In this heartfelt episode, we hear from Chip Skowron, MD/PhD and former CEO of Prison Entrepreneurship Program, who takes us through the double life he lived since childhood and how he found peace with himself following the four years he spent in prison for insider trading.

Emerging with a renewed sense of purpose, Chip shares how Vanessa's new book served as a poignant reminder of the power of community and healing that he experienced while in prison.

While touching on the foreword he wrote for Vanessa's book, he also shares the soul wounds that he healed and how he learned to tune into the body's wisdom, instead of reacting or running away.

Join us for an inspiring conversation about resilience, redemption, and the enduring strength of human connection.

In this episode of The Human Challenge, Elspeth Hay, author of "Feed Us With Trees" and host of the Local Food Report on Cape Cod's NPR station, joins us. We explore the fascinating world of acorns and their potential as a superfood, delving into the historical and ecological significance of nut trees.

Elspeth shares her journey of discovering the interconnectedness of humans and ecosystems, challenging the dominant narratives of food production and colonial legacies, including Elspeth's ancestral and healing work.

Tune in for an enlightening conversation on rethinking our relationship with the natural world and embracing sustainable practices.

Be welcome to learn more about Elspeth at: https://elspethhay.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elspethhay/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

It's been 10 years since Emily O'Brien found herself in prison. "A lot of people think in prison that you have nothing," she says, "but if you reframe it as a place where you have everything, you can kind of create anything you want." Following that mindset, Emily created the idea for Comeback Snacks, Popcorn so good, it’s criminal, while incarcerated.

In this episode of The Human Challenge, Emily shares her journey of incarceration, how she built Comeback Snacks to see 60% growth in 2024, and how she continues to find new opportunities for people with a history of incarceration. This includes the recent launch of Comeback Catalyst, an accelerator for incarcerated people to learn how to start their own business.

Be welcome to learn more about Emily and Comeback Snacks here: https://comebacksnacks.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comebacksnacks/

Be welcome to learn more about Comeback Catalyst here: https://www.comebackcatalyst.ca/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Quan Huynh has been described as a mighty warrior, a magician, and a mountain of goodness. He spent 22 years of his life behind bars for murder. In the midst of a life sentence, he found his freedom from within and wishes to share that freedom with others.

He is the bestselling author of Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence and is also the Executive Director, Southern California at Defy Ventures. Quan wrote his book to share after being pushed by 4X NYT-bestselling author, Tucker Max. He shares how his childhood, his father, his mother, and other experiences shaped his lived perspectives of the world. He also talks about how he supported others during incarceration, by starting Grief & Loss Groups and helping others prepare for their own parole hearings.

His book includes the live transcripts of many of these conversations, and how they helped him in his own journey to freedom.

"We all live in some type of prison," says Quan. By humanizing those who have an experience of incarceration, he hopes that all of us will be more kind to ourselves and each other.

Quan's book, "Sparrow in the Razor Wire", was published by Lioncrest Publishing here: https://quanxhuynh.com

Be welcome to learn more about Quan's work here: https://quanxhuynh.com

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

25 years after finding herself divorced, a single mom of three kids with a truck, 26 cents, and a grade education, Dr. Paulette Steeves, Cree Métis author of "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", walked across the stage receiving her PhD with honours. She had already been told of her legacy that would shed truth on Indigenous history by an Elder at the time of her divorce, but it was in that moment, she finally understood what it was: to rewrite the history of The Americas.

Through her PhD, Dr. Steeves had the opportunity to conduct research on archaeology sites older than 10,000 years, called Pleistocene Age sites, to debunk the standard view in Archaeology that Indigenous people of The Americas had only been here for 10,000 or 11,000 years -- and that they came from Asia.

"It was a way that Archaeology erased Indigenous people in The Americas," Dr. Steeves says, combatting "Academic Suicide" that many others in her field faced for publishing research on sites that were older than 11,000 or 12,000 years and pushed back on that archaeological narrative.

Her book, "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", offers extensive research debunking this narrative, bringing truth to Indigenous history and identity. The book took over 13 years to write, having to study hundreds of records and archaeological sites that date from 11,200 to 200,000 years and dive into the paleo-mammal record to study human migration patterns between the Eastern and Western hemisphere. Her extensive database and mapping across almost 360 publications provides the evidence to support people were here 11 or 12,000 years ago, challenging the dominant colonial-based 100 year old narrative that suggests Indigenous people were here for only 3,000 years. Her book has also given hope to many Indigenous people across The Americas, just as The Elder had told her many years before.

In this episode, Dr. Steeves invites us to decolonize our minds, think critically, and challenge the long history of colonization, including knowledge, reminding us that much what we have been taught in the past has been based on a lot of colonial bias. Beyond that, we need to disprove that knowledge, publish on that, and help to educate people.

"When you pushback on any area, you push back on bias, racism, and discrimination," she says. "You help people to become informed to address that. You make the world a better place for all."

Dr. Steeves book, "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", was published by University of Nebraska Press here: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496202178/the-indigenous-paleolithic-of-the-western-hemisphere/

Be welcome to learn more about Dr. Steeves' work here: https://www.tipdba.ca/"

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

In this episode of "The Human Challenge", an Amazon Music x ACAST Indie Podcast Amplifier, Vanessa sits down with Robert Gil Jr, Re-entry Manager at Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Houston, in this inspiring and vulnerable conversation to breakdown barriers for returning citizens.

From drug dealer to case manager, Robert showcases his journey through incarceration, including personal revelations, post-release anxieties, and his continued support for returning citizens.

"You cannot spell community without unity," he says, highlighting the power of brotherhood he discovered while going through Prison Entrepreneurship Program as a returning citizen himself.

Now, he supports these same people who are where he once was. Prison Entrepreneurship Program offers boot camp and re-entry programs as proven solutions for preventing recidivism, maximizing self-sufficiency, and transforming broken lives.

Their holistic approach to prison rehabilitation begins inside the prison and continues post-release.

Learn more here: https://www.pep.org/

Vanessa is a volunteer sponsor for the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, supporting returning citizens with business and personal mentorship.

This episode is presented as a collaboration between The Human Challenge and Prison Entrepreneurship Program.

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

"Refugee is a title, given to someone who is a displaced person, but it does not change the right to [their] data", says Mathew Lubari, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Community Creativity for Development (CC4D).

Mathew joined the show from Rhino Refugee Camp in Uganda. Mathew's passion for technology repair, and what is know as the "Repair Movement", a movement that increases awareness of repair of everyday items, started as a young boy watching his father tinker with repairing technology in his own home.

After his own experiences, including the locking of his mobile device, and a computer repair technician who removed the hard drive disk, RAM, and the network card instead of repairing the computer, he decided to learn to do it himself and to teach other people how to repair things and make repair accessible. This includes teaching people to be ethical, while providing repair services.

In 2016, he fled his home country with a zip lock of repair tools (a screwdriver, a cutter and a toothbrush) and started repairing but never knew repair protects the environment by reducing carbon emissions and landfill until 2021 when he joined the Restarters community, a global forum for repairers. The idea of bridging the gap in repair of everyday items and making repair open led to the founding of CC4D. His roles at the CC4D include helping develop the repair café and women inclusion in tech/repair culture programs. To showcase the impact of repair cafe practices, repair knowledge as self-sufficiency and professional development in displacement settings, Mathew partnered with The Maintainers to publish “THE ESSENCE OF REPAIR, CARE AND MAINTENANCE CULTURE IN DISPLACEMENT SETTINGS IN UGANDA: A Sense of Direction and Hope to Rebuild Lives”. The report aims to highlight circular economy as a means of survival, and highlights the leadership of refugee-led work within the global repair movement.

Be welcome to read more here: https://themaintainers.org/essence-of-repair/

Connect with Mathew and CC4D here:

CC4D email: info@cc4duganda.org

CC4D Facebook: www.facebook.com/CCC4D-Uganda

Mathew Lubari Instagram: @mathewdukson

Mathew Lubari's LinkedIn: https://ug.linkedin.com/in/mathew-lubari

This episode is presented in partnership with the Migration Technology Monitor, on a mission to monitor surveillance technologies, automation, and the use of Artificial Intelligence to screen, track, and make decisions about people on the move. Learn more here: https://www.migrationtechmonitor.com/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Moroccan-Yemeni artist, AŸA, is back on The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier", with new music, new live tracks on vinyl, and new stories!

This music is deeply personal to AŸA, as she navigates grief from the loss of a dear friend of hers and the ongoing horrors the world is witnessing in Palestine, where she has family and friends. She shares how music has helped her through this journey and how she believes music is the way to capture time and stories in history.

Listen to her new single, Talking Deep, here: https://paradise.ffm.to/talking_deep?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZfmRWnJ09xUokDD0ipTz9AJAECIC5J9gZtPvJRFKJABy1LZGStWHVlY4Y_aem_Rk_g75mWM3O9-_N-hcYO0A

Pre-save her vinyl here: https://ayaloveu.bandcamp.com/album/a-a-live-in-berlin

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com, AŸA on Instagram @aya.loveu

You might know Matt Edwards as your jack-of-all-trades actor/producer/writer and Doug Jones from one of your favourite franchises like Hocus Pocus, Hellboy 1 & 2, Star Trek, and Fantastic Four -- but get to know them in a more human light in this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023.

This budding Hollywood friendship will warm your hearts as they come together in their next project, Pretty Boys, a comedy short film about a washed up Hollywood Star, his estranged son, and the disastrous road trip that just might bring them back together. While the intention is to entertain and amuse, they also touch on their own experiences with mental health, loss, and grief -- topics not often talked about amongst men.

There are less than 40 hours to contribute to the film's Kickstarter!!!! Support the film here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/prettyboysfilm/pretty-boys-comedy-short

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com; Matt Edwards on Instagram @mattedwards and Doug Jones on Instagram @actordougjones

Please be welcome to note sensitive content is discussed, including sexual violence in relation to corrective punishments experienced by trans peoples.

"Solidarity is power," says activist, Judith Cabrera, Co-Director of Borderline Crisis Center, a shelter for migrant women and kids on the border of US/Mexico.

Borderline Crisis Center started as a call-center for migrants to connect with their family as soon as they crossed the border. But after Judith's partner and founder of the center, Daniel Ruiz, was targeted by organized crime who burned down their location, they were forced to move where they then expanded into the shelter.

In this conversation, Judith walks us through the history of migrant policy in the USA since 2016; the increasing discriminate and racist policies faced by migrants seeking asylum, which is their right under international law; and the role technology plays in this discrimination.

In partnership with the Migration Technology Monitor, Judith and the team are building a kiosk outside the shelter, 3 minutes away from the border, to provide information and resources to people on the move, as well as to serve as a counter-monitoring tool, to monitor human rights violations by the Mexican Authorities.

Judith also shares how the shelter is tackling the largest problem faced by women in their shelters: the lack of income. By starting a Feminist Solidarity Economy Network, organized and independently led by the women in the shelters, Borderline seeks to empower women to come together and create opportunities for income with one another's support.

Borderline Crisis Shelter also prides themselves on having a close relationship with the LGBTQ community; Judith, who identifies as a bisexual woman herself, says there is a lot of overlay with migration. There are only three shelters that accept lesbian and/or trans community members in their area. She tells us two stories of two of the many trans peoples who have come through the shelter, some with children, the abuse they faced before getting there, and how the Crisis helped them through their asylum.

Given increased militarization by the US, digitalization at the borders, the drug war in Mexico, the increasing dangers for both migrants and human rights defenders, there are a lot of things to fear. "But I strongly oppose living in fear," Judith says. "We really need to take care of each other and build strong networks for protection."

Be welcome to learn more about Borderline Crisis Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/borderlinecrisis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/borderlinecrisiscenter/ Direct donation: www.paypal.me/borderlinecrisiscent

This episode is presented in partnership with the Migration Technology Monitor, on a mission to monitor surveillance technologies, automation, and the use of Artificial Intelligence to screen, track, and make decisions about people on the move. Learn more here: https://www.migrationtechmonitor.com/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Vanessa speaks to CEO/Founder of FreeWorld, Jason Wang, a tech non-profit that trains and places people with criminal histories into the trucking industry.

At the age of 15, Jason was incarcerated for a 1st degree felony (Aggravated Robbery) and given a 12-year sentence at a maximum security prison in Texas. Even though he was released early due to prison reform work he did with Texas senators and went on to obtain 2 masters degrees in four years, no one would hire him.

When he started his own businesses, he faced similar issues when a lead investor pulled out of his deal last minute because of his criminal history.

In this candid discussion, Jason talks about his upbringing, trauma, and poverty as a contributing factor to mass incarceration of children -- and how all of this led to the launch of FreeWorld.

Now, Jason's life mission is to end mass incarceration by equipping 26 million formerly incarcerated people across the nation with the tools, education, and the jobs they need in order to live positive, productive lives.

Be welcome to learn more about FreeWorld here: https://freeworld.org/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Lama Cynthia Jurs' commitment to healing Mother Earth began in the 1990s in the Himalayas, visiting a a 106 year-old Tibetan Buddhist in the Himalayas where she was told to bury Earth Treasure Vases. Since then, Cynthia has buried almost 100 vases across the world, including Libya, Congo, Australia, New Mexico, and more! The journey is meticulously documented in her new book, "Summoned by Earth", released in March 2024.

Her commitment to this mission resulted in her being officially ordained as an Honourary Lama.

In this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023, Cynthia talks to Vanessa about her journey; her training with well-known Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh; being accepted into The Order of Interbeing; and her 8 year journey in writing the book, "Summoned by Earth".

Weaving her experiences and topics of sacred activism, the book also highlights major issues with climate change, violence against women, and Indigenous rights.

Be welcome to follow Cynthia on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cynthiajurs/ and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/earthtreasurevase.org.

Be welcome to learn more about her mission at http://GaiaMandala.net and SummonedbytheEarth.org.

Be welcome to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

It took 6 years for Petra Molnar to write "The Walls Have Eyes", a book showcasing the use of technology in immigration and migrant affairs. As a lawyer and anthropologist specializing in human rights, the book documents both research and true stories of people on the move that she herself has supported in their own journeys to freedom.

Petra joins Vanessa on The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023" to talk about the use of technology

- along US-Mexico and in Greece to facilitate pushback operations;

- in refugee camps used as digital prisons (Kenya);

- that is tested in the Occupied Palestinian territories.

She also discusses how all of this has created the "border industrial complex", largely driven by both the private and public sector, and certain resistance strategies, including hope, in a society that continues to push more technology as an only solution. One such strategy includes her work founding The Migration Technology Monitor.

Ultimately, she invites us to ask ourselves questions around the use of technology, who gets a seat at the table in deciding what technology to use and how, and how we can co-create technologies with people on the move.

The biggest human challenge to Petra? Dehumanization.

"We all hold such complexity with the way we move through the world," she says, "we need to hold that same complexity for people on the move."

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com; and Petra Molnar on Twitter @_PMolnar or https://www.petramolnar.com/ or https://www.migrationtechmonitor.com/

On this episode of The Human Challenge, Leah Rampy, award-winning author of "Earth & Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos", talks about the story of separation and "otherness" we have a society have been living in a predominant Western culture.

To her, the biggest human challenge is that "being human is not about being separate... being human is about being part of that incredibly family tree... we are a leaf on it, but we are not the tree."

Leah offers wise words about attention and intention to invite us to be more human to ourselves navigating a separated society.

"Earth & Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos" was awarded 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards & 2024 National Indie Excellence Awards. Get yours now!

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

There are two main narratives we are told about welcoming immigrants into our countries: that they harm society by taking jobs or that it is our "moral responsibility" to support immigrants. But are these truly representative of the value immigrants offer our society? Is there a third narrative that tells us otherwise?

Zeke Hernandez, Professor at Wharton School of Business and author of "The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers", joins Vanessa on The Human Challenge to share more about this third narrative, the data behind it, and his own personal story about immigrating into the USA.

"The Truth About Immigration" is available now where all books are sold. Check it out on Amazon here.

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

On this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier" 2023, Vanessa speaks with producer, author, activist, Frank Barat; Yara Jamal; and Paula Sahyoun, to learn about how we can move toward collective liberation.

Touching on their own endeavours to support the Palestinian cause, they also discuss the lack of accountability of the media, human rights vs political agenda, how fear has played a huge role in suppressing the voices of Gaza, and most importantly, how it is shifting -- and how YOU can be part of that shift!

We live in a very important moment; Gaza serves as a litmus test for the rest of the world.

"Palestinians were kicked out of Israel... they held onto their key," Frank reminds us. "It's a key through our activism and love and everything else this world could be... when you realize you have this key, it changes everything."

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com; Frank on Instagram @4frankbarat; Yara Jamal on Instagram @yarajamal._ or @freepalestinehalifax; or Paula Sahyoun at palestineimpactcollective.org

Watch this full episode on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@vanessaferlaino

After witnessing her son's challenges with reading, Canadian Olympian-turned-entrepreneur, Julia Rivard, started Shoelace Learning to create engaging applications to improve reading.

Julia shares about her upbringing from Northern Ontario, her journey to the Australian Olympics, and how she approached her "athlete retirement" as an opportunity to reinvent herself -- which led to Shoelace Learning. Julia is particularly passionate about inclusive learning in schools for educators and students; she shares Shoelace's JEDI content review process to maintain their commitment to DEI in education.

Recorded during International Women's Month, Julia and Vanessa get incredibly vulnerable around the challenges of being a woman, the role of shame in society, and how they believe there is a shift in society toward a more matriarchal society.

The Human Challenge is an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier" 2023. Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com.

Learn more about Shoelace Learning at https://shoelacelearning.com/

Nicole White, founder of Moontime Connections, joined Vanessa on "The Human Challenge", an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023" to talk about period inequities in the remote communities.

Moontime Connections, along with their partner True North Aid, collects and distributes period products for women in remote communities across Canada. Nicole also talks about their new research, completed in partnership with the Department of Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, a first-of-its-kind study offers vital and much-needed insights into menstrual-related needs in remote northern communities as well as the experiences of Indigenous menstruators.

Moon Time Connections (MTC), with the help of USask and Dr. Karen Lawson (PhD, Professor and Head) and Adriana Cashwell (Masters student researcher) of the Department of Psychology and Health Studies, surveyed menstruators 15 years old and over in remote northern communities across the country to collect data on the experiences of menstruators in the north, and generate a better understanding of the unique challenges faced by these communities. Key among the findings is the glaring stat that 74% of Indigenous respondents living in remote communities and 55% of Indigenous respondents living in non-remote communities “often” or “sometimes” have issues accessing menstrual products.

Read the report here: https://truenorthaid.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/An-Assessment-of-Menstrual-Related-Needs-in-Northern-Communities-FINAL.pdf

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Have you ever felt so passionate about a cause that it made you swim the English channel?

Well, Poppy Mason-Watts, Chief Growth and Impact Officer of WaterBear, has!

What is WaterBear? It is more than a streaming platform; it is a community! WaterBear is the home of captivating films and thought-provoking series that empower you to lead a meaningful life. You can watch this powerful social good content for free (always!) and without ads.

Poppy joins The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier" and shares all about WaterBear's impact in diversity, film, media, and technology from both their content and business operations; their first time at Sundance.

Poppy also gets personal, divulging the challenges of being a woman in tech, media, and impact; the project that inspired her to swim the English channel to bring awareness to refugees; and some of her other favourite female protagonist

She is most excited about the upcoming series from United Nations Women called “Unsilenced” - a docu-series (3x20') about gender based violence that will be exclusively released on WaterBear!

Be welcome to review the trailer about Unsilenced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNLvecL6vVk

Learn more about Waterbear here: https://www.waterbear.com/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com and Poppy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/poppy-mason-watts-b7753219/

Vanessa co-hosts episode 25 of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier" 2023, with Victor Beausoleil, Executive Director of SETSI, in their first co-branded episode.

Vanessa and Victor talk about shining light cross-sectionally in society from capital flow, equitable communities, the relationship between values and what is considered valuable, and framing what prosperity and abundances from looks like from a colonial, capitalistic, and imperialistic lens. They talk about historical context around money, economy, settler colonialism, and gratitude, compassion, mercy, etc, -- topics that are often not talked about together.

Moving into a final discussion around survival of civilization, they weave in spiritual concepts and practices, including Buddhism, knowledge of Self, cultural imperatives, across current events and other social dynamics.

"The moral arc of the universe bends towards justice," says Victor, quoting MLK, and its ties to equity, and hopes for humanity. "There is no way we came this far to come this far; there will be the point where the right people come together in the right circumstances to defeat the things that have been holding us back for centuries, which are not just people, but an ideal of hoarding."

How can we embody our intentions to bring civilization and humanity together?

The Social Economy through Social Inclusion (SETSI) model aims to tell a story, change minds, shift perspectives, and grow communities. Our coalition was developed as a response to some of the emerging trends and challenges we have collectively witnessed in the social economy, social finance, impact investing and cooperative ecosystems. We are a broad coalition of young executives, social entrepreneurs, community organizers, economists, researchers, lawyers, and social justice advocates.

The Being Human Foundation is a 501c3 in Los Angeles, founded by Vanessa Ferlaino. Visit thebeinghumanfoundation.org to learn more.

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com or Victor on LinkedIn or www.setsi.ca.

In this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023", Vanessa speaks to Co-founder and Chocolate Scientist of Seven Summit Snacks, Kristyn Carriere.

Getting ready for International Women's Month, Kristyn shares the 4-year journey of Seven Summit Snacks and their NEW FLAVOURS; what it's like to start a business with your sister and partner; and navigating starting a business, while starting a family.

Learn about the science of chocolate for both endurance athletes (like Kristyn, who is heading off to Japan for business and to "squeeze in" the Tokyo Marathon, and her sister and co-founder Leanna, who is training for a 30K bike ride to raise awareness for bird migration) and regular every day people like Vanessa who just need to get past that "afternoon low" :)

And if you haven’t yet pre-ordered your NEW flavours (Dark Chocolate Espresso Vanilla and Dark Chocolate Mint), now is the chance to get on the list! Backers will receive their new flavours before they are released in-stores, so this truly is an exclusive product drop! Pre-order now!

https://igg.me/at/Z6bSa1nNDYI/x/36693073#/

Be welcome to follow 7 Summits Snacks at: https://sevensummitssnacks.com/ https://www.instagram.com/7summitssnacks/ https://www.facebook.com/7SummitsSnacks/

Be welcome to follow Kristyn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyncarriere

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

"When you can live in the outer world, but also marry that with the inner world, than you're a new space, a new world."

These are the wise words of Grammy-nominated artist, Valerie June, hailed by the New York Times as one of America's "most intriguing, fully formed new talents".

Hailing from Tennessee, Valerie is a musician, songwriter, poet, illustrator, and author, who honourably served as a "Turnaround Artist" working with students for the President's Committee for the Arts and Humanities, and continues serving through The Kennedy Center.

She has recorded three critically claimed best selling solo albums and has also written songs for legendary artists such as Mavis Staples and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

She just published "Light Beams" an interactive workbook that builds upon themes of mindfulness and authentic connection presented in her debut poetry collection, Maps of the Modern World.

Be inspired to choose a path of kindness and love in every moment, every dark day, on every page.

In this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier" 2023, Valerie offers invaluable insights around "radical imagination" and its power to create a new humanity.

Touching on her new book, "Light Beams: A Workbook For Being Your Badass Self", she shares how we can harness both softness and hardness in our light, the light of the spirit that we embody, and the lightness to just being a human, and standing and speaking in your truth, in your power.

Lastly, we learn how the practice of staying grounded contributes to what she calls "Joy Activism", bringing people together to have constructive spaces for disagreement, with R-E-S-P-E-C-T (like Aretha Franklin says!), and to do so mindfully.

"We have to be alchemists," she says. "We have that power."

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com and Valerie June @thevaleriejune on Instagram or https://www.valeriejune.com/

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and executive director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). She sits on the executive committee for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and on the steering committee for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Osprey writes about climate justice, relationships with nature, women in leadership, and other topics as featured in The Guardian, Earth Island Journal, The Ecologist, Ms. Magazine and J U S T released her new book with New Society Publishers, "The Story Is In Our Bones" on Jan 30th 2024.

In this episode, Osprey tells us about patriarchy, colonialism, the shift to matriarchy, the power of women, the ties between gender-based violence and climate justice, and closed this discussion with its relevance to what we are witnessing in Gaza today.

Vanessa says Osprey's "The Story is in Our Bone" reads like a documentary. Weaving in her own experiences & explorations, historical context, and cultural learnings, Osprey offers readers an opportunity to reflect on our own healing within the realms of worldviews, the limitations of current dominant culture, and through the interconnectivity of many social injustices. Ultimately, she invites us inward for the sake of collective healing and the purpose to remake our world."

The Story is in Our Bones is available where all books are sold.

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Watch this full episode on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@vanessaferlaino/featured