17 MAR. 2020 · This week’s episode focuses on showing appreciation in our lives in order to build a better life that leverages the positive aspects of our given circumstances. We link the concept of appreciative intelligence to personal development by exploring the opioid-ridden, yet culturally rich region of Central Appalachia. In this episode, we learn about George Mason University Professor, Tojo Thatchenkery’s insights on the strengths of Silicon Valley in creating a highly innovative community. We then hear from Head Luthier of the Appalachian School of Luthiery, Doug Naselroad, and how he’s transforming the lives of recovering drug addicts through stringed-instrument making. About Doug Naselroad: https://www.appalachianluthiery.org/doug-naselroad Knott Downtown Radio Hour: https://artisancenter.net/radiohour/ About Dr. Tojo Thatchenkery: http://www.appreciativeintelligence.com/ My website: https://kurien12thomas.wixsite.com/kurienthomas/podcast-1

17 DIC. 2019 · This week’s episode focuses on diagnosing complex problems in our lives and extending the right kind of help to others who may be struggling. We look at these topics through the lens of international aid and social entrepreneurship. Questions we discuss include designing solutions with community engagement, using observation to effectively see where issues lie and looking at poverty as a problem of equity or efficiency. In this episode, we talk to Dhairya Pujara, Founder and CEO of global design-thinking firm Y-Center, to give us insight on how we can use design-thinking principles and storytelling to properly create solutions that leave lasting change in our lives and others. Check out y-center: https://y-center.org/ My website: https://kurienthomas.wordpress.com/ Subscribe, share, and leave a review!

25 NOV. 2019 · This week’s episode focuses on navigating phases in our lives that are out of our control. What is productive when it seems like you can’t fix them on your own? Is everything in our lives really as DIY as we seem to make it? In this episode, we talk to Pastor Michael Lusk of Church on Grounds at the University of Virginia to give us insight on his worldview of handing some of our burdens to another force in our lives.

28 JUN. 2019 · People love certainty. It’s human nature to like having control over our own lives. Choosing what we’re going to wear, where we’re going to eat, when we’re going to bed. But sometimes in our busy lives, this certainty gets faded and the plans we make for the future starts getting more and more blurry. My guest today has spent years living in Silicon Valley, bouncing from tech company to tech company working on cross-cultural content marketing and has spent a couple years working as a mental health coach for a nonprofit based in D.C. called MindRight. Her name is Ruika Lin. She’s a graduate of the University of Virginia and she’s an author of a book of collected essays titled ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, where she explores diverse themes spanning microeconomics, psychology, the professional world, music, human connections, and growing up in China and moving abroad to the U.S. We begin the show discussing some of these themes, looking at Ruika’s experiences staying in the US as an international student. We then dig into several different ways we can embrace uncertainty to shape our journey during our time in this world. Learn more about Ruika: https://about.me/ruika Visit MindRight: https://getmindright.org/

26 JUN. 2019 · Do we ever stop and observe our environment not just by how we interact with it physically, but how it makes us feel mentally? Our environment is more than a setting. It shapes your choices which ultimately shape how you feel. In this first episode of Serotunein, I interview Sally Dover, the former director of the University of Virginia's Stall Seat Journal to tell us a little bit more about creating positive social norms and designing an environment that promotes healthy behaviors. Check out the Stall Seat Journal: https://www.studenthealth.virginia.edu/stall-seat-journal My Website: https://kurienthomas.wordpress.com/ Hackbeat by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100805 Artist: http://incompetech.com/