This episode explores how ancestral plant wisdom can reshape the future of healthcare and the economy. Clinical herbalist and educator Laura Ash shares practical insights on ethical herbalism, biopiracy, whole-plant medicine, and why reconnecting with traditional knowledge matters for human and planetary wellbeing. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of the cultural, scientific, and economic dimensions of herbal medicine and how to apply these lessons in their own work and lives.

View the show notes: www.lifteconomy.com/blog/reclaiming-ancestral-medicine-for-a-regenerative-future-w/-laura-ash

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Climate resilience is not only a matter of innovation but also of honoring what communities have practiced for centuries. In this episode, Julia Watson, designer, activist, and leading expert on Lo—TEK — a term that combines low-tech and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) — shares how traditional practices offer vital solutions for sustainable design and regenerative economics.

View the blog post: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/building-climate-resilience-through-lo-tek-julia-watson

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Autumn Brown returns to Next Economy Now for a third time for a wide-ranging, candid conversation on practicing freedom in an unfree world. We talk joy and parenting, the post-2020 backlash, symbolic vs relational change (pronouns, land acknowledgements), building broader coalitions, and Autumn’s shift from cooperative leadership to music, Aikido, and a forthcoming book on fugitivity. It’s a grounded back-and-forth about moving from fear and performance to love, courage, and strategy.

View the show notes: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/autumn-brown-freedom-practice-in-an-unfree-world

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Freedom and fulfillment aren’t measured in square footage; they’re shaped by how we live and what we value. In this episode of Next Economy Now, we welcome Jewel Pearson, a tiny house expert, intentional living advocate, and longtime voice for representation in the tiny house movement. With over ten years of experience living in a tiny house, Jewel brings lived experience and deep expertise as a consultant, educator, and speaker. She challenges traditional ideas of housing and wealth building, helping people design homes and lifestyles rooted in sustainability, equity, and community.

For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/jewel-pearson/

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When you understand the power of a limiting belief and change it into a liberating belief, you get to take your power back and achieve personal freedom. In this segment of our Next Economy Living mini-series, we are joined by author and advocate for personal liberation, Christine Platt, to talk about her new book, Less is Liberation, and to share her liberation story.

For full show notes, visit: https://lifteconomy.com/blog/christine-platt-2025/

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What if the solution to better housing, health, and happiness isn’t greater independence, but deeper interdependence? In this episode of Next Economy Now, sustainability educator and regenerative living advocate Cynthia Tina invites us to rethink how we live, highlighting what it means to live in alignment with shared values, and why intentional communities are emerging as a powerful response to today’s social and ecological challenges.

For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/cynthia-tina/

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Living with intention can be a radical act in a world driven by consumerism. In this special Next Economy Living mini-series episode, host Kevin Bayuk speaks with writer, herbalist, and former Black Minimalists podcast producer Farai Harreld about how ancestral knowledge and mindful practices can help us reclaim agency over our health, homes, and everyday choices.

For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/farai-harreld/

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How do we equip people with the skills and support they need to build a regenerative, community-centered economy? In part two of our series on the hypotheses that guide our work at LIFT Economy, Kevin Bayuk and Ryan Honeyman explore the critical training and skills gaps facing entrepreneurs and organizations working to create economic systems rooted in community well-being, environmental regeneration, and the common good.

For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/skills-gap-next-economy/

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