London on Reinvention

"I think of London a bit like a toxic ex-partner. I love London, but she hurts me a lot," says one of our storytellers, who now splits life between here and Barcelona. Around the table, co-hosted with Susan Obehioye, will the rest feel the same?

London has always been a city of reinvention. Nearly four in ten Londoners were born somewhere else, and more than three hundred languages are spoken here. It is a place people come to begin again. It is also a place that quietly asks what that beginning will cost. From Nigeria to Surrey, the Midlands to Manchester to the Netherlands, the HuCon London table is a living witness to how our bodies carry the cities we live in, and how we might still learn to listen to one another with compassion.

In this episode,

• You'll hear a man, newly diagnosed as autistic and ADHD at fifty-nine, describe what it costs to "mask" in a city built of noise, and what it means to finally inhabit himself.
• You'll learn why one guest brought Greggs and another brought cream crackers, and how colonial history, childhood, and belonging all end up on the same British plate.

And somewhere between the tension of the first question and the quiet of the last breath, something shifted.

The room that opened with heat, masking, and the ache of feeling like an imposter moved through race and loneliness, through a man recalling his first Pride march at sixteen and asking, at nearly sixty, what was won and what was quietly lost, and it closed with a bell and a breath of gratitude.

The question is: How are you really doing?

The answer, in London, is never just one thing.

"Barcelona is nice. I think you can feel the energy. I'm so proud to be here in this studio, where we are all together now. And I'm drawing. I'm drawing all the time, and talking and writing," says Noemi, our HuCon host in the city. Will her view be shared by all at the table?

From Ireland to Jamaica, the USA, and Nigeria, the HuCon Barcelona table is a living witness to how our bodies carry different memories of where we live and how we can learn to listen to others with compassion.

In this episode, 

• You'll hear the powerful story of the Catalans who feel 'they can no longer recognize their own city.' 

• You'll learn about the importance of bread and tomatoes in Catalan cuisine and how a Nigerian migrant is adjusting their taste to belong in their new city.

And somewhere between the tension of the first question and the quiet of the last answer, something shifted. 

The room that opened with displacement, language, and the fear of losing a city ended with people exchanging numbers. Not ready to leave.

The question is: How are you really doing?

The answer: well, not too simple.

Episode description:

Madrid is like a lover. You fall in love with the city, or you don't. There are no middle terms.

At a table in the center of Madrid, people sit down to answer one question: how are you really doing? What follows is not what anyone expected.

They speak about what Madrid gives, the particular shade of blue the sky has in the morning. The sobremesa. The Momento Madrid. The freedom to finally be yourself in a city where nobody is really from Madrid, and that somehow makes everyone belong.

They speak about what it takes, fear, mostly. Every person at this table lost fear here. One froze the first time his boyfriend held his hand in the street. Another came as a refugee and found a health system that asked no questions. Another sold drugs to survive and learned how close all of us are to the bottom. Closer than we think.

They speak about the people sleeping in tents near where they live. About what we've been taught to hate, that is really just a difference. About the bubble this city lives in and how that bubble is both its gift and its flaw.

Then the bell rings. No one wants to leave.

Thank you Matias and Jesus for hosting.

HuCon Madrid: Tortilla, croquetas, jamón, wine — and the truest conversation this city offered us.

HuCon is where cities pause to listen to how we're really doing.

humansinconversation.com

What happens when you come to Rome to begin again?

At a table in Nino's home, people from different countries and corners of Italy share what the Eternal City has given them and what it's cost them. A conversation about language, identity, the search for happiness at sixty, and why Rome might be the one city where you can eat with your hands, and nobody judges you. Italian and English throughout.

The transcript will be at humansinconversation.com.

What does it cost to keep up in a city that never stops?

Shared over an aperitivo table in Milan, this episode invites listeners to sit quietly and reflect on a simple question: In a city of non-stop performance, how do you show up for yourself?

Hosted in collaboration with Carlo Bobbiesi at Hugs Bar, this Humans in Conversation table explores the pressure to perform, the blur between identity and image, and the loneliness that can exist even in a city full of people.

Participants speak openly about self-image, belonging, and the effort it takes to stay connected to oneself in a city shaped by beauty and ambition.

A short transcript is available on our website.

In this Humans in Conversation table from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, participants reflect on what it means to live in a body navigating the American healthcare system.

The conversation moves beyond medicine to explore the emotional and financial realities of health insurance in the United States. Participants share personal stories about bureaucracy, employment-based coverage, medical costs, and the quiet calculations many people make when deciding whether they can afford care.

What emerges is not only frustration with a complex system, but also a deeper reflection on how institutions shape our sense of safety, dignity, and well-being.

This table is hosted by Dr. Jennifer Schaupp. Thank you to every participant.

Humans in Conversation is a global storytelling experience about health, the body, and how we care for one another in the systems we build.

Small group. No cameras. Anonymous audio for our global archive.

Join the conversation in your city

What has a bagel got to do with our well-being?

Discussing these stories while sharing this simple food, this episode invites listeners to sit quietly at the table and consider a question: What stories has your body carried with it, and how have they shaped the way you live today?

Hosted by Unoma Azuah in Valdosta, Georgia, this episode of Humans in Conversation explores how the ways we come to see our bodies in childhood and adolescence shape our well-being long into adulthood.

A short transcript is available on our website.

In this Lagos story table, hosted by Marvis Chukwudi, ten people speak honestly about health, wealth, and the mind that grew up in scarcity.
Their stories reveal how childhood experiences with money, survival, and instability shape Nigerians' understanding of rest, guilt, mental health, and self-worth today.

From the nostalgia of roadside Gala to the emotional cost of “hustle culture,” this table exposes what it means to care for yourself in a city that constantly demands resilience. These are not stories of pity or shame. Instead, they are stories of a generation redefining what wellbeing means on their own terms.

As always, the conversation begins with the meditation bell and ends with a local symbol shared by our storytellers.

A short English transcript is available at orangeacademy.net/humansinconversation.

In Bari, Italy, four people share stories of caregiving, love, loss, and resilience. The host is Gianni Marsico. From Adele’s journey of caring for her husband to Ben’s devotion to his partner of 44 years, this first HIC table reminds us that somewhere, someone is figuring life out, and we are all connected.

At the heart of the table was patate, riso e cozze, a traditional Bari dish of potatoes, rice, and mussels. More than food, it became a symbol of community: a dish meant to be shared in abundance, passed from hand to hand, like the stories themselves.

To preserve the nuances of HIC conversations, stories are not translated; however, a short English transcript is available at orangeacademy.net/humans-in-conversation

A Bari, quattro persone condividono storie di cura, amore, perdita e resilienza. A guidare il tavolo è Gianni Marsico. Dal percorso di Adele, che ha accudito il marito per sedici anni, alla dedizione di Ben per il suo compagno da 44 anni, questo primo tavolo HIC ci ricorda che, da qualche parte, qualcuno sta cercando di capire la vita — e che siamo tutti connessi.

Al centro del tavolo c’era patate, riso e cozze, il piatto tradizionale barese di patate, riso e cozze. Più che cibo, è diventato un simbolo di comunità: un piatto pensato per essere condiviso in abbondanza, passato di mano in mano, proprio come le storie.

Per preservare le sfumature delle conversazioni HIC, le storie non sono tradotte; tuttavia, una breve trascrizione in inglese è disponibile su ⁠orangeacademy.net/humans-in-conversation.