Staying with the Trouble: The Practice of Building Trust Through Presence and Connection | A Solo Episode

In this season two finale, host Richard Roman reflects on the biggest themes that emerged across ten powerful conversations about trust, systems, healing, leadership, and change. From higher education and poverty to entrepreneurship, branding, yoga, and ecological crisis, this episode connects the dots between different stories and reveals a shared question: what do we do when the systems meant to help are actually causing harm? Drawing from conversations with guests including Anne Kim, Kevin McClure, Michelle Thielen, Shannon Lucas, Sonia Baschez, Reem Barrow, and others, Richard explores how harmful systems are often designed to function exactly as intended, why the people driving change are so often the first to burn out, and how self-trust becomes the foundation for transformation. Along the way, he shares practical insights on attention, relational action, identity, and the importance of finding your people (your “odd-kin”)in a fractured world. This finale doesn’t offer a tidy answer. Instead, it invites listeners to stay with the trouble, hold complexity with honesty, and take small but meaningful steps toward trust, care, and collective change. If you’re interested in systems thinking, personal growth, burnout, leadership, social impact, or rebuilding trust in uncertain times, this conversation offers a thoughtful and grounded close to the season. Tune in for a reflective, honest, and inspiring episode that brings together the heart of the season and leaves you with questions worth sitting with.