Podcast
Soundwaves of Belonging
Intimate and irreverent conversations with fellow bridge builders
What does it mean to belong? Join Annahid as she hosts conversations with thought leaders in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion about belonging—to the world around us, to the communities we live in and to one another—in a deeply divided world.
Tune in for episodes featuring intimate, irreverent and real conversations about belonging with guests like Jesse Wente, Mark Shapiro, Loretta J. Ross, Judy Rebick, Parker Palmer and more.
Enjoying Soundwaves of Belonging? Dive deeper into the themes of this podcast with Bones of Belonging: Finding Wholeness in a White World, Annahid Dashtgard’s latest story collection.
On Loss: Our Collective Love Language
Join Annahid Dashtgard and award-winning performing and recording artist, filmmaker, broadcaster and author Christa Couture for a conversation on grief. They talk about their shared experience with grief, both individual and collective, how grief can open us up to more possibility of grace and gratitude, and how ultimately the way we work through loss can…
On Learning: Swinging the Bat for Justice
Annahid Dashtgard sits down with president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays Mark Shapiro to talk about grappling with race as a white leader in a white-dominant sport, and how committed leaders can go beyond “checking a box” with EDI work to creating an open and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
On Power: Literacy, Lessons and Leadership
Join host Annahid Dashtgard and executive coach, leadership consultant and creator of the Diamond Power Index Julie Diamond for a frank conversation on power: what it is, why it matters, and how to use it ethically and effectively no matter your role.
On Whiteness: Racial Justice and the American Dream
Executive coach and co-founder of Reboot.io Jerry Colonna joins host Annahid Dashtgard for a conversation about our relationships to whiteness from different identities. Listen to our conversation about grappling with racism post-George Floyd, and catch a real moment of micro-reparation in action!
On Healing: Writing and the Art of Forgiveness
Emmy award-winning actor, writer, and LGBTQ2S+ advocate Jo Vannicola joins host Annahid Dashtgard for a conversation about healing: what the practice of forgiveness can release us from, but also the limits of forgiveness. We discuss how systems of abuse thrive on our silences, and how truth-speaking—or finding the story that is ours to tell—can ultimately…
On Change: Lessons from Feminism Past
Legendary Canadian feminist Judy Rebick joins host Annahid Dashtgard for a conversation between two close friends. We spent the episode reflecting on Judy’s remarkable history, the anger and activism (including where anger is helpful and where it’s not), the necessary ability to work across differences to bring about political change and more.
On Reverence: To Bee or Not To Bee
Canadian writer Jenna Butler and host Annahid Dashtgard discuss finding a sense of belonging to the land we inhabit as first generation immigrants AND as settlers on stolen Indigenous territory. We also talk about what bees have to teach us humans, what being mixed-race means in a time where racism is such a charged topic….and…
On Purpose: Learning to Listen to Life
Visionary, leader and “spiritual giant” Parker Palmer joins host Annahid Dashtgard to talk about how to make activism and social change efforts stick. We talk about whether consciousness is housed in the brain or in the field between us, the transformative power of listening, and why learning is a form of liberation.
On Identity: Mixed Race, Memoir and Mental Health
Author Hollay Ghadery joins host Annahid Dashtgard to talk about what it means to grow up mixed race and mixed culture, finding a sense of belonging through creativity and how much our families actually read of what we write. We also touch on the connection between being mixed race and mental health, and whether recovery…
On Body: My Revolution is Brown and Beautiful
Psychotherapist and critically-acclaimed writer Farzana Doctor joins host Annahid Dashtgard to speak about belonging in bodies rejected by the society, how the body doesn’t lie, and how learning to love our own bodies can be the most revolutionary act.
On Ancestry: Calling in the Calling Out Culture
Legendary activist, public intellectual, author and recipient of the 2022 MacArthur Foundation “genius” award Loretta J. Ross and Annahid Dashtgard talk the fuzzy line between trauma and activism, calling in vs. calling out and how belonging can only be found in community—the ones we come from or the ones we make.
On Racism: Cheerleading Women of Colour at Work
Deepa Purushothaman is the author of The First, The Few, The Only: How Women of Color can Redifine Power in Corporate America and the first woman of colour to make partner in the Deloitte’s history. In this episode, we talk race and power in the workplace, growing up brown in small white towns, and why…
On Difference: Books, Blackness and Belonging
Kwame Scott Fraser is a former United Nations peacekeeper and the current President and CEO of Dundurn Press, one of the largest independent publishers in North America publisher of my upcoming book Bones of Belonging. In this episode we talk our common struggles with racial discrimination, why language and stories matter and what’s dangerous about…
