A touching and funny podcast that explores how extraordinary people have been changed by an extraordinary animal. In this weekly show, Katya talks to fascinating guests about what their lives were like before and after they experienced a soul-level relationship with an animal.
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Today marks the 205th birthday of Henry David Thoreau, and to celebrate, I brought on Alda Balthrop-Lewis, author of Thoreau’s Religion: Walden Woods, Social Justice, and the Politics of Asceticism. Why (if at all) does Thoreau still matter? How did he engage with the political issues of his time, in particular slavery and the advances of industrial capitalism? Do the ascetic practices he engaged in at Walden Pond have any lessons for the contemporary environmentalist?
Learn more about Alda’s book here: https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/religion/religious-ethics/thoreaus-religion-walden-woods-social-justice-and-politics-asceticism?format=HB
Read her analysis of Thoreau’s critique of philanthropy here (also a response to the 2015 anti-Thoreau New Yorker article I mistakenly attribute to The Atlantic in the podcast): https://religiondispatches.org/thoreaus-ferocious-critique-of-philanthropy-does-not-make-him-selfish/
Read my 2017 article on Thoreau, from which I quote in the intro, here: https://inthesetimes.com/article/the-abolitionist-of-walden-pond
Alda’s book focuses on Walden, Thoreau’s most famous work and the one most relevant to her argument about political asceticism. But or if you are interested in exploring his ideas further, I also recommend some of his essays:
On Resistance to Civil Government (this is the famous and influential one about civil disobedience) – https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/civil/
Slavery in Massachusetts (perhaps my favorite) – https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Slavery_Massachusetts.html
Life Without Principle – https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1863/10/life-without-principle/542217/
A Plea for Captain John Brown – https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2567/2567-h/2567-h.htm
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Today’s topic is “degrowth”: What does it mean? Is it actually desirable? How could we achieve it? And do we really need to confront economic growth if we want to fight climate change and build a just, sustainable society? My …continue
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A touching and funny podcast that explores how extraordinary people have been changed by an extraordinary animal. In this weekly show, Katya talks to fascinating guests about what their lives were like before and after they experienced a soul-level relationship …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 27 November 2023
A touching and funny podcast that explores how extraordinary people have been changed by an extraordinary animal. In this weekly show, Katya talks to fascinating guests about what their lives were like before and after they experienced a soul-level relationship …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 29 August 2023
