The Coconut Thinking podcast brings educational provocateurs and practitioners in the regenerative space together to ask: what would it take to create the conditions for all life to thrive? Conversations are as diverse as the guests, but each one participates in the ecosystem, and each one questions the dominant narrative. This is a show for those who are curious about learning, systems, and contributing to the bio-collective—all life that has an interest in the healthfulness of the planet.
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Let’s run down the halls, speak out of turn, break a few rules, and have an honest conversation about why schools need to change. Join me, Sal Gordon, and other rule-breakers as we dig into what needs to change, why and how we can pick up the pace on education reform. I’m going beyond the theory. Beyond the school gates. I’m getting fidgeting and I’m not waiting to put my hand up to be given permission to talk. I think the School bell is about to ring, so let’s get ready to get real.
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Special Episode: Learning is a means, not an end
31:28
31:28
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31:28How can learning&doing help us become good participants in the web of life? In this special episode, I speak about how systems change won’t happen if we replace names and labels but continue to do the same old thing. I propose that we move beyond assessing learning, competencies, soft skills for their own sake. Rather, what if we collected the voic…
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Dan Burgess: Passengers and Crew on Spaceship Earth
51:48
51:48
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51:48How might we participate as Earthlings, part of a living planet, in kinship with the more-than-human? Dan Burgess is a regenerative practitioner, creative strategist, and facilitator working at the intersection of ecology, culture, and transformation. With roots in the worlds of storytelling, activism, and systems innovation, Dan helps individuals …
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Bas van den Berg, Mieke Lopes Cardozo, Koen Wessels: Regenerative Education requires Love, Presence, and Courage
1:01:23
1:01:23
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1:01:23What does it mean to nurture good relationships through regenerative education in these times we live in? In this episode, I speak with the authors of the soon-to-be-published book, The Art of Regenerative Educatorship. Bas is an associate professor in regenerative leadership at the Mission Zero Centre of Expertise at The Hague University of Applie…
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Special Nyepi Episode: Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. interviewed by Charlotte Hankin
1:20:03
1:20:03
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1:20:03We honor Nyepi with this special episode, in which Charlotte Hankin interviews Benjamin Freud. Nyepi is the Balinese Day of Silence, and is a Hindu New Year celebration marked by 24 hours of complete stillness. No travel, no lights, no work, and no noise. It is a time for self-reflection and spiritual renewal. We recorded this episode a few days af…
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How might we shift our educational practices to deepen students’ ecological awareness, nurturing a culture of care and reciprocity with Earth’s living systems? In this episode, I speak with Katharine Burke. Katharine has been an educator for over 30 years, passionately advocating for ecological literacy, permaculture, and regenerative education. Sh…
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Do we have what it takes to change our ways to ones that work with, rather than against, life? In this episode, I speak with Giles Hutchins. Giles is a leading voice in regenerative leadership and business transformation. With 30 years of experience—including roles as Head of Transformation at KPMG and Global Sustainability Director at Atos—he now …
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Mike Edwards, PhD: Resonance with place and crises
51:11
51:11
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51:11How might we weave stories together as a response to ecological breakdown, using sound to connect to place? In this episode, I speak with Mike Edwards. Mike began his career researching climate change in the Southwest Pacific, where his work—cited by the IPCC—was among the first to explore ecocolonialism: how climate discourse is manipulated by the…
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What happens when the way we see ourselves changes the way we see the world? In this episode, I speak with Steffi Bednarek. Steffi’s work explores the intersection of climate change, complexity thinking, and the human psyche. She is the Director of the Center for Climate Psychology. With over 25 years of experience in depth psychology, trauma-infor…
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Leslie Medema: Place-based learning at Green School Bali
45:54
45:54
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45:54How might leadership open more emergent spaces in schools? This is the first in a series of episodes throughout the year where we invite educators and practitioners to explore how they might share their time, talents, and gifts to uplift others. As we delve into their stories, we ask our guests what contributions they envision making in the spirit …
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Dave Cormier: Learning in a time of uncertainty
50:10
50:10
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50:10How might we learn (and teach) to navigate uncertainty when the system rewards final answers? Dave Cormier is an internationally renowned educational thinker specializing in the intersection of technology and pedagogy. He coined the term MOOC in 2008 and pioneered open and rhizomatic learning. His work on creativity and uncertainty in education is …
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How might sound reshape our understanding of and nurture new relationships with the living world? In this episode, I speak with Louise Romain. Louise works as an anthropologist, an imagination activist (with Moral Imaginations) and a podcast producer. She campaigns for multispecies justice and Indigenous rights through grassroots organising, relati…
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What happens when we tune into sound to make sense of our world? How might noticing sounds and silences tell us more about place? In this episode, Charlotte and I speak with Melissa Pons. Melissa is a field recordist and award-winning sound designer based in Portugal. Throughout her years of practice, she has independently released field recording …
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Bronwen Main and Frank Burridge: Biomimicry Series Episode III
43:04
43:04
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43:04How might Biomimicry help us understand the context of a problem in order for us to respond locally, not with one-size-fits-all solutions? In this episode, I speak with Bronwen Main and Frank Burridge. Bronwen is a landscape architect and co-founder of Main Studio, where she focuses on sustainable, nature-inspired designs that transform urban space…
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Henry Dicks, Ph.D. : Biomimicry Series Episode II
48:08
48:08
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48:08How might biomimicry be an ethical approach to a thriving planet rather than just another way to make cool products for money? In this episode, I speak with Henry Dicks. Henry is an environmental philosopher and philosopher of technology. He holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford and lectures in environmental philosophy and ethics at Unive…
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Daniel Kinzer: Biomimicry Series Episode I
50:24
50:24
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50:24How might we create participatory, community-based technologies inspired from Nature with the interests of life in mind? In this episode, I speak with Daniel Kinzer. Daniel is the founder of Pacific Blue Studios, a network of youth-powered exploration, design and innovation studios leveraging biomimicry, traditional ecological knowledge and conserv…
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Tyson Yunkaporta: Right Story, Wrong Story
1:00:54
1:00:54
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1:00:54How might knowledge be co-created as a process of relationships between humans, other-than-humans, and the land? In this episode, I speak with Tyson Yunkaporta. Tyson is an Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and author of Sand Talk and most recently Right Story, Wrong Story. His wo…
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Peter Sutoris, Ph.D.: Education for the Anthropocene
44:47
44:47
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44:47How might ethics world the futures our generation will leave behind? How might education respond within the climate context? In this episode, I speak with Peter Sutoris. Peter is an environmental anthropologist and assistant professor in climate and development at the University of Leeds’ Sustainability Research Institute. He is the author of the b…
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Pim Martens, Ph.D: Relationships for planetary health
40:32
40:32
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40:32How might cultivating local relationships with humans and the more-than-human contribute to overall planetary health? In this episode, I speak with Pim Martens. Pim has a PhD in applied mathematics and biological sciences. He is a professor of Planetary Health and dean of Maastricht University College Venlo. Pim has been a professor of Sustainable …
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Virgel Hammonds: Nurturing radical relationships
50:23
50:23
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50:23How do we nurture radical human relationships through authentic stories of learning? In this episode, I speak with Virgel Hammonds. Virgel is a nationally recognized leader in education innovation. He became CEO of the Aurora Institute in 2024, bringing over two decades of experience in learner-centered education. Formerly Chief Learning Officer at…
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Ep 8 - Redefining a School as a ‘Community of Learners’
48:37
48:37
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48:37Join Carol Da Riva and Sal Gordon for inspiring stories on getting parents deeply involved in the lifelong learning process at school and how it supplements the students' growth and development in their pathway.By Green Educators Program
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Special Episode: Charlotte, Benjamin, and the city
1:05:39
1:05:39
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1:05:39How is place an emergent, relational experience, rather than a fixed location? In this special episode, Charlotte and Benjamin speak alongside the sounds of Paris to create a conversation that includes the city. We come to Europe every couple of years to visit family, and this year we will also drop my son off to university. We recorded this episod…
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Kyle Wagner: The 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments
35:37
35:37
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35:37How might we commit to change in order to create conditions for deeper learning and put students first? In this episode, I speak with Kyle Wagner. Kyle is an education consultant and founder of Transform Educational Consulting (TEC). He specializes in empowering schools to create socially, emotionally, and globally aware citizens through project-ba…
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David Leventhal and Ximena Rodriguez: Travel is education for living
45:12
45:12
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45:12How might regenerative travel teach us about reciprocity, contributing to a different approach to education? In this episode I speak with David Leventhal and Ximena Rodrigues of Playa Viva. Playa Viva is a B-Corp certified brand that leverages hospitality to bring capital to work to improve ecosystems, for people and planet, to create vibrant, resi…
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Clover Hogan: Climate breakdown is the symptom, not the illness
48:00
48:00
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48:00What if we decided to do things differently? I speak with Clover Hogan. Clover is a 24-year-old climate activist and the founding Executive Director of Force of Nature - the youth non-profit turning climate anxiety into action. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted within the boardrooms of Fortune 50 …
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How might our stories be as unique as the place from which they unfold? In this episode, I speak with Jenny Andersson. Jenny is the founder of The Really Regenerative Centre. She works as a strategist, facilitator and educator, supporting organizations and communities to create visions for the future they want – together – and to find the energy, w…
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Ronald Barnett, Ph.D: Higher education is found in criticality, not university
37:04
37:04
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37:04How might we re-think higher education to be about our ability to discern the world and take action, not the diplomas we receive? I speak with Ronald Barnett. Ron has spent a lifetime in higher education as a scholar, institutional leader and manager, researcher, and writer. He is recognized as having introduced and developed the philosophy of high…
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