Most employees don’t lack visibility— they lack the clarity to decode what "being visible" actually demands in their organization. Serena Low reveals the hidden rules that shape whose voice is heard—and how introverted high achievers can lead and influence without turning up the volume.

In this episode, Serena unpacks how corporate norms favor extroverted confidence and what quiet leaders can do to be seen and recognized on their own terms. She shares powerful stories, from her journey away from law to her insights on navigating high-stakes meetings, managing imposter syndrome, and reframing sales and networking as acts of service. You'll discover concrete strategies for amplifying quiet strengths—like deep listening, strategic patience, and authentic contribution—without sacrificing your identity or wellbeing.

We break down the mental shifts needed to reframe visibility as influence, not performance, and how to influence rooms where loud voices dominate. Serena explains how organizational biases undervalue quiet leadership and what it takes to build trust and authority while staying true to your nature. Plus, she offers practical questions to decode what "being visible" really means in your workplace—and how to leverage your natural talents to create impact.

If you've ever felt overlooked because you're not the loudest in the room, this episode will change how you see your own power. Whether you’re aiming for more influence, navigating reinvention after 40, or simply want to show up authentically, Serena’s insights empower you to make a difference without acting out of character.

Perfect for introverted leaders, high achievers, and anyone tired of equating confidence with noise—this episode gives you the tools to turn subtlety into strength and quiet impact into lasting influence.

Serena Low is a trauma-informed coach and founder of the Visible Introvert Academy, specializing in helping high-achieving introverts thrive in extrovert-biased cultures. Her work transforms the way quiet voices are seen, heard, and trusted. https://serenalow.com.au/

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Reading the World | قراءة العالم
A bilingual podcast (English and Arabic) exploring world literature, culture, and higher education as ways of understanding how meaning is produced, circulated, and contested.

Each episode takes one question at a time—carefully, clearly, and without oversimplification.

Follow the podcast to continue the conversation.

Most travel photos don’t just show us a destination — they shape what we believe about a place before we even set foot there. Ausra Osipaviciute reveals how images translate the unfamiliar into subjective stories, and how every shot risks both revealing and distorting reality. If you’re tired of passively consuming travel photos and want to start reading them with more insight and ethical awareness, this episode is your guide.

We dive into the power of a single frame to evoke emotion and tell a story — or just fragment it. Ausra shares how she approaches visual storytelling beyond prettiness, aiming to capture the true texture, mood, and life of a place. Learn why many travel shots create stereotypes, even when photographers don’t intend them to, and how they inherently carry ideological and ethical implications. You'll discover the subtle yet vital questions to ask whenever you see a travel photo: Who benefits from this story? What’s excluded? And how does the image shape your expectations?

Ausra also lifts the veil on the ethics of street and travel photography. She discusses where to draw the line between honest storytelling and exploitation, emphasizing the importance of consent and local context. Her insights about authenticity challenge superficial notions — authentic images aren’t just un-staged, they’re honest about the reality they depict, including its shadows.

This episode isn’t just about better photography; it’s about becoming a more conscious viewer and creator. Whether you’re a traveler, a photographer, or a curious listener, you’ll walk away with practical habits to decode images, deepen your understanding, and challenge your assumptions about the stories behind the photos.

Perfect for anyone eager to read beyond the surface and see the world in a more truthful, ethical light. Ready to shift from passive viewer to informed reader of images? Hit play and start seeing the stories behind every shot.

For more information about Ausra's work, visit: https://theroadreel.com/.

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Reading the World | قراءة العالم
A bilingual podcast (English and Arabic) exploring world literature, culture, and higher education as ways of understanding how meaning is produced, circulated, and contested.

Each episode takes one question at a time—carefully, clearly, and without oversimplification.

Follow the podcast to continue the conversation.

What does “risk” really mean—who defines it, and who benefits from the way it’s narrated into institutions?

In this episode of Reading the World | قراءة العالم, Ali Alhajji speaks with Joshua Harrison, Director of the Center for the Study of the Force Majeure (UC Santa Cruz), about the relationship between risk, insurance, and ecological design—and why the idea of an uninsurable future reveals more than a market problem. It reveals a crisis of imagination, governance, and accountability.

Starting with the insurance industry’s growing inability to price climate volatility, the conversation reframes insurance as critical infrastructure: a system that quietly shapes where people can live, what futures remain investable, and whose losses are deemed acceptable. From there, the discussion turns toward prevention rather than reaction, and asks what it would mean to redesign our institutions around stewardship.

We then move into ecological and cultural “reading scenes”: how design changes what becomes visible, how fire can be understood as a tool of land care rather than only catastrophe, and how Indigenous knowledge complicates dominant frameworks of expertise. The episode closes with Two-Eyed Seeing as a way of thinking across knowledge systems—while staying attentive to power, translation, and responsibility.

In this conversation:

• How institutions narrate risk—and what those narratives erase
• Insurance as a front line of climate governance
• Why prevention is the missing logic in modern risk systems
• Stewardship, “good fire,” and ecological design as forms of reading
• Two-Eyed Seeing and the ethics of knowledge-sharing across systems

Reading the World | قراءة العالم is a bilingual podcast (English/Arabic) that takes one question at a time—carefully, clearly, and without shortcuts.

Keywords: risk, insurance, ecological design, institutional narratives, climate change, Indigenous knowledge, governance, prevention, stewardship, ecological crisis

Send us a text

Reading the World | قراءة العالم
A bilingual podcast (English and Arabic) exploring world literature, culture, and higher education as ways of understanding how meaning is produced, circulated, and contested.

Each episode takes one question at a time—carefully, clearly, and without oversimplification.

Follow the podcast to continue the conversation.