Project Spiral

Hosted by Abigail & Tim Steckler

Business Entrepreneurship Society Culture Education

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Latest episode

Mar 2026

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About the show

Because when we can't find any hope, we gotta make some ourselves.

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52 recent

March 24, 202658 min

Annika Päutz: Hope in Self-Curiosity

Yes, we know it's March, but this is the first episode of 2026 so for us it's still Happy New Year!Meet Annika, a career coach who helps numerous individuals find their strengths and refine their outlook, all the while cultivating hope in their career. We've been chatting about hope for a while, but it's pretty cool to sit down with someone who is a professional hope-builder. Annika leads us through an exercise where we learn, quantifiably, how hopeful we actually are....and the results are a bit surprising!Plus, tune in to hear which royal epithets suit us, and learn who Timmy thinks happens when you kiss Le Petit Prince.

December 23, 202527 min

Hope in Hope!

Spiraling down, spiraling up, sometimes just spiraling in general, this year has been a whirlwind. This episode, Abigail & Tim reflect on the lessons learned this year: an unsuccessful Scottish independence referendum, organizing to free political prisoners, providing food to the homeless in opposition to a local government and one of the trickiest ones - continuing to hope even within a warming world.Our myriad of conversations boil down to one central idea: start by taking a single step toward your goal to make change, then take another. Let's take that first step together into 2026!Also tune in to hear Tim discover if he is a punny person or not, and understand what exactly Abigail's relationship is to a certain Mr. Plum.

December 8, 202550 min

Kehkashan Basu: Hope in Planting a Seed

She's an Activist, Land Hero, NatGeo Explorer, Human Rights Champio and Founder of the Green Hope Foundation. Aaaaand maybe most impressive at all: she's this week's guest on Project Spiral. We've tackled climate before on this show, but never quite like this. Kehkashan knows how it is to have a brilliant idea at a young age to change the world, what it’s like to feel isolated, and why it's essential to push forward anyway. Listen as we discuss the power of young people in addressing global problems, how one small idea snowballs into more and more ideas, and how hope in the environment leads to widespread benefits in all areas of human rights. Plus tune in to hear Abigail's burgeoning interest in astro physics and Timmy mention his marathon for the first time! ever

August 15, 202551 min

Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky: Hope in Wildlife Protection

What is a Vaquita (hint: look up a picture, you won’t regret it), and can it hold the key catalyze real environmental change? Tune in today to hear Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky describe his life-long fight for animal rights and the work of his new organization, Animal Counsel.Is the best way to promote environmental causes through working as a scientist or as a lawyer? And if right now environmental protection at a federal level is impossible...what do we do then? Is it actually naive to believe we can still make change and reverse this downward spiral? Listen to find out.Plus, Tim reveals what he and his friends actually do at night, and Abigail makes the ultimate sacrifice for audio quality.

July 16, 202553 min

Aileen McKay: Hope in the Bare Minimum (Independence & Feminism)

What do ancient Scottish leaders, mint plants, and optimism have in common?Meet Aileen McKay, a self described "English editor, tutor, creative, writer, facilitator, and optimist” based in Edinburgh, Scotland. In this episode, we discuss how feminism inspires Aileen's advocacy for Scottish independence - even through the failed independence referendum in 2014. How can we advocate for change through many of the current political challenges. We also explore outreach to men to be allies in feminism.Plus, tune in to hear Tim's rhapsodize on the relationship between Brazil and the color yellow, and Abbie rave about a problematic 5th century Byzantine queen.

June 6, 202556 min

Sam Bliss: Hope in Food, not Cops

Sam Bliss doesn’t just wish for markets based on gift-giving and free food - he actively tries to make that a reality. Sam works with Food Not Cops, a chapter of Food Not Bombs based in Burlington, VT. For more than 6 years, Sam and his colleagues prepare and distribute food to the broader community, including the unhoused population but also to others in the community. We discuss how anarchism can actually mean trust in communities to self-regulate and how to imagine a world where consumption is based on care, not monetary wealth. If you want to do something to get involved feeding people, but don't know where to start, this is a great episode for you. Plus, tune in to hear Abbie reveal her hidden kitchen preferences, Tim disclose his complicated hair-care, and the group wonder if sheep are literal, or metaphorical.

May 16, 202537 min

Hope in Naying the Naysayers

"That's cute that you care," “Just wait until you’re a bit older, then you’ll see how the world actually works.” “Don’t you think you’re being a bit unrealistic?” Everyone who's dared to hope that change is possible have met people who throw wet blankets over fresh ideas. And often that's enough to kill hope when its struggling to survive. So what can we do about it? In this episode Tim and Abbie discuss not only how to keep hope or a dream alive, but why, honestly, we don't have a choice. Also tune in to hear epic role play between Tim the Boomer and Abbie the Get Z activist and listen up for the segment AI labeled as "Academic Humility in Action."

April 30, 20251 hr 11 min

April Soetarman: Hope in Weird Side Projects

Shall we take a trip to the Museum of Almost Realities? April Soetarman makes art that lets us see the multitude of choices (or sometimes lack of choices), in our own lives and the world around us. Based in Queens, New York, April uses public facing art, interactive creative pieces, board games, and more to get people to pause and think about their agency in different ways. We discuss how to find the hope and motivation to create art in this upside-world. How do you balance marketing with creation? How do you catch someone's attention? And how do you care for yourself when you're just so tired. Plus - tune in to hear Tim bring in his pal Patti, and to hear Abbie make a bold proposal of friendship. Follow April here:Shop: shop.weirdsideprojects.com(the shop reopens for May 5-30th, 2025) @AprilSoetarman on Instagram and Bluesky @WeirdSideProjects on InstagramWebsite: AprilSoetarman.comSign up for playtests and private updates for Working Artist Board Game, a board game about being a working artist under capitalism: https://bit.ly/waboardgame

April 22, 20251 hr 6 min

Connor Thompson: Hope in Collective Action

The courts won't save us now.. So what do we do now? Trump’s second term mission is to overwhelm the judicial system in order to do what he wants - including the recent detention of Mahmoud Khalil - so much so that knowing how to even start resisting can feel impossible. Connor Thompson offers some ideas. As a lawyer from the famed Civil Rights battleground of Little Rock, Arkansas, Connor offers invaluable support to protesters on the ground in support of Black lives and the arbitrary detention of migrants. We discuss other roles that play essential parts in organizing, like the ability to host and provide meals and community, as well as how to use one’s societal privilege when engaging in civil disobedience. If you're feeling hopeless and powerless to do anything right now, this is a great episode for you. Plus, tune in to hear Abbie swooning over Connor's extensive vocabulary and Tim fighting tooth and nail against interruptions.

February 21, 20251 hr 6 min

Anna-Zoë Herr: Hope in a Heated World

Climate change can feel like the hardest thing to have hope in right now. But who better to discuss than someone who is literally getting her PhD on hope! Meet Anna-Zoë Herr, a Berlin-based researcher who studies the role of hope in ecological crises and survival. She also works with the Berlin-based NGO Talking Hope, focusing on research and designing communication and engagement strategies. Now you see what we mean - she's the perfect person to talk to!!In this episode, we discuss what hope can look like even in a world that tilts a direction we don’t want (increasingly autocratic governments, a world heated above scientist’s point of no return, etc) by imagining what can be done even with those realities. Zoë pulls from scientific studies, theory, and real life examples that show the greatest antidote to hopelessness is to find something, even little, in which to hope. Also tune in to hear Timmy considering a future as a "cool German girl" and Abbie contemplating marriage dynamics in rural Iceland. TW: Violence against animals.