Stephen Batchelor wants contemporary Buddhists to re-think the life of the Buddha.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Zia Hassan had a life-changing conversation with a 9-year old boy in a Washington backyard. A conversation that 2.5 million people around the world have watched on YouTube. Zia tells us about the boy he calls "The Philosopher."
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.
Steve Paulson profiles savage literary critic Dale Peck. A collection of Peck’s reviews is called “Hatchet Jobs.”
Award-winning novelist Jane Hamilton's new novel has a setting that's close to home. "The Excellent Lombards" is a story of generational tension set on a family apple farm. Steve Paulson talks about writing, farming and apples with Jane while walking through her own family orchard.
Thomas Dumm tells Anne Strainchamps why he thinks a lonely society can be a dangerous one and he's worried about America. His book is "Loneliness As a Way of Life."
Journalist and poet Ruben Martinez tells Steve Paulson that there are powerful economic incentives for Mexicans to cross the U.S. border to find work.
Susan Blackmore is a British psychologist who's written books on consciousness, memes and Zen Buddhism. She says her daily practice of meditation has revealed truths that have eluded the scientific study of consciousness.
You can also listen to the EXTENDED interview, and read the extended transcript.
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