co-regulation is a podcast hosted by Holly Whitaker (HOME, QUITTED) that creates space for authentic conversations about how we're navigating this period of societal upheaval and profound transition. Through conversations with thinkers, artists, and experts, informed by Holly's perspective on addiction, recovery, and the intersection of personal healing and cultural systems, this show invites listeners into real-time exploration of how we're living through unprecedented change—not as isolated individuals, but as interconnected beings whose nervous systems regulate better together than apart.

In the aftermath of the 2024 election and accelerating pressure on our social systems, the limitations of the American experiment have become impossible to ignore. Every day exposes the myth that we can solve collective problems through individual achievement, consumption choices, or personal virtue. We've inherited a story that places the burden of global salvation on our individual shoulders while the architects of collapse profit from the fallout.

co-regulation emerges from Holly's direct experience: when consumed by the pressure to fix broken systems personally, she becomes incapacitated. Her nervous system remains in perpetual fight-or-flight. But when she connects with others wrestling with the same questions, something shifts. Our bodies literally calm in each other's presence. Solutions emerge not from heroic individual efforts but from the space between us.

Original music by Gracie Coates (of Gracie and Rachel) @graciecoates @gracieandrachel on Instagram, gracieandrachel.com

Sound engineering, editor: Adam Day, adamdayphotography.com

Producer: Holly Whitaker, hollywhitaker.com

Co-Producers: Adam Day

Original art by Misha Handschumacher, cmisha.com

co-regulation is listener-supported, made possible by us and by you; you can support this podcast by joining our Patreon community patreon.com/coregulation

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first episode, Holly talks with Chris La Tray, Métis storyteller, Montana Poet Laureate, and author of the brilliant and timely memoir Becoming Little Shell. Chris shares the story of his people—the Little Shell Tribe, who remained landless for over a century after refusing to accept an exploitative treaty—and what their resilience teaches us about playing the long game in dark times.

They discuss why current political upheaval represents familiar patterns to Indigenous peoples who have survived 500 years of colonialism; how Chief Little Shell's principled refusal to accept 10 cents per acre for tribal lands led to 150 years of landlessness before achieving federal recognition in 2019; Chris's evolution from reluctant storyteller to understanding himself as chosen to carry forward his people's narratives; the tension between building a personal writing career and serving community stories; practical acts of cultural reclamation like using Anishinaabe greetings in daily life; the goldfinch story that taught him to stay open to ancestral guidance; what it means to play the long game and build something you may never see completed; moving beyond performative activism toward genuine relationship with Indigenous perspectives; the difference between cultural appropriation and authentic honoring; why asking "what should I do?" isn't the most helpful question for non-Native allies; how individual choices like canceling Netflix connect to larger systemic change; the psychological and spiritual costs of principled dissent across generations; and the responsibility that comes with privilege and platform in storytelling.

Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller, descendant of the Pembina Band of the Mighty Red River of the North, and enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe. He served as Montana Poet Laureate from 2023-2025 and has made his living as an artist since 2015. His books include One Sentence Journal and Becoming Little Shell: A Homecoming. He writes the newsletter "An Irritable Métis" on Substack.

Substack: https://chrislatray.substack.com/

Book: https://milkweed.org/book/becoming-little-shell

Original music by Gracie Coates (of Gracie and Rachel) @graciecoates @gracieandrachel on Instagram, gracieandrachel.com

Sound engineering, editor: Adam Day, adamdayphotography.com

Producer: Holly Whitaker, hollywhitaker.com

Co-Producers: Adam Day, Afton Swenor

Original art by Misha Handschumacher, cmisha.com

co-regulation is listener-supported, made possible by us and by you; you can support this podcast by joining our Patreon community patreon.com/coregulation

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Holly sits down with J Wortham, NYT Magazine staff writer, co-host of the Still Processing podcast, and co-editor of the anthology Black Futures. In this wide-ranging conversation, they explore how to navigate authoritarian times through spiritual practice, community building, and practical survivalism, while examining the tension between ambition and enoughness in creative work.

They discuss why current upheaval isn't new for people who've survived oppression; J's evolution from tech journalism to culture writing through curiosity rather than ambition; the collapse of arts funding + how institutions are becoming irrelevant; moving beyond performative activism toward genuine relationship + conflict resolution; practical survivalism rooted in mutual aid rather than individualistic prepping; learning skills like fermentation, sewing, fire-making as acts of self-reliance and community care; the difference btw online/ offline community building with high barriers to entry and no easy exits; Hurricane Sandy as a radicalizing moment about infrastructure failure and mutual aid; why black people are "early adopters" who see cultural shifts before they become mainstream; spiritual practices including ancestor reverence and staying present during uncertainty; the corrupting nature of external validation versus doing good work at a manageable scale; how trauma responses can inform healthy preparedness without falling into scarcity thinking; and building solidarity across difference through embracing rather than avoiding conflict.

J Wortham (they/them) is a sound healer, herbalist, and community care worker oriented towards healing justice and liberation.

J is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, co-host of the podcast ‘Still Processing,, writer of the channeling newsletter, editor of the visual anthology “Black Futures,” and is also currently working on a book for Penguin Press.

Original music by Gracie Coates (of Gracie and Rachel) @graciecoates @gracieandrachel on Instagram, gracieandrachel.com

Sound engineering, editor: Adam Day, adamdayphotography.com

Producer: Holly Whitaker, hollywhitaker.com

Co-Producers: Adam Day

Original art by Misha Handschumacher, cmisha.com

co-regulation is listener-supported, made possible by us and by you; you can support this podcast by joining our Patreon community patreon.com/coregulation

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.