Co-Created

Snack Labs
Snack Labs

Co-Created is a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of digital storytelling. Hosted by Kristy Wolfe, each episode features conversations with storytellers and facilitators who craft powerful digital stories, diving into how these stories are created, who shares them, and why they matter. Whether you're fascinated by storytelling or love discovering new perspectives, this podcast offers a deep dive into the art of meaningful narrative. Co-Created is presented by Common Language DST, a leader in digital storytelling facilitation training for health and wellness changemakers. Supported by the team at Snack Labs, this podcast is a collaborative effort that promotes ethical storytelling and empowers audiences to engage with personal stories in a deeper way. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts! Sound Design: Donovan Morgan Music: Doldrums by Ellen Braun Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 5d ago

    Can a Story Change Veterinary Medicine?

    If you care about storyteller wellbeing, healthcare burnout, or ethical digital storytelling, this conversation will stay with you. Kristy Wolfe is joined by Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, veterinarian, speaker, author, and mental health advocate, to talk about the digital story she co-created with Angie Turner for the Common Language Story Slam. Marie shares the lived experience behind her digital story, Human After All, and why telling a story about burnout, shame, and recovery felt necessary for veterinary medicine. Together, they explore: how burnout showed up across Marie’s career in veterinary practice and academiawhy she chose to tell the story of a devastating clinical mistakewhat changed when that story became a digital storyhow images, pacing, and music deepened the emotional impactwhat it felt like to watch the story with a live audiencewhy reflection and conversation matter after a story is sharedhow this work connects to caregiver wellbeing far beyond vet medThis is a thoughtful episode for veterinarians, healthcare workers, educators, facilitators, and anyone interested in how stories can make space for honesty, repair, and meaningful dialogue. If this conversation resonates, you may also want to listen to Episode 48: Resilient Stories in Vet Education, featuring Angie Turner. Other Links Mentioned: Marie's digital story at the Common Language Story SlamDST Facilitator Angie Turner of SOS LegaciesThis episode's blog postAbout Our Guest Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, DVM, Dipl. ACVECC Veterinarian, Mental Health and Wellness Advocate, Speaker, and Author “What if caregiving professionals could thrive in their careers without sacrificing their wellbeing?” Dr. Marie Holowaychuk is on a mission to make that vision a reality. A passionate advocate for mental health and wellbeing in caregiving professions, Marie empowers veterinary teams and other caregiving professionals to prevent burnout, build resilience, and cultivate fulfilling careers. With over 20 years of experience as a veterinarian and critical care specialist, Marie founded Reviving Veterinary Medicine to provide evidence-based resources through transformative programs like From Burnout to Balance and From Toxic to Terrific. As a certified coach, yoga and meditation teacher, and wellbeing facilitator, Marie blends science, empathy, and practical insights to engage and inspire audiences. She also hosts the Reviving Vet Med Podcast, exploring topics such as mental health and workplace culture. Her contributions have earned her the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association’s Communication Award and the Alberta Blue Cross Face of Wellness Award, as well as being recognized as one of Canada’s Top Keynote Speakers of 2025 by Eureka Education and Top 100 Health & Wellness by Top 100 Magazine.  Marie’s book, A Compassionate Calling: What It Really Means to Be a Veterinarian, offers a candid exploration of the challenges and rewards of a career in veterinary medicine, shedding light on the emotional complexities and deep sense of purpose that drive those in the profession. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Can a Story Change Veterinary Medicine?

  2. Jun 30

    Digital Stories in Community-Based Research with Carolyn Brandly

    A single well-told story can do what a stack of reports cannot: make someone feel the reality of living in a body, a system, or a diagnosis they’ve never had. We sit down with Carolyn, a newly trained Common Language Digital Storytelling facilitator and PhD student, to unpack how digital storytelling becomes a practical tool for health research, quality improvement, and stigma-breaking conversations. Episode Key Messages recreation therapy roots and building community programs for older adultsresearch and quality improvement as tools for systems change in long-term carediscovering Common Language through MAID digital stories and stigma reductionchoosing a more personal story and learning facilitation through vulnerabilityliving with disability, wait times in Canada, and rebuilding identity after surgeryKilimanjaro as a turning point for confidence, aging, and capacityadapting digital storytelling for people living with dementia in a PhD protocolco-research, simplified materials, slower pacing, and practical accessibility tweaksmaking a first volunteer story with her mom and deepening connection through memoryrecording voiceover many times and small changes that amplify a storyteller’s voiceinformed consent, sharing implications, and the ethics of public storytellingchallenging ethics board assumptions and shifting to assumed capacityrights-based approaches to dementia in public spaces and collaboration invitationsOther Links Mentioned Read this episode's blog postWatch Carolyn's StoryWatch Marg's StoryLearn more about Fostering Inclusion for People with DementiaLearn more about Carolyn's work with Dementia Connections and PhD researchOther Episodes Mentioned Episode 37 Disrupting Death: Stories of MAiD with Kathy Cortes-Miller and Keri-Lyn DurantEpisode 52 The Storyteller’s Yellow Pages with Lisa JoworskiEpisode 57 What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine SmartAbout Our Guest Carolyn Brandly has worked with and for older adults and people with dementia for 20+ years in care and community settings – designing, implementing, and evaluating health promotion programs, and facilitating community development, knowledge translation and quality improvement initiatives and research. Carolyn has achieved an MA in health leadership, as well as completing graduate-level education in dementia studies, gerontology, and entrepreneurship, and is currently undertaking doctoral studies through the University of Victoria’s Social Dimensions of Health Program. Her aim is to contribute to global efforts shaping inclusive health and social systems that uphold the human rights, autonomy and dignity of people living with dementia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Digital Stories in Community-Based Research with Carolyn Brandly

  3. Jun 17

    Using Digital Stories in Clinician Training with Dr. Tricia Williams

    A three-minute film can do what a 30-slide deck can’t: make a room full of clinicians feel the lived reality behind the diagnosis. We’re joined by Dr. Tricia Williams, a neuropsychologist at SickKids and a leader in outcomes-focused, family-informed innovation, to talk about why digital storytelling can change the way clinicians learn, listen, and care, especially when families are navigating congenital heart disease, brain injury, and complex neurodevelopmental needs. We also dig into how one well-placed story can shift conferences, training programs, and even the way we argue for better pathways and funding. Episode Key Messages what a digital story is and why it lands differently than datahow the NeuroOutcomes Lab formed at SickKids and grows through communitymeeting at a congenital heart disease conference and recognizing the power of family voiceusing one caregiver story to frame a conference panel and drive practice changeInteract-North as a virtual positive parenting program built from parent-identified needsbreaking out of assessment-only models into intervention and skills-based supportbuilding reflection time into clinician training to strengthen emotional readinesswhat Story Slam teach us about audience well-being and protecting storytellersusing storytelling as knowledge translation for policymakers and sustainable care pathwaysOther Links Mentioned Read this episode's blog postWatch Kristi Bateman's digital story, UnspokenWatch Kristy Wolfe's digital story, Hugs & BugsLearn more about the NeuroOutcomes LabWatch the 2026 Common Language Story SlamAbout Our Guest Dr. Tricia Williams received her PhD in Clinical Developmental Psychology at York University. She completed her Postdoctoral fellowships in health psychology at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and clinical neuropsychology at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Dr. Williams is a board-certified Clinical Neuropsychologist and Paediatric Subspecialist through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Currently, Dr. Williams is a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Health Clinician-Scientist at SickKids in the Division of Neurology. In her clinical role, she leads the Neonatal Neuropsychological services for assessment and consultation for children and families following neonatal brain injury and associated medical conditions. Dr. Williams also provides families ongoing consultation. As a Health Clinician-Scientist, co-director of the NeuroOutcomes lab, and co-chair of the NeuroOutcomes Family Advisory Committee, Williams’ research focuses on neuropsychological outcomes following early brain injury and the importance of supporting the family in optimizing resilience. She is the principal investigator of the Interact-North project and the Parent Experiences project. Together with a multi-disciplinary team, a strong group of students and research staff, Dr. Williams’ research program aims to learn more about modifiable factors promoting resilience following early brain injury, and to identify modes of service delivery that will optimize neuropsychological outcomes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Using Digital Stories in Clinician Training with Dr. Tricia Williams

  4. Jun 3

    Digital Stories Belong in Curriculum & Communities with Dr. Mike Lang

    A few years ago, we were still explaining to healthcare providers why stories mattered. Now we’re watching digital storytelling get built into a nursing curriculum, shape research plans, and gather real communities around hard conversations. I’m joined by Dr. Mike Lang, founder of Common Language Digital Storytelling and assistant professor in the University of Calgary Faculty of Nursing, for a candid update on what has shifted and what’s coming next. Episode Key Messages Mike’s new role in the University of Calgary Faculty of Nursing and what it unlocks for digital storytelling in health and wellnessEmbedding digital stories into curriculum for specific learning outcomes and student conversationsStrategic partnerships and why a facilitator collective helps the work spread with qualityUganda milestones and how community-led stories drive maternal, child, and adolescent health changeCalgary Story Slam highlights and how stories open space for hard topics like grief and lossFormat changes for the Story Slam and why live attendance feels differentWhat the Common Language retreat builds through story share, deep craft talk, and momentumGrowth in facilitator training and the increasing involvement of researchersNew initiatives at U of C including Nurse Story, the Healing Lens Research Lab, and research on SIDS grief supportMike’s next meaningful moment idea and why noticing it mattersOther Links Mentioned Read this episode's blog postWatch the 2026 Common Language Story SlamLearn more about the work in Uganda & East AfricaAbout Our Guest Dr. Michael Lang is an Assistant Professor (Teaching and Research) in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary and Director of the Healing Lens Research Lab, a transdisciplinary research and creative practice lab dedicated to advancing documentary film and digital storytelling as rigorous, ethical, and impactful methodologies in health and wellness contexts. Situated within the Faculty of Nursing, the Lab brings together health researchers, clinicians, filmmakers, digital storytelling facilitators, educators, and community partners to explore how stories, when created and mobilized with care, can shape education, influence practice, and support individual and collective wellbeing. Dr. Lang’s work sits at the intersection of health research, documentary filmmaking, and knowledge translation, with a particular focus on how narrative and visual practices can deepen understanding of illness, caregiving, patient experience, and human flourishing. Over the past fifteen years, he has facilitated the creation of more than 1,000 digital stories with patients, family caregivers, healthcare providers, students, and community members, and has trained over 100 facilitators through Common Language Digital Storytelling, an international organization he founded to support ethical storytelling practice in healthcare, education, and community settings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Digital Stories Belong in Curriculum & Communities with Dr. Mike Lang

  5. May 20

    What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine Smart

    Digital storytelling can move a room to honesty in minutes, creating space for real talk about burnout, shame, and the human side of medicine. This episode we connect with Dr. Katharine Smart and reflect on how short films can help clinicians and families feel seen as whole people and how stories can fuel better care and stronger advocacy.We talk through what it looks like when digital stories show up at conferences like the Canadian Conference on Physician Health, why the multimedia format holds attention in a distracted world, and how vulnerability can feel safer when the “work” is done before anyone steps on stage. We also dig into the clinician’s role as a receiver of stories and how deep listening changes care, especially in pediatrics, mental health, and complex family consults. If you’ve ever wondered how to share 18 years of context in one appointment, you’ll hear why a short digital story can reveal the whole person beyond the chart. Episode Key Messages What a digital story is and why the format worksUsing physician and family stories to open mental health conversations at conferences like the Canadian Conference on Physician HealthWhy vulnerability lands fasterShame in medical culture and how storytelling can soften itShifting from acute care to deep listening and longer consultsUsing digital stories to support complex care and transitions to adult careAccessibility and ethics, underrepresented voices, consent, and story ownershipWorkshop story circles as community buildingA citizen digital story campaign to drive healthcare accountability and reformOther Links Mentioned Read this episode's blog postWatch the CMA panelLearn more about Digital Storytelling & Healthcare Provider WellnessListen to Spark Conversations - a podcast by Children's Healthcare CanadaWill we see you at the Children's Healthcare Canada conference in Calgary?Check out Health Signals with Dr. Alika LafontaineThe Outrage Cure by Dr. Alika LafontaineOther Episodes Mentioned Ep 23 with Dr. Daisy Dulay Ep 48 with Dr. Will Bynum of the Shame LabAbout Our Guest Dr. Katharine Smart is a pediatrician, national medical leader, and unapologetic advocate for children who believes healthcare systems don’t change unless we’re willing to challenge them. Based in Canada’s north and the Okanagan, she works at the intersection of clinical care, policy, and community partnership to improve outcomes for children and families in rural and remote regions. She is the past president of the Canadian Medical Association and, in 2021, became only the 10th woman to lead the organization in its 155-year history. Named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Dr. Smart is widely recognized for her leadership on health equity, primary care, and combating medical misinformation. A sought-after keynote speaker, media commentator, and podcast host, Dr. Smart brings evidence, urgency, and candour to conversations about the future of healthcare — and why getting it right for children is the only way forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine Smart

  6. May 6

    Through Her Lens: Cameras For Girls with Amina Mohamed

    On this episode of Co-Created we're joined by Amina Mohamed, the Founder and Executive Director of Cameras For Girls, to talk about what happens when a founder story becomes a digital story and why that format can reveal the “three-dimensional” truth you can’t always reach in a talk, a webinar, or a standard nonprofit promo. Amina takes us from her family’s refugee journey from Uganda to Canada, through years in film and television, and back to Uganda where she meets young women facing limits on education and opportunity. From that turning point, Cameras For Girls grows into a practical pathway into media careers, combining photography training, ethical storytelling, business skills, and the gift of a camera with the real goal: helping young women enter male-dominated media spaces and land fair paid jobs in places like Uganda and Tanzania. Episode Key Messages Amina’s origin story from Uganda to Canada and back againWhy Cameras for Girls focuses on fair paid jobsTeaching photography, business skills, and ethical storytellingRejecting extractive storytelling and top-down developmentTurning a “why” into a three-minute digital storyEditing surprises and choosing images responsiblyUsing a founder video for donors, funding, and social mediaEncouraging participants to tell their own stories in their own voiceOther Links Mentioned Read this episode's blog postWatch Amina's digital storyLearn more about Cameras For GirlsAbout Our Guest Amina Mohamed is the Founder and Executive Director of Cameras For Girls, a Canadian charity she launched in 2018 to address gender inequality in Africa’s male-dominated media industry. Born in Uganda, Amina came to Canada as a refugee after her family was exiled under the regime of Idi Amin. Growing up between cultures, she discovered photography as a powerful way to express herself when words failed. That early experience shaped the vision behind Cameras For Girls: creating opportunities for young women across Africa to find their voice through visual storytelling.Through a year-long training program combining photography, ethical storytelling, and business skills, Cameras For Girls equips young women with the tools, training, and mentorship needed to build sustainable careers in media. Participants receive professional cameras, hands-on instruction, and ongoing career support designed to help them enter and succeed in the workforce. To date, the organization has trained nearly 200 women through in-person programs across East Africa and has reached more than 2,000 additional participants through its Online Learning Hub. Amina is also a leading advocate for ethical storytelling, challenging outdated and colonial narratives often present in international media. Her work emphasizes dignity-centered storytelling that honours the lived experiences of the women and communities whose stories are shared. Her leadership and impact have earned international recognition. Amina has spoken at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Summit, been featured in publications including Vogue, and received the Estée Lauder Beautiful Forces Grant in recognition of her work advancing women’s leadership.Today, Amina continues to expand Cameras For Girls’ programs across Africa while advocating for gender equality, ethical media practices, and new pathways for women to build sustainable careers in storytelling and journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Through Her Lens: Cameras For Girls with Amina Mohamed

  7. Apr 22

    Double the Magic: Storytelling for Healing and Impact with Melody Williamson

    Cameras off. Quiet chat. A stack of slides. Then a short digital story plays and suddenly the room wakes up. That flip from passive listening to real connection is what we’re chasing, and it’s why we keep coming back to digital storytelling as a tool for healing, community building, and change. We’re joined by Melody Williamson, a Level 3 digital storytelling facilitator, trainer, and longtime collaborator inside the Common Language Digital Storytelling Collective. Melody shares how digital storytelling keeps expanding as a tool for healing, community, and real-world change. We share what we’re learning from nonprofit projects, research partnerships, facilitator training, and the moments when a story makes people come alive. Episode Key Messages Melody’s roots in storytelling, inclusion, and group workHow Wellspring uses digital stories with patients, families, staff, volunteers, and caregiversWhy nonprofits benefit from a wider library of perspectivesCollaborations with researchers, including projects tied to antibiotic resistanceStory Slam as a catalyst for community healing and new partnershipsDigital storytelling facilitator training as “double the magic” through teaching othersMentorship meetings, story review, entrepreneurship support, and continuing educationBringing digital stories to conferences to spark connection beyond slidesAI tools, interpretive meaning, and why story arcs change engagementOther Links Mentioned Read this episode's blog postListen to Melody's original Co-Created episodeGet your tickets to the Story SlamLearn more about the Common Language Level 1 Facilitator TrainingCheck out the Common Language CollectiveOther Episodes Mentioned Ep 28 with WellspringEp 46 with Gillian HattoEp 54 with Becky McCallAbout Our Guest Melody Williamson, MSc., B.A., of Melody Williamson Stories, is a Level 3 Common Language Digital Storytelling Facilitator. Like all of us, Melody has been a storyteller all of her life - from reading books on her mother’s lap to a career in professional theatre, to her consulting work in equity and social justice issues.In recent years, she has combined all of her skills and experience into her passion for giving voice to those voices that aren’t typically heard and creating connection between people through digital storytelling. Her word is "Moment-us" and she loves helping people connect with meaningful moments in their lives! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Double the Magic: Storytelling for Healing and Impact with Melody Williamson

  8. Apr 8

    When Science Meets Story: Lessons from a PhD Defense with Becky McCall

    Catch up with Dr. Becky McCall after she defends her PhD and unpack what it takes to research digital storytelling inside a biomedical topic like antimicrobial resistance. We also get real about what stories can and cannot do on their own, then zoom out to targeting, dissemination, and new projects that translate stories into health system change. Episode Key Messages finishing a seven-year PhD and surviving the defenseusing digital storytelling to engage antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic resistancedefending an arts-based method through a behavioural science lensbuilding projects beyond Storybug, including care home storytelling“digital fragmentation” and why incomplete records affect antibiotic decisionstargeting stories through narrative framing and audience investmentplanning with partners, storytellers, organizations, and funderswhat Becky wishes she had known at the start of her PhDrecruiting storytellers through trust and patient organizationsthe Common Language Story Slam as a model for shared viewing and discussionOther Links Mentioned Read this episode's blog postCheck out the Storybug websiteListen to Becky's original Co-Created episodeOther Episodes Mentioned Ep 6 with Melody WilliamsonEp 32 with Mike Wilson of Loughborough UniversityEp 48 with Dr. Will Bynum of the Shame LabAbout Our Guest Dr. Becky McCall is based in London, UK, and has recently completed her first set of five digital stories that focus on people with experiences of antibiotic resistant infection. The work forms part of Becky’s PhD research (University College London) and aims to help address a gap in public engagement with one of the world’s top 10 humanitarian health crises (antimicrobial resistance-AMR). Becky is also a medical journalist writing for both medical and consumer press, recently including Foresight Global Health, Medscape.com, The Lancet, The Times and the Mail on Sunday. She has also worked in radio and TV. She'll make any excuse to travel; seeking inspiration in places and most importantly, people - firmly believing everyone has a story to tell. Connect with Becky McCall here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    When Science Meets Story: Lessons from a PhD Defense with Becky McCall
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Co-Created is a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of digital storytelling. Hosted by Kristy Wolfe, each episode features conversations with storytellers and facilitators who craft powerful digital stories, diving into how these stories are created, who shares them, and why they matter. Whether you're fascinated by storytelling or love discovering new perspectives, this podcast offers a deep dive into the art of meaningful narrative. Co-Created is presented by Common Language DST, a leader in digital storytelling facilitation training for health and wellness changemakers. Supported by the team at Snack Labs, this podcast is a collaborative effort that promotes ethical storytelling and empowers audiences to engage with personal stories in a deeper way. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts! Sound Design: Donovan Morgan Music: Doldrums by Ellen Braun Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Channel
    Snack Labs
  • Creator
    Snack Labs
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Leading Through Stories
  • Show Website
    Co-Created

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