Radical Learning Talks

Why is it so hard to accept our bodies? Where do our ideas about beauty, aging and self-worth come from—and are they really ours?

In this deeply personal conversation, we explore how the messages we receive about appearance begin long before adulthood. From wrinkles and grey hair to body shape, gender expectations and beauty standards, we reflect on the beliefs we've absorbed and how they continue to shape the way we see ourselves.

Through the lens of deschooling, we ask what it would mean to question those inherited stories instead of accepting them as truth. We also explore how our relationship with our own bodies influences the messages our children receive about aging, comparison, judgment and self-worth.

Whether you're parenting, homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply learning to be kinder to yourself, this episode is an invitation to replace judgment with curiosity and self-acceptance.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why is it so hard to accept our bodies?
• Where do beauty standards come from?
• How do comparison and judgment affect our self-worth?
• What messages are children receiving about aging and appearance?
• How can we challenge limiting beliefs about beauty?
• What does radical self-acceptance actually look like?

→ Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Take our free quiz to discover the parenting patterns shaping your family life and learn what might be getting in the way of more connection, confidence and ease.

→ Join Un-Skool

There isn't a blueprint for raising another human being.

Un-Skool is our membership space for parents who want support creating a way of learning, living and parenting that feels true to their family. Inside you'll find courses, live calls, practical resources and a community of parents exploring these questions together—so parenting begins to feel less like following instructions and more like finding your own way.

→ Dear Sari & Becka

Every week we answer real questions from parents navigating school, learning, relationships and family life.

More Radical Learning

Website

Instagram

How do you support a neurodivergent child without trying to make them fit someone else's idea of "normal"?

Whether your child is autistic, has ADHD or experiences the world differently in another way, parenting often comes with an extra layer of expectations—from schools, family members and even ourselves.

In this episode, we explore what it means to truly meet neurodivergent children where they're at. Through stories from our own families, we discuss lagging skills, hyperfocus, screen time, autonomy, readiness, communication and the importance of adapting our support to the child rather than expecting the child to adapt to the system.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or your child attends school, this conversation is an invitation to move beyond one-size-fits-all parenting and towards deeper understanding, curiosity and partnership.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you support a neurodivergent child?
• What if my child isn't ready for something yet?
• How can I balance autonomy with support?
• What are lagging skills, and why do they matter?
• How do I know when to step in and when to step back?
• How can I advocate for my child without feeling guilty?

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

How do you handle your child's big emotions without rushing to fix them? And what if the hardest part isn't their discomfort—but your own?

When children are angry, heartbroken, frustrated or overwhelmed, it's natural to want to make those feelings disappear. We distract, reassure, solve problems or jump in with solutions. But what if those uncomfortable moments are also opportunities for connection, growth and deeper understanding?

In this episode, we explore why sitting with discomfort is one of the hardest—and most transformative—parts of parenting. Through stories from our own families and learning communities, we reflect on conflict, uncertainty, emotional regulation, communication and what it means to support children without trying to rescue them from every difficult feeling.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to build a more connected relationship with your child, this conversation invites you to slow down, stay curious and trust that not every problem needs an immediate solution.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you handle your child's big emotions?
• Why is it so hard to watch our children struggle?
• What's the difference between supporting and rescuing?
• How can discomfort become an opportunity for growth?
• What happens when we stop trying to control every outcome?
• How can honest communication help families navigate uncertainty?

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

What happens when unschooling grows beyond education and becomes a way of seeing the world?

In this conversation, we're joined by lifelong unschooler and Alliance for Self-Directed Education Executive Director Bria Bloom to explore how unschooling can influence much more than the way children learn.

Together, we talk about growing up unschooled, questioning social norms, parenting, community, privilege, anti-oppression, restorative justice and what it means to keep deschooling ourselves throughout adulthood. Bria also shares how unschooling has shaped the way she approaches relationships, work and raising the next generation.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply questioning the assumptions you've inherited about parenting and learning, this episode is an invitation to see education as just one part of a much bigger journey.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What happens when unschooling becomes a way of life?
• How does growing up unschooled shape adulthood?
• What's the relationship between deschooling and social justice?
• How can parents continue deschooling themselves?
• Why do community and restorative practices matter?
• How can we raise children while continuing our own learning?

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

Can you help your child discover their passions if you've lost touch with your own? How do we guide young people to trust themselves when we've spent years disconnected from our own inner compass?

Many parents begin homeschooling, home education or unschooling wanting to give their children the freedom to explore their interests, follow their curiosity and discover who they are. But watching our children do that can bring up an unexpected question:

What happened to my own curiosity?

In this episode, we explore how school and other systems can gradually disconnect us from ourselves—our interests, creativity, dreams and sense of purpose. We also talk about how deschooling isn't only something children experience. It can become a deeply personal journey for parents too, helping us reconnect with our own inner compass one small step, one experiment and one curious question at a time.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to create a more intentional life, this conversation is an invitation to grow alongside your child rather than simply guide them.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How can I help my child discover their passions?
• What if I've lost touch with my own interests and dreams?
• How does school disconnect us from ourselves?
• What is an inner compass, and how do we reconnect with it?
• Why do so many parents change alongside their children?
• Why is following small sparks of curiosity often more powerful than searching for one big purpose?

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

Why do so many parents discover that homeschooling or unschooling changes far more than the way their children learn? Why does questioning school often lead to questioning everything else?

Many families begin homeschooling, home education or unschooling because they're looking for a different educational path. But somewhere along the way, the questions get bigger.

Suddenly you're rethinking parenting, relationships, work, health, success, power, limiting beliefs and the stories you've inherited about what life is supposed to look like.

In this episode, we share our own very different entry points into unschooling and deschooling, explore why there isn't one "right" way to begin this journey, and reflect on how learning to trust our children often becomes an invitation to trust ourselves as well.

Whether you're just beginning to question school or you've been home educating or unschooling for years, this conversation is a reminder that growth isn't about reaching a destination. It's about staying curious enough to keep evolving.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why does unschooling change parents?
• What's the difference between unschooling and deschooling?
• Why do so many families start questioning more than school?
• How can parenting become a journey of personal growth?
• Why is deschooling an ongoing process?
• What happens when we begin trusting ourselves as much as we trust our children?

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

Can we really break the parenting patterns we inherited? And what does it take to stop repeating cycles we never chose in the first place?

In this powerful conversation, we're joined by conscious parenting coach, recovering educator and unschooling mother Domari Dickinson. Together, we explore what it really means to break generational patterns—not through perfection, but through curiosity, accountability and the willingness to keep growing.

Domari shares her deeply personal journey from controlling and punitive parenting to building relationships based on trust, empathy and shared power. Along the way, we talk about school conditioning, fear, healing, community, liberation and why changing the way we parent often means changing ourselves first.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to create a more connected relationship with your child, this episode is an honest reminder that transformation is possible—and that none of us has to do it alone.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you break generational parenting patterns?
• Why is it so hard to let go of control?
• What does conscious parenting actually look like?
• How can we respond with curiosity instead of punishment?
• Why is community so important when we're changing?
• What happens when we stop trying to be perfect parents?

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

How do you support a neurodivergent child without trying to change who they are? What happens when we stop asking, "How can I make my child fit the world?" and start asking, "How can I better understand my child?"

In this deeply personal episode, we share our own journeys of discovering our children's neurodivergence and the emotions that came with it—relief, guilt, grief, fear, compassion and, ultimately, acceptance.

We explore how our expectations sometimes became the real obstacle, why understanding lagging skills transformed the way we parented, and how self-directed education gave our children the flexibility to thrive without constantly being asked to fit into someone else's idea of "normal."

Whether your child is diagnosed, you're beginning to wonder if they might be neurodivergent, or you simply want to become a more understanding and responsive parent, this conversation offers a compassionate perspective on seeing children for who they truly are.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you parent a neurodivergent child?
• What if my child learns or experiences the world differently?
• How can I support lagging skills without trying to change my child?
• Why do expectations sometimes create more struggle than the child does?
• How can homeschooling, home education and self-directed learning support neurodivergent children?
• What does acceptance really look like in everyday parenting?

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

Are you expecting too much from your child without even realizing it? How can we build respectful relationships while still recognizing that children and adults have different needs, capacities and responsibilities?

Many parents who embrace respectful parenting, homeschooling, home education or unschooling want to move away from controlling children and toward treating them as equals. But sometimes, in trying to avoid adultism, we unintentionally begin expecting children to think, respond and take responsibility like adults.

In this episode, we explore the important difference between treating children with equal dignity and expecting them to have adult capacities. We talk about development, responsibility, emotional regulation, decision-making, executive functioning and why meeting children where they are is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.

Rather than lowering our expectations, this conversation invites us to make them more realistic—and more compassionate.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Am I expecting too much from my child?
• How much responsibility should children have?
• What's the difference between equality and sameness?
• How can I support my child's development without taking over?
• Why do unrealistic expectations create so much conflict?
• How can I meet my child where they are instead of where I think they should be?

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

Why do so many adults stop learning once they leave school? What if lifelong learning isn't just about gaining new skills—but about reclaiming curiosity, purpose and the freedom to shape your own life?

In this inspiring conversation, we're joined by Brazilian educator and self-directed learning advocate Alex Bretas to explore what it means to become an intentional learner in adulthood. Alex shares the story behind his "Informal PhD"—a self-directed journey of deep learning driven not by grades or qualifications, but by genuine curiosity and a desire to contribute to the world.

Together, we discuss why so many adults struggle to learn outside formal education, how school shapes our beliefs about knowledge and success, and why community, small steps and intentional practice are essential for reclaiming our ability to direct our own learning.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply wondering what comes after school, this episode is an invitation to rediscover learning as a lifelong practice—not because you have to, but because it can transform the way you experience life.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why do we stop learning after school?
• What is an Informal PhD?
• How do adults become self-directed learners?
• Why is community so important for lifelong learning?
• What beliefs about learning do we need to unlearn?
• How can curiosity become part of everyday life?

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