In this episode, Sonja and Jamie welcome nationally recognized education leader and social impact strategist Justine González. Justine shares her journey of self-acceptance, lessons learned from leading change in some of the country’s largest school districts, and how she helps educators navigate stress, transformation, and the evolving classroom. Together they unpack the power of honest self-reflection, the importance of listening to all voices in a community, and the promise and pitfalls of technology in our schools. Join us for an inspiring conversation on resilience, leadership, and what it takes to reimagine education for everyone.

With each new episode, Season 3 will focus on the lessons we can learn from permaculture—a modern philosophy built on indigenous traditions co-developed over millennia as we evolved in our environment—as both a land-based practice and a framework for living. Within a structure provided by the twelve principles of permaculture, hosts Sonja Ernst and Jamie Hardy discuss how the philosophy’s core ethics—Earth care, people care, and fair share—extend beyond gardening to shape business, communication, and personal growth in ways that will help shape our future for the better.

Mary Winchester and Sarah Defur’s stories reveal how unexpected detours can lead to purpose, leadership, and resilience. Mary’s path began at seventeen in the Army Reserves, evolving into a vital biomedical engineering role during Operation Desert Storm. Sarah, once set on becoming a veterinarian, found her calling in firefighting and emergency medicine. In this powerful season two extra about the stratospheric highs and chasmic depths, both women share how they faced life’s toughest moments—Mary’s sudden job loss and Sarah’s heartbreaking loss of a child—with strength, faith, and the sometimes awkward but always well-meaning support of their communities. Navigating high-stakes careers in male-dominated fields, they reflect on stepping into leadership, challenging norms, and forming deep bonds through shared experiences. In a refreshing take on our eternal question, are we ever really “there,” or is life just chapters of becoming?

Sonja and Jamie interview expert crisis negotiator Scott Walker, author of the recent book, “Order Out of Chaos,” to learn lessons for team leaders who find themselves navigating crisis management and adversarial confrontations. 

The episode dives into the importance of honest, direct conversations, even when there are fundamental disagreements on the table. They also discuss strategies to maintain respect and fluid communication among all people involved using a clear understanding of both sides’ motivations. Take a peek into a high-stakes world that actually has many parallels in our everyday lives.

Greg spent his elementary school years analyzing box office statistics to understand how marketing and production strategies can make or break films of all genres, and is on the front line of implementing new AI tools in creative industries today. The conversation highlights the unique hurdles faced by independent film in the streaming era, and how AI tools are now pivotal in predicting and shaping success across genres. From personalized education to challenges faced by CTOs and creative producers alike, Greg advocates for democratizing creative resources to foster inclusive workforce (and creative) development. One can lament the incursion of AI into creative spaces, but what if its cost-effectiveness was the only thing that made a work of art possible to produce at all?

Magnified by the high-stakes and perfectionist culture ingrained in medical training, the conversation covers generational approaches to wellness and workplace dynamics, and walks through effective communication strategies that embrace diversity and humanize the often unacknowledged struggles clinicians face to provide real-world adaptations to reach professionals where they are. Dr. Byrne's optimism about a synergistic future where AI, communication and healing intersect opens up exciting possibilities for the future of medical practice, which in many ways is already here—we just need to see it.

The future of work in today’s AI world is unwritten, and successful leaders must be observant, flexible, and responsive to the people they serve. Rather than asking themselves, what kind of leader do I want to be, or who do I want to be in the world, the better question is: what kind of world shall we build?

As a complement to the core Are We There Yet? season, Sonja and Jamie release extras that explore how we get “there,” and the diverse ways leaders have shaped their own lives and those of the people around them. In this beautiful and profoundly personal season one extra, Sonja and Jamie speak with Pasha Khaledpour, a high-end fashion and luxury brand director, to explore his incredible path from a childhood scarred by tragic loss in war-torn Iran to Miami’s top shelf design districts. Dive deep into Pasha’s world as they discuss how a family’s shared values can shape a life’s trajectory, and uncover the true essence of luxury (spoiler alert: it’s not about what something costs, but about connection, authenticity, trust, and loyalty).

As a complement to the core Are We There Yet? season, Sonja and Jamie release extras that explore how we get “there,” and the diverse ways leaders have shaped their own lives and those of the people around them. In this second season one extra, Michael reflects on his personal journey from burnout to dealer to pastor, and how his fascinating life experiences shaped his role as an effective communicator and community builder today. In this enlightening episode, Michael walks through how he cultivated self-awareness to claim a direction for his innate drive, and reminds us how critical authenticity is to true leadership.

Our conversation with Dr. Strauss sheds light on the Surging Seas project’s revelations, achieved using advanced neural networks to create accurate global coastal maps that identify at-risk populations who can be prioritized for local outreach and action. We also explore the transformative power of visual storytelling through initiatives like Mapping Choices and the brand-new FloodVision, which offer interactive, photorealistic depictions of future sea levels and storm surges for local leaders to deploy in their planning and advocacy campaigns. We discover how data, technology, and visual storytelling can combine to serve as a catalyst for people to tell their own stories and make meaningful change where it matters most: close to home.

This episode is essential for anyone passionate about bridging the gaps between climate science, public understanding, and effective action.

Their guest is Ami Fields-Meyer, a political strategist and former policy advisor in the Biden-Harris administration, who worked on the creation of the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. This fascinating and far-reaching discussion touches on whether and how to make AI accessible to society’s most underserved people; how governments, from local to federal, each play a unique role in ensuring an equitable rollout of this new technology; and what lessons can be learned from historical rapid adoption of private-sector products before we knew all the externalities (think asbestos). Will our obsession with efficiency and convenience override the needs of our most vulnerable? As AI continues to take up most of the oxygen in the room, this comprehensive conversation is as timely as it is crucial.

Using design as a vehicle for empathy and engagement, the two collaborators and ecological communicators reflect on technology’s role in supporting the resilience of the human spirit in the face of political short-sightedness and ecological amnesia that allows our fellow beings to slip away unnoticed during this sixth extinction we are living through. Resisting the cultural tide pushing us towards a baseline of fear, aggression, and self-preservation, the conversation explores the inherent kindness humans can display in times of crisis, and how we can access generosity and community to document changes around us, and learn from our collective history to shape the trajectory of our future.

This episode, Sonja & Jamie welcome associate professor of sociology at Rutgers University Dr. Rina Bliss to challenge the concepts that have traditionally defined human intelligence. How do our established societal structures stifle creativity and limit individuals from reaching their full potential? How can we cultivate imagination and resilience amidst the surge of automation? Can an ethically wielded AI leave us the space we need to engage more deeply in mindfulness and the human connection we so deeply crave?

This conversation is for leaders, educators, and learners alike to spark ideas on how we can recognize and harness our greatest asset—our distinctive intelligence—to forge our path forward through an increasingly uncertain future.

As a complement to the core Are We There Yet? season, Sonja and Jamie release extras that explore how we get “there,” and the diverse ways leaders have shaped their own lives and those of the people around them. In this first extra, elite Spartan racer Nick Miles pulls back the curtain on the indomitable spirit of teamwork that unites competitors, transforming daunting obstacles into shared triumphs.

Nick shares his journey through the mud while imparting valuable lessons in leadership and the power of a collaborative mindset. The conversation explores how the dynamics within a Spartan team mirror effective leadership strategies, driving each member towards personal and collective success that resonate far beyond the course. Join us for an energizing discussion that's as much about personal growth as it is about leaping over fire pits and scaling walls.

We dissect the importance of open communication in quelling the anxieties spurred by AI advancements and discuss the intriguing possibility of AI as a 'GPS of human behaviors'. We distinguish between raw emotional data and the brain's interpretation of feelings as a cornerstone for effectively managing our emotional landscapes—whether in leadership roles or personal relationships. We grapple with the paradox of perceived disconnection in an era of hyper-connectivity, the irreplaceable value of non-verbal cues, and the immediacy of genuine interaction. 

We also talk about emojis and beloved—or dreaded—ellipses as a spontaneous and nuanced exchange of non-verbal cues. You know? 😀😃😄😉🙃😎

Our discussion ultimately affirms the enduring power of human emotion and empathy in the face of AI's ever-growing presence, and invites us all to foster deeper, more meaningful connections in our lives.

Dr. Peters shares her insights into the importance of cross-disciplinary communication and how her team's empirical research at UC Irvine—ranging from perception studies to confidence in decision-making—bridges the gap between theoretical neuroscience and computational models. Do we have free will? Do our decisions stem from gut instincts or conscious deliberation? How does evolution and experience influence our behavior? The exploration of these ideas not only deepens our grasp of human and artificial consciousness, but also invites introspection into the very essence of what it means to be alive and self-aware.

This episode isn't just about binary and code; it's a philosophical journey into mechanical intelligence and the moral morass that comes with defining right or wrong for technology that learns from our every input. We address the importance of nurturing fundamental skills in humans, and the enduring value of independent thought; we reflect on the tools reshaping our lives and how they might sharpen or dull the human experience; we dive into how we can pass along the evolutionary intelligence of a human body to machines that help our society function, on a timescale infinitesimally shorter than our own. Join Sonja and Jamie as they gaze into the crystal ball of technology's symbiotic future with humankind.