Self Directed

The Conrad Family
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Self Directed - A guest based podcast on Life, Learning, and Raising Free Thinkers. Hosted by Cecilie and Jesper Conrad, full-time travellers since 2018 and parents to four.

  1. Hannah Beach | The Importance of True Play in Children’s Development

    20 JAN

    Hannah Beach | The Importance of True Play in Children’s Development

    Hannah Beach explains why true play and “void moments” are essential for healthy child development. She describes void moments as unstructured, unstimulated time where children are not directed, entertained, or managed, and shows how these moments allow children to process experience, develop identity, regulate emotions, and build resilience. Hannah is an award-winning educator, author, and emotional health consultant with more than 25 years of experience developing play-based and relationship-centered programs for children, families, and schools. She is co-author of Reclaiming Our Students and works internationally with educators, school systems, and organizations to support children’s emotional well-being through play, attachment, and community. 🗓️ Recorded December 15, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links https://hannahbeach.cahttps://www.instagram.com/hannahbeacheduhttps://www.facebook.com/hannahbeachedu https://www.youtube.com/@hannahbeachedu https://x.com/HannahBeachEDUhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-beach-eduSend a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    1hr 2min
  2. Jeppe Trolle Linnet | Men, Vulnerability, and Masculinity in Transition

    4 JAN

    Jeppe Trolle Linnet | Men, Vulnerability, and Masculinity in Transition

    Anthropologist Jeppe Trolle Linnet explains how men’s fear of vulnerability is shaped by dominance, shame, and competition, drawing on years of work with men’s groups and recent field research in Greenland. He describes why men struggle to share pain, how loneliness and divorce intensify isolation, and how fatherhood, emotional listening, and community spaces offer alternative models of masculinity grounded in trust rather than control. 🗓️ Recorded December 8, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeppelinnetJeppes personal Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067588879414 🔗  DareGender https://www.daregender.dk/ https://www.facebook.com/DareGender https://www.instagram.com/daregender/ https://x.com/daregender https://www.linkedin.com/company/daregender/ Send a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    52 min
  3. Victoria Lenormand | From Detective To Unschooling Advocate

    21/12/2025

    Victoria Lenormand | From Detective To Unschooling Advocate

    Ex-detective turned homeschooler Victoria Lenormand describes leaving a policing career as it shifted from service to force and recognizing the same pattern in her son’s early schooling. In this conversation, she explains how grading, labels, and constant assessment eroded confidence, and how home education replaced pressure with agency, learning by doing, and community built through shared interests rather than age-based classrooms. 🗓️ Recorded December 8, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links https://geminidirections.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-lenormand-2129227b/https://www.instagram.com/geminidirections.co.uk/https://www.facebook.com/geminidirectionshttps://amzn.eu/d/dZz1BqHSend a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    53 min
  4. Nicklas Bergman | How to Stay Sceptical in an Algorithmic World

    14/12/2025

    Nicklas Bergman | How to Stay Sceptical in an Algorithmic World

    Nicklas Bergman is a deep-tech investor and technology explorer who focuses on how new tools shape everyday life rather than predicting distant futures. The episode examines AI, social media, and regulation through concrete examples from work, education, family life, and investing, with an emphasis on curiosity, skepticism, and personal judgment. 🗓️ Recorded November 19, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links https://www.nicklasbergman.comhttps://ncklsbrgmn.substack.comhttps://se.linkedin.com/in/nicklasbergmanSend a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    1hr 5min
  5. Susan Yao | From Teacher to Unschooler

    27/11/2025

    Susan Yao | From Teacher to Unschooler

    Susan Yao is an educator, school founder, and advocate of self-directed learning. She previously served as Middle School Head at Friends Academy in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, following more than a decade of teaching. She co-founded the Vermont Village School, a community-based microschool emphasising student-led learning, autonomy, and community engagement. The episode connects her parents’ years in China’s school closures with her own path through American schooling and into the early stages of unschooling. The conversation outlines her family’s approach to dyslexia, late reading, and open learning rhythms. 🗓️ Recorded November 6, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links https://susyao.substack.com/ https://www.vermontvillageschool.org/ https://www.lionsroar.com/author/susan-yao/The Math Myth by Andrew Hacker: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1620970686/ Send a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    44 min
  6. Missy Willis | From Unschooling To Exams

    09/11/2025

    Missy Willis | From Unschooling To Exams

    What happens when unschooled teens meet college systems, exams, and external expectations? Jesper and Cecilie Conrad speak with Missy Willis about how adolescents raised with freedom step into formal learning without losing curiosity or confidence. The conversation follows family transitions, changing homes, and the moment when rigor and motivation finally align. 🗓️ Recorded November 4, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links https://letemgobarefoot.substack.comhttps://letemgobarefoot.comSend a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    1 hr
  7. Kate McAllister | Nervous System Regulation: From Reaction to Response

    25/10/2025

    Kate McAllister | Nervous System Regulation: From Reaction to Response

    Kate McAllister describes how nervous system regulation shifts behavior from reaction to response. The conversation maps how stress patterns shape daily life, from parenting and school to refugee camps and co-regulation through rhythm and presence. Breath, movement, and sensory grounding become practical tools for returning the thinking brain online when fight, flight, or freeze take over. 🗓️ Recorded October 23, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links https://www.thehiveadventure.comhttps://www.facebook.com/thehiveadventure https://www.instagram.com/thehiveadventurehttps://www.tiktok.com/@thehiveadventure https://www.youtube.com/@thehiveadventure https://www.linkedin.com/in/misskatemcallister🔗 Books mentioned in this episode Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté https://www.amazon.com/Hold-Your-Kids-Parents-Matter-ebook/dp/B001LOEFZUThe Chimp Paradox: The Chimp Paradox: The Mind Management Programme for Confidence, Success and Happines by Steve Peters https://www.amazon.com/Chimp-Paradox-Acclaimed-Management-Confidence-ebook/dp/B006K26BEQ Send a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    53 min
  8. Summer Jean | Unschooling - Living Without the Need to Prove Yourself

    17/10/2025

    Summer Jean | Unschooling - Living Without the Need to Prove Yourself

    Summer Jean describes how growing up unschooled shaped her ideas of work, freedom, and value. She explains how her mother’s focus on connection over control helped her develop confidence in her own sense of rightness. The episode contrasts inner conviction with productivity as a measure of worth. 🗓️ Recorded October 16, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗 Relevant links https://www.facebook.com/mermaidartglass/https://www.instagram.com/summerisafairy/https://www.instagram.com/andanzasanpancho/https://www.instagram.com/mermaidartglass/https://www.etsy.com/shop/mermaidartglass 🔗 Books by John Taylor Gatto https://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling-ebook/dp/B072F9VRZP https://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Mass-Instruction-Schoolteachers-Compulsory-ebook/dp/B0097DE6XI https://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0998919101/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_Gatto Send a message Support the show SUPPORT & CONNECT Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily

    1hr 12min
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About

Self Directed - A guest based podcast on Life, Learning, and Raising Free Thinkers. Hosted by Cecilie and Jesper Conrad, full-time travellers since 2018 and parents to four.

Information

  • Channel
    The Conrad Family
  • Creator
    Cecilie & Jesper Conrad
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    154
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 TheConrad.Family
  • Show Website
    Self Directed

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