Stories Lived. Stories Told.

There is nothing you can say with harshness that loving kindness can't do better.  ... Today, Abbie and Susan unpack Susan's new book, Collaborative Hardball: Using the Power of a New Negotiation as Women to Change the World , and chat about the impact of a patriarchal world culture, negotiating at the level of rights and rules versus the level of needs and interests, and what a "ne...

What small changes can you make in your everyday communicating that might create a big difference in your relationships?  ... Today, Abbie and Julien explore the art, practices, and concepts behind positive communication, including the ways in which positive, generative styles of communicating can be the antidote to our hurting relationships and social worlds.  ... Originally from Paris, France, J...

What does podcasting offer us? ... Today, Abbie and Simone podcast about podcasting! Inspired by Simone's recently published book- Podcasting as a Research Method- this conversation explores both Abbie and Simone's experiences with podcasting, what they have learned along the way, and why this medium has their hearts. ... Simone Eringfeld is a researcher, polar guide, writer, and podcast...

Are we underestimating our capacity for social change? ... Today, Abbie and Karen discuss quanta, entanglement, and collapsing potential as they explore mattering and social change. ... Karen O’Brien is a Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway. She is also co-founder of cCHANGE, an organisation that supports deep and strategic engagement with transformations to sustainabili...

Abbie shares her own reflections as a participant of the Central States Communication Association Conference and as the resident podcaster. She discusses the importance of engaging in the work of translating in a variety of ways across the incredibly diverse field of communication studies.  ... Listen to Ep. 1 with Kristina Scharp ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ .  Listen to Ep. 2 with Jeff Child ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ .  Listen to...

Abbie and Laura reflect on the Central States Communication Association Conference, including the major benefit provided by gathering of sharing creative ideas for overcoming challenges that educators across the country face separately and together. Laura shares a useful idea from her program for engaging students while accomplishing department goals.  ... Find Laura's COMM 380 Syllabus here...

Abbie and Xianlin discuss the afterlife of communication research and Xianlin's paper- What and Where Do I Learn About the Baby Formula Shortage Crisis? Exploring Crisis Communication Patterns, Influencers, and Information Resources , which won the Communication Studies Article of the Year Award.  ... Find the article- What and Where Do I Learn About the Baby Formula Shortage Crisis? Explorin...

How can we turn the 'what ifs' into the 'why nots'? ... Today, Abbie, Juanita, and Flavio discuss the World Cafe , including the history of how it came to be and how it continues to evolve in relationship with other approaches like Coordinated Management of Meaning and Appreciative Inquiry. ... Juanita Brown, PhD. is the Co-founder of the World Cafe with her partner, David Isaa...

Where do you see communication happening? ... Today, Abbie is joined by Hannah, Sine, and Jotte of TU Delf's Systemic Design Lab (D-SDL) to talk about life and design as playful experiments. They introduce the four core practices articulated by members of the D-SDL: Framing Complexity, Meaningful Formgiving, Building Relationships, and Nurturing Reflexivity; and discuss centering relationalit...

Abbie and Stevie talk about the CSCA pre-conference, why the theme of "Communicating in the Unknown: Navigating Uncertainty in a Changing Field" is so important right now, and what Stevie is looking forward to about this year's conference and next. ... Register for CSCA ⁠⁠⁠here.⁠⁠⁠ Listen to Ep. 1 with Kristina Scharp ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ .  Listen to Ep. 2 with Jeff Child ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ .  Listen...

Welcome to the CSW Participant Podcast! ... Today, Abbie is joined by the participants of the Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium in New York City to reflect on their experiences of this gathering. In this episode, you will hear from 11 symposium participants who stopped to speak with Abbie during the in-person symposium.  These conversations were recorded onsite at Mercy University in New York Ci...

Abbie and Tiffany discuss what goes on behind the scenes to prepare for CSCA, Tiffany's dual roles as Interim Executive Director and Second Vice President, and her hopes for the meaningful experiences- both academic and non-academic- that the CSCA team has worked hard to create for conference attendees.  Plus, Tiffany offers an invitation for all conference attendees to reach out to her at cs...

What are your 'practices for togetherness'? ... In this special episode, Abbie shares the recording of a panel she participated in, titled, 'Hope, Agency, and Community: Practices for Togetherness' at the Taos Institute's Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium. Panel facilitator, Somer Saleh , guides Abbie and her fellow panelists, Chris Hoff and Mario Ismael Espinoza , throu...

Introducing 'The Stories of CSCA'- a new podcast mini-series hosted by Abbie in collaboration with the Central States Communication Association (CSCA)!  ... In episode two of 'The Stories of CSCA' Abbie and Jeff talk about Jeff’s role as President of the Central States Communication Association (CSCA), including the long-term view of how CSCA evolves over time, the work of the...

Introducing 'The Stories of CSCA'- a new podcast mini-series hosted by Abbie in collaboration with the Central States Communication Association (CSCA)!  ... In episode one of 'The Stories of CSCA' Abbie and Kristina explore this year's conference theme: 'TRANSLATE!' They talk what it means to translate communication scholarship, how Kristina is already steeped in...

What can you imagine for a better world? ... Today, Abbie and Jenn discuss the recent Chinese Lunar New Year, and the context of the transition from the year of the Wood Snake to the year of the Fire Horse as it relates to a shared sense of urgency, momentum, revolution. As Abbie and Jenn explore imagination as invitation, action, rehearsal, and experiment, they name a relationship between communi...

What is your practice of systems thinking? ... Today, Abbie and Gerald explore the ongoing practice of defining and redefining systems; the relationship between boundaries and meaning-making; the impact of moral forces on naming the 'sacred' and 'profane;' the inter-relational complexity that goes beyond otherness and belonging: the twin myths of non-intervention and non-commun...

Where are you able to identify opportunities to make new choices in the systems you live, work, and play within?   ... Today, Abbie and Christian talk trying out practical methods for system thinking, balancing simplicity and complexity, using the 5M structure (motivate, meet, map, make, manage), and inviting playful exploration of choices with groups.  ... Christian Baron , PhD, is a freelance co...

What have you learned in 2025? ... Today, Abbie offers one last, short episode for Season 4. In it, she explores her own reflections on the past year and hopes for the coming year. She invites listeners to join the conversation however they can- emailing storieslived.storiestold@gmail.com, commenting on YouTube , subscribing and following the CMMi Substack , and joining the CMM LinkedIn Group .  ....

How can you be proactive in your inclusivity? ... Today, Abbie, Jamie, and Celia explore disability through the lens of a communication perspective, talking about transforming exclusion into inclusion in every space, changing narratives to focus on "the problem" as an inaccessible society rather than any one disabled individual, unlearning our internalized ableism as a necessary step for...

What makes you a designer?  ... Today, Abbie, Claudia, and Chris explore radical changes in learning around systems thinking and design over time, along with the implications for future designers, which includes all of us. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience as part of the RSDX Online Festival on Sunday, October 5, 2025. Join the RSDX Zoom Event here to watch the recording o...

In what ways are you a designer? ... Today, Abbie, Hannah, and Mathilda explore the dissonance between prioritizing the present and/ or the future; the discomfort (and opportunity for learning) that comes with awkward spaces; the power of storytelling for expanding our imagination; and the importance of designing with emergence in mind.  This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience a...

Welcome to the RSD14 Participant Podcast! ... Today, Abbie is joined by the participants of the Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD14) Conference in Toronto to reflect on their own experiences of both the online and in-person conference, the stories and contexts around design that they bring with them, and the conversations they are a part of and what they hope is next for this community. In...

In what ways are you an artist? ... Today, Abbie, Annie, and Dorianne discuss ‘ The Art of Collaboration: Chamber Music Rehearsal Techniques and Team Building,’ Annie and Dorianne’s new book that introduces themes of co-leadership and empathy which are relevant for all small group communication. Particularly, Abbie, Annie, and Dorianne talk about ‘We Presence,’ LBAD (Live, Breath, and Die), and “t...

What does it look like to connect everyday interactions to broader social dynamics? To use our knowledge of interpersonal communication to create the kinds of organizations, communities, and systems we want to make? ... Today, Abbie and Kate talk about a relational approach to disorganizing systemic violence in organizations, exploring themes from Kate’s new book Transforming Trauma to discuss dif...