Stories Lived. Stories Told.

Today, Parveen and Abbie discuss systemic leadership and the usefulness of Coordinated Management of Meaning for systemic psychotherapists, along with many metaphors for conceptualizing generative communication in relationships.  ... Parveen Kaur is a Family & Systemic Psychotherapist/Systemic Supervisor with 20 years of experience in a range of settings, including NHS CAMHS, Third Sector Char...

What does it mean to 'play the scene you are in'? ... Today, Abbie and Kelly dig deep into Kelly's story of working and learning at The Second City. ... Kelly Leonard began his Second City career in 1988, eventually becoming producer of Second City in 1992 and Executive Vice President through 2015. He has produced hundreds of original revues with talent such as Stephen Colbert, Tina...

What does it mean to perform "the person you are" as well as "the person you are not"? ... Today, Abbie, Cathy, and Sarah discuss the difference between play, improvisation, and performance and the role that each can have in our personal and collective growth. ... Cathy Rose Salit is an executive coach, improviser, jazz vocalist, and play activist. She founded The Global Play B...

Listen to Part 1 of this conversation on The Systemic Way Podcast . ... Today, Abbie, Sezer, and Julie talk untold stories, systemic thinking and practice, and the podcast conversations that live on in each of their lives.  ... Sezer and Julie are the co-hosts of The Systemic Way Podcast . ... Learn about the CMM Conference here . ... Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted...

Welcome to the ASC Presidents Podcast! ... Today, Abbie is joined by some past (and future!) presidents of the American Society for Cybernetics   to discuss the past (and future!) of the ASC Organization and the field of Cybernetics. These conversations were recorded onsite in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil, at the 2026 ASC Conference in August 2026.  ... Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created,...

Welcome to the ASC Participant Podcast! ... Today, Abbie is joined by the participants of the 2026 American Society for Cybernetics Conference in Ouro Preto, Brazil, to reflect on their experiences of this gathering. In this episode, you will hear from 8 conference participants who stopped to speak with Abbie during the in-person conference.  These conversations were recorded onsite in Ouro Preto,...

What is the 'minimal structure' needed to find  or create liberation? ... Today, Abbie and Keith discuss Liberating Structures, including where they come from and what is next. They talk about seemingly contradictory ideas like "strategic emergence," idealized design, and complexity science.  ... Keith McCandless is co-developer of Liberating Structures and co-author of the boo...

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...