Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith

This week we talk to Kristianna Smith. Kristianna Smith (they/she) is a visionary curious about how we bring our collective imagination to life. They are a liberation cultural worker, published author, facilitator, theatre artist, educator, gardener, experience alchemist, intuitive, and Queer Black Transformative Justice Mama. For over 15 years, Kristianna has been using play and theatre to dismantle institutional oppression and take up practices that move us closer to a structurally care-centered world. We discussed:* Why actions matter more than labels – How speaking about concrete policies first (free buses, taxing the wealthy) can cut through political propaganda and reach people where they are* Relationship as our most abundant resource – Why building genuine human connection makes it harder to “other” people and easier to have productive conflict* The courage to imagine beyond compromise – How we’ve been trained to only envision what we’re willing to settle for, and why naming what we actually want is essential for creating change* Cultural work across the political spectrum – Understanding that both the right and left are doing culture work, and why the left needs to be more intentional about building collective imagination* Harvesting chaos to build something new – How movements pick up the pieces when things fall apart and use them to construct the world we want to live in* Liberation as structural care – Kristianna’s vision of a world where systems exist to care for people and the planet, allowing everyone to move freely in their beingThis episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber.Thanks for reading Magic + Loss! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe