The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast

Christian Ace Stettler

The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast

Welcome to a journey of revolutionary storytelling with Christian Ace Stettler. Dive into unique stories and diverse perspectives to foster critical dialogue, empathy, and understanding. Through storytelling grounded in social work values, we aim to challenge the status quo, ignite transformation, and build a community of change-makers. Join us in exploring social work, justice, and what it means to be truly revolutionary.

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08 April 2026

Nature-Based Therapy, Indigenous Wisdom, and Healing in Social Work | Kit Kline | Episode 89

What would social work look like if nature was not treated as background, but as part of the healing relationship?In Episode 89 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast, Professor Ace is joined by Kit Kline, founder of Nature Based Therapy, clinical social worker, educator, and trainer. Together they explore the relationship between nature-based therapy, Indigenous...

07 April 2026

Abolitionist Social Work and Court-Involved Youth with Maria Guido | Critical Social Worker 88

Maria Guido joins Professor Ace for a powerful conversation on abolitionist social work, trauma, attachment, therapy, and the realities facing court-involved youth.In Episode 88 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast, Professor Ace speaks with licensed clinical social worker Maria Guido about developmental trauma, emotional safety, attunement, abolition, love in...

24 March 2026

Huntington’s Disease, Family Secrecy, and Caregiving | Lori Jones on Growing Up At Risk

Episode 87 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast features Lori Jones, author of Spared: A Memoir of Risk and Resolve.Lori joins Professor Ace for a powerful conversation about growing up in a family shaped by Huntington’s disease, living under the weight of secrecy and stigma, facing a 50% genetic risk, and navigating caregiving across generations. This episode...

23 March 2026

Ukraine War Trauma and Human Trafficking in Alaska | Dr. Nataliia Gusak | Ep 86

Ukraine war trauma meets Alaska’s service realities. What does effective social work look like when systems are strained?Episode 86 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast (hosted by Professor Ace) features Dr. Nataliia Gusak, associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage and a Ukrainian scholar whose work focuses on building and evaluating community-based...

07 March 2026

Heart Wisdom, Hope, and Soul Work in Social Work | Causha Spellman-Timmons | Ep 85

Episode 85 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast, hosted by Professor Ace, features Causha A. Spellman-Timmons (they/them), a Black, queer, non-binary visionary and SOULcial worker grounded in over two decades of radical service, community-rooted leadership, and healing-centered justice.This conversation moves through heart wisdom, authenticity, cultural competence,...

20 February 2026

Cultural Silence and Black Men’s Mental Health | Mark Tuggle

Episode 84 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast hosted by Professor Ace features Mark Tuggle, editor of Cultural Silence and Wounded Souls: Black Men Speak About Mental Health.In this conversation, we dig into cultural silence, stigma, emotional expression, Tupac’s legacy, community support, and what it looks like to create real spaces where Black men can speak...

09 February 2026

Can We Fix Voting? Travis Misurell on FiNC, Digital Democracy, and the Up/Down Lens

In episode 83 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast, Professor Ace talks with Travis Misurell, founder of FiNC (America’s civic utility), about what’s broken in US politics and what it could look like to build a citizen-owned civic infrastructure that expands real choice and accountability.We dig into money in politics, the “lesser of two evils” trap, and Travis’s...

09 February 2026

Social Work to Wealth: Financial Literacy + Salary Negotiation for Social Workers | Taylor Gilbert

Social workers are expected to carry everyone else’s weight while quietly carrying their own financial stress. In this episode of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast, Professor Ace sits down with Taylor Gilbert (LCSW, CFSW), founder of Social Work to Wealth, to talk debt, pay, money stigma in the profession, and practical ways social workers can build real financial...

03 February 2026

Banning AI Therapists, Taking on the ASWB Exam, and Exploring the NASW | Kyle Hillman

In Episode 81 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast, Professor Ace sits down with Kyle Hillman (NASW) to talk about where social work is headed, and what happens when the profession drifts too far into “clinical-only” identity at the expense of advocacy and policy power.We dig into the push to ban AI “therapists,” ethical risk in AI-supported practice, the interstate...

30 January 2026

Social Work Burnout and Private Practice | Natalia Tuipulotu, LCSW

Episode 80 of The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast features Natalia Tuipulotu (LCSW, CSAC, PMH-C). We talk honestly about social work burnout, the complicated move from community behavioral health to private practice, harm reduction work, and how motherhood reshapes identity, priorities, and boundaries in this field.Natalia is the founder of Mana Behavioral Health...