Yin Yak™: Where Ideas Take Flight
Welcome to Yin Yak™
Your front-row seat to conversations where design meets learning… and the wonderfully unexpected.
Whether you’re here for solo voice sketches or spirited guest interviews, you’re in the right place.
Listen to the Latest Podcast Episodes
Press play and and discover how deep learning unfolds in the wild, beyond the classroom, and into real life.
Start by listening to the trailer below.
EPISODE 4: From AI Study Buddies to a New Course Design Playbook
Guest:
Eric Newman, MFA (Writing), is the Associate Director of Academic Innovation at Boston University, where he leads design for some of Boston University’s most forward-thinking online programs. He helped shape the university’s online MBA, which Forbes called one of the most disruptive business programs in higher education.
In this episode of Yin Yak, we dig into a question a lot of designers, educators, and leaders are quietly wrestling with:
If AI can deliver knowledge and hold real conversations with learners… what’s left for us to design?
EPISODE 3: The Beauty and Burden of Ambiguity
Guest:
Joe Vallone, MBA, is Chief AI Officer and co-founder of Outcomes360. He’s an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a doctoral candidate at Purdue University, where he’s exploring how AI is reshaping leadership and transformation. Joe brings a rare blend of real-world strategy and academic insight to today’s conversation.
When does ambiguity open creative doors and when does it quietly derail a project? How do you coach teams to tell the difference between healthy ambiguity (exploration) and risky ambiguity (misalignment)?
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EPISODE 2: The Art of Not Having the Answer – On Ambiguity, Emotion, and Expression
Guest:
Susan Singer, MIS, BA, is a professional artist who meets herself time and time again on the canvas, in the classroom, and through her journals. When things get tough, when things are unbearably beautiful, when the world is too much to bear, when joy is filling her to the brim, she goes to the studio to express, discover, and celebrate.
Is art always supposed to mean something? How does art help us to navigate ambiguity?
View Episode 2 Transcript
EPISODE 1: Muscle Memory Under Pressure – From Ice Rinks to ERs
What do figure skaters and emergency nurses have in common? More than you think.
Guest:
Julian Cha, MBA, BSN, RN, is a clinical nurse educator and former emergency nurse with deep experience training frontline responders for real-world chaos. From code blues to trauma drills, he shares how life-or-death readiness is built, one simulation at a time.
Takeaway in a Nutshell:
How high-stakes environments—from skating rinks to emergency rooms—train the body and brain to perform when it matters most.
View Episode 1 Transcript
TRAILER: Introducing Yin Yak™ The Podcast
Why this podcast exists, what to expect, and how it’s not your average L&D show.
Voice Sketch with Yin:
A personal invitation to join Yin at the intersection of design, learning, and curiosity. Whether it’s solo wonderings or spirited conversations with guests, this is where ideas take flight.
View Trailer Transcript
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