The Neighboring Movement Podcast

Welcome to Episode 16, the first international episode of The Neighbor Next Door ! For this episode, Jonathan Massimi, a supervisor of community centers in Kitchener, Ontario, joined hosts Adam and Matt on the front porch via Zoom. Jonathan is an expert in Asset-Based Community Development, or ABCD, and has a ton of experience utilizing, and helping others utilize, an asset-based approach. In this...

It's party time! In this episode, Vistapher joins Matt on the front porch to bring us the "bread and butter" of neighboring tips: Host a block party! This episode, like our other neighboring tip episodes, presents a simple experiment for connecting with your neighbors. We hope you not only enjoy listening to this tip but also experiment with hosting your own block party, wherever you live! We hope...

This week, we present the second part of our interview with Rev. Mike Mather, the person who inspired us to utilize an asset-based approach in our work. We split the incredible conversation into two episodes and encourage listening to the first episode before this second one. In the last episode, Mike outlined both his shift and his church's shift from scarcity to abundance. In this episode, Mike...

For Episode 13, hosts Adam and Matt interview the person who inspired us to utilize an asset-based approach in our work: Rev. Mike Mather. The conversation was amazing, so we split the interview into two episodes, and this is the first of those episodes. Mike is a pastor at Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, and both he and his church participate in astounding asset-based w...

Adam and Matt return to the front porch for the second segment of a two-part episode on challenges in neighboring. This week, they're discussing what seems to be one of the hardest subjects to talk about with neighbors: politics. Do you have a neighbor with a very different political stance than you and who is very vocal about it? If so, how does this affect your conversations or interactions with...

Let's be real: neighboring is not always easy conversations and healthy relationships. This week, hosts Adam and Matt sit down on the front porch to present the first segment of a two-part episode on challenges in neighboring. In practicing neighboring, we realize that certain challenges can arise - they most certainly have for us. In this episode, Adam and Matt first outline a posture with which...

Episode 10 has arrived with our second neighboring tip of Season 2: Plant a garden in your FRONT yard! Per usual, Vistapher joined Matt on the front porch to present the tip and talk a little more about the practice - in this case, front-yard gardening. They first discuss the importance of both visibility and availability in neighboring before talking about how front-yard gardening looks in our ne...

Welcome to Episode 9! A few episodes ago, hosts Adam and Matt discussed the topic of social capital. In this episode, they return to the front porch to revisit the concept but this time through a different metaphor: social fabric. We received a lot of fantastic feedback on the social capital episode, but recently, we have started using the term "social fabric", and we think the different...

Things are getting personal in Episode 8, as hosts Adam and Matt are joined on the front porch by Matt's mom, Glenna Wong. Glenna is both the sweetest of moms and an incredible neighbor, so while in town for a visit, we invited her to join us on the front porch for an interview. Glenna started her neighboring adventures by simply taking her pug on a walk in her neighborhood, but the connections fl...

This week, we are delving into the relationship between neighboring and community health, as we are honored to be joined on the front porch by Kate Kingery. Kate works with County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, and she does fascinating work! Her team of researchers studies almost every county in the United States and gives each of these counties a health ranking based on a multitude of different...

For episode 6, hosts Adam and Matt return to the front porch in order to unpack a concept that can seem confusing but is extremely important to understand in order to help create healthy communities: social capital. The term is prevalent in the community development world, but oftentimes, it's definition is hard to find. And even with an exact definition, social capital can sometimes be hard to un...

Episode 5 brings us our first Neighboring Tip of Season 2: Experiment with a creative way to record connections and map assets in your neighborhood. In keeping with tradition, Kristopher (or Vistapher) joins us on the front porch to share this week's tip. Inspired by Joy Lenz's interview and fantastic neighboring, this tip is the perfect way to become more connected with your neighbors and start s...

Neighboring is transformational. For the fourth episode of Season 2, we were joined on the front porch by Joy Lenz, an absolutely amazing neighbor who has been radically transformed by practicing neighboring. Joy is a Christian, and when her church began to practice neighboring, as well, they experienced complete transformation and began to see themselves as connectors instead of service providers...

This week, we were honored to sit down with Dr. Elaine Heath, a practical theologian, teacher, author, spiritual pioneer, colleague, and friend. In this episode, Elaine helps us answer the question, "How can neighboring and spirituality combine in an inclusive and non-coercive way that is healthy for all of our neighbors, regardless of their backgrounds or stories?" Elaine names the fact...

For the second episode of Season 2, we sat down with Dr. Justin Moore, a physician and researcher, and discussed this fact: neighboring makes us healthier. Justin practices medicine in various community-oriented ways, and he also researches the impacts of social isolation and loneliness on physical health. In this powerful episode, Justin shares surprising statistics before giving enlightening adv...

Season 2 of The Neighbor Next Door is here! Our hosts, Adam Barlow-Thompson and Matthew Johnson, are back on the front porch to introduce Season 2 and give a sneak peek of the episodes to come. In this episode, Adam and Matt summarize Season 1 of The Neighbor Next Door before revealing the theme for Season 2 and previewing the episodes to come. This episode is perfect for both first-time listeners...

Here's a two-minute snapshot of "The Neighbor Next Door"! This is a great way to share the podcast with people you may know. The simple act of being a good neighbor is a powerful way to change the world for good, and yet, for many of us, this is a daunting task. This podcast helps us along that journey towards becoming better neighbors.

Season 1 comes to a conclusion with interviews with the 4 co-founders of The Neighboring Movement: Catherine & Matthew Johnson and Ashley and Adam Barlow-Thompson. It is a joyful reflection on the first season and a glimpse into season 2. With plenty of burns along the way! Ashley and Catherine have listened closely to every episode, so their insights and additional stories form a perfect revi...

Kristopher Swanson returns with our final neighboring tip of season 1. This time, we are reflecting on our experiences of neighboring. Plus, we have an exciting announcement. In order for neighboring to become a more common way of life for us, we need to think back on our experiments. What have we done to reach out to neighbors? How did it go? What would we do differently next time? These simple q...

What does neighboring look like when it happens over multiple generations? Teresa shows us that it can be beautiful and joyful! Teresa lives in the home where her grandmother once lived, and that history serves as her roots, nurturing her genuine care for her neighbors. Throughout this conversation, Teresa shows again and again the key elements of good neighboring. She cares deeply about her neigh...

Ryan Klinck has been on a search to cultivate meaningful relationships with neighbors and friends in many different contexts over the years. He sat down with Adam and Matthew to discuss what he has learned from neighbors (and the rug that ties the room together). We looked back to his childhood experiences of neighboring, which were really positive. Those experiences planted a longing in him for t...

Kristopher Swanson returns to the porch with another neighboring tip: borrowing an item from a neighbor. It sounds so simple, and yet people are often resistant to his practice. Kristopher covers a few practical aspects of borrowing items from neighbors, and he discusses why we might not want to borrow items. And, as always, there are a few stories of how this tip has impacted people. Tune in and...

With episode 10, Adam and Matthew explore the third ingredient of neighboring: joy. But what is joy? Is it different than happiness? And how do we cultivate joy? They explore these questions, share a few stories, and laugh plenty throughout the conversation. There is also an important caveat about abundance and joy. So, grab a chair and something to drink and join us on the front porch.

Neighboring isn't always easy. So, what if we've had negative experiences with neighboring? In this episode, Matthew and Adam spend time with Rachel Duncan, who had a few negative experiences of neighboring, but as it turns out some positive neighbors in an unexpected place made all the difference. Rachel is a great neighbor, and works as a Neighborhood Animator in the south area of Wichita, KS. S...

Adam and Matthew return to the 3 ingredients of neighboring: abundance, relationship, and joy. In this episode they explore the astonishing importance of building relationships with your neighbors and how that reveals abundance and joy. Two excellent studies inform their conversation along with a couple of fun stories.