Next Economy Now: For the Benefit of All Life

What if accountability led to healing instead of more harm? In this conversation, restorative justice practitioner Tatiana Chaterji shares how her work in prisons, schools, and communities is helping people move beyond punishment toward real repair. She reflects on her own experience as a survivor, the power of truthful dialogue, and why accountability requires support rather than shame. This episode opens a clear-eyed look at what it takes to build safety and dignity in a society ready to move past punitive responses to harm.View the show notes: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/tatiana-chaterjiSupport the show

This episode explores how ancestral plant wisdom can reshape the future of healthcare and the economy. Clinical herbalist and educator Laura Ash shares practical insights on ethical herbalism, biopiracy, whole-plant medicine, and why reconnecting with traditional knowledge matters for human and planetary wellbeing. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of the cultural, scientific, and economic dimensions of herbal medicine and how to apply these lessons in their own work and lives.View the show notes: www.lifteconomy.com/blog/reclaiming-ancestral-medicine-for-a-regenerative-future-w/-laura-ashSupport the show

Climate resilience is not only a matter of innovation but also of honoring what communities have practiced for centuries. In this episode, Julia Watson, designer, activist, and leading expert on Lo—TEK — a term that combines low-tech and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) — shares how traditional practices offer vital solutions for sustainable design and regenerative economics.View the blog post: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/building-climate-resilience-through-lo-tek-julia-watsonSupport the show

Autumn Brown returns to Next Economy Now for a third time for a wide-ranging, candid conversation on practicing freedom in an unfree world. We talk joy and parenting, the post-2020 backlash, symbolic vs relational change (pronouns, land acknowledgements), building broader coalitions, and Autumn’s shift from cooperative leadership to music, Aikido, and a forthcoming book on fugitivity. It’s a grounded back-and-forth about moving from fear and performance to love, courage, and strategy.View the show notes: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/autumn-brown-freedom-practice-in-an-unfree-worldSupport the show

Freedom and fulfillment aren’t measured in square footage; they’re shaped by how we live and what we value. In this episode of Next Economy Now, we welcome Jewel Pearson, a tiny house expert, intentional living advocate, and longtime voice for representation in the tiny house movement. With over ten years of experience living in a tiny house, Jewel brings lived experience and deep expertise as a consultant, educator, and speaker. She challenges traditional ideas of housing and wealth building, helping people design homes and lifestyles rooted in sustainability, equity, and community.For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/jewel-pearson/Support the show

When you understand the power of a limiting belief and change it into a liberating belief, you get to take your power back and achieve personal freedom. In this segment of our Next Economy Living mini-series, we are joined by author and advocate for personal liberation, Christine Platt, to talk about her new book, Less is Liberation, and to share her liberation story. For full show notes, visit: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/christine-platt-2025/Support the show

What if the solution to better housing, health, and happiness isn’t greater independence, but deeper interdependence? In this episode of Next Economy Now, sustainability educator and regenerative living advocate Cynthia Tina invites us to rethink how we live, highlighting what it means to live in alignment with shared values, and why intentional communities are emerging as a powerful response to today’s social and ecological challenges.For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/cynthia-tina/Support the show

Living with intention can be a radical act in a world driven by consumerism. In this special Next Economy Living mini-series episode, host Kevin Bayuk speaks with writer, herbalist, and former Black Minimalists podcast producer Farai Harreld about how ancestral knowledge and mindful practices can help us reclaim agency over our health, homes, and everyday choices.For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/farai-harreld/Support the show

In this conversation, Kevin Bayuk, Partner and worker owner at LIFT Economy, addresses critical skills gaps that hinder the growth of community-centered economies. He emphasizes the need to rethink educational frameworks to foster sustainable practices. Kevin also discusses the tension between organizational hierarchy and collaboration, underlining the importance of balance for shared power. Financial literacy emerges as a key theme, highlighting how essential it is for empowering communities and fostering equitable development.

What if your work could be more about deep, cultural, spiritual, and educational work than financial gain? In this conversation with Alexa Firmenich, founder of Naia Trust and host of the Lifeworlds Podcast, we explore how to balance returns with impact and tradition with transformation in the investment industry. She explains that 100% of global GDP is dependent on nature, and if we’re not supporting nature, we’re not supporting the economy. For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/alexa-firmenich/Support the show