How Flowers Made Our World: DAVID GEORGE HASKELL on Deep Time, Plant Intelligence & Listening to the Living World

How Flowers Made Our World: DAVID GEORGE HASKELL on Deep Time, Plant Intelligence & Listening to the Living World

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For at least 150 years biological sciences emphasized individuality and aloneness. So individual species, individual genes, individual organisms. And that's a useful view, up to a point. I mean, it is true that I am an individual organism. I've got a skin, and then the air begins and there's a gap between me and the next person over. But that view is also utterly false in many ways, in that the human body is not just comprised of human cells. There are bacteria, fungi, and viruses, all these other creatures that we now know are essential to our health. Our minds are not solitary. They're formed in relation to other beings. Ecosystems work only through relationship. So relationship and interconnection, not separation. And atomism is in fact the fundamental nature of life. Even from the very, very first fossils that we have of living organisms way back more than 3 billion years ago, these little cells are sitting next to one another.

Listening to the Living World: Biologist DAVID GEORGE HASKELL on Flowers, Forests & Songs of Nature - Highlights

Listening to the Living World: Biologist DAVID GEORGE HASKELL on Flowers, Forests & Songs of Nature - Highlights

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For at least 150 years biological sciences emphasized individuality and aloneness. So individual species, individual genes, individual organisms. And that's a useful view, up to a point. I mean, it is true that I am an individual organism. I've got a skin, and then the air begins and there's a gap between me and the next person over. But that view is also utterly false in many ways, in that the human body is not just comprised of human cells. There are bacteria, fungi, and viruses, all these other creatures that we now know are essential to our health. Our minds are not solitary. They're formed in relation to other beings. Ecosystems work only through relationship. So relationship and interconnection, not separation. And atomism is in fact the fundamental nature of life. Even from the very, very first fossils that we have of living organisms way back more than 3 billion years ago, these little cells are sitting next to one another.

The Environmental, Psychological, Emotional Impact of Occupation w/ Actress, Director CHERIEN DABIS

The Environmental, Psychological, Emotional Impact of Occupation w/ Actress, Director CHERIEN DABIS

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For me, we Palestinians are so much more than our pain and suffering, and the world often sees only our pain and suffering. I wanted to show other facets of who we are, no matter whether we're on the activist side of the spectrum or audience members who don't know very much about the situation. At the end of the day, we all have to choose humanity. In many ways I was inspired by observing the different generations of my own family and how our identities were shaped by everything happening in Palestine. That became the first idea for this film, to really show how it is a collective trauma for all Palestinians. That trauma is being passed down from generation to generation. Even if you're not a direct descendant of Nakba survivors, you still have that trauma. I wanted to explore that passage of trauma, that inheritance of my own trauma and take a look at how history and political events shape people.

 The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game with C. THI NGUYEN - Highlights

 The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game with C. THI NGUYEN - Highlights

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To be in the process of making things, to be in the process of talking to people about what things mean… The creative process is actually, I think, the most meaningful part of life, but it's very hard to measure. When we get shoved towards a world that demands easy measurables, it's very hard to optimize away from the creative process and optimize towards things that are more static.

 Games that Help Us Reconnect with Nature & Our Sense and Wonder & Play with C. THI NGUYEN

 Games that Help Us Reconnect with Nature & Our Sense and Wonder & Play with C. THI NGUYEN

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To be in the process of making things, to be in the process of talking to people about what things mean… The creative process is actually, I think, the most meaningful part of life, but it's very hard to measure. When we get shoved towards a world that demands easy measurables, it's very hard to optimize away from the creative process and optimize towards things that are more static.

Alive in the Merciful Country with Author, Activist, Stand-up Comedian AL KENNEDY - Highlights

Alive in the Merciful Country with Author, Activist, Stand-up Comedian AL KENNEDY - Highlights

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Author · Activist ·  Stand-Up Comedian AL KENNEDY · Author of Alive in the Merciful Country

The thing that puzzled him was why people don't agree to be fully expressed while they're alive. Why does it only happen in their last moment? Why wouldn't you live being fully expressed? If you have love, eventually you're going to win. It's not that people aren't going to die. It's not terrible things aren't going to happen. But if you stay with that and you stay centered in that, you'll get through and you will not have turned into a monster in order to overcome monsters.”

The Climate of Truth: Lockdown Rewilding & Environmental Resistance with Author AL KENNEDY

The Climate of Truth: Lockdown Rewilding & Environmental Resistance with Author AL KENNEDY

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Author · Activist ·  Stand-Up Comedian AL KENNEDY · Author of Alive in the Merciful Country

The thing that puzzled him was why people don't agree to be fully expressed while they're alive. Why does it only happen in their last moment? Why wouldn't you live being fully expressed? If you have love, eventually you're going to win. It's not that people aren't going to die. It's not terrible things aren't going to happen. But if you stay with that and you stay centered in that, you'll get through and you will not have turned into a monster in order to overcome monsters.”

Who Are We? What Makes Us Care? Jim Shepard, Neil Patrick Harris, John Patrick Shanley & Artists Share Their Stories

Who Are We? What Makes Us Care? Jim Shepard, Neil Patrick Harris, John Patrick Shanley & Artists Share Their Stories

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We explore the internal dialogues of artists and writers to ask what it means to step into someone else's shoes and expand our sense of solidarity through stories. Jim Shepard, Neil Patrick Harris, Katie Kitamura, Laura Eason, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Benoit Delhomme, Etgar Keret, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Adam Moss, John Patrick Shanley and Nicholas Kristof share their stories.

The Wisdom of Nature: Artists & Scientists on The Beauty & Fragility of Our Planet

The Wisdom of Nature: Artists & Scientists on The Beauty & Fragility of Our Planet

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Artists & Scientists on The Beauty & Fragility of Our Planet

The Earth is talking. Are we listening? In this special edition, we hear from our guests from across the arts and sciences. From composers and poets to forest ecologists and climate envoys, they tell the story of our planet. Moving beyond the data of destruction, we explore the intelligence of nature, the ethics of what we eat, and the empathy required to save our future.

The Musician Who Sings to Animals - PLUMES on Trust & Cross-Species Communication - Highlights

The Musician Who Sings to Animals - PLUMES on Trust & Cross-Species Communication - Highlights

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Musician & Activist PLUMES

Mostly I’ll play in a minor key, something sad, which I think can work for an animal because they can sense the sadness, and they try to reassure me and comfort me. I chose love songs because I'm convinced they are very intuitive and they can sense what I am trying to say to them, and profess my love in a way. I think there's always a way to connect, and if you're being cautious and don't threaten the animals, something beautiful can happen.

Animals & The Healing Power of Music

Animals & The Healing Power of Music

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Musician & Activist PLUMES

Mostly I’ll play in a minor key, something sad, which I think can work for an animal because they can sense the sadness, and they try to reassure me and comfort me. I chose love songs because I'm convinced they are very intuitive and they can sense what I am trying to say to them, and profess my love in a way. I think there's always a way to connect, and if you're being cautious and don't threaten the animals, something beautiful can happen.

Speaking Out of Place - DAVID PALUMBO-LIU on Reclaiming Our Political Voices - Highlights

Speaking Out of Place - DAVID PALUMBO-LIU on Reclaiming Our Political Voices - Highlights

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Stanford Professor, Author & Host of Speaking Out of Place DAVID PALUMBO-LIU on the urgent need to reclaim our political voices and the forces that silence dissent

There is a dispute about what the American Dream is or how it would play out in different circumstances. The American dream has essentially been narrowed into a white Christian nationalist notion of things so that everything that falls outside what they imagine that to be is not only undesirable, but should be the subject of extermination, deportation, and detention. I am heartened by the fact that more of our 'better angels' are emerging with a more capacious and expansive notion of what the American dream could be.

Reclaiming the American Dream with DAVID PALUMBO-LIU – Stanford Professor, Author & Host, Speaking Out of Place

Reclaiming the American Dream with DAVID PALUMBO-LIU – Stanford Professor, Author & Host, Speaking Out of Place

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Stanford Professor, Author & Host of Speaking Out of Place DAVID PALUMBO-LIU on the urgent need to reclaim our political voices and the forces that silence dissent

There is a dispute about what the American Dream is or how it would play out in different circumstances. The American dream has essentially been narrowed into a white Christian nationalist notion of things so that everything that falls outside what they imagine that to be is not only undesirable, but should be the subject of extermination, deportation, and detention. I am heartened by the fact that more of our 'better angels' are emerging with a more capacious and expansive notion of what the American dream could be.

In the Presence of the DALAI LAMA - Doc. Director of WISDOM OF HAPPINESS - Highlights

In the Presence of the DALAI LAMA - Doc. Director of WISDOM OF HAPPINESS - Highlights

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 Everybody wants happiness, joyfulness, peaceful world. Our 21st century will not be easy century… I can change my mind. I can reduce anger, hatred. Nothing to do with religion. All religions carry the message of love, loving kindness, and tolerance. This century should be century of compassion, century of peace. No more bloodshed. We should develop a big “we,” rather than “we” or “they.” With these wings, you can fly. -DALAI LAMA

WISDOM OF HAPPINESS - Heart-to-Heart w/ DALAI LAMA - Conversation w/ Director Barbara Miller

WISDOM OF HAPPINESS - Heart-to-Heart w/ DALAI LAMA - Conversation w/ Director Barbara Miller

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 Everybody wants happiness, joyfulness, peaceful world. Our 21st century will not be easy century… I can change my mind. I can reduce anger, hatred. Nothing to do with religion. All religions carry the message of love, loving kindness, and tolerance. This century should be century of compassion, century of peace. No more bloodshed. We should develop a big “we,” rather than “we” or “they.” With these wings, you can fly. -DALAI LAMA

THE SPIRULINA REVOLUTION with FUL FOODS Co-Founder Julia Streuli & Oberon Sinclair

THE SPIRULINA REVOLUTION with FUL FOODS Co-Founder Julia Streuli & Oberon Sinclair

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A Conversation with Co-Founder of FUL Foods JULIA STREULI & Founder of Creative Agency My Young Auntie OBERON SINCLAIR

Spirulina does everything. If you extract protein, there's a huge booming market and human need for protein. If you extract fats, omegas, etc., if you look at the recent FDA ruling around the color transition, every food and beverage company now is looking for a natural source of color. Spirulina can provide that. It's about looking at this ancient substance and seeing how it can plug into our future food system in a way that works for people and the planet. 

Listening to the Planet - Writers' Perspectives on Nature, Place & Interconnectedness

Listening to the Planet - Writers' Perspectives on Nature, Place & Interconnectedness

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Katie Kitamura, Eiren Caffall, Jay Parini, Irvin Weathersby Jr., Natasha Hakimi Zapata, Audrea Lim & Dr. Bayo Akomolafe share their stories

How do our environments shape who we are and how we care for the world and each other? There are many solutions to climate change, inequality, and poverty around the world. How can we learn from them and transform our society?

The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism & Why it Matters with CHRISTINE WEBB

The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism & Why it Matters with CHRISTINE WEBB

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A Conversation with Primatologist CHRISTINE WEBB

There are many ways in which I think human exceptionalism has seeped into the sciences, but one of the many ways is through the methodologies we use when we compare the intelligence of humans and other species. In particular, in my field, I’m a primatologist by training, comparing the cognitive abilities of humans with the abilities of our closest living relatives, the great apes. Many times, those studies compare the intelligence of captive chimpanzees who are living in highly restricted, manmade environments. Often, these chimpanzees have been separated from their biological mothers at birth. They're often separated from the group during testing. They're subjected to very human-centric experimental paradigms, like playing with plastic puzzle boxes or computer touchscreens, and we're measuring how they perform on these tasks.

Building a Vital Earth for Everyone with President of Environmental Defense Fund’s EDF Action DAVID KIEVE
Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ & the Capitalism of the Far Right with QUINN SLOBODIAN

Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ & the Capitalism of the Far Right with QUINN SLOBODIAN

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Race, Gold, IQ & the Capitalism of the Far Right
A Conversation with QUINN SLOBODIAN

The origin was really trying to make sense of that 2016-2017 moment and to ask whether the alt-right was, as we were being told, a return to the 1930s, a kind of awakening of the sleeping beast of white supremacy armed in the streets in the United States. There are many explanations, but I decided to take this kind of curious route in with the distorted readings and reinterpretations of the works of people like Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek. As a scholar of comparative literature, I wanted to write a revision based on Crack-Up Capitalism.