Next Economy Now: For the Benefit of All Life

In this episode of Next Economy Now, Erin Axelrod speaks with Fabiola Santiago, founder and executive director of Mi Oaxaca, about what Indigenous worldviews can teach us about belonging, reciprocity, and everyday consumption. Drawing from her experience as a diasporic Zapotec woman from Oaxaca and a public health researcher, Fabiola explores the hidden systems behind mezcal, food, and tourism, and how extraction and cultural appropriation shape communities and ecosystems. The conversation invites listeners to rethink how they relate to culture, place, and what they consume, and to imagine a slower, more regenerative economy rooted in care and mutual responsibility.

View the show notes: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/choosing-home-in-a-time-of-displacement-w/-fabiola-santiago

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

True health is about more than simply taking your medicine. It’s about healing the whole person, mind, body, and spirit. In this episode of Next Economy Now, Dr. Shamini Jain, a clinical psychologist, scientist, author, singer, and founder of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative, explores the intersections of science, spirituality, and creativity in advancing health and well-being.

View the show notes: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/science-spirit-and-the-future-of-healing-w/-dr-shamini-jain

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

What if accountability led to healing instead of more harm? In this conversation, restorative justice practitioner Tatiana Chaterji shares how her work in prisons, schools, and communities is helping people move beyond punishment toward real repair. She reflects on her own experience as a survivor, the power of truthful dialogue, and why accountability requires support rather than shame. This episode opens a clear-eyed look at what it takes to build safety and dignity in a society ready to move past punitive responses to harm.

View the show notes: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/tatiana-chaterji

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

This episode explores how ancestral plant wisdom can reshape the future of healthcare and the economy. Clinical herbalist and educator Laura Ash shares practical insights on ethical herbalism, biopiracy, whole-plant medicine, and why reconnecting with traditional knowledge matters for human and planetary wellbeing. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of the cultural, scientific, and economic dimensions of herbal medicine and how to apply these lessons in their own work and lives.

View the show notes: www.lifteconomy.com/blog/reclaiming-ancestral-medicine-for-a-regenerative-future-w/-laura-ash

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

Climate resilience is not only a matter of innovation but also of honoring what communities have practiced for centuries. In this episode, Julia Watson, designer, activist, and leading expert on Lo—TEK — a term that combines low-tech and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) — shares how traditional practices offer vital solutions for sustainable design and regenerative economics.

View the blog post: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/building-climate-resilience-through-lo-tek-julia-watson

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

Autumn Brown returns to Next Economy Now for a third time for a wide-ranging, candid conversation on practicing freedom in an unfree world. We talk joy and parenting, the post-2020 backlash, symbolic vs relational change (pronouns, land acknowledgements), building broader coalitions, and Autumn’s shift from cooperative leadership to music, Aikido, and a forthcoming book on fugitivity. It’s a grounded back-and-forth about moving from fear and performance to love, courage, and strategy.

View the show notes: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/autumn-brown-freedom-practice-in-an-unfree-world

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

Freedom and fulfillment aren’t measured in square footage; they’re shaped by how we live and what we value. In this episode of Next Economy Now, we welcome Jewel Pearson, a tiny house expert, intentional living advocate, and longtime voice for representation in the tiny house movement. With over ten years of experience living in a tiny house, Jewel brings lived experience and deep expertise as a consultant, educator, and speaker. She challenges traditional ideas of housing and wealth building, helping people design homes and lifestyles rooted in sustainability, equity, and community.

For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/jewel-pearson/

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

When you understand the power of a limiting belief and change it into a liberating belief, you get to take your power back and achieve personal freedom. In this segment of our Next Economy Living mini-series, we are joined by author and advocate for personal liberation, Christine Platt, to talk about her new book, Less is Liberation, and to share her liberation story. 

For full show notes, visit: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/christine-platt-2025/

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

What if the solution to better housing, health, and happiness isn’t greater independence, but deeper interdependence? In this episode of Next Economy Now, sustainability educator and regenerative living advocate Cynthia Tina invites us to rethink how we live, highlighting what it means to live in alignment with shared values, and why intentional communities are emerging as a powerful response to today’s social and ecological challenges.

For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/cynthia-tina/

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

Living with intention can be a radical act in a world driven by consumerism. In this special Next Economy Living mini-series episode, host Kevin Bayuk speaks with writer, herbalist, and former Black Minimalists podcast producer Farai Harreld about how ancestral knowledge and mindful practices can help us reclaim agency over our health, homes, and everyday choices.

For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/farai-harreld/

The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. 

Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps