Used To Be A Monk

Does what it says on the tin. Gethard talks to a polyamorous witch librarian who once worked the front desk at a brothel, surprisingly perfect training for library life. They get into the realities of coven community, late-discovered neurodivergence, leaving a faith tradition, an ... Show More

Here’s the pitch: Engineer by day. International award-winning clown by night. Learned to read and walk in her 20s. This caller has a lot going on, and every story branches into a whole new world of surprises. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad-free episodes and access to ... Show More

A couple weeks back, Gethard talked with a lawyer whose husband came up a few times. We learned two key facts about him: he’s got a lot of birds, and he works on a tugboat. Well, he got through this week, and that means Geth got to ask him a few questions about the birds and a mi ... Show More

Benedictine monks meditate on the subject of work - from cooking to weaving and beekeeping - against a background of chant and sounds that evoke the peace and serenity of the monastery. This episode of Slow Radio was originally podcasted in October 2017. We're grateful to the mon ... Show More

What is life like for nuns and monks today? With a lack of new blood coming into the traditional monasteries and convents, Bishop Martin Shaw supports some of these aging communities in their painful final days as they are forced to leave their homes. His role as an official visi ... Show More

An unholy spat is stirring the Sangha, Thailand's top Buddhist authority - who will become the next Supreme Patriarch, Thailand's most senior monk? Meanwhile, allegations of 'cheque-book Buddhism', cronyism and corruption abound - including allegations about tax-evasion on an imp ... Show More

On the podcast today I have Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Buddhist Monk and author of 'From a Mountain In Tibet: A Monk’s Journey'We discuss:-His story of how we escaped Tibet-Why we rely too much on ‘plans'-How we can let go of our problems forever-His advice for people who find me ... Show More

Gaur Gopal Das is a former Hewlett-Packard engineer who joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as a monk in 1996. Since then, he has become a popular speaker and motivational coach both on YouTube and in public. In this podcast, he speaks with Sounds ... Show More

At age 27, Matthieu Landri said goodbye to his family and shared one last beer with his friends…then began his new life as a Benedictine monk. He longed for a spiritual life of contemplation and prayer. But soon he found himself embarking on a new journey: reviving the lost Frenc ... Show More

In the Middle Ages, Christian monasteries played an integral role in the generation and spread of knowledge. Scholarship flourished behind monastery walls and monks became experts in a wide range of fields, including astronomy, medicine, even beer-making and beekeeping. But how a ... Show More

When Jay Shetty graduated from college, he was prepared for two different paths in life: to work in finance, or become a Hindu monk.After three years at an ashram, Jay returned home to London hoping to share his learning with the world. He had to relearn how to make small talk — ... Show More

¿Monjas poseídas que se niegan a comulgar? ¿Un sacerdote brujo y rebelde? Esto fue exactamente lo que sucedió en un convento de la ciudad de Loudun, en Francia.Este es un extraño caso de posesión demoníaca que ocurrió durante el siglo XVII y que sigue siendo discutido. ¿Qué fue l ... Show More

A small chapel in the German town of Erfurt was hardly a proper venue for world-shaping events to begin. Nothing much had happened in this part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Augustinian monk who swept the chapel's floor thought mainly about his lunch. His straw broom push ... Show More