Learning Through Experience With Dr. Heidi Brooks
On March 28, Susan Sturm discussed What Might Be with Dr. Heidi Brooks from the Learning Through Experience Podcast, a production of the Yale School of Management. Listen below:
Episode Description:
What if the institutions we rely on—our workplaces, schools, and legal systems—aren’t built for full participation? And what if real change starts not from the top, but in small, intentional spaces we create ourselves? In this episode of Learning Through Experience, host Heidi Brooks and legal scholar and change-maker Susan Sturm explore the paradoxes of institutional transformation, and how facing uncertainty–rather than seeking to eliminate it–can create new possibilities for participation, collaboration and justice.
Drawing from her new book, What Might Be: How Universities and Other Institutions Can Change, Susan shares how we can confront the tensions within our systems—between power and powerlessness, justice and exclusion, certainty and humility—without rushing to resolve them. Through personal stories and deep insights, she introduces the concept of micro spaces of justice—small but intentional environments where people model the institutional change they wish to see. These spaces, she argues, offer a path forward amid today’s polarization and institutional inertia.
This episode invites listeners to rethink their role in shaping institutions, reimagining power, and embracing paradox as a source of transformation. Listen now and join the conversation on what might be possible.
You can also listen on Yale Insights, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube.
