You can’t be a leader unless you’re a continuous learner.

In this special Season 1 closer, Lisa is joined by her mom, Dr. Bonnie Kay! Bonnie is many things: consultant, psychologist, continuous learner, competitive golfer, and lifelong inventor of her own path. Together, they revisit the choices, relationships, and philosophies that shaped Bonnie’s unconventional career and deeply influenced Lisa’s own work in futures thinking and design.

During the conversation, Bonnie shares stories from her early days as an English teacher, her leap into psychology during a major turning point for women, the “shortest dissertation ever” on gender roles and marital satisfaction, and her later career helping leaders grow through quality management and emotional intelligence.

You’ll hear:

• How “continuous learning” became her north star
• Why the circle of influence still matters in chaotic times
• The power of great conversations
• Her signature philosophies like “take the best and leave the rest”

It’s a warm, funny conversation about ambition, family, reinvention, and the lifelong practice of creating a meaningful life on your own terms. A perfect end to Season 1.

Some of Bonnie’s Favorite books and resources:

7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey

Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

Women Who Run with Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Think Again by Adam Grant (my mom literally gives everyone in her life Adam Grant’s calendar)

9 lifetime Hole in Ones, Impressive! An informal account of golf highlights by Bonnie Kay

The Rise of the full Stack Learning Organization, Lisa Kay Solomon

The future is being built in the spaces most of us never learned to see.

In this episode, Lisa talks with journalist and entrepreneur Jennifer Brandel. Jennifer is the co-founder of Zebras Unite, and creator of the Interstitium, a theory of the hidden connective work that keeps communities, movements, and systems alive. Jenn has spent her career naming the “in-between” roles that make change possible and giving shape to the people who do them.

They explore:

• The Interstitium Jenn's new framework for the unseen connective tissue of society
• Hexagon people those who bridge local life and global ideas
• Sacred hospitality how to create spaces where real transformation can happen
• Why connection is the real antidote to loneliness, polarization, and overwhelm
• Zebras Unite a model for building companies that are profitable and regenerative

Jenn shares stories from journalism, civic innovation, and community building, showing how naming and noticing these patterns helps people feel less alone.

This conversation is an invitation to reconnect with each other, design healthier ways of working together, and imagine futures built on reciprocity, meaning, and resilience.

Links from the show:

• Jennifer’s website
• The Intersitium
• Hexagon People
• Zebras Unite
• Zebras Fix what Unicorns Break

Great coaches train better people, not just better athletes.

Coach John Tanner (JT) is about to start his 29th season as the Stanford women’s water polo coach. On this episode of How We Future, JT and Lisa explore how coaching goes far beyond the pool. Over decades of leading championship teams, JT has developed a coaching style that focuses on resilience, communication skills, and the value of practice.

He helps athletes become confident, empathetic, and thoughtful leaders. Whether it’s having his athletes make TED Talks for each other or facilitating weekly check-ins about how his team is feeling about their academics, JT prioritizes training methods that will help his students long after their athletic careers.

JT and Lisa discuss:

• How high-pressure sports environments can cultivate empathy
• Why JT integrates storytelling and reflection into his team’s daily routine
• How intentional, consistent practice is crucial to navigating the highest-pressure moments
• The mindset behind coaching for long-term growth, not just short-term victories
• Ways to translate JT’s coaching strategies into personal or professional leadership practices

Leadership isn’t only forged in the workplace. It’s practiced every day in the ways we connect, communicate, and lift others.

Links from the show:

• Coaching Citizens Athletes, Stanford Report Article
• The Coaches Wore Cardinal, Stanford Magazine
• The Right Call by Sally Jenkins (Lisa’s favorite book about sports and leadership)
• Stanford Women’s Water Polo Speaker Series
• See JT on Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Female Athlete Research Meeting (FARM)

Pleasure isn’t the enemy of sustainability. It might be the path to it.

Today, Lisa Kay Solomon is joined by Dana Cowin, longtime Food & Wine editor-in-chief, storytelling innovator, and founder of Progressive Hedonist, to talk about how creativity, curiosity, and continual reinvention shape a meaningful life.

From leading one of the most influential food magazines in the world to uplifting underrepresented voices and sustainable culinary practices, Dana has spent her career expanding our understanding of what “good food” means.

You’ll learn:

• Why reinvention is less about starting over and more about listening to what excites you now
• How Progressive Hedonism helps us rethink pleasure, connection, and long-term well-being
• The role sustainable food practices play in shaping a healthier future for people and the planet
• What Dana discovered when she left her “dream job” after 21 years
• Why curiosity is the engine that keeps creativity alive

Together, Lisa and Dana dive into the idea of being a Progressive Hedonist: the belief that pleasure and responsibility can coexist. Dana shares how eating deliciously can also mean eating ethically, and how sustainability becomes far more compelling when it’s rooted in joy rather than guilt.

This episode is a reminder that pleasure isn’t frivolous, it’s fuel. And when paired with intention, it becomes a powerful force for shaping a better future.

Links from the show:

• Progressive Hedonist manifesto
• Are you a Progressive Hedonist? Take the quiz!
• Learn how to throw your own Progressive Hedonist dinner party!
• Check out Dana’s book: Mastering My Mistakes: Learning to Cook with 65 Chefs and Over 100 Recipes
• Dana’s TED Talk: How ugly, unloved food can change the world

The science of a good day is also the science of a better future.

This week’s episode of How We Future with Lisa Kay Solomon features Caroline Webb: leadership coach, behavioral science expert, McKinsey Senior Advisor, and bestselling author of How to Have a Good Day.

Caroline’s work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and practical leadership. She shares how we can prepare for chaotic times and gain agency by understanding the ways our brains handle uncertainty, stress, and decision-making.

You’ll learn:

• Why attention is your most precious resource
• A simple three-part framework (“Know. Be. Do”) that helps leaders navigate chaos
• How naming what you’re feeling instantly reduces stress
• Why imagining a future scenario trains your brain to respond better in real life
• Why realistic optimism, not blind positivity, is the mindset leaders need right now

This conversation is a practical, hopeful guide for anyone trying to lead with more clarity, calm, and positivity. Caroline shows that the skills we need to navigate the future aren’t abstract. They’re learnable, repeatable, and rooted in how we manage our minds today.

Links from the show:

• Learn more about Caroline and her projects on her website
• Buy the book: How To Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb
• Take Caroline’s LinkedIn Learning Courses: Science-based Habits for Modern Leadership and How to Have a Great Day at Work
• Link to HBR Chapter: Guide to Dealing with Conflict by Caroline Webb
• Even more resources from Caroline Webb to help you thrive!
• Psychologist Podcast with Scott Barry Kauffman

What if the future makes more sense when we treat it like a game?

In this episode of How We Future, Lisa Kay Solomon is joined by Jeffrey Rogers—futures facilitator, lifelong learner, and co-founder of PROJECTORY—to explore how play, prospection, and curiosity help people prepare for inevitable uncertainty. Jeff is an expert at designing experiences, workshops, and games that help leaders feel the future, not just think about it.

Together, Lisa and Jeff unpack why the future is “too important to leave to the futurists,” and how all of us can build their capacity to imagine, experiment, and act with more confidence.

Jeff shares stories from youth leadership trips, corporate workshops, and global facilitation work that reveal how people learn best when they’re invited to experiment, reflect, and play their way into new futures.

You’ll learn:

• Why prospection, or an ability to imagine forward, is a superpower we’re all naturally equipped with
• How games create low-stakes environments for exploring high-stakes ideas
• How simple imaginative activities (like interviewing a child about their future) promote agency and perspective
• Why designing your future self is just as important as designing future strategies
• Jeff’s favorite books and games, so that YOU can put his great ideas into action

This episode will encourage you to stay open, curious, and willing to try things that might not work (yet). Jeff’s approach makes the future feel expansive, collaborative, and wonderfully human.

Links from the show:

• Chair Zombie Game
• Gamestorming (practices by David Gray and Sunni Brown)
• Hal Hirshfield’s work at UCLA
• PROJECTORY

Bonus! Jeff’s recommendations for diving into futures practices:

• How to Future by Scott Smith and Madeline Ashby – an accessible toolkit for futures facilitation
• Timefulness by Marcia Bjornerud – a geologist's perspective on thinking across vastly different time scales
• Borne: A Novel by Jeff VanderMeer – science fiction that builds deep empathy for non-human entities (and yes, he cried at the end)

Is trust the foundation of the future?

In this episode of How We Future, Lisa Kay Solomon sits down with Zoë Jenkins, Director of Civic Trust and Recruitment at Civics Unplugged, to talk about how the next generation is reimagining democracy from the ground up.

Zoë’s journey started early—she joined Civics Unplugged as a high school fellow, went on to write her own job description fresh out of college, and now leads programs helping young people build community through civic trust, a term you’ll learn all about in this episode.

Zoë and Lisa cover:

• Why democracy depends on trusting your neighbors, not just voting with them
• How young people are turning frustration into innovation
• The difference between attachment and affection, and why it matters
• How flattening hierarchies and “breaking the model” unlocks leadership at every age

This episode is a call to action for anyone who wants to strengthen the bonds that hold our communities—and our futures—together. Zoë reminds us that democracy isn’t just a system. It’s a daily practice of showing up, listening, and believing in one another.

Links from the show:

• Zoë’s TEDx Talk on “Saving the World in an Empathy Crisis”
• CBS This Morning segment featuring Zoë and Generation Change
• Learn more about Zoë on her website
• Zoë’s partnership with Aerie to speak about “How to Contribute to Social Justice”
• Article from More in Common about the role of sports fans in democracy

How do we reclaim our imagination as a force for freedom?

You might know Ahmed Best from his role as Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars universe– He is also the creator of AfroRithms from the Future and a lifelong champion of imagination as liberation. From the streets of the South Bronx to the worlds of the Jedi, Ahmed has spent his life proving that creativity can rewrite what’s possible.

You'll learn:

• Why imagination isn’t a luxury—it’s a right
• How watching the birth of hip-hop in the 70’s taught him that the future can be built from nothing
• The origin of AfroRithms from the Future and the joy of collective play
• What Afrofuturism reveals about freedom, history, and self-determination
• How his Jedi character, Kelleran Beq, teaches that The Force is love

Ahmed and Lisa trace a throughline from ancient Egypt to Dynamic Land to the Star Wars galaxy, showing that the power to future is in all of us.

This conversation is a reminder that joy, creativity, and imagination are the real tools of freedom—and that the best way to shape the future is to play it into being.

Read Lisa's thoughts on the episode on the How We Future Substack.

Links from the show:

• Learn about Afrofuturism from Ahmed's AfroRithm Futures Group
• Buy Ahmed's game: AfroRithms from the Future
• The Long Now Foundation Talk: When is Wakanda: Imagining Afrofutures
• The Long Now Foundation: Feel the Future with Ahmed Best
• New York Times Article: The Actor Who Played Jar Jar Binks is Proud of his Star Wars Legacy
• Sneak Peak of Marvel Comics: Jar Jar, written by Ahmed Best
• Disney’s Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Series