Podcast by Mr. Smith Studios
In a time when technology is advancing faster than you can swipe, the old ways we were initially taught to think, learn, and create may no longer be serving us. How can a modern business succeed in the technological wild west? Better yet, how can a modern business thrive off the onslaught of possibility? According to John Banks, artist, Chair of the new MA in Innovation and Creative Technology program at John F. Kennedy University, and speaker for our latest Soapbox discussion, one place we can look is artists, who have always been the first adopters of new technologies, and who have always had a different way of working than has traditionally been taught. “An artist is more interested in questions than answers,” explains Banks,. “If you’re asking questions, it keeps your mind open to possibilities, which is one of the keys to innovation.” Whether you’re crazy for technology or concerned about technology, join us to hear more about problem solving, troubleshooting, and just plain playing around from an artist’s point of view.
So, you have an issue. You are upset about something. You see an injustice and you see nothing being done about it. The leadership in your country or state are failing to address an issue that affects the wellbeing of the people. You feel helpless. What can you do, especially if it’s just you? “The answer,” says Andrea MacRae, local grassroots organizer and activist, “is that it’s never just you.” There are others out there who are feeling the same way you do and the first step toward doing something about it is to find them. Once you have found each other, you can start organizing from the bottom up. What it looks like from there will be the subject of this timely and urgent Soapbox talk. MacRae, who is responsible for organizing 1200 members of the up and coming state elections-focused organization, Sister District, will share hers and other stories on what it takes to participate in a grassroots effort. How did the Women’s March get organized? How are the Parkland students organizing? How can you personally put together something small that’s part of a larger movement? Bring your selves and your ideas to this talk to get clear on those formative first steps and get a sense of what much-needed effect your efforts could yield down the road.
Sex and sexuality in relationships is a topic infrequently discussed in public, and yet, ironically, it is the public, cultural sphere that informs many of our ideas around how we think we should feel and behave sexually. According to Pam Costa, sex and relationship coach, writer, speaker, and graduate from the Holistic Counseling program at John F. Kennedy University, many of these ideas are myths that all too often cause damage to longterm relationships. “We receive many negative messages about sexuality from culture, religion, family of origin, and personal experience that can result in a landmine of blame and shame around sex in our relationships,” explains Costa. The idea, for example, that we should automatically know what we want sexually and that our partners should automatically know as well, does not lead in productive or intimate directions. What would happen if, instead of unconsciously subscribing to these imagined truths, we connected to what our bodies have to say?
What does an ancient community in Norway have to tell us about leadership in the modern world? Turns out, a culture that has been around for 10,000 years has quite a bit of wisdom to share, if only someone were to ask. Our speaker for this enlightening edition of the Thursday Soapbox at John F. Kennedy University did just that. Marilyn Fowler, PhD and Former Chair of the Consciousness and Transformation Studies program, traveled to the northern lands of her ancient, blond ancestors, the Sami, with a question: What makes a good leader? Fowler’s findings changed her life and lead to the publication of her new book, Blond Roots: A Cross-Cultural Journey of Identity. While discovering her own ancestral roots, Fowler discovered a worldview of genuine equality, and what it means to be a leader within that world. “They believe it is their job as leaders to help everyone else that is within their sphere of influence be as successful as possible,” she explains. Much of the time, this simply has to do with listening. While this is not exactly a foreign concept in terms of relating with others, is it not necessarily the type of approach we have come to expect from our leaders. What if it were?
Social justice. Perhaps this is something you’ve heard about, but are not entirely sure what it entails. Conversely, maybe it’s something you’ve been focusing your entire work and life around for years! This installment of John F. Kennedy University’s Thursday Soapbox will be an evening of synthesis, pertinent to anyone interested in or already involved in social justice-oriented work and ways of being. Together, we will explore how our philanthropic efforts can be geared toward more equitably distributing resources within the community. Your speakers for the evening are movers and shakers at JFK University whose work exemplifies a range of social justice-oriented programming. Diversity and Inclusion Officer Benisa Berry and Sanford Institute of Philanthropy Director Solomon Belette will demystify the concept and equip us with its basic tenets. Additionally, input from local representatives will illustrate the types of work already occurring in the community. Finally, resources available through the university for furthering and fortifying both new and existing initiatives will be highlighted. “This is an opportunity to clarify the meaning and dimensions of social justice,” says Dr. Berry. “It is also an interaction to get feedback from the community to see what their interests are and how we might get more coordinated with them.” Whether you’re in search of resources, community, or clarification, our speakers are at your service. See you there!
We all desire a guide. We all desire an all-knowing, supremely intelligent source of ultimate wisdom that will help us move assuredly through our lives. But where is this source? Is it on top of mountain somewhere? Is it some elusive stranger we long to meet someday? According to Meenal Chaudhari, professor of body-oriented psychotherapy at John F. Kennedy University, it is deep within our bodies and available to us at all times. “Body-wisdom is the intelligence and spirit that permeates every cell and extends out of the physical body as well.” In this experiential edition of JFK University’s Thursday Soapbox, it is this intelligence that Chaudhari invites us to explore. How can we access our body’s wisdom? “The process,” Chaudhari explains, “requires getting quiet and going within, putting your attention inside into the deeper layers of yourself.” With practice, she says, it gets easier. The more we cultivate the ability to tap into our body’s deep inner wisdom, the more this resource will become readily available to us. Curious? Join us for a presentation and guided visualizations into the body’s deeper pathways, where new routes toward self growth might just be waiting.
“When we meet someone, as human beings we are trained to put them in boxes,” explains Ora Prochovnick, JD, Professor of Law at John F. Kennedy University, “but this is not necessarily healthy anymore.” Literal boxes, such as the ones we must check off when filling out personal forms and paperwork, often require a person to identify themselves with one of two traditional gender markers, male or female. Mental boxes also exist, in terms of the assumptions we make about a person upon meeting them. While one instance falls in the legal realm and the other in the social sphere, both sets of boxes affect the way people are treated and tend to have a personal impact. In this exciting edition of JFK University’s Thursday Soapbox, Prochovnick and Professor Robbin Rasbury, PsyD, will join forces to offer timely considerations of gender identity through a holistic lens. This talk will offer crucial, compassionate, and practical insight into aligning both our policies and ourselves with the reality of the gender spectrum. Whether you’re concerned or simply curious, join us for this unique, collaborative presentation and see what it’s all about!
Annie Mattingley, author of The After Death Chronicles and an alumni of the Consciousness Studies program at JFK University, has long been fascinated by consciousness. And yet, the possibility of communicating with the dead was not an idea that was ever on her radar. It is, of course, the subject of her new book, but she didn’t choose it. The subject, Mattingley explains, chose her. It happened while she was grieving the loss of her daughter. Out of nowhere, Mattingley began entering into daily, verbal communication with the deceased member of her family. The experience was deeply healing. Then, another incredible thing happened. Mattingley began cautiously talking to her friends about her communication with the afterlife only to discover, much to her surprise, that everyone seemed to have a similar story to share, some of them people she had known for a long time. “I felt like I had come upon this huge secret…I just became fascinated that this was happening and no one’s talking about it. It became something that I wanted to illuminate for our world,” she says. Grief is one of the most difficult things any of us will ever have to deal with. What happens after death is a question that occupies everyone’s mind. But what if you could communicate with your dead and they said, “I’m okay?” How could this change everything? Join us at the Thursday Soapbox to find out!
No one really wants to think about death let alone plan for their death, but estate planning is a healthy and important process that honors your life and safeguards your loved ones. Drafting a will and assigning power of attorney are concrete steps that ensure your values will be reflected in the way your affairs are handled after your passing. As opposed to being morbid, estate planning is ultimately an affirmation of your life. “It’s a way to make sure that what you spent your lifetime caring about and gathering…continues,” says Ora Prochovnick, JD, who will be leading us in this important discussion of a subject that no one really wants to talk about. Join us for this edition of the Thursday Soapbox where at least we’ll be talking about it together! By the way, estate planning is for everyone. Even if you don’t think you really have an estate, you do! Even if you think you can’t afford to pay for the service, you have options. Exploring these options now will help avoid certain costs later and become a great gift to your survivors at a time when they will need it the most.
Psychology is one of the top majors in the United States, but where do psych majors go after school? As opposed to the notion that the degree limits students to becoming therapists, counselors, or researchers, the truth is that people with this versatile background are widespread throughout the workforce. “Part of what we want to do is help students find their niche,” says Dr. Steven Del Chiaro, Associate Professor in the College of Psychology and host of this edition of the Soapbox series. With experience working in a range of professions relevant to the field, Dr. Del Chiaro’s intention for the talk is to offer students or anyone interested in pursuing a psychology degree a broader sense of what is possible, and to provide techniques for uncovering their unique path. The presentation will begin by taking a look at the differences students can expect to find between the classroom and the professional world. Participants will then learn how to conduct an informational interview, a step which Dr. Del Chiaro suggests is crucial to the career discovery process. Participants will also learn how to market themselves and construct an elevator pitch. The presentation will conclude with a survey of various career possibilities. Thursday Soapbox Lecture and Event Series John F. Kennedy University Lecture and Event Series Thursday Soapbox, continues the tradition of hosting cutting-edge thinkers and practitioners from around the world. Covering a wide range of topics of vital importance in today’s world, the “Thursday Soapbox Series” will bring together students, faculty, and interested members of the public to spread knowledge, spark dialogue; and create a more informed, involved citizenry. Go to jfku.edu/events to see the full line up of speakers and events.
While serving as a Platoon Leader with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq, Joshua Mantz was shot and killed by an enemy sniper. He flatlined for 15 minutes before being revived. That 15 minutes, and the decade-long period of turbulent healing that came in its wake, formed the basis for the work that has come to be the focal point of Mantz’s second life. What does it really mean to survive? How can those of us who have experienced trauma recover from that frontline and regain control over our lives? According to Mantz, “The only force of nature powerful enough to overcome the emotional impacts of traumatic events is a strong sense of community and human connection.” Charting his brave passage through the harrowing realms of emotional disturbance, The Beauty of a Darker Soul offers a pathway to reemergence, aiming to give others the strength to overcome their own experiences. Having shared his story at TEDx and hundreds of other events, Mantz’s next stop is our Thursday Night Soapbox! Join us for a presentation and book signing of this important new work. Proceeds from book sales will support JFK U’s VALOR Center, which serves and supports veterans in their academic pursuits. Thursday Soapbox Lecture and Event Series John F. Kennedy University Lecture and Event Series Thursday Soapbox, continues the tradition of hosting cutting-edge thinkers and practitioners from around the world. Covering a wide range of topics of vital importance in today’s world, the “Thursday Soapbox Series” will bring together students, faculty, and interested members of the public to spread knowledge, spark dialogue; and create a more informed, involved citizenry. Go to jfku.edu/events to see the full line up of speakers and events.
“A lot of people think of PTSD dreams as a symptom that needs to go away. I’m seeing them as the opposite of that,” says Karen Jaenke, Chair of the Consciousness & Transformative Studies Program. “They’re a harbinger of the healing that wants to occur.” Jaenke believes that all dreams come in service of healing and growth, gently urging the dreamer to experience some part of their psyche that had been previously blocked and that is trying to resurface. But the PTSD dream is special. While still an initiation of the healing process, the PTSD dream is not so gentle as the rest. Instead, it is a terrifying recurrence that seems to condense all the dreamer’s combat experiences into one high intensity event. Join us for this intriguing installment of the Soapbox series, and prepare to take a deep dive into the psyche. Jaenke will focus on the special case of PTSD dreams to highlight the key processes and exciting potential of dreamwork in general. Exploring the example of a war dream, participants will witness the incredible capacity of dreams to restore our experiences and expand the personality. Thursday Soapbox Lecture and Event Series John F. Kennedy University Lecture and Event Series Thursday Soapbox, continues the tradition of hosting cutting-edge thinkers and practitioners from around the world. Covering a wide range of topics of vital importance in today’s world, the “Thursday Soapbox Series” will bring together students, faculty, and interested members of the public to spread knowledge, spark dialogue; and create a more informed, involved citizenry. Go to jfku.edu/events to see the full line up of speakers and events.
Let’s face it—no one has ever heard the term dyslexia and felt warm and fuzzy about it. Instead, the term conjures thoughts of deficiency, difficulty, and a fate of academic underachievement. But Julie Cosenza, academic counselor at JFK University, aims to reconstruct limiting beliefs such as these surrounding learning disabilities. With Cosenza at the helm, Thursday’s Soapbox will serve as an exciting step toward spinning stale disability narratives into constructive new outlooks. While writing her dissertation in Critical Communication Pedagogy, Cosenza noticed how dyslexia was only ever described in terms of deficiency—the inability to do this or that. She wondered, was it possible to define dyslexia without using such language? As opposed to viewing the condition as a hindrance to education, Cosenza asks, “What if we viewed dyslexia simply its own way of knowing? What might we learn about the positive aspects it has to offer higher education? What possibilities for new knowledge production might we discover?” When it comes to thinking about ability in general, these questions drive a powerful shift in perspective applicable within the sphere of higher education and beyond.
This episode we listen in on Jason Butler, Assistant Professor for John F. Kennedy University's College of Psychology. Jason is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the Holistic Counseling department at John F. Kennedy University. Jason has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Depth Psychology and masters in Transpersonal Psychology. Jason's book Archetypal Psychotherapy: The Clinical Legacy of James Hillman is is currently available.
Welcome to the 2018 season of John F. Kennedy University's Soapbox Podcast. In this episode we sit down with Michael and Megan from John F. Kennedy University Communications Team and David Valentin of Mr. Smith Studios to discuss the upcoming Soapbox season and format change to launch the Soapbox Podcast.
John Banks And Dr. David Peterzel by Mr. Smith Studios
Cultivating The Concrete Jungle by Mr. Smith Studios
Fall Ferguson Healthcare Crisis by Mr. Smith Studios
Dr. Rasbury And Dr. Mock Courageous Conversations by Mr. Smith Studios
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
