Rebecca Tamás is a poet, nonfiction writer, critic and lecturer at City St Georges University of London. Rebecca’s book of environmental literary and artistic criticism, Strangers: Essays on the Human and Nonhuman, was published by Makina Press in October 2020, and longlisted for The Rathbones Folio Prize in 2021. Rebecca's writing has been published in The London Review of Books, Granta and The New Statesman, amongst others.

Summary

This month I share with you my conversation with Rebecca Tamás, as we discuss Rebecca’s essay collection, Strangers: Essays on the Human and Nonhuman.

In this episode, we discuss what it means to be intimate and hospitable towards the non-human world. How might we confront our fears and prejudices towards the more-than-human world and embrace a more capacious, interspecies sense of belonging? How do we unlearn our privileging of the human species at the expense of other species flourishing and their biodiversity loss? How does eco-grief shape our sense of home and belonging?

Follow Rebecca

Twitter/X: @RebTamas

Credits

Photo of Rebecca by Sophie Davidson

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About Evie Muir (she/they)

Evie is a nature writer and the founder of Peaks of Colour - a Peak District-based nature-for-healing community group, by and for people of colour. Having worked in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector for over 10 years, specialising in Black and queer survivors' intersectional experiences of gendered and racialised trauma, Evie left the sector when they became burnt out, disenfranchised, and disillusioned. Evie's work now sits at the intersections of gendered, racial, and land justice, and they seek to nurture survivors' joy, rest, hope, and imagination as abolitionist praxis. Advocating for the decolonisation of the outdoors, Evie is interested in the ways nature can forge a landscape of healing and justice outside of carceral feminist models. As a Northern freelance writer, Evie is passionate about the liberating form of writing as healing and resistance. Evie's debut book, Radical Rest, explores Black and Abolitionist Feminist approaches to activist burnout, published by Elliot & Thompson in 2024.

Summary

In this episode, we explore Evie's debut book, Radical Rest: Notes on Burnout, Healing and Hopeful Futures, and their grassroots work as Peaks of Colour. We discuss the intersections of joy, rest, and trauma in social justice movements, specifically land justice. Evie emphasizes the importance of prioritizing radical rest and collective care to avoid burnout and ensure sustainability of social justice movements. We discuss the systemic nature of burnout and poor mental health outcomes, and the importance of trauma-informed practice. We explore the liberating, nourishing and resourcing practice of nature writing, nature-based therapies, and gathering in community in the outdoors.

Follow Evie

IG: @xeviemuir | @peaksofcolour

https://eviemuir.com/about

https://www.peaksofcolour.org/

Credits

Photo of Evie by Morgan Barfield

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Jessica J. Lee is a British-Canadian-Taiwanese author, environmental historian, and winner of the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature, a Banff Mountain Book Award, and the RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writer Award. She is the author of three books of nature writing, Turning, Two Trees Make a Forest, and Dispersals, the children’s book A Garden Called Home, and co-editor of the essay collection Dog Hearted. She has a PhD in Environmental History and Aesthetics. Jessica is the founding editor of The Willowherb Review. Jessica’s latest book, Dispersals was shortlisted for the 2024 Wainwright Prize for nature writing.

In this episode, we discuss Lee’s new book Dispersals: On Plants, Borders and Belonging, and how we might challenge our notions and language around plants to craft a more capacious sense of belonging to encompass multicultural, migrant identities. We reflect on how the stories of plants’ movement might reflect our own more complicated stories of belonging across borders.

Follow Jessica

IG: @jessicajlee

X: @jessicajlee

https://www.jessicajleewrites.com/

PC: Image is by Ricardo Rivas

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Sui Searle is a gardener, printmaker, writer, speaker, circle facilitator, and founder of the Radicle newsletter and the Decolonise the Garden platform on Instagram.

Summary

In this episode, we delve into nature connection, decolonising the garden, what it means to be radical, the embryonic seed or radicle as a metaphor for activism and community building, intersectional storytelling as an act of reclaiming communal/political space, Sui’s transition into the gardening world from the city, gardening as healing disconnection and isolation, the power of asking questions, the multiple truths of belonging, and our own gardens of belonging.

References

Weathering by Ruth Allen

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Dispersals: On Plants, Borders and Belonging by Jessica J. Lee

Follow Sui

IG: @thetemperategardener | @decolonisethegarden

Substack: https://radicle.substack.com/

Credits

Episode Cover Art: Sui Searle

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Spotify! You can follow us on Instagram at @xeno_pod and subscribe to our monthly newsletter on xenocast.org, for updates on new episodes and resources on belonging.

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Aniefiok ‘Neef’ Ekpoudom is a writer and storyteller from South London whose work documents community and culture in contemporary Britain. His debut book Where We Come From: Rap Home and Hope in Modern Britain is a social history of British Rap. It was released via Faber & Faber in January 2024. As a journalist, he writes long-form essays and profiles for The Guardian, GQ and more. From charting a history of Black Football culture in South London to mapping the forces of migration and music that formed J Hus, his writing weaves social, cultural and narrative history to explore the current, lived realities of peoples across the UK.

Summary:

In this episode, we discuss the social history of Britain through the lens of British rap with a focus on South London, Wales and the West Midlands; migration, music and belonging through the lens of the Windrush generation; resilience, adversity and hope in the UK rap scene; community through pirate radio; how British rap reshapes and remakes a sense of home and belonging for Black British communities back then and today; vulnerability through music and mental health; the importance of diverse social archives; the importance of creativity in crafting a deeper sense of belonging; and how the music gives us hope.

References:

Where We Come From: Rap, Home and Hope in Modern Britain by Aniefiok Ekpoudom

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Follow Aniefiok:

Website: https://aniefiokekpoudom.com/

IG: @Aniefiokekp

X: @AniefiokEkp

Credits

Photo of Aniefiok by Blaow

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Our branding is by Somewhere Off Grid

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Stephanie Sy-Quia is a writer, teacher, and printmaker. She was born in 1995 in California and currently lives in London. Her debut, Amnion, was published by Granta Poetry in 2021. Her writing has appeared in the FT Weekend, the TLS, the Economist, the Guardian, and TANK. She is a Ledbury Poetry Critic. In 2023, she guest curated Ledbury Poetry Festival.

Summary

In this episode, we delve into Stephanie's debut book Amnion, mixed identities, embodied writing, family histories, ambient language, the power of language and resistance against translation, gender, classism and racism, education and privilege, girlhood in boarding school, liberation through writing and relationships as a mixed person, self-exoticisation and fetishization, Philippine history, and the amniotic borders and boundaries we must all cross toward self-empowerment, wisdom and liberation, among other topics.

References

Amnion by Stephanie Sy-Quia (Granta Poetry)

Ambient Language by Stephanie Sy-Quia

Follow Stephanie:

IG: @c_est_qui77

X: @snsyquia

Credits

PC: Image by Alex Sy-Quia

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Sam Johnson-Schlee is an academic and writer living by the sea in North Essex. Sam is the author of Living Rooms, published by Peninsula Press. He writes non-fiction and memoir about the politics and culture of everyday life. He is interested in how paying attention to familiar objects and practices can open up new perspectives on the world we live in, and also writes a newsletter on Substack called Sifting and Sorting: a series about digitising his late father’s collection of over two thousand CDs and an occasional series of personal essays about the music.

Summary:

In this episode, we discuss the politics of the home and the interior, what it would mean to ‘abolish the family’, the privatisation and atomisation of domestic life, rentier capitalism, nature connection and domestic spaces, radical connection and collective living, the value of public space, how the interior influences public life, what it would mean to re-imagine our domestic lives and more topics.

References:

Living Rooms by Sam Johnson-Schlee

Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation by Sophie Lewis

They Call It Love: The Politics of Emotional Life by Alva Gotby

Strayed Homes: Cultural Histories of the Domestic in Public by Edwina Attlee

Follow Sam:

IG: @snfschlee

X: @SNFSchlee

Substack: @siftingandsorting

Credits:

Image of Sam by Kenza Barton-Schlee

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Our design is by Somewhere Off Grid

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Noreen Masud is a lecturer in twentieth-century literature at the University of Bristol, the author of A Flat Place, and an AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker. She grew up in Lahore and Fife.

Summary:

In this episode, we dive into A Flat Place, the psychogeography of flat landscapes across Britain and Pakistan, kinship with non-human animals, more-than-human ethics, belonging and unbelonging in language, literature as home, C-PTSD and (dis)embodied writing, creativity and mental health, erasure of global majority and diaspora stories, colonialism, imperialism and trauma, among other topics.

Resources:

A Flat Place by Noreen Masud

Connect with Noreen:

X/Twitter: @NoreenMasud

IG: @Noreen_Masud

Website: noreenmasud.com

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Our brand design is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Follow us on Instagram @xeno_pod and subscribe to our newsletter at xenocast.org.

You can listen to all our episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please rate us and share a review of the podcast!

To find out more about Roots of Belonging, follow us on Instagram @rootsofbelonging and subscribe to our Substack and newsletter at rootsofbelonging.org.

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Lawrence D’Silva is an environmental scientist, nature presenter and filmmaker. From a safari Land Rover guide in southern Africa to working in environmental investment in London, nature has always been Lawrence's passion. He aims to entertain and inspire action and debate through film. Lawrence identifies as being mixed, with one side Welsh and the other South Indian, via Malawi. Lawrence grew up on tales of Malawi and India's Malabar coast and loves both places (as well as Britain). Both places are subject to intense environmental pressures that impact communities and nature alike.

Summary:

In this episode, we discuss colonialism, mixed heritage and British identity, class and race dynamics, our mixed experiences growing up, environmentalism, personal and embodied connection to place/landscapes, biodiversity and sustainability, self-exploration, rethinking personal belonging in the UK, intergenerational trauma, ancestral stories, and Family Constellations therapeutic practices.

Resources:

Late Light by Michael Malay

The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Connect with Lawrence:

IG: @nature_lawrence

Website: https://www.lawrencedsilva.com/

X: @lawrence_dsilva

Credits:

Image credit: @mixedracefaces

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

The Xeno brand is by Somewhere Off Grid

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Soraya Abdel-Hadi is an award-winning writer, co-active coach, speaker, host, facilitator, consultant, and the founder of the non-profit All the Elements CIC — a community working to increase diversity in the UK outdoors.

Summary:

In this episode, we explore nature connection, diversifying the outdoors industry, belonging in the outdoors, burnout, neurodivergence, finding your creative voice as a marginalised person, writing life and nature, activism, co-creating new ways of gathering and ecogrief.

Connect with Soraya:

Website: www.soraya.earth.com 

All the Elements CIC: www.allthelements.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sorayaearth?ig

Substack: https://substack.com/@sorayaearth 

Resources:

And a Dog Called Fig: Solitude, Connection, the Writing Life by Helen Humphreys

Whip Smart: A Memoir by Melissa Febos

Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative by Melissa Febos

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield 

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

The Xeno brand is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gabby Green is the Founder and Executive Director of New Global Normal. Inspired by her own experience growing up as a third culture kid in Hong Kong and South Korea, Gabby strives to make the world a better place by promoting active global citizenship. Through New Global Normal, she endeavours to create a movement that leverages multiculturalism in student bodies worldwide and engages communities on the importance of intercultural communication in our personal, social, and academic lives.

Gabby is currently working full-time to expand and improve New Global Normal. In 2023 she graduated from the University of St Andrews with a First Class MA (Hons) in Economics and International Relations. Her dissertation entitled 'The China Threat Narrative: A Genealogy. How does American exceptionalism shape US representations of and responses to the China threat narrative?' received a distinction. In 2024, Gabby will pursue a Double Masters in the Global Political Economy of China and Europe at the London School of Economics and Fudan University.

Summary:

In this episode, as fellow third culture kids (TCKs), we discuss global citizenship, intercultural communication, the concept of a cultural lens, global political coordination, what it means to be a third culture kid, Gabby's experience living in South Korea and Hong Kong as a third culture kid, increased anti-Asian and specifically anti-Chinese sentiment, the importance of cultural curiosity and humility, the role of American exceptionalism, and the US-China dynamic.

Resources:

'Cross-Cultural Dialogues' by Craig Storti (2017)

'Cross-Cultural Responsiveness & Systemic Therapy' edited by Shruti Singh Poulsen and Robert Allan

Follow Gabby:

New Global Normal - https://www.newglobalnormal.com/

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards. Please subscribe to our monthly newsletter at xenocast.org and follow us on Instagram: @xeno_pod.

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This month, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview a fellow podcast host who is equally as passionate about identity: Maya Mitsuko September Welford. Maya is the host of the podcast That’s My Name, which explores the deeply personal stories and family histories associated with names from around the world. Names can have profound cultural and identity-based significance linked to them.

Maya Mitsuko September Welford is a multi-award-winning professional with degrees in BSc Psychology and MSc Corporate Responsibility. She is currently a Behavioural Finance Specialist at a leading bank in the UK. She empowers people through coaching and workshops and is deeply interested in issues around social mobility, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Summary:

In this episode, we explore the stories of belonging that we carry through our names, the mixed-Asian experience, growing anti-Asian sentiment, the idea of exploring ancestral routes/roots/wisdom, the indigenous concept of “rematriation”, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the corporate world, and the transformative impact that language can have.

Resources:

'Mixed/Other' by Natalie Morris

'All My Relations' podcast hosted by Matika Wilbur, Desi Small-Rodriguez and Adrienne Keene

'The Disappearance of Rituals' by Byung-Chul Han

Follow Maya:

'That's My Name' podcast

IG: thatsmyname_pod

Cover image photo credit: @mixedracefaces

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards. Please subscribe to our monthly newsletter at xenocast.org and follow us on Instagram: @xeno_pod.

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Jamaican-born and Berlin/Taiwan-based, Alix Julian Edwards orbits a diverse spectrum of sounds, ranging from Hip Hop, Jazz, Bass, House, and Techno. Trained in dance and vocally from a young age and studying jazz piano paved the way for his productions, fully utilizing his musical exposure. On Baihui Radio, he hosts 'Series of Existence', described as 'Nostalgia experienced in the waking state echos throughout our many lives and existences. A familiar feeling experienced in the present yet unknown to it. This collective response triggers the portal to our mind and the universes entangled within it.'

Summary:

In this episode, we explore the experience of discomfort and adaptation, the importance of developing one’s interiority, the self as a sanctuary, safety in creative practice, American culture, Jamaican diasporic cultures, inter-cultural paradigms, expression, colonialism, food, music, sound and rhythms as home, how to embody home in language, dance, and the body itself.

References:

"Matter and Memory" by Henri Bergson

Connect with Alix:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/alixlaing?igshid 

Lost Laing Instagram https://instagram.com/lostlaing?igshid= 

Website: https://lostlaing.xyz

Photo credit: Amanda DeFiore

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Please subscribe to our monthly newsletter at xenocast.org and follow us on Instagram: @xeno_pod

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Jenny Lau is a writer, community builder, and founder of Celestial Peach and the Asian Slaw Alliance. Lau takes a ‘philosophical and cultural approach to food in a search for balance and meaning in a material world’. Celestial Peach is a platform telling stories about Chinese food in the diaspora, and the people and cultures behind it. Jenny writes in her Substack Eating For Longevity, Chewing On Identity exploring topics of Chinese-, Asian- and diaspora-adjacent identity, language, food, culture, philosophy and arts.

On 13 Sept. Jenny will host a panel event ‘In Our Prime’ with Wiz Wharton, Bich Tyler and Qu Lei Lei: Book a ticket for the event.

Summary

We discuss journeys of belonging, Chinese diasporic routes, ESEA heritage, being culturally bilingual, learning Cantonese, community building, the commodification of food and culture and our responses to this commodification, food as a means of both care and control, the body as home, Mariana Ortega’s philosophical concept of ‘home tactics’, Chinese philosophy, and other subjects.

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Photo credit: Ming Tang-Evans

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Isa Rus is a Berlin-based, Spanish artist and photographer. In this episode, we delve into her latest, ongoing photography series, 'Birthmark', which explores the themes of home, identity, belonging, and principally, motherhood.

Summary:

In this episode, we explore what it means to be both a mother and a migrant; how motherhood shapes, breaks apart, and reconstitutes identity; creativity and motherhood; magic realism and the human experience; spiritual connection and liberation through the mundane or everyday; and the ongoing project of home-making and cultivating belonging in a new, adopted culture.

References:

'Motherhood' by Sheila Heti

Surrealist painter - Leonora Carrington

Spanish painter - Joaquín Sorolla

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Photo credit: Isa Rus

Please subscribe to our monthly newsletter at xenocast.org and follow us on Instagram: @xeno_pod

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Anthony Anaxagorou is a British-born Cypriot poet, fiction writer, essayist and publisher. His second collection, 'After the Formalities' published with Penned in the Margins, is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was shortlisted for the 2019 T.S. Eliot Prize along with the 2021 Ledbury Munthe Poetry Prize for Second Collections. It was also a Telegraph and Guardian poetry book of the year. His third collection, 'Heritage Aesthetics' published with Granta Poetry in 2022, was awarded the 2023 RSL Ondaatje Prize and shortlisted for the Anglo-Hellenic League’s Runciman Award. It was listed as one of New Statesman’s top books of 2022. In 2020 he published 'How To Write It' with Merky Books; a practical guide fused with tips and memoir looking at the politics of writing as well as the craft of poetry and fiction along with the wider publishing industry. Anthony is the artistic director of Out-Spoken, a monthly poetry and music night held at London’s Southbank Centre, and publisher of Out-Spoken Press. He is the editor-in-chief of Propel Magazine, an online literary journal featuring the work of poets yet to publish a first collection. In 2019 he was made an honorary fellow at the University of Roehampton.

Summary:

In this episode, Anthony and I discuss the Cypriot diasporic experience, inheritance, colonialism, monarchy, inter-generational trauma, the power of radical language, the politics of identity, ambiguity and erasure of identity, psychopolitics, philosophy of care, the family as an agent of the state, masculinity and fatherhood, among many other subjects. We delve into Anthony's latest book of poetry, Heritage Aesthetics. Anaxagorou highlights the significance of poetic language in shaping one's identity, and the challenges of expressing the nuances of Cypriot culture through our existing lexicon. He emphasized the importance of particularising the diversity within Cypriot identity, rather than reducing it to a monolithic stereotype, and through Heritage Aesthetics, he unpacks the erasure of Cypriot identity in the UK. Heritage Aesthetics offers a deeply felt exploration and reckoning of the lived experiences of those who are othered in society and outlines the psychology of feelings experienced by those at the intersections of culture, history, and identity.

References:

'Heritage Aesthetics' by Anthony Anaxagorou

'After The Formalities' by Anthony Anaxagorou

'Returning to Reims' by Didier Eribon

'Who Killed My Father' by Edouard Louis

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Photo credit: Gareth James

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Multi-media artist and illustrator Kay Gasei has always been drawn to stories and symbolism. Growing up in Southeast London to Zambian parents, his father would often tell him symbolic tales across history, which piqued his interest as a child in these esoteric ideas. His pieces have offered him a space for deep self-reflection through visual symbols that allow the viewer to build an intimate sense of connection to his works. The narratives and common characters that thread throughout his oeuvre really grab you, making you question who they are and their significance. His perceptive use of imagery, colour and texture speaks in a deeper, more subconscious language.

Summary

In this episode, we discuss the learned sense of adaptability of those who have grown up in first-generation immigrant households in the UK, the importance of cultural capital - how it’s often used to thwart the growing empowerment of marginalised groups, and third culture identity in London.

References

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Follow Kay

IG: @kaygaseiart

Credits

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

The Xeno brand is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal is a poet, author and creator who has been intimately exploring ideas of home and belonging through her craft of writing and translation. Her debut poetry collection The Yak Dilemma is a tribute to those at the margins, carrying with them a mosaic of identities.

Summary:

In this episode, Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal and I discuss the themes of home, identity and belonging through the lens of her poetic journey. She reflects on the influence of the mountain ranges of Palampur in India on her writing, intimate acts of flânerie, the art of wandering and observing, and her creative process. Dhaliwal delves into the role of language in shaping her understanding of self and connection to place. The episode offers a deep insight into the way poetry can serve as a tool for exploring these complex and personal themes.

References:

'The Yak Dilemma' by Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal

Poetry by Mahmoud Darwish

'The Little Virtues' by Natalia Ginzburg

'Ghazal' poetry

Follow Supriya:

https://www.supriyakaurdhaliwal.com/

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In this podcast episode, our discussion focuses on the Middle Eastern LGBTQIA+ diaspora community in London and the importance of creating safe, intersectional spaces. We discuss the unique challenges and experiences faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals from the Middle East and how these intersect with other identities such as race, religion and nationality. We talk about the importance of building inclusive communities that allow for a sense of belonging and acceptance for all members. The conversation highlights the need for ongoing efforts to support and uplift marginalised communities and the value of creating safe and welcoming spaces for those who are othered to come together, creating a sense of solidarity for our shared struggles.

About Golchehr

Golchehr Hamidi-Manesh is an Iranian queer feminist living in London whose academic interests in a deeply subjective manner are rooted in the intersection of migration, queer and feminist theories. Currently, academic-wise, she is surfing the psychoanalytical literature engaging with gender, sexuality and migration, and is growing a love-hate relationship with them, while dedicating her activism to collaborating with newly started campaigns of fighting domestic violence in Iran. She graduated from SOAS with distinction, completing an MA in Gender & Sexuality with special reference to the Middle East. Golchehr is a member of the social support network POA (formerly Pride of Arabia) and the collective Only Voice Remains.

References:

'In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong' by Amin Maalouf

Emmy Award Speech by Michaela Coel

'Barber Shop Chronicles' by Inua Ellams

Iranian 'Santur' music (سنتور)

Fesenjān walnut pomegranate stew

Further resources:

Only Voice Remains sonic project on NTS.live

'Do Muslim Women Need Saving?' by Lila Abu-Lughod

'You Have Not Yet Been Defeated' by Alaa Abd el-Fattah

'Territories of the Soul: Queered Belonging in the Black Diaspora' by Nadia Ellis

'Cruising utopia: the then and there of queer futurity' by José Esteban Muñoz

'Home and away: Narratives of migration and estrangement' by Sara Ahmed

'Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center' by Bell Hooks

'Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments' by Saidiya Hartman

'Guapa' by Saleem Haddad

'Sambac Beneath Unlikely Skies' by Heba Hayek

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Greta is an Ethiopian-Italian wildlife crime and conservation adviser to various African Governments, International Organisations and NGOs with extensive experience in trying to bring an end to the illegal wildlife trade across the Horn of Africa, resolve human-wildlife conflict, better understand the gendered dynamics of communities and organized criminal networks while encouraging more sustainable and inclusive conservation models across the continent. Passionately advocating against historical patterns of accumulation and dispossession in rural communities, especially women and girls, Greta stands firm in hoping to break barriers and move away from dominant and often ineffective conservation structures and instead cultivate scalable systems which dismantle deeply engrained forms of spatial and spiritual injustice for both people and wildlife. In an age of climate collapse, she believes restoring gender balance, ownership, and the sacred values attached to the living and spiritual worlds can help redefine how we map our sense of belonging, responsibility and kinship to place, ancestors, one another, and the many species we share the planet with.

Books:

'If Women Rose Rooted' by Sharon Blackie

'La Mia Casa è Dove Sono' (My home is where I am) by Igiaba Scego

Follow Greta:

Instagram: @Gretafrancescaiori

Twitter: @TheItaliopian

LinkedIn: Greta Francesca Iori

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

The Xeno brand and website design is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yas (They/Them) is a writer of journalism and poetry, a performer of drag and spoken word, and a campaigner turned trainer and facilitator. An artist and activist unafraid of working across disciplines, Yas Necati's work focuses on queer and trans rights, feminism, mental health and community building. Their performances combine poetry and drag to ask questions about gender, immigration, belonging and what it means to know home. They are part of the poetry collective London Queer Writers and the founder of a London-based writing group for people of colour. Yas writes a monthly column about gender for gal-dem, "Against the binary."

Books:

"Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals" by Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Articles:

Yas's monthly column for gal-dem, "Against the binary"

Poem:

"Reminds me of Home" by Yas Necati

Follow Yas:

Website: www.yasnecati.co.uk

Instagram: @yas_necati

Twitter: @yasnecati

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

The Xeno brand and website design is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reuben is an "edu-tainer" and creative confidence coach. As an award-winning facilitator, educator, coach, comedian, speaker, mentor and community builder, he has over two decades of experience sharing his insight and optimism with a range of forward-thinking organisations including Samsung, BBC, VICE, Channel 4, Virgin Media, Pearsons and TED. His passion (and superpower) is helping people understand, recognise and act on their potential to shape their futures. It is this drive that inspired him to found Dream Rehab, a transformative learning experience designed to help participants achieve their goals through collaboration and mutual support from diverse perspectives. He is a co-host of the What is this behaviour? podcast alongside Almass Badat and Aaron Christian, where they showcase South Asians going against the grain.

Books:

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown

The 100-Year Life by Andrew J Scott and Lynda Gratton

Follow Reuben:

Website: reubenchristian.com

Instagram: @reubenchristian1

Dream Rehab: dreamrehab.co.uk

The What is this behaviour? podcast: whatisthisbehaviourpodcast.com

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

The Xeno brand and website design is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Valerie is an educational psychologist and learning designer with a focus on intercultural education, decolonising knowledge, human rights and inclusive design. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Valerie has been living in London since 2015. Most of her professional experience has been in a variety of higher education contexts, from teacher training for the Peruvian Ministry of Education to designing learning courses with universities in the UK.

Books:

In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belonging by Amin Maalouf

Alienación (alienation) by Julio Ramón Ribeyro (short story)

References:

Huayño Peruvian/Andean dance ("Waynu" in Quechua)

Almitas Milagrosas ("miraculous souls"): El Señor de los Milagros, Sarita Colonia

Follow Valerie:

LinkedIn

Instagram: @valeriewv

Email: valeriewv@gmail.com

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

The Xeno brand and website design is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Natalie Morris is an author and journalist, originally from Manchester but now living in London. Her first book Mixed/Other: explorations of multiraciality in modern Britain, is a non-fiction exploration of the joys, complexities and nuances that come with having mixed heritage. The debut was featured as a must-read in the New Stateman and Refinery29 and has received wide acclaim. As a journalist, Natalie writes about identity, race and social injustice, but also has a focus on mental health, culture and women in the workplace.

Episode references:

Natalie's journalism at Metro UK

Alex Elle's work on self-care to heal intergenerational trauma

Books:

Mixed/Other by Natalie Morris

The Fear of Freedom by Erich Fromm

Follow Natalie:

Twitter: @Nmozz

IG: @Nmozz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-morris-ba890a41/

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Our podcast is produced in community with Content is Queen

The Xeno brand and website design is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jahnvi is a learning designer, facilitator, and coach. She was the host for our Enrol Yourself learning marathon Our Shared Belonging. Jahnvi crafts playful and kind spaces of learning that empower young and lifelong learners to build resilience, creative agency, a sense of wonder, and strong relationships with self and others - the essential tools to live, dream, and thrive in the 21st century.

Episode references:

• You can find the Enrol Yourself community at enrolyourself.com
• The Our Shared Belonging learning marathon showcase can be found here (by Jahnvi Singh, Yas Necati, Katie Todd, Fan Sissoko, Pips Scrafton, and Isabella McDonnell)
• Jahnvi's blog for The Relationships Project: '21 Conversations on Belonging'
• David Whyte - On Belonging and Coming Home 

Books:

• Be My Guest by Priya Basil
• Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home by Toko-pa Turner
• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Follow Jahnvi:

Website: https://www.jahnvisingh.com/

Twitter: @Jahnvi_lxd

IG: @Jahnvi_lxd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahnvi-singh/ 

Credits:

Our theme music is by Alix Julian Edwards

Our podcast is produced in community with Content is Queen

The Xeno brand and website design is by Somewhere Off Grid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.