Famous for its hot tubs and its yoga and massage workshops, Esalen Institute actually began as a place to explore the underlying philosophy of spiritual experience, and then popularized America's particular brand of "spirituality without religion." Sitting on the deck of Murphy House at Esalen, Steve Paulson talks with co-founder Michael Murphy and comparative religion scholar Jeffrey Kripal, author of the definitive history of Esalen.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Elizabeth Lunbeck talks about her book, "The Americanization of Narcissism."
Tom Lessl conducted a study of the Darwin fish emblem some people slap on their cars. He says that it seems to have little to do with evolution but represents a rejection of fundamentalist Christianity.
Maybe one way to get people thinking more pro-actively - and more hopefully- about climate change, is to make it fun. Here’s the story of “FutureCoast,” a game about climate change.
According to one estimate, the average young person spends about 8 hours a week playing video games. While many parents are worried about all that screen time, there's an emerging body of research that suggests some social and psychological benefits to gaming. And now there's a new generation of educators who want to bring video games into the classroom, not only to make it more fun, but also more effective. Journalist Greg Toppo writes about their efforts in "The Game Believes in You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter."
A lot of pro football players cross-train. They practice the plays and the running, the throws and the tackles. We've even heard stories of pro athletes taking ballet lessons to lighten their footwork. But for NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, training also included chess.
Ross Terrill talks with Steve Paulson about the internal politics of China and says the Communist Party is becoming irrelevant to Chinese life.
Stephen Kinzer tells Steve Paulson that Turkey is the only Muslim democracy and that the Army is honorable and committed to the ideals of the West.
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