What if the future isn’t something that happens to us, but something we build together? Future on Deck lives at the intersection of social innovation, human potential, and radical imagination. Each episode is an open invitation to dream out loud, challenge what we think we know, and co-create solutions for a world not yet built. Hosted by Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows of the Haywood Burns Institute.
The future cannot wait!
What Comes After Reform? Talking Radical Imagination with Valerie Frost, Host of Community In-Site Podcast
A lot of conversations in child welfare and human services begin with reform. How do we reduce harm? How do we address disparities? How do we improve policies, practices, training, accountability, and outcomes? Samantha Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows, Co-Executive Directors of the Haywood Burns Institute, bring decades of experience working with communities and systems to address racial and ethnic disparities, build community power, and imagine more just conditions for children, families, and c...
7 Oct 2026
Adaptation & Beyond
Building a future world means we have to be ready to adapt. But our adaptability isn't limited to pivoting in the moment - there is also a process of unlearning that must happen. Shedding what's no longer needed and updating our mental models, while uncomfortable, are necessary components of building a better future. Transformative change isn't just about creating new systems and structures; there is a deep personal work that requires each of us to recalibrate, trust our instincts and be so c...
2 Sept 2026
Why a podcast? And why now?
Have you thought about doing a podcast, but found it difficult to get started? So did we! In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows bring in their producer Nathan Fink, to have an honest conversation about the decision to do a podcast and what they are learning along the way. Each of them shares how the podcast has created moments of growth, discomfort and vulnerability while also providing a space for authentic conversations full of joy and laughter. Check it out and let us know what...
5 Aug 2026
Innovation in Action with David Carroll
What happens when a community refuses to accept the system as it is, and starts imagining something better in its place? In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows sit down with David Carroll, Director of the Department of Youth Development in Los Angeles County. Together they trace the journey from outrage to imagination to infrastructure: how decades of LA being the country's largest incarcerator of young people gave way to Youth Justice Reimagined, and ultimately to DYD. David share...
1 Jul 2026
Creativity, Freedom, and the Courage to Begin
What if creativity isn't a luxury, but the very thing that frees us? In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows explore creativity as the soul of social innovation and the engine of building what does not yet exist. From Tshaka's first meeting with BI founder James Bell at a backyard barbecue in Oakland, to Sam's journey of finding her people across continents, they reflect on the trust and creative freedom required to imagine, and build, a future beyond the systems we inherited. Becau...
3 Jun 2026
Unlocking our potential: Integrity is our key
How do we unlock our greatest human potential? Integrity is our key. In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows of the Haywood Burns Institute return to the value that anchors everything else: integrity. They explore why integrity is not just a personal virtue but the foundation of trust,consistency, innovation, and the difficult conversations this moment demands. From the quiet compromises people make to protect themselves in hierarchical systems, to a powerful exchange with Taller Sa...
6 May 2026
The Future Can't Wait.
What if the future isn't something that happens to us, but something we build together? In this debut episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows of the Haywood Burns Institute introduce Future on Deck — a space where social innovation, human potential, and radical imagination collide. This is their first conversation, their first question, and an open invitation to dream out loud and co-create a world not yet built. The future cannot wait.
24 Apr 2026
Future on Deck Season 1 Trailer 1
Future on Deck Season 1 Trailer 1
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
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