Guest Episodes
Between Two Cows – A Personal Conversation with the Unpaid Intern (Yann T.) | Ep. 31
What happens when we slow down and talk about language without shortcuts ? In this episode, Michelle is joined by Yann (yes, WeCultivate’s unpaid intern!) for a personal conversation recorded early in their journey of working together. They reflect on Yann’s experience growing up in France, learning...
Language Learning – More Compassion, Less Shame (Jonathan H.) | Ep. 30
In this episode, Michelle is joined by Jonathan H., an English teacher with over 25 years of experience teaching across countries, systems, and learning contexts. Their conversation explores how shame often enters language learning early through schooling and exams, and how it continues to shape adu...
Holiday Episode 2025 – Community Stories on Family, Language, and Culture | Ep. 29
Holiday Episode 2025 brings together community stories on family, language, and culture from across the WeCultivate community. Nine voices share reflections on navigating complex family dynamics shaped by culture, migration, language, and lived experience — offering honesty, nuance, and perspective ...
It’s Not the Language. It’s the Assumptions. (Martha S.) | Ep. 28
What if the hardest part of learning a language isn’t the grammar or practice, but the assumptions people make about you before you even speak? In this episode, Martha and I talk about how judgments around accent, identity, and personality shape the language journey far more than most of us realize....
At Home, An Outsider (Sonia M.) | Ep. 27
What does it mean to call a place home when that same place refuses to see you as one of its own? In this deeply personal conversation, Sonia — a Black Italian creative who grew up in Italy and spent years abroad — joins Michelle to unpack how identity and belonging collide when culture, language, a...
Deep South Korean: Owning Voice, Facing History (April W.) | Ep. 25
In this episode of WeCultivate: The Pod , Michelle sits down with April , a Korean transracial adoptee and creator of Deep South Korean . Together, they explore what it means to own your voice —accent, story, and all—while unpacking the layered realities of growing up Asian in rural West Virginia. T...
Beyond Borders – What Language and Travel Teach Us About Real Connection (Robin C.) | Ep. 23
When we move across borders, we don’t just collect stamps... we collect new ways of seeing. In this episode, our guest Robin C. joins Michelle to share what growing up across Italy, Germany, and later moving to Canada taught her about empathy and adaptability, Together, they reflect on how language ...
Language Learning, But Make It Yours (Christina J, LovetoLingo) | Ep. 21
What does "empowered learning" really mean? How can learners AND educators learn to encourage greater agency in the classroom? Michelle sits down with Christina J. of LoveToLingo to talk about what it really takes to learn a language: discomfort, curiosity, and ownership. From cultural integration t...
Building What Feels Good: On Burnout, Language Bias, and Redefining Success in Tech (Kax U.) | Ep. 20
In this episode, Michelle speaks with Kax U., a former tech leader turned startup founder and coach for women in tech, about the layered experience of navigating global workspaces as a multilingual, multicultural professional. 💬 Topics include: Burnout, misalignment, and why success often feels emp...
Whose English Is It Anyway? On Accents, Bias & “Jiggery Pokery” (Damien C.) | Ep. 18
What does it mean to “sound native”? And who decides what’s correct? In this episode, Michelle is joined by Damien C., a former archaeologist turned pain coach and kung fu teacher, for a wide-ranging conversation on accents, authenticity, and the layered politics of being a native English speaker. T...