CIIS Public Programs

The Enneagram is a personality typing system with ancient symbolic origins that has a sneaky way of revealing who we are and why we do the things we do. In this episode, wellness coach Kayleigh Martin talks with author Hannah Paasch about the benefits of learning our personality traits and her book Millenneagram—a revamped approach to the Enneagram that gives us permission to be our truest, enough...

In this talk, philosophy professor Jacob Sherman discusses the role that philosophy might play in diagnosing and responding to the our global climate crisis.

As artificial intelligence evolves, so too does human culture. In this conversation, futurist Nicole Sallak Anderson and UC Berkeley professor Edward Lee discuss meeting machines and how technology is changing the humans creating it.

This episode features Bay Area performers and writers including a BART train operator, a recent Pride Parade Grand Marshall, and more. Presented in collaboration with San Francisco’s Porchlight storytelling series and The Contemporary Jewish Museum, each storyteller explores their understanding of self and the fluidity of identity.

In this conversation, psychologist Christine Brooks talks with author and social critic Erica Williams Simon about how she got “story smart” to challenge the narratives about fear, work, identity, success, love, and life that we have all been taught.

Join Native American psychologist Leslie Gray for this conversation with don Jose Ruiz about his life and work traveling the world to share the teachings of his ancestors.

Join author Rob Reid in conversation with author and editor Annaka Harris as they examine the idea of consciousness—taking us through evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific findings that probe our limited understanding of this age-old mystery.

In this episode, diversity and inclusion specialist Denise Boston has a conversation with author and academic DaMaris B. Hill that spans poetry, history, and current events to illuminate the lives of extraordinary women, and examines the impact they have had on our society today.

Join Stanford’s social media expert, Jeff Hancock, and Director of the Trust Project, Sally Lehrman, as they examine the erosion of truth online, how our psychological and social dynamics impact our culture, and what we can do to rebuild our collective grasp on the truth.

In this episode, psychotherapist and CIIS professor Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold has a conversation with social anthropologist and researcher Beatriz Labate about the risks and benefits of the globalization of ayahuasca through the lens of her research on new and traditional uses of psychoactive substances.

Professor and activist Jennifer Wells talks with author and community organizer Trebbe Johnson about her lifelong dedication to finding and making beauty in the Earth’s broken places.

In this episode, therapist Ivy Tiegel talks with cartoonist Rachel Lindsay about Rx, her graphic memoir, and her experiences working as an artist with bipolar disorder.

In this conversation with psychologist Jyoti Rao, poet Jessica Semaan discusses her latest work, Child of the Moon, and how creating poetry has helped her heal from her traumatic childhood during the Lebanese Civil War.

Journalist Ed Morales is joined by CIIS Professor Antonio Ramirez for this conversation on the American Latinx experience and the powerful cultural impact of this frequently overlooked community.

Author Irshad Manji talks with KQED journalist Kat Snow to discuss her experiences as a refugee from Africa, a Muslim immigrant to the US, and her Moral Courage project.

In this episode, author Stephen Jenkinson and CIIS Dean of Alumni Richard Buggs explore what it means to live, and die well.

Psychedelic therapist Daniel McQueen and CIIS’s Natalie Metz explore the potential for healing and personal transformation through the intentional use of cannabis and psychedelics.

Technologist and digital media scholar An Xiao Mina and curator Dorothy R. Santos explore the long, winding road from innocuous cat memes to the central practice for civic engagement that memes have become today.

Author Damon Young is joined in conversation by artist A-lan Holt from Stanford's Institute for Diversity in the Arts to discuss the ever-shifting definitions of what it means to be black in America.

Author Lynne Twist is joined in conversation by CIIS Provost Liz Beaven to discuss the power money wields over our lives and how we can empower ourselves to re-conceptualize it.

Astrologer and psychic medium Jessica Lanyadoo is joined in conversation by CIIS student and local actor Madeline H.D. Brown to discuss self-compassion, astrology, and why you should never look at your crush’s chart.

In this episode, addiction expert Gabor Mate is joined in conversation by CIIS Dean of Alumni Richard Buggs to discuss his groundbreaking work on trauma and the mind/body connection.

Krista Tippett, author and creator of the On Being podcast, is joined in conversation by author Laurel Braitman to explore the art and mystery of living.

CIIS Professor and psychologist Nicolle Zapien discusses her recent research into cases of infidelity, and how we can reframe the way we think about infidelity and sexuality in our relationships.

In this episode, book critic David Ulin and author Matthew Zapruder discuss how reading can function as an act of engaged citizenship and resistance.