Balthrop-Lewis's Thoreau's Religion: Walden Woods, Social Justice, and the Politics of Asceticism (Cambridge UP, 2021) presents a ground-breaking interpretation of Henry David Thoreau's most famous book, Walden. Rather than treating Walden Woods as a lonely wilderness, Balthrop-Lewis demonstrates that Thoreau's ascetic life was a form of religious practice d ... Show More
Today
David Helvarg, "Forest of the Sea: The Remarkable Life and Imperiled Future of Kelp" (Princeton UP, 2026)
In a matter of decades, a spectacular cold-water paradise thirty million years in the making is succumbing to warming oceans. Kelp forests are largely out of sight, hidden under the ocean’s surface, yet they are one of Earth’s most wondrous and underappreciated marine habitats. I ... Show More
31m 51s
Aug 23
Leda Elliott, "The Five Seasons Method: A Gentle Path toward Emotional and Spiritual Balance" (Scribner, 2026)
A gentle yet powerful blend of ancient wisdom and modern wellness that shows how seasonal living can enrich your days. In the Chinese Five Element system, which links nature’s cycles to our emotional, physical, and spiritual selves, there are five seasons: spring, summer, late su ... Show More
56m 44s
Aug 22
Sandeep Vaheesan, "Democracy in Power: A History of Electrification in the United States" (U Chicago Press, 2024)
In Democracy in Power: A History of Electrification in the United States (University of Chicago Press, 2024), Sandeep Vaheesan recounts the rather overlooked story of how electricity spread across the U.S. economy during the 20th century. This book sheds careful light on the vari ... Show More
54m 54s
Jan 2009
Thoreau and the American Idyll
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 19th century American writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau. Anti-slavery activist and passionate environmentalist, Thoreau was above all a champion of self-reliance and individualism. He was also a champion of the simple life, a lover of ... Show More
42m 9s
Oct 2024
Daniela Bevilacqua, "From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus' Understanding of Embodied Practices" (Equinox, 2024)
Extensively based on fieldwork material, From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus' Understanding of Embodied Practices (Equinox, 2024) primarily analyses embodied practices of ascetics belonging to four religious orders historically associated with the practice of yoga and hatha yoga. T ... Show More
31m 39s
Jul 2023
Jacqueline Kinghan, "Lawyers, Networks and Progressive Social Change: Lawyers Changing Lives" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Written by a lawyer who works at the intersection between legal education and practice in access to justice and human rights, this book locates, describes and defines a collective identity for social justice lawyering in the UK.
Underpinned by theories of cause lawyering and lega ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 2022
Bruno Latour's 'Facing Gaia' with Tim Howles
<p>Tim is Junior Research Fellow in Political Theology at Campion Hall, University of Oxford, and Researcher Director at the "Laudato Si' Research Institute", a new institute conducting academic research in the field of ecology and social change. He is also an o ... Show More
1h 1m
Jun 2020
Alan Watts - Philosophy & Society - The Veil of Thoughts - The Modern Day Zen Buddhists & Philosophers Battle
Alan Watts - Far Beyond the West - Modern Philosophy, Eastern Philosophy, Zen, Buddhism, Hindu Philosophy, Tao, Taoism
Alan Watts provides insights into how to break through this veil that holds us back & does so in an easy to comprehend, yet profound manner.
Watts discusses the ... Show More
52m 57s
Aug 2024
Beth Driscoll, "What Readers Do: Aesthetic and Moral Practices of a Post-Digital Age" (Bloomsbury, 2024)
What is reading? In What Readers Do: Aesthetic and Moral Practices of a Post-Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2024) Beth Driscoll, an Associate Professor in Publishing, Communications and Arts Management at the University of Melbourne, explores this question by situating reading in a var ... Show More
38m 5s