What skills will students need to be prepared for an increasingly complex future? As technology continues to shape our society and our structures of communication, how should education respond? And can places of privilege foster equity and inclusivity within and beyond their communities? My name is Tristan Friedberg Rodman. This is Learned.

On Learned, we’re looking beyond test scores and college acceptance rates to understand how education can shape the future of our society — and what kind of teaching we need to bring us there.

Our guest today is Callie Ryan. Callie and I were classmates, graduating together in 2011. We both went to college and studied experimental electronic music — her at UC Santa Cruz, me at Brown — before moving back to LA. We re-connected recently because we each found ourselves seeking answers for undiagnosed and chronic ailments.

Callie performs across Los Angeles, hosts a weekly radio program on Dublab, and is finishing up her first year of acupuncture school. We met up at her home in South Pasadena to talk about how she started making music, balancing creativite practice and mental health, and listening to our bodies when they say it's time to slow down.