In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Joanna Chiu, award-winning journalist, author of China Unbound, and co-founder and managing partner of Nüora Global Advisors, to explore how geopolitics shows up in everyday life, especially for diaspora communities living between worlds. Chiu reflects on her path from growing up in suburban Canada to reporting on the ground in Hong Kong and Beijing, driven by a deep sense of connection to a place she was taught to leave behind. We unpack the limits of “neutrality” in media, the persistent flattening of complex regions like China into simplified narratives, and why diverse lived experience is often dismissed rather than valued. Chiu shares how disinformation flows in multiple directions, how Western institutions routinely misread global power dynamics, and why nuance is often the first casualty in both journalism and policy. This conversation also examines the quiet realities of foreign interference, the uneven attention given to different communities, and the emotional weight carried by those whose identities are entangled in geopolitical conflict. Chiu offers a candid look at the structural decline of international reporting, the risks faced by journalists covering sensitive issues, and her transition into building a consultancy designed to bring deeper, more applied understanding to global affairs. This is a conversation about identity, power, and perception. About what gets lost when complexity is stripped away, and what it takes to rebuild a more honest, informed view of the world.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Gabrielle Martin, Artistic Director of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and a leader reshaping how we gather, experience, and make meaning through art. From performing over 1,400 shows as a circus artist to leading one of Canada’s most boundary-pushing festivals, Gabrielle’s work sits at the intersection of creative risk, cultural exchange, and embodied practice. She believes live performance remains one of the last true ritual spaces for connection in a fragmented world. In this conversation, Gabrielle explores the tension between will and agency, the role of art in times of crisis, and what it means to lead with instinct while programming for the “culturally fearless.” A conversation about risk, responsibility, and the power of art to expand how we see the world, and each other.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Dominic Wong, Managing Director of Invoke, to explore what it really means to design at the intersection of craft, commerce, and emerging technology. Dominic reflects on Invoke’s evolution from its early association with Hootsuite to its renewed focus on building zero-to-one digital products for founders, startups, and innovation teams. We unpack the tension between design as decoration and design as strategy, why great designers must act as translators between business, engineering, and user needs, and how “good design” isn’t about polish, it’s about delivering meaningful value. The conversation dives into perennial industry debates: Should designers code? How much should data shape decisions? How do you avoid designing by committee? Dominic shares his perspective on mentorship in a hybrid world, the shift from hard skills to discernment and systems thinking, and why the future belongs to designers who can think, not just execute.