How do we create a different future without recreating the very patterns we're trying to leave behind?

It's easy to spend our energy criticizing broken systems, pointing fingers, or wishing things were different. But what if real change begins somewhere else? What if it starts with the way we relate to ourselves, our children and the people around us every day?

In this conversation, we reflect on the importance of dreaming—not as wishful thinking, but as a practice of imagining and creating the kind of world we want to live in. We talk about why slowing down matters, how play, community and curiosity help us reconnect with ourselves, and why creating meaningful change asks us to embody the values we hope to see in the world.

Rather than waiting for someone else to fix what's broken, this episode is an invitation to begin where we are and become part of the future we're longing for.

Some of the ideas we explore include:

• Why criticizing broken systems isn't enough
• How we unintentionally recreate the patterns we're trying to change
• The importance of dreaming and creating space for possibility
• Reconnecting with play, intuition and community
• Small everyday choices that shape the lives we want to live
• Why meaningful change begins with how we relate to ourselves and others

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

Can you embrace unschooling if your child still goes to school?

It's a question we hear all the time—from parents living in countries where school is mandatory, from families whose children have chosen to attend school, and from parents who simply aren't in a position to leave the system right now.

In this episode, we explore why unschooling is much more than a decision about where your child learns. It's an ongoing practice of questioning inherited beliefs, changing the way we relate to young people, and creating more trust, agency and connection within our families—regardless of whether school is part of the picture.

We also talk about what it means to advocate for your child within the school system, why your own deschooling matters just as much as your child's experience, and how letting go of "schoolishness" can transform family life even when school remains part of your reality.

Some of the questions we sit with include:

• Can you practice unschooling while your child attends school?
• What does it mean to "deschool" yourself as a parent?
• How can you advocate for your child's needs within the school system?
• Why your relationship with your child matters more than where they learn
• Letting go of inherited beliefs about success, testing and education
• Why unschooling is a daily practice rather than a label

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

What does it really take for a self-directed learning community to thrive?

Many parents leave conventional school hoping they've finally found the answer. But creating a different kind of educational space isn't simply about changing where children learn. It asks something different of all of us.

In this episode, we reflect on what we've learned after founding, leading and supporting self-directed learning communities around the world. We talk about why thriving communities can't be built through transaction alone, how parents, facilitators and organizers all play an essential role, and why leaving school doesn't automatically mean we've left schoolishness behind.

Whether you're part of a learning centre, dreaming of starting one, or simply curious about how strong communities are built, this conversation offers an honest look at what helps these spaces flourish—and what often gets in the way.

Some of the questions we sit with include:

• Why self-directed learning communities succeed—or struggle
• The role parents play beyond simply dropping off their children
• Why deschooling is essential for adults as well as young people
• Shared responsibility, trust and healthy communication in community
• How power dynamics can quietly recreate conventional schooling
• What it means to build a culture where everyone can thrive

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

What happens to learning when life falls apart?

Whether you're navigating grief, illness, financial stress, postpartum depression or another difficult season, many parents wonder the same thing: Am I doing enough? What if homeschooling or unschooling has to take a back seat while we simply try to get through the day?

In this episode, we question the assumption that learning only happens when life feels stable. We explore why difficult seasons aren't interruptions to education—they're part of it. Children learn by living alongside us, witnessing how we navigate uncertainty, solve problems, care for one another and move through change together.

Rather than striving to keep everything "on track," we reflect on what becomes possible when we trust that life itself is one of our greatest teachers.

Some of the questions and ideas we sit with include:

• How to navigate homeschooling or unschooling during difficult seasons
• Why life doesn't stop teaching when routines fall apart
• Supporting children through grief, illness, financial stress and major life changes
• Letting go of the pressure to "do enough"
• How honesty, partnership and shared problem-solving strengthen family relationships
• Why relationships matter more than keeping up with a curriculum

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

How do you care for yourself when your children are home all day?

It's a question many homeschooling and unschooling parents ask—often after they've spent months or years putting everyone else's needs ahead of their own. But what if self-care isn't something extra to squeeze into an already full day? What if it's part of creating a healthy family life?

In this episode, we challenge the idea that good parents should always come last. We talk about meeting our own needs, setting loving boundaries, finding joy in everyday life, and why taking care of ourselves isn't separate from caring for our children. In fact, it's one of the most powerful things we can model.

We also reflect on parental burnout, guilt, resentment, and the importance of remembering that parents are on their own deschooling journey too.

Some of the questions and ideas we sit with include:

• What does self-care really look like while homeschooling or unschooling?
• Why burnout often has roots in schoolish expectations
• Helping children understand and respect our needs
• Setting loving boundaries without guilt
• Why joy is an essential part of caring for ourselves
• Modeling self-care, agency and healthy relationships for our children

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

What changes when school no longer becomes the measure of everything?

For many homeschooling and unschooling families, leaving school doesn't mean leaving schoolish thinking behind. It's easy to keep comparing our children, our parenting and our daily lives to an invisible standard—even after we've chosen a different path.

In this conversation, we reflect on what happens when that comparison gradually begins to fade. We talk about the pressure to prove that children are learning, the expectations we carry as parents, and the surprising freedom that comes when life is no longer organized around school—even mentally.

This isn't a conversation about abandoning learning. It's about discovering that life, relationships and human development don't need to revolve around constantly measuring progress.

Some of the questions and ideas we sit with include:

• What does it mean to live beyond the shadow of school?
• Why many homeschooling and unschooling parents still compare themselves to conventional education
• Letting go of the pressure to prove that children are learning
• How expectations shape our parenting and our family life
• Why human development is different from school achievement
• Creating a family culture that isn't driven by productivity or comparison

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

Why are so many parents, teachers and young people questioning the school system?

Around the world, more families are wondering whether conventional education is still meeting the needs of today's children. Rising levels of anxiety, burnout and disengagement have led many people to ask deeper questions about what school is designed to do—and whether it prepares young people for the world they're actually growing up in.

In this episode, we take a thoughtful look at the history of modern schooling, why it was originally created, and how many of its underlying assumptions continue to shape education today. We also explore why one-size-fits-all learning struggles to honour children's individuality, why relationships matter more than standardization, and what becomes possible when we begin imagining education differently.

This isn't about blaming parents or teachers. It's an invitation to question the system itself with curiosity, compassion and hope.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Why the modern school system was originally created
• How standardized education shapes children's experience of learning
• Why so many young people are struggling with anxiety, burnout and disengagement
• The difference between preparing children for tests and preparing them for life
• Why relationships are at the heart of meaningful education
• How families can begin questioning school while supporting their children in the present

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

What does it really mean to advocate for young people's rights?

Many of us believe children have the right to an education. But what if the conversation needs to go much deeper? What if the real question is whether young people are being treated as full human beings—with agency, dignity and a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their lives?

In this episode, we explore why youth rights are at the heart of everything we do at Radical Learning. We reflect on the history of compulsory education, how adultism continues to shape the way society views young people, and why creating better educational systems begins with changing our relationship to power.

This conversation isn't only for parents or educators. It's an invitation to rethink how we see children, whose voices we value, and what becomes possible when young people are recognized as active participants in shaping their own lives.

Some of the ideas we discuss include:

• What youth rights advocacy actually means
• The difference between the right to education and compulsory schooling
• How adultism shapes our relationships with young people
• Why listening to children's voices matters
• The role of agency, autonomy and shared decision-making
• Why reimagining education begins with reimagining our view of children

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

How much freedom should children have?

It's a question many parents wrestle with. We want our children to become independent, confident and capable, but we also carry the responsibility of keeping them safe. So how do we know when to step in—and when to step back?

In this conversation, we reflect on how to navigate that tension without relying on rigid rules. Through stories about risk-taking, screen time, emotional wellbeing and everyday parenting decisions, we explore what it means to support children's growing autonomy while also recognising the responsibility we hold as caring adults.

Rather than looking for one answer that fits every situation, we ask a different question: What does this particular child need in this particular moment? Again and again, we come back to the importance of observation, conversation and relationship. Because every child is different, and thoughtful parenting begins with paying attention before reacting.

Some of the questions we discuss include:

• How much freedom should children have?
• When should parents step in—and when should they step back?
• Helping children become responsible without taking over
• Balancing freedom, responsibility and safety
• Why observation matters more than rigid parenting rules
• How conversations build trust, confidence and shared responsibility over time

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

Can parents really be friends with their children?

Many people believe the answer is no. They worry that friendship means giving up authority, losing boundaries or allowing children to "take over." But what if we've misunderstood what friendship actually is?

In this episode, we challenge one of the most common parenting beliefs: that parents and children shouldn't be friends. We explore how genuine friendship isn't about giving children all the power or avoiding responsibility. It's about building relationships rooted in trust, honesty, vulnerability and mutual respect.

We also reflect on power, adultism, secrecy, perfectionism and why authentic relationships make it more—not less—likely that children will come to us when they need support. Because perhaps the goal isn't to raise children who simply obey us. Perhaps it's to build relationships that last long after childhood is over.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Can parents and children really be friends?
• Does friendship mean giving up boundaries or responsibility?
• Why trust grows when power is shared rather than controlled
• How vulnerability creates deeper relationships
• Why secrecy often grows out of fear rather than freedom
• Building relationships with our children that continue into adulthood

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