Podcasts

Fostering Safer Spaces with Ally Baharoon

In this Trouble Makers episode, Ally Baharoon shares how stuttering led him to storytelling and activism. Speaking with Monica Kamandau, he explores inclusive communities, challenges fluency bias, and shows how creative writing and intentional listening can shift civic spaces toward dignity, power, and deeper democratic engagement.

Make New Folks Welcome with Rebecka Blomqvist

This Trouble Makers episode features architect Rebecka Blomqvist on designing activist spaces that truly welcome newcomers. From cosy environments to one-on-one connections, she shows how intentional design, both physical and social, can help groups move beyond recruitment to real belonging and lasting engagement.

Enable, Don’t Command with Juma Erassy

This Trouble Makers episode spotlights Juma Erassy and the Youth Hub at MSTCDC, showcasing enabling leadership that empowers youth beyond graduation. By decentralising power and nurturing collaboration, the Hub fosters climate justice and civic action, proving that leadership rooted in shared responsibility can outlast any single figure.

Consider your audience with Minentle Luthuli

In this episode of Trouble Makers, South African filmmaker Minentle Luthuli explores the balance between authenticity and strategy in storytelling. She shares insights from her film Heart Attack, reflecting on how true stories connect deeply and how audience-centred platforms risk diluting meaning in pursuit of mass appeal.

Resources & Show Links

Heart Attack by Minentle Luthuli

Consider Your Audience by Beautiful Trouble

Tips on Building and Sustaining Networks

Networks have the power to address pressing challenges and drive meaningful change within communities.

The network leaders of Danida Alumni Networks in Ghana (DAN-G) emphasise the importance of clarity in structures, relationships, and connections within networks is crucial for building communities of practice that can effectively support development initiatives.

Why tune in?

• Real Stories, Real Impact: Hear firsthand accounts of how the Dan-G network is making a difference in Ghana.
• Practical Tips: Gain valuable tips on building and sustaining effective networks.

Why How we Share Information Matters

In this episode, we delve into practical strategies that you can apply to effectively convey a message regardless of the communication product or platform being used. Tune in to discover how to effectively engage your audience using practical tools to help you influence and inspire real change and create a more informed and equitable society.

Building communities of practice

With Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner 

The coordinators of the national Danida alumni networks recently joined a workshop led by the renowned social learning theorists, Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner. Together, they delved into the potential of community of practice skills in empowering network leadership to drive impactful change.

In this podcast, listen to Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner talk about community of practice. 

Enhancing Participant Engagement and Coordination in Networks

Networks can be powerful, complex, and downright exhilarating. In this episode, we explore the real first steps of building a thriving network, how to spark genuine engagement, and the magic of turning connections into meaningful collaboration.

Plus, a heartfelt message for every network leader navigating the ups and downs — you're not alone, and this ride is worth it.

The Five Cs of Cultivating a Network

What does it mean to cultivate a network mindset?

In this episode, we explore the Five Cs of Cultivating Networks, a simple yet powerful way to understand how connections grow, thrive, and create real change.

Tune in to hear:

• What the "network mindset" actually means (and why it's more than just a buzzword).
• How to navigate the shift from traditional top-down structures.
• Simple, practical ways you and your organisation can start thinking and acting more like a network.

Troublemakers Ep1 - Conflict Kitchen

Amidst growing radicalization of public debate around refugees and migrants in Poland, a conscious restaurant serves dishes from regions of active conflict around the world for Warsaw locals. With Jarmila Rybicka, co-founder of Conflict Kitchen, we talk food and solidarity. We learn how preparing and sharing a delicious dish can offer many points of entry for public engagement and cultural exchange.

Read more about a Pittsburgh version of Conflict Kitchen at https://beautifultrouble.org/toolbox/tool/conflict-kitchen. 
Follow Kuchnia Konfliktu on https://www.instagram.com/kuchniakonfliktu or https://www.facebook.com/kuchniakonfliktu/.