Allison Funk’s poem “The Prodigal’s Mother Speaks to God” tells the age-old story of The Prodigal Son through a new voice: the unnamed woman of the parable. This woman is truthful, wise, and loving. She knows the dedications and limitations of love. She seeks to see clearly, even though it’s hard to see clearly.
A question to reflect on after you listen: W ... Show More
Today
Billy-Ray Belcourt — Subarctica
Will you leave this episode feeling uplifted, envious, curious, or something else entirely? Yes. Billy-Ray Belcourt’s poem “Subarctica” transports you to a vividly specific time — “the coldest December / on record, I haven’t left my mother’s / house in over a week” — where the pr ... Show More
17m 46s
Feb 23
Lena Khalaf Tuffaha — Dukka
Loving in the face of violence, danger, and distress is an act of defiance, as demonstrated in Lena Khalaf Tuffaha’s achingly beautiful poem “Dukka”. The Palestinian American writer spotlights seven aspects of love in action — between father and newborn, for example, a journalist ... Show More
15m 55s
Mar 2021
[Unedited] Naomi Shihab Nye with Krista Tippett
It’s pretty intriguing to follow poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s idea that most of us actually “think in poems” whether we know it or not. Rarely, as she points out, do you hear anyone say they feel worse after writing things down. That, she says, can be a tool to survive in hard times l ... Show More
1h 34m
Jul 2025
Joanna Macy, In Memoriam — Beauty and Wisdom and Courage (and Rilke) to Sustain Us
This rich, gorgeous conversation will fill your soul. The singular and beloved Joanna Macy died at home at the age of 96 on July 20, 2025. She has left an immense legacy of beauty and wisdom and courage to sustain us. A Buddhist teacher, ecological philosopher, and Rilke translat ... Show More
50m 57s
Sep 2024
What Do We Mean by "Mysticism"? With Mirabai Starr
Welcome to Season 2 of Everything Belongs! This season, we'll be exploring Richard's book Eager to Love chapter-by-chapter, and what better way to kick off a brand new season than with our friend, Mirabai Starr. In this episode, we're covering Chapter One: "What Do We Mean by 'My ... Show More
1h 21m
Aug 2025
Helen Garner Reads from Her Gripping Courtroom Drama, This House of Grief
This month on the Service95 Book Club podcast, Dua is joined by legendary Australian author Helen Garner to discuss her quietly devastating masterpiece, This House Of Grief. Selected as Dua’s Monthly Read for August, this true crime classic recounts the harrowing case of Robert F ... Show More
7m 49s
Jul 2025
Siobhan Phillips on Marianne Moore ("Armor's Undermining Modesty")
"What is more precise than precision? Illusion." I talked with my friend, the scholar Siobhan Phillips, about Marianne Moore's poem "Armor's Undermining Modesty." Siobhan Phillips is a professor of English at Dickinson College, where she teaches courses on American literature of ... Show More
1h 47m
Sep 2025
(#3) Elise’s Top Ten: If I should have a daughter ... | Sarah Kay
"If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... " began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis — from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York's Bowery P ... Show More
20m 40s
<p><strong>Jane Kenyon</strong> (May 23, 1947 – April 22, 1995) was an American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">poet</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">transl ... Show More