A Big Sur Podcast

Magnus Toren, host
  • 4.8 (39)
  • Places & Travel

A Big Sur Podcast An ongoing conversation with people from near and far about Big Sur's past, present, and future. A Big Sur Podcast interprets “community” to mean ALL people from around the world who are curious about, and who care about, the preservation and restoration of the wild and rural character of Big Sur. Stories are told by visitors and residents, plumbers and linesmen, musicians and authors, dancers and jugglers and others. Sometimes we drift (way) off-topic into the arts, sciences, personal stories, gossip, politics, philosophy, ornithology, Henry Miller, and our zeitgeist in general. We like that! The opinions expressed here belong to the people who express them. They may or may not line up with yours, mine, or your neighbor’s — and that’s exactly the point. Different perspectives, lived experiences, and even wildly clashing views are what make conversations worth listening to: enriching, infuriating, life-affirming, and sometimes all three at once. If you are planning a visit to Big Sur and you listen to some of the folks on this Podcast talk about their love of the place your visit will probably be a lot more rewarding. Please email magnus@henrymiller.org with any comments, critique & suggestions. Music intro clip courtesy John Holm: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DZ06evO0Rh2QU Sound editing software by Hindenburg: https://hindenburg.com/Please support the podcast by making a donation to the Henry Miller Library, a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization. Thank you!

  1. 3d ago

    # 135 Living with Fire: Big Sur. THE PATTERN OF FIRE, Nikki Nedeff on What the Santa Lucias Remember

    What happens to the land after the fire engines leave? In this fifth conversation in our Living with Fire: Big Sur series, I talk with biogeographer, vegetation ecologist, teacher and conservation advocate Nikki Nedeff about the Timber and Plaskett Fires—not primarily as emergencies to be fought, but as ecological events whose consequences may unfold for decades. Nikki grew up exploring the Carmel River and Los Padres National Forest, studied biogeography at UC Berkeley, and taught plant-community ecology at Cal State Monterey Bay for fifteen years. Her work has centered on understanding and protecting the extraordinarily varied landscapes of Monterey County. Her starting point is deceptively simple: California vegetation isn't merely “adapted to fire.” It is adapted to a pattern of burning—a fire regime. How often does a place burn? How hot? In what season? Across what kind of terrain? And what happened there the last time it burned? Too much fire, too soon, can change the vegetation itself. Forest can become shrubland; shrubland can give way to grassland; invasive annual grasses and shrubs can exploit disturbed ground and alter what burns the next time. We talk about north- and south-facing slopes, fog and microclimates, logging and grazing, Indigenous burning, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen, invasive plants, old redwood forests that aren't always as “old growth” as they appear, and the ecological consequences of the firebreaks and dozer lines created to fight wildfire. Nikki worries particularly about some of Big Sur's unusual conifers: Santa Lucia fir, ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir and incense-cedar. She wonders what has happened to a remarkable isolated dogwood near Logwood Creek—and what she will find when she returns to the Plaskett burn. But burned country also holds surprises. Nikki is looking forward to the spring emergence of the “fire followers”: plants whose seeds may wait for years or decades until fire creates the conditions that allow them to germinate. And then there is the coming winter. Burned slopes above roads, streams and homes bring the possibility of erosion, washouts, landslides and debris flows. Nikki's advice to those of us who live here is simple: prepare, remain self-sufficient—and look after one another. Plants mentioned in the conversation Santa Lucia fir / bristlecone fir — Abies bracteata A remarkable conifer found naturally only in the Santa Lucia Mountains. Nikki describes its vulnerability to fire and its tendency to survive in steep, rocky places where fire has difficulty carrying. Pacific dogwood — probably Cornus nuttallii The identification is probable rather than certain because Nikki simply calls it “dogwood.” Her description—large white floral bracts, a species otherwise associated with montane California, and an isolated Big Sur population—is consistent with Pacific dogwood. She calls the surviving Logwood Creek population the “Logwood Dogwood” and wonders whether it survived Timber. Douglas-fir — Pseudotsuga menziesii Nikki is particularly interested in what happened to Douglas-fir in the Willow Creek watershed during the Plaskett Fire. Incense-cedar — Calocedrus decurrens Another unusual Central Coast conifer occurring in scattered Santa Lucia populations. Ponderosa pine — Pinus ponderosa One of the conifers Nikki worries may have difficulty regenerating when fire returns before young trees become mature enough to reproduce. Coast redwood — Sequoia sempervirens Nikki reminds us that much of what looks ancient in Big Sur's redwood country is actually second- or even third-growth following historic logging. Sargent cypress — Hesperocyparis sargentii Found around serpentine outcrops in the South Coast/Los Burros country. Nikki is eager to see how these areas responded to Plaskett. Harlequin lupine — Lupinus stiversii The distinctive yellow-and-magenta lupine Nikki mentions among the wildflowers she hopes to see in the first post-fire spring. Santa Lucia phacelia — Phacelia grisea A California endemic occurring in the Santa Lucia Range and one of the post-fire flowers Nikki hopes to encounter. Shortlobe phacelia — Phacelia brachyloba The fire-following phacelia shown in Nikki's photograph after the 2020 Dolan Fire. This is distinct from the Santa Lucia phacelia mentioned in the conversation. Splendid woodland-gilia — Saltugilia splendens Formerly known as Gilia splendens. Another striking annual Nikki mentions among the post-fire wildflowers. Chamise — Adenostoma fasciculatum One of the characteristic shrubs of California chaparral and a vigorous post-fire resprouter. Manzanita — Arctostaphylos spp. Nikki speaks of watching for manzanitas resprouting; she doesn't identify a particular species. Ceanothus — Ceanothus spp. Another important chaparral group whose response depends greatly upon species and fire history. California coffeeberry — Frangula californica A native shrub Nikki expects to see resprouting. French broom — Genista monspessulana A highly invasive nonnative shrub. Nikki is particularly concerned about invasive species colonizing disturbed soil along firebreaks and suppression lines. Coyote brush — Baccharis pilularis Mentioned while discussing how disturbance can maintain grassland by limiting shrub encroachment. Nikki also discusses willows (Salix spp.), cottonwoods (Populus spp.), bulrushes, native perennial grasses and invasive annual grasses without identifying particular species. All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 135 Living with Fire: Big Sur. THE PATTERN OF FIRE, Nikki Nedeff on What the Santa Lucias Remember

  2. 5d ago

    # 134 LIVING WITH FIRE: BIG SUR - Kate Daniels, Responsibility Without Authority

    What happens when local knowledge meets the machinery of government during the Timber and Plaskett Fires. This is the fourth conversation in Living With Fire: Big Sur, an ongoing A Big Sur Podcast examination of the Timber and Plaskett Fires and of Big Sur’s larger relationship with wildfire. The previous conversations have taken us to some different parts of the same emergency. Marcus Foster described experienced local residents protecting threatened properties during the early days of the Timber Fire and the sometimes difficult meeting between local knowledge and professional incident command. Lucas Handy brought us to the South Coast and into the remarkable sequence of experiencing Timber and then, only days later, responding to the Plaskett Fire close to his home and family at Treebones. Kate Novoa, Big Sur Kate, looked at another essential part of an emergency: information, rumor, verification and trust. Now we follow some of those same voices into government. Kate Daniels is Monterey County Supervisor for the Fifth District, which includes Big Sur. She first appeared on A Big Sur Podcast in 2023, when she was still a candidate. In that conversation she talked about wanting to be bold and visionary, about governing as a facilitator, and about treating elected office as a temporary opportunity to make a difference. The Timber and Plaskett Fires gave those ideas a very different meaning. Daniels describes recognizing early that Timber would not be an incident measured in hours; the extraordinary Monday when residents on a threatened ridge were asking for firefighting resources; her efforts to carry their information to Senator John Laird and CAL FIRE; and the realization that Big Sur needed a better way of getting reliable, on-the-ground information into county government. Out of that came nightly meetings connecting community organizations and residents with the County Administrative Office. Daniels describes an evolving chain of communication: local people to community representatives, those representatives to the county, and the county to the agencies with the authority to act. The conversation also exposes one of the central tensions of emergency government: responsibility without complete authority. A supervisor may be the person constituents call, but decisions about fire tactics, evacuation orders, Highway 1 closures and other critical actions belong to different agencies and officials. We talk about CAL FIRE and the Forest Service, the Sheriff, CHP, Caltrans, the Emergency Operations Center, CERT, CABS and Big Sur Fire. We return repeatedly to the value, and the complications, of local knowledge: residents who know obscure ridge roads, water sources, turnarounds, fire history and the capabilities of their own properties in ways that an incoming crew simply cannot know immediately. Daniels also talks candidly about frustration, anger, mistakes, strained relationships, and the need to preserve those relationships even while arguing forcefully for the community she represents. And the conversation does not end when the flames recede. With large burn scars above the coast, attention is already shifting toward winter: debris flows, blocked culverts, Highway 1, stream and river channels and the possibility that the next phase of this emergency will arrive with the rain. Perhaps the most important question running through this episode is the one that has emerged across the entire series: How do we take the knowledge, relationships and improvisations that helped during these fires and turn them into something that already exists when the next one begins? Living With Fire: Big Sur continues with additional voices from the community, government, science and emergency response. All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 134 LIVING WITH FIRE: BIG SUR - Kate Daniels, Responsibility Without Authority

  3. Sep 27

    # 133 Living With Fire: Big Sur - Kate — How do we know what we know when Big Sur is burning?

    This is the third conversation in Living With Fire: Big Sur, an ongoing A Big Sur Podcast series examining the Timber and Plaskett Fires from different points of view—and asking what they can tell us about living with wildfire in Big Sur. Previous episodes: # 131 Living With Fire: Big Sur - Marcus Foster on the Timber Fire, Local Knowledge, and What Comes Next # 132 Living With Fire: Big Sur — Lucas Handy, When the Fire Came South LINKS: Watch Duty Big Sur Fire Community Association of Big Sur Fire Adapted Big Sur & Big Sur Kate Online Kate Novoa—known to almost everyone around here as Big Sur Kate—started her blog during the 2008 Basin Complex Fire. What began as an improvised way of getting accurate information to her neighbors has become an extraordinary running record of Big Sur: fires, storms, slides, Highway 1 closures, government decisions, community disputes and everyday life. During the Plaskett Fire, however, Kate suddenly found herself on the other side of that information system. Away from home and unable to return because of the evacuation, she received word that her house had burned. For a short time she believed it. Then she began doing exactly what she has done for the rest of us for eighteen years: checking the source, withholding judgment, finding someone closer to what had actually happened, and waiting for confirmation. Her house had survived, although the fire damaged her water system and burned frighteningly close. That experience opens into a much larger conversation. We talk about rumor and verification; how Kate decides whom to trust; the difference between official information and local knowledge; why the first hours of an emergency are so difficult; her work with Watch Duty; what a deeply local reporter can contribute that a national emergency-information system cannot; and why knowing who knows may be just as important as knowing the information yourself. Kate also talks about the archive she has unintentionally created. Thousands of posts dating back to 2008 now amount to something close to a contemporaneous history of modern Big Sur—and she is beginning to think seriously about who will preserve and continue it. And, inevitably, we talk about Highway 1, the coming winter, burned watersheds, the possibility of renewed slides and isolation, and the peculiar Big Sur habit of fighting with one's neighbors right up until the moment something terrible happens—at which point everybody helps everybody! (-: Near the end I return to something Kate told me years ago about falling in love with Big Sur. After fires, evacuations, slides and nearly losing her home, I ask whether she still feels the same way. Her answer is very simple: “More. I love it even more.” __________________________ More Living With Fire: Big Sur conversations are coming, including Monterey County District 5 Supervisor Kate Daniels, biogeographer and ecologist Nikki Nedeff, co-founder of Watch Duty John Mills, and others involved in the fires, the response and the larger question of how Big Sur prepares for what comes next. All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 133 Living With Fire: Big Sur - Kate — How do we know what we know when Big Sur is burning?

  4. Sep 22

    # 132 Living With Fire: Big Sur — Lucas Handy, When the Fire Came South

    Living With Fire: Big Sur is an ongoing series of conversations about the Timber and Plaskett Fires—and, more broadly, about what it means to live with wildfire in Big Sur. In this episode I talk with Lucas Handy of Treebones Resort, on the South Coast of Big Sur. Longtime listeners may remember that Lucas's parents, John and Corinne Handy, have both been guests on A Big Sur Podcast, talking about Treebones—the remarkable place they created on the South Coast and the family and community that grew around it. Lucas was thirteen when the family moved there. Big Sur has been home ever since. Lucas's experience of the recent fires is unusual because he found himself in the middle of both. When the Timber Fire began, he returned to Big Sur and joined friends and neighbors around Partington Ridge, helping with clearing, supplies and preparations while also documenting what was happening with his camera. Then he came home to the South Coast. Five days later, the Plaskett Fire started. This time the fire was in his own neighborhood. Lucas takes us onto Willow Creek and Los Burros roads and describes the uncertainty of those first hours, the work of neighbors, the arrival—and sometimes absence—of professional resources, the shortage of water, and a back-burn operation that suddenly became something much more dangerous. At one point Lucas and a friend found themselves trying to leave a property as fire crossed their only way out. They eventually drove through flames to escape. It is quite a story. But this conversation isn't primarily about heroics. It's about judgment, local knowledge, responsibility, and community. When should we, the residents, stay and help? When are we simply putting ourselves and firefighters in greater danger? What do we know that an arriving fire crew cannot know? And what do professional firefighters understand that even experienced residents may not? And who are 'we' to decide? We also talk about Treebones itself. Guests were evacuated, reservations cancelled, and the resort became an impromptu support center for firefighters—food, showers, a place to sleep, and, importantly, water. Toward the end of our conversation Lucas says something that may be at the heart of this entire series. Driving through the burned landscape afterward, what overwhelmed him wasn't simply fear or relief. It was pride in the way this community had come together. And he talks movingly about his late brother Mike Handy, who had been a captain with Big Sur Fire, and the feeling that in doing this work he was, in some small way, carrying his brother with him. This is the second conversation in Living With Fire: Big Sur. More voices will follow—residents, scientists, public officials, firefighters, communicators and others trying to understand what happened during these fires, what worked, what didn't, and what Big Sur might learn before the next one. All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 132 Living With Fire: Big Sur — Lucas Handy, When the Fire Came South

  5. Sep 20

    # 131 Living With Fire: Big Sur - Marcus Foster on the Timber Fire, Local Knowledge, and What Comes Next

    What happens in the hours after a wildfire starts in Big Sur—before the full machinery of a major incident has arrived? Over the coming weeks, A Big Sur Podcast will be talking with a number of people about the Timber and Plaskett Fires, and more broadly about Big Sur’s long and complicated relationship with wildfire. This first conversation is with Marcus Foster of Keep Big Sur Wild, who was on the ground during the early hours of the Timber Fire and has been involved with wildfire response in Big Sur for many years. Marcus has lived in Big Sur for nearly 35 years and served for roughly twelve years with Big Sur Fire. During the recent Timber Fire, his eighteen-year-old son responded with the department and was injured early in the incident. As the fire moved toward homes on a ridge above the coast, Marcus joined a small group of experienced locals preparing water systems, laying hose and protecting structures as the fire reached them. In this conversation, Marcus describes those first difficult hours and the uneasy boundary between local knowledge and professional incident command: why outside crews may quite reasonably hesitate to enter unfamiliar narrow roads at night, why residents sometimes believe they can help, and how the two systems might work together better. But the conversation reaches beyond the Timber Fire. Marcus discusses his experiences with earlier Big Sur fires, the role of Big Sur Fire, changing visitation and dispersed camping, illegal campfires, social media’s ability to suddenly overwhelm formerly little-known places, and his belief that substantially more attention and resources should go toward prevention and enforcement. As a member of Keep Big Sur Wild, he also raises a more complicated question: How much should we alter a wild landscape in the name of protecting homes from wildfire? Marcus argues for home hardening and defensible space while questioning large-scale vegetation clearing that can affect habitat and the scenic character Big Sur’s Land Use Plan was designed to protect. This episode is one part of a continuing A Big Sur Podcast examination of the Timber and Plaskett Fires. I’ll be speaking with other residents, firefighters, public officials and people involved in the response—not in search of one simple verdict, but to understand what worked, what didn’t, and what Big Sur should learn before the next fire begins. Because in Big Sur, the question is not whether there will be another fire. It is how ready we will be when it comes. Keep Big Sur Wild Previous Big Sur Podcast episode with Marcus All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 131 Living With Fire: Big Sur - Marcus Foster on the Timber Fire, Local Knowledge, and What Comes Next

  6. Jul 20

    # 130 Melting Point: Rachel Cockerell on Family, Memory, and the Promised Land

    Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land A dusty, life-size portrait no one looked at. A family name no one could spell. And a single line in a 1941 obituary — "a household name for Jews across the Russian Empire." At 24, Rachel Cockerell started pulling that thread, and it led her from a messy house in North London to the docks of Galveston, Texas. I talk with Rachel in her home in London about Melting Point. As you'll hear, I'm a big fan of the book, of how it's put together, and of the way Rachel talks about it. I highly recommend both reading the book and listening to our conversation. I wish I could send a copy to everyone! Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, UK / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, US) is her first book — an experimental history told entirely through primary sources, following David Jochelman, Israel Zangwill, and the Galveston movement. Mentioned in this episode: East West Street by Philippe Sands • Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders • The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson • Orbital by Samantha Harvey • The Grocer on Elgin, Notting Hill • and, of course, an open invitation to the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> More from Rachel:   How I told my family's history through the words of early Zionists - The Jewish Chronicle Zionism, the Melting Pot, and the Galveston Project (with Rachel Cockerell) - Econlib Rachel Cockerell's 'Melting Point' revisits chapter of Jewish migration - The Washington Post All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 130 Melting Point: Rachel Cockerell on Family, Memory, and the Promised Land

  7. Jul 9

    # 129 Love Means I’ll Be Here Tomorrow: Father Cyprian Consiglio on music, monastic life, Big Sur, Rome, and the discipline of staying.

    Magnus, a secular Swede in Big Sur, speaks with Father Cyprian Consiglio — musician, Camaldolese monk, former prior of New Camaldoli, and now Secretary General of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue in Rome — about vocation, music, solitude, Rome, Iran, God, and why real love may simply mean: “I’ll be here tomorrow.” >>>>>>>>> Magnus speaks with Father Cyprian as an old Big Sur friend and as a secular Swede trying to understand what Christian depth can mean when inherited church culture has grown thin. The conversation moves from childhood memories of Chicago museums and the upheavals of 1968 to Phoenix rock-and-roll years, crisis, faith, New Camaldoli, chastity, silence, interreligious friendship, Iran, Rome, and love as the choice to stay. Along the way, Father Cyprian reflects on his latest book, Epiphanies of Nature and Grace, the solitude and community of the Camaldolese life, and the one practice he protects wherever he travels: Silent Meditation. Link to episode # 41 with Cyprian Consiglio and Pico Iyer. Link to Animas Ensemble Music >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Places, people, organizations, books, music, and ideas mentioned: Main places New Camaldoli Hermitage — Father Cyprian describes it as a Camaldolese hermitage where monks live in separate cells, gather for prayer, share work, and try to live “a contemplative life in community." Sant’Anselmo — the Benedictine house/institution in Rome where Cyprian participates in community life and works near “the boss.”  The Vatican / St. Peter’s / Vatican Office for Interreligious Dialogue — in current Vatican language this is the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. The Angelicum — Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. St. Charles Borromeo High School / Seminary High School — formative high-school seminary experience. DePaul University — he attended during that Chicago period. St. Meinrad Monastery / Archabbey, Indiana — formative monastic/theological exposure. Mount Madonna — yoga community/center near Watsonville; he mentions doing yoga teacher training there. Tassajara Zen Mountain Center — mentioned as part of California’s alternative spiritual/meditative landscape. Tangaza University — a School of Theology and an Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies. People mentioned or strongly implied Father Bruno / Bruno Barnhart — former prior of New Camaldoli, major Camaldolese thinker and influence on Cyprian’s theology. Your research file identifies Barnhart as a decisive source for Rediscovering the Divine. Romuald — The Camaldolese founder Saint Romuald. Robert Hale — former prior of New Camaldoli; Cyprian identifies him as prior when he first arrived. Meister Eckhart — medieval Christian mystic/theologian; Cyprian found his monastic name while reading a book about Eckhart by Cyprian Smith. Cyprian Smith — author/scholar whose book on Meister Eckhart helped trigger Cyprian’s choice of name. Bede Griffiths — Benedictine monk central to Hindu-Christian dialogue; major influence on Cyprian. Abhishiktananda / Henri Le Saux — Benedictine monk and Hindu-Christian contemplative pioneer; major influence on Cyprian. Martin Luther King Jr. — childhood memory of his assassination in 1968. Wisława Szymborska — Polish poet quoted by Cyprian; verify the exact poem before show notes. Professor Mohammad Ali Shomali — Shi‘a Muslim scholar involved in Christian-Muslim dialogue. DIM·MID’s 2026 page references Professor Mohammed Shomali in relation to Kenya and Shi‘a dialogue. William Skudlarek — Cyprian’s predecessor in the DIM·MID role. John Pennington — longtime percussion, music, recording collaborator; OCP lists his collaborations with Cyprian. Aldous Huxley — Cyprian mentions having The Perennial Philosophy in Italian. Organizations / institutions New Camaldoli Hermitage — Camaldolese Benedictine monastery in Big Sur. DIM·MID — Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique / Monastic Interreligious Dialogue — Cyprian’s current work; as Secretary General for Benedictines and Cistercians worldwide. DIM·MID’s website presents current reports from Cyprian as Secretary General. Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue — Vatican office connected to his work. Focolare Movement — hosted/sponsored the Week of Unity event. World Meditation Day Foundation — he mentions helping co-host an event connected to it. European Network of Buddhist-Christian Studies — he was about to travel for this meeting. Tangaza University — Nairobi Catholic university / theology and interreligious context. Orbis Books — publisher of Rediscovering the Divine and Epiphanies of Nature and Grace. Liturgical Press — publisher of Spirit, Soul, Body and other Cyprian books. All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 129 Love Means I’ll Be Here Tomorrow: Father Cyprian Consiglio on music, monastic life, Big Sur, Rome, and the discipline of staying.

  8. Jun 26

    # 128 From Tehran to the Akasha: Rohini Moradi on grief, ancient wisdom, and the search for meaning

    From Tehran to the Akasha: Rohini Moradi on grief, ancient wisdom, and the search for meaning Raised in a Hindu temple in Tehran before emigrating to the United States, Rohini Moradi brings an unusually personal perspective to ideas that are often presented only as modern spirituality. Meet Rohini Moradi at the Henry Miller Library on July 14 for a book reading. Reserve your spot here. Share this episode!!! Our conversation ranges from her childhood in Iran, her family's connection to India and the Vedic tradition, the death of her young daughter that transformed her life, and her new book Tapping into the Akasha (available at the HMML!). Along the way we explore intuition, ritual, meditation, the relationship between science and spirituality, the ethics of translating ancient traditions for modern audiences, and the enduring human search for meaning. Whether you approach these ideas as a believer, a skeptic, or simply someone who enjoys thoughtful conversations, this episode asks larger questions about grief, consciousness, and what it means to live a meaningful life. Thank you Rohini! Links  Official website Tapping into the Akasha Courses and teachings  Rohini on SpotifyConcepts discussed  The Vedas  The Upanishads  Bhagavad Gita  Akasha / Akashic tradition  Pranayama (breath practice) People mentioned  David Bohm  Rupert Sheldrake  Nikola Tesla  Carl Jung  Helena Blavatsky  Rudolf Steiner Places  Rishikesh  Triveni Ghat  All comments much welcomed! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL!  😊 magnus@henrymiller.org FaceBook Instagram

    # 128 From Tehran to the Akasha: Rohini Moradi on grief, ancient wisdom, and the search for meaning
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
39 Ratings

About

A Big Sur Podcast An ongoing conversation with people from near and far about Big Sur's past, present, and future. A Big Sur Podcast interprets “community” to mean ALL people from around the world who are curious about, and who care about, the preservation and restoration of the wild and rural character of Big Sur. Stories are told by visitors and residents, plumbers and linesmen, musicians and authors, dancers and jugglers and others. Sometimes we drift (way) off-topic into the arts, sciences, personal stories, gossip, politics, philosophy, ornithology, Henry Miller, and our zeitgeist in general. We like that! The opinions expressed here belong to the people who express them. They may or may not line up with yours, mine, or your neighbor’s — and that’s exactly the point. Different perspectives, lived experiences, and even wildly clashing views are what make conversations worth listening to: enriching, infuriating, life-affirming, and sometimes all three at once. If you are planning a visit to Big Sur and you listen to some of the folks on this Podcast talk about their love of the place your visit will probably be a lot more rewarding. Please email magnus@henrymiller.org with any comments, critique & suggestions. Music intro clip courtesy John Holm: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DZ06evO0Rh2QU Sound editing software by Hindenburg: https://hindenburg.com/Please support the podcast by making a donation to the Henry Miller Library, a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization. Thank you!

Information

  • Creator
    Magnus Toren, host
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    133
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A Big Sur Podcast
  • Show Website
    A Big Sur Podcast

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