In the second episode of Season 2, The Sacred Bit: Reconciliation Through Laughter, Sincerity, and Love, your hosts Paige Reeves and Rebecca Rubuliak sit down with Sakawithiniwak sibling duo Jacquelyn and Hunter Cardinal of Naheyawin, bringing Nehiyaw wisdom to questions of play, creativity, and social change. Drawing on their reconciliation work, they share why leading with love isn’t soft—it’s strategic, why laughter can be sacred, and how telling stories authentically might be the most radical act of all.

In this episode, your hosts, Paige Reeves and Rebecca Rubuliak, sit down with Ben Weinlick, Executive Director of Skills Society and the visionary behind the Action Lab. They chat about the role of humour and absurdity as essential tools, not luxuries, in social change work, especially during times of austerity. Listen in as they discuss insights from leaders and mentors, how humour and play show up in practice, stories to learn from (urinal flies, invention of cathode ray tube TV, sisyphus, the paradox of hope), and so much more!

In a world marked by deepening polarization, democratic erosion, and relentless uncertainty, we often believe that solving complex social problems requires grim determination and endless seriousness. But what if we've got it backwards? In this season of Wicked Complex, we explore how imagination, play, creativity, and even absurdity become radical acts of resistance. We speak with systemic designers, human-centered design practitioners, and social innovators who've discovered that playfulness isn't a luxury or distraction—it's essential fuel for meaningful change. Together, we'll ask: How do we maintain hope when the stakes feel impossibly high? What happens when we give ourselves permission to imagine differently, to laugh, to create? And how can communities in Alberta and beyond harness creativity and absurdity not as escapism, but as catalysts for transformation? This season is an invitation to reclaim lightness, joy, and play as legitimate tools for building the world we need—and for sustaining ourselves and our movements while we do.

This episode is the third in a three part series around the Future of Labs Gathering in May 2024, where social innovation lab practitioners from around Canada came together on Cortes Island in British Columbia to try to figure out what the next 10 years of lab practice might look like.

This episode dives deep into key insights and actionable recommendations from the gathering report. The podcast guests (see below) explore what emerged during the gathering, key themes and patterns emerging in the field, and five bold recommendations for the future of Labs in Canada.

A shoutout and thank-you to our guests for this episode:

• Annand Ollivierre, Team Lead at J5 Design and Future of Labs participant,
• Rebecca Rubuliak, Director of Continuous Improvement and Innovation at Action Lab and Convenor of Future of Labs,
• Ben Weinlick, Founder of Action Lab and Convenor of Future of Labs, and
• Tim Draimin, Board Chair of Social Innovation Canada and Advisor of Future of Labs.