Stories Within Us

with Lisa Bush

Conversations with writers, poets, educators, activists, artists, and researchers whose work is questioning, disrupting, or altogether transforming how we view ourselves and each other.

Stories Within Us explores how our lived experiences—and the process of sharing those stories— has the power to connect, heal, and change.

Welcome to Season 7

S7:6 How to be a lifelong artist with Micheline Maylor

Micheline Maylor examines the craft of being a lifelong artist. Micheline discusses the importance of paying attention to what we are feeling, cross pollination of ideas, and breaking patterns. We also discuss being brave in your writing. Micheline says, “Bravery in writing is the thing that will take you far.”
Micheline and I dive into her latest work, The Bad Wife, a brave, first-hand account of how to ruin a marriage. To those wanting to spark your creativity, this is the conversation for you.

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S7:5 Changing the world with better stories with Natalie Meisner

When Natalie Meisner started her career in theatre, she was cast for roles that didn’t represent the women she knew or the women she wanted to become. So, Natalie started writing her own plays. In today’s episode, poet, playwright, and professor Natalie Meisner discusses the importance of LGBTQ2S+ representation in all stories. Natalie shares how comedy can be a catalyst for social change and how her book, Double Pregnant: Two Lesbians Make a Family, lifts the veil of silence around fertility and pregnancy while making us laugh at the same time.

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All Episodes

S7:4 Parenting in the age of AI with Leslie Salgado

In the second episode of our two-part series, journalist, photographer, and AI researcher Leslie Salgado guides me step by step through AI ethics, ChatGPT, and parenting in the age of AI. Leslie explains, “Their world is going to be heavily influenced by AI… For me it’s not about prohibiting or denying that reality. It’s about educating them and educating ourselves.”

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S7:3 Healthy expression of emotions with Leslie Salgado

In the first episode of our two-part series, journalist, photographer, and AI researcher Leslie Salgado and I dive deep into the world of emotions. Leslie shares the importance of releasing our emotions and trusting what our emotions tell us. Leslie speaks to her solo exhibit, Emotions Allowed, and explains how the inspiration came while observing people around her during her morning commute.

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S7:1 Writing and healing with Wakefield Brewster

Calgary’s Poet Laureate, Wakefield Brewster explains the intersection of art and healing. Wakefield and I discuss unlearning, why communication is essential, and how art has the potential to soften the blow of heavy messages. Wakefield speaks about getting our thoughts out on paper—even the darker ones. Finally, Wakefield shares his early experience as a classically trained musician and how that shaped his future with poetry.

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S6:6 This year’s takeaways: relationships, rest, and being illogical

In this solo episode, I look back at the year and share my thoughts on parenting (one might think I have it figured out by now, however, that’s not the case), rest, and embracing the illogical.

Today’s episode is full of resources for those who might be in the midst of parenting chaos, yearning for rest, or wanting to embrace their more intuitive, creative side.

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S6:5 Education as a human right with Dr. Wing Kar Li

Neuroscientist and public school advocate Dr. Wing Kar Li examines the current state of Alberta’s public education and explains what we should be paying attention to right now. Wing discusses how current policy is moving Alberta public education backwards & why education should be a top priority when in next year’s election.

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S6:4 Body image, health, and consent with Dr. Angela Grace

Dr. Angela Grace discusses how body image is a social justice issue, how consent is far more complex than saying yes or no, and how our current health curriculum has the potential to cause harm, “Once you start treating the body as an object rather than an experience, the significant problems start to happen.”  

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S6:3 ADHD in women and girls with Shannon Smith

In the second episode of our two-part series, photographer Shannon Smith and I dive into our lives with ADHD. We discuss how ADHD presents as parents, as creatives, as women. How neurodivergent folks tend to mask and the repercussions of masking. Finally we explore the beauty of being neurodivergent, specifically as it relates to our work and lives as creatives. 

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S6:2 Breaking toxic parenting cycles with Shannon Smith

Photographer Shannon Smith and I discuss how parenting patterns run deep and stopping toxic cycles is sometimes like looking off a cliff into the abyss. How certain environments can cause us, and our kids, to mask. How Shannon and I both are unlearning relationship patterns and learning how to re-parenting ourselves. How art is going to save our world—seriously it is—and how as artists we live in the grey zone. We’re inquisitive, curious, and this is exactly what the world needs more of. 

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