The New School at Commonweal

Melissa K. Nelson and Host Jaune Evans How can a rematriated science address the roots of the polycrisis? Can society move beyond an anthropocentric, male-dominated science to a relational one rooted in justice and care? As an Anishinaabe ecologist and transdisciplinary scholar-activist, Commonweal New School Visiting Scholar Melissa K. Nelson is working to find ways to return to and revitalize th...

Melissa K. Nelson and Host Jaune Evans How can a rematriated science address the roots of the polycrisis? Can society move beyond an anthropocentric, male-dominated science to a relational one rooted in justice and care? As an Anishinaabe ecologist and transdisciplinary scholar-activist, Commonweal New School Visiting Scholar Melissa K. Nelson is working to find ways to return to and revitalize th...

Co-presented with SAND (Science and Non-Duality) and Bolinas Film Festival For tens of thousands of years, indigenous peoples were in deep kinship with the natural world while stewarding ancestral land and wisdom. Through the narratives of colonialism, capitalism, and individualism, our “modern” Western mindset has cast a collective fog of amnesia, and lead us into believing that we are separate f...

Drawing on cosmologist Richard Tarnas' own spiritual and intellectual biography, including his years at Esalen and research with Stan Grof and psychedelic experience, Richard talks with Host Michael Lerner about the mysteries of the ensouled universe and a deeper view of history opened up by the systematic study of planetary correlations with the archetypal patterns of human experience. Find out m...

In part 11 of this series, Host Michael Lerner talks with author Jeffrey J. Kripal about his book How to Think Impossibly. In this book, a mind-bending invitation to experience the impossible as fundamentally human, Jeffrey asserts that the impossible is a function not of reality but of our everchanging assumptions about what is real. Thinking with specific individuals and their extraordinary expe...

"Bicherío, Chi no parakuya, Durga, Farafara, Guruni, Isong, Kasem, Koya, Nanda Devi, Nisarg, Njuzu, Parisara, Paryavaran, Psocodea, Prakriti, Pull of nature, Sankofa, Sango, Sasia, Tekoha, Teguala, Tutulegbte, Ubuntu, Ykua Ñe'e, Zumbani." These words and phrases are some of the ways that communities across Africa, India, and Latin America speak about nature—gathered by Alejo di Risio, María Belén...

Bringing with her the traditional Aboriginal practices of dadirri—a sacred practice of deep listening, reflection, stillness, and connection to the land—and yarning—a conversational practice used by indigenous Australians to share knowledge, stories, and culture—Catherine Olweny talks about ways that art and narrative techniques allow difficult experiences to be shared. Catherine has been using na...

Known for bringing loneliness and social connection into the national conversation, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins host Serena Bian at Commonweal’s New School to reflect on the deeper currents beneath his work. Beginning with his spiritual biography, we explore the questions, traditions, and experiences that shaped his understanding of service, healing, and what it means to belong....

Art for Our Common Good: Creativity, Health, and Civic Life - Part Two Hosted by Lisa Simms Booth What role can art play in helping us meet this moment? As communities face growing loneliness, burnout, environmental anxiety, and civic division, the arts can create spaces for healing, connection, and hope. In this podcast, Commonweal Board Member Lisa Simms Booth continues the conversation with the...

Art for Our Common Good: Creativity, Health, and Civic Life - Part One Hosted by Lisa Simms Booth What role can art play in helping us meet this moment? As communities face growing loneliness, burnout, environmental anxiety, and civic division, the arts can create spaces for healing, connection, and hope. In part 1 of this podcast, Commonweal Board Member Lisa Simms Booth opens the conversation wi...

In part 10 of the Secret Body series of conversations, Michael Lerner talks with author Jeffrey Kripal about his book, The Superhumanities. Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. In this series, Jeffrey talks with Host Michael Lerner about his body of work---more than 13 groundbreaking books about the mystical and the erotic, the...

Michael Lerner with Moderator Katherine Fulton, and introductory remarks by Oren Slozberg. Exploring the Forces Changing What it Means to Be Human Join us for a day of reflection and conversation exploring healing at a time of transformation—contemplating what Michael Lerner points to as the coming revolution in human consciousness and what it means for all of us as individuals, communities, and a...

Co-presented with Pt Reyes Books Join Host Susan Grelock Yusem in conversation with David George Haskell to talk about his new book, How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature's Revolutionaries (Viking). In this exquisite exploration of the role flowers played in creating the world we know today, David observes, smells, and studies flowers such as magnolias, orchids, and roses, as well as fas...

What becomes possible when we understand social and political harm not only as injustice, but as expressions of collective trauma? In this conversation, Kazu Haga—activist, trainer, and author of Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging Through Collapse—joins host Serena Bian to explore why healing is so essential to radically reimagining the worlds we wish to build in the midst of coll...

Join Michael Lerner in a spiritual biography conversation with Robert Mulhall—Commonweal board member, former president of Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and a consultant whose work sits at the intersection of leadership development, organizational health, and human potential. *** The New School is Commonweal’s learning community and podcast — we offer conversations, workshops, and other events...

What is healing, really—below the story or journey, and even beyond any meaning? After Dr. Cynthia Li experienced a radical healing firsthand, she began studying the science of physiological coherence, and deepening in her practice of embodied flow. Since then, she has been supporting others in activating their body's peak healing state: for personal healing, for thriving amid life's inevitable ch...

What is healing, really—below the story or journey, and even beyond any meaning? After Dr. Cynthia Li experienced a radical healing firsthand, she began studying the science of physiological coherence, and deepening in her practice of embodied flow. Since then, she has been supporting others in activating their body's peak healing state: for personal healing, for thriving amid life's inevitable ch...

In part 9 of the series, Michael Lerner talks with author Jeffrey Kripal about his book, The Flip. Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. In this series, Jeffrey talks with Host Michael Lerner about his body of work---more than 13 groundbreaking books about the mystical and the erotic, the relationship of mind and matter, and para...

In part 8 of the series, Michael Lerner talks with author Jeffrey Kripal about some of the key themes that weave through all of his books, especially exploring the nature of consciousness itself. Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. In this series, Jeffrey talks with Host Michael Lerner about his body of work---more than 13 grou...

Beyond Survival: Sustaining Human Agency in Challenging Times | Graham Leicester and Hosts Oren Slozberg and Katherine Fulton We are living in challenging times. Commonweal has been a trailblazer in recognizing this as a moment of long- and short-term peril and opportunity--a rolling “polycrisis.” It may feel overwhelming, but we have copious capacity to rise to the challenge of these times. What...

What's happening in our world—and how do we respond? For the past four years, Commonweal’s Omega Resilience Awards project has been exploring this question with fellows and research teams across Africa, India, and Latin America. Now we're ready to share what we’re learning. Join us for a conversation with three of the researchers, who will share their findings and explore together: How do we respo...

Many protections from pollution and toxic chemicals have moved from the federal level to the states. This isn’t just a recent phenomenon; it goes back decades, to changes in the structure of agencies that manage environmental health and to a growing partisan divide. As federal regulation of chemicals faltered, states started taking up the slack. States have always had a role as laboratories of inn...

Part of the Festival of Sacred Music Series at Commonweal New School Michelle’s music weaves the sacred and the soulful, drawing from traditions, rhythms, and ancestral memory of the African diaspora. Her love of the music connects her to something much larger than herself—community, history, and spirituality—which allows her to channel that energy into spaces of joy. Expect a powerful, heart-open...

In part 7 of the series, Host Michael Lerner talks with Jeffrey Kripal about his book Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal. In the book, Jeffrey shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives. He spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes a...

An estimated 1.1 million people in the U.S. are currently living with Parkinson's disease (PD), and this number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. Globally, more than 10 million people are estimated to be living with PD, which is now the fastest growing brain disorder in the world. Science has long linked certain environmental contaminants to increased risk of PD, and some researchers are...