From sharing her experiences of academic mobbing to the ways in which she tries to create vulnerable (rather than safe) spaces for learning, professor of instructional design and technology Caroline Crawford is direct, engaged, and fully committed to the ongoing development and success of her student learners.

To learn more about Caroline and her academic work, you can check out her faculty page on the University of Houston at Clear Lake website at uhcl.edu/education/faculty/crawford-caroline

I had the pleasure of speaking with Craig Harrison - former British Army soldier, author, and Maverick Survival School course leader - not being quite sure how his story fit with the other conversations I've had over the past 3 and a half years.

And he was a perfect fit. How he spoke about his life with PTSD, the importance of communicating and connecting with others, and the restorative power of time in nature was brave, gentle, open, and generous.

You can check out themavericksurvivalschool.co.uk/ and instagram @cohcraigharrison to learn more about what Craig is up to today, and read his military memoir The Longest Kill: The Story of Maverick 41 for insight into what brought him to where he is now.

PS: For those of you who caught this, you're right - I mistakenly referred to a book as The Artist Within when it really should have been The Artist's Way.

Jason 'Blackbird' Selman is a spoken word artist, poet, and trumpet player. In this conversation, Jason shares his insights into the freedom of poetry, Carribean community and cultures, and what it means to be a good man out in the world.

Who am I, where do I come from, what does that mean, can I afford to be vulnerable... We can return to these questions, over and over, throughout our lives and experience how our responses evolve in time.

If you're interested in learning more about Jason and his work, you can check out his instagram @jason.b.selman. You can also look for his writings, which include “The Freedom I Stole” (2007, Cumulus Press) and “Africa as a Dream That Travels Through My Heart” (2016, Howl).

And be sure to check out the documentary, Ninth Floor, on nfb.ca to learn more about the events that occured after a group of Caribbean students studying at Concordia University (which was then called Sir George Williams) accused their professor of racism.

Two aspects of this conversation with dramaturg Aki Matsushita stood out to me most. One was learning what the expansive field of dramaturgy is all about. As Aki says, it’s an art practice that doesn’t necessarily show itself to people outside the development process. The practitioners themselves don’t even agree on how to pronounce it.

My biggest takeaway was that the dramaturg can help answer the question, 'why this story now?'

The other is a tangent I went on somewhere in the middle about cross-cultural communication. I was planning to remove it, but Aki’s response was both generous and illuminating, so I kept it in. It’s something I don’t know much about (obviously), so I thought it might be useful for others to hear about as well.

Learn more about Aki and her work through the Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal website at playwrights.ca/who-we-are as well as her Instagram @kikimg07

This is an episode about what it means to know your thread, if it's important to know what your thread is, and the relationships between who you are and what you do.

This is my conversation with David Gordon - artist, landscape designer, and owner of Bird Dog Arts Gallery in California's San Joaquin Valley.

I probably should have edited out even more of our conversation about growing up in the 80s but David is sharp and insightful; I couldn't help it.

Listen for David's insights into vulnerability, both for artists and also for people who buy art, people who then express a lot about themselves through pieces they have chosen to put on display.

Learn more about David and his work on instagram @davidgordondrsigns and online at birddogarts.com. Keep an eye out for Turkey, the Bird Dog Arts Gallery cat - he has his own instagram #isawturkey

'Failure is a lesson...I won't take one failure as a complete failure.'

That adaptability and openness to learning stood out to me during my conversation with Anna Wojcik, a fitness entrepreneur in continual development, always finding new ways to challenge herself and her clients (including me). She warns against remaining comfortable with what we know, encouraging us instead to break out of the bubble to take risks, fail and succeed, and keep looking for opportunities to learn new things, for both body and mind.

In Anna's words, step outside your daily. Be coachable. Start small. Take risks and grow.

Check out what Anna is up to through instagram @coach_anna_inc And if you're looking for a personal trainer and coach, she offers great sessions live and via zoom.

Claire Hankey first began making collages as a young child. Today, inspired by her father's brushes and paints, she creates fragile, dreamy pieces, in veils of mixed media.

Her work reflects early childhood memories - her family home and garden, her glamorous grandmother Evelyne. Reflections on the past also inspired her podcast series Where the Art Began.

A poignant moment for me is when Claire speaks about the importance of how we talk to people - children, young people, adults - about their art. Consider how you may have been affected in the past by what people have said about your work. And how might have you affected others?

You can learn more about Claire and her work at clairehankeyartist.com and on instagram @clairehankeyartist.  If by any chance you're in Leigh-on-Sea at the right time of year, be sure to enjoy the local art trail (or find one near you). And have a listen to her podcast!

This is an episode about feedback, reacting, and learning from what we hear from others.

As you listen to my conversation with gardener Andi Strachan, see if you can look under the covers at what a garden - as art, creation, growth, and development - might mean to you.

Where do you see yourself and your work within this ongoing process of dynamic and ongoing setbacks and bursts; natural individual beauties that develop over hours, days, and years; design through light, colour; sharing knowledge; social pressures and wildness versus cultivation; and 'the relentless emergence of life?'

This really was a walk through life and art as garden.

You can learn more about Andi and her work on instagram @andi.strachan and by watching the amazing work she creates with friend and gardener Helen Lockwood on the Netflix series The Big Flower Fight.