In recent times, an essential piece of our nation’s history is facing challenges and censorship across the country, making it all the more crucial we reaffirm our commitment to honoring and understanding our shared narrative. Our discussion today is not just a journey through the past; it's a conversation about the importance of preserving these narratives in the face of attempts to erase them. Historian Jan Batiste Adkin’s work meticulously documents the rich history of Black people in...

Bayo Akomolafe is an author, teacher, and modern philosopher whose work challenges the boundaries of conventional thought. Bayo was born in 1983 into a Christian home to Yoruban parents in western Nigeria. Soon after he was born, his family moved to Bonn, Germany, to accommodate his diplomat father. While in Zaire, Bayo’s father passed away suddenly, leaving a teenaged Bayo to grapple with the painful loss. As a young, restless academic, Bayo studied psychology and notions of healing,...

Stephen Dubner is the New York Times best-selling author and host of the podcast Freakonomics. I met Stephen when he and his Freakonomics crew came to Esalen for an on-site interview that centered around deceased Nobel Prize winner and occasional Esalen lecturer Richard Feynman. Feynman assisted in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II; later in his career, he investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. During the 1980s, in Big Sur, three women who had experience...

Today, we bring you part 2 of the Big Sur Folk Festival, 1969. The BSFF occurred at Esalen Institute on September 13th and 14th of 1969, just about a month after Woodstock. As related in part one of this two part series, the festival was captured in a documentary called "Celebration at Big Sur," directed by Baird Bryant and Johanna Demetrakas - available on YouTube, a great watch. Set list for part 2: -John Sebastian, formerly of the Lovin Spoonful, with “Rainbows All Over Yours Blues"...

Feast your ears on this little gem from our archives - a partial recording of the Big Sur Folk Festival of 1969, which was also captured in a documentary film called "Celebration at Big Sur," directed by Baird Bryant and Johanna Demetrakas, from which this recording was culled. The Big Sur Folk Festival occurred September 13th and 14th of '69, about a month after Woodstock, and it featured some of the same performers, including Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and John Sebastian, who had left...

In this particular moment, there is a call to reawaken our inherent belonging to the Earth and to cultivate a relationship with the land that is based on mutual respect, deep listening, and coexistence. Wildtender answers that call. Noël Vietor and Fletcher Tucker are co-founders of Wildtender. They offer immersive wilderness programs that cultivate intimacy with the natural world, connect with wisdom traditions, and nurture human wholeness. Today, in this conversation, Noël and Fletcher...

Laraaji is often thought of as one of progenitors of new age music. He was discovered by Brian Eno while playing meditational music in Washington Square Park in the early 1980's. After studying classical composition at Howard University’s College of Fine arts from 1962 to 1964, Laraaji was initially drawn to the world of stand-up comedy, which he excelled in. He was featured in the movie Putney Swope, but though the career path of an actor did not blend well enough with his interest in...

Good gracious. 2023 was a heck of a year: Not only did Voices of Esalen pass the 1 million download marker, yes indeed, but we had a host of superb guests, and I managed to make friends with the AI and not get replaced - yet. Beyond the walls of Esalen, 2023 was a little terrifying - by all accounts it was the hottest year in recorded history; according to European Union scientists, global temperatures have not been this high in 125,000 years. Ukraine’s counteroffensive fizzled, and in the...

Please note that Terence McKenna spools forth a kind of complicated, highly erudite babble of text that is designed to be imbibed or absorbed in an almost osmotic fashion. His words don’t necessarily need to be decoded; they can simply be enjoyed, for their texture, for their sound, and absolutely for their message, though the message is often so abstract or so dense or so inventive so as to render it difficult to comprehend. Here are his words, from a random Terence talk delivered at Esalen...

Dr. Bia Labate is a queer Brazilian anthropologist and Executive director of the Chacruna Insitute for Plant Medicines. She also serves as Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Chacruna promotes reciprocity in the psychedelic community, and supports the protection of sacred plants and cultural traditions. They advance psychedelic justice through curating critical conversations and uplifting the voices of women, queer people,...

Rahshaana Green is the Director of Equity and Contemplative Psychotherapy at the Nalanda Institute. After receiving her BA in Biophysical Chemistry from Dartmouth College and an MBA from University of Texas-Austin, Rahshaana combined her passion for science and business skills to spend 15+ years in Marketing and Business Development for medical device and life science companies. One day, a car accident helped her find her way to a yoga mat as a means of recovery and it opened her eyes to...

Neil Baldwin is a longtime Esalen community member and preschool teacher, first with Esalen's Gazebo Preschool, established 1977, and now with Big Sur Park School, still located at Esalen. Neil came to Esalen from England in the early 1980’s at the behest of a psychic named Jenny O’Connor. He would end up living at Esalen for more than two decades, working in a great many capacities over the years, and finally settling into his zone of genius, at the Gazebo preschool, where he held sway as a...

Sadia Bruce is head of experiential programming at the Esalen Institute, where she also teaches yoga in the tradition of Krishnamacharya but enjoys drawing from rich array of teachers, a panoply of movement modalities, and indeed the entire spectrum of human experience to share an understanding of yoga that is integrative, sensorial, and enlivening. Sadia’s work revolves around creating energized, radically-inclusive learning environments that are guided by breath and driven by inquiry. She...

Today, we're taking a journey into the Esalen archives to explore the thought-provoking theories of Terence McKenna - an Esalen luminary if there’s ever been one - a thinker who's had a profound impact on modern culture, particularly regarding our understanding of altered states of consciousness. For those of you who've been with us on this Voices of Esalen journey for a while, you'll know that this isn't our first foray into the world of Terence McKenna - he lectured at Esalen hundreds of...

Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga®, and the author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom. He is renowned for making ancient wisdom and practices accessible to modern audiences. Raised in Los Angeles, Rod was just 19 years old when he began his study of yoga. He taught his first class in 1980 and went on to teach here at Esalen, among many, many other locales. In addition to mentoring thousands of students worldwide, Rod also serves on the...

Dr. Ken Dychtwald is best described as a visionary thinker - he’s a psychologist, a gerontologist, a masterful public speaker, and the best-selling author of more than 19 books. Ken has dedicated his life's work to understanding the implications of human potential for all people. Over the course of his career, he has become one of America’s foremost authorities on aging-related issues, shaping our understanding of lifestyle, marketing, healthcare, economics, and the workforce, all in the...

John Bucher is a mythologist, storyteller, and writer based out of Hollywood, California. He serves as Executive Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation and is an author, podcaster, and speaker. He has worked with government and cultural leaders around the world as well as organizations such as HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, Atlas Obscura, and The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation. He has served as a producer, consultant, and writer for numerous film, television, and...

Sonya Renee Taylor is a renowned activist, best-selling author, and celebrated thought leader whose work in racial justice, body liberation, and radical self-love has reshaped conversations around identity and healing. At the heart of her groundbreaking book, “The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love” lies a transformative message that dismantles shame and oppression, offering a profound roadmap to reclaiming innate self-worth, and fostering a revolutionary connection with...

Congressman David Price is a veteran of American politics. He served North Carolina's 4th congressional district for over three decades, retiring recently in 2022. Price was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina and a graduate of Yale University, where he received a PhD in Political Science. In Congress, he was for many years a key member of the House Appropriations Committee, well-known for being able to work both sides of the aisle. In addition, he was an early opponent of...

During the first wave of psychedelics in the 1960s, mind-altering substances played a significant role in challenging capitalist values and systems. However, in our current landscape, we are witnessing a different rollout of psychedelics, one that is predominantly medicalized and intertwined with traditional capitalist models. This raises an important question: Does this convergence of psychedelics and Western capitalism feel incongruous? And if so, what can be done about it. Jenny...

Rhonda McGee is the author of the book “The Inner Work of Racial Justice." She is a visionary law professor and mindfulness teacher who has dedicated her life and her work to integrating contemplative practices with issues of social justice. In this episode, we dive deep into the idea that inner transformation can serve as a useful and effective catalyst for societal change. We discuss how mindfulness practices can support individuals in recognizing and transforming their own internalized...

East Forest is a multidisciplinary artist, known by some for his 5-hour album "Music for Mushrooms," designed to accompany a psychedelic journey. Other folks may know him from his album "Ram Dass," where he created beautiful soundscapes to accompany interviews he did with Ram Dass, in fact the last known interviews ever done with Ram Dass before he passed into the next realm. Some people know him from his podcast, Ten Laws with East Forest, an extraordinary interview podcast where he talks...

Today we’re proud to present a recording from the Esalen archives: Timothy Leary, speaking to a rapt audience in June of 1981. Leary rose to national prominence in the early 1960’s, as a clinical psychologist from Harvard who along with Richard Alpert was eventually fired for introducing students to mushrooms and LSD. After his dismissal from the realm of the Ivy League, Leary’s mystique only grew. In 1964, Leary and Alpert visited Esalen for the first time, where they ended up taking LSD...

Amber and Marcus Capone are founders of VETS solutions, a pioneering organization dedicated to supporting veterans struggling with the invisible wounds of war. Amber and Marcus's journey began with the often difficult reality of life after Marcus's retirement from the U.S. Navy SEALs, where Amber witnessed the devastating toll that Marcus's service had taken on him, as he battled depression, anger, addiction, and an array of mental health challenges. But when all hope seemed lost, a glimmer...