January 2011
76 posts
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WatchCharles Wright Reads “Together” (video)
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
The PBS NewsHour’s “weekly poem” on their Art Beat blog is a favorite of mine. And Charles Wright’s recitation while sitting in his study during the depth of winter resonates deep within. And, although the reading is nice, seeing the poem laid out on the page truly brings the poem to life.
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A Necessary and Vital Moment for Jon Kabat-Zinn...
by Krista Tippett, host
» audio-only download (mp3, 51:09)
I’m listening with new ears this week to Jon Kabat-Zinn’s practical approach for calming ourselves, and also being a nourishing presence in the world. Before this interview, I had read and heard of Jon Kabat-Zinn for years. But I hadn’t really grasped that he is first a scientist — a molecular biologist — and second...
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“The square has emptied out since the afternoon but it’s still a great...”
– — Heba Morayef, still blogging from Tahrir Square, Cairo (via technipol)
At its essence, civil protest comes down to upholding values and the pragmatics of eating together, non?
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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Trees Give Meaning to Mystery and Life: Our...
by Kate Moos, executive producer
Wangari Maathai attends the opening of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. On February 26, 2008, the Kenyan environmentalist inaugurated the vault carved into the Arctic permafrost and filled with samples of the world’s most important seeds, providing a Noah’s Ark of food crops in the event of a global catastrophe. (photo: Hakon Mosvold...
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What Will the Muslim Population Look Like in 2030?
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Projected distribution of Muslim population by country and territory in 2030. Click image for higher resolution version with data. (source: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
A study released this week by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life titled “The Future of the Global Muslim Population” is worthwhile reading for many reasons, if not...
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Twitterscript of Vincent Harding Interview
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Vincent Harding, a speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., addresses the All Souls Church congregation to commemorate Dr. King’s birthday in Washington on January 19, 2009. (photo:Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
For an upcoming show Krista interviewed a theologian she has long admired, Vincent Harding. Active in the civil rights movement, he served as...
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“I want to get back to what I remember as a kid, the way of life here in...”
– — Gil Meche, pitcher for the Kansas City Royals
Meche pitches against the Oakland A’s in 2008. (photo: John H. Kim/Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
The 32-year-old baseball player from the Lafayette is getting a lot of attention for his recent decision to retire and forgo the last...
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Mining Fresh Vocabulary, Lived Virtues, and...
by Krista Tippett, host
(photo: fake is the new real/Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
It was strange to experience my conversation with Elizabeth Alexander about finding fresh ways to talk about difficult things, which became so painfully relevant in light of the Arizona shootings and the soul-searching around them. It’s a kind of relevance I wouldn’t wish for.
But it...
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“Protagonists help organizations become more competitive. After all, the word...”
– — Nilofer Merchant, from “Are You a Rebel or a Leader?”
Hopefully this excerpt from yesterday’s Harvard Business Review provides some value for us all as we move forward in our daily work lives. Some days it’s really hard to navigate and rise above the struggles of...
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“In her book, ‘Listening Below the Noise,’ author Anne LeClaire says...”
– — Lisa Linsky, a listener and fan of the show forwarded her beautiful piece from the Huffington Post titled “And Now, a Moment of Silence.”
Silence as a tool in civic life? Sounds good to us.
(photo: “Lost Tree” by H. Kopp-Delaney/Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
...
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WatchDr. Oz’s Mystical Muslim Identity
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
“I’ve struggled a lot with my Muslim identity. … As a Turk growing up in America with one parent from one side of the religious wall and one from the other side, I found myself tugged more and more towards the spiritual side of the religion rather than the legal side of the religion.”
The popular...
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The Harmonic Chaos of Icy Sidewalks with Rumi and...
by Charity Burns, guest contributor
In the wake of a recent blizzard, cars were buried in snow, curbs of intersections were submerged in a grimy soup, and sidewalks became paths of ice. One day I was rushing to work. The sidewalk appeared mostly clear, way more concrete than muddy slush. I passed a young woman in thermal boots that I thought was going much slower than necessary, and then,...
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“We saw a white, Catholic, Republican federal judge murdered on his way to greet...”
– —Mark Shields quotes historian Allen Ginsberg on PBS NewsHour.
[via newshour]
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Sacred Conversations
by David Gushee, special contributor
At the heart of my Christian faith is the belief that each and every person I encounter is absolutely cherished by God. I believe every human being is ineffably sacred in God’s sight. This implies a moral responsibility on my part to do my very best to treat them accordingly. If God loves each person, followers of God’s way must love each person...
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Recognizing an Obscure Photographer's Hidden Gifts
by Nancy Rosenbaum, producer
We all have gifts. But sometimes those gifts remain invisible to the people around us. This was true for Vivian Maier (1926-2009), a Chicago transplant who earned her living as a nanny and privately honed her craft as street photographer for over four decades.
Maier’s work was first discovered at an estate auction in 2007 by John Maloof, a twenty-something...
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Houses of Life: The Jewish Cemeteries of Jamaica
by Rachel Frankel, guest contributor
At the outskirts of Kingston lies Hunts Bay Jewish Cemetery, Jamaica’s oldest burial ground still in use today. The cemetery has recently been inventoried and mapped, and is now a Jamaica National Heritage Trust Site. Inventory work continues this month on another cemetery in Jamaica, the Orange Street Jewish Cemetery, a 200-year-old bet haim (“house of...
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WatchCreating Civility: A Live Public Conversation with Krista Tippett!
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
photo: Arne Halvorsen/Flickr
what: Creating Civility: A Public Forum when: Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 time: 7:00 p.m. CST where: Being LIVE
We’d like to invite you to join us tonight online for a somewhat impromptu event in Minnesota Public Radio’s UBS...
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Interview with Terry Tempest Williams: A...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
This past Monday on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Krista interviewed Terry Tempest Williams for an upcoming show slotted for release on February 3rd. An author and environmentalist, Tempest Williams’ writing and storytelling is imbued with her experience growing up in the American West.
As a wilderness activist who grew up in Utah and teaches at the University of...
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Interview with Terry Tempest Williams: A...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
This past Monday on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Krista interviewed Terry Tempest Williams for an upcoming show slotted for release on February 3rd. An author and environmentalist, Tempest Williams’ writing and storytelling is imbued with her experience growing up in the American West.
As a wilderness activist who grew up in Utah and teaches at the University of...
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Cinema as a Moral Compass
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in a scene from “The Fighter.”
“We are a storytelling species, and we have always used our stories to teach one another how we should live, and how we should not.” — David Gushee, “Teaching virtue at the movies in 2011”
In a recent article from the Associated Baptist Press, David Gushee, a...
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WatchChange Happens on the Margins: Moses Wright and the Dawn of the Civil Rights Movement
by Nancy Rosenbaum, producer
“I think that change comes about at the margins. I’ve always believed that. People in the center are not going to be the big change makers. You’ve got to put yourself at the margins and be willing to risk in order to make change.” —Frances Kissling
Today,...
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How Do We Live Together While Holding Passionate... →
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Tell us a story. Share an experience. It’s this sense of possibility and vulnerability that just may be the way in to hearing each other — to engaging and understanding those who fundamentally challenge us in the deepest ways, on the most contentious of issues. We (me included) often posture and blame.
We’ll be selecting the best of these stories for a...
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WatchMoses Wright and the Dawn of the Civil Rights Movement
by Nancy Rosenbaum, producer
“I think that change comes about at the margins. I’ve always believed that. People in the center are not going to be the big change makers. You’ve got to put yourself at the margins and be willing to risk in order to make change.” —Frances Kissling
Today, on Martin Luther King Day,...
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WatchJon Stewart’s Introduction: A True Moment of Civility
by Krista Tippett, host
In all I’ve read and pondered these past days, nothing has galvanized me more than Jon Stewart’s introductory remarks in his show on Monday night. If anyone could have used the powerful media space at his disposal to parody vitriol and point to it as a direct cause of last weekend’s violence, it...
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Cinema as a Moral Compass
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in a scene from “The Fighter.”
“We are a storytelling species, and we have always used our stories to teach one another how we should live, and how we should not.” — David Gushee, “Teaching virtue at the movies in 2011”
In a recent article from the Associated Baptist Press, David Gushee, a...
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“The dream of the prophets is not for conquest, power, or wealth. The dream of...”
– — Susannah Heschel, from “Palin Cries ‘Blood Libel’: Can Words Harm Us?” in Religion Dispatches.
The professor of Jewish Studies at Darmouth College and daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel traces the history of the phrase “blood libel” and the danger of...
indigodreams asked: What happened to the reblog and follow feature on your blog? Can this be fixed?
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How Do We Live Together While Holding Passionate... →
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Tell us a story. Share an experience. It’s this sense of possibility and vulnerability that just may be the way in to hearing each other — to engaging and understanding those who fundamentally challenge us in the deepest ways, on the most contentious of issues. We (me included) often posture and blame.
We’ll be selecting the best of these stories for a...
indigodreams asked: What happened to the reblog and follow feature on your blog? Can this be fixed?
3 tags
“The dream of the prophets is not for conquest, power, or wealth. The dream of...”
– — Susannah Heschel, from “Palin Cries ‘Blood Libel’: Can Words Harm Us?” in Religion Dispatches.
The professor of Jewish Studies at Darmouth College and daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel traces the history of the phrase “blood libel” and the danger of...
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Your Life as an Open "Human Book"
by Shubha Bala, associate producer
The catalogue of “books” at the Human Library in the London Public Library in Canada.
“I’m talking about things to people which I’ve never spoken about in my entire life. And I actually feel good…” — Joe, a “human book about depression”
Last November, the Toronto Public Library launched a Human Library...
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WatchJon Stewart’s Discretion Captured a Moment of Civility
by Krista Tippett, host
In all I’ve read and pondered these past days, nothing has galvanized me more than Jon Stewart’s introductory remarks in his show on Monday night. If anyone could have used the powerful media space at his disposal to parody vitriol and point to it as a direct cause of last weekend’s violence,...
5 tags
Your Life as an Open "Human Book"
by Shubha Bala, associate producer
The catalogue of “books” at the Human Library at the London Public Library in Canada.
“I’m talking about things to people which I’ve never spoken about in my entire life. And I actually feel good…” — Joe, a “human book about depression”
Last November, the Toronto Public Library launched a Human Library...
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I Am
by Leland R. Beaumont, guest contributor
Perhaps your readers will enjoy this graphic meditation on being that was inspired by the book I Am That by Sri Nisargadatta Majaraj.
Leland R. Beaumont is an electrical engineer and computer scientist who is constantly curious about how the world works.
We welcome your reflections, essays, videos, or news items for possible publication on...
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Twisted Words That Shimmer...
by Dana James, guest contributor
(photo: Scott Jungling/Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
I so enjoyed your show with the poet Ms. Alexander. It emboldened me to forward one of my poems. “Twisted” is a biographical and personal reflection of God’s grace unfolding in the life of someone (myself as well as others), who with the benefit of years of hindsight, can agree...
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WatchHaiti Religious Relief Efforts Continue On One Year Later
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
The one-year anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake is approaching. And, with all the coverage from that time, relatively little in-depth coverage is being dedicated to the recovery efforts. Kim Lawton, managing editor of Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, is a helpful exception. She recently...
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Watchby Trent Gilliss, senior editor
The one-year anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake is approaching. And, with all the coverage from that time, relatively little in-depth coverage is being dedicated to the recovery efforts. Kim Lawton, managing editor of Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, is a helpful exception. She recently returned from a trip to the recovering island country and did...
4 tags
Twisted Words That Shimmer...
by Dana James, guest contributor
(photo: Scott Jungling/Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
I so enjoyed your show with the poet Ms. Alexander. It emboldened me to forward one of my poems. “Twisted” is a biographical and personal reflection of God’s grace unfolding in the life of someone (myself as well as others), who with the benefit of years of hindsight, can agree...
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