Angel

Sometimes all it takes is a great story.   This is one about childhood dreams, suffering, belonging and fulfillment.

Darryl Daniels is best known as the DMC half of RUN DMC, the iconic, pioneering hip-hop duo from the 80’s.   What you probably don’t know is that Daniels is adopted. . . just like Sarah Mclachlan.  What follows is a wonderful (and funny) story about the song they sang together – Just Like Me.   Of course, it is also about Darryl reconciling the incompleteness he felt as a result of his adoption.  

DOWNLOAD: ANGEL (14 minutes)

 Credits:  Daniels, Darryl.  “Angel.” The Moth.  May 23, 2010.

Clarifying the Gospel

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM is both disliked and adored.  As a Franciscan priest, he strives to live the 13^th century ideals of St. Francis of Assisi in a modern world.  He is at the same time a supporter and critic of the church – not because of what it teaches, but because it does not always live up to what it teaches.

As a novice, my teachers required that we listen to many of Rohr’s now infamous CD’s.  We were told that his perspective was one we would need before we began the details of our theology study.  The more I encounter the people within the Church, I am continually thankful of their insight.

Rohr is not easy to digest, but neither is the Gospel.  For those who have ever questioned what the Church has taught, I encourage you to listen to this interview.  I am betting that you will find that often, it is not the teachings of the Church that need to be challenged, but some of those who profess those teachings.

DOWNLOAD:    CLARIFYING THE GOSPEL (50 minutes)

 Credits:  Hynes, Mary.  “Franciscan Priest.” Tapestry.  CBC Radio, July 4, 2010.

How Not to Read the Bible

If you have ever attended a Protestant and a Catholic Bible Study, you will know there is, for large part, a difference in the manner of how the two approach and interpret the Bible.  The Catholic contextual approach is one that says a literal approach that says the Bible is a historical account of what happened is not a helpful way to read the Bible.

Brian B. Pinter relays many of the official statements by the Pontifical Biblical Commission that state Biblical literalism is “intellectual suicide”.

This interview is wonderfully helpful and illuminating as to how we should approach the Bible, so enjoy!

DOWNLOAD: HOW NOT TO READ THE BIBLE (16 minutes)  

 Credits: “How Not to Read the Bible.” America Magazine Podcast.  Interview with Brian Pinter.  New York:  America Magazine,  September 12, 2011.

21st Century Enlightenment

Too often, I think people approach podcasts and related interviews/stories as a doctrinal statement, but it would be better to think of them as provocative statements that help to animate a discussion that would not begin otherwise.

Such is the case with this lecture and animation.  It is certainly a stretch to speak of a “21^st Century Enlightenment”, but it cause us to become more aware of the impact of individualism and relativistic points of views.  That is to ask what constitutes a functional society or a sense of autonomy, and how might empathy and compassion fit into our world?

DOWNLOAD:    21ST CENTURY ENLIGHTENMENT (VIDEO) (11 minutes)

 Credits:  Sir Ken Robinson.  “21^st Century Enlightenment.” RSA .  August 23, 2010.

The Agnostic Side

Usually, such a title causes immediate judgment from “Believers”, but consider this interview an invitation to suspend judgment for 13 minutes.

In short, Brian Lehrer interviews Michael Krasny about his new book, Spiritual Envy:  An Agnostic’s Quest.  The told tale is a compassionate one about the difficulty of maintaining a position that says ‘I Don’t Know.”  However, underneath this statement is a sadness that wishes he could.

Krasny confesses that he would like to believe in God as it would make life much more simple, but he just cannot come to such a clear conclusion.  For that matter, he cannot come to any conclusion.  The result is a wonderful perspective, so join in.

DOWNLOAD: THE AGNOSTIC SIDE (13 minutes)

 Credits :Lehrer, Brian.  “The Agnostic Side” Interview with Michael Krasny.  The Brian Lehrer Show, WYNC, October 22, 2010. 

My Green School Dream

This is one of those stories that I cannot pinpoint just why I found it so captivating, but I have found myself thinking about this story often since I heard it over a year ago.  Perhaps it is because I love the idea of natural architecture, or the insistence and charisma of John Hardy, or the emphasis on wholelistic education or some combination of all of these things.  But whatever the reason, I am quite sure you will find interesting and inspirational as well.

On top of all of those things, the sheer design of the school is just amazing – imagine if all of our building were quite so interesting! 

DOWNLOAD:    MY GREEN SCHOOL DREAM (AUDIO) (13 minutes)

                                   MY GREEN SCHOOL DREAM (VIDEO)

 Credits:  Hardy, John.  “My Green School Dream.” TED Talks.  July 2010.

The Power of Vulnerability

Brene Brown is a researcher and storyteller.  I know, it doesn’t sound like the two could co-exist, but in a remarkable presentation at TEDx in Houston, Texas, the two come together.  Brown tells us that courage originally means “to tell your story with your whole heart”  We must have compassion and connection and be willing to let go who we think we should be and enter into a new place.

All of this means, we must believe that that which makes us vulnerable is what makes us beautiful.

I can tell you that I have since read some more of Brown’s work and have been amazed with her work especially on shame and worthiness.  This particular interview will give you insight into this in a comical and poignant manner.

DOWNLOAD:    THE POWER OF VULNERABILITY (AUDIO) (20 minutes)

                                    THE POWER OF VULNTERABILITY (VIDEO) 

 Credits:  Brown, Brene.  “The Power of Vulnerability.” TED Talks.  December 2010.

Beauty Will Save the World

The title alone should be enough to grab your attention, but it is actually much deeper than the usual superficial levels which usually fill our imagination.  What we encounter is the depth of suffering, which only then allows us to understand the depth of beauty.

The interview tells the story, as told by CBC Producer Frank Faulk, of Aleksandr Solzhenitysyn who was imprisoned in a Soviet gulag and later won the Nobel Prize in 1970.  Upon receiving the award, he said, “Beauty will save the World.”  

DOWNLOAD: BEAUTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD (54 minutes)

 Credits:  Hynes, Mary.  “Beauty will Save the World.” Tapestry.  CBC Radio, October 31, 2010.

Quarks and Creation

Every now and then, I run across an interview that seems to say it all.  On Being’s Krista Tippet achieved just this when she interviewed John Polkinghorne, an elementary particle physicist at Cambridge and now a student of theology.

The conversation that follows, on the surface, delves into the relationship between science and religion, but more on a deeper level, seeks to understand the very nature of Truth.

“Things that are just on the surface, easy to believe, are not the whole story. There’s a deeper, stranger, and more satisfying story to be found, both in science and in religion,” Polkinghorne tells Tippett.

In a sense, that statement offers a great summary of this interview – it is deeper and more surprising than you may think, so get your notepad and enjoy!

DOWNLOAD:  QUARKS AND CREATION (51 minutes)

Credits: Tippett, Krista.  “Quarks and Creation.,” On Being, American Public Media.  January 13, 2011. 

Embracing Otherness

Thandie Newton is a familiar personality to many of us – she has been in some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of all time.  But this interview portrays a very different view of Thandie – one that illustrates rejection, confusion, and shame.

So how did she overcome these difficulties?  She embraced otherness – the essence and oneness that we all share in ourselves.  This otherness is how we connect to each other.

What Thandie speaks of is illuminated by stories of other people she has encountered that have taught her something about herself.

DOWNLOAD:    EMBRACING OTHERNESS (VIDEO)     EMBRACING OTHERNESS (AUDIO)     (14 minutes)                           

 Credits:  Newton, Thandie.  “Embracing Otherness, Embracing Myself.” TED Talks.  July 2011.