Future Tripping

We wanted to take a moment to really thank you, our listeners, for helping this podcast thrive! We have just wrapped Season One and will be back in early 2023. We so appreciate you, and spending this time with all of you each week has been a treat. Thank you for joining our community and we look forward to diving into the new year with you. For any suggestions, please do reach out to us at traumastewardship.com. Again, thank you! 

In our final episode of Season One, Laura speaks with Robin Brulé. Written about in The Age of Overwhelm, Robin’s mother and close friend were murdered while drinking coffee and reading the morning paper in their home. Robin speaks about her path from the day that forever changed her life through today and offers listeners encouragement to take time, truly take time, to grieve and mourn, and shares why having realistic expectations of oneself is critical. She and Laura also talk about the incredibly important work Robin does to help survivors of domestic violence access the financial tools necessary to become financially independent and stable. Robin embodies what a beautiful and meaningful life can look like, even in the aftermath of indescribable heartbreak. To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

When reflecting on the early days of the pandemic, something forever memorable is Achut Deng’s story as reported on the New York Times podcast The Daily. Journalist Caitlin Dickerson met Achut when trying to give voice to some of the workers in the United States who were most vulnerable when it came to coronavirus exposure. Achut is a survivor of the Sudanese civil war and lived in a refugee camp for years. After coming to the U.S. she eventually found herself working at a meat packing plant in South Dakota. She is a single mom to her three sons and as a result of the outpouring of concern generated by that early reporting, Achut has just written her first book. Caitlin, now at The Atlantic, recently featured Achut and her memoir Don’t Look Back, and to say the past couple years have been transformative for Achut is a true understatement. When so much can seem so overwhelming in life, being in Achut’s presence is a salve to one’s spirit.Achut Deng's memoir, Don't Look Back is on sale now.To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

This week Laura talks with Freedom Siyam. Freedom has been a classroom teacher, principal, adjunct faculty member and so much more! For decades he’s also been a community organizer for social justice and international human rights causes both in the U.S. and the Philippines. Freedom shares honestly what he sees kids going through and his colleagues going through. By looking closely at the systems and structures that make up education, he offers his analysis of a few reasons why we are where we are today. He has real and compassionate advice for those coming into the field as well as those who have already dedicated themselves to this noble work. And no conversation with Freedom is ever complete without some good laughter.To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

Join Laura as she talks with former public defender and current policy expert, Krystal Rodriguez. Krystal has spent her entire career focusing on how to represent, defend, advocate for, and shift systems to better serve folks from marginalized and underserved communities. In this conversation they discuss her incredibly interesting and critically important work on bail reform and closing Rikers Island. She generously shares her insightful self-reflection and the subsequent rough road she traveled as she enacted her Plan B. And they talk about the importance of understanding what being personally connected to one’s career means for one’s life - inside and outside of work. Krystal is widely sought after for her expertise, depth and breadth of experience, respect for those she serves, powerful leadership, and - of course - sense of humor. Laura’s admiration of Krystal runs deep and we know that what she has to share will be a gift for our listeners.To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

This week we are joined by two experts on people’s perceptions of the world and their influence on our actions. Laura has been an admirer, and drawn on the work of, Dr. Gilovich and Dr. Davidai for years, and during their conversation today, they generously indulge Laura as she asks them to apply their research and own personal practices to Laura’s own work in trauma, vicarious trauma, overwhelm, and systematic oppression/structural supremacy. They cover everything from enduring regret to the headwinds/tailwinds asymmetry. With humor and candor, they relay their pioneering research in very accessible ways and leave the listener with a tremendous amount to think about and a number of concrete take-aways.To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

This week’s conversation is with activist, community builder, lawyer, and DEI leader Lezlie Griffin. Through her work with Earthworks, Lezlie supports employees in their devoted efforts to prevent fossil fuel and mining initiatives, and to change and enforce laws that hold companies responsible for the pollution and harm that they cause. Lezlie offers us sage insight and advice on how we can find ways to navigate our own overwhelm around the climate crisis and all the inequities, exhaustion, and despair it can carry with it. She and Laura discuss solastalgia, the importance of staying present and not future tripping, why pacing oneself is critical, and how the seemingly small things do actually make a difference. While communities around the world are under water, on fire, and experiencing record weather patterns, we owe a debt of gratitude to Lezlie - and all of her colleagues in the field - who bring their best to fight this fight every day and continue to envision what is possible.To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

Join Laura this week as she talks with an esteemed leader in the Anti-Violence and Domestic Violence fields, Deadria Boyland. Having done this work for over 30 years, Deadria brings her wealth of knowledge to the conversation and together they discuss how we can recognize manipulation, control, and abuse in our own relationships as well as in relationships of loved ones and those around us. Whether it’s a blossoming relationship in middle school or a long-held one by older adults, warning signs are discussed and strategies are offered. Importantly, Laura and Deadria remind us that abuse in relationships can happen to anyone and that it’s imperative we reflect on our own judgments and stereotypes. And because no conversation with Deadria is complete without laughter, they find the levity where they can, even within this complex and critically important topic. National Network to end Domestic violence https://nnedv.org/National Domestic Violence Hotline https://www.thehotline.org/tel:1.800.799.7233Futures Without Violence https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/Love is Respect https://www.loveisrespect.org/get-involved/tdvam/ Teen Dating Violence https://www.teendvmonth.org/To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

This week Laura talks with Kendall Titus, a wise beyond her years entrepreneur and college student. Kendall shares her thoughts about navigating overwhelm, in college and beyond. They discuss loss and grieving, with Kendall offering concrete strategies that have been helping her over the past year. And they talk about sympathetic joy and all that can come from that practice. We also get to hear about Womxn Ignite, co-founded by Kendall and her BFF from high school, and written about in Forbes. Given all the headwinds facing young adults today, this conversation will inspire and - we are sure - be a joyful part of your day!To learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here. 

This week, Laura is in conversation with psychiatrist, bioethicist, assistant professor at Columbia University, and author, Dr. Carl Erik Fisher. Dr. Fisher, through his long career, extensive research, and personal experience of being in recovery, shares the critical truth that addiction has spanned history, and is something that exists in all of us, with no bright line that separates us from them. He explains that approaching addiction recovery in that dichotomous way is at best ineffective and at worst dangerous and deadly. He offers that simple solutions like a War on Drugs, more law enforcement, and cutting off supplies don’t address the reality that drug problems arise from multiple intersecting causes like systemic oppression, the failures of the American health system, pharmaceutical empires, and the lack of basic human rights and needs like housing, healthcare, and education. Together, he and Laura discuss how addressing addiction cannot come from control or eradication which don’t get to the root of the problem. Instead, we need to look at addiction from a place of inquiry, curiosity, and self-compassion, and with an acceptance that suffering is a part of life, which allows us to develop coping skills and psychological flexibility, and to find support and community - and a path to recovery. Whether listening to the depth and breadth of Dr. Fisher's knowledge through this conversation, reading his exceptional book, or keeping up with him through his own podcast, we believe everyone has something meaningful to learn from him.https://www.carlerikfisher.comTo learn more about Future Tripping, Laura’s work, and The Trauma Stewardship Institute, or to email a question you'd like Laura and her guests to respond to, please click here, or call 360-228-5804 anytime and leave us a voicemail.  And you can find us on Instagram here.