Walk Talk Listen Podcast

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice Bloem speaks with Mira Neaimeh, originally from Lebanon and now based in Cairo, Egypt, where she has served as Program Manager and Middle East Regional Coordinator for the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI). Mira takes us back to her childhood in a small village in Mount Lebanon, where she learned to love nature, work with...

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice Bloem speaks with Peter Prove, Director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs at the World Council of Churches (WCC). Growing up in an Australian Lutheran family in which becoming a pastor seemed almost a family tradition, Peter chose a different path through law, international human rights and ecumenical advocacy. He reflects on ho...

Shahin Ashraf MBE joins Walk Talk Listen for a deeply personal conversation that begins in Handsworth, Birmingham, where she grew up in a multicultural neighborhood shaped by Jamaican, Sikh, Hindu and Kashmiri communities. Her parents had migrated from Azad Kashmir, and although her family experienced poverty and hardship, Shahin remembers that “the biggest thing we had was each other.” From the a...

Rev. Jane Ng’ang’a joins Walk Talk Listen from Kenya and takes us back to her childhood in rural Molo, Nakuru County, growing up in a family of fourteen children. She reflects especially on the influence of her mother, whose compassion, resilience and determination helped Jane and her sisters see possibilities beyond the expectations placed on girls in their community. That foundation eventually a...

Sam Daley-Harris joins Walk Talk Listen to reflect on an unlikely journey that began in Miami, Florida, where he grew up in an observant Jewish household and discovered a love of music that eventually led him to play percussion in the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra and teach high school music. Experiences around the deaths of a friend and Robert F. Kennedy prompted Sam to begin asking questions that...

Dr. Elisabet “Lisa” le Roux joins Walk Talk Listen from Stellenbosch, South Africa, and takes us back to her childhood as the youngest of four children, growing up in a home where faith, theology, books and conversations were part of everyday life. Her father was a minister and later taught theology at Stellenbosch University, while her parents modeled a conviction that became a kind of guiding li...

Andrés Martínez-García is a psychologist and peacebuilder whose professional journey began with people directly affected by Colombia's decades of violence. Born and raised in Bogotá, Andrés recalls a happy childhood while recognizing how much his parents did to protect him and his twin brother from dangers they did not always fully understand at the time. His first job as a psychologist brought hi...

Doug Fountain has spent nearly four decades working at the intersection of Christian mission, health systems and global development, but his journey toward that work began much earlier. Growing up in Oregon, Doug's life changed when his mother became seriously ill when he was nine and eventually spent much of the last 20 years of her life bedridden. Caring for her alongside his father taught him a...

Kathryn (Kati) Kraft is a sociologist whose work explores faith, child spirituality and human flourishing, particularly in contexts of vulnerability and displacement. A self-described third culture kid, Kati was born in the United States, spent much of her childhood in Brazil, later lived in Syria and Lebanon, and eventually made her home in England. In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, she reflec...

Shreya Ramachandran was just 13 when experiences with water scarcity in California and India moved her from curiosity to action. What began with research, workshops at libraries and community events, and eventually The Grey Water Project has grown into a decade of environmental leadership. In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Shreya reflects on growing up as a self-described "library and museum ki...

Rima Alshawkani's story has unfolded across countries, languages and cultures. Born in New York to Yemeni parents, she spent parts of her childhood in Yemen, Ethiopia and Belgium before eventually settling in Northern Virginia. In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Rima reflects on what those transitions taught her about belonging, independence and resilience. She remembers learning Arabic because...

Growing up in western Kenya, Alvin Andanje learned that a community is built not only through shared geography, but through shared responsibility. In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Alvin reflects on a childhood where neighbours cared for one another, where faith was expressed through everyday acts of kindness, and where the idea that "a child belongs to the community" shaped his understanding o...

Tony Hernandez is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, oral historian, and founder of the Immigrant Archive Project. Over the past two decades, he has dedicated his life to preserving thousands of first-person immigrant stories, ensuring that families, communities, and future generations never lose the voices that shaped them. Today he also produces private documentary films for families and fo...

Sabrina Matthews believes that good questions can change the way we lead, learn, and build community.   In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Sabrina reflects on growing up in Macon, Georgia, overcoming a childhood speech impediment, learning from her parents' example of civic engagement, and gradually discovering that leadership is less about being in front and more about helping others find their...

In Episode 248 of Walk Talk Listen, I speak with Rachel Bayani, Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. Rachel reflects on growing up between cultures, choosing the Bahá'í Faith for herself as a teenager, and how the principle of the oneness of humanity shapes her understanding of development, education, governance, and international cooperation. We ex...

In Episode 247 of Walk Talk Listen, I travel through conversation to the shores of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, where Marina Cruz shares a remarkable story of courage, healing, and ancestral wisdom.   This conversation was conducted in Spanish with interpretation by Krysten Vazquez. Throughout the episode, we intentionally preserve portions of Marina Cruz's original voice so listeners can experience...

In Episode 246 of Walk Talk Listen, Samantha Jack, an Indigenous youth leader, educator, and policy advocate from Nuu-chah-nulth and Yale First Nations is the guest. Samantha reflects on growing up between worlds, navigating adoption, discovering her identity through Indigenous Studies, and how understanding intergenerational trauma transformed both her life and her purpose. We explore belonging,...

Healing begins long before medicine is prescribed. In this episode, Dennis Cherian reflects on a remarkable journey from growing up between Singapore, India and Dubai, spending much of his childhood in boarding school, to becoming a physician, missionary doctor, and global health leader. Through deeply personal stories, from treating more than one hundred patients a day in a remote mission hospita...

Growing up on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, surrounded by coffee farms, banana trees, faith, family, and a strong sense of community, Edwin Maleko learned early lessons about service, perseverance, and responsibility. In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Edwin reflects on his journey from a curious young boy inspired by his father's work with refugees to becoming Program Manager for Sightsavers...

“Everyone you're looking at is also you.” That James Baldwin-inspired line sits at the heart of this conversation with flutist, composer, educator, and collaborator Anne Drummond.   In Episode 243 of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice Bloem speaks with Anne about music, creativity, improvisation, community, and the people who shape our lives. Raised in Seattle by music educators and profoundly influenced b...

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, I speak with Jody Fry about the journey that led him from engineering and organizational leadership to becoming one of the leading voices on spiritual leadership and leadership for sustainability. We explore purpose, belonging, hope, sustainability, and the challenge of bridging competing worldviews in an increasingly polarized world. Along the way, Jody reflec...

David Beckmann returns to Walk Talk Listen for a third conversation. An economist, Lutheran pastor, World Food Prize laureate, and former President of Bread for the World, David has spent decades working to end hunger and poverty through advocacy, faith, and civic engagement. This time, we discuss his new book, Poverty Abolitionists: Faith, Activism, and Hope for Difficult Times, which argues that...

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice Bloem speaks with Caterina Tino, ACT Alliance’s Representative to the United Nations. Growing up in Rome, Caterina was shaped by a family that lived their faith through service, a Scout movement that emphasized citizenship and responsibility, and an early encounter with the world of international development that sparked a lifelong calling. What followe...

In this episode of Walk Talk Listen, Maurice speaks with Krysten Vazquez, a holistic physician assistant, clinical herbalist and sound healer whose life journey bridges medicine, spirituality and connection to nature. Raised in Miami in a deeply outdoors-oriented Cuban family surrounded by horses and rescued animals, Krysten reflects on the experiences that shaped her understanding of healing, res...

Ignacio Packer’s journey is not defined by titles or roles, but by a thread connecting people, places, and moments. From early experiences shaped by the Cold War to a pivotal decision to leave a career in finance for humanitarian work, Ignacio reflects on what it means to live with purpose and passion. A simple but powerful moment—his mother telling him to “free yourself”—set him on a path that wo...