This week I welcome back the superb Keri Jarvis, who joined me for the episode "Disrupting the Wellness Industry" back in 2024. One of the wisest and most sensible people I have in my circle (as well as suitably radical and feisty - obviously) Keri shares her reflections on the ways we do and do not relate in today's world. Observing how many of the conditions and structures of our lives have rendered us relationally de-skilled, Keri and I explore possibility for communication, honesty, vulnerability, understanding and knowing ourselves and each other in a world which is increasingly polarised, divided and in short - a time of polycrisis!
This is a must-listen episode for how we might actually create the environments and relational dynamics for what Keri calls, liveable futures TOGETHER.
In this episode:
- how systems of capitalism, supremacy and patriarchy have informed the way we interact with one another and in many respects deskilled us.- how mainstream ‘wellness culture’ or ‘Western psychology’ in some ways perpetuates some of these relational challenges, despite best intentions
- how spaces of activism and social change can also mirror relational complexity and cycles of relational harm
eimagining possibility for how we may be together in relational intimacy
About Keri:
Keri Jarvis is a Leftist Coach, Thought Partner & Community Activist supporting people to navigate the relational complexity of the polycrisis.
Keri is deeply interested in how we’ve been relationally de-skilled, and disciplined into seeing ourselves and one another as separate cogs in a machine within Last Stage Capitalism. Her work supports people to develop more agile relationships with themselves, fertilising the possibility of generative, resilient relational dynamics.
She believes the portals to liveable futures can be entered through our relationships- if only we can bear to be perceived.
To contact Keri: https://www.kerijarvis.com/
Key Topics:
Relational de-skilling under capitalism
The paradox of intimacy and estrangement
Impact of wellness culture on relationships
Strategies for relational courage and vulnerability
Reimagining community through radical engagement
The role of boundaries and grey areas in connection
The importance of compassion and self-awareness
Activism and relational work in social change
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and guest background
02:10 The relational paradox: desire for intimacy vs. fear of being known
05:01 Impact of capitalism and social systems on relational skills
09:02 The influence of wellness culture and individualism
15:02 Reimagining community through radical engagement
19:53 The importance of relational complexity and uncertainty
24:48 The role of boundaries and self-awareness in relationships
30:10 Practicing honesty and vulnerability in social change
35:05 The power of small acts of kindness and connection
39:56 Developing courage and compassion in activism
45:02 The potential of strangers and everyday interactions
49:56 Self-compassion and growth through relational challenges
01:00:07 Course announcement and closing remarks
Resources:
Radical Intimacy by Sophie K. Rosa
Experiments in Imagining Otherwise by Lola Olufemi
The Second Body by Daisy Hilgard
George Monbiot at The Guardian
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Love in a Fucked Up World by Dean Spade
Collaborating with the Enemy by Adam Kahane
Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems: The Catalytic Power of Radical Engagement with Adam Kahane
The Portal e-learning platform: https://collective.jointheportal.com/about-the-portal-collective
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