In this conversation, Carolina and The May 13 Group’s producer delve into the ecosystem metaphor again, discussing its implications in the nonprofit sector, the importance of holistic understanding, and the interconnectedness of various players within the ecosystem. They explore the nonprofit industrial complex as an ecosystem, the role of intention, and the potential for destruction and nourishment within these systems. The discussion also touches on the evaluation theory tree as a metaphor and questions the value of the ecosystem metaphor itself.

In this episode, host Vidya Shanker welcomes The May 13 Group Podcast producer, Nayantara Premakumar to explore the metaphor of ecosystems in relation to their work and personal experiences. They discuss the importance of understanding ecosystems holistically, the impact of colonialism and capitalism on land relationships, and the misappropriation of ecosystem language in various fields. The conversation also touches on personal reflections, cultural connections to land, and the need for deeper interrogation of the systems we create and participate in.

In this episode, Ramya Kumaran—a scholar and practitioner around imagination, play, and futures—joins host Vidhya Shanker to explore the transformative power of collective imagination for building new worlds beyond the ones we inherited. We challenge listeners to question whose imagination shapes our current realities and discuss The May 13 Group not as a single utopia but rather as a potential portal or protopia—an incremental stepping stone toward better possibilities. We invite listeners to reflect with us on healing, solidarity, and moving beyond survival to shift our perspective and open paths to meaningfully different futures.

In this episode, hosts Carolina and Vidhya dive deep into collectivism in relation to the (neo)liberal ideology of individualism that underpins the nonprofit/ nongovernmental industrial complex and evaluation. We invite Naaima Khan, a strategist and evaluator, to discuss the implications of collectivism in the context of structurally-focused analysis and action. The conversation weaves personal reflections, historical definitions, and critiques of language to explore themes of leadership, accountability, and culture. We discuss the need to shift how success is defined, acknowledging the discomfort that often accompanies true collectivism.