Ben Callahan on Building Community, Your Values, and the Power of Connection

About this episode

Ben Callahan joins Brad to discuss what’s currently motivating him, from enjoying homemade ham and bean soup in Ohio to a deeper focus on connecting people through curiosity-led facilitation. Ben reflects on a transitional season of life, the importance of personal and organizational values, and how communities work best when they’re allowed to form organically. He describes his annual values exercise, the role of sharing and teaching in web culture, and the need to reintroduce humanity after COVID. The conversation also explores music’s ability to create presence and unity, with recommendations including Chanticleer, Jacob Collier, and Radiohead.

Books

• Get Together — Building Community

Music / Artists

• Chanticleer
• Jacob Collier
• Bobby McFerrin
• Radiohead

Websites / Communities / Projects

• ben callahan.com — Ben's home base for everything
• The Question — Weekly open community design systems research project
• Redwoods — Ben's new paid community for design systems practitioners
• Sparkbox — Ben's consultancy
• Design Downtime — Podcast by Guy Siegall (Ben was a season 1 guest)

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (00:26) - What has Ben waking up excited?
• (09:37) - Community as Resistance
• (13:55) - Values and Learning Mode
• (35:08) - Hardship Resets Trajectory
• (37:52) - Sharing Culture Of The Web
• (42:46) - Music Presence And Connection
• (50:39) - Consciousness Curiosity And Openness
• (57:02) - Music Recommendations
• (01:01:00) - Where To Find Ben