Épisodes

  • How States Can Lead on Environmental Health - Susan Kaplan, Sarah Doll, and Host Kristin Schafer

    How States Can Lead on Environmental Health - Susan Kaplan, Sarah Doll, and Host Kristin Schafer
    Feb 21 2026
    Many protections from pollution and toxic chemicals have moved from the federal level to the states. This isn’t just a recent phenomenon; it goes back decades, to changes in the structure of agencies that manage environmental health and to a growing partisan divide. As federal regulation of chemicals faltered, states started taking up the slack. States have always had a role as laboratories of innovation, and model environmental health policies can be found around the country. That is the focus of A Healthy Union: How States Can Lead on Environmental Health, recently published by Island Press. For example, Texas was one of the first states to mandate that all school districts implement policies and practices to reduce use of hazardous pesticides. Massachusetts requires factories that manufacture, process or use certain toxic chemicals to develop strategies to reduce them. Regional programs are on the rise. In this CHE Café discussion, we hear from the book’s author, Susan Kaplan, an environmental health lawyer and professor whose experience spans federal and state government and academia and Sarah Doll, longtime leader of the Safer States coalition and veteran state policy advocate. The speakers explore leading state environmental health policies and what other states can learn from them. Even as federal protections recede, the potential for state action offers hope. *** Find out more about The New School at Commonweal on our website: tns.commonweal.org. And like/follow our Soundcloud channel for more great podcasts. #CollaborativeForHealthAndEnvironment #CommonwealNewSchool #Commonweal #statepolicy #environmentalhealth #publichealth
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    1 h et 11 min
  • An Afternoon of Gospel and Jazz - Michelle Jacques and Matt Berkeley

    An Afternoon of Gospel and Jazz - Michelle Jacques and Matt Berkeley
    Feb 7 2026
    Part of the Festival of Sacred Music Series at Commonweal New School Michelle’s music weaves the sacred and the soulful, drawing from traditions, rhythms, and ancestral memory of the African diaspora. Her love of the music connects her to something much larger than herself—community, history, and spirituality—which allows her to channel that energy into spaces of joy. Expect a powerful, heart-opening experience filled with hope and a deep sense of connection that stays with you long after the final note. Join us for the next in our series of sacred music celebrations at Commonweal, presented in collaboration with long-time Commonweal friend Toby Symington, executive director of the Lloyd Symington Foundation and transpersonal astrologer. Held at the solstice and equinox, the concerts—and gatherings afterward—are designed to bring people together in a convivial setting around music which delights, inspires, and elevates the soul. Come for the music—stay for the food and community. *** Find out more about Commonweal New School on our website: tns.commonweal.org. And like/follow our Soundcloud channel for more great podcasts.
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    1 h et 23 min
  • Mutants and Mystics - Jeffrey Kripal and Host Michael Lerner

    Mutants and Mystics - Jeffrey Kripal and Host Michael Lerner
    Jan 28 2026
    In part 7 of the series, Host Michael Lerner talks with Jeffrey Kripal about his book Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal. In the book, Jeffrey shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives. He spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes and shot through with an awareness that there are other realities far beyond our everyday understanding. You can find more information on his website, JeffreyJKripal.com. *** The New School is Commonweal’s learning community and podcast — we offer conversations, workshops, and other events in areas that Commonweal champions: finding meaning, growing health and resilience, advocating for justice, and stewarding the natural world. We make our conversations into podcasts for many thousands of listeners world wide and have been doing this since 2007. Please like/follow our Soundcloud channel for access to our library of more than 400 great podcasts. tns.commonweal.org
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    1 h et 23 min
  • Why Parkinson’s Disease Is Preventable - Ray Dorsey, Ted Schettler, and Host Kristin Schafer

    Why Parkinson’s Disease Is Preventable - Ray Dorsey, Ted Schettler, and Host Kristin Schafer
    Jan 13 2026
    An estimated 1.1 million people in the U.S. are currently living with Parkinson's disease (PD), and this number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. Globally, more than 10 million people are estimated to be living with PD, which is now the fastest growing brain disorder in the world. Science has long linked certain environmental contaminants to increased risk of PD, and some researchers are now making the case that this fast-growing disease may be largely preventable. This is the case made by the authors of The Parkinson’s Plan. The recently released book documents three types of environmental exposures that research has linked to increased risk of Parkinson’s disease: certain pesticides, the solvent trichloroethylene, and air pollution. The authors reach the hopeful conclusion that by addressing these pollutants, “it may be possible to create a world where Parkinson’s disease is increasingly rare.” In this CHE Café conversation we will explore new approaches to Parkinson’s disease prevention. We will hear from Dr. Ray Dorsey, a co-author of The Parkinson’s Plan, and Dr. Ted Schettler, long interested in exploring environmental influences on aging and co-creator of Sam’s Story, the Story of Health ebook on environmental drivers of cognitive decline. Co-presented with the Collaborative for Health and Environment, and hosted by CHE Director Kristin Schafer. #parkinson #brainhealth #commonwealnewschool Find out more about The New School at Commonweal on our website: tns.commonweal.org. And like/follow our Soundcloud channel for more great podcasts.
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    1 h et 2 min
  • Beyond Cancel Culture: on Healing, Conflict, and Community - Shilpa Jain and Host Serena Bian

    Beyond Cancel Culture: on Healing, Conflict, and Community - Shilpa Jain and Host Serena Bian
    Dec 20 2025
    “Conflict is the spirit of the relationship asking itself to deepen” --Sobonfu Somé Facilitator and writer Shilpa Jain deeply understands the nature of being human. She is well known in her East Bay community for hosting more than 250 “Yes Jams!” over the last decade, encouraging laughter and play as she facilitates groups through conflict. Working with change makers—activists, artists, healers, executives, and young people—she helps them navigate conflict from a place of freedom and joy. Join Host Serena Bian in conversation with Shilpa, exploring how conflict can bring us into greater clarity, purpose, and alignment. We’ll look at conflict through a trauma healing lens, to learn how to love ourselves and one another better. We will explore conflict transformation and healing, leadership as friendship, alchemizing fear, how we “get free” together, and how to move beyond “cancel culture” with an open-heart. Bring your lunch, and join us after the conversation to walk and sit on the Commonweal land. Shilpa Jain For the last 11+ years, Shilpa has served as the Executive Director of YES!. YES! works with social changemakers at the meeting point of internal, interpersonal and systemic change, and aims to co-create a thriving, just and balanced world for all. Shilpa has researched and written numerous books and articles, and facilitated workshops and gatherings on topics including globalization, creative expressions, ecology, democratic living, innovative learning and unlearning. She has facilitated dozens of transformative leadership gatherings in India, Jordan, Senegal, Lebanon, Egypt, Thailand, Canada, Peru, and the US, working with hundreds of young leaders from more than 50 countries. She was founding coordinator of the Global Youth Leadership Collaborative, a network of 15 Jam facilitators from 14 countries that has collectively produced dozens of international gatherings for young changemakers, and distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to small-scale grassroots social change innovations worldwide. Find more of her writing at shilpajain.substack.com
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    1 h et 26 min
  • Authors of the Impossible - Jeffrey Kripal and Host Michael Lerner

    Authors of the Impossible - Jeffrey Kripal and Host Michael Lerner
    Dec 18 2025
    In part 6 of our series with Jeffrey Kripal and Host Michael Lerner, they discuss Jeffrey's Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred. The history of psychical phenomena, Jeffrey contends, is an untapped source of insight into the sacred. The cultural history of telepathy, teleportation, and UFOs; a ghostly love story; the occult dimensions of science fiction; cold war psychic espionage; galactic colonialism; and the intimate relationship between consciousness and culture all come together in Authors of the Impossible, a dazzling and profound look at how the paranormal bridges the sacred and the scientific. *** The New School is Commonweal’s learning community and podcast — we offer conversations, workshops, and other events in areas that Commonweal champions: finding meaning, growing health and resilience, advocating for justice, and stewarding the natural world. We make our conversations into podcasts for many thousands of listeners world wide and have been doing this since 2007. Please like/follow our YouTube channel for access to our library of more than 400 great podcasts. tns.commonweal.org
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    1 h et 25 min
  • Serpent's Gift - Jeffrey Kripal and Host Michael Lerner

    Serpent's Gift - Jeffrey Kripal and Host Michael Lerner
    Dec 18 2025
    In part 6 of this series, Host Michael Lerner talks with author Jeffrey Kripal about his book The Serpent's Gift--Reflections on the Study of Religion. The book is a provocative call for a complete reorientation of religious studies, a reversal of the Adam and Eve story, aimed at a larger understanding of the world, the self, and the divine. He considers Feuerbach’s Gnosticism, the untapped mystical potential of comparative religion, and even the modern mythology of the X-Men. *** The New School is Commonweal’s learning community and podcast — we offer conversations, workshops, and other events in areas that Commonweal champions: finding meaning, growing health and resilience, advocating for justice, and stewarding the natural world. We make our conversations into podcasts for many thousands of listeners world wide and have been doing this since 2007. Please like/follow our YouTube channel for access to our library of more than 400 great podcasts. tns.commonweal.org
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    1 h et 25 min
  • The Art of Peacebuilding: Haiku, Accompaniment, and Courageous Love - John Paul Lederach

    The Art of Peacebuilding: Haiku, Accompaniment, and Courageous Love - John Paul Lederach
    Dec 6 2025
    Widely recognized as one of the most influential and beloved figures in the field of peacebuilding, John Paul Lederach embodies both the rigor of the scholar and sensitivity of the poet. A pioneer of the concept of conflict transformation (as distinct from resolution), his work has redefined peacebuilding as a moral and relational art rooted in empathy, moral imagination, and the human capacity for connection across divides. Join TNS Host Serena Bian for this intergenerational conversation exploring John Paul's enormous body of work in building the fields of conflict transformation and collective trauma healing--as well as his love for poetry and haiku. John Paul Lederach Dr. John Paul Lederach is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work in the fields of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. He is widely known for the development of culturally based approaches to conflict transformation; the design and implementation of integrative, strategic approaches to peacebuilding; and for carving a robust integration of the arts and social change. Over the course of his career, Lederach has garnered extensive experience working with non-governmental organizations, community-based initiatives impacted by cycles of violence, and national peace process design. He has worked extensively as a practitioner in conciliation processes in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast and Central Asia. He is the author or editor of 30 books and manuals (translated into a dozen languages), and numerous academic articles and monographs on peace education, conflict transformation, international peacebuilding, and conciliation training. He currently serves as Senior Fellow for Humanity United and Professor Emeritus of International Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Host Serena Bian Serena is pursuing a life that remains attentive to the tenderness of a snail’s soft body and reverent to the miracle of its spiraled shell. She is a Chinese-American peacebuilder, storyteller, and community weaver devoted to the belief that intergenerational connection is vital for the future of our peace and justice movements. She recently completed six years as a Special Advisor in Design & Innovation to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, bringing a spiritual and systemic understanding to the public health crisis of loneliness and isolation. She is a Zen chaplain-in-training and serves on the boards of CoGenerate and Commonweal. #commonweal #commonwealnewschool #peacebuilding #conflict #transformation #virtuouscycle #haiku Find out more about The New School at Commonweal on our website: tns.commonweal.org. And like/follow our Soundcloud channel for more great podcasts.
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    1 h et 29 min