STIRRINGS w/ Madelaine Ley

Polymathic thinking. Kaleidoscopic approaches. Intellectual promiscuity. Whatever you want to call it, we're hungry for it after decades (centuries?) of siloed thought. This episode with Dr. Pete Jeffs will surely nourish this yearning, as he’s one of the most fascinating wide-ranging thinkers/practitioners that I've had the pleasure of speaking with. An active participant in what David Whyte call...

Krista Buccari 's workshops offered solace during my postpartum years, when algorithms tried to hound me “back to my pre-baby body” (as if!). Instead of urgently squatting, I found myself gently massaging my face and being reminded that tender attentiveness was all my body required. Through Krista’s teaching, I started to feel a version of beauty I yearned for and long-suspected existed, but only...

The gist of this episode is simple: instead of asking Chat GPT, ask your mom. Or, you know, a mom. Or a planetary system that you’re getting motherly vibes from. Whatever you choose, let the unsolicited anecdotes, advice, and linear-defying logic wash over you. If only for a moment, you’ll be cleansed from slimy smoothness of Chatbot interactions. Just like a mother, this simple message takes a wi...

Báyò Akómoláfé doesn’t speak of rules or external frameworks when he talks about ethics. Poetic and provocative, he speaks of a yearning, longing, and being spirited away. Beautifully paired with Laura François 's episode, who speaks of systems-feeling , Báyò also questions how systems-thinking tends towards control and objectivity. And, like me, is suspicious of value-driven endeavours. For this...

Laura François and I talk about moving from fear-based motivation to awe-inspired change, systems-feeling in addition to systems-thinking, trusting your heebie-jeebies, and moving from a days of prediction to a life of noticing. For the music, my father and I chose a piece called “Distant Thunder”. This spacey meditative vibe should entice you into feeling into the atmospheric weather systems. --...

In this poor excuse for a “how to” episode, Madelaine offers three helpful phrases for something you've already experienced: Agenda-Free Presence, Radical Hanging Out, and Creative Loitering. In times when so many of us feel that our value is determined by our productivity and professional output, it’s a rare revolt to just be without a focus on doing. When we do this together, there's space for t...

Minna’s work reminds us that there are so many ways of knowing. Separating them, creating hierarchies, and ultimately controlling our myriad knowledges is an example of what Minna calls superiorism . We’ll talk about all this in the episode, as well as her kaleidoscopic method (or “non-method method”) and how 2026 is the year of the midwife. Minna Salami is a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish author an...

Tom offers one of the most hopeful ideas I’ve heard. He tells us that, really, it’s not that hard for us to come back to ourselves as creatures of the planet. All we need is a few days out in the woods, moors, mountains, whatever, perhaps with some added fasting, and… boom, we can hear the spirits of the land again and can feel the breath of the planet. A few days isn’t such a bad turn around time...

AI is all the rage, but it's time to reintroduce robots into the mainstream technology conversation. The market for humanoid robots is projected to reach 5 trillion by 2050. Geopolitical races are intensifying. Elon won’t stop talking about Optimus 3 . And while I hate to admit it, he has a tendency to make things happen (in his own chaotic way). Corporations and governments are in a rush to be th...

Welcome to the first pairing of the STIRRINGS guest episodes. First up, we have Carina Lyall with Gustavo Nogueira. In this episode, temporality researcher, Gustavo Nogueira, reminds us that we might embody the many versions of Time, rather than be limited to the block-filled, linear time of the google calendar. To close off, my father (Bruce Ley) offers a some rhythmic, steady, but nonetheless so...

Welcome to the first pairing of the STIRRINGS guest episodes. First up, we have Carina Lyall with Gustavo Nogueira. Carina speaks on spiritual ecology, fostering relationships over time, and stepping out of urgency. Her provocation: "How much do you need to know?" has been ringing in my ears since the interview. To close off, my father (Bruce Ley) offers a musical interpretation of "Bees in the Ga...

Welcome to Season One of the STIRRINGS Podcast. Alongside music from her father, Bruce Ley, Madelaine Ley explains what being a "philosopher of technology, spiritual ecologist, and contemplative artist" means to her, and invites you into intellectually promiscuous conversation with a chit-chatty warmth and some poetry. Get full access to STIRRINGS at madelaineley.substack.com/subscribe