The short story is I’m a retired broadcaster and storyteller who went back to school after a long career in media. I've always been curious and I like learning from others and hearing about their journeys. So, I went back to school in 2015 to get a masters degree and I'm now in the final stages of a PhD program with UBC's Social Justice Institute. I have five kids, Paisley, Heath, Shalon (RIP), Ally and Evan and live with my partner (Betty) on Bowen Island, British Columbia.

I’ve  been talking with people on and off the air and more recently online for over fifty years. When I was retired from Bell Media I went back to  school and hooked my microphone up to my laptop, and continued talking  with activists, academics, artists, and NGO's. I often have the opportunity to talk with  change makers around the world working on interesting projects and share  them as well. It’s a little DIY from my cabin in the woods on the west  coast of Canada, but it allows me to connect with some amazing people  and share their stories with you.

I am hoping that beyond interesting and entertaining story telling, The Conversation Lab and other podcast projects that I'm working on will be reflected in my  academic, on-air, and online work. This legacy project intersects  with my PhD program with UBC's Social Justice Institute.  "Sticks and Stones, Roots and Bones; Exploring the Power of Words in a Polarized World," digs into  the science, psychology,  cultural, and emotional components of conversation, and what they have  in common to gain insight and improve on existing knowledge of how we  engage with each other whether about climate, race, gender, culture,  politics, or social justice issues.  I believe this work can contribute  to positive social change. 

Language  is a powerful tool when we're not arguing and actually listening to  each other as it allows us to influence, regulate, persuade, and learn  how to trust each other. The ability to listen and to ask generous  questions brings out the best in those asking, as well as those  answering. As we learn to get out of the way, we  may begin to trust  each other and move beyond a public discourse of certainty or  absolutism. Achieving common ground doesn't necessarily have to be the  goal. By letting go of the smaller questions and enlarging our language  by going deeper, and becoming more vulnerable, conversations warm and  open as they go below the surface. Like a key to a lock, or finding the  combination to the tumbler that opens that secret room, a beautiful  question is an ambitious yet actionable question that can begin to shift  the way we feel, perceive, or think about something or someone.  

The  Conversation Lab, Sticks & Stones, Roots & Bones, The Bowen Island Podcast, as well as Climate Change  & the Many Faces of Denial are all produced on the territories of  the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh  (Tsleil-waututh) Nations. Our gratitude and thanks to them, and the many  not for profit organizations and community groups  for their support  and encouragement.

The  Conversation Lab air's weekly at CFRO FM, campus and community radios stations across Canada, and wherever you listen to podcasts. If you know anyone or an organization with a story to  share, please let them know about us. We can be found at co-op radio.org  or contact me directly don@theconversationlab. 

Heartfelt  thanks to my academic guides, Dr.'s Minelle Mahtani, Janice Stewart,  Denise Ferreira da Silva, Andy Hoffman, Jan Fook, Naomi Klein, Steven  Duguid, and Leila Harris for their encouragement and help with this  work.