A New Normal

Cultivating connection, community and conversation one episode at a time.

Recent Episodes

Stories matter: the invisible war
9
May 27, 2021

Stories matter: the invisible war

This time on the podcast, the story of an invisible war. Shots are fired. Injuries sustained. But how do you fight an enemy you can't see — one that may not even exist?
Stories matter: the elephant whisperer
8
April 16, 2021

Stories matter: the elephant whisperer

An armchair safari to a place where humans and elephants are engaged in a deadly conflict over resources — and the one man who can speak to both sides.
History matters: not Gone With the Wind
7
March 12, 2021

History matters: not Gone With the Wind

Confederate soldiers never reached the US Capitol during the Civil War, but the "Confederate flag" (which was actually the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia) finally arrived in the building on January 6. Join us for a deep dive into the question: why does that symbol still speak to people so long after the Civil War? The answers lie in a disinformation campaign that took root in this country 155 years ago, and still impacts us today. This time on the podcast: the Lost Cause — and the
History matters: heroes or traitors?
5
Jan. 26, 2021

History matters: heroes or traitors?

The divisions that have taken hold of the country are playing out not only in our public lives, but also in some of our closest relationships. What drives the tensions are our very different answers to that perennial question: What do you do when you believe your country is heading in the wrong direction? In this episode, we look to history — and the story of a man who has been called “one of the most troubling figures in American History”— for insight.
Plan Be: embracing "radical hospitality" with Mike Gray
4
Dec. 10, 2020

Plan Be: embracing "radical hospitality" with Mike Gray

Is Santa real? You bet. These days he goes by the name Mike Gray, a retired jack of all trades who lives not at the North Pole, but in a recycled house in the Arizona desert—when he’s not with the Lakota on Pine Ridge or the Seri people in Mexico. He's given up the red suit for a work shirt, jeans and a straw hat. And he's stopped making toys in favor of making gardens, building houses and furnishing clinics for people who need them. The sleigh filled with gifts? He traded it in for a van full o
Plan Be: warrior turned potter Matt Marasch
4
Nov. 19, 2020

Plan Be: warrior turned potter Matt Marasch

In the first of our “be the change” stories — stories about people who are being the change they want to see in their own communities — we talk with Matt Marasch, former infantry paratrooper and green beret turned potter and ...