Walk Talk Listen Podcast

From Exposure to Collective Courage with Jessica Roland - Walk Talk Listen (Episode 230)

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, I speak with Jessica Roland, Senior Specialist for Inclusive Peace at the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, where she advances the leadership of women, youth, and marginalized groups through advocacy, training, and mediation work, and serves as Co-Chair of the Gender Working Group of the Multi-Faith Advisory Council to the UN. Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Jessica’s worldview was shaped by limited exposure until one opportunity to travel abroad opened a completely different path toward international peacebuilding. Her journey is a powerful reminder of how exposure shapes understanding, and how it can transform the way we engage with the world.
We explore how younger generations are shifting away from institutional religion toward lived values, seeking authenticity, inclusion, and meaningful engagement. Jessica reflects on her work across women, peace, and security, and the importance of inclusive leadership in peace processes, while also naming the growing challenge of polarization and the loss of real dialogue. What stands out is her reframing of courage, not as something individual, but as something collective. Through partnership, empathy, and self-awareness, she reminds us that building peace depends not only on what we do, but on who we choose to become.
 
Listener Engagement:
Discover the songs picked by Jessica and other guests on our #walktalklisten here.
Learn more about Jessica via her LinkedIn and Instagram. Also check out her organization's related website, link here. Her company also has Facebook.
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).

The Four Bodies of being Human with Elif Kuş Saillard - Walk Talk Listen (Episode 229)

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice Bloem speaks with sociologist and qualitative research expert Dr. Elif Kuş Saillard, originally from Turkey and now based in France.
Elif reflects on a life shaped by curiosity and questions. Growing up in central Anatolia, she developed an early habit of asking “why,” a habit that eventually led her to sociology and an academic career as a professor at Ankara University. Over the years, she specialized in qualitative research and narrative methodologies, focusing on how people create meaning in their lives and societies.
 
After moving to France, Elif went through a profound personal transition that led her to explore deeper questions about identity, purpose, and well-being. Out of this journey emerged her Four-Body model, which describes human life as lived through four interconnected dimensions: the physical body, the social body, the earth body, and the technological body.
 
In this conversation, Elif shares why understanding meaning-making is essential to understanding society and why science should ultimately serve a purpose — contributing to a more sustainable and meaningful future.
 
Listener Engagement:
Discover the songs picked by Elif and other guests on our #walktalklisten here.
Learn more about Elif via her LinkedIn. Also check out his organization's related website, link here. Her company also has Instagram.
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).

Keep Moving Forward: Rethinking Wealth and Work with Dustin Wilson - Walk Talk Listen (Episode 228)

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice speaks with Dustin Wilson, Startup Community Manager at Nexcor in Rochester, New York. Dustin shares a deeply personal journey, from growing up between city and suburb, to working in the trades, nearly joining the military, pursuing music industry ambitions, and ultimately discovering entrepreneurship as a calling.
 
A first-generation college student, Dustin describes how early setbacks, including dropping out of college and later returning as an adult learner, shaped his mindset. A pivotal leadership moment during his undergraduate years introduced him to the power of entrepreneurship, not merely as business creation, but as personal development.
 
After working in corporate product marketing and launching his own startups (sometimes at the cost of burnout), Dustin pursued an MBA in Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise in Colorado. There, he began reframing his understanding of capitalism, questioning shareholder-first models and advocating for wealth creation and retention rather than simple job counts as the true metric of economic development.
 
Today, Dustin works at the intersection of entrepreneurship and community building, helping founders shorten the time to decisive learning while emphasizing the human skills behind successful ventures. He reflects on why economic development must adapt in an AI-disrupted world, why we underinvest in the person behind the business, and why the next generation may crave belonging more than growth.
 
Throughout the conversation, a recurring theme emerges: life may not always unfold as planned, but progress requires courage, self-awareness, and the willingness to keep moving forward.
 
Listener Engagement:
Discover the songs picked by Dustin and other guests on our #walktalklisten here.
Learn more about Dustin via his LinkedIn. Also check out his organization's related website, link here. His company also has Instagram.
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).

Crossing Thresholds: White Wolf Woman — Serving Across Lands and Generations with Hinauri Nehua-Jackson – Walk Talk Listen (Episode 6)

In this episode of the special series Crossing Thresholds, Maurice Bloem speaks with Hinauri Nehua-Jackson, a proud Māori–South Korean woman born in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and now based on Treaty 6 Territory in Canada. Hinauri introduces herself in her Indigenous language and shares the meaning of her spirit name, Kapiska Mahigan Isku Onitsigason — White Wolf Woman. From the beginning, it is clear: she walks consciously between lands, between cultures, between responsibilities. At age 11, she immigrated to Canada without knowing English. What she searched for was not language — but community. Indigenous elders on Turtle Island welcomed her as one of their own, reinforcing her belief that Indigenous solidarity transcends borders. At 16, during ceremony, her path became clear. Serving elders at Sundance, disconnected from technology and urban life, she experienced what she calls the joy of selfless service. That moment “flipped the switch” for her leadership journey. As a young Indigenous leader in oil-driven Alberta, she navigates the tension between economic systems and Indigenous teachings about land stewardship. For Hinauri, climate is not abstract policy — it is spiritual balance, interconnectedness (Wakotouin), and responsibility to seven generations.
 
This episode connects deeply with the JLI & Christian Aid report on Climate, Migration and Faith, reminding us that climate displacement is not only physical — it is spiritual, cultural, and intergenerational.
 
Hinauri does not speak for Indigenous peoples. She speaks as someone who carries her ancestors forward — across oceans. We hope that you enjoy this extra long episode with this inspiring young woman.
 
Learn more about the research behind this series: [link to JLI–Christian Aid report]
 
Listener Engagement:
Learn more about Hinauri via her LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).

Racial Consciousness Is Like a Muscle with Jacco van Sterkenburg – Walk Talk Listen (Episode 227)

In Episode 227 of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice talks with Jacco van Sterkenburg, Associate & Endowed Professor of Race, Inclusion & Communication at Erasmus University Rotterdam and newly appointed Chief Diversity Officer of the university. His research spans how media, sport, and gaming shape cultural narratives about race, ethnicity, gender, and leadership.
 
Jacco’s work draws on decades of scholarship — from his PhD on race, ethnicity, and the sport media to recent projects on video gaming, gender, and football representation. It sits at the intersection of cultural studies, psychology, and media analysis.
 
In this conversation, he reflects on what it means to be “inside” and “outside” dominant norms, and how seemingly neutral spaces like games or sports broadcasts are sites of meaning-making. He talks candidly about how easy it is, especially for white researchers, to “go with the flow” without questioning assumptions — and why developing racial consciousness is like training a muscle.
 
Whether you’re interested in media, culture, sport, or leadership, this episode invites you to rethink the familiar and practice deeper awareness.
 
Listener Engagement:
Discover the songs picked by Jacco and other guests on our #walktalklisten here.
Learn more about Jacco via his LinkedIn. Also check out his research related website, link here.
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).

Crossing Thresholds: “The Land Is Life” with Biswash Chepang – Walk Talk Listen (Episode 5)

Welcome to Episode 5 of Crossing Thresholds: Religion, Resilience & Migration, a special mini-series of Walk Talk Listen produced in connection with research by the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI) and Christian Aid on faith and climate migration.
 
In this episode, Maurice Bloem speaks with Biswash Chepang, an Indigenous rights advocate from Nepal, about what climate change, displacement, and faith mean for communities whose identity, spirituality, and survival are inseparable from land. Biswash reflects on Indigenous worldviews in which land is not a commodity, but a living relationship that connects birth, death, culture, and belief.
 
Their conversation explores how climate pressure affects Indigenous communities long before migration takes place. As forests disappear, land rights are denied, and livelihoods erode, people can become displaced without ever moving. Biswash describes how the loss of land ownership and access creates forms of silent displacement that are often overlooked in policy discussions about climate migration.
 
Faith runs throughout this conversation, not as an abstract concept, but as something embedded in land, rivers, forests, and daily life. Biswash speaks about spiritual practices rooted in nature, as well as the complex role of religious change in contexts of poverty and exclusion, where faith can offer both support and profound cultural disruption.
 
Biswash’s reflections echo findings from the JLI–Christian Aid evidence review, which shows that climate migration is frequently preceded by prolonged environmental and social stress, that strong spiritual ties to land shape decisions not to migrate, and that displacement often takes emotional, cultural, and spiritual forms that are difficult to measure. His story gives voice to these dynamics, grounding research insights in lived Indigenous experience.
Rather than a formal interview, this episode is a listening dialogue about land, belonging, faith, and the quiet thresholds people are forced to cross when their relationship with place is put under pressure.
 
Learn more about the research behind this series: [link to JLI–Christian Aid report]
 
During our conversation we experienced some challenges with our connection and therefore you will hear a couple of hiccups that we couldn't get edited out. Our apologies for at least two moments where it seems that Biswash his answers were cut short. 
 
Listener Engagement:
Learn more about Biswash via his LinkedIn and Facebook. Follow his writings via his WorldPress site.
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).

Spirituality Was a Lifeline: Creating Conditions for Awakening” with Rich Havard – Walk Talk Listen (Episode 226)

Rich Havard is the Director of the Youth Mental Health Fund at the Decolonizing Wealth Project and in Episode 226, he shares his journey from growing up in a small town in rural Mississippi to becoming a leader at the intersection of spirituality, justice, and philanthropy. Reflecting on his upbringing, he speaks honestly about how experiences of difference, exclusion, and faith shaped his early sense of vocation and empathy for others.
 
Rich describes how spirituality became a lifeline throughout his life, from childhood questions about identity and purpose, through his coming-out journey, and into his work creating spiritually grounded communities for young adults. He traces how this calling evolved through pastoral ministry, the founding of the Inclusive Collective, and later into philanthropy, where he sought to become the kind of funder he wished he had when leading a small nonprofit. Now, at the Youth Mental Health Fund, he works to support culturally responsive approaches to mental health that integrate spirituality, justice, and community care for young people.
 
The conversation also explores what it means to “decolonize” wealth and challenge philanthropic systems to move resources differently toward collective well-being rather than accumulation. Rich reflects on moments that compelled him to act against injustice, on the role of faith communities in standing with vulnerable people, and on the fragile but persistent hope that comes from choosing to be an “arc bender.” This episode is a thoughtful meditation on healing, belonging, and the inner work needed to sustain outer change.
 
Listener Engagement:
Discover the songs picked by Rich and other guests on our #walktalklisten here.
Learn more about Rich via his LinkedIn. Also follow Instagram and Facebook of the Decolonizing Wealth Project.
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).

Crossing Thresholds: From Violence to Healing with Nidia Bustillos Rodriguez (Episode 4)

Welcome to Episode 4 of Crossing Thresholds: Religion, Resilience & Migration, a special mini-series of Walk Talk Listen produced in connection with new research by the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI) and Christian Aid on faith and climate migration.
In this episode, Maurice Bloem speaks with Nidia Rosmery Bustillos Rodríguez, a Bolivian traditional healer and herbalist born in Cochabamba, whose life and work bring together lived experience, academic training, and Indigenous knowledge. Nidia is trained in information management, development studies, and transpersonal psychology, and her professional path integrates research, cultural management, and institutional work in the fields of intercultural health, development, and the rights of Indigenous women.
 
Their conversation explores migration not only as physical movement, but as rupture and transformation. Born to parents who migrated for work and later forced to leave Bolivia to escape violent abuse, Nidia reflects on how family migration shapes identity across generations and how displacement, trauma, and spiritual meaning intersect. Her story reveals how survival can become a pathway toward healing, both for oneself and for others.
 
Nidia’s professional work mirrors these themes. She has conducted research on traditional women healers, the use of natural resources, and information and communication technologies for the empowerment of Indigenous women, as well as on tambos and the Qhapaq Ñan. She currently serves as a Program Officer at the Pawanka Fund for the Arctic, Pacific, and Eurasia regions, and is responsible for the traditional medicine laboratory GAIA-TERRA. She is also CEO of DREAMCO SRL and the Cruz del Sur Foundation, and has collaborated widely with international organizations and feminist and Indigenous networks to strengthen initiatives related to traditional medicine, cultural heritage, and the preservation of ancestral knowledge.
 
Nidia’s reflections echo key findings of the JLI–Christian Aid evidence review, which shows that faith and spirituality shape how people interpret displacement and that resilience often takes forms that policy and humanitarian systems struggle to recognize, including emotional, relational, and spiritual dimensions. Her life story gives human form to these insights, illustrating how loss, movement, and meaning are deeply intertwined.
 
Rather than a formal interview, this episode is a listening dialogue about what it means to leave home, to survive violence, and to transform pain into care. It is also a conversation about knowledge, memory, and the enduring role of ancestral wisdom in times of upheaval.
Learn more about the research behind this series: [link to JLI–Christian Aid report]
 
Listener Engagement:
Learn more about Nidia via her LinkedIn and Facebook. Although not finished yet, her website will be soon available via: http://www.nidiaingaia.com
Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!
Follow Us:
Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).