What if the straight path from high school to college isn't the best way to prepare our kids for life? Abby Falik graduated from Stanford exhausted and burnt out—despite playing the academic game perfectly. That experience led her to spend two decades creating alternatives, founding Global Citizen Year and raising over $65 million to help thousands of young people take transformative bridge years.

Now, with The Flight School, Abby is challenging the entire paradigm. She believes our kids are missing something essential: wisdom, a sense of what it means to be human, and the capacity to navigate uncertainty. Through immersive experiences and "the power of the pause," she's reimagining the transition from high school into a rebellious rite of passage that builds a compass, not just credentials. And she also regularly shares her emerging observations and wisdoms via substack. 

Why This Matters

→ The race to college can create hollow achievers rather than wise humans. Many kids work hard to be accepted to college only to arrive exhausted, directionless, and disconnected from any deeper sense of purpose or meaning. Achievement isn't the same as wisdom, and credentials don't teach you what it means to be human.

→ The world our kids face requires a different kind of preparation. In an era of unprecedented uncertainty and rapid change, following a predetermined path won't serve them. They need to develop their own internal compass, learn to navigate ambiguity, and discover what they actually care about; that requires a new approach. 

→ The pause isn't a detour—it's the point. Taking time between high school and college isn't falling behind; it's an intentional rite of passage that can fundamentally change a young person's trajectory. When we give kids permission to step off the treadmill and into the unknown, they discover who they are and what matters—which changes everything that comes after. 

When your kids hit the teenage years, the conversations get harder—and more important. How do you talk about sex, failure, relationships, money, and yes, the uncertain future they're inheriting? Jen Shoemaker Davidson, author of Keep Talking: Conversations with Our Kids When They Want Us Least but Need Us Most, isn't a clinician or parenting expert—she's a mom who figured out how to stay connected to her teens even when they pushed back. Through her "life lesson lunches" and commitment to showing up for the awkward conversations, Jen developed a practical approach to building trust and maintaining open communication. Today, she shares strategies for tackling the topics that matter most—including how to help kids process their hopes, fears, and expectations for a future that looks nothing like ours.

Why This Matters

→ The hardest conversations are the most important—and most parents are avoiding them. When kids enter their teens, many parents retreat just when kids need them most. Without open dialogue, kids fill the void with peers, social media, AI chatbots, or silence—none of which prepare them for what's ahead or keep them safe from emerging threats like online exploitation, gambling debts, or worse.

→ The threats our kids face have evolved far beyond "the talk." While we're still focused on condom conversations, our kids are navigating AI companions, online predators, sexploitation, gaming and gambling debts, cyberbullying, and levels of anxiety and dread that can lead to suicidal ideation. Surveillance isn't the answer—real communication is.

→ Kids today are inheriting unprecedented uncertainty—and they need us to talk about it. Climate change, economic shifts, AI disrupting careers, rapidly changing social norms—our kids face a future we can't fully predict. If we can't create space to discuss both the everyday challenges and their fears about tomorrow, we're leaving them to process it alone—or with AI companions that can't provide what a trusted parent can.

How to Raise (and Support) a Real Life Superhero | Yarrow Kraner

As the world changes faster each day, how can we raise and support superheroes ready for the task? Said another way, what if a child’s challenging traits isn't a problem to fix but a superpower waiting to emerge? 

In 1999, Yarrow Kraner launched one of the world's earliest social networks built on a radical belief: everyone has unique gifts that can change the world—especially in children—galvanizing 1.5 million youth into action. In 2004 In 2004, he founded HATCH, connecting and cross-pollinating diverse global influencers and NextGen youth leaders to accelerate collaborations and solutions for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. By bringing together today's real-life superheroes—from astronauts to composers, inventors to software engineers—HATCH has led to thousands of collaborations, companies formed, and systems change at the policy level. The results have impacted the lives of 100 million people. 

Yarrow shares how he sees human potential and how we can all recognize the visionary traits in children before the world carves away their gifts. As well as ways we can create the conditions where superpowers such as empathy and creativity can flourish. 

Why This Matters:

→ Your child’s misunderstood traits might be their greatest strength. What looks like defiance, distraction, or impracticality could be visionary thinking in disguise—but only if we learn to recognize and nurture it.

→ We're accidentally crushing curiosity. Preschoolers ask over 100 questions a day; by middle school, that curiosity has nearly vanished. This dramatic drop is what happens when wonder meets a world that doesn't know how to hold it.

→ Society desperately needs more visionaries—but many never bloom. The environments we can create (or not) can be the difference between those superpowers emerging or being shut down forever.

What if the economy our children inherit looks nothing like the one we grew up in—not because of disaster, but by design? Gaya Herrington, the econometrician whose viral research confirmed we're tracking toward the collapse scenarios predicted 50 years ago, believes we're at a pivotal moment. We can either let limits to growth force themselves upon us, or we can deliberately redesign our economy around wellbeing instead of endless expansion. Drawing from her work with the Club of Rome and her book Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse, Gaya reveals what a post-growth economy actually looks like—and why it might be exactly the world we'd want our children to inhabit anyway.

Why This Matters

→ The economic system our kids will inherit is fundamentally breaking down—whether we acknowledge it or not. Gaya's research shows we're tracking the "business as usual" scenario that predicted global industrial decline beginning around now. This isn't pessimism; it's data. The question isn't if the growth-obsessed economy ends, but whether it ends by design or disaster.

→ Post-growth doesn't mean post-prosperity—it means redefining what prosperity is. A wellbeing economy isn't about sacrifice or deprivation. It's about working less, connecting more, meeting everyone's needs by design rather than hoping growth will trickle down, and building resilience in a world where "business as usual" is no longer viable.

→ We're teaching our kids to succeed in an economy that won't exist. If parents don't understand what a post-growth world looks like, we're preparing our children for a game whose rules are already changing. Understanding this shift isn't just about their economic future—it's about their values, their wellbeing, and their ability to thrive in the world they'll actually inhabit.

links:
https://gayaherrington.com/
https://www.ted.com/talks/gaya_herrington_will_the_end_of_economic_growth_come_by_design_or_disaster

Understanding Fear and Proven Neurohacks to Help Kids (and Parents) Override Overwhelm | Guest, Dr. Mary Poffenroth, Biopsychologist and Fear Researcher
 

Our kids are growing up in a world moving faster than any generation before—constant change, information overload, and pressures that can overwhelm even the most resilient young minds. Dr. Mary Poffenroth, a biopsychologist and fear researcher, believes the answer isn't to shield our children from stress, but to give them the neurohacks to navigate it. Drawing from her award-winning book Brave New You and her work with organizations from NASA to Google X, Mary reveals science-backed strategies to help kids of all ages regulate their nervous systems, transform fear into fuel, and build everyday courage. These aren't just coping mechanisms—they're tools that rewire how our children respond to an uncertain world.
 

 Why This Matters: We're raising the most overstimulated generation in history—and traditional parenting advice isn't enough. 
 

• Kids today face neurological challenges previous generations never encountered. Without neurohacks grounded in science, we're asking them to navigate a Ferrari-paced world with horse-and-buggy tools.

 •  Fear isn't the enemy—suppressing it is. Teaching kids to "be brave" or "push through" actually amplifies anxiety and leads to burnout. Dr. Poffenroth's research and easy-to-follow RAIN Method shows that transforming our relationship with fear—not avoiding it—unlocks courage, creativity, and resilience.
 

•  Small neurohacks create massive shifts. Simple, science-backed techniques can help kids regulate their nervous systems in real-time, turning everyday fears from roadblocks into stepping stones. These aren't just survival skills—they're the foundation for thriving in uncertainty.
 

HelloBraveNewYou.com
www.marypoffenroth.com

Brave New You book:  https://a.co/d/5jkLDR4 

Staying Focused in an Age of Distraction  | Guest: Erik Qualman, Digital Leadership Expert and Best-Selling Author

What if the greatest superpower in a distracted world isn’t speed, but focus? In an era defined by endless notifications, constant multitasking, and digital overload, the ability to direct our attention has become one of the most valuable skills we can cultivate. In this conversation with Erik Qualman, we explore how focus fuels productivity, creativity, and resilience—and how teaching kids (and ourselves) to harness it can change the trajectory of our lives and work.

Why this matters: Because the quality of our future will be determined not by how much information we consume, but by what we choose to give our attention to.

• Focus is the foundation of digital leadership and intentional living.
• By curating what matters most, we unlock clarity, energy, and impact.
• Kids who learn to master focus early will be better equipped to thrive in a noisy, fast-changing world.
• Attention is our most precious resource—and our ability to align it with purpose is what allows us to create meaningful change.

Meet Your Robot Nanny: Creepy or Caring? |  Guest: Faith Popcorn, Futurist.

What happens when our children’s first caregivers aren’t just human, but also machines? From AI-powered Barbie dolls to baby monitors that promise to soothe your child with predictive algorithms, the next generation of parenting tools raises urgent questions about privacy, ethics, and the boundaries of care. In this timely conversation with futurist Faith Popcorn, we explore how families can thoughtfully navigate the rise of AI companions—balancing the promises of convenience and safety with the deeper responsibilities of human connection, values transmission and privacy protection. Looking ahead, how will families evaluate technology wisely and shape it ethically ensuring AI tools uplift rather than replace our essential roles as caregivers and guides?

Why this matters: Because our children’s first experiences of comfort and learning are increasingly shaped by algorithms, not just human relationships.

• AI-powered toys and caregiving tools offer convenience and safety—but also raise critical questions about privacy, dependency, and emotional development.
• Preparing kids to engage ethically with AI means helping them understand both its power and its limits.
• The rise of AI caregivers challenges families to define what authentic human connection looks like in an age of algorithmic empathy.

Link to the Faith Popcorn Website: https://faithpopcorn.com/

Employment is Dead; What Comes Next? |  Guest: Deborah Perry Piscione - Future of Work expert and author of "Employment is Dead"

What if the future of work isn’t about jobs at all? In this eye-opening conversation with innovation expert Deborah Piscione, we explore why the next generation must think like innovators, not employees—building career capital through skills, networks, and creative pursuits rather than chasing job titles or climbing outdated ladders. In the future they’ll need a mosaic of experiences, passions, projects and collaborations to thrive, so how do we prepare them for a world where success isn’t defined by employment, but by the ability to continuously create, adapt, and contribute? And how does this shift the conversation on the kind of education that matters most now?

Why this matters: Because the question isn’t what job your child will have—it’s what problems they’ll solve, what communities they’ll build, and what future they’ll help design.

• Helping them cultivate curiosity, adaptability, and collaborative spirit prepares them to thrive in systems we can’t yet see.
• The future of work isn’t waiting for them to apply—it’s inviting them to invent.
• Preparing kids to lead in this future means helping them become lifelong learners, agile problem-solvers, and confident creators of opportunity.

Could Your Middle Schooler Win a Nobel?  |  Guest: whurley - Founder & CEO, Strangeworks, Quantum Computing expert

We’re on the edge of a world powered by quantum computing—a reality where AI, creativity and multidimensional thinking redefine how we solve problems. What does this mean for how we parent today’s kids and raise the first AI generation? In this expansive conversation with whurley*, serial horizon tech entrepreneur and global advisor, we dive into what is possible as we move from programming solutions to prompting our way to breakthroughs? How can we help children become confident creators vs only consumers? And why is this possibly the best moment in time ever? 

Why this matters: Because in a quantum/AI-powered world, today’s middle schoolers could be tomorrow’s citizen scientists, solving global challenges from their kitchen tables and reshaping what we thought only experts could do.

• As tools become more accessible, innovation won’t be limited to labs and PhDs; it will live in classrooms, homes, and online communities of curious minds.
• Helping kids see themselves as capable creators—not just consumers—prepares them to contribute meaningfully in a future where imagination drives economic and societal value.
• The question isn’t whether our kids will be ready for the quantum future, it’s whether we’ll give them the freedom, tools, and trust to help build it.

Your Child’s Confidence Begins in the Crib |  Guest: Deborah Carlisle Solomon - Ex Executive Director of RIE & author “Baby Knows Best” 

What would change if home was every child’s first experience of dignity, respect, and belonging? In this powerful conversation with Deborah Carlisle Solomon, we explore how the earliest moments of life shape a child’s sense of agency, trust, and confidence in themselves and the world. Drawing from the RIE® (Resources for Infant Educarers) approach, Deborah shares how simple, mindful parenting practices—rooted in empathy, autonomy, and reciprocal relationships—can transform our homes into spaces where children feel seen, heard, and valued from the very beginning. Because the way we nurture our babies isn’t just parenting—it’s culture-building, laying the foundation for how future generations will lead, relate, and create.

Why this matters: Because simple, conscious caregiving choices can shift generations; from raising children who comply to raising humans who contribute.

• When parents nurture autonomy instead of control, they raise future leaders who think, feel, and act with empathy. 
• The way we parent today shapes the communities and workplaces of tomorrow.
• Because the way we nurture our children in the earliest moments shapes not only who they become, but the kind of world they help create.

Get in Touch with Nancy: @nancygiordano.com