The PlayFull Podcast with Kristine Michie: Bringing Fun to the Serious Work of Changing the World

In this special episode of The PlayFull Podcast, we’re revisiting a powerful conversation between Kristine Michie and equity and workplace strategist Aparna Rae. Together, they unpack the systemic issues shaping modern work, from normalized burnout to the ways workplaces condition people to accept hierarchy and surveillance. Exposing the contradictions within philanthropy and "progressive" spaces,...

In this rewind episode of The PlayFull Podcast , Kristine Michie speaks with Center for Effective Philanthropy CEO Phil Buchanan about how trust-based philanthropy, moral responsibility, and resilience support the nonprofit sector. They discuss challenges like funding cuts and rising demand, and the need for intentional donor investment in both people and programs. Part of the YTD – Best of 2026 s...

In this special episode of The PlayFull Podcast, we’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes. Kristine Michie sits down with poet, lawyer, and advocate Reginald Dwayne Betts to explore how joy, words, and access to stories fuel liberation and resilience in social justice work. From his MacArthur Fellowship to Freedom Reads (the nonprofit he started that brings brand new “Freedom Edition” boo...

In this episode, Kristine speaks with philanthropist Philip Eubanks and grantee Saul Levin about how disruptive, nonviolent climate protests are reshaping activism. From throwing soup on artworks to halting data center projects, they discuss how organizers, funders, and communities are using imagination, research, and courage to shift the Overton window on climate action. Key Takeaways: Strategic...

In this episode, Kristine talks to Jeremiah Lee and Evan Prodromou of the Interledger Foundation and Social Web Foundation to explore how to shift power away from gatekeeper platforms and toward creators and communities. Diving deep into the intersection of technology, equity, and global access, they emphasize how every small, intentional choice online can add up to big shifts in autonomy. They de...

In Part 2 of Kristine’s conversation with Shawn Dove, founder of the Corporation for Black Male Achievement and Managing Partner at New Profit, they explore how a simple invitation to play can spark a national movement that reshapes lives, systems, and stories. Diving deep into the intersection of play, imagination, and philanthropy, Shawn emphasizes how trust—both trusting oneself and extending “...

In Part 1 of this 2-part episode, Kristine Michie sits down with Shawn Dove, an emerging elder leader and champion of Black Male Achievement, to discuss what it takes to unfreeze joy, imagination, and leadership. Shawn shares how his journey, from a childhood game of freeze tag to maintaining 37 years of sobriety after overcoming deep personal despair, led to a breakthrough realization: joy and im...

What if laughter wasn’t just entertainment, but a practical tool for building trust, easing burnout, and sustaining change-makers through the heaviest work? In this episode, you’ll hear how comedy, courage, and everyday joy can transform Alzheimer’s care, corporate culture, and social impact leadership. In this episode, Kristine Michie sits down with Dani Klein Modisett, Founder and CEO of Laughte...

What happens when we treat imagination as a form of resistance and ask, “What if everything goes right?” In this conversation, we explore matriarchal futures, women as the largest holders of wealth, and how play, artifacts, and design can help us midwife a more just world into being. In this episode, Kristine Michie speaks with Tracee Worley, a futurist and experience designer, about how imaginati...

What happens when an empathic peacemaker steps into the rough-and-tumble world of modern politics? In this episode, a mayoral candidate shares how deep listening, local action, and respect for “beautiful bureaucrats” can heal division and make democracy work where we live. In this episode, Kristine Michie speaks with Rimga Viskanta, a civic leader and public sector professional with experience in...

In this episode, Kristine Michie speaks with Hector Mujica, a first-gen Venezuelan American running for Congress in Florida (FL-28). They explore how community, play, and ethical technology can shape civic life. Hector frames today’s challenges as overlapping inflection points—democratic, social, economic, and technological—and argues that leadership must meet these moments with both vision and pr...

In this episode of The PlayFull Podcast , Kristine Michie speaks with congressional candidate Michael Roth about why he’s running for Congress—and why play, trust, and people-powered leadership matter in politics right now. Drawing from decades of work supporting small businesses and economic opportunity, Michael reflects on what it means to rebuild public systems that actually serve working famil...

In this episode, Kristine Michie talks with Aparna Rae to unpack systems shaping modern work—and why people feel exhausted and disillusioned. From the language of “joy” being co-opted by institutions to normalized burnout, she challenges the idea that workplace dysfunction is accidental. She reframes work as more than a place for earning and productivity, calling it a training ground where people...

In this episode, Kristine Michie sits down with Cate Mayer of Be the Ones and Jeanine Abrams McLean of Fair Count to explore how joy, play, and creativity can transform civic engagement. Together, they challenge the idea that disengagement is a personal failure, reframing it as a response to systems that leave people feeling unseen and disconnected from power. Through stories like the monks' Peace...

In this episode, Kristine Michie sits down with M. Gabriela Alcalde to explore the deeper costs of comfort, particularly the ways dominant-culture comfort sustains systems that limit our shared humanity. Drawing from her book What Your Comfort Costs Us, Gabriela unpacks how individualism, workplace culture, and societal structures shape both harm and the possibility for transformation. Together, t...

SUMMARY In this episode, Kristine Michie sits down with Nikki Dinh, Iman Mills Gordon, and Ericka Stallings from the Leadership Learning Community (LLC) to explore the shift from equity work toward a broader vision of liberatory leadership. Together, they discuss why equity can sometimes mean making an unjust system slightly better, while liberation asks a deeper question: how do we build systems...

In this episode, Kristine Michie talks with Andrea Levere, CEO of Capitalize Good, about why nonprofits should be treated as enterprises—and why they need the capital to match. Andrea explains the concept of enterprise capital: flexible, multi-year funding that strengthens a nonprofit’s whole organization rather than just individual programs. The conversation explores how this kind of “funding for...

In this episode, Kristine Michie sits down with Sara Lomelin, founding CEO of Philanthropy Together, to explore why giving should feel joyful, relational, and deeply human. They discuss the rise of giving circles and collaborative funds, the myth that philanthropy belongs only to the wealthy, and how collective giving blends ancient mutual aid with modern infrastructure. Sara shares how Philanthro...

In this episode, Kristine Michie talks with Phil Buchanan about the mounting pressures on nonprofits and the role of philanthropy in responding. They explore funding cuts, staff reductions, and rising demand, and discuss how donors can step up with trust‑based giving that invests in both people and programs. Phil and Kristine also reflect on resilience, values, and the moral responsibility of priv...

In this episode, Kristine Michie speaks with Jeanine Abrams McLean of Fair Count and Johanne Meleance of Help for Haiti about reshaping narratives in democracy and global development. They discuss how systems—not people—create undercounted communities, the power of asset-based storytelling, and the role of civic engagement, community ownership, and joy in driving lasting change. Key Takeaways: Lan...

In the first episode of our Civic Actors series, host Kristine Michie sits down with Emma Bloomberg, Founder/CEO of Murmuration (and daughter of the former Mayor), to explore the heart of local civic engagement. Through personal stories (reading the Declaration of Independence each 4th of July with her Dad), practical lessons, and powerful examples, the conversation reveals how real change begins...

In this The PlayFull Podcast’s Best of 2025 series, host Kristine Michie brings together a chorus of extraordinary changemakers—visionaries in gender justice, philanthropy, political peacebuilding, and social innovation—for a deeply honest, spirited conversation. What unfolds is a rare and refreshing look at how bravery, playfulness, discomfort, and connection intersect in the lives and leadership...

In this episode of The PlayFull Podcast, host Kristine Michie talks with Don Howard, CEO of the James Irvine Foundation, about the future of work, economic empowerment, and the role of philanthropy in an AI-driven world. Together, they explore how technology and trust-based giving can shape more inclusive opportunities for low-income workers. Through Don’s personal journey—from consulting to phila...

Kristine Michie welcomes longtime policy strategist and justice advocate Robert Raben in this Best of 2025 episode of The PlayFull Podcast . Together, they explore how humor, faith, strategy, and emotional grounding can sustain meaningful work during times of cultural and political pushback. This is a deeply human and refreshingly unfiltered conversation about staying present, playful, and princip...

In this episode of The PlayFull Podcast, Kristine Michie talks with Mia Sundstrom, CEO of the National Institute for Play (NIFP), and Lauren Sundstrom, NIFP Board Member, about the science, practice, and impact of play. They explore how play is essential not just for individual well-being but for workplaces, education, and societal health. From neuroscience and character development to organizatio...