaacs/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynelsonisaacs/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nelson_sky Follow WCPGR/Resilience.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilienceTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn More: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Oct 12, 2021 • 41min
#56 Kamea Chayne: Being a Green Dreamer and Realigning our Deepest Yearnings
Kamea Chayne is a Hakka-Taiwanese creative, writer, the author of Thrive, and the host of the Green Dreamer podcast. Known for her perceptive commentary and incisive questioning, she's interviewed over 200 sustainability, social justice, and public health thought leaders.She addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:That "we just have to constantly reiterate and hone and create synergies with other people who have diverse different views."That "collectively we might be able to come up with new ideas that wouldn't have happened if we were to think and ideate separately in silos."That we are "increasingly waking up to the reality that infinite economic growth is fundamentally incompatible with supporting circularity and the regeneration of life".That "when we orient growth towards the right things, whether that be relationships, intimacy, or complexity, that is what actually can bring us stability".That there's a growing awareness of the need to "realign our deep yearnings as people, as interconnected communities, as Earth".ResourcesGreen Dreamer Podcast: greendreamer.com/podcast-1 Book: Thrive by Kamea ChayneConnect with Kamea ChayneWebsite: greendreamerkamea.com Instagram: instagram.com/greendreamerkameaTwitter: twitter.com/kameachayne Follow WCPGR/Resilience.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilienceTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn More: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Oct 5, 2021 • 42min
#55 William Ury: Finding the Third Side for Unity in Conflict
William Ury, co-founder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, is one of the world’s best-known practitioners of negotiation and mediation. William is co-author of Getting to Yes, a fifteen-million-copy bestseller translated into over thirty-five languages, and most recently author of the award-winning Getting to Yes with Yourself.He addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:That anger is a fuel essential for change, but the key is in whether it is deployed constructively or destructively.That there's a third side that unites us in conflicts.That zooming out and changing your perspective to the "balcony" can rechannel your energy.That there are three transformations needed to reframe and address conflict.The working through of a live example of these mediation techniques with Vicki.ResourcesThe power of listening - William Ury, TEDxSanDiego https://youtu.be/saXfavo1OQo Connect with William UryWebsite: www.williamury.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/williamurygtyFollow WCPGR/Resilience.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilienceTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn More: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Oct 1, 2021 • 56min
Bonus: What Could Possibly Go Right in Crazy Town?
In this bonus episode, Post Carbon Institute brings together the hosts of its two podcasts: What Could Possibly Go Right? and Crazy Town. Our host Vicki Robin sits down with the guys from Crazy Town to cover climate change, empathy, the stages of grief, and other related topics.Follow WCPGR/Resilience.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilienceTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn More: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Sep 21, 2021 • 1h 7min
#54 Roman Krznaric and Kate Raworth: Doughnut Economics and Being a Good Ancestor
Roman Krznaric is a public philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to change society. His latest book is The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short Term World. His previous international bestsellers, including Empathy, The Wonderbox and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than 20 languages.Kate Raworth is a renegade economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab.Together, they address the one core question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:That Doughnut Economics offers a model to “meet the needs of all people within the means of the Living Planet”.That “one of the ways that the world changes is through empathy”, which can overcome our social divides.That we need to be good ancestors and “step into the shoes of people in tomorrow's world as citizens of the future.”That recognizing and respecting boundaries is good for our own and the planet’s health, while also being a means to unleash our creativity.ResourcesEmpathy Museum - www.empathymuseum.com Doughnut Economics Action Lab doughnuteconomics.orgConnect with Roman KrznaricWebsite: www.romankrznaric.com Twitter: twitter.com/romankrznaric Connect with Kate RaworthWebsite: www.kateraworth.com Twitter: twitter.com/kateraworth Follow WCPGR/Resilience.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilienceTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn More: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Aug 17, 2021 • 40min
#53 Vicki Robin: Seeking Serenity Alongside Activism
Our host Vicki Robin takes a turn in the hot seat, asking herself “What Could Possibly Go Right?” After more than 50 episodes in the program, Vicki reflects on the emerging themes and shares thoughts as a cultural scout, including:The four acceptances she is making to find more serenity and avoid burnout in activismThe benefits of returning to ritual, connection, and cultural liveliness That "we're all working against an outdated, outmoded paradigm, that must fail to liberate the creative energies of humanity"That "the capacity for empathy and compassion for spaciousness and calm is the missing piece in this struggle with our climate, environmental and social circumstances"That intersectionality is now firmly anchored in movements for justice and positive changeConnect with Vicki RobinWebsite: vickirobin.comTwitter: twitter.com/vicki_robin Follow WCPGR on Social MediaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhatCouldPossiblyGoRightPodcastTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn more: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Aug 10, 2021 • 59min
#52 Douglas Rushkoff Revisited: Finding Connection in a Destabilizing Digital Realm
Douglas Rushkoff makes a return appearance to the series with fresh insights on our core question of What Could Possibly Go Right? Listen to his previous interview on episode 28.Douglas Rushkoff is an author, documentarian, and host of the popular podcast, Team Human. Rushkoff’s work explores how different technological environments change our relationship to narrative, money, power, and one another. He addresses our question a second time with thoughts including:The importance of contentment in “just less” and acknowledging the enoughness we have alreadyThe striving for connection with others, in a context where the “human organism has reached its peak of loneliness and is trying to find itself again”That the “digital realm is so much about choice” and we can use technology for light or darkThe need for real-life interactions as an antithesis to technologies which “are intentionally decalibrating; they destabilize you and your nervous system”Connect with Douglas RushkoffWebsite: rushkoff.comTeam Human: www.teamhuman.fmTwitter: twitter.com/rushkoffFollow WCPGR on Social MediaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhatCouldPossiblyGoRightPodcastTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn more: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes

Aug 3, 2021 • 32min
#51 Dany Sigwalt: Youth at the Forefront of Social Movements
Dany Sigwalt, Executive Director at Power Shift Network, has spent much of her career moving between movement building and youth leadership development, working to marry the two into one cohesive strategic reality. She cut her organizing teeth providing solidarity childcare for housing rights advocates in DC, fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the Occupy DC movement. She joined Power Shift Network in 2016 as Operations Director and has been supporting the organization in exploring better distribution of leadership energy for long term sustainability ever since.She addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:The reflection time during the pandemic supporting being more “thoughtful and intentional in our activism”The legacy of Black feminists in identifying language and providing analysis of the intersectionalities in systems causing harmThe growing collective consciousness in activism and the “willingness not to leave anybody behind in the work that we're doing”That “young folks have always been at the forefront of social movements”, understanding that they’ll live the longest in whatever reality we build, while also having had “less time to be indoctrinated”The benefits of policies that have impacts across different issue areas, such as the Green New DealThe power-building of mutual aid, through developing relationships and local resiliency; reducing “the level of control that the normative economy has over our lives”.Connect with Dany SigwaltWebsite: powershift.org Facebook: facebook.com/powershiftnetworkTwitter: twitter.com/powershiftnetTwitter: twitter.com/danysiggyInstagram: instagram.com/power_shift Instagram: instagram.com/danysiggy Follow WCPGR on Social MediaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhatCouldPossiblyGoRightPodcastTwitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilienceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceLearn more: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the showComplete Show Notes