Brown, Brainy & Beautiful Anissa Oukhiar

Have you ever sensed something when you engage with another individual and you can’t really pinpoint what it exactly is? This could be in the relationships you have in your life, communities you engage with or at work. When you have two people in the mix interacting with each other, dynamics occur - which basically is a pattern of behaviour between two people that impact the way they interact and relate. 

Now, looking at dynamics in organisations specifically, academic researchers and authors Hans van Dijk and Stefan Cloudt have written a comprehensive book identifying 9 destructive dynamics in organisations.

I really enjoyed reading the book, learned how to make sense of those dynamics and it gave me a language and tools for congruent interventions. This book has been written in Dutch and I genuinely think a wider audience can benefit from its learnings. So, in this episode Hans and I unpack those destructive dynamics for you to benefit from.  

Show notes:



Hold me tight by Sue Johnson

There is a lot said about gender in its broadest sense in society. Specifically here, the focus is on what it takes to be a woman in this world in the first place? When do you know whether it is your intuition guiding you or a voice in your head being comfortable with what is familiar to your nervous system?

A lot to cover, so tune into this conversation where holistic coach Valentina and myself unpack and explore the topic of womanhood. 

This episode is part of a 3-episode special, dedicated to a sex education topic that has been and remains a taboo or even unknown amongst many people: the topic of vaginismus. In this short series of three episodes, you will learn about this psychological condition which contracts pelvic floor muscles in the vagina so that absolutely nothing can enter the vagina - or it can in a very painful way. You will learn what the impact of it is, and most importantly this series will give you hope on how you can overcome it. 



The third episode of this special is a conversation with sex educator and expert by experience who overcame vaginismus and is coaching women to do the same: Amirah Zaky.

This episode is part of a 3-episode special, dedicated to a sex education topic that has been and remains a taboo or even unknown amongst many people: the topic of vaginismus. In this short series of three episodes, you will learn about this psychological condition which contracts pelvic floor muscles in the vagina so that absolutely nothing can enter the vagina - or it can in a very painful way. You will learn what the impact of it is, and most importantly this series will give you hope on how you can overcome it. 

This second episode of the special is a conversation with gynaecologist and sex therapist dr Wafaa. We unlock what vaginismus is from a medical point of view, the myths and contradictions and what you can do to overcome it. 

This episode is part of a 3-episode special, dedicated to a sex education topic that has been and remains a taboo or even unknown amongst many people: the topic of vaginismus. In this short series of three episodes, you will learn about this psychological condition which contracts pelvic floor muscles in the vagina so that absolutely nothing can enter the vagina - or it can in a very painful way. You will learn what the impact of it is, and most importantly this series will give you hope on how you can overcome it. 



This first episode of the special is a conversation with Hans van Dijk, one of my uni Associate Professors who I always knew had totally different subject matters, mostly on dynamics and diversity in organisations. I found out he did a longitudinal study amongst Christian students about their sexuality. This intrigued me to find out more about sex education in religious communities and what possible relationship there is with vaginismus. 

Normaal gesproken wordt deze podcast in het Engels gemaakt. Dit keer een uitzondering, omdat het een authentiek gesprek is tussen 3 bekenden, die al jaren zich hard maken voor een eerlijke transitie om klimaatverandering tegen te gaan.

De aanleiding voor dit gesprek is dat één van de drie (Ralien), recentelijk een boek heeft geschreven over het thema en wat er nodig is voor échte verandering richting een duurzamere wereld. 

Het gesprek is met Marjan Kloosterboer, Ralien Bekkers en mijzelf. Vanaf 2011 kennen we elkaar via de NJR (nationale jeugdraad). En binnen die organisatie hebben we naast onze studies ons ingezet om campagnes en acties op te zetten voor meer bewustwording over klimaatverandering. 

Nu, 12 jaar later, reflecteren we op de afgelopen jaren en maken de balans op. Hoe duurzaam zijn we nu en wat hebben we nodig voor de toekomst? Luister verder voor een open gesprek tussen Marjan, Ralien en mijzelf. 


Boek Ralien Bekkers: ⁠Zo kan het niet langer⁠
Boekentip Ralien: ⁠All we can Save⁠ en ⁠De Patriarchen⁠
Boekentip Marjan: ⁠Kracht van kwetsbaarheid⁠
Boekentip Anissa: ⁠Quiet⁠