Best Ars Poetica Podcasts (2024)

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adrienne maree brown — On Radical Imagination and Moving Towards Life 1:20:13

1M ago1:20:13

1:20:13

The wonderful civil rights elder Vincent Harding liked to look around the world for what he called "live human signposts" — human beings who embody ways of seeing and becoming and who point the way forward to the world we want to inhabit. And adrienne maree brown, who has inspired worlds of social creativity with her notions of "pleasure activism" …

1
“The End of Poetry” by Ada Limón 1:43

2M ago1:43

1:43

An impassioned plea, a yearning for connection — the poem U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón wrote when she says all language failed her. Take in Ada's reading of her piece, “The End of Poetry” — and hear her read more of her work in the On Being episode, “To Be Made Whole.” Ada Limón is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. She’s written six book…

1
Atul Gawande — On Mortality and Meaning 1:02:48

2M ago1:02:48

1:02:48

We are strange creatures. It is hard for us to speak about, or let in, the reality of frailty and death — the elemental fact of mortality itself. In this century, western medicine has gradually moved away from its understanding of death as a failure — where care stops with a terminal diagnosis. Hospice has moved, from something rare to something ex…

1
“Ars Poetica #100: I Believe” by Elizabeth Alexander 1:17

2M ago1:17

1:17

Today, a poem with a poignant question to live: “...and are we not of interest to each other?” Carry Elizabeth Alexander’s reading of her poem “Ars Poetica #100: I Believe” with you — and hear Elizabeth read more of her poetry in the On Being episode, “Words That Shimmer.” Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, author, and educator. Since 2018, she has ser…

1
Luis Alberto Urrea — On Our Belonging to Each Other 59:10

2M ago59:10

59:10

We humans have this drive to erect barriers between ourselves and others, Luis Alberto Urrea says, and yet this makes us a little crazy. He is an exuberant, wise, and refreshing companion into the deep meaning and the problem of borders — what they are really about, what we do with them, and what they do to us. The Mexican-American border was as cl…

1
Ross Gay — On the Insistence of Joy 59:05

2M ago59:05

59:05

In our world of so much suffering, it can feel hard or wrong to invoke the word "joy." Yet joy has been one of the most insistent, recurrent rallying cries in almost every life-giving conversation that Krista has had across recent months and years, even and especially with people on the front lines of humanity's struggles. Ross Gay helps illuminate…

1
Janine Benyus and Azita Ardakani Walton — On Nature's Wisdom for Humanity 1:16:20

2M ago1:16:20

1:16:20

In this all-new episode, Krista engages biomimicry pioneer Janine Benyus in a second, urgent conversation, alongside creative biomimicry practitioner Azita Ardakani Walton. Together they trace precise guidance and applied wisdom from the natural world for the civilizational callings before us now. What does nature have to teach us about healing fro…

1
Befriend Your Body: A Compassionate Body Scan 11:16

2M ago11:16

11:16

In a time of stress, uncertainty, and isolation, Christine Runyan turns our attention to what often evades our awareness — the response of our nervous systems. As part of On Being’s 2021 Midwinter Gathering, she offered this brief, practical, gently guided practice as an invitation to befriend your beleaguered body, to “blanket it with a little bit…

1
Christine Runyan — On Healing Our Distressed Nervous Systems 1:01:11

2M ago1:01:11

1:01:11

The years of pandemic and lockdown are still working powerfully on us from the inside. But we have trouble acknowledging this, much less metabolizing it. This conversation with Christine Runyan, which took place in the dark middle of those years, helps make sense of our present of still-unfolding epidemic distress — as individuals, as communities, …

1
EP 69: The Word Weaver 21:29

3M ago21:29

21:29

Weaving in our own words. Featuring: •Corin Arenas •Jules Abraham De Leon •Mara Herrera

1
“Joy is the Justice (We Give Ourselves)” by J. Drew Lanham 14:26

3M ago14:26

14:26

We are overjoyed to share this heart-stirring performance with you, which transpired when we invited the ornithologist/poet/former On Being guest J. Drew Lanham to offer some poetry at a live On Being event in January 2024. We could not have imagined the lightning in a bottle that unfolded — a live adaptation of the title poem that appears in Drew'…

1
Lyndsey Stonebridge and Lucas Johnson — On Love, Politics, and Violence (Channeling Hannah Arendt) 1:15:26

3M ago1:15:26

1:15:26

Here is a stunning sentence for you, written by Lyndsey Stonebridge, our guest this hour, channeling the 20th-century political thinker and journalist Hannah Arendt: "Loneliness is the bully that coerces us into giving up on democracy." This conversation is a kind of guide to generative shared deliberations we might be having with each other and ou…

1
New From Poetry Unbound: A Series on Conflict and the Human Condition 11:09

3M ago11:09

11:09

A taste of a special mini-season of Poetry Unbound — bringing contemplative curiosity and the life-nurturing tether of poetry to the very present matter of conflict in our world. In this first offering, Pádraig introduces the intriguing idea of poems as teachers and ponders Wisława Szymborska’s “A Word on Statistics," translated by Joanna Trzeciak.…

1
EP 68: The Language in Pasalubong 19:02

3M ago19:02

19:02

A poem among souvenirs. Featuring: •Prinz Plang-Esmail •Carl Mickhel •Arth Murillo

1
Colette Pichon Battle — On Knowing What We're Called To 1:02:38

3M ago1:02:38

1:02:38

There is an ecological transformation unfolding in the places we love and come from. On a front edge of this reality, which will affect us all, Colette Pichon Battle is a singular model of brilliance and graciousness of mind and spirit and action. And to be with her is to open to the way the stories we tell have blunted us to the courage we’re call…

1
Kate DiCamillo — On Nurturing Capacious Hearts 54:16

4M ago54:16

54:16

In her writing, it is Kate DiCamillo's gift to make bearable the fact that joy and sorrow live so close, side by side, in life as it is (if not as we wish it to be). In this conversation, along with good measures of raucous laughter and a few tears, Kate summons us to hearts "capacious enough to contain the complexities and mysteries of ourselves a…

1
EP 67: The Poet as Farmer 23:37

3M ago23:37

23:37

Of the literary, planting seeds. Featuring: •Johanna Carissa Fernandez •Jonel Revistual •Jason Chancoco

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Wisdom, Solace, and Courage for 2024 2:58

4M ago2:58

2:58

A special two-month season of On Being starts May 9. Freshly curated conversations from across the On Being archive. Big new conversations and extra offerings. To be present to the suffering and sorrow of this world from a place of love. To accompany each other in this — and accompany the young. To honor the fragility of being human. To keep our ca…

1
EP 66: The Verse Is A Nurse 13:23

4M ago13:23

13:23

When a nurse cares enough to write. Featuring: •Geraldine Galindez-Rama •Kheya Tanji •Rens Saludes

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EP 65: Crowning Glory 17:30

5M ago17:30

17:30

Let's write about the good hair days. Featuring: •Christine Godinez Ortega •Gen Thalz •Charlotte Aninion De-Guzman

1
EP 64: In The Face Of The Grim Reader 19:15

5M ago19:15

19:15

Death examined in the written and spoken word. Featuring: •Susan Severino Lara •Miguel Espiritu •Mark Astada

1
EP 63: Ars Poetica et AI 29:21

5M ago29:21

29:21

The creative eye, eye-to-eye with AI. Featuring: •Ramil Digal Gulle •J. Luna •Renato Tranquilino •Khavn & Babel Gun

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EP 62: Our Father Who Art In Pen 18:30

5M ago18:30

18:30

To walk the path shaped by the feet of our fathers. Featuring: •Joel Toledo •Aba Lluch Dalena •Agatha Buensalida

1
EP 61 : Mythos Filipino 24:41

6M ago24:41

24:41

A step into the lands that is Philippine Mythology Featuring: •Abdon M. Balde Jr. •Dakila Cutab •Carljoe Javier

1
EP 60: Much Ado About I Do 13:28

7M ago13:28

13:28

Exchange of words at the foot of the altar Featuring: •Simeon Dumdum Jr. •Floby Carrasco-Villaralvo •Mark Ghosn

1
EP 59: All The Math In The Word 21:21

7M ago21:21

21:21

Close encounters with the mathematical in poetry Featuring: •Marne Kilates •TJ Dimacali •Mark Dimaisip •Frank Aguilar

1
EP 58: Ships Ahoy 23:53

7M ago23:53

23:53

Navigating the seas with a pen and a seafaring soul Featuring: •DMO with Benedict Sy •Jack Bradley Andal •Batang Sora

1
Nick Cave — Loss, Yearning, Transcendence 1:03:59

9M ago1:03:59

1:03:59

Here are some experiences to which Nick Cave gives voice and song: the "universal condition" of yearning, and of loss; a "spirituality of rigor"; and the transcendent and moral dimensions of what music is about. This Australian musician, writer, and actor first made a name in the wild world of ’80s post-punk and later with Nick Cave and the Bad See…

1
A Word from Krista 2:22

9M ago2:22

2:22

A little musing on this season, the spectacular finale headed your way — and ways to stay connected in the time ahead. Subscribe to the The Pause Find our Starting Points Peruse our Libraries And on YouTube, grab a Poem to Carry in Your PocketBy On Being Studios

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Sara Hendren — Our Bodies, Aliveness, and the Built World 1:01:26

9M ago1:01:26

1:01:26

Our built world is designed around something called "normal," and yet every single one of our bodies is mysterious, and constantly adapting for better or worse — and always, always changing. This is a fact so ordinary — and yet not something most of us routinely pause to know and to ponder and work with. But Sara Hendren has made it her passion, br…

1
EP 57: Talk is Chief 17:34

10M ago17:34

17:34

Law enforcement for the lyrical Featuring: •Duke Ricafort a.k.a. Rap Guard •Richard Reyes a.k.a. Rai Sy with Manuel Bautista a.k.a. Eman The Great Beats

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Christiana Figueres — Ecological Hope, and Spiritual Evolution 1:19:41

9M ago1:19:41

1:19:41

The ecological crisis we are standing before is at once civilizational and personal — intimately close to each of us in the places we love and inhabit, and unfolding at a species level. And as much as anyone alive on the planet now, Christiana Figueres has felt the overwhelm of this and stepped into service. She gives voice so eloquently to the gri…

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Ars Poetica Podcasts

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