Episode 1 – What This Is & Why It Matters

In our debut episode, artist, educator, and Aymara Bolivian storyteller Sharoll Fernandez Siñani lays out the guiding ideas for the series:

• Constructive Disagreement – why listening with curiosity can turn conflict into growth.
• Collective Memory & Historical Trauma – how the past lives on in families, communities, and nations, and why facing it is essential for justice.
• The Healing Power of Art & Poetry – the unique way creative expression helps transform pain into understanding and action.

Along the way Sharoll shares:

• a real-life story from Bolivia that shows how colonial trauma echoes across generations;
• a short excerpt from her own poetry;
• research-backed insights from psychology and conflict-resolution practice;
• an invitation to breathe, feel, and reflect as you listen.

Key Takeaways

• Disagreement isn’t the enemy; how we disagree determines whether we build bridges or burn them.
• Communities can inherit unhealed wounds; acknowledging them is the first step toward collective healing.
• Art speaks to hearts when facts alone fall short, creating space for empathy and change.

Resources & Further Reading

• Psychology Today on constructive conflict and “naïve realism.”
• Research on historical trauma in Indigenous communities (tpcjournal.nbcc.org, University of Calgary).
• Elizabeth Jelin on memory as an arena of struggle.
• MacArthur-funded community arts projects using murals for gang-violence healing (Chicago).

(Full citation list and transcript at sharollsinani.com)

Connect & Support

• Website: sharollsinani.com
• Book: To Senkata and My Dead – art-poetry volume with an educational guide for constructive disagreement.
• Instagram / TikTok: @SharollSinani
• Newsletter: Sign up for reflections, poetry readings, and upcoming workshops.

If this episode moved you, please follow, rate, and share—it helps others find the show and join the conversation.

Host & Production: Sharoll Fernandez Siñani
Intro/Outro Music: “Amanecer,” by Carlos Macusaya for the painting series "Metamorphosis" by Sharoll Sinani
Recording & Editing: Descript
Distribution: Transistor

Thank you for listening—and remember to breathe, listen, and create.