CIIS Public Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to more fully reveal injustices, inequities, and imbalances that contribute to climate change, ecological degradation, and economic instability that threaten our individual and collective well-being. This potent time invites us to consider questions like: How can we cultivate individual, collective, and ecological resilience in this unstable new reality? What lesson...

When facing anxiety, we usually try to make it go away. But what if this emotion was actually trying to help? According to empathy pioneer and author Karla McLaren, when we ignore or repress our anxiety, it can overwhelm us, but when we learn to welcome anxiety, we can access its remarkable gifts. In this episode, Karla is joined by licensed psychologist Elizabeth Markle for an in-depth conversati...

As social distancing becomes a new way of life, connecting with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors can be difficult and stressful. Suddenly we find ourselves in a new social landscape at a time when we need our communities most. Many are experiencing feelings of isolation and depression. All over the world, from balcony sing-alongs to Zoom graduation parties, people are finding new ways to...

As he approached his 30th birthday, Sopan Deb found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and as a practicing comedian. But his stage material highlighting his South Asian culture only served to mask the insecurities borne from his family history. Theirs was an ostensibly nuclear family without any of the familial bonds. In Sopan’s latest book, Missed Translations, he raises th...

“Quit being a drop. Make yourself an ocean.” Rumi’s inspiring and deceptively simple poems have been called ecstatic, mystical, and devotional. For writer and activist Melody Moezzi, they became her lifeline. Melody’s latest book, The Rumi Prescription, follows her path of discovery as she translates Rumi’s works for herself, gaining wisdom and insight in the face of a creative and spiritual roadb...

Activist and writer Kevin Powell has emerged as one of the most acclaimed voices in America today, tackling some of the biggest issues of our time through his writing and speaking. In this conversation with former CIIS School of Consciousness and Transformation Dean Kathy Littles recorded on October 15, 2018, Kevin shares his thoughts shortly after the publication of his most recent book My Mother...

What dreams might be taking root through this nightmare? How might works of cli-fi and other apocalyptic narratives help us prepare for our future and face our mounting anxieties? In this episode, therapist and cultural anthropologist Zara Zimbardo and narrative strategist and climate activist Patrick Reinsborough pose and explore questions like these and more as they deepen, sharpen, and expand u...

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, we are continuing to highlight conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. This week we are revisiting our first podcast, recorded on April 10, 2015, with public intellectual and world-renowned author of Race Matters, Dr. Cornel West. In this episode Dr. Cornel West is in conversation with fo...

In this episode recorded on February 8, 2019, world-renowned meditation teacher and New York Times bestselling author Sharon Salzberg is joined by AI scientist and contemplative teacher Nikki Mirghafori in a conversation on cultivating resilience, compassion, and clarity during difficult times.

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, this week we are highlighting four conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. Starting Thursday, June 4th through Sunday, June 7th, 2020 we are re-releasing conversations with Ijeoma Oluo, Damon Young, Joy DeGruy, and Angela Davis. We hope that listening to these episodes provides resources...

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, this week we are highlighting four conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. Starting Thursday, June 4th through Sunday, June 7th, 2020 we are re-releasing conversations with Ijeoma Oluo, Damon Young, Joy DeGruy, and Angela Davis. We hope that listening to these episodes provides resources...

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, this week we are highlighting four conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. Starting Thursday, June 4th through Sunday, June 7th, 2020 we are re-releasing conversations with Ijeoma Oluo, Damon Young, Joy DeGruy, and Angela Davis. We hope that listening to these episodes provides resources...

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, this week we are highlighting four conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. Starting Thursday, June 4th through Sunday, June 7th, 2020 we are re-releasing conversations with Ijeoma Oluo, Damon Young, Joy DeGruy, and Angela Davis. We hope that listening to these episodes provides resources...

In this episode, therapist and cultural anthropologist Zara Zimbardo is joined by narrative strategist and climate activist Patrick Reinsborough for a conversation exploring how we think about “the end” and what apocalyptic narratives can tell us about new beginnings and collective actions. This episode was recorded during a live online event on May 13, 2020. Stay tuned for a continuation of this...

After observing modern shamanic trainings with a growing concern, clinical psychologist and scholar Anotonio Ramirez began exploring more traditional forms of shamanism by interviewing elder shamans in Latin America. In this talk, recorded at CIIS on May 21, 2019, Antonio shares his ideas about the dangers of shamanism as it is practiced today in urban areas, how these practices are affecting nati...

This episode featuring spiritual teacher Thomas Hübl along with cosmologist and CIIS professor Brian Swimme was recorded during a live streaming webinar on May 9th, 2020. During their conversation, Brian and Thomas explore the cosmos and discuss ways to move from being a society informed by trauma to a society that heals trauma. To find out more about CIIS and public programs like this one, includ...

This episode featuring digital artist Rhonda Holberton and curator Ceci Moss was recorded during a live streaming webinar on April 10, 2020. Their conversation explores the intersection of art and technology and ways art in the digital age can provide new pathways for understanding our world and ourselves.

This episode featuring CIIS professor and renowned scholar Richard Tarnas was recorded during a live streaming webinar on April 23rd, 2020. In his talk, Richard shares astrological insights into the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he describes as “a time in which there are volcanically intense evolutionary pressures for the radical reconfiguration of all life’s structures.” To see the image r...

This episode showcases selections from three previous episodes featuring poets who explore a variety of social justice issues through their work. This episode contains explicit language. Part One The episode begins with poet and scholar Cameron Awkward-Rich joined in conversation with writer and curator James Fleming. Cameron reads first from his recent award-winning book Dispatch followed by a po...

Author and psychedelic explorer Chris Bache’s book, LSD and the Mind of the Universe chronicles his experiences and insights from 73 high-dose LSD sessions conducted between 1979 and 1999. This became the philosophical adventure of a lifetime, but one Chris had to keep largely hidden from his colleagues and society. In this episode licensed psychotherapist and CIIS Professor Gisele Fernandes talks...

Modern technology has, and continues to transform the ways we grow, prepare, distribute, eat, and think about our food. In this episode, food journalist Larissa Zimberoff and social sciences professor Julie Guthman share insights into food culture and examine the trends and technologies that are transforming the world of food. Is the future of food looking bleak or better than ever? This episode c...

Suzy Ross is an assistant professor and coordinator of recreation therapy and complementary and alternative medicine at San Jose State University, California. In this episode, CIIS Chief of Staff and psychologist Richard Buggs talks with Dr. Ross about finding our path in life, journeys of personal transformation, and her book The Map to Wholeness.

With over 20 years of experience practicing and teaching Kingian Nonviolence, leading trainer Kazu Haga offers a practical approach to resolving conflict first practiced by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. In his work, Kazu reclaims the energy and assertiveness of nonviolent practice and shows that a principled approach to nonviolence is the way to transform not only un...

For most of his life, Boston-based artist P.Carl lived as a girl and a queer woman, building a career, a life, and a loving marriage, yet still waiting to realize himself in full. After fifty years, he embarked on his gender transition amid the rise of the Trump administration and the #MeToo movement—a transition point in America’s own story. In this episode, recorded shortly after the release of...

In this episode, Ecology and Religion Professor Elizabeth Allison provides an exploration into spiritual ecology. Discover how deepening our relationship with the natural world helps us thrive.