Breaking the Ocean

“Interview with poet Khashayar Mohammadi starts with an exploration of one of the most famous Persian exports, the poet Rumi, and what gets lost in translation.  We explore the boundaries of cultural celebration vs. appropriation, the impacts of immigration and how discovering purpose can lead one home.” In recognition of Nowrooz, the Persian New Year on March 21, [Read More...] The post Episode 10 — For the Love of Rumi: Poetry, Culture and Appropriation first appeared on Annahid Dashtgard.

Interview with artist and gallery owner Mehdi Fourazandi depicts his journey as a leading young artist and student revolutionary to becoming an artist in exile searching for meaning and a place to call home. We talk how trauma connects with purpose, the complexity of identity, and the unique perspective Persian artists offer from one of the richest cultures in human history. The post Episode 9 — Dreaming Home: Repression, Revolution and Repair first appeared on Annahid Dashtgard.

Annahid Dashtgard narrates this intimate story of the pandemic as exile, and the land as a source of resilience and hope. The post Episode 8 – Land of the Silver Birch: Pandemic as a form of Exile appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.

Organizations are the interface between society and the individual. In the midst of great societal upheaval around issues of race and equity, we’re taking you inside a couple of large organizations on both sides of the Canadian border to see what it takes to create inclusion from the inside-out, one individual, one team, one department at a time. Join us for this conversation with leading equity experts— Nicholas Davis, Director of Engagement and Inclusion, CBC (Canada), Tobie Mathew, Program Manager, City of Toronto and Angela Russell, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, CUNA Mutual Group (US) about the call, cost and contribution of leading efforts for racial justice inside organizations. The post Episode 7 – Diversifying Organizations, Leading Inclusion: Tales from the Trenches appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.

We’ve seen a lot about anti-black racism in policing and during this pandemic, but what about the everyday insidious ways anti-Black racism is perpetuated in our organizations and by many well-intentioned leaders? Join us for this frank conversation by two leading black educators and consultants on what anti-Black racism looks like and how to interrupt it. The post Episode 6 – Challenging anti-Black Racism in Organizations appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.

Host Annahid Dashtgard reflects on the ability to make meaning in the face of hardship, a particularly necessary skill in this time of global pandemic. Reading an excerpt from her own life story — Breaking the Ocean, A Memoir of Race, Rebellion and Reconciliation – Dashtgard gives insight into the strength that always underlies the most difficult of situations, and offers prompts for listeners to find their own. The post Episode 5 – Storytelling as Resilience appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.

In a thriving democracy, unions are a necessary counterpoint to totalitarian power. Yet it seems that general literacy about the labour movement is on the decline— for eg. many of us would be hard pressed to name the current elected leader of our national labour congress while we can sing every word to the latest Gaga release! This episode is a love letter to unions: the why and the how, the good and the ugly, their challenges and their vision. With us is Dr. D’Arcy Martin, who has taught, researched, led and acted in the labour movement for over 4 decades and is author of union bestseller, Thinking Union: Activism and Education in Canada’s Labour Movement. The post Episode 4 – For the Love of Unions appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.

We’re into fall again – that time of year where most of our young folks are in the first flush of a new school year. And even though schools today generally have a much better grip on preventing and dealing with bullying, harassment and other forms of exclusionary behaviour than a generation ago, we still have a lot further to go! How can we as parents and caregivers proactively teach our kids the opposite of these behaviours? Here are some tips on how to embed critical thinking, empathic leadership and inner confidence in our little ones. Funnily enough, this is one of those places where the old adage “what they learn in kindergarten is true for life”, applies – these tips translate for us adults as well! The post Episode 3 – Super Kids: Tips for Teaching Empathy appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.

A visit to New Orleans: modern day tourist haven, historical slave port. Listen to this courageous convo with key American voices on how this past influences the present, and what debt remains in our collective hands. With Eddie Moore Jr, founder of the White Privilege Conference; John Cummings III, Owner of the Whitney Plantation (the only plantation documenting the history of slavery in America); and Bryan Nichols and Medria Connolly, Clinical Psychologist/Activist Scholars actively researching the psychological case for Reparations. The post Episode 2 – Healing America: The Psychological Case for Reparations appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.

Heroes in my Head is a heartwrenching and hopeful memoir about the resiliency required to facilitate wholeness, both in the world and in oneself. Overcoming childhood sexual abuse through discovery of multiple personalities, Judy describes how the heroes in her head allowed her to be a hero in the world. Judy’s book is a reminder that what we marginalize can sometimes be what saves us in the end. The post Episode 1 – The Heroes in Judy’s Head appeared first on Breaking the Ocean.