Episodes

  • From energy transition to knowing your bees - and there is a link. A conversation with Jonny Williams
    Dec 17 2024

    What is it like to work in the world of renewables? Why is transitioning to new fuels so complicated and what practical difference can soulful concerns make?

    Mark Vernon talks with Jonny Williams about multipolar traps and the seductive appeal of targets. They discuss the challenges of mostly male workplaces, as well as the imaginative factors that can help and hinder moving beyond a carbon-based culture and economy - which is where beekeeping comes in.

    Jonny Williams is the founder of NexGen and ViGo Bioenergy.

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    34 mins
  • The body as the practice of the imaginal. A conversation with Dominique Savitri Bonarjee
    Dec 10 2024

    The body as the practice of the imaginal. A conversation with Dominique Savitri Bonarjee.

    What does it look and feel like to explore life through the body? How can ancient traditions of movement help us meet today’s challenges?

    Mark Vernon talks with artist Dominique Savitri Bonarjee about her exploration of practices including the Turning of Rumi and the Japanese philosophy of Butoh. They ranges over themes including the principle of nonduality and Noh-theatre inspired by Buddhism, embodied research and impermanence.

    For more on Dominique’s work:
    www.dominiquebb.com
    butoh.co.uk
    https://www.colethouse.org/whirling-dervishes

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    41 mins
  • Passion and trust in a turbulent age. A conversation with Juliette Otterburn Hall
    Dec 3 2024

    What does it mean to have a shared story? How can collaboration be fostered in competitive times?

    Mark Vernon talks with Juliette Otterburn Hall about the power of connecting to purposes and how uniqueness is actually the key to cooperation. They ask about following the energy of the imagination as opposed to fear, and how building resilience is aided by knowing your roots.

    Juliette is a managing partner at Value Squared and a former TV producer. For more see - https://www.valuesquared.io/

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    38 mins
  • How to be a pilgrim of cultures. A conversation with Jacob Kishere
    Nov 12 2024

    Much is changing in the world, evidenced by movements flourishing as well as environments degrading. So how can we live into these times? What qualities and imaginative tools might help?

    Mark Vernon talks with Jacob Kishere about dialogue and healing, psychedelics and Christianity. They ask about the nature of soul-fields with which we can tune, as well as whether the burgeoning world of podcasts is a sign of hope as the media landscape evolves.

    Jacob is a professional dialogue facilitator, a musician and philosopher, and creator of Culturepilgrim, Sensespace and The Resonant Man. For more see - https://www.jacobkishere.com/.

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    50 mins
  • Levity, trees and the shape of the festival. A conversation with Pippa Evans
    Nov 5 2024

    The Realisation Festival is five years old, so how is it shaping up? What ways best describe the gathering? And also, what of its distinctive coupling of music and improvisation with ideas and the challenges of today?

    Two directors of the festival, Pippa Evans and Mark Vernon, share their sense of St Giles House, the place that hosts the weekend, as well as the genius brought by the Realisation Players, the improvisers of which Pippa is one.

    They talk about improvisation itself and how it powerfully fits with the spirit of the gathering, being an emergent activity that doesn’t try to fix things but does invite participants to bring what they have. And they discuss that short word which is central to the festival: soul.

    For more on Pippa’s work see http://www.pippaevans.com/



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    32 mins
  • Ghosts, sci-fi and fictional philosophy. A conversation with Carrie Myshkin
    Oct 28 2024

    What would happen if the doors of perception were cleansed, to recall William Blake's phrase? Can science-fiction help us re-imagine the world in which we live? Might strange experiences play a part in enlightening us?

    Mark Vernon talks with Carrie Myskhin about ghost stories, sci-fi and alternative ways of doing philosophy. They range from the work of Philip K Dick to Neoplatonism.

    Carrie has a BA in Creative Writing and Philosophy, and an MA in English Literature, focusing on space and time in the novels and Exegesis of self-styled “fictionalising philosopher” Philip K. Dick.

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    27 mins