CIIS Public Programs

For more than four decades, Don Lattin has written about the social, spiritual, and political aspects of the psychedelic drug movement as a newspaper reporter, freelance journalist, and the author of four books of narrative non-fiction. In this episode, KQED Science senior editor Kat Snow has a conversation with Don looking back on the long, strange trip his career has been.

Elizabeth Markle is a clinical psychologist turned radical community health innovator who brings decades of intentional community experience to her re-visioning of healthcare. In this episode, health coach Susanna Merlo talks with Dr. Markle about her journey launching her community and “behavioral pharmacy”, Open Source Wellness, and her vision for the transformation of our nation’s clinical and...

Chani Nicholas is a beloved astrologer and queer feminist activist with a loyal online following. For her, astrology isn’t about passively accepting our fate, it’s about action. In her inspirational and socially conscious weekly horoscopes, she encourages her devotees to take control—to confront themselves, their desires, and their needs—to fulfill their potential using the power of the stars. Rec...

In her latest book, Hivemind: The New Science of Tribalism in Our Divided World, psychologist and emotion regulation specialist Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh leaves no stone unturned in her quest to understand how social technology is reshaping the way we socialize. In this episode, Dr. Cavanagh is joined by CIIS professor Zara Zimbardo for a conversation on how communities can sync up around shared ide...

Somatic therapy combines talk therapy and bodywork to treat a wide range of psychological and physiological conditions, ranging from stress and anxiety to depression and PTSD. Nowhere has somatics proven more effective than in the treatment of trauma. In this episode, author and somatics practitioner Staci Haines is joined in a conversation with therapist and CIIS professor Emily Marinelli. They d...

With an immensely rich and complex history spanning several millennia, India offers an overwhelming palette of visual options. Indian classical art is filled with hidden symbolism. When decoded, we find these symbols still hold powerful meanings today and help us to better understand the human experience. In this episode, dancer, painter, and actor Mesma Belsaré describes the geometric design prin...

An equal partner in co-founding the first farm workers unions with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta has become one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century, and one of the most important activists in American history. Now 89 years old, she continues the fight to this day. In this episode, recorded live in San Francisco in November 2019, Latinx studies professor Maria L. Quintana has a co...

Abby Chava Stein is the tenth-generation descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. In 2015, she came out as a woman, and she now works as a transgender activist. In this episode, Keshet LGBTQIA+ education specialist Randi Reed talks with Abby about her book Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman.

Leah Vernon is a style blogger, plus-size Muslim model, public speaker, and activist. In her book, Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim, she takes to task the myth of the perfect Muslim woman. In this episode, poet and social justice activist Rabi'a Keeble talks with Leah Vernon about her love-hate relationship with her hijab and her faith, race, weight, mental illness, domestic violence, sex...

Author, editor, and filmmaker Sasha Sagan was raised by secular parents—the astronomer Carl Sagan and the writer and producer Ann Druyan. They taught her that the natural world and vast cosmos are full of profound beauty, that science reveals truths more wondrous than any myth or fable. In this episode, Sasha is joined by author Carolyn Cooke for a conversation about her first book, For Small Crea...

Poet, journalist, and professor Nicholas Powers describes his youth as growing up with tales of counter culture for bedtime stories. In this episode, he shares stories from his journey exploring psychedelic experiences and events in a discussion about what psychedelic integration could be in the 21st Century with licensed Naturopathic Doctor Natalie Metz. This episode contains explicit language.

Shaman Durek, a sixth-generation shaman, is the inheritor of a rich legacy of ancient wisdom. He applies this deep-rooted knowledge in a thoroughly modern context—advising everyone from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Nina Dobrev, and royals around the world, to international corporate executives. In this episode, Kelly Ryan, the founder of Anchor Meditation, has a conversation with Shaman Durek...

In this episode, naturalist Maya Elson talks with Lawrence Millman about his life and work as an author and mycologist exploring the fascinating world of fungi.

In this episode, Marina Gorbis, Executive Director of the Institute for the Future, talks with internet pioneer and renowned filmmaker Tiffany Shlain about her strategy for living in our 24/7 world: turning off all screens for 24 hours each week. She and her family call it “Technology Shabbat” or “Living 24/6”. Over the past decade, this weekly practice has completely changed their lives—giving th...

Author Nishta J. Mehra is the daughter of Indian American immigrants, the wife of a white woman from Texas, and the mother of an adopted black child. Her life is a series of intersecting boundaries—of race, gender, sexuality, and religion—and her essays have examined the ways she navigates the various communities and ideologies that make up her family's life. In this episode, Nishta is joined by i...

Join renowned ethnopharmacologist and author Dennis McKenna for this engaging talk combining ethnobotany, psychopharmacology, history, and the philosophical reflections of a luminary in this field.

In her book, For the Love of Men, award-wining journalist Liz Plank offers a witty, insightful, and deeply researched guide for what we can all do about toxic masculinity. In this episode, Liz is joined by therapist and Bay Area men’s group leader Sarwang Parikh for a conversation about the future of gender roles and how finding a new way forward for men has the possibility to change the world. Th...

The rise and transformation of information warfare is perhaps one of the most significant global trends of the last few years. The result is a circus atmosphere of constant lies, shock humor, absurdity, and fear-mongering designed to disorient us and undermine our sense of truth. In this episode, digital intelligence expert Nick Monaco talks with award-winning author and disinformation expert Pete...

Mari Andrew is an author and illustrator who shares her work daily on Instagram with over 1 million devoted fans around the world. Her first book, Am I There Yet? debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list. In this episode, Mari is joined by fellow author and illustrator Nicole J. Georges for a conversation about finding personal healing by creating work that shines a light on feelings we all...

There are few subjects in American life that prompt more discussion and controversy than immigration. Drawing on his own experience as an Indian-born teenager growing up in New York City, and on years of reporting around the world, author and journalist Suketu Mehta tackles this issue head-on. In this conversation with multicultural counseling expert Jyoti Rao, Suketu talks about his latest book T...

How can we be more mindful when our world seems broken beyond repair? Tim Desmond—esteemed Buddhist scholar and lecturer on Psychology at Yale Medical School—has fresh, engaging answers to this important question. Join integrative health expert Megan Lipsett for a conversation with Tim about his approach to mindfulness practices designed for surviving the sometimes-miserable world we currently liv...

Join Bay Area author and organizer Kim Tran for a brash and enlightening conversation with reporter and linguist Amanda Montell about gendered language and the way it shapes us. This episode contains explicit language.

Join equity expert Y-Vonne Hutchinson for this conversation with author, editor, and Baltimore native D. Watkins about the lessons he’s learned navigating two very distinct worlds—the hood and the elite sanctums of prominent black thinkers and public figures.

Gender reconciliation activist and CIIS Professor Alka Arora offers an expansive and deeply ecological vision—inviting us to move beyond critique to focus more on the world we want to co-create.

In this episode, bioethics professor Osagie K. Obasogie talks with author George Estreich about what he has learned as the father of a young woman with Down syndrome exploring the troubled territory where biotechnology and disability meet.