Connecting through Storytelling with Yochai Maital

Explicit content warning

03/16/20 • 55 min

Today we have Yochai Maital on the podcast! Yochai Maital is the Co-creator Editor and Senior producer of Israel Story - a Hebrew and English storytelling podcast that is sometimes dubbed 'the Israeli This American Life'. Born in Haifa, he served eight years as an officer in the Israeli army before embarking on a new trajectory, studying creative writing at Tel Aviv’s Minshar College for Arts. Yochai has built multiple eco-houses, co-founded Tel Aviv’s first organic food co-op, worked at a hostel for youth offenders and was involved with the African refugee community. He currently lives in New-York with his wife and three kids. Beside producing Israel Story Yochai writes, creates audio and sound installations and produces documentary audio guides. We discuss: How Israel Story got started by 4 childhood friends and a lot of chutzpah, how working on this project has allowed its producers to step outside of their bubble, seeing the world through the lens of stories, how this work has been influential on Yochai’s identity, the future of Israel Story, why they shied away at first of being considered a “Jewish podcast” and who they have influenced through bringing human stories about Israel to the world, why storytelling is the most powerful medium to bridge divides, and what most people don’t understand about Israel. https://linktr.ee/israelstory https://www.facebook.com/sipurisraeli/ https://www.instagram.com/israel.story/

Previous Episode

Reimagining Conversations About Death with Brad Wolfe

In this episode, Brad Wolfe is joining me to talk about our most feared topic: Death. This was a super special conversation that came at an extremely timely moment in my life as death was consuming my life. This is a good one, folks. Listen up. In this episode, we discuss: Brad’s work with Reimagine End of Life, how Brad’s experiences with death have influenced his work and the way he relates to the world, how to remember our mortality and also seize the day, why breakups are their own form of death, how to create more beauty and creativity in life by confronting death, how our medical system is unprepared to handle death, how to have conversations about the end of life before it’s too late, and my own wishes for my death. Brad Wolfe is the founder and executive director of Reimagine, a new nonprofit that brings diverse communities together to explore death and celebrate life through creativity and conversation. With over 30,000 attendees to date--and with a belief that by facing death we begin to live more fully--Reimagine End of LIfe citywide festivals have quickly become the largest end-of-life events in the United States. Reimagine was recently named a "World Changing Idea" by Fast Company Magazine. Before becoming a nonprofit, Reimagine was initially inspired by OpenIDEO’s End of Life Challenge, and was led by Brad as part of an OpenIDEO project exploring art and end of life. Brad's personal interest in end-of-life began as he performed bedside concerts for his friend Sara L., who died of a rare pediatric cancer. In Sara's honor, Brad co-founded the Sunbeam Foundation for pediatric cancer research and formed Brad Wolfe & the Moon, a band which has performed concerts for other young people facing terminal cancer and been featured on MTV. Brad has an MA in Sociology from Stanford and an MBA from UC Berkeley, where he has served as a lecturer on the topics of innovation and design. www.letsreimagine.org www.bradwolfe.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleywolfe/ Mentions: You’re Going To Die - open mic in San Francisco Beginner’s Guide To The End by Shoshana Berger and AJ Miller The Conversation Project The 5 Wishes Being Mortal by Atul Gawande When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi Brad Wolfe and The Moon on Spotify

Next Episode

Connecting to our body and heart with Libby Crow

Libby Crow is in today. Libby is a former coach of mine, fellow lover of personal development, and all around glorious woman. It was so lovely to catch up with her and get some of her sparkle and wisdom in this conversation. In this episode, we chat about: burnout and flow, the difference between emotional and physical shut-down, how social media makes us project our ideas onto other people, Libby’s relationship with her husband Scott, dating/love/heartbreak, and what people get wrong about us. Libby Crow is a global mentor for entrepreneurs helping them practice deep self-care while also growing their businesses and their minds. She is the founder of LC International, a marketing strategy company, blog & self-care resource for digital consultants, and Co-Founder of The Daily Shift, a personal development company for aspiring and accomplished entrepreneurs alike. She’s dedicated to helping entrepreneurs see the journey as a bridge to raising the vibration of the planet and then later as a portal for giving back philanthropically. https://www.instagram.com/libbycrow/ https://www.facebook.com/libby.crow http://libbycrow.com/