Radical Learning Talks

When a child starts shutting down, refusing school, exploding after class, losing curiosity, or saying they hate learning, it is easy to assume something is wrong with the child.

But what if their behavior is actually a healthy response to an unhealthy system?

In this episode, Sari and Becka return after a long break to talk about what happens when young people collide with the school system. They explore school refusal, behavioral issues, loss of motivation, neurodivergence, pressure, compliance, and the ways children often protect their autonomy, creativity, dignity, and sense of self.

This conversation is for parents who are watching their child struggle in school and wondering what is really going on underneath the surface.

We explore:

• Why children who once loved learning can begin to shut down in school

• What might be underneath school refusal and “behavior problems”

• How school can affect curiosity, creativity, autonomy, and initiative

• Why some children struggle more than others to fit the school system

• What changes when we ask what our children are protecting instead of what is wrong with them

• Why listening to our children can change how we understand their struggle

Looking for support as you navigate learning outside school? Explore free masterclasses, resources, and a community of parents asking similar questions → Join UN-SKOOL

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Radical Learning Talks was named the #2 Democratic Education Podcast to Listen to in 2026 by FeedSpot. See the full list

And here is a list of the best unschooling podcasts by Feedspot Podcasts - we are number 6!

We’re still in the season of our Reset series, but taking a quick pause to share a special, limited-time support resource for families choosing trust, consent, and connection over control. Feeling overwhelmed, stuck in old school conditioning, or craving deeper connection? We got you!

Check out our Radical Learning Bundles:

https://radical-learning.thinkific.com/courses/bundles-2025

Sale Ends Nov 30th!

Episode 5 — Growing Beyond the Edge

When we stop hiding the tools that changed us… everything shifts.

We talk tarot, constellation work, nervous system repair, somatics, and what it means to move from performance to presence.

If you're longing to live this work (or whatever your embodied work is) more fully, more you, more free, this one opens that door.

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Episode 4 — Under the Surface

You might think you’re stepping into unschooling to get your kid out of a broken system. But, as we’ve learned, that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

In part 4/5 of our Mini Series - The Reset, we name what’s underneath: the deep, often invisible work that emerges after the decision to leave school.

From control and power dynamics to healing, joy, productivity, identity, and intergenerational patterns, this is where deschooling stops being about education and starts becoming about everything.

And we made this Iceberg Knowledge Tracker PDF to help you follow along.

If you’ve done all the “right” things but still feel stuck, this one gets underneath.

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Sign up for our newsletters @ https://www.radical-learning.org

Episode 3 – Becoming the Story

What happens when the work you love starts hurting you? In this part 3/5 of our new Mini Series (The Reset), Becka traces her journey from rebellious student to teacher, to founder, and finally to walking away from the very systems she tried to change. It’s a story about burnout, courage, and the messy beauty of reclaiming joy — even when it means leaving behind what you built.

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Sign up for our newsletters @ https://www.radical-learning.org

Episode 2 – Peeling the Layers

What if devotion has been disguised as depletion? In this episode of the Mini Series - The Reset: We love this work, but not like this, Sari opens up about her journey through unschooling, burnout, and learning to choose herself again. From questioning inherited systems to redefining what devotion really means, this is a story of peeling back the layers — one truth, one pause, one act of self-trust at a time.

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Follow us on Instagram @radical_learning

Sign up for our newsletters @ https://www.radical-learning.org

Episode 1 – Outgrowing the Pot

What happens when the thing you’ve built no longer fits who you’ve become? In this opening episode for our new Mini Series (The Reset: We love this work, but not like this!), we share the moment we realized Radical Learning was ready to evolve — and so were we. From letting go of old identities to embracing joy, alignment, and creative expansion, this is a conversation about growing beyond the limits of what once worked and daring to plant ourselves in wider soil.

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Sign up for our newsletters @ https://www.radical-learning.org

We’ve been in a quiet, tender season - pausing, listening, and letting things evolve. In this short bit, we share a bit about what’s been happening behind the scenes and what’s been calling us forward. We’re also giving you a glimpse of what to expect from our upcoming mini-series, The Reset, dropping November 8th! Stay tuned!

We’re pausing to breathe, celebrate 100 episodes 🎉, and make space for what’s next. And so… to thank you for being part of this Radical Learning journey, we’re giving away seats to three of our most loved programs! Sign up for our mailing list on www.radical-learning.org and follow us on Instagram @radical_learning on Instagram and we’ll share all the details on October 23rd!

Have you ever known something needed to change, but found yourself waiting until you felt less afraid?

Whether it's leaving school behind, changing careers, moving across the world, or simply choosing a different way of parenting, many of the biggest decisions we make ask us to step into the unknown before we know how things will turn out.

In this 100th episode of Radical Learning Talks, we reflect on the role courage has played in our own lives. We explore why fear isn't always a warning sign, how courage grows through practice rather than certainty, and why the life we're longing for often begins just beyond the edge of what feels comfortable.

We explore:

• Why courage and fear always seem to arrive together

• How our relationship with the unknown changes over time

• Why waiting until you feel "ready" often keeps us stuck

• The connection between courage, dreaming and personal growth

• How choosing a different path transforms not only us, but the people around us

Looking for support as you navigate learning outside school? Explore free masterclasses, resources, and a community of parents asking similar questions → Join UN-SKOOL

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Radical Learning Talks was named the #2 Democratic Education Podcast to Listen to in 2026 by FeedSpot. See the full list