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Notes on Culture and Connection.

Updates, stories, case studies, and reflections on culture, communication, storytelling, work, and connection across different contexts.

Ned Legaspi speaking about cultural intelligence to healthcare professionals at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles

The Doctor I Am Still Becoming

My mother wanted me to become a doctor. Decades later, a hospital speaking engagement helped me understand that her dream was never only about a profession, but about care, dignity, service, and a meaningful life.

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Poster of the Thai film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, featured in a CIS Bamboo Framework case study on culturally intelligent storytelling.

Why Grandma’s Story Traveled

How did a quiet Thai family story move audiences across borders? A StoryRoot case study on care, filial duty, mortality, restrained affection, and the power of cultural specificity.

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Poster illustration of Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) showing characters in red jumpsuits and Dalí masks, used in a CIS Bamboo Framework case study on storytelling and cultural intelligence.

Why Money Heist Resonated Worldwide

Money Heist did not become globally resonant by muting its Spanish identity. It transformed emotion, loyalty, resistance, and visual symbolism into a language audiences could carry into their own contexts.

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Ned Legaspi presents on culturally intelligent storytelling and climate communication at the 2025 AUN-EEC Conference at Ateneo de Manila University.

When Stories Meet Climate Science

Climate science explains what is changing. Culturally intelligent storytelling helps people understand what those changes mean for the lives, relationships, places, and futures they are trying to protect.

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Poster of the Netflix series Dark showing a figure in a yellow coat entering a forest cave, featured in a CIS Bamboo Framework case study on cultural intelligence and storytelling.

Why Dark Travels

How did a slow, cerebral German-language series resonate worldwide without simplifying its structure or style? A StoryCraft case study on cultural specificity, emotional access, and global connection.

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