American essayist, poet and philosopher (1817–1862)
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Never miss a story: Sign up for our newsletter! This week, we look at the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, who has been called the godfather of the environmental movement. We interview the directors of a new Ken Burns documentary about Thoreau, his evolution as a thinker, philosopher of the natural world and abolitionist. Affordable solar power could be coming to a balcony near you. That is, if Pennsylvania lawmakers legalize so-called "balcony solar." A festival celebrating frogs returns to Central Pennsylvania. Nippon Steel's new investment in U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh-area plants prompts questions. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't receive funds from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.
Never miss a story: Sign up for our newsletter! In this special bonus episode, we're talking with the co-directors of the new Ken Burns documentary, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau has been called the patron saint of early environmental thought in the U.S., from his transcendentalist writings of the mid-19th century to his decision to live a secluded life at a cabin on Walden Pond in Massachusetts. The three-part film, now streaming on pbs.org, the PBS app, and on Prime Video, examines Thoreau not just through the lens of American history, but it also asks what his work means to us in our current era. The film was directed by brothers Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, both frequent collaborators with Ken Burns, who is an executive producer along with Don Henley. The Allegheny Front's Reid Frazier spoke with the Ewers brothers about the film. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't receive funds from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.
Thoreau said that Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. Today let us go through a few points on "Career Growth Beyond Titles & Promotion"Titles follow value; they rarely create it.Real growth often happens sideways, not upward.Depth of skill creates long-term leverage.Promotions are milestones, not the purpose.Capability compounds quietly over time.You can email me at AgileMalayali@gmail.com and connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinodn/ You can also join our Telegram Learning GroupFollow on Instagram @AgileMalayaliAlso checkout my other Podcasts Other PodcastsPahayan Talks Malayalam PodcastVayanalokam Malayalam Book PodcastEnglish Podcast Penpositive OutclassYouTube ChannelsPahayan Talks Youtube ChannelAgile Malayali YouTube ChannelPenpositive YouTube Channel
The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk www.LearningLeader.com New Book -- The Price of Becoming www.LearningLeader.com/Becoming Austin Kleon is the NYT bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going. He's a writer who draws, a former librarian, and one of the most original thinkers on creativity working today. His new book is Don't Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again. This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire one person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world has the hustle and grit to deliver. Key Learnings Stay light. Bill Murray told ballplayers that if you stay light, loose, and relaxed, you can play at the highest level. Same with acting, writing, anything. Austin keeps a photo of Bill in his studio as a reminder. Play is the work. A lot of Austin's best work requires a sense of play. It's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Go to the analog desk first. Austin has a digital desk and an analog desk. Nothing electronic is allowed at the analog desk. He starts there with nothing and sees what comes. Most people never give themselves the time, space, and materials to make something of what's swirling inside them. People want to watch someone who is activated. "People will pay every night to show up and see somebody believe in themselves." (Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth) The market for something to believe in is infinite. (Hugh MacLeod) The world is full of people just doing their thing. They're hungry to see someone on fire for something. The writer's job: take what everyone is thinking and put it into words. "You gave me the words" is the highest compliment a reader can give. Effortless is earned. People say the Friday newsletter looks easy. Austin's reply: Do it every Friday for 13 years, then call me. A place to put things makes you notice more. Thoreau took morning walks knowing he'd write later, so he paid closer attention. Carry a camera, and you start seeing shots everywhere. Live for the living, not for the writing. There's a tension between living your life and documenting it. Don't lose yourself to the feed. Your attention is the most valuable thing you have. Everyone wants to take it. The real challenge of modern life is making sure you're the one who decides where it goes. The best teachers are perpetual students. You realize what you know and don't know only when you try to teach it. Toggle between knowing and not knowing. The moment you think you know what you're doing, the work gets stale. You start running on routine instead of need. To be an amateur is to be a lover. The French root means "lover of." An amateur does it out of love, not material reward. Every great CEO should be put in a room with a four-year-old. They'd both learn something. Kids knock the pompous certainty right out of you. "I don't know. How do you think we should figure it out?" Austin's kids taught him it's less important to know everything than to know how to find out. The leader isn't the one who speaks while everyone listens. The leader listens, asks questions, stays curious, and wonders how everyone is doing. Look for who's having fun, not who's successful. Fun is underrated. Serious people have a serious time. Do it with lightness and it's contagious. "A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play." (Lawrence Pearsall Jacks) He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he's doing and leaves others to decide whether he's working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. Ask "What does the universe want to show me today?" A useful fiction. Tell yourself the world is trying to send you messages and suddenly you see a hundred of them. Have the toy before you know what you'll do with it. Austin buys typewriters, then asks what to make. Get the bicycle first. In six months you'll know what kind you actually want. Steal an idea someone only did once and turn it into a whole thing. Austin saw a single typewriter interview, made it a series, and has done more than 20. Put the human hand in the work. Austin decided 20 years ago to make it obvious a human made his stuff. In the age of AI, it stands out more than ever. People want the imperfection. Writing is thinking. People think you gather your ideas then write them down. The act of writing is the act of figuring out what you actually think. That's the hard part. Differentiate yourself by reading a book outside your field. Swim a little further out than everyone else and you find new water. Focus on what you can control. A writer controls only what's between the covers. Did you do a good job? Were you clear? Were you helpful? The rest isn't up to you. Austin's champagne moment a year from now: his kids flourishing. The older he gets, the less the books mean and the more his family does. Reflection Questions Where is your analog desk? Do you have a space with no screens where you go to make something of what's swirling inside you? Are you activated? When people watch you work, do they see someone on fire for it, or someone just going through the motions? What's one idea from outside your field you could steal this week? Where could you swim a little further out and find new water? More Learning #676: Jesse Cole - Built for the Fans, Obsession & Excellence#687: Jim Collins - What to Make of a Life#241: Austin Kleon - How to Steal Like an Artist Podcast Chapters 00:00 The Price of Becoming - Pre-Order Now! 01:33 Meet Austin Kleon 02:53 The Bill Murray Photo: Stay Light 05:42 The Analog Desk: Where the Real Work Starts 08:51 People Want to Watch Someone Activated 15:22 Why "It Looks Easy" Is the Whole Point 16:28 The Newsletter as a Forcing Function to Notice 20:46 Who Owns Your Attention? 24:39 How Austin's Kids Became His Teachers 29:06 Why the Best Creators Stay Amateurs 31:33 Curiosity Is the Real Leadership Skill 34:09 What Does the Universe Want to Show Me Today? 35:02 Look for Who's Having Fun, Not Who's Successful 38:30 Do You Love to Write, or Love to Have Written? 41:00 The Typewriter Interviews: Stealing an Idea Done Once 47:18 The Interplay of Analog and Digital 49:02 AI and Why the Human Hand Wins 51:23 The Champagne Question: Family Flourishing 55:47 Walk-Ins Welcome 58:06 EOPC
Charlamos con Diego Cobo, que nos presenta «Concord 1845. Un paseo con Emerson y Thoreau» publicado por Punto de Vista Editores. Un trabajo que puede contener trazas de trascendentalismo.Escuchar audio
Arrancamos con la actualidad, que sigue marcada por el Festival de Cannes. Seguimos con literatura de la mano de Sergio Rodríguez con 'Está todo inventado. Influencers en la publicidad española antes de la Guerra Civil'. Descubre cómo era la publicidad entonces. Además, recibimos a Diego Cobo, quien acaba de publicar 'Concord 1845. Un paseo con Emerson y Thoreau' bajo la editorial Punto de Vista Editores. Ambientado en un pequeño pueblo de Massachusetts, un grupo de amigos convierte la reflexión filosófica en una práctica cotidiana. Aloma Rodríguez nos trae hoy en 'Barra Libre' a Thomas Pynchon con 'A oscuras'. El autor llevaba doce años sin publicar y hay de todo en esta novela. No le falta un detalle: bombas, submarinos fantasmas, mentalismo, nazis, moteros pseudonazis, espías, músicos de jazz… y la trama se va enredando enredando y al final no queda claro si Pynchon está hablando de nuestro mundo de hoy o somos nosotros los que nos reconocemos en los modos del pasado, sea en la estupidez, sea en la violencia, o incluso en las teorías conspiranoicas, pero qué buen rato hemos pasado.Escuchar audio
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau. An essayist and poet, Thoreau lived a provocative life in which he endeavored to escape the limitations of human society by exploring the wider, wilder natural world. He was a naturalist, land surveyor, pencil maker, abolitionist, and student of Indigenous American culture [...]
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau. An essayist and poet, Thoreau lived a provocative life in which he endeavored to escape the limitations of human society by exploring the wider, wilder natural world. He was a naturalist, land surveyor, pencil maker, abolitionist, and student of Indigenous American culture [...]
The core structural shift described in this episode is the integration of AI as an active workflow actor within managed service environments, not simply as an isolated tool. This mechanism alters the governance and accountability requirements for MSPs, as AI now interacts directly with core business platforms and operational data. Companies like Microsoft are embedding AI features—such as Copilot and a legal AI agent—across productivity and security environments, while reports from Axios Future of Cybersecurity and The Register highlight that AI activity is increasingly touching managed identity, email, data, and security infrastructures. The episode's primary evidence centers on the adoption of AI-driven productivity and legal tools within Microsoft 365, with broad rollout timelines targeting early June. Microsoft's deployment of legal AI agents in Word—as outlined by The Register and Thoreau—demonstrates that AI is being implemented to review contracts, draft language, and check citations, embedding itself into sensitive business workflows. Additionally, Proofpoint's formation of an MSP business unit around 365 security further reflects this shift, consolidating risk and workflow management where client data, identity, and security converge. Supporting developments reinforce this trend of workflow centralization and accountability ambiguity. Vendors are introducing dashboards—such as Anthropic's Claude code agent view—that offer improved visibility into AI-driven processes; however, as noted, visibility alone does not constitute governance. The emergence of platforms like Halo PSA and features from JumpCloud exemplify the market response, where vendors and MSPs are being forced to tighten control and monitoring around AI-driven work, including automation, ticketing, and remediation workflows. The episode notes that unmanaged automation creates governance risks that operators must close. The practical implication for MSPs is a set of new operational burdens: rising margin pressure from unpriced AI governance work, contract risk if responsibilities for AI-generated actions remain undefined, and new demands for auditability, evidence retention, and workflow documentation. Providers must build inventories not only of AI tools but also the workflows they touch, define explicit service scope, and establish pricing models for governance functions. The operational tradeoff is an increasing need for infrastructure and process maturity, as the expectation of transparent, accountable AI-driven work is now a baseline for client trust and risk management. 00:00 Managed AI Risk 03:50 Scope or Absorb 06:03 Four MSP Pressures 08:35 Why Do We Care? Supported by: MoovilaHaloPSA JumpCloud
n Thoreau's book, Walden, he creates the illusion he is far from civilization, where he is immersed in solitude, far, far from anything and anyone intrusive, enabling the opportunity to bask in the soothing salts of solitary living. However, Walden was only a couple of miles from his home. His temporary cabin was on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Henry was far from being isolated. He frequently walked into town to dine with friends and entertained friends in the cabin. Knowing this context neither taints my enjoyment of his musings nor negates the impact of his words. However, I do wonder if his semi-solitude hindered his ability to escape quiet desperation and express his song. His book, Walden, may very well have been the song within him. It is a lovely song.
Vivemos fugindo do tédio como se ele fosse perda de tempo. Mas e se for exatamente o contrário? Neste episódio, você vai descobrir como o excesso de estímulo está sabotando sua capacidade de pensar, e por que aqueles momentos “vazios” podem ser o espaço onde surgem suas melhores ideias. Prepare-se para rever sua relação com o silêncio.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hello, Puzzlers! Today: A.J. & Greg present puzzling puzzles to each other.Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals.Subscribe to Hello, Puzzlers! wherever you get your podcasts! And come join our growing puzzle community over on Patreon, where you can find bonus episodes and other exclusive content!Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas.The show is produced by Claire Bidigare-Curtis.Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Send us Fan Mail"What happens when the inventor of the Video Sales Letter meets AI? Jon Benson joins us for a conversation that will change how you think about creativity, copy, and your business."In Episode 271 of Navigating the Customer Experience, host Yanique Grant sits down with Jon Benson, the pioneering copywriter and entrepreneur who invented the Video Sales Letter (VSL) the format that became the backbone of modern digital marketing. Since 2010, Jon has been quietly working at the intersection of AI and persuasion science, partnering with early AI companies as far back as 2015 to teach machines the nuances of high-converting copy. Today, he's the creator of BNSN (pronounced "Benson"), a proprietary AI copywriting platform built exclusively for ethical marketers who want to attract their ideal customers not just anyone with a credit card.But before any of that, Jon was a graphic designer who nearly lost his life. At 38 years old, he suffered a heart attack a consequence of obesity, stress, and burning the candle at both ends. His recovery led him to write a bestselling book on fitness transformation, which launched him unexpectedly into the world of internet marketing and copywriting. It's one of the most compelling origin stories you'll hear, and it sets the tone for everything Jon has built since.In this episode, Jon and Yanique explore:
We kick off the Pencil Primer — a new series for anyone who wants to start at the beginning of pencildom. This installment traces graphite from the legendary Borrowdale lightning strike of 1564 to Nicolas-Jacques Conté's clay-and-graphite breakthrough during the Napoleonic Wars, plus the Thoreau family's role in standardizing the American pencil grade scale and a tour through HB-to-9B. Plus, Tim's into a Bill Frisell biography, Johnny's writing with a sparkly Narwhal "raspberry cheesecake" pen that looks like, uh, something else, and Andy debuts booklet.lol — a vibe-coded book tracker. Patreon subscribers can watch the video version.For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you're a patron, head over to see our faces and visual examples of many of the things we discuss. And if you're not a patron, join us at any level and you can see this and other supplemental content at any time!Show Notes & LinksErasableRead a transcript of this episode at Erasable ScribeErasable PatreonErasable Facebook groupErasable Discord inviteEpisode referencesEpisode 57: “The F Bomb”Podcasts / mediaDrug Storyr/pencilsLetterkennyBooksBill Frisell, Beautiful DreamerExcellent Advice for Living by Kevin KellyAutomatic Noodle by Annalee NewitzA Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky ChambersPencil / stationery / book artsCumberland Pencil MuseumNicolas-Jacques Conté (Britannica)Henry David Thoreau (Britannica)Guild of Book WorkersGeneral's Layout PencilSTAEDTLER WOPEXDerwentPhotography / camera stuffMicro Four NerdsPetaPixelApps / sites / companiesbooklet.lolPeople / artists / companiesWillie NelsonCharlie CrockettBill FrisellJHS PedalsYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem
Hello, beautiful souls! Welcome back to the Angels & Awakening Podcast. I'm your host and author, Julie Jancis. Friends, Thomas Moore is back — and I have to tell you, I have been reading his books since I was 14 years old. Literally took them to the pool every summer. They are beat up and sun-faded and I treasure every single one. Thomas has written over 30 books on soul, beauty, and the art of living — and his newest, The Cure at Walden Pond, is a love letter to Henry David Thoreau and what his life at the pond still has to teach us today. This conversation was everything. In This Episode [00:14] Why Thomas fell in love with Thoreau — and how he discovered he wasn't just a naturalist [06:09] How Thoreau felt lost, built a tiny house by the pond, and found his cure [08:26] Julie opens up about her own season of restlessness — achieving everything and still feeling misaligned [10:42] "Every life needs a broad margin around it" — what Thoreau learned from doing nothing in the mornings [13:06] What Thomas's own days look like — a creative household of a writer, a painter, and a musician [17:32] AI, humanity, and what the Native Americans would have done before going to the moon [29:00] Why Thoreau wasn't a minimalist — the real meaning of simplicity as crystallization of the self [36:19] Following the wind: Thomas entering a monastery at 13, leaving at 26, and always staying available for what's next [38:00] Thomas's personal angel experience — a cement truck, a traffic circle, and what he believes saved him [41:04] Why the Irish confuse birds with angels — and the old monastic story that explains it [48:31] "Inorganic and lumpish" — reading Thoreau's words live and what they mean for us today [52:00] Beauty as soul nourishment — and the painter who said "whenever science makes a new invention, I will paint an angel" Connect with Thomas Moore
What if nothing in your life is ordinary—and every single moment is quietly extraordinary? In this episode, we explore the idea that life itself is a miracle, not just in a poetic sense, but through both scientific understanding and spiritual insight. We reflect on powerful perspectives from thinkers like Einstein and Thoreau, and unpack how shifting the way we see our lives can completely transform the way we experience them. When we begin to view even the smallest moments through this lens, something changes—we become more present, more alive, and more connected to it all.We also dive into simple, grounded practices that help us embody this way of living, like gratitude and meditation. How can we train our minds to focus on what feels expansive instead of what feels limiting? And what would your day look like if you genuinely treated each interaction, each breath, as something sacred? Together, we explore how to move from autopilot into intentional living—and how embracing the miracle of life can open the door to deeper peace, joy, and fulfillment.
Nos habita el mes de mayo, el arte y la literatura. Todo ello, dentro, fuera, alrededor, por encima, por debajo, y en bucle, en torno a la Natura. Porque llegan las últimas aves migrantes, mayo es el mes de los volanderos, veremos a decenas de novatos de diferentes especies, aprendiendo a iniciar su primer vuelo. Como nos ilustra el “Calendario de la Naturaleza”, de Joaquín Araújo, publicado por Tundra.Además, como plato fuerte, escucharemos, embobadas, a Isabel... A Isabel Fernández, que es bibliotecaria en la Red de Bibliotecas Municipales de Salamanca, con muchas raíces y muchas ramas en la Biblioteca Torrente Ballester de la ciudad. Coordinadora del Club de Lectura con adultos y programadora de actividades literarias. Nos atrevemos a proclamar que, ante todo, es poeta y habitante indiscutible del bosque.Aconseja Isabel que, cuando tengas miedo busques refugio en el bosque. Porque una no sale del bosque igual que entra. Porque el libro y el bosque curten. Y es que Isabel es bibliotecaria por vocación, como un arquetipo de un imaginario anhelado. Ése que nos lleva directamente al Planeta Naturaleza, donde, por fin, nos daremos cuenta de que formamos parte de algo más grande... Mucho más...Y bienvenidas también a un bosque habitado por la voluntad transformadora del arte y los artistas. Nuestro segundo invitado es creador y provocador. Se llama Juanvi Sánchez, y es licenciado en Bellas Artes, experto en antropología del arte y los procesos creativos, es pintor, escultor, comisario de exposiciones, ilustrador, land art… Afirma Juanvi que el lenguaje artístico contemporáneo de los creadores es todo un deber.Juanvi es coordinador de los encuentros OMA en Herguijuela de la Sierra, en Salamanca. Con Juanvi hablaremos del bosque humano, ojo, de habitantes de los pueblos, de obra efímera con permiso del territorio, de ciudades que respiren donde la hierba pueda crecer dónde les dé la gana, de artistas que preguntan a la naturaleza quién es y quiénes pisaron antes su tierra.Y nos ayudan a llegar al centro del misterio y el silencio, Raúl de Tapia, que es Raúl Alcanduerca, Daniel Faria, Gloria Fuertes, Ignacio Abella y Gustavo Duch. El plantabosques Natxo Blanchart López, de la Asociación Arriba las ramas, nos trae a Pepe Galindo de Blog Sostenible en "Las ramas arriba". Club de la Hojarasca: Marta Iraeta, Álvaro Soto, Pilar Socorro, Cristina Moreno y José Manuel Sebastián. Música superconmovida a cargo de Silvana Estrada.Y, ahora, párate en el cruce de caminos más cercano para contemplar el bosque, como decía Thoreau. Recita tu declaración de intenciones más artística y boscosa, baña de prestigio arte, literatura y naturaleza. Y, mientras siembras, lees y estudias libros y piezas artísticas inspiradas en plantas y árboles que viven al ritmo de las estaciones, en este precioso mes de mayo, prepárate para ver crecer tu conciencia y la de la tribu humana, boscosa, artística, libresca... Sin duda, territorio conmovido... ¡Arriba las ramas!HT: #InspiracionRadio3Escuchar audio
“Pessimism is not fatalism. Fatalism is the belief that things will always necessarily be worse. Pessimism is the belief that things will probably get worse. Within that ‘probably,' it opens up space for action.” — Gal Beckerman In the first months of Trump II, Gal Beckerman watched American society do something that shocked him: comply. In one pathetic example after another, prominent law firms, universities, and senior federal employees buckled to every Trumpian whim. America appeared unable to resist authoritarianism. There were no dissidents. Thus How to Be a Dissident. Beckerman's new manual of resistance is inspired by history's more insistent dissenters — from Mandelstam and Solzhenitsyn to Navalny, Ai Weiwei, Thoreau, Havel, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, and demonstrators on the streets of Minneapolis. The quiet manifesto focuses on what Beckerman considers the ten most essential qualities of how to be a dissident: Be alone. Be pessimistic. Be funny. Be reckless. Be watchful. Pessimism, above all. Not fatalism — the belief that things will always necessarily be worse — but the belief that things will probably get worse. Optimism, in Beckerman's mind, undermines urgency and thus enables passivity. Pessimism forces resistance. It's the first lesson in how to be a dissident. Five Takeaways • Moral Nausea: Beckerman's term for the feeling most of us recognise but most of us suppress: seeing something wrong — a neighbour treated badly, a homeless person in a terrible situation, a dead child in a newspaper — and knowing ourselves somehow implicated. Most of us swallow it back down. We don't do anything. We try not to think about it. The dissident is the person who doesn't. What separates them, Hannah Arendt argued after studying Germans who resisted the Nazis, is a single question: can I live with myself? If the answer is no — if living with myself would mean living with a murderer — the dissident acts. That question, and the refusal to avoid it, is what makes a dissident a dissident. • The Pre-Political: Havel's definition of where dissidence begins: not in ideology or revolution, but in the defence of whatever allows a human life to feel normal. For Havel, it started with a rock band — the Plastic People of the Universe, arrested for playing unauthorised concerts in communist Czechoslovakia. They weren't political. They sang about drinking beer. But they were gathering people together outside state sanction, and that was enough. For Iranian dissidents: being able to drive unaccompanied, or not cover one's hair. For the Tiananmen tank man: getting home to make dinner. The dissident defends those pre-political conditions — the normal life — when the state moves to violate them. • Mandelstam's Answer: Osip Mandelstam composed a poem mocking Stalin in the early 1930s — at the height of Stalin's repressive era — and never wrote it down. He repeated it to his wife, Nadezhda, night after night in bed until she had memorised it. When it reached the secret police, he was arrested and brought to the Lubyanka. The interrogator asked: why did you do this? He could have denied it. Blamed his wife. Said it was a game of telephone. Instead he said: I wrote it because I hate fascism. It's as simple as that. Beckerman opens the book with this moment because it captures the dissident at their most elemental — a man who, when asked the Arendt question, answered honestly. • Navalny Goes Back: After being poisoned by Putin and spending months recovering in Germany, Navalny returned to Russia, knowing almost certainly that in the best case he would be in prison for a very long time, and that Putin would most likely find another way to kill him. Which he did. Why go back? Navalny's answer, in his memoir: he had made a promise to the Russian people. How could he stand on the sidelines while asking others to sacrifice so much? The scene Beckerman describes from the prison: Navalny finds a moment away from the cameras, pulls his wife Yulia aside, and tells her he's accepted that he's probably not getting out alive. She says: I know. I've thought the same thing, and I've accepted it. He kisses her. He needs to know she isn't engaging in magical thinking. Optimism, in this context, would not have helped him. • Be Pessimistic: Beckerman's most counterintuitive prescription, and his favourite. The assumption is that anyone engaged in quixotic world-changing behaviour must be an optimist. Beckerman argues the opposite. Pessimism — not fatalism — is healthier. The distinction matters: fatalism says things will always necessarily be worse. Pessimism says things will probably be worse. The “probably” leaves room for action. If you assume someone else will solve climate change, or that authoritarianism will inevitably collapse, you wait. The pessimist acts now, with what time they have, because they know things probably won't work out otherwise. It is, Beckerman suggests, akin to accepting death: the ultimate pessimistic reality we all face, which is also the only thing that makes each day matter. About the Guest Gal Beckerman is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of How to Be a Dissident (Crown, April 21, 2026), The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, and When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry (Sami Rohr Prize winner). He has a PhD from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn. References: • How to Be a Dissident by Gal Beckerman (Crown, April 21, 2026). • Nadezhda Mandelstam, Hope Against Hope — the memoir Beckerman calls one of his favourite books. • Alexei Navalny, Patriot — the memoir Beckerman draws on for the prison scene with Yulia. • Episode 2869: Jacob Mchangama on The Future of Free Speech — the companion episode on the crisis of free speech that contextualises this one. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTube
Il caso della “Famiglia nel bosco” riaccende il dibattito sul rifiuto del progresso. Matteo Saudino analizza questa scelta radicale attraverso il Giardino di Epicuro, la pedagogia naturale di Rousseau e l’isolamento politico di Thoreau. Tra riflessioni sull'Homeschooling e diritti dei minori, la puntata esplora la possibilità di un equilibrio critico tra la modernità iperconnessa e il richiamo dell'essenziale, invitando a riscoprire la libertà senza cedere a fanatismi.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
* Apoie a Cultura: Chave Pix: 7296e2d1-e34e-4c2e-b4a0-9ac072720b88Henry David Thoreau é mais conhecido por seu livro Walden, uma reflexão sobre a vida simples cercada pela natureza, e por seu ensaio Desobediência Civil. A filosofia de Thoreau da desobediência civil influenciou o pensamento critico e ações politicas de personalidades notáveis como o escritor russo Tolstói autor de Guerra e Paz e Anna Karenina e lideres como Mahatma Gandhi em sua luta pela independência da Índia e Martin Luther King no movimento pelos direitos civis do negros nos EUA. Essa é a nossa história de hoje. Se você gostou deixe seu like, faça seu comentário, compartilhe essa biografia com mais pessoas. Vamos incentivar a cultura em nosso pais. Encontro voces na próxima história. Até lá! (Tania Barros)- Contato: e-mail - taniabarros339@gmail.com
Someone tried to harvest Christian's voice for AI training. The pitch was polished, the project sounded real. But when she responded with ten professional questions, the conversation ended. Permanently.In this Deep Dive on Episode 275, Christian connects that experience to her conversation with Erik and Christopher Ewers, the brothers behind the PBS documentary Henry David Thoreau. Chris Ewers argues that every technological revolution has felt like the end of the world — the Industrial Revolution, digital cameras, and now AI. Each time the tool became indispensable. Then Christian pulls in Thoreau himself — the man who railed against the railroad and then rode the train 70 times. He used the tool deliberately.In this episode, you'll hear:The full story of the suspicious voice-over job offer and the ten questions that ended it.Why Christian's VO business is declining while her filmmaking and podcasting are thriving.Chris Ewers's case for why AI is the digital camera revolution all over again.Thoreau's “cost of a thing” quote and why it hits differently in the age of AI.The contradiction of Thoreau and the train — and what “live deliberately” actually means now.Jeff Goldblum at the mic and George Clooney saying “tell me if I suck” — what AI will never replace.Timestamps:0:00 What George Clooney Told the Directors0:18 Show open0:28 The Ethan Caldwell story2:33 Where I stand with AI3:49 The Ewers Brothers and the revolution that always comes5:09 Clip: Chris Ewers on AI and the digital camera revolution7:15 Thoreau, technology, and the train he swore he'd never ride9:25 What “live deliberately” actually means9:44 What Ethan Caldwell's silence reveals10:45 Goldblum, Clooney, and what machines can't replicate11:59 ClosingListen & Follow:Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/DocFirstAppleSpotify: tinyurl.com/DocFirstSpotifyYouTube: tinyurl.com/DocFirstYouTubeAmazon Music: tinyurl.com/DocFirstAmazonSupport the show on Patreon: tinyurl.com/DocFirstPatreonAbout the Guests (from DF Episode 275):Erik Ewers: Director, Editor. Ken Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Multiple Emmy winner. Based in New Hampshire.Christopher Loren Ewers: Director, DP. 20+ years behind the camera. Based in the NYC metro area.About Henry David Thoreau (PBS):A three-part, three-hour documentary. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley. Narrated by George Clooney. Voices by Jeff Goldblum (Thoreau), Ted Danson (Emerson), Meryl Streep, and Tate Donovan. Available now on PBS and PBS Documentaries on Amazon.Resources:Henry David Thoreau (PBS, 2026) | Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1854)Hear Part 1: Episode 274, “I Didn't Know Myself: Erik & Chris Ewers on Ken Burns, PBS & Thoreau”Hear Part 2: Episode 275, "Erik & Chris Ewers on PBS Funding, AI & Directing Goldblum, Clooney & Streep"Connect:Ewers Brothers: ewersbrothers.comErik Ewers: @melonhd | linkedin.com/in/erik-ewers-38122729Chris Ewers: @christopher_loren_ewers_dp | linkedin.com/in/christopherewersChristian Taylor: @meetchristiantaylor I linkedin.com/in/meetchristiantaylorAll platforms: linktr.ee/doc1st
After returning to Russia, Kropotkin was captured and imprisoned. But his life took many turns from there, and in 1902 he published his book book “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” Research: "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003701/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ed5ae018. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Adams, Matthew S. “Rejecting the American Model: Peter Kropotkin’s Radical Communism.” History of Political Thought , Spring 2014, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Spring 2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26227268 Avrich, Paul, Miller, Martin A. "Peter Alekseyevich Kropotkin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Alekseyevich-Kropotkin. Accessed 23 March 2026. Avrich, Paul. “Kropotkin in America.” International Review of Social History , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , April 1980 , pp. 1 – 34 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859000006192. Davis, Mike. “Kropotkin and Climate Change.” Transnational Institute of Social Ecology. 1/4/2018. https://trise.org/2018/01/04/kropotkin-and-climate-change/ Kinna, Ruth. “Kropotkin's Theory of Mutual Aid in Historical Context.” International Review of Social History , AUGUST 1995, Vol. 40, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44583751 Kropotkin, P. “Fields, Factories, and Workshops: or Industry Combined with Agriculture and Brain Work with Manual Work.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons. New York and London. 1913. Kropotkin, P. “Memoirs of a Revolutionist.” London. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1906. Kropotkin, P. “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” New York. McClure Phillips & Co. 1902. Kropotkin, Peter Alexeievich. "Memoirs of a Revolutionist." Terrorism: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Gale, 2006, pp. 11-13. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3456600019/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=f35f5dcf. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Kropotkin, Peter. “Anarchism.” Encyclopedia Britannica 11th 1911. Kropotkin, Peter. “The Conquest of Bread.” New York. Vanguard Press. 1926. Macauley, David. "Anarchism." Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy, edited by J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2009, pp. 38-40. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3234100023/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=d3a1d4db. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Montpetit, Mathilde. “Peter Kropotkin’s Memoirs of a Revolutionist (1899).” The Public Domain Review. 1/13/2026. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kropotkin-memoirs/ Moron, Gary Saul. “Kropotkin’s dead goose.” The New Criterion February 2022. Prince P. A. Kropotkin. Nature 106, 735–736 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/106735a0 Quinn, Adam. “’Abolish the Monopolizing of the Earth’: Nature, Science, and the Environmental Politics of Transnational Anarchism.” Radical History Review. Issue 145 (January 2023). DOI 10.1215/01636545-10063606 Saytanov, Sergey V. “The Anarchist Who Stood Up to Lenin and the Bolshevik Coup of October 1917.” History News Network. July 19, 2015. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-anarchist-who-stood-up-to-lenin-and-the-bolshe Vollaro, Daniel. “When Anarchists Speak of Thoreau.” The Thoreau Society Bulletin, Spring 2016, No. 293 (Spring 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44651625 Wills, Matthew. “Peter Kropotkin, the Prince of Mutual Aid.” JSTOR Daily. 2/4/2025. https://daily.jstor.org/peter-kropotkin-the-prince-of-mutual-aid/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“I find it very odd that agency is being promoted for its own sake rather than being connected to any kind of value system. Because without those things, agency looks pretty scary. Dictators are quite high agency.” — Sophie Haigney On April Fools' Day, The New York Times published an op-ed entitled “All the Worst People Seem to Want to Be High Agency.” But it wasn't a joke. Sophie Haigney — former web editor of The Paris Review, currently working on a debut essay collection entitled Future Relics — warns that “agency” has become the defining buzzword of Silicon Valley bro culture. From Sam Altman to Mark Zuckerberg, Haigney observes, our new tech overlords have made becoming “high agency” their top priority in self-realization. Haigney argues that these entrepreneurs touting high agency most insistently are the very same people building the tools most likely to rob everyone else of theirs. Like her New York Times jeremiad, it's no joke. Altman and Zuckerberg's agentic technologies are often exploitative and addictive. They will make the worst people worse. Ha ha. It will be April Fools' Day every day. Five Takeaways • The 401(k) Is Low Agency: Sam Altman's first answer to “what skills to develop in the age of AI”: become high agency. The term has migrated from philosophy and debates about free will into Silicon Valley self-help, LinkedIn posts, and entrepreneurship podcasts. In its new form it has a gambling element the old bootstrap individualism lacked. Someone in San Francisco told Haigney that having a 401(k) is the lowest-agency thing you can do with your money. Put it all on red. The rewards for big risk-taking are so much larger now that incrementalism — get a job, save up, buy a house — looks like passivity. That's a new development, and a dangerous one. • The People Promoting Agency Are Robbing You of Yours: Haigney's sharpest observation: the people promoting high agency most loudly are building the tools most likely to strip it from everyone else. Sam Altman says become high agency. His product — in Haigney's view — will function like social media: not liberating but addictive, another rabbit hole that makes people more stuck. The gambling epidemic is the same logic. Sports betting offers the seductive illusion that your specific knowledge can crack the system. But the system is designed so the average person can't win. High agency, in practice, tends to concentrate at the top. • Stuckness and the Lottery Mindset: We live in a moment of extreme stuckness — people who feel two steps away from winning the lottery and yet completely unable to move. This odd combination — paralysis plus the fantasy of a big break — is what the high-agency ideology exploits. Haigney connects it to the gambling epidemic, to the male podcasters with beards, to the young men who feel the system is rigged against them and are being told: the solution is to become the kind of person who cuts in line. What nobody says is that the cutting-in-line ethos, scaled up, is what produced the system they feel rigged by in the first place. • Hitler Was High Agency: The most unsettling move in the piece. Agency without values is just power. FDR was high agency: he packed the court, overrode term limits, used wartime powers to push through the New Deal. Dictators, Haigney notes, are quite high agency. The tech adoption of the term strips it of any moral content — agency is promoted for its own sake, disconnected from any question of what it's being used for. That, she argues, is what makes it genuinely frightening at scale. Emerson's “Self-Reliance” is the American ancestor. Thoreau, its famous practitioner, got his mum to do his laundry. • High Agency Could Mean Repair: Haigney's counter-proposal: couldn't we be high agency and organize to build a better railway? Wouldn't it be high agency to fix the Department of Education rather than abolishing it? The NHS, railways, public education — systems people are nostalgic for — required enormous collective agency to build. The tech definition of agency is individualistic and destructive. But there's another definition: the capacity to act together, to create rather than just disrupt. That version doesn't get much airtime on the podcasts. It should. About the Guest Sophie Haigney is a critic and journalist who writes about visual art, books, and technology for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, and others. She is a former web editor of The Paris Review and is working on her debut essay collection, Future Relics, for Liveright. References: • “All the Worst People Seem to Want to Be High Agency,” The New York Times, April 1, 2026. By Sophie Haigney. • Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance” (1841) — the American philosophical ancestor of today's high-agency ideology. • Episode 2858: Scott Galloway on the male crisis — agency, stuckness, and young men. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters: (00:31) - “All the worst people seem to want to be high agency” — the April 1 op-ed (02:51) - The Silicon Valley definition: risk, disruption, cutting in line (04:52) - Emerson, self-reliance, and the new American individualism (06:44) - Is high agency essential to survive the 2020s? (08:41) - Thoreau's laundry: the gendered dimension of agency (11:04) - Male podcasters, the crisis of young men, and the seduction of high agency (12:20) - Stuckness, gambling, and the lottery mindset (16:13) - TikTok, the Grateful Dead, and the age of addiction (17:16) - The people promoting agency are building tools to take it from you (18:29) - AI: the biggest addiction on the horizon (19:56) - Agency as the new political axis: left, right, and disruption (21:29) - Is skepticism of agency just nostalgia for the twentieth century? (24:16) - California's failed railways, China's success, and democracy's agency problem (25:16) - Hitler was high agen...
Não é o que você olha que importa, mas o que você vê, escreveu Thoreau- ou Torô, pra ti que não fala inglês.Duas pessoas podem acompanhar a mesma onda e enxergar notas completamente diferentes.Surfe de competição é feito disso.Incertezas.No sentido inverso, campeões são obras das mais absolutas certezas, a fé em algo que é divino e real ao mesmo tempo.Miguelito foi quem pregou o primeiro prego de ouro do ataque brasileiro e, 12 anos depois, ressurge Tranquilo e infálivel como Bruce Lee (ave Caetano!).Louise Attaque, até Prevail dos Mouth Ulcers, passando por Serginho Meriti com Bons Momentos e Autobahn dos Kraftwerk.
Peter Kropotkin was incredibly influential in the development of anarchism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part one of this subject focuses on the formative moments in his early life that contributed to his becoming an anarchist communist. Research: "Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003701/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ed5ae018. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Adams, Matthew S. “Rejecting the American Model: Peter Kropotkin’s Radical Communism.” History of Political Thought , Spring 2014, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Spring 2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26227268 Avrich, Paul, Miller, Martin A. "Peter Alekseyevich Kropotkin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Alekseyevich-Kropotkin. Accessed 23 March 2026. Avrich, Paul. “Kropotkin in America.” International Review of Social History , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , April 1980 , pp. 1 – 34 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859000006192. Davis, Mike. “Kropotkin and Climate Change.” Transnational Institute of Social Ecology. 1/4/2018. https://trise.org/2018/01/04/kropotkin-and-climate-change/ Kinna, Ruth. “Kropotkin's Theory of Mutual Aid in Historical Context.” International Review of Social History , AUGUST 1995, Vol. 40, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44583751 Kropotkin, P. “Fields, Factories, and Workshops: or Industry Combined with Agriculture and Brain Work with Manual Work.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons. New York and London. 1913. Kropotkin, P. “Memoirs of a Revolutionist.” London. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1906. Kropotkin, P. “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” New York. McClure Phillips & Co. 1902. Kropotkin, Peter Alexeievich. "Memoirs of a Revolutionist." Terrorism: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Gale, 2006, pp. 11-13. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3456600019/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=f35f5dcf. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Kropotkin, Peter. “Anarchism.” Encyclopedia Britannica 11th 1911. Kropotkin, Peter. “The Conquest of Bread.” New York. Vanguard Press. 1926. Macauley, David. "Anarchism." Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy, edited by J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2009, pp. 38-40. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3234100023/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=d3a1d4db. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026. Montpetit, Mathilde. “Peter Kropotkin’s Memoirs of a Revolutionist (1899).” The Public Domain Review. 1/13/2026. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kropotkin-memoirs/ Moron, Gary Saul. “Kropotkin’s dead goose.” The New Criterion February 2022. Prince P. A. Kropotkin. Nature 106, 735–736 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/106735a0 Quinn, Adam. “’Abolish the Monopolizing of the Earth’: Nature, Science, and the Environmental Politics of Transnational Anarchism.” Radical History Review. Issue 145 (January 2023). DOI 10.1215/01636545-10063606 Saytanov, Sergey V. “The Anarchist Who Stood Up to Lenin and the Bolshevik Coup of October 1917.” History News Network. July 19, 2015. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-anarchist-who-stood-up-to-lenin-and-the-bolshe Vollaro, Daniel. “When Anarchists Speak of Thoreau.” The Thoreau Society Bulletin, Spring 2016, No. 293 (Spring 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44651625 Wills, Matthew. “Peter Kropotkin, the Prince of Mutual Aid.” JSTOR Daily. 2/4/2025. https://daily.jstor.org/peter-kropotkin-the-prince-of-mutual-aid/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Even with Ken Burns and Don Henley attached, funding a PBS documentary is brutal. So what hope do the rest of us have?Erik and Christopher Ewers get real about PBS funding, AI's impact on filmmaking, and how they landed George Clooney, Jeff Goldblum, Ted Danson, Tate Donovan and Meryl Streep for their new PBS documentary Henry David Thoreau.In Part 2 of this conversation, the Ewers Brothers open up about the financial realities of documentary funding, even with Ken Burns and Don Henley attached, why Chris sees AI as the next revolution instead of the apocalypse, how broadcast is giving way to streaming, and the stories behind casting some of Hollywood's biggest voices. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation.In Part 2, you'll learn:— Why having Ken Burns and Don Henley as executive producers doesn't make funding easy and who actually made the Thoreau film possible— Chris's case for why AI is the digital camera revolution all over again, not the death of filmmaking— The best professional advice Chris ever received and why it will never change— How Chris kept his mouth shut on a commercial set with Jeff Goldblum and how that silence led to Goldblum voicing Thoreau— The story of how Don Henley quietly recruited George Clooney as narrator and Clooney's reaction when asked how long he'd known Henley— Ken Burns's advice on directing Meryl Streep: “You don't.”— How streaming is changing episode length and why “the director's cut” isn't what it used to be.— Erik's approach to pre-planning edit cuts for PBS broadcast time slots without sacrificing the story— Why Ken Burns treats his mentorship like tough love — and why Erik is grateful for it— One thing filmmakers need to know about getting a documentary on PBSTimestamps:0:00 Introduction1:21 Unpacking the Thoreauvian mindset2:46 Thoreau's prescience on consumerism3:50 Erik on Thoreau's “cost of life” quote and the iPhone4:40 Thoreau and the birth of the Industrial Revolution6:03 Christian's advice: think from the end back6:50 Chris on the state of the industry — Industrial Revolution to AI10:20 Christian: as a voice actor, AI is a challenge10:53 The best professional advice Chris ever received11:36 Christian on the struggle to fund the next film12:54 Money is always the biggest hurdle13:15 How the Ewers Brothers fund PBS docs without federal money14:49 Ken Burns's two binders of rejection letters15:07 The Movies That Made Us — encouragement for indie filmmakers16:26 The reality: it's hard for everybody17:52 Erik on Ken Burns's legacy projects and the privilege of the brand20:58 Erik on earning the gift — Ken's tough love mentorship22:00 Broadcast vs. streaming — why episode length is changing23:52 Erik's editing strategy for PBS time slots25:37 Celebrity voice talent — how they landed Jeff Goldblum27:43 Don Henley's connections — Ted Danson and Meryl Streep29:09 The George Clooney reveal — “If Don Henley calls, you say yes”30:43 What it's like to direct celebrity voice talent30:55 Jeff Goldblum in the booth — pure instinct31:26 Ken Burns's advice on directing Meryl Streep31:52 George Clooney: “Tell me if I suck”32:42 DocuVue Deja Vu — Erik's picks and Chris's all-time favoriteDocuView DejaVu Picks:Erik Ewers: Crumb (1994), Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991), Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), The Thin Blue Line (1988)Christopher Loren Ewers: Man on Wire (2008)Christian Taylor: Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy (Netflix, 2024)This episode is supported by Virgil Films Entertainment.About the Guests:Erik Ewers — Director, Editor. Ken Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Multiple Emmy winner. ACE Eddie Award winner (The Roosevelts, 2015). Based in New Hampshire.Christopher Loren Ewers — Director, DP. 20+ years behind the camera. Commercial clients include Apple, Coca-Cola, Tiffany & Co., Stella Artois, Volvo, Peter Millar. Based in the NYC metro area.About Henry David Thoreau (PBS):A three-part, three-hour documentary — the first full-length documentary biography of Thoreau. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley. Narrated by George Clooney. Voices by Jeff Goldblum (Thoreau), Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Meryl Streep (Lidian Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Mary Merrick Brooks, Maria Thoreau), and Tate Donovan (William Ellery Channing). Available now on PBS and PBS Documentaries on Amazon.Resources Mentioned:— Henry David Thoreau (PBS, 2026)— Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy (Netflix, 2024)— The Movies That Made Us (Netflix)— Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau (1854)Listen & Follow:Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/DocFirstAppleSpotify: tinyurl.com/DocFirstSpotifyYouTube: tinyurl.com/DocFirstYouTubeAmazon Music: tinyurl.com/DocFirstAmazonSupport the show on Patreon: tinyurl.com/DocFirstPatreonConnect:Ewers Brothers Productions: ewersbrothers.comConnect with Christian Taylor on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/meetchristiantaylorAll Documentary First platforms: linktr.ee/doc1st
Ep. 229 (Part 2 of 2) | In part 2 of our What is Real Greatness Series podcast with Margaret Cullen, author of Quiet Strength, Margaret continues to enlighten us about equanimity: its power, its wisdom, and its practice. She relates some of the history of equanimity—first considered a supreme virtue in Stoicism, then passed on to Sufism and Judaism—and explains that throughout time, equanimity (and humility) have always been an integral part of people who have made a true difference in the world. Margaret talks about how humor can break the spell of our trance (“when we lose equanimity, we get caught in a trance, believing in something that has us prisoner—humor breaks the spell”), and, in the spirit of “The Serenity Prayer” (“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference”), she encourages us to make peace with what we can realistically do and let the rest go.While Part 1 of this dialogue focuses on the power of equanimity in relation to the big picture and what is going on now politically, in Part 2 Margaret looks at practicing equanimity in personal relationships and in our individual lives. She marvels at Thoreau's equanimous approach to his own death, and shares that she has found forgiveness to be the most important equanimity tool in relationships. “We reclaim our wisdom when we say ‘I'm sorry,'” Margaret explains. Margaret's deep and nuanced understanding of the power and practice of equanimity is inspiring and illuminating, and bringing this virtue to our attention as a pragmatic tool we can use is also incredibly timely, leaving us with a sense of hope and empowerment. Recorded January 14, 2026.“What aids in my equanimity more than anything else is self-forgiveness.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Welcome teacher, what am I supposed to be learning? (00:59)How humor can break the spell that holds us prisoner (03:03)The relationship between equanimity and peace (05:17)The praise and blame algorithm has exponentially increased our reactivity (08:14)Equanimity was a supreme virtue in Stoicism; the Stoics passed it on to the Sufis, who passed it on to Judaism (11:11)Thoreau's equanimous approach to death (12:24)Nature's effect on one's equanimity (13:29)Equanimity is an integral part of true change makers, also humility (14:27)What practice would Margaret most recommend to cultivate equanimity? (17:19)Making peace with what you can do and letting the rest go (21:03)Practicing equanimity in relationships (22:13)Using self-forgiveness as an equanimity tool (23:44)In relationships, softening where we're most triggered helps more than imposing ideals of how we should be (26:25)One key flavor of equanimity is non-defensiveness (28:51)Resources & References – Part 2Margaret Cullen, Quiet Strength: Find Peace, Feel Alive, and Love Boundlessly Through the Power of EquanimitySwami Beyondanda on the Deep Transformation podcast: Laugh Yourself Sane, Enlighten Up & Awaken to Cosmic Comic ConsciousnessMaimonides introduced the concept of equanimity to JudaismStoicism, a philosophical movement & practical guide to living originating in ancient GreeceWhen asked about facing death, Thoreau said, “One world at a time.” Henrietta Christian Wright, American Men of LettersSri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of YogaSufi teacher Habīb Boerger, “Rather than making the ego your boss, make it your personal assistant”The Serenity Prayer (Reinhold Niebuhr's original version)Richard Davidson & Daniel Goleman, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and BodyPaul & Eve Ekman's Cultivating Emotional Balance training“We could not help contrasting the equanimity of Nature with the bustle and impatience of man. His words and actions presume always a crisis near at hand, but she is forever silent and unpretending.” – Henry David Thoreau---Margaret Cullen, a Licensed Psychotherapist (MFT), has been at the cutting edge of translating contemplative trainings into universal and accessible formats in mainstream settings ranging from elite military to maximum security prisons. She was one of the first certified Teachers of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR); is the founder of Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance; and is co-developer of Compassion Cultivation Training at the Stanford School of Medicine (with Thupten Jinpa). Margaret also co-developed Mindfulness Based Attention Training for military spouses with neuroscientist Amishi Jha at the University of Miami, and is the founder of Compassion Corps, offering free compassion and mindfulness programs to under-resourced communities around the world. Margaret is a Fellow of the Mind & Life Institute.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell
Shukri reviews the new PBS documentary about Henry David Thoreau's life.
In 1854, when the escaped slave Anthony Burns was captured in Boston and returned in chains to slave-owners in Virginia, despite riotous resistance on the dock in Boston, Henry David Thoreau himself was shattered. Lewis ... The post Thoreau Meets ICE appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.
durée : 00:03:33 - Le Fil philo - À l'approche des vacances, Laurence Devillairs vous invite à suivre Henry Thoreau en pleine forêt, dans sa cabane au bord d'un lac. Une expérience pour rompre avec le quotidien, éveiller ses sens et retrouver une vie plus authentique et vivante, sans pilote automatique !
He edited nearly every Ken Burns film since The Civil War. He still didn't know who he was.Henry David Thoreau wrote that most people lead lives of “quiet desperation.” But what did he actually mean - and what does it look like inside a successful career?That's the question Christian Taylor explores in this episode of Documentary First: The Deep Dive, after her conversation with Erik and Christopher Ewers—two brothers who just directed a three-part, three-hour PBS documentary on Thoreau. The film is narrated by George Clooney, with Jeff Goldblum voicing Thoreau, Ted Danson as Emerson, and Meryl Streep voicing several women in Thoreau's life. It's executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley.What struck Christian wasn't the star-studded cast or the prestige credentials. It was a quiet confession from Erik - Ken Burns's senior editor for 33 years - who admitted that despite decades of career confidence, he didn't really know himself. He described himself as “lost and wayward.” And it was his own documentary about youth mental illness that finally woke him up.That led Christian back to Thoreau's famous line and to a realization: Thoreau wasn't describing unhappy people. He was describing people who don't even know they're suffering. People whose competence has become the hiding place.What You'll Learn:Why competence can mask a total lack of self-knowledge - for decadesWhat Thoreau actually meant by “quiet desperation” (it's not what most people think)How Erik Ewers's own documentary became the mirror that showed him himselfThe connection between Thoreau's grief, Christian's grief, and the impulse to strip life down to what's realA practical challenge for filmmakers and creators: rest is where the seeing happensThe Core Idea:Your craft can take you everywhere - except inward. The stories we tell have the power to tell us something back, but only if we're paying attention. This episode explores what happens when the noise finally stops and we're left standing on honest ground.Featured Guests:Erik Ewers – Director, Editor. Ken Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Multiple Emmy winner. ACE Eddie Award winner (The Roosevelts, 2015). Based in New Hampshire. Has worked on nearly every Burns film since The Civil War (1990). Co-director of Henry David Thoreau (PBS, 2026), Hiding in Plain Sight (2012) and The Mayo Clinic (2018)Christopher Loren Ewers – Director, DP. 20+ years behind the camera. World-class cinematographer. Has been shooting for Burns and Florentine Films since The Vietnam War. Commercial clients include Apple, Coca-Cola, Stella Artois, Volvo and Peter Millar. Based in the NYC metro area.Christopher Ewers Commercial WorkAbout Henry David Thoreau (PBS):A three-part, three-hour documentary – the first full-length documentary biography of Thoreau. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley. Narrated by George Clooney. Voices by Jeff Goldblum (Thoreau), Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Meryl Streep, and Tate Donovan. Henry David Thoreau premied on PBS on March 30 and 31, 2026. Available now on PBS and wherever you stream PBS content.Henry David Thoreau Series TrailerPart 2 of the interview with Erik and Chris Ewers drops April 9 - covering PBS funding realities, AI and the industry, and how they landed Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney, Tate Donovan and Meryl Streep.Resources Mentioned:Henry David Thoreau (PBS, 2026) - available on PBS and PBS Documentaries on AmazonHiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness (PBS, 2022)Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau (1854)About The Deep Dive:This companion podcast airs on alternate weeks from the main Documentary First podcast. Every other week, Christian takes one idea from a recent conversation and explores it more deeply - examining what it means, why it matters, and what to do about it.Hear the full interview:Listen to Episode 274 of Documentary First for Christian's complete conversation with Erik and Christopher Ewers about the Thoreau documentary, working with Ken Burns, and the brother dynamic behind the filmmaking.If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a review! For more in-depth discussions, early releases and extra content, support our Patreon: tinyurl.com/DocFirstPatreonListen & Follow:Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/DocFirstAppleSpotify: tinyurl.com/DocFirstSpotifyYouTube: tinyurl.com/DocFirstYouTubeAmazon Music: tinyurl.com/DocFirstAmazon
Planet Poet-Words in Space – NEW PODCAST! LISTEN to my WIOX show (originally aired March10th, 2026) featuring award-winning poets Richard Parisio and Guy Reed. Richard and Guy live in and write about the Catskills and the Hudson Valley and read from and discuss their respective poetry collections Trailside Register and Time Under The Overlook, both published in 2025 by Bushwhack Books. Richard Parisio was DEC's environmental educator in the Catskills and Hudson Valley for 25 years. He has worked as a naturalist for Everglades National Park, in the Pocono mountains, and at Assateague National Seashore. For five years, Parisio wrote a nature column for the New Paltz Times. He won the 2014 Slapering Hol Press Poetry Chapbook Contest for The Owl Invites Your Silence, and he holds an MFA degree in poetry from Cedar Crest College. Parisio's full collection, Trailside Register, was published in 2025 by Bushwhack Books. Visit: Bushwhack books Guy Reed is author of the poetry books Time Under The Overlook (Bushwhack Books), Second Innocence (Luchador Press), The Effort To Hold Light (Finishing Line Press), and co-author, with Cheryl A. Rice, of Until The Words Came(Post Traumatic Press). He won the 2022 Littoral Press poetry prize and has published numerous essays. He co-directed two short, environmental films with filmmaker Katie Cokinos. From Minnesota, Guy has now lived longest in the Catskills Mountains. Visit: Praise for Richard Parisio “Like his great predecessor, the English Romantic nature poet John Clare, Richard Parisio is a poet laureate of the meadows, forests, mountains, and waterways of the bioregion he so fully inhabits, the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. His eye and ear are deeply engaged with the minute particulars of the natural world—with salamanders ‘whose silent passage breathes a kind of prayer,' or mockingbirds ‘flinging mad arias of desire,' or the call-and-response of ‘windchimes and wren song.' But he also trains his clear, sharp focus on the fraught human relationship to that world of essential, yet increasingly endangered sovereignty—that world of trees, bees, and beasts that is inextricably interwoven with ours.” ~Mikhail Horowitz Praise for Guy Reed “There is a lineage of poets—Wang Wei, Thoreau, James Wright—who remind us that deep attention is its own kind of virtuous devotion. In Time Under the Overlook, Guy Reed follows in this tradition, illuminating the overlooked and the everyday. Here, mosquitoes and the Milky Way command equal reverence, and a hundred dragonflies rise like tiny miracles. With the sharp eye of a field guide and the soul of a poet, time itself stretches just a little longer under his watchful gaze. These poems do what time rarely allows—pause, linger, and open the door to wonder.” ~Jeffrey Davis, author of Tracking Wonder: Reclaiming a Life of Meaning and Possibility in a World Obsessed with Productivity
Directors Erik Ewers & Christopher Loren Ewers join us to discuss their new film, Ken Burns Presents: Henry David Thoreau. Erik & Christopher talk about their rediscovery of Thoreau's place in American history, their process for capturing his story, and why Thoreau's views of his own time might resonate with those seeking to make sense of the modern world. The two-part series premieres on PBS March 30-31, so make sure to check your local listings and tune in! This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.
What does it take to build a filmmaking career inside Ken Burns's world — and what happens when the hardest part isn't the craft, but learning who you are?Erik and Christopher Ewers are brothers who co-direct for PBS under the Ken Burns banner. Erik has been Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Chris is a DP who's shot for Apple, Coca-Cola, and Tiffany & Co. Their latest project: Henry David Thoreau, a three-part PBS documentary series executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley, narrated by George Clooney, with Jeff Goldblum voicing Thoreau, Ted Danson as Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Meryl Streep. Henry David Thoreau premieres on PBS March 30. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.In Part 1, you'll learn:— How Erik ended up working for Ken Burns through a real estate deal involving window treatments and carpets— How a 22-minute visitors center film became the doorway to a three-hour PBS series— What it's really like to co-direct a documentary with your brother (even Ken Burns couldn't do it with his)— How Chris balances high-end commercial work with documentary filmmaking to sustain a creative career— The challenge of filming Walden Pond with only two usable photographs of Thoreau— Why knowing yourself is the most important skill a filmmaker can develop — and Erik's deeply personal story about discovering that through his own filmPart 2 drops April 9 — covering PBS funding realities, AI and the industry, and how they landed Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney, and Meryl Streep.Listen & Follow:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documentary-first/id1455445556Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Fz1Sf7yLfw7e1nVEyWKN9?si=3DbMud2mTxunJH3jJBvMZQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DocumentaryFirst/podcastsAmazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5b96bccc-e1a0-4fae-970d-6d357a6ee306/documentary-firstThis episode is supported by Virgil Films Entertainment.About the Guests:Erik Ewers — Director, Editor. Ken Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Multiple Emmy winner. ACE Eddie Award winner (The Roosevelts, 2015). Based in New Hampshire.Christopher Loren Ewers — Director, DP. 20+ years behind the camera. Commercial clients include Apple, Coca-Cola, Tiffany & Co., Stella Artois, Volvo. Based in the NYC metro area.About Henry David Thoreau (PBS):A three-part, three-hour documentary — the first full-length documentary biography of Thoreau. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley. Narrated by George Clooney. Voices by Jeff Goldblum (Thoreau), Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Meryl Streep, and Tate Donovan. Henry David Thoreau premieres on PBS March 30. Available on PBS and wherever you stream PBS content.Christopher Ewers Commerical WorkHenry David Throeau Series TrailerConnect:Ewers Brothers ProductionsChristian Taylor on XChristian Taylor on InstagramChristian Taylor on LinkedInDocumentary First on X Documentary First on InstagramDocumentary First ProductionsLinktree
In this episode, we discuss technology, pedagogy, and what our future classrooms could look like. Things that bring us joy this week: How to Get to Heaven from Belfast Racing Mount Pleasant Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Clay's conversation with Erik and Christopher Ewers, the directors of the upcoming three-part documentary on the life and achievements of Henry David Thoreau, the New England radical and the author of Clay's favorite American book, Walden. Five years in the making, with dozens of interviews and fabulous footage of Concord, Massachusetts, and the environs of Thoreau's famous cabin at Walden Pond, this documentary will be the definitive treatment of Thoreau. The directors tell Clay that he is, as they put it, "all over the film," as one of the more significant talking heads. Thoreau was one of the most original and morally courageous of American writers. He denounced slavery with a pure flame of disgust, opposed America's war of expansion against Mexico, defended John Brown after he raided Harpers Ferry, and even suggested some careful monkeywrenching in his book A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Thoreau went to the woods to live deliberately and to undertake an experiment in simplicity and minimalism. He wrote some of the most famous sentences in American history, including, of course, "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." This podcast was recorded on February 13, 2026.
Bhakti Yoga wisdom from the Srimad Bhagavatam, one of the foundational texts of Vedic philosophy, meets a powerful reflection from Henry David Thoreau about shaping the "atmosphere through which we look." In this episode of Wisdom of the Sages, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how spiritual practice refines the lens of consciousness itself. Their discussion leads to the gopīs—the cowherd women of Vrindavan whose hearts and minds were completely absorbed in Krishna, whom the Srimad Bhagavatam presents as the highest example of devotion in bhakti yoga. From Thoreau's call to simplify life to reflections on sacred places like Govardhan Hill, the conversation explores how devotion, meditation, and spiritual wisdom transform the way we perceive the world and deepen our relationship with the Divine. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************
Bhakti Yoga wisdom from the Srimad Bhagavatam, one of the foundational texts of Vedic philosophy, meets a powerful reflection from Henry David Thoreau about shaping the "atmosphere through which we look." In this episode of Wisdom of the Sages, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how spiritual practice refines the lens of consciousness itself. Their discussion leads to the gopīs—the cowherd women of Vrindavan whose hearts and minds were completely absorbed in Krishna, whom the Srimad Bhagavatam presents as the highest example of devotion in bhakti yoga. From Thoreau's call to simplify life to reflections on sacred places like Govardhan Hill, the conversation explores how devotion, meditation, and spiritual wisdom transform the way we perceive the world and deepen our relationship with the Divine. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************
“All my life, I've absolutely opposed all terrorism by anyone under any circumstances. I define terrorism as the deliberate killing of noncombatants.” — Daniel Ellsberg, October 2001Last week we had Tom Wells on the show talking about Henry Kissinger's moral indifference to the loss of innocent lives in the Vietnam war. Henry Kissinger, of course, was no fan of the Pentagon Papers— the leaked documents that showed the American government was lying about Vietnam, thereby changing public opinion about the war and helping end it. And the Pentagon Papers are forever associated with one brave man: Daniel Ellsberg, Harvard economist, RAND Corporation strategist, marine, Pentagon insider—and America's most famous whistleblower.Ellsberg died in 2023 at the age of 92. Now his son Michael Ellsberg has co-edited a posthumous collection of his father's previously unpublished writing. Truth and Consequence: Reflections on Catastrophe, Civil Resistance, and Hope draws from a hundred boxes of handwritten notebooks in nearly illegible script, spanning fifty years of moral reckoning. Daniel Ellsberg didn't much care about publishing these notes. His son thought otherwise.What emerges is not another memoir of the Pentagon Papers but a book of ideas—about the nature of evil, the morality of obedience, and what Ellsberg called “civic courage”: taking nonviolent risks when your democracy is in danger. He was inspired not by intellectuals but by young draft resisters going to jail. Daniel Ellsberg's moral lineage ran from Thoreau through Gandhi to Martin Luther King. And his moral absolute was uncompromising: the deliberate killing of civilians is “terrorism”, whoever orders it. By that definition, Daniel Ellsberg defined Harry Truman as a terrorist. Not to mention morally indifferent politicians like Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger.Michael Ellsberg is candid about growing up in Berkeley with a father who was loving but distracted—a free-range parent who spent his evenings filling yellow legal pads rather than playing baseball. He's equally candid about what his father would be saying right now: that whatever rationale exists for the Iran war, there are official plans and reasoning that the American public should know about but doesn't. The Pentagon Papers proved the government lied. The question, as American bombs once again rain down on innocent civilians, is whether anything has changed in the last sixty years since “terrorists” like Henry Kissinger lied to the American public about Vietnam. Five Takeaways• You Are Being Lied to More Than You Realise: That was Ellsberg's message in 1971, and his son says it's his message now. Whatever rationale Trump has for the Iran war, Michael Ellsberg argues, there are plans and reasoning the public should know about but doesn't. The Pentagon Papers proved the government lied about Vietnam. The question is whether anything has changed.• The Establishment Man Who Became a Traitor: Daniel Ellsberg was Harvard-educated, a RAND Corporation strategist, a marine, a Pentagon aide working under McNamara. He was not a hippie. He was a silent-generation insider who watched the system lie about a war everyone inside knew was hopeless—and decided the public had a right to know.• All Deliberate Killing of Civilians Is Terrorism: In an essay written in October 2001, Ellsberg proposed a moral absolute: the deliberate killing of noncombatants is terrorism, whoever does it—left or right, aggressor or defender, first world or third. By that definition, Hiroshima was terrorism and Truman was a terrorist. No lesser-evil exceptions.• Civic Courage Is as Important as Military Courage: Ellsberg modelled what he called “civic courage”—taking nonviolent risks when democracy is in danger. He was inspired by draft resisters going to jail, not by intellectuals writing op-eds. The lineage runs from Thoreau through Gandhi to Martin Luther King. Ellsberg saw himself in that tradition.• This Book Is a Son's Labour of Love: Daniel Ellsberg spent decades filling yellow legal pads in nearly illegible handwriting. He didn't much care about publication. His son Michael and longtime assistant Jan Thomas thought otherwise. Truth and Consequence draws from a hundred boxes of notebooks spanning fifty years—a book of ideas, not just a memoir of action. About the GuestMichael Ellsberg is the son of Daniel Ellsberg and the co-editor, with Jan R. Thomas, of Truth and Consequence: Reflections on Catastrophe, Civil Resistance, and Hope (Bloomsbury). He is the author of three previous books. He lives in Berkeley, California.ReferencesBooks and references mentioned:• Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg• The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Daniel Ellsberg• The Most Dangerous Man in America — Oscar-nominated documentary about Daniel Ellsberg• The Ellsberg Paradox — Daniel Ellsberg's contribution to decision theory, still discussed in economics• Previous Keen On episodes: Tom Wells on the Kissinger tapes; McNamara and his mental breakdown; Truman's decision to drop the bomb• Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. — the civil disobedience lineage Ellsberg claimed as his ownAbout Keen On AmericaNobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States—hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,800 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting.WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction: From the Kissinger tapes to the Pentagon Papers (03:37) - Why Daniel Ellsberg matters now (06:21) - The establishment man who became a whistleblower (09:16) - McNamara, RAND, and the stalemate nobody would admit (11:19) - Randy Keeler and the draft resisters who changed everything (12:17) - Gro...
Guest host Russ Eagle interviews Clay about his ambitious downsizing project. For several decades, Clay has explored the world of Thoreau's great book Walden, which calls on us to reduce the clutter of our material lives to open our spiritual arteries. Simplify, simplify, and minimize, says Thoreau. Finally, Clay decided to undertake the purge. So far, he has given away 3,000 books to a public library system in east central North Dakota, with plans to donate at least 2,000 books a year for the next 5 years. The question is, is Thoreau right that there is liberation in repurposing excess material baggage, that one crosses an invisible boundary, and that it is possible in this way to achieve a higher order of being? Towards the end of the conversation, Clay explains how the downsizing project inspired him to make a Mind Map of the authors and subjects that still matter greatly to him. With the help of ChatGPT, Clay produced a manuscript featuring 52 of his intellectual heroes, with appropriate AI-generated portraits of each author. This episode was recorded on January 18, 2025.
Shukri reflects on Thoreau's Walden, exploring the pros and cons of a deliberate life.
Madlik Podcast – Torah Thoughts on Judaism From a Post-Orthodox Jew
The Torah doesn't celebrate freedom. It teaches dependence. Parashat Mishpatim opens with a shock: the Torah's great civil code begins with laws of slavery—spoken to a nation freshly freed from slavery. In this episode of Madlik Disruptive Torah, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz ask why the Torah doesn't give an "Emancipation Proclamation," and what freedom even means in a world built on mutual dependence. From Thoreau's Walden myth to Bob Dylan's "You've got to serve somebody," and Yeshayahu Leibowitz's insistence that the Exodus is about serving God, we explore a radical reframing: freedom in the Torah isn't the absence of dependence—it's learning how to depend justly. Key Takeaways Freedom in the Torah is not independence. Mishpatim isn't about preserving slavery — it's about dismantling it. The Torah meets society where it is — and pushes it forward. Timestamps [00:00] Introduction: The Illusion of Absolute Freedom [00:17] Thoreau's Shack and the Reality of Independence [00:40] The Torah's Perspective on Slavery and Freedom [01:35] Welcome to Malik: Exploring Jewish Texts [01:57] The Paradox of Emancipation and Slavery in the Torah [02:56] Analyzing the Laws of Slavery in Exodus [05:18] Rabbinic Interpretations and Commentaries [09:28] Modern Reflections on Slavery and Freedom [29:19] Conclusion: The Interdependence of Society Links & Learnings Sign up for free and get more from our weekly newsletter https://madlik.com/ Sefaria Source Sheet: https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/707773 Transcript here: https://madlik.substack.com/
When did society change from matriarchal to patriarchal, and why? What was the advice on fatherhood from Plato and Aristotle, and how did other writers on the subject put one philosophy of fatherhood on the page but live a very different one in practice?Augustine Sedgewick is the author of two books: Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power and Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug.Greg and Augustine start by discussing the lesser-explored history of fatherhood. Their conversation get into why the history of fatherhood may be understudied, the societal and cultural shifts impacting the role of fathers, and how historical figures like Saint Augustine, Rousseau, Jefferson, and even Thoreau have shaped modern perceptions of fatherhood. They also touch on Augustine's first book, Coffeeland, for the economic and social structures underpinning the coffee industry, emphasizing the role of capitalism in shaping labor conditions, and Augustine reflects on his own personal journey through fatherhood and the influence of his historical research on his understanding of the subject.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Patriarchy is not a loss for men05:48: Obviously there has been some really great work on patriarchy. A lot of that has come from feminist historians. As a result, I think a lot of the greatest work on the history of patriarchy has been the history of the consequences of patriarchy for women, much fewer, much less work on the history of patriarchy and its consequences for men. I have come to believe that that is, we are in a moment where we hear often about the crisis of men and boys. And I actually think it is the best thing that men could do for themselves, be to learn something about the history of patriarchy and masculinity. Like, that would not be a loss for men. That would be an incredible gain if we could begin to understand where those ideas originate, how they have changed over time, and what they have cost us. I will say.Fatherhood as a system of power05:24: I think you could argue that fatherhood is the most widespread and arguably enduring form of social inequality and metaphor for power that we have in human societies.Why father knows best was never humanly possible18:22 There is almost plasticity built into that God-like mandate of father knows best, I will protect and provide, if you do what I say. Because I think what is interesting about that set of edicts and mandates is that it is impossible for human beings to fulfill. No one always knows best. No one can always protect; no one can always provide God-like jobs because they cannot be fulfilled by actual human beings. And so the process of fatherhood, historically, has been exactly negotiating the distance between those promises and the reality. Plasticity has been the required element there.Show Links:Recommended Resources:Simone de BeauvoirPatriarchyPater familiasPlatoAristotleAugustine of HippoJean-Jacques RousseauThomas JeffersonGreat Father and Great MotherSally HemingsHenry David ThoreauSigmund FreudGuest Profile:AugustineSedgewick.workGuest Work:Amazon Author PageFatherhood: A History of Love and PowerCoffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Nous sommes le 4 juillet 1845, jour de l'Indépendance américaine, sur les rives du lac Walden, dans l'État du Massachusetts. C'est là qu'Henry David Thoreau, âgé de 28 ans, a décidé de s'installer dans une cabane isolée, bâtie de ses propres mains. Voilà le point de départ d'une quête visant à n'obéir qu'à sa propre conscience et aux lois de la nature. Pendant deux ans et deux mois, le jeune homme expérimente une vie dépouillée, réduisant ses besoins au strict nécessaire, observant minutieusement, scientifiquement, le monde du vivant, tout en prônant un véritable « corps à corps sensoriel » avec l'écosystème. Cette immersion au cœur des éléments se double d'un engagement en faveur de l'abolition de l'esclavage et aussi de la désobéissance civile. Aujourd'hui célébré comme un pionnier de l'écologie, Thoreau demeure une figure inclassable dont la voix résonne encore auprès de celles et ceux qui cherchent une relation originale, privilégiée, avec l'univers. Son héritage littéraire constitue un pilier de la pensée moderne sur l'émancipation, l'autonomie et la résistance individuelle. Comment l'expérience de Thoreau a-t-elle redéfini le concept de liberté personnelle face à la puissance de la société de consommation naissante à son époque ? Dans quelle mesure son opposition radicale à l'esclavage ou son refus de payer certaines taxes, ont-ils influencé les mouvements de défense des droits civiques ? Mais aussi, quel rôle son habilité manuelle, son intelligence créative et ses innovations techniques ont-elles joué dans la philosophie du travail ? Partons sur les traces de l'énigmatique, souvent ambivalent, Henry Thoreau … _______________________________________ Avec Henriette Levillain, professeure émérite à Paris-Sorbonne. « Henry D. Thoreau, l'insoumis de Walden » ; La Découverte. Merci pour votre écoute Un Jour dans l'Histoire, c'est également en direct tous les jours de la semaine de 13h15 à 14h30 sur www.rtbf.be/lapremiere Retrouvez tous les épisodes d'Un Jour dans l'Histoire sur notre plateforme Auvio.be :https://auvio.rtbf.be/emission/5936 Intéressés par l'histoire ? Vous pourriez également aimer nos autres podcasts : L'Histoire Continue: https://audmns.com/kSbpELwL'heure H : https://audmns.com/YagLLiKEt sa version à écouter en famille : La Mini Heure H https://audmns.com/YagLLiKAinsi que nos séries historiques :Chili, le Pays de mes Histoires : https://audmns.com/XHbnevhD-Day : https://audmns.com/JWRdPYIJoséphine Baker : https://audmns.com/wCfhoEwLa folle histoire de l'aviation : https://audmns.com/xAWjyWCLes Jeux Olympiques, l'étonnant miroir de notre Histoire : https://audmns.com/ZEIihzZMarguerite, la Voix d'une Résistante : https://audmns.com/zFDehnENapoléon, le crépuscule de l'Aigle : https://audmns.com/DcdnIUnUn Jour dans le Sport : https://audmns.com/xXlkHMHSous le sable des Pyramides : https://audmns.com/rXfVppvN'oubliez pas de vous y abonner pour ne rien manquer.Et si vous avez apprécié ce podcast, n'hésitez pas à nous donner des étoiles ou des commentaires, cela nous aide à le faire connaître plus largement. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.
Why did Henry David Thoreau care so much about pencils—and why did some phone numbers keep ringing long after they were disconnected? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro wander into two stories that shouldn't be connected… but somehow are. First, we look at the surprising industrial legacy of Henry David Thoreau, long before Walden Pond. As a young man working in his family's pencil business, Thoreau applied chemistry, precision, and quiet rebellion to fix America's worst pencils—changing how graphite was processed, how pencils were graded, and why most pencils are still yellow today. It's a story about innovation, independence, and how financial stability made room for deep thinking… and eventually, deliberate living. Then, the episode takes a darker turn. During the 1960s and 70s, people across the U.S. reported receiving phone calls from businesses that had been closed—sometimes for decades. Funeral homes. Pharmacies. Local shops. Callers insisted they had just spoken to someone on the line. Engineers found nothing. Phone companies found no active service. The FCC investigated. No explanation stuck. What emerged instead was something stranger: the idea of telecom afterimages—echoes of human habit lingering in old copper wire. Conversations without ghosts. Voices without intent. Systems that didn't quite know how to forget. This episode explores how infrastructure remembers, how absence isn't always clean, and why the most unsettling stories are often the quietest ones—ordinary conversations that shouldn't exist, but somehow do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Guest: Dan Flores. As capitalism commodified wildlife like beavers, naturalists like Thoreau lamented the loss, while Linnaeus's system helped classify species even as market forces decimated them.1859 JJ AUDOBON. WILD TURKEY
durée : 00:58:42 - Concordance des temps - par : Jean-Noël Jeanneney - Écrivain de la nature, penseur politique radical, figure tutélaire de la désobéissance civile... Les textes de Thoreau comptent de nos jours parmi les best-sellers internationaux. Henriette Levillain revient sur la vie et l'œuvre inclassable de cet auteur américain énigmatique. - réalisation : Vincent Abouchar - invités : Henriette Levillain Professeure émérite de Littérature à la Sorbonne
On the next Charlotte Talks, a hero for our time. You'll never guess — so I might as well tell you: Henry David Thoreau. Like us, Thoreau lived in a time of rapid technological and economic change, political division and a pandemic. He reassessed his priorities and decided to pare down to trade up. Local author Jen McGivney helps you Find Your Walden.
Let's sink into seasonal slumber with two essays by famed American naturalists. In the first, John Muir takes us to Tahoe in the winter, where he delights in its glacial-born beauties and his friend skis poorly. In the second, Thoreau regales us with tales of mischievous visitors to his cabin in Walden. Delightful! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! All December supporters will be entered into our Annual Holiday Giveaway at the end of the month! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read "Winter Animals" in "Walden" at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/205 Music: "Watching Whales on the Moon," by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
5/8. Thoreau, Extinction Denial, and the Destruction of America's Beaver Engineers — Dan Flores — Nineteenth-century intellectuals including Henry David Thoreau lamented the systematic extermination of iconic American fauna. Flores documents that the concept of species extinction was initially incomprehensible to European ideology, which posited a divinely perfect creation precluding permanent species loss. Flores emphasizes that beavers, functioning as immense ecological engineers reshaping aquatic and riparian landscapes, exemplified catastrophic loss; their pelts became commodity targets for the emergent global market economy, driving enterprises like the American Fur Company and precipitating near-total beaver annihilation throughout continental North America.