CIIS Public Programs

Leah Vernon is a style blogger, plus-size Muslim model, public speaker, and activist. In her book, Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim, she takes to task the myth of the perfect Muslim woman. In this episode, poet and social justice activist Rabi'a Keeble talks with Leah Vernon about her love-hate relationship with her hijab and her faith, race, weight, mental illness, domestic violence, sexuality, the millennial world of dating, and the process of finding her voice. This episode contains explicit language.

Author, editor, and filmmaker Sasha Sagan was raised by secular parents—the astronomer Carl Sagan and the writer and producer Ann Druyan. They taught her that the natural world and vast cosmos are full of profound beauty, that science reveals truths more wondrous than any myth or fable. In this episode, Sasha is joined by author Carolyn Cooke for a conversation about her first book, For Small Creatures Such as We, a memoir and social history that explores ritual as a form of memory that ties generations together.

Poet, journalist, and professor Nicholas Powers describes his youth as growing up with tales of counter culture for bedtime stories. In this episode, he shares stories from his journey exploring psychedelic experiences and events in a discussion about what psychedelic integration could be in the 21st Century with licensed Naturopathic Doctor Natalie Metz. This episode contains explicit language.

Shaman Durek, a sixth-generation shaman, is the inheritor of a rich legacy of ancient wisdom. He applies this deep-rooted knowledge in a thoroughly modern context—advising everyone from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Nina Dobrev, and royals around the world, to international corporate executives. In this episode, Kelly Ryan, the founder of Anchor Meditation, has a conversation with Shaman Durek about his life and works. They discuss the shamanic keys outlined in his book Spirit Hacking, and share lessons about how these keys can help you to tap into your own personal power—banishing fear and darkness from your life in favor of light, positivity, and strength.

In this episode, naturalist Maya Elson talks with Lawrence Millman about his life and work as an author and mycologist exploring the fascinating world of fungi.

In this episode, Marina Gorbis, Executive Director of the Institute for the Future, talks with internet pioneer and renowned filmmaker Tiffany Shlain about her strategy for living in our 24/7 world: turning off all screens for 24 hours each week. She and her family call it “Technology Shabbat” or “Living 24/6”. Over the past decade, this weekly practice has completely changed their lives—giving them more time, productivity, connection, and presence.

Author Nishta J. Mehra is the daughter of Indian American immigrants, the wife of a white woman from Texas, and the mother of an adopted black child. Her life is a series of intersecting boundaries—of race, gender, sexuality, and religion—and her essays have examined the ways she navigates the various communities and ideologies that make up her family's life. In this episode, Nishta is joined by integral psychology professor and therapist Daniela Koenig for a conversation about family and motherhood, race, and raising a black child in America today.

Join renowned ethnopharmacologist and author Dennis McKenna for this engaging talk combining ethnobotany, psychopharmacology, history, and the philosophical reflections of a luminary in this field.

In her book, For the Love of Men, award-wining journalist Liz Plank offers a witty, insightful, and deeply researched guide for what we can all do about toxic masculinity. In this episode, Liz is joined by therapist and Bay Area men’s group leader Sarwang Parikh for a conversation about the future of gender roles and how finding a new way forward for men has the possibility to change the world. This episode contains explicit language.

The rise and transformation of information warfare is perhaps one of the most significant global trends of the last few years. The result is a circus atmosphere of constant lies, shock humor, absurdity, and fear-mongering designed to disorient us and undermine our sense of truth. In this episode, digital intelligence expert Nick Monaco talks with award-winning author and disinformation expert Peter Pomerantsev about what he has learned working behind enemy lines exploring multinational information wars.