The Seed Field

The phenomenon of leadership is something that affects our lives every day, which is why scholars like Dr. Donna Ladkin believe that analyzing how our ideas of leadership are shaped is extremely important to building a better society. In this episode, we discuss the history of leadership ideology and Dr. Ladkin’s work in pushing the leadership studies field to recognize its roots in whiteness.  Vi...

The celebrated poet Victoria Chang envisions a writing world in which collaboration, generosity, and mutual aid are regular features. In both her life as a writer and in her role as chair of Antioch’s Creative Writing MFA program, Victoria embodies these qualities, which together she calls “literary citizenship.” And she inspires her students to do the same. In this conversation we explore what be...

Psychologist and teacher Dr. Monique Bowen believes that the benefits of psychoanalysis extend far beyond the healing and personal growth that can come from exploring one’s unconscious. In a country built on whiteness and systemic racism, the act of analyzing unconscious thoughts and behaviors can provide an opportunity for community healing across communities. Having a safe space to have these co...

Outdoor learning was an educational trend that took off when the pandemic made the indoors unsafe. Now, many students and teachers have experienced the benefits of this way of learning. Will students ever want to go back inside? And should they? To find out, we had a conversation with two Antioch faculty, Ellen Doris and Liza Lowe, who specialize in place-based and nature-based education. They tal...

With Season Two kicking off in just one week, the Seed Field Podcast team wanted to take a look back at some of the knowledge our guests shared in Season One. Over these twelve episodes, we had conversations with Antiochians representing all six of our campuses and across disciplines including education, mental health, environmental studies, leadership, and more. In this episode, host Jasper Night...

Mapmaking? Birdwatching? Political activism? Dr. Sue Woehrlin sees in each of these activities the importance of narrative—and she teaches her students to see and master these narratives. Stories are the way we make sense of the world, so it’s important for us to understand the stories of our cultures, our communities, and ourselves. Dr. Woehrlin joins the Seed Field Podcast for the final episode...

As the world faces many serious problems, from climate change to global health crises, we need leaders who serve humanity in a conscious and courageous way. This week’s guest host, Dr. Y. Falami Devoe, is joined by leadership scholar Dr. Aqeel Tirmizi to discuss what steps we can take as individuals and communities to train and develop the kinds of leadership we want to see in the world.  Listen a...

How can teachers embody and pass on values of social justice in a country built on colonization, hierarchy, white supremacy, and the oppression of other cultures? This is the question a five-person Social Justice Pedagogy Committee in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program has been asking: how to decolonize their program’s curriculum. For this episode we talk with two members of this team,...

As Pride Month comes to an end, we discuss the continued need for LGBTQ+ activism, the challenges facing youth today, and ways to radicalize pride in the fight for social justice with Cynthia Ruffin, the director of COLORS LGBTQ Youth Counseling. As director of this free therapy service, Cynthia has great insight into how these young people continue to experience discrimination and trauma in our c...

In the United States, the past year has forced us to come to terms with how fragile our democracy is. In the face of this national reckoning, Antioch University’s values of promoting social, economic, and environmental justice have been put to the test. In this episode, Antioch’s Chancellor, William Groves, discusses the vital role he believes higher education plays in building and maintaining dem...

Activist movements make the world more just by exploring forgotten or concealed aspects of the present and the past. In this episode, we talk with Kirsten Grimstad, a scholar of post-war Germany and feminist thought who is working to preserve cultural memory and to make history more accessible. With guest host Lauren Instenes, she discusses how activists can use the knowledge of previous activist...

This past year of a deadly pandemic has been tough on everyone, but it’s been particularly hard for children. Most have had to cope with having their entire routines turned upside-down by the removal of in-person school. And now, over a year later, many are dealing with the uncertainty of going back to school before they can be vaccinated. To make sense of this time of instability, we called up Dr...

“We need to expand our understanding of the word environment, ” says Dr. Jean Kayira, a scholar of sustainability and Indigenous Knowledge. “In my view, environment is really about interconnectedness and the interdependence of everything.” Jean directs Antioch’s PhD in Environmental Studies, and she is a leader in this interdisciplinary field that tries to deepen our understanding of the world—and...

Across the country, activists and educators use Earth Day to teach the public about the importance of environmental justice and action to slow and mitigate climate change. This year we take it as an opportunity to talk with two Antioch faculty, Libby McCann and Sue Byers, about how we can challenge the ways our country has used environmental education in the past and collectively push for more equ...

In this episode, Institute for Humane Education founder Zoe Weil talks with our co-hosts to dive into the history of humane education, how to move from being a problem solver to being a “solutionary,” and the impact she believes humane education could have on our country and world – especially as we emerge from a global pandemic. The Institute for Humane Education helps educators teach about human...

In this episode, recorded almost exactly a year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns across the U.S., we have a deep conversation with two Antiochians working on the front lines of mental health to discuss the ways the field of therapy is evolving.  Dr. Doug Wear is the Director of Antioch’s Community Counseling and Psychology Clinic in Seattle. The clinic was fast in adapting to the circu...

As we find ourselves at a unique point in our country’s history, where more individuals and institutions than ever are attempting to recognize the ways in which their actions uphold white supremacy, we can learn much from the work of Antioch’s first Distinguished Scholar, Stephen Brookfield. In its premiere episode, co-hosts of The Seed Field Podcast, Jasper Nighthawk and Simon Javan Okelo enter i...

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