The Waking Youth Project

What began as a timid student podcast in 2020 has been slowly evolving into a living art project—weaving deep listening, storytelling, writing, and personal and collective transformation.

At the heart of Waking Youth lies a simple, stubborn question: What would it mean for us to live into our maturity with more wisdom?

I often sense that, as a contemporary culture, as a young civilization, we’re in a developmental stage akin to adolescence. We compete where we could collaborate, destroy where we might heal, and fight where we could love. How, then, might we keep growing, not up, but inward and toward the realization of our more conscious, kind, loving potential?

In practice, Waking Youth takes many forms:

🎧 Podcast interviews with human beings I consider wise—people expanding the horizon of whom we might become. Guests include former Israeli soldier turned hempcrete entrepreneur Elad Kaspin; Ruby Reed, co-founder of Advaya; visionary writer Daniel Pinchbeck, and novogamy proponent Dr. Jorge Ferrer.

✍️ Written pieces exploring themes that feel both personally and collectively vital—from radical honesty and callings to the forgotten social function of the “idiot”.

👩‍💻​ Online events & offerings, such as Integral Yoga sessions, and book clubs around timeless works like Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet.

👥 In-person retreats, like Let Your Life Speak, where we draw on the power of community to unearth the wisdom and inner guidance stored in our bodies.

If the words above speak to you, I invite you to subscribe to the Waking Youth newsletter below where I’ll keep you updated about our latest creations.

I don’t like to commit to a particular frequency of publication, as the work we do here follows less the pace of the capitalist machine, and more the slower rhythm of our creative spirits.

Welcome to what I hope might become for you a home,
Carlota

What People Are Saying

"Carlota is a brilliant writer and podcast host. It's been a pleasure reading and listening to her work. Through both mediums, her healthy curiosity guides wise and meaningful questions, and sparks necessary conversations.” James Murdock, author of Madbird Newsletter

Contribute

Everything you’ll find here at Waking Youth is a labour of love. I dedicate many—some would say too many—hours to this calling of mine, and I do so because I love it, because it makes me feel alive, because I couldn’t not do it.

Most of what you read and listen here is offered for free. If this project resonates with you, the simplest way to help is by sharing it with those who might love it too.

And if you feel called to further support our flourishing, you can offer a paid subscription by clicking the button bellow, or a one-time donation here.

Team

Waking Youth is created by me, Carlota Guedes, with the support and inspiration of many others.

In a time when personal branding so often commodifies our sense of self, and individualism dilutes our communal identities, I prefer not to see this project as mine. Everything you encounter here was born from countless conversations and collaborations. Waking Youth is a collective project: between me, you, us, and the mystery of life.

The music you hear in the podcast is composed by Carlos Sierra, the sound magician who has greatly elevated this project’s quality through both his music and attentive editing of our interviews.

As for events, gatherings, book clubs, and retreats, I’ve had the joy of collaborating with many wonderful beings like writers James Murdock and Guy James, and life coach Nata Buleishvili. Perhaps one day we might create something together too. I’m open to collaborations.