Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg

In celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in November of 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book. The paperback edition of  Real Change  is now available!  Order Here These interviews originally aired on the podcast in 2020, with Sharon speaking to various teachers and activist...

For episode 166 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Reverend Cathy Bristow. Rev. Cathy is an ordained Interfaith Minister and the founder and principal of Bridges, a consulting firm whose mission is to re-language and initiate fresh conversations about race, gender, and diversity. She is deeply involved in social justice work and provides free seminars on Brain Health and the impact of s...

For episode 165 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Dr. Amishi Jha, Ph. D. Amishi is Director of Contemplative Neuroscience and Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami. She leads research there on the neural bases of attention and the effects of mindfulness-based training programs on cognition, emotion, resilience, and performance in education, corporate, elite sports, first-r...

For episode 164 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon talks with her longtime friend and colleague, Bob Thurman. Known in the academic circles as Professor Robert A.F. Thurman, Bob is a talented popularizer of the Buddha’s teachings and the first Westerner Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is the author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics, and culture and wa...

For episode 163 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Vlada Bortnik. Vlada is co-founder and CEO of Marco Polo , the popular video communication app that so many have relied on in this past year and a half of covid! Vlada is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, and her path to Silicon Valley has been one of determination and steadfast passion for making the world a happier place. Vla...

For episode 162 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Zainab Salbi. Zainab Salbi is a humanitarian, author, and chief awareness officer of Find Center, a platform for personal development and growth. Oprah Winfrey has named her one of the 25 women changing the world to People Magazine, and President Clinton nominated her as a “21st Century Heroine.” At the age of twenty-three, Zainab fou...

For episode 161 of the Metta Hour, Sharon is in conversation with Buddhist teacher and author Pamela Weiss. This episode of Sharon Salzberg’s Metta Hour is brought to you by BetterHelp. We’re honored to partner with a platform that brings confidential and convenient therapy wherever you are. BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. Start living...

This episode of Sharon Salzberg’s Metta Hour is brought to you by BetterHelp. We’re honored to partner with a platform that brings confidential and convenient therapy wherever you are. BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. Start living a happier life, explore your inner world with a professional therapist in under 48 hours.  As a listen...

For episode 158 Kristin Neff returns to the Metta Hour to talk about her new book, Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive. Kristin is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion almost twenty years ago. Kristin is the author of the book Self-Compassion and is currently an As...

For episode 158 of the Metta hour, Sharon is joined by Michael Schauch. Michael is a mountaineer, entrepreneur, and author. With early success as an entrepreneur at age 15 and over 20 years of global financial investment experience, Michael brings his business acumen and altruistic heart to lead and support local and international mentorship, fundraising, and educational initiatives. These include...

For episode 157 of the Metta hour, Sharon speaks with meditator, writer, and speaker, Diego Perez. Widely known by his pen name Yung Pueblo, Diego's practice of Vipassana meditation has given him a deeper understanding of liberation and inspires him to reach hundreds of thousands of people online every month through his writing. He is the author of several books, including Clarity & Connection...

For episode 156 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with friend and colleague Tara Brach. Tara has been practicing and teaching meditation since 1975, as well as leading workshops and meditation retreats at centers throughout North America and Europe. She has a PhD in clinical psychology, is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and is the author of several beloved boo...

For episode 155 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Mark Nepo. Mark is an author, poet, and spiritual teacher with over 40 years of teaching experience. Mark Nepo has published twenty-two books, including the New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening , and his most recent release from 2020, The Book of Soul . In this episode, Mark shared his personal journey that brought him to the spiritu...

For episode 154 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Tami Simon. Tami Simon is the founder of Sounds True , a multimedia company that has produced over 3,000 titles and been nominated twice for the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing companies. Tami also hosts the popular Sounds True podcast, Insights at the Edge, with more than 15 million downloads. Tami has been instrumental in the creation of...

For episode 153 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with mindfulness teacher and author, Scott Shute. Scott Shute is the Head of Mindfulness and Compassion at LinkedIn and blends his lifelong practice and passion with his practical leadership and operations experience. His mission is to change work from the inside out and he is the author of the new book “The Full Body Yes,” released in May of 2021....

For episode 152 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Dani Shapiro. Dani is the author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Inheritance , published in January 2019 by Knopf. Her other books include the memoirs "Hourglass," "Still Writing," "Devotion," and "Slow Motion," and five novels. She is also the host of her own podcast, Family Secrets . Dani teaches writing workshops worldwide...

For episode 151 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Dr. Will Van Derveer MD and Keith Kurlander, MA, LPC. Will and Keith are Co-Founders of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, which teaches mental health providers how to recognize and resolve an expanded spectrum of root causes of mental illness, and also the Integrative Psychiatry Centers, which provide integrative psychiatry and ketamine-ass...

For episode 150 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Karen Stewart. Karen is a Mental Health Psychosocial Support Specialist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over thirty years of working in a wide variety of mental health settings. Ten of those years have been working with Doctors Without Borders throughout Asia and Africa. Learn about Karen's offerings at karenstewart.org . To start the...

In episode 149 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Tim Desmond. Tim is a psychotherapist, author, Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Antioch University New England, and student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He is the founder of Peer Collective and co-founder of Morning Sun Mindfulness Center in Alstead, NH. He was also a co-organizer of Occupy Wall Street. Tim's publications include Self-Compassi...

For episode 148 of the Metta Hour, Sharon celebrates the 45th anniversary of the  Insight Meditation Society  in Barre, Massachusetts. Founded by Sharon,  Joseph Goldstein , and  Jack Kornfield  on February 14th, 1975, this year marks 45 years since IMS opened doors to the public. Sharon reflects on this special anniversary and shares one of her earliest archival recording...

For episode 147 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with her longtime friends and colleagues Rameshwar Das and Roshi Joan Halifax Ph. D. about the new book, “Being Ram Dass.” This intimate conversation begins with Rameshwar Das and Roshi reflect on the first time they met Ram Dass and their early friendships in the 60s. They discuss the role that Ram Dass played in their community, as well as his for...

For episode 146 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with colleague and friend Trudy Goodman, PhD. Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of  InsightLA . For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats and workshops worldwide. In this episode, Tru...

For the 145th episode of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with teacher, author, and facilitator Thomas Hübl. Thomas has been facilitating large-scale events and courses that focus on the healing and integration of trauma. Over the last decade, he has facilitated dialogue with thousands of people around healing the collective traumas of racism, oppression, colonialism, genocides in the U.S., Israel, G...

For episode 144 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Zindel Segal, Ph. D. Zindel is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He has written over ten books, and 180 scientific publications, including The Mindful Way Through Depression, and recently co-founded MindfulNoggin.com, a website for mindfulness-based clinical care for managing dep...

For episode 143 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Sarah Jones. Sarah is a Tony® Award-winning performer, writer, comedian and activist. Called “a master of the genre” by ​The New York Times​, Sarah is known for her multi-character, one-person shows, including Broadway hit ​Bridge & Tunnel​, and the critically-acclaimed show ​Sell/Buy/Date​. She has given multiple main-stage TED Talks garne...