Are We There Yet?

When does a tool become a collaborator? What parts of our lives should resist automation? Will artificial intelligence ultimately flatten humanity? AI is changing far more than our productivity: it is changing how we think, learn, collaborate, and lead. Anthropologist and AI researcher Matt Artz shares with Sonja and Jamie why the next frontier isn't simply building smarter machines, but designing...

How can local systems solve global problems? Will we ever know the true cost of convenience? Can the profound act of caring transform economic systems? In this episode, PhD researcher Kristi Wiedemann shares with Sonja and Jamie  insights from her work studying local fiber systems in New York, where farmers, makers, and textile producers are experimenting with more regenerative ways of creating cl...

Are we leading from conscious choice, or from stress, ego, and conditioning? Who are we beneath the roles and personas we construct to function in society? What if the biggest problem in leadership isn’t strategy, but self-regulation? In this episode, Aram Cargill unpacks with Sonja and Jamie a systems-based view of leadership rooted in neuroscience, physiology, and human behavior. Aram challenges...

What do we lose when we resist inevitable change? How can organizations create stability in the face of constant evolution? How do we define progress if we're never truly "there yet"? Franziska Altenbeck, an industrial engineer and healthcare-sustainability innovator, is intimate with an ever-changing environment: she has relocated 17 times in her life and built a career across Germany, France, an...

Who are we if our identity is wrapped up in how others see us? What happens to leadership when a generation grows up on shortcuts and instant answers? What kind of society are we creating when we prioritize results over process? Derek Hyde, an American educator in Germany, reflects with Sonja and Jamie on identity, change, and AI in the classroom. Drawing on his military and international school e...

Who should own, control, and profit from data? Will AI ultimately kill more jobs, or create them? Are the human timescale and the AI timescale compatible? Technology evangelist Kevin O’Donovan joins Sonja and Jamie to unpack how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping organizations, energy systems, and everyday work. Kevin explains why AI is different from past tech waves, acting as a horizonta...

Can technology ever truly replace the human touch in client relationships? How can one adapt a communication style to ensure one's advice is truly understood? How does authentic team connection strengthen organizational success? Sonja and Jamie interview Ryan Vogel, Chief Planning Officer at Novi Wealth Partners, on the importance of personalized communication and deep understanding of client need...

Today’s learners are tomorrow’s leaders. How can we help young people build a solid foundation now to succeed in an increasingly uncertain future? As AI rewrites the rules of the classroom, what must we do to keep humanity and equity at the heart of education? How can school leaders truly support educators and students through upheaval and innovation? And what does radical acceptance have to do wi...

How can the principles of tending a sustainable garden transform the way we lead in business? In this episode, Sonja and Jamie talk with Caroline and Vincent Jeanteur, co-founders of executive coaching firm Emergentiel, about weaving permaculture principles into business strategy. Rooted in ethical land stewardship, permaculture offers a powerful framework for reimagining how organizations use res...

Who are we without a living relationship to place and community? How do we measure progress in ways that keep people and systems alive? Season 3 of Are We There Yet? opens with an exploration of what it means to live off the land—metaphorically, physically, collectively. Despite being creatures who created rich cultural traditions rooted in ancestral place, we are also now global citizens, and for...

You’ve worked tirelessly and achieved the pinnacle of what is humanly possible long before turning 30. Then what? What measures success when medals fade into memory? Are we more defined by expectations—our own, others’—or by the choices we make every day? When staring down burnout, is stepping back quitting, or preserving oneself? Olympic bronze medalist swimmer Natalie Hinds shares with Sonja and...

How do we balance a life-defining career with the strain it can place on life outside it? How can we reconcile complex identities that may clash at home and in our careers? When a profession shapes your identity, who are you once it ends?  Mary Winchester and Sarah Defur’s stories reveal how unexpected detours can lead to purpose, leadership, and resilience. Mary’s path began at seventeen in the A...

What is an educator’s role in developing well-rounded students facing an unpredictable future? Can an emphasis on social-emotional learning close persistent gaps created by the pandemic? How should educators center human connection in tech-heavy classrooms? In this episode of "Are We There Yet?," Sonja & Jamie sit down with Luis Ramirez, principal of Littlebrook Elementary in Princeton, NJ, to...

In this episode of "Are We There Yet?," global leadership expert Gerd Hoefner shares fascinating insights from his decades-long journey across multicultural landscapes managing teams across borders, cultures, and time zones. Sonja and Jamie explore with him the transformative power of cultural sensitivity in organizations, digging into the nuts and bolts of employee engagement and open communicati...

What role does emotion play in effective communication? What makes words so powerful they can stick with you for the rest of your life? In this podcast episode, Sonja and Jamie meet renowned speechwriter and professor Jim Holtje to discuss the enduring power of storytelling through all eras of human civilization. From Aristotle's principles of pathos and logos that emphasize the emotional impact o...

How does open communication contribute to sustainable change? How can leaders balance the demands of immediate objectives with long-term vision? What strategies can be employed to build consensus in diverse teams? In this episode, Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General David Bassett sits down with Sonja and Jamie to share insights on empathetic leadership drawn from his 35-year military career and t...

Chaos theory shows that both the future and the past are unknowable. Exponential growth always seems to be stymied by an unpredictable limitation that flattens the curve. Creativity happens when something is new, surprising, and has value. But how do we assign value when we are awash in a world of endless data? Mathematics is one universal storytelling language that can help decipher what the univ...

There are hundreds of AI-powered therapy apps on the market today. When we talk to them, are we doing more than just talking to ourselves? Can we reach the same effect by simply stopping to watch snow fall outside? In this intimate episode, Sonja and Jamie use AI as a framework to reflect on the potential illusion of human agency, work-life balance as a rhythmic cycle of rest and productivity, and...

Resilience, grit, and determination: three essential qualities for achieving one’s goals. But are they enough? This episode we follow Marion Gornick’s career from personal assistant to Siemens Global Head of Cybersecurity Finance, a path fraught with traditional norms, gender biases, and gatekeeping. We learn how Marion turned roadblocks into stepping stones and leaned on her self-awareness and pe...

Sometimes people can feel like hostages to their organizations, leading to negative outcomes at every scale. As a team leader, how can you recognize and address these dynamics to generate a more supportive environment? At the end of the day, leadership and hostage negotiation require the same critical skills: preparation, persuasion, collaboration, and emotional regulation. Sonja and Jamie intervi...

Will AI transform creative endeavors like film, television, and music into one where human contribution is centered, or marginalized? What about painting, theater, or sculpture? In this episode of Are We There Yet?, Sonja and Jamie talk with digital, media, and advertising executive Greg Kahn about how technology can assist—or maybe replace?—many of the things creative minds spend their time worki...

To kick off season two of Are We There Yet?, Sonja and Jamie invite distinguished healthcare advisor, entrepreneur, and author Dr. Jennie Byrne to unpack the complex mental health challenges facing clinicians on the front lines of the profession, and how technology is already empowering a meaningful transformation in healthcare practice. Magnified by the high-stakes and perfectionist culture ingra...

What is the one crucial aspect of leadership that correlates directly with the success of a team? Research shows a clear answer—but to get to it, first you must define success, and how you choose to measure it. Join Sonja and Jamie in a conversation with Gerda-Marie Adenau, a global communications manager and philosopher focused on leadership and ethics, on asking the right questions to get the mo...

A mother's determination to provide a better future for her son set a transformative journey in motion, thrusting the boy into the unknown and, ultimately, towards a thriving career in leadership excellence. As a complement to the core Are We There Yet? season, Sonja and Jamie release extras that explore how we get “there,” and the diverse ways leaders have shaped their own lives and those of the...

Have you ever imagined that the leadership skills needed to spin up a regional methamphetamine lab would transfer to leading a church ? While he couldn’t have known his destiny from the start, this is the path Pastor Michael Buck took as he set his inner compass to his true North. As a complement to the core Are We There Yet? season, Sonja and Jamie release extras that explore how we get “there,”...