The New School at Commonweal

Richard Heinberg The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality ~Co-presented with Post Carbon Institute, Point Reyes Books, the Regenerative Design Institute, Transition West Marin, and the Mainstreet Moms~ Economics has failed us . . . but there is life after growth! Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to sink, and gover...

Ted Shettler, MD, and Sharyle Patton The Ecological Paradigm of Health Ted Schettler, M.D., is unquestionably one of the most eminent science educators in the field of environmental health and justice. Dr. Schettler talked with Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center Director Sharyle Patton and Michael Lerner about the ecological paradigm of health, a truly “holistic” science-based way of thinkin...

Arjun Makhijani Carbon-Free and Nuclear Free: A Design for U.S. Energy Policy Join Michael Lerner in a conversation with environmental researcher Arjun Makhijani about his new book: Carbon-Free and Nuclear Free—A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy and Ecology and Genetics: An Essay on the Nature of Life and the Problem of Genetic Engineering. Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free Arjun Makhijani Carbon-Free an...

Orland Bishop Spiritual Biography In this remarkable series of four interconnected conversations, we trace Bishop’s spiritual biography from his childhood in Guyana to his teen years in Brooklyn, his college years in California, and the subsequent conscious emergence of his shamanic journey. These conversations with Michael Lerner took place in the presence of a small group of friends at The New S...

Orland Bishop Spiritual Biography In this remarkable series of four interconnected conversations, we trace Bishop’s spiritual biography from his childhood in Guyana to his teen years in Brooklyn, his college years in California, and the subsequent conscious emergence of his shamanic journey. These conversations with Michael Lerner took place in the presence of a small group of friends at The New S...

Orland Bishop Spiritual Biography In this remarkable series of four interconnected conversations, we trace Bishop’s spiritual biography from his childhood in Guyana to his teen years in Brooklyn, his college years in California, and the subsequent conscious emergence of his shamanic journey. These conversations with Michael Lerner took place in the presence of a small group of friends at The New S...

Orland Bishop Spiritual Biography In this remarkable series of four interconnected conversations, we trace Bishop’s spiritual biography from his childhood in Guyana to his teen years in Brooklyn, his college years in California, and the subsequent conscious emergence of his shamanic journey. These conversations with Michael Lerner took place in the presence of a small group of friends at The New S...

Kate Levinson Emotional Currency: A Women's Guide to Building A Healthy Releationship with Money The emotional connection that we all have with money is undeniable. Whether we feel comfortable with it and understand how it works in the world or ignore our finances completely, there is a strong psychological dimension to our personal dealings with money. But there is also a strong taboo about discu...

Leslie Medine, John Esterle, and Ellen Schneider Creating Bi-Cultural Youth-Led Change in Napa, CA Join Michael Lerner in this conversation with three thought partners in social change talking about what it takes to make a difference. Leslie Medine Leslie is one of Northern California’s most respected public sector leaders. She has created youth-led innovative schools and community programs for yo...

Anna Deavere Smith Listening between the Lines Observation is one of the most exacting skills every artist must cultivate. For a writer, listening is critical to the process of transmuting observed reality into art. Playwright and performer Anna Deavere Smith has shaped a singular career mining the riches of both spoken and unspoken language. Honoring her sources, she has developed an idiosyncrati...

Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, and Kristina Flanagan Goddess Archetypes in the Ring Cycle and in Us: Psychological, Political, and Spiritual Parallels ~Co-presented with Point Reyes Books~ Join Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, and Kristina Flanagan in a lively discussion with Michael Lerner for lovers of archetype, myth, opera, and Jung. This year’s SF Opera presents a powerful interpretation of Die Walkure, show...

Frank Ostaseski Being A Compassionate Companion ~Co-presented with the Coastal Health Alliance~ Caring for people who are dying can be an intense, intimate, and deeply alive experience. It often challenges our most basic beliefs. It is a journey of continuous discovery, requiring courage and flexibility. We learn to open, take risks, and forgive constantly. Taken as a practice of awareness, it can...

Sarah Hobson Working with Women in Sub-Sahran Africa When Sarah Hobson travels in the developing world and sees green hills, she wants to walk into them. She is drawn to peasant villages untouched by modern life. In the 1970s Sarah disguised herself as a boy and traveled through Iran alone. She wrote a book about it. As a documentarian, writer, and foundation director, Sarah has devoted herself to...

Steve Heilig The Modern Evolution of Death ~Co-presented with the Coastal Health Alliance~ For the past century or so, more humans than ever before have lived in a historical bubble of relative affluence, medical sophistication, philosophical discussion, and unprecedented longevity. Modern times have had significant impacts on how we think and feel about death, and what we try to do about it. The...

Gregory Orr The Blessing: Poetry as Survival Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Gregory Orr, considered by many to be a master of short, lyric free verse. Much of his early work is concerned with seminal events from his childhood, including a hunting accident when he was twelve in which he accidentally shot and killed his younger brother, followed shortly by his mother’s unexpected death, an...

Gregory Orr The Blessing: Poetry as Survival Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Gregory Orr, considered by many to be a master of short, lyric free verse. Much of his early work is concerned with seminal events from his childhood, including a hunting accident when he was twelve in which he accidentally shot and killed his younger brother, followed shortly by his mother’s unexpected death, an...

Margaret Kripke, PhD Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk ~Co-presented with the Breast Cancer Fund~ Margaret L. Kripke, Ph. D., recently co-authored a pioneering Report on Cancer and the Environment as a member of the President’s Cancer Panel. This report has reverberated through the global public health community as the first authoritative science-based report to recognize the contribution of envi...

Stuart Lord, PhD East-West Contemplative Education at Naropa University Dr. Lord, president of Naropa University, talks with Michael Lerner about his journey from being a foster child to leading America’s foremost center of contemplative education. Dr. Lord previously led civic education, community service and religious and spiritual life programs at both Dartmouth College and DePauw University, w...

Peter Kingsley The Great Taboo: A Story Waiting to Happen Michael Lerner talks with Peter Kinsgley, an internationally recognized writer and lecturer, about his groundbreaking work on the origins of western spirituality, philosophy and culture. Through his writings as well as lectures he speaks straight to the heart and has helped to transform many people’s understanding not only of the past, but...

Kai Lee Compass and Gyroscope: Integrating Science and Politics for the Environment Kai Lee, Ph. D., has written a beautiful book called The Gyroscope and the Compass: Integrating Science and Policy for the Environment about real-world work toward sustainability. “I have come to think of science and democracy as compass and gyroscope—navigation aids in the quest for sustainability,” he writes. Joi...

Scott Eberle, MD, and Rob Feraru The Final Crossing: Learning to Die in Order to Live Join Commonweal’s Susan Braun and Commonweal Cancer Help Program alumnus Rob Feraru in a conversation with Scott Eberle, MD—a physician specializing in end-of-life care, who helped School of Lost Borders Founder Steven Foster at the end of his life in 2003 and is the author of The Final Crossing. As he has writte...

Mike Witte, MD Fighting 'till the End? People with life-threatening illnesses often face the difficult decision of whether or not to continue active therapy. For some, the decision is, “Let’s fight till the end,” and they work with their doctors to receive treatment within days, or even hours, of their death. Others decide to put their effort toward the best possible quality of life, minimizing pa...

Nick Yiangou History, Readings, and the Beshara School Michael Lerner talks with Nick Yiangou about Ibn ‘Arabi and about his work with the Beshara School of Intensive Esoteric Education in Scotland. The Beshara School grew out of the timeless wisdom tradition that includes the universal teachings of great visionaries such as Ibn Arabi and Rumi. Nick Yiangou Nick is president of the United States b...

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. The Hip Hop Caucus Join Michael Lerner in conversation with the Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Jr.—minister, community activist, and a national leader in Hip Hop social advocacy. He is president of the Hip Hop Caucus in Washington, D.C. The Hip Hop Caucus engages young people in urban communities in elections, policy making and service projects. Rev. Yearwood co-created the 20...

Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man A Jewish Perspective on Ibn 'Arabi Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man, now retired and living in Berkeley, about his continuing explorations into Jewish mysticism and studies of “sober” Sufism, classical Arabic, and Akbarian thought. Jonathan Omer-Man For 26 years Jonathan lived in Israel, where he worked as a farmer, until he contracted polio,...