Whole Again Pod

In the closing episode of season 1 of the Whole Again Pod, hosts Leslie Briner and Teddy McGlynn-Wright revisit each of the five statements of the Integrative Trauma and Healing Framework. They clarify what it means to begin whole (safety, agency, dignity, and belonging as birthrights), explain how trauma and healing are embodied across five layers (individual, collective, systemic, intergenerational, historical), and name trauma as both interruption and overwhelm of our “body-brain.” The conversation underscores that healing is cumulative and collaborative and include practices that restores safety, agency, dignity, or belonging moves us toward integration and wholeness. The hosts also explore slow disintegration (e.g., microaggressions, hostile environments), the role of media in eroding solidarity, and the power of counter-narratives to restore dignity and belonging. They emphasize relationships as sites of repair (“the relationship is the intervention”) and describe using the framework as a tool to identify how and where our fundamentals are being depleted or being rebuilt. The episode closes with a Season 2 preview focused on practical application and conversations with healers and practitioners working with the framework. Referenced in this episode Whole Again Pod, Episodes 1–5 Burnout: The Secret of Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagaski How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler  The Second Founding by Eric Foner  The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis by George Monbiot. Direct quote, "The only thing that can displace a story is a story".

In this episode of The Whole Again Pod, hosts Leslie Briner and Teddy McGlynn-Wright explore the fifth and final statement of the Integrative Trauma and Healing Framework: “We can be whole again. Pathways to healing occur anytime we do anything that rebuilds safety, agency, dignity, or belonging.” Drawing on both story and practice, we look at how healing can happen in our bodies individually, in relationships, and across systems. This episode begins with a discussion of the pathways (or doorways) that over time become practices, all together striving to re-build our safety, agency, dignity, and belonging. Teddy and Leslie offer tangible examples of restoring safety, agency, dignity, and belonging through individual practices like bearing witness, offering choice, and co-regulation as well as collective and systemic strategies including campaign finance reform, taxation, and truth and reconciliation committees. Referenced in this episode Whole Again Pod, Episodes 1-4 My Grandfather’s Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD  “Neurons that fire together wire together.” In 1949, psychologist Donald Hebb introduced the assembly theory of how the brain’s neurons respond to the same stimulus connecting preferentially to form neuronal ensembles. How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler  Firearms data and self harm Movement for Campaign Finance Reform Structural Racism and State Tax Policy: A Walk Through History Reconnecting Communities Pilot  Collective Effervescence Émile Durkheim – The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912). The original source of the term collective effervescence. Durkheim used it to describe the shared energy and sense of unity people experience during communal rituals and gatherings. Barbara Ehrenreich – Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy (2006). A cultural history exploring how humans have long sought experiences of collective joy and effervescence through dance, festivals, and public celebrations. Brené Brown – Atlas of the Heart (2021) Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Orange Shirt Society Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley  Burnout: The Secret of Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagaski

In the first three episodes we covered what trauma is and how trauma interrupts our wholeness; now Leslie and Teddy explore the fourth statement of the Integrative Trauma and Healing Framework: “Trauma overwhelms our body-brain’s ability to integrate and cope.”  They discuss the body-brain and break down what “overwhelm” feels like our personal and collective nervous systems —from daily micro-aggressions to national crises. And how breathing, being together, and co-regulation with trusted people are steps towards safety, agency, dignity, and belonging. This episode invites listeners to imagine a world where we don’t just survive trauma but actively shape conditions that make wholeness possible. Referenced in this episode Whole Again Pod, Episode 1: We Begin Whole Whole Again Pod, Episode 2: We Embody Trauma Whole Again Pod, Episode 3: Trauma Interrupts "Whelmed" from Why Is English Awash in Sailors' Jargon? by Otherwords, PBS “Emotional flooding” as defined by Dr. John Gottman in the 1990’s refers to a state of being overwhelmed by intense emotions, often during conflict or interpersonal stress. Physiologically, it’s marked by elevated heart rate (often over 100 bpm), activation of the sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight), shutdown of cognitive processing (difficulty thinking clearly, problem-solving, or listening), and strong impulses to escape, lash out, or shut down. The term "flooding" originally came out of behavioral therapies in the 1970’s (that have largely fallen out of use due to ethical concerns). In this context, “flooding” referred to deliberate, prolonged exposure to a feared stimulus without the option to escape, with the goal of extinguishing the fear response. “Neurons that fire together wire together.” In 1949, psychologist Donald Hebb introduced the assembly theory of how the brain’s neurons respond to the same stimulus connecting preferentially to form neuronal ensembles. Leslie used the word “degeneration” [13:10] and actually meant “degeneracy”. A concept that neurology has borrowed from quantum mechanics. “Degeneracy refers to the occurrence of different processes or structures leading to the same result.” “Window of tolerance” is a psychological and neurobiological concept coined by psychiatrist Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, a clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine, around 2011–2012 that refers to the optimal zone of arousal in which a person can function and respond to life's stressors effectively. When you're within this window, you can regulate emotions, think clearly, interact socially, and solve problems. However, if you slip outside, you'll enter hyper-arousal (heightened fight/flight- panic, anxiety, anger, hypervigilance) or hypo-arousal (shutdown/freeze- numbness, disconnection, dissociation). Flipping Your Lid- A Scientific Explanation by Dr. Dan Siegel (of what happens in the amygdala when we are having a stress/threat/trauma response). “Mirror neurons” are thought to underlie basic motor resonance—they help us imitate actions, recognize others’ behaviors, and possibly assist in speech perception via simulating observed or heard actions How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett  “Settled bodies” - Resmaa Menakem Liberated to the Bone: Histories. Bodies. Futures. by Susan Raffo  Baldwin & Co., Black-owned bookstore in New Orleans The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

In episode 3 of the Whole Again Pod, hosts Leslie and Teddy dive deep into what it means when we say “trauma interrupts.” Moving beyond clinical definitions and diagnoses, we unpack the ways trauma disintegrates our sense of safety, agency, dignity, and belonging—not just as individuals, but across families, communities, systems, and cultures. We explore the many forms trauma can take, from sudden explosions to slow erosions, and highlight how these interruptions show up in our bodies, our relationships, and the world around us. Listeners will find insights, humor, history, and integration practices woven throughout the conversation, along with honest reflections on why understanding trauma’s many layers matters for healing. This episode invites you to consider how both harm and healing move through our bodies—and why reclaiming wholeness starts with naming what’s been interrupted.  Nagaski, Emily and Amelia. Burnout: The secret of Unlocking the Stress Cycle Cohen, Geoffrey. Belonging- The Science of Connection and Bridging Divides Geoffrey Cohen research website. Takei, George, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker. They Called Us Enemy.  Felitti, Vincent, MD. ACES study  Richard RothsteinThe Color of Law, Richard Rothstein NPR: A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America US DOT: Original Intent: Purpose of the Interstate System 1954-1956 Urban Institute: Addressing the Legacies of Historical Redlining Reconnecting Communities Pilot  Jessica’s “Daily Affirmation” The Affirmations Song- Doggyland Kidsong and Nursery Rhymes by Snoop Dogg

The second episode of Whole Again Pod is about statement two of the Framework: we embody trauma and healing across 5 layers: individual, collective, systemic, intergenerational, and historical. This episode is all about bodies and how people, groups, systems and cultures embody trauma and healing. Show Notes Sonya Renee Taylor (2018)- The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love Voting Rights Act of 1965 Ricardo Levins Morales quote; seeds and soil section, tending the soil - full zine Liebig’s Law of the Minimum Generative Somatics https://generativesomatics.org/  Prentiss Hemphill- What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World https://prentishemphill.com/  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. (2014) Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series 57. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 13-4801.  Elie Mystal- https://abovethelaw.com/2017/01/we-are-now-in-a-cold-civil-war/  

Welcome to the first episode of the Whole Again Pod. In this episode Teddy and Leslie introduce the integrative trauma and healing framework and dive into statement 1: We begin whole. Our birthright includes safe, agency, dignity, and belonging. We explore the concepts of wholeness and safety, agency, dignity, and belonging as well as existing definitions of trauma. Show notes Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The Danger of a Single Story- TED Talk (2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg  Karina Walters, PhD- Transcending Historical Trauma" How to Address American Indian Health Inequities and Promote Thriving (2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4bnCpJQHkM Alexander Den Heijer https://www.alexanderdenheijer.com/about American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.) (2013). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach (2014). HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  Lisa Feldman Barrett - How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain (2017) https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/how-emotions-are-made/  Generative Somatics https://generativesomatics.org/our-programs/#  Dan Siegel- "Flipping Your Lid" A Scientific Explanation (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0T_2NNoC68 Adrienne Maree Brown - Emergency Strategy (2017) https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/ Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan - Fumbling Towards Repair: A Workbook for Community Accountability Facilitators (2019) https://www.akpress.org/fumbling-towards-repair.html