Hope and Feathers
"Africa is a place we all have in common. It is the widely acknowledged cradle of humankind, as most anthropologists agree that our hominid ancestors likely evolved there. So an Evolutionary Eve, mother to all of us regardless of race, ethnicity, or nationality, likely padded across the African plains. Given this multimillion-year perspective, I or anyone else should've been awestruck at the prosp... posted on Aug 16 2023, 1,493 reads

Eating the Wild
"In recent decades, and especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a growing interest in foraging and cooking with food gathered from the countryside around us. In this article, Charlotte Maberly talks to the distinguished Scottish food writer Fi Martynoga about the benefits of eating wild food, and also looks at the history of the movement and its wider implications in terms of health... posted on Aug 15 2023, 1,362 reads

The Many Lives of Water
"The water present with us on Earth has been here since the beginning of time. People have long journeyed to distant hot springs, mineral pools, misty waterfalls, and formidable geysers for the promise of waters endowed healing properties. In almost every religion, water has the ability to absorb prayers and bestow blessings. "Water holds memories since time began and has a living spirit just like... posted on Aug 14 2023, 2,599 reads

The Radical Act of Letting Things Hurt
"When psychotherapist Megan Devine -- creator of the excellent resource Refuge in Grief and author of its portable counterpart, It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand (public library) -- watched her young, healthy partner drown, the sudden and senseless loss suspended her world. As it slowly regained the motive force of life, she set out to redirect... posted on Aug 13 2023, 7,164 reads

A Case for the Porch
"Lately I've been trying to think like a porch. Trying to think between the natural and the human. Thinking how best to build during a climate crisis. I came across John Cage saying that progress in art may be listening to nature. He thought this activity could best play out on a porch, where we can hear natures symphony and then breathe our own masterpieces. Can we play our porches like instrumen... posted on Aug 12 2023, 1,984 reads

Cup of Karma
In the fall of 1987, Polly Simpkins met a man on the midnight train from Copenhagen to Amsterdam who shared with her his philosophy of life which focused on appreciating the people we love in this world. Cup of Karma was born to spread this message by bringing together Polly's love of people and her love of tea. Tea brings people together and Cup of Karma hosts events at which storytellers share t... posted on Aug 11 2023, 1,862 reads

Maggie Smith: Writing in a Way that is Brave, Real, and True
"Bestselling poet Maggie Smith has a gift for embracing the complexity of our human experienceand for writing about it with piercing intensity, clarity, and beauty. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Maggie about her approach to her craft and to life, and how writing can serve as a pathway to self-discovery and release. Featuring a reading of the beloved poem "Good Bones," this insightful epi... posted on Aug 10 2023, 3,408 reads

Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir
"Writer Amy Tans hit debut novel, The Joy Luck Club (1989), catapulted her to commercial and critical success, spending over 40 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. With the 1993 blockbuster film adaption that followed, which was selected for the National Film Registry in 2020, as well as additional bestselling novels, librettos, short stories and memoirs, Tan firmly established herself a... posted on Aug 09 2023, 1,745 reads

Arwen Donohue: Care is a Creative Act
"I had sort of a grandiose idea that I was writing a big hybrid book--part oral history illuminated by portraiture, part graphic memoir, and part history of the peculiar role that the idea of agrarianism has played in American life. The drawings of daily life on the farm became a small part of this rangy, years-long interdisciplinary process. After I finished the year of drawing 'Landings,' I kept... posted on Aug 08 2023, 1,429 reads

A Turtle's Silver Bead of Quietude
"One day in the fall, as water and air cooled, at some precise temperature an ancient bell sounded in the turtle brain. A signal: Take a deep breath. Each creature slipped off her log and swam for the warmer muck bottom. Stroking her way through the woven walls of plant stems, she found her bottom place. She closed her eyes and dug into the mud. She buried herself. And then, pulled into her shell,... posted on Aug 07 2023, 3,887 reads