127: Why We Chose Nomadic Freedom for Our Family | The Conrads & Jamie Rumble
Send us a textWe got an email from Jamie Rumble... "I’m a Master of Education student at Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia, Canada. For my thesis, I’m researching how digital nomads are adapting their lifestyles in response to climate change, and what insights their experiences might offer for future education and planetary citizenship." We thought it could be an interesting talk and said yes, given that we could use the recording for our podcast.In this episode, we, Cecilie and Jesper Conrad, sit down with researcher Jamie Rumble to discuss our seven years as a nomadic family. We explain why we sold our house and chose to travel full-time with our three kids and two dogs, sharing what freedom really means to us.We delve into the details of world schooling, explaining why we prioritise values, ethics, and adaptability over traditional school subjects. We talk about building and maintaining community while always on the move, and why we often say that “the adventure is the people.” We challenge the Instagram version of digital nomadism and share the practical realities of this life, from constant planning to the sacrifices involved. We also discuss privilege and the reasons we chose not to follow the conventional school system.This episode offers a glimpse into what it's like to live as a nomadic family and the deliberate choices we make about engaging with the world.🗓️ Recorded June 27th, 2025. 📍 Åmarksgård, Lille Skendsved, Denmark Support the showPODCAST INFOPodcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss SUPPORT & CONNECTSupport on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.familyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamilyTwitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily
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126: Vanessa Woozley | Single Mom, Van Life, and Worldschooling
Send us a textWhat happens when a single mom chooses to reject conventional norms, embraces van life, and takes her daughter out of traditional education? Vanessa Woozley joins us to share her inspiring story of courage, resilience, and transformation.Vanessa’s adventure began with short trips, gradually evolving into full-time worldschooling in a van. She dispels myths about needing significant resources or a traditional two-parent household to pursue a life of travel and alternative education. Vanessa reveals how her daughter thrived after leaving conventional schooling, becoming self-motivated and deeply engaged in learning through genuine interests.We explore the practicalities of single-parent van life, covering everything from managing online education and co-parenting arrangements to handling van troubles and finding community through worldschooling hubs. Vanessa's insights on facing fears, handling uncertainty, and embracing resilience offer powerful encouragement to anyone considering a similar journey.Vanessa also shares her holistic approach to health and well-being on the road, highlighting the simplicity and importance of maintaining healthy routines and nutrition despite the nomadic lifestyle.🗓️ Recorded June 19th, 2025. 📍 Åmarksgård, Lille Skendsved, Denmark🔗 Connect with Vanessa Woozleyhttps://www.facebook.com/thelifesutrashttps://www.instagram.com/thelifesutra https://www.youtube.com/c/VanessaWoozleyTheLifeSutra https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelifesutra Support the showPODCAST INFOPodcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss SUPPORT & CONNECTSupport on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.familyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamilyTwitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily
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125: Jack Stewart | What I Learned When I Turned Off the Internet: Real Life Begins
Send us a textWhen Jack Stewart turned off the internet, he discovered that digital connection often acts as a “social appetite suppressant”—satisfying on the surface, but not deeply nourishing. In this conversation, Jack explains how removing online distractions led him to seek out in-person connection, from literally knocking on neighbors’ doors to organizing his own book and writing salons.We discuss the qualitative difference between digital admirers and real friends, and why meaningful conversations rarely happen through casual online chat. Jack outlines how he created formal spaces—book clubs, writing groups, salons—to foster intellectual depth and genuine community.The discussion moves to Jack’s research on “common pool resources,” and the practical lessons from Nobel Prize winner Eleanor Ostrom’s work on how communities can successfully govern shared spaces. We explore what makes a community sustainable, including trust, collective rule-making, and how conflict is resolved without defaulting to authority or privatization.Cecilie and Jesper share their own experiences with offline community-building and the Scandinavian tradition of “hygge” as an egalitarian way of sharing space. The episode finishes with a reflection on what it really takes to build trust, give comfort, and create belonging in a world shaped by digital isolation.🗓️ Recorded June 17th, 2025. 📍 Åmarksgård, Lille Skendsved, Denmark🔗 Links from our talkhttps://www.gaiaeducation.org/ Download the PDF of "Money Can't Buy Me Hygge: Danish Middle-Class Consumption, Egalitarianism, and the Sanctity of Inner Space": https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272570361_Money_Can't_Buy_Me_Hygge_Danish_Middle-Class_Consumption_Egalitarianism_and_the_Sanctity_of_Inner_Space overning the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action by Elinor Ostrom: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/governing-the-commons/A8BB63BC4A1433A50A3FB92EDBBB97D5 Support the showPODCAST INFOPodcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss SUPPORT & CONNECTSupport on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.familyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamilyTwitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily
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124: Jennie Germann Molz | The World Is Our Classroom: Extreme Parenting and the Rise of Worldschooling
Send us a textSociologist Jennie Germann Molz joins the podcast to discuss her book The World Is Our Classroom: Extreme Parenting and the Rise of Worldschooling. Jennie is a professor at the College of the Holy Cross whose research explores mobility, technology, and alternative forms of family life. Drawing on both academic insight and her own experience traveling the world with her ten-year-old son, she examines what happens when families move beyond traditional education models and choose to learn through travel.We talk about how worldschooling challenges conventional ideas of parenting, risk, and education. The term itself includes a wide range of practices, from part-time educational travel to fully nomadic living. What connects them is a shared belief that learning happens outside institutional classrooms. Jennie also describes how both worldschooling and more conventional approaches like helicopter parenting can respond to the same concerns about preparing children for the future.The conversation looks at worldschooling through the lens of a sociologist, covering how travel shapes emotional adaptability in children, how standardized testing limits our understanding of learning, and how digital tools and post-COVID shifts have expanded possibilities for mobile education. For listeners interested in alternative education, digital nomad families, or learning outside school systems, this episode offers a grounded academic view of the worldschooling movement.🗓️ Recorded June 10th, 2025. 📍 Åmarksgård, Lille Skendsved, Denmark🔗 Learn more about Jennie Germann Molzhttps://www.holycross.edu/academics/people/jennie-germann-molzhttps://www.amazon.com/stores/Jennie-Germann-Molz/author/B005OSBMGO Support the showPODCAST INFOPodcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss SUPPORT & CONNECTSupport on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.familyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamilyTwitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily
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123: Corianda Shepherd | Creating a Worldschooling Community in Spain
Send us a textAfter her eight-year-old son was expelled from school in the UK, Corianda Shepherd and her partner Joel left behind a life that no longer worked. They moved to rural Spain, bought the first house they saw, and slowly built Shepherd’s Rest—a worldschooling community where families live together, learn in nature, and reject the idea that difference needs to be managed or corrected.This episode is not just about homeschooling. It’s about what happens when the social structure becomes too rigid, when families are stretched thin, and when children who don’t fit are sidelined. We talk about creating a different rhythm, not as an escape, but as a deliberate response to a system that has forgotten its purpose.Corianda shares how her sons began to thrive in a quieter environment, how a diagnosis doesn’t have to define a life, and why she believes family—not institutions—should be the foundation for raising children. Together, we reflect on how the box society offers has become too small, and what it takes to build something more human outside it.🗓️ Recorded June 3rd, 2025. 📍 Åmarksgård, Lille Skendsved, Denmark🔗 Connect with Coriandra and Shepherd’s Resthttps://www.shepherdsrest.org/https://www.instagram.com/shepsresthttps://www.facebook.com/ShepsRest Support the showPODCAST INFOPodcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss SUPPORT & CONNECTSupport on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.familyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamilyTwitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily
Self Directed - A Podcast on Life, Learning, and Raising Free Thinkers. Hosts Cecilie and Jesper Conrad, full-time travellers since 2018 and parents of four, invite a new guest on the podcast every Thursday.
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