Liminal Conversations

Kevin and Finn caught up in Toronto this week. Finn was a “Pioneer”, one of the first cohort of Liminal Learning which wrapped up in August, 2025. He’s stayed close to the community ever since, hanging out, helping out with events, and returning for the Heist training for the Stargazers cohort.Finn tells a serendipitous story of how he’s landed in work that fits. Out of university, he joined the Liminal Learning Quest with the weight of too much choice and a deep care to pick the right path. He credits the Liminal program with helping him shift posture, to experimentation and holding things in tension, and took an unpaid role at a startup that went nowhere… but along the way, in a Toronto café, he overheard a stranger using the same financial terms he was struggling to learn for a Dragon’s-Den-style pitch. He leaned over and asked a question. That stranger became a mentor. A year and a half later — after a fruitful but not-it detour into event planning — Finn reconnected with the same mentor, who offered him the first hire in a brand-new company. The mentor listed the qualities he was looking for, and Finn felt they were exactly the ones that resonated for him in Liminal’s program and practices: curiosity, agency, comfort with ambiguity, an open posture toward the unknown. The mentor was “looking for an awesome Heister”.The two of them get into fittedness — the rare experience of landing somewhere that meets the whole of you, not just the curated 40%. They talk about how you “can’t hide” on an authentic small team or on a Heist, and the fear and excitement that comes with that. And they land on exploration: the point isn’t the thing you’re doing, it’s doing it with enough courage to let it lead you to asking the next question. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

What do young people actually need during the messy, fertile transition to adulthood?Many are finding that the old scripts don’t work. In a world in flux, the urgent need is to cultivate a fruitful relationship with the unknown.Isabela and Kevin discuss what makes young adulthood a unique developmental inflection point, and the developmental and philosophical scaffolding upon which Liminal Learning is designed. They talk about Neither/Nor oscillation practice, exploring virtues, what a "world-readiness" curriculum involves, and how collective containers for experimentation can help young people discover what matters most to them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Our second cohort started with a Quest in Ontario in October, 2025. Each cohort names themselves at the end of that week in the woods, and so we can now happily introduce the Stargazers! ✨Kevin chats with Michael and Riley about a month after returning from the Quest. They talk about what attracted them to Liminal Learning, their experiences of the Quest at Elbow Lake, and what they’re looking forward to for the rest of their yearlong program together.Keen to join a Quest? We’ll run two more cohorts in 2026, one in Canada and one in the UK — details and early registration here! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Kevin chats with Finn, one of young people in our Pioneers cohort, shortly after he completed yearlong Liminal Learning program. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Sameera is a “Pioneer”, the self-coined name of our first cohort. Kevin recently visited the UK and popped by to check in.Curious about joining the program? Check out the full details here. We’re planning to announce concrete dates for our next Quest super soon… This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Drew and Saif are part of our first cohort — the self-coined "Pioneers". They chat with Kevin, five months in to Liminal Learning's yearlong “world-readiness” program. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Olena and Denise talk about designing experiences that support transformation and invite the magic that emerges in shared presence. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Catherine and Olena talk about forms of education and learning, and the process of figuring out your own thing in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Kevin talks with Griffin, one of the 11 young people who joined our inaugural Quest in August, 2024, and his mom, Nancy. They reflect on the Quest experience, and what comes next. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

This episode was recorded just before we hosted our Quest at the Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. The hosting team and our first cohort of 11 Questers — self-coined the Pioneers — are now back from the woods, putting shape to the 12-month program. Till next time! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Our Algonquin Quest starts on July 29th. Our first cohort is confirmed, our bags are (just about) packed. Check out liminal-learning.com to find our more about our future Quests and Heists. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Our next Quest is happening Jul 29–Aug 2, 2024, in Ontario, Canada. Join us!This is the third interview in a series of ‘tag-team’ conversations between the members of the Liminal Learning founding team. We’ll talk about what lights us up about what we’re building for young people. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Kevin speaks with more students from his Studio LC course, about agency, creativity, and the transition from high school. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Kevin interviews two students from his program, Studio LC, about creative expression and coming to the end of high school. The first Liminal Learning Quest is happening Jul 29–Aug 2, 2024, in Ontario, Canada. Join us! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Kevin and Isabela talk about teaching young people, togetherness, and the opportunity to reclaim the transition from adolescence to adulthood in a soulful, collective way. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com

Liminal Learning Founding team members Bryan and Kevin talk about their respective vocational works — a practical philosophy called Neither/Nor, and Creativity as wisdom practice — and how they might play together in the first Liminal Learning Quest. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liminallearning.substack.com