Épisodes

  • Circles of Collaboration Series: Dr. Ina Gjikondi on Barbara Marx Hubbard and the Power of a Question

    Circles of Collaboration Series: Dr. Ina Gjikondi on Barbara Marx Hubbard and the Power of a Question
    Sep 9 2025
    In our conversation with Dr. Ina Gjikondi, she reflects on the question Christine Merser asks every woman at the end of a Circles of Collaboration interview: if you could share a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? Her answer is Barbara Marx Hubbard, a futurist who once challenged President Eisenhower during the nuclear era with a question that feels just as urgent today. Dr. Gjikondi imagines how Hubbard’s perspective might apply to the age of artificial intelligence and what guidance she could offer on using new power for good. It is a moment that invites collaboration, echoing the heart of Circles of Collaboration, and challenges us to consider how collective wisdom can guide the way we use emerging technologies to shape a more conscious and connected future. Dr. Gjikondi is Director of Learning Innovation and Strategic Growth at the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership at George Washington University and founder of the One Humanity Lab. Visit our website & order your copy of Circles of Collaboration now: https://www.apricitypublishing.com/circles-of-collaboration Learn more about Dr. Ina Gjikondi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inagjikondi/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    7 min
  • Circles of Collaboration Series: Building Trust in Intuition: Lessons for Life and Work with Dr. Ina Gjikondi

    Circles of Collaboration Series: Building Trust in Intuition: Lessons for Life and Work with Dr. Ina Gjikondi
    Sep 9 2025
    Christine Merser invites Dr. Ina Gjikondi to expand on an article she wrote about intuition. Ina recalls a moment at the airport when she thought she had lost her ID and stress began to take over. And where was it? In her wallet all along. By pausing, trusting her instincts, and listening to a simple cue from a stranger, a kind of unexpected collaborator, she discovered it was with her. For Ina, this was not luck but intuition in action, a practice she describes as a muscle we can all strengthen when we learn to slow down, let go of reactivity, and pay attention to the signals around us. She shares how she has tested and taught this practice, from quick intuition experiments with friends to encouraging leaders to look beyond logic in their decision-making. For her, intuition is always available, but it takes practice, trust, and openness to cues that may come from others. Last is also where collaboration comes in: just as circles thrive on listening and shared insight, intuition deepens those connections by allowing us to draw on wisdom from within ourselves, from the people we work with, and from the environment around us. In a world shaped by rapid technological change, including AI, cultivating intuition helps ensure we do not lose the critical thinking and lived experience that make collaboration meaningful. Dr. Gjikondi is Director of Learning Innovation and Strategic Growth at the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership at George Washington University and founder of the One Humanity Lab. Visit our website & order your copy of Circles of Collaboration now: https://www.apricitypublishing.com/circles-of-collaboration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    20 min
  • Circles of Collaboration Series: Ecocentrism and Collaboration

    Circles of Collaboration Series: Ecocentrism and Collaboration
    Aug 26 2025
    As we launch Circles of Collaboration from Apricity Publishing, our guest, Dr. Ina Gjikondi, introduces the concept of ecocentrism, the belief that nature itself holds agency and that all beings and elements, human and non-human, exist together in a delicate balance. In other words, we are collaborators with the earth itself. That perspective changes everything. Instead of treating nature as a backdrop, ecocentrism asks us to recognize it as an active partner with wisdom to share. A walk in the forest, or even hugging a tree, just might hold the answer to the challenge you have been struggling with. This vision aligns with Circles of Collaboration, which highlights the time-tested practice of circles, where every voice matters, decisions are shared, and progress is made together. Just as circles expand our human networks, Dr. Gjikondi shows how they can also extend to the natural world, inviting us to collaborate not only with people but with the environment that sustains us. Hosted by Christine Merser, co-author of Circles of Collaboration, this conversation with Dr. Gjikondi explores groundbreaking research in ecocentrism and how it is reshaping the way we work, connect, and solve problems. Dr. Gjikondi serves as Director of Learning Innovation and Strategic Growth at the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (CEPL) at George Washington University and is the founder of the One Humanity Lab. Visit our website & order your copy of Circles of Collaboration now: https://www.apricitypublishing.com/circles-of-collaboration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    19 min
  • Great Authors Series: Talking Writing & Multitasking with Author Kathy Aspden

    Great Authors Series: Talking Writing & Multitasking with Author Kathy Aspden
    Aug 26 2025
    Our head of Publishing Christine Merser, chats with author and Apricity Publishing client Kathy Aspden about her irritating ability to get more done in a day than anyone Christine has ever encountered. She walks through how she does it. It’s a fun and interesting discussion about habits and to-do lists. (Did you know you shouldn’t make a to-do list?) And Kathy would recommend multitasking while you listen. Get more from Kathy Aspden and check out her books here: https://www.kathyaspden.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 min
  • Great Authors Series: The Tragic Story Behind Ethel Rosenberg with Author Anne Sebba

    Great Authors Series: The Tragic Story Behind Ethel Rosenberg with Author Anne Sebba
    Aug 26 2025
    Ethel Rosenberg. Not guilty. A victim of a patriarchal U.S. government plan (remember Hoover?) to get her husband to confess by putting her on trial. A bad plan gone worse—the destruction of her reputation and motherhood was a deliberate strategy. Do not miss this new take on the Rosenbergs and what really happened. Anne Sebba, a New York Times bestselling author of eleven biographies, is mesmerizing as she tells the backstory of the times and what happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    47 min
  • Great Authors Series: A Fascinating Account of Taking a Book to the Big Screen, old Hollywood Tales & More with author Warren Adler

    Great Authors Series: A Fascinating Account of Taking a Book to the Big Screen, old Hollywood Tales & More with author Warren Adler
    Aug 26 2025
    Join Christine Merser as she shares her one-on-one interview with the legendary literary figure Warren Adler—the man who named the Watergate complex in D.C. Though he didn’t publish his first book until he was 46, Warren Adler has gone on to pen over 50 novels, 12 of which have been optioned by Hollywood, including The War of the Roses, starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito, and Random Hearts, starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas, directed by Sydney Pollack. In this interview, Adler shares what books can accomplish that no other art form can. He explains why Sydney Pollack and Harrison Ford weren’t happy when he did “the worst thing a writer could ever do,” and the role Dustin Hoffman played in bringing Random Hearts to the big screen. He discusses his Hollywood track record and how he’s decided to control his own destiny. Adler also reveals the three questions fiction writers are always asked, why writers shouldn’t worry about exposing secrets, and how a man who’s been very happily married for 67 years can write about such dysfunctional marriages. Warren also shares some insider tales from Hollywood, including why they stopped production on Gone with the Windand which star of The War of the Roses started out as a hairdresser. Also an essayist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright, Warren Adler’s works have been translated into 25 languages. He currently has three films and one television series in development. Enjoy the interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 min
  • Great Authors Series: The Story of Wallis Simpson & Other Extraordinary Women in History with author Anne Sebba

    Great Authors Series: The Story of Wallis Simpson & Other Extraordinary Women in History with author Anne Sebba
    Aug 26 2025
    Anne Sebba, extraordinary New York Times bestselling author, talks about the women she has chosen to write about. From Ethel Rosenberg to That Woman, the Duchess of Windsor, to Mother Teresa—they all have something in common. She sheds light on her writing process, her next book about the women’s orchestra at Auschwitz, and life after loss. Decades of enlightening writing from a woman who has so much to teach us all, on and off the page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    48 min
  • Circles of Collaboration Series: How to Do the Ask with ​Patrice Tanaka

    Circles of Collaboration Series: How to Do the Ask with ​Patrice Tanaka
    Aug 26 2025
    With the upcoming launch of Apricity Publishing's Circles of Collaboration by Christine Merser and Leslie Grossman, PR powerhouse Patrice Tanaka of Joyful Planet joins Christine for a conversation. Their focus? Two pivotal chapters: Do the Ask and Quid Pro Quo. Do the AskAsking for what you need isn’t easy for everyone—but Patrice? She’s mastered it since childhood. Hear how she approaches the ask with confidence and ensures she’s always comfortable making it. Her secret? Certainty, planning, and clarity—three essentials for any ask. Quid Pro QuoChristine wants to reclaim the term, stripping away its negative connotation and turning it into a powerful tool. Patrice? Not so much. One thing they agree on—transactional quid pro quos don’t belong at the party. But a collaborative quid pro quo? Now that’s worth discussing. Join the conversation—you just might rethink how you approach both the ask and the exchange. Visit our website & order your copy of Circles of Collaboration now: https://www.apricitypublishing.com/circles-of-collaboration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    38 min