Translation Lessons from Superlichen
"Until the late nineteenth century, lichens were understood as individual organisms. It was then suggested, controversially, that a lichen was, in fact, a partnership. The division between the partners might have been invisible at first, but underneath a microscope, it was plain as day: a lichen was a pact between a fungus and an alga. Scientists began to speak of symbiosis: not survival of the fi... posted on Mar 08 2023, 1,558 reads

When I Touched the Ground
"Nyurpaya Kaika Burton is a respected and revered senior artist, educator, storyteller and cultural leader. She is also one of the few remaining poetic speakers of Pitjantjatjara, a traditional Indigenous language of Central Australia's remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. There were once more than 400 traditional languages spoken across the Australian continent, but only arou... posted on Mar 07 2023, 1,671 reads

Asymmetry & the Art of Generous Creation
"As an artist or writer, how do you compose a work that is generous? How do you place a group of rocks together in a garden, or branches, berries and blossoms together in an ikebana arrangement,-- or ideas and language on a page -- to invite real participation? The artist is giving a gift, I think, if she leaves some connections unfinished. Implied. The artist is giving a gift, I think, when the c... posted on Mar 06 2023, 2,629 reads

Mink! Champion of Title IX
If you're a woman who played sports, or have girls or women in your life who did or do, then you will want to see this remarkable story that explains who made that possible. This short documentary tells the story of Title IX through the eyes of Wendy, daughter of the amazing Patsy Takemoto Mink, a Japanese American from Hawaii who became the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress. The f... posted on Mar 05 2023, 1,166 reads

Dakota 38: One Filmmaker's Ride of a Lifetime
In 2005, Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran, Jim Miller had a dream of arriving on horseback at a riverbank in Minnesota and seeing 38 of his Dakota ancestors hanged. At the time, Jim was unaware of the largest mass execution in United States history, ordered by Abraham Lincoln. Richard Whittaker writes, "I remember Silas telling us about meeting a Native American elder [Miller,] who talk... posted on Mar 04 2023, 1,631 reads

A Higher Level of Conscious Engagement
"The challenge for both moral and social activists is to avoid getting spun out by the need to change dysfunctional human behaviors and unjust systems. They should seek to avoid corrosive judgmentalism: When exuberance for justice leads to the demonization of others, more injustice is being perpetrated. Constant unresolved anxiety, frustration, anger, and even outrage can lead not only to burnout,... posted on Mar 03 2023, 2,444 reads

Young Forever: Why Balance Matters
"The hallmarks of aging are how our biology becomes out of balance. Conventional medicine describes the what: what disease, what pathway is dysfunctional, what drug to take. The model of functional medicine guides us to the why, to the root causes of diseases and aging. Many longevity research efforts focus on just treating the hallmarks of aging, without treating their underlying causes. That's w... posted on Mar 02 2023, 4,472 reads

Strange Bedfellows
"I never thought about the daily schedule of wild turkeys. They seemed, in my imagination, to be mythical creatures who lived mostly in paintings of rural 1800s England. I did not know they were to become part of my life. Take yesterday at dusk, for example, when the local gang, maybe fifteen or so, came rolling up over our wooden bridge and hopped, one by one, onto the roof of the other house on ... posted on Mar 01 2023, 1,720 reads

A Little Girl Tugs at the Tablecloth
"Wisawa Szymborska's poems are not the poetry of big ideas. It is the poetry of minor events, ordinary objects... but also a bit different. Because under this ordinary everyday life veneer, there's always an extra layer, a deeper level, lurking in the work of the Nobel Prize winner from Krakow. This time it's an experience that's the basis for entering adulthood, because adulthood can be entered a... posted on Feb 28 2023, 2,534 reads

Changing Destructive Stories Through Music
"In the story, Dr. Frankenstein creates the impossible. He creates life out of unlife. He creates a new creature. And what happens when he's done? He walks away. Abandons him. Doesn't even give it a name. "Not my responsibility." When the creature wakes up in the forest he's looking for where he belongs. He's looking for a family. Then he hears the voices of birds.He feels a deep connection with t... posted on Feb 27 2023, 2,192 reads