With Roots is where we explore what it means to live, lead, and create from deep knowing. Through personal stories, conversations with guests, and lessons from the intersections of decolonial education, ancestral wisdom, and storytelling, Dr. Joey Liu invites paradigm-shifters, educators, and heart-led leaders to examine the narratives they've inherited and reclaim the ones that are theirs. For anyone building a life and a body of work rooted in something more nourishing and more enduring than what dominant systems offer - we're here to language the world we collectively dream of.
In this episode, I explore my experience of expansion through a series of stories where I found myself at the precipice - a liminal state in between an old version of me and a new expanded version of me - each time the threshold involving expanded roles & responsibilities.
I recount the practices and discoveries that allowed me to keep up greet each precipice with willingness - even craving.
And then I reveal my recent discovery - a deeper truth about expansion that explains why my time meeting myself at my current precipice has felt slower and more obscure than all the rest. (It turns out to be a really good thing.)
26 Apr 2026
ep 004 - Might as well make it a movie.
In this episode I talk about how questioning your worth, voice, and safety in visibility isn’t something you arrived at alone; it’s shaped by culture, caretakers, education, media, oppression, and capitalism, so we need context to give ourselves the right care. I share that decolonizing visibility isn’t a destination but a threshold: if being seen in your leadership still feels unsafe, it may signal you haven’t found the right ground for your self-concept. I invite you to audit your relationship with yourself—worthiness, perfection, forgiveness, repair, growth, responsibility—and to break “fear of visibility” into specific stories and memories to contextualize and heal. I also name disappointment and longing to be seen as possible roots, and I encourage daily self-tending as collective, generational work. We left the stars for this — so you might as well make your life a movie.
We do this specific work in Sovereign Storyteller (https://www.drjoeyliu.com/sovereign-story)— a 5-month cohort to decolonize voice & visibility for paradigm-shifting creators & founders.
Check out more resources on voice & story work at: drjoeyliu.com.
21 Apr 2026
ep. 003 - depth, power, and paradox with giana cerasia
In this episode I talk story with one of the most brilliant minds, hearts, humans I've ever met, Giana Cerasia. Her journey from teaching in the oldest high school in America, to reforming prison education, to building the first virtual school in the state of Connecticut at age 25 is only the first act in her story of troubling systems from within and asking: "What are the most strategic ways I can make sustained, systemic change?"
Giana's story takes us from the peak of the corporate ladder all the way back to the depths of self -- an intersection of paradox, lineage, and the most powerful choice to return to yourself when you realize: "doing this costs too much".
Buckle up. This conversation is a full sojourn into what it means to be a human and find the truest places of our power, creativity, and agency.
Check out Giana's brilliant work here:
Apprenticeship: https://ravish.life/apprenticeship
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giana.cerasia/
Check out more resources on voice & story work at: drjoeyliu.com (drjoeyliu.com)
23 Mar 2026
002 - Love Letters to the Misfits
What if I told you that you could make your body of work a love letter to your people?
That's what I did - because that's kind of all I know. As a misfit myself, I've always known I'm for the misfits. And as misfits, it's so important that we know how to find each other, stick together, and change our worlds together.
So my work, my love letters, my bat signal to my kind - it HAS to find it's people. And it always has.
I break it down for you in this episode and invite you to wonder with me - who needs YOU? What would it mean to them to come across your work as a love letter written with them uniquely in mind?
If this is shaking up something in you, I made this for you: MAKE YOUR BODY OF WORK LOVE LETTERS TO YOUR PEOPLE. (https://dr-joey-yung-jun-liu.mykajabi.com/love-letters)
Check out more resources on voice & story work at: drjoeyliu.com (https://drjoeyliu.com)
23 Mar 2026
001 - Love Made Me Do It
In this episode, I explore the idea of a pedagogy of love. Love as the central architecture for all that we do - our living, our working, our relating, our building new worlds.
I tap into some personal stories - from my time as a foster mom, to the classroom, to the work I do now - to illustrate the power of love as a north star and root system.
Listen all the way through for a feeling-filled heart-to-heart at the end - a word of life and love to YOU.
For more support in anchoring your work into a paradigm of love, check out MAKE YOUR BODY OF WORK LOVE LETTERS TO YOUR PEOPLE. (https://dr-joey-yung-jun-liu.mykajabi.com/love-letters)
Check out more resources on voice & story work at: drjoeyliu.com (https://drjoeyliu.com)
11 Jun 2025
#109 SIR DUSHON ADAMS: On Facing His Fears & the Resilience it Takes to Live Your Creative Purpose
Sir Dushon Adams shares stories of facing fears and pursuing his creative purpose, highlighting the resilience required to overcome obstacles in an interview with the host.
17 Jan 2025
#107 JENNIFER LIWANAG, CPT, Pn1, CPPC: On Following Her Own Path to Entrepreneurship & Journey to Motherhood After Loss
Jen Liwanag, a certified professional trainer and nutrition coach, shares her journey of breaking societal expectations to pursue entrepreneurship and motherhood after loss, redefining her identity and finding resilience.
14 Nov 2024
#106 DR. KATE NICOLE STAHL-KOVELL: On Becoming a Novelist & The Journey from Survival to Therapist
This week I sit down with Ph.D., Associate Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in Birth, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Trauma, Activist, Mother, and now Romantasy Novelist, KATE STAHL-KOVELL. Kate narrates her path to creating her first novel Mor and we discuss the theme of giving ourselves permission to be creative. Kate also shares her story of surviving trauma and channeling this experience into her service of others.
Learn more about Dr. Kate at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/kate-nicole-stahl-kovell-redlands-ca/977823 (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/kate-nicole-stahl-kovell-redlands-ca/977823)
Connect with her on Instagram: @postpartumptsd
Learn more about Dr. Joey Liu at: DrJoeyLiu.com
Connect with her on Instagram: @dr.joey.liu
2 Aug 2024
#105 DR. PAOLO MAGCALAS: Love as the Motivation for Radical Work & Learning to Decolonize his Identity
This week I sit down with professor, elected official, and activist Dr. Paolo Magcalas. Paolo brings the theme of love in his story of activism, tracing his days from the high school classroom all the way to the board room as an elected official. In his second story, Paolo candidly shares experiences of growing up in America as an immigrant and the effects of colonization on his life and his communities, both in the U.S. and the Philippines.
You can keep up with Dr. Paolo Magcalas on Instagram: @drmagcalas4auhsd
If you are interested in working with me to help, tell your story, find your people, and grow your mission, visit my website: DrJoeyLiu.com
The videos to all episodes of Everyone Needs a Story for the Campfire can be found on YouTube.
10 Jun 2024
#104 ALICEANNE LOFTUS Taking Responsibility For Your Own Happiness & Learning Love Languages
This week I sit down with best-selling author, business owner, educator, and leadership coach AliceAnne Loftus. AliceAnne generously shares her story of resilience, teaching us a powerful lesson on taking responsibility for one’s own life through the good and the bad. In her second story, AliceAnne shifts her exploration to love, particularly how understanding love languages empowers how we give and receive love to those we are in relationship with.
Get your copy of AliceAnne's book, Take the Lead
https://leadinglady-coaching.com/take-the-lead-book/ (https://leadinglady-coaching.com/take-the-lead-book/)
Connect with AliceAnne by visiting her website
https://leadinglady-coaching.com (https://leadinglady-coaching.com)
(https://leadinglady-coaching.com/take-the-lead-book/)5 Love Languages Website
https://5lovelanguages.com/ (https://5lovelanguages.com/)
21 May 2024
#103 Dr. CHARLOTTE ACHIENG-EVENSEN The experience of grief in immigration & the journey towards peace after loss
This week, I sit down with masterful storyteller, educator, and researcher, Charlotte Achieng-Evensen. Charlotte transports us her very personal “Coming to America” story, where she explores the theme of loss– loss of the familiar, aspects of identity, and even a sense of freedom. Her second story explores her journey through grieving and the ways that she moved through that grief to peace and joy–a story of resilience.
Here are the links to Dr. Charlotte Achieng-Evensen's published works:
Books by Dr. Charlotte Achieng-Evensen (https://myersedpress.presswarehouse.com/browse/author/aa3050fe-65ae-4102-bc95-777e33f7d489/Charlotte-Achieng-Evensen)
Young, Urban, Professional, and Kenyan?: Conversations Surrounding Tribal Identity and Nationhood by Dr. Charlotte Achieng-Evensen (https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/ces_dissertations/9/)
If you want to unlock your authentic self, gain confidence, and make human connections through storytelling, be sure to visit DrJoeyLiu.com (drjoeyliu.com)
7 May 2024
#102: ANABEL MUÑOZ: Giving Herself Permission to Change & Greiving Past Versions of Herself
This week I sat down with Anabel Munoz, the wonderfully talented TV news journalist at ABC 7 Los Angeles. In her stories, Anabel explores the ideas of giving herself permission to change and to not have everything figured out. A story that begins with hair uncovers the symbolic shift to explore the tensions of who we are expected to be, versus who we allow ourselves to be as we experiment and grow. In another story, Anabel explores the topic of grieving past versions of herself as she has matured into who she is today, embracing who she will be tomorrow in this process of loss and becoming.
21 Apr 2024
#101 SABIAN ZEIN ON RESPONSIBILITY & PERMISSION: Becoming Who I Want to Be & Being Unapologetically Palestinian
This week I sat down with Sabian Zein, an amazingly successful entrepreneur with a heart of gold, who happens to be my former student and now a close family friend. Sabian explores themes of taking action and responsibility for creating his fullest life and becoming the person he wants to be. He gives valuable insight into how he elevated 3 areas of his life: mindset, body, and finances. In another story, Sabian surfaces the theme of giving himself radical permission, to not only claim his Palestinian identity but, in his words, to shout it from the rooftops in celebration.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
2,498
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 21 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
16
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
0
Host of Everyone Needs a Story for the Campfire?
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