As we near the end of Ramadan, Tapestry gets a glimpse into an important experience during one of Islam's holiest months: watching television. Ahmad Hayat, an assistant professor of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, says watching television is a common leisure activity after iftar — the fast-breaking meal after sunset. Later, Tapestry’s Sameer Chhabra visits a mosque in Toronto to talk about fasting survival tips. And we revisit a conversation with...

Whenever that feeling of uncertainty about the life we've created creeps in, it can be easy to try to solve it with quick fixes like getting a new haircut, ending a relationship, finding a new job, or moving to a new city. But what if those uncomfortable periods are actually an opportunity? Casey Tygrett, author of The Gift of Restlessness: A Spirituality for Unsettled Seasons, has been examining the very human state of being restless. He says that, although it can be intensely...

Tricia Hersey thinks grind culture is an assault on your basic humanity. Hersey, also known as The Nap Bishop, is the author of the book Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto. She says resting is a deeply spiritual act. You might find Oorbee Roy wearing a sari when she heads over to her local skate park in Toronto. The 48-year-old mother of two shares how she picked up skateboarding — and why she's not putting her board down any time soon.

Why are people still drawn to paper planners in such a digital age? Rowena Sunga owns a stationery store in Toronto’s west end and meets a lot of people who are looking for ways to tame the chaos of life by writing it all down. The calligrapher Salman Khattak shares why he believes the act of doing something with your hands is a profound human experience.

Andrew Jamieson had so much going for him: a loving family and a successful business. But when Andrew hit midlife, midlife hit back! He did get through it with the help of a lot of therapy. Now a therapist himself and the author of the book Midlife: Humanity’s Secret Weapon, Andrew shares how the midlife crisis can be a kind of rebirth — a desperately needed stage in the evolution of the human being.

Wherever the word ‘parenting’ is found, judgment and guilt and stress won’t be far behind. Dorsa Amir is a development scientist and postdoctoral researcher at the UC Berkeley department of psychology. And as a parent herself, she’s been offering what she calls “anti-advice” to parents - because someone has to say it: “You can ease up a little bit. You’re doing fine!”

This year was the first time Ireland celebrated a national holiday dedicated to St. Brigit. Theologian Mary Condren says there is rich feminist symbolism in St. Brigit, whether you consider her a Celtic goddess or a Catholic Saint. Julian Munro is many things: a United Church member, a divinity student, a non-ordained Christian minister, and a drag clown known as King Julez. Munro says transitioning is a holy act and that drag has become one of their most profound spiritual practices.

Why is Lord of the Rings and fantasy novels so intriguing to conservatives and the far right? Journalist John Last has been researching the links between The Lord of the Rings and Italian fascist movements. He talks about how the Italian prime minister’s love for Tolkien is interwoven with her politics.

The psychologist Monnica Williams co-created a series of graduate courses in Psychedelics and Spirituality Studies at the University of Ottawa. She has a special interest in the use of psychedelics to heal racial trauma. As an only child, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff figured that having a big group of friends was the way to feel fulfilled in life. When she finally found herself in a large friend group she was surprised by what it was really like.

Psychology professor and Denmark native Marie Helweg-Larsen shares how Danish words can encourage better living by helping us settle, set boundaries, create community, and tune into shared moments. Sometimes we need more than words during really difficult periods of life. Katie Thornton shares the history of European funerary fashion — and how death rituals can help us move through grief.

Astrophysicist and Jesuit priest Adam Hincks shares the value he's found in studying both the Bible and the Big Bang.

The word ‘psyche’ comes from the Greek and Latin, meaning soul or spirit — so why is any talk of ‘the soul' so absent from modern-day psychology and psychiatry? Psychologist David Rosmarin shares how and why he's trying to bring spirituality back into his profession. Michelle Huang shares an unconventional method for advancing her own mental health and inner child work — with a little help from an AI chatbot and her childhood journal entries.

The scholar of religion Karen Armstrong says rational thinking has brought all kinds of wondrous things to the world. But when the scientific worldview began to take over in philosophy and spirituality, something vital was lost — the sense of wonder.

Maybe you’ve used the phrase yourself: "It’s purely platonic." Plato would not be impressed. The word he lent his name to was supposed to mean a love so powerful it transcends the physical. Marisa G. Franco is a psychologist, and a professor at the University of Maryland. She is the author of the book Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make – and Keep – Friends. Something is happening to men that’s leading them to have fewer friends than women. Producer Arman Aghbali...

In the last few decades, cities across North America have lost many of their beloved third places — spaces outside the home or work where people can go to find community. But this isn't happening because people don't want to hang out anymore. Nathan Allebach says this problem has a lot to do with how we build our cities and who profits from our public spaces.

Footage from Iran shows girls and women removing their hijabs in protest. But when the videos end up on Tiktok some of the complexity around the veil is going to get lost. Tapestry spoke with Homa Hoodfar, on the meanings of the veil in Iran and Islam.  Peak into our voicemail as we hear from Iranians across Canada on their hopes and fears. Kiana Karimi speaks about what it means to discipline your hope so it’ll be there for you when you need it most. 

Author and meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn shares the value of staying in the here and now and making peace with paying attention.

A German town’s Passion Play is back on to fulfill a holy promise. Max Miller, host and creator of the YouTube channel Tasting History, brings the past into the present by recreating historic dishes.

Author Patty Krawec shares how going back and acknowledging harmful histories helps pave the way for a more hopeful future.

Author Brandon Grafius says there are spiritual lessons to be found in scary texts and something hopeful hidden in the horrifying. Kevin Ball reflects on if there's another way to talk about a person's passing.

Chris Stedman studies the way people are re-imagining religion online. He says that while current fashions like the Holy Trinity Bikini with the words Father and Son on the top and Holy Spirit on the bottom seem to be mocking religion, something more profound might be going on. Kyle Hide is the co-creator of the Instagram account I NEED GOD IN EVERY MOMENT OF MY LIFE. They say that despite the humorous - though some may say sacrilegious - images, there’s a real yearning for new ways to...

Religion scholar Joseph Laycock has been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a long time. He says that even though D&D was once a source of a moral panic, there is nothing satanic about it. Instead, Laycock sees the game as its own kind of spiritual practice. He says the imagination has always occupied a strange place in spirituality - as though it’s either a divine gift or some kind of curse. Cat Van Wert and Mike McPhaden both play D&D with their respective families. They share the...

Tapestry features two documentaries this week: Strange Heart tells the story of a woman who, since receiving a heart transplant six years ago, reports that she hasn’t felt emotion and hasn’t experienced love in quite the same way. And Windhorse follows a couple in Nova Scotia as they give back the land they bought 30 years ago to Indigenous communities.

You may have heard about the bride and groom who spent their catering budget on a special appearance by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We suspected there might be something profound at the heart of all this, in both the fervent desire to have a Disney wedding and in the ridicule that followed. We spoke to a professor of religion who studies how Disney itself functions as a kind of religion. Early in the pandemic, Rob Kenney thought a series of “how-to” videos might be of some use to people who...

Julian Barnes’ latest novel, Elizabeth Finch, asks the question, what if civilization took a wrong turn in the 4th Century, by choosing Christianity over Hellenistic and Roman paganism?