THE YARNS PODCAST

In collaboration with the I.K.S. WRKSHP, NGARRA, and SANKOFA, the Yarns Podcast is the unedited, long form podcast sessions with people from all over the world – all examining Indigenous knowledge systems, and how this lens can be applied to solving the world’s problems. 

It’s a journey across continents, cultures, races, creeds, with intellectuals and Aunties, those who share the same perspective, and those who oppose it.

Let’s have a yarn.

Without yarning, stories are just something to put kids to sleep.
Stories are also called Yarns, but yarning is a different process altogether.

It’s not conversing, it’s not telling a story, it’s more than that. There has to be an exchange of stories if you want to be awake and grown.
Having a yarn, as colloquial as that sounds is actually a structured cultural activity that has a valid and rigorous methodology for knowledge production, inquiry and transmission of information. It is a ritual that incorporates elements such as story, humour, gesture and mimicry for consensus-building, meaning-making and innovation.

It’s not about talking circles, or any of that. Traditionally, its just sitting in the space, facing different angles, building a loose consensus on what is known. A kind of group mind where all stories, even contradictory one sit along side each other. Can be about a context situation, or just in general, and from that loose consensus that you can make decisions, make prediction solutions, finalise agreements or argument, coming to an understanding of knowledge and ability to make predictions, to decide what to do next, what has value, and affirm those relations.
It’s not about debating and coming out on top. But all stories coming together, and in that aggregate, there is an understanding of knowledge.