Unbroken Chain Podcast

Maura James McNamara
  • 5.0 (43)
  • Society & Culture

Conversations along the journey: ancestral medicines, ordinary magic, and the wisdom within us all. Hosted by Maura James McNamara.

  1. 03/16/2023

    Ep 92: Following the Mystical Thread w Kasem

    My friend Kasem joins for a tender, deeply personal conversation about his lifelong dance with the mystic. From a childhood rooted in the Missionary Baptist church to his last 13 years as a practicing buddhist, Kasem has been following the radical meme of self-discovery.  We talk about everything from putting Jesus back in context and learning to examine the nature of reality, to the "double dutch" of code switching and navigating the American Dream as the child of immigrants. If you want to connect with Kasem, you can email him at ricanarab@gmail.com. More podcasts at MauraJames.com and IG @maurajames. ["Haenim" - Kim Jung Me]

    Ep 92: Following the Mystical Thread w Kasem

  2. 07/11/2022

    Ep 90: My Body Knows the Way w Phil Cook

    Musician and human laser beam of positive energy Phil Cook comes to the woods in Alabama for an intimate conversation by the creek. We talk everything from space and swing, to dad's ski tapes, to getting diagnosed with ADHD at 40, and learning to respect the power of plants. It's been a big time of reflection and setting new direction. Welcome to Phil's big, beautiful world. You're part of the family now.  Watch Phil's new documentary Stay Prayed Up and listen to his new album All These Years. He's on IG @philcookmusic. More podcasts at MauraJames.com and IG @maurajames. ["All These Years" - Phil Cook]

  3. 04/05/2021

    Ep 89: Looking at the Hollow Within w Chase Bauer

    My dear friend Chase Bauer returns to the podcast with a deeply personal exploration of the nature of mind. In telling the story of a recent psychedelic ceremony, Chase reveals how a constellation of wisdom including nonviolent communication (NVC), guru yoga, and the witness of LSD helped him understand his relationship to addiction in a radically new way. Along the way we contemplate cults and spiritual abuse, whiteness, codependence, the value and limitations of constructing mental models, and doing whippets in your 30s. Watch Chase's short films Calling For Home Care and Pleasant Valley Black and Blue and connect with him on IG @cosminomena. More podcasts at MauraJames.com and IG @maurajames. ["Love Is Overtaking Me" - Arthur Russell]

    Ep 89: Looking at the Hollow Within w Chase Bauer

  4. 01/22/2021

    Ep 88: Not Here to Make Pretty Pictures w Kathy Nida

    Kathy Nida is an artist most well known for her quilts, which depict potent visions of the human experience. She describes quilting as a form of meditative practice that is essential to her mental health. She has intentionally prioritized it throughout her life, including while also being a mother and a full-time middle school science teacher. In this conversation, we explore truth-telling and censorship, art and capitalism, pantyhose revolt, and finding hope for the future in critically-thinking 12-year-olds, among much more. You can connect with her at kathynida.com and on IG @knida. More podcasts where podcasts are found and at MauraJames.com. ["Down By the River" - Letta Mbulu]

    Ep 88: Not Here to Make Pretty Pictures w Kathy Nida

  5. 12/18/2020

    Ep 86: The Magnificent Journey w Susan Ateh

    Susan Ateh is a breathwork facilitator whose goal is for all people to experience love for themselves. An Irish-Cameroonian living in LA as a working actor for many years, Susan realized that the misogyny, materialism, and judgment inherent to the film industry had worn down her love for her craft, and she found herself paralyzed by depression. She shares how breathwork reconnected her to the beauty of her emotions and helped her begin to release decades of unprocessed emotion, a journey into reconnection that she now holds space for others to walk. We talk about the socialization of "the good girl," the trope of the "angry black woman," comparison culture, capitalism and colonialism in the wellness industry, and the importance of apologizing for our participation in white supremacy—unconscious and conscious—when we begin the work of deprogramming our minds and hearts. You can find Susan and her virtual breathwork circles at www.susanateh.com and IG @irishinfused. More podcasts where podcasts are found, www.maurajames.com and IG @maurajames.  ["Deep Silence" - Loma Suyo]

    Ep 86: The Magnificent Journey w Susan Ateh

  6. 11/08/2020

    Ep 84: Freedom Is Possible w Jeanette Waddell

    Jeanette Waddell is a storyteller and wise elder based in middle Georgia. She returns to the podcast (catch her on episode 37!) to share her experience as a black woman in America, from confronting racism in intimate relationships to underrepresentation of black bodies in the media to learning to keep her heart open with healthy boundaries through ongoing oppression. She shares the stories of community organizing and individual vision that ground her in her own agency: Malcolm X, MLK, the organizers of the bus boycotts, and the community of the black church. Through it all, she presents storytelling as a powerful tool for manifesting freedom in a world based on exploitation and enslavement. You can email her at vaughnfamily21@juno.com. More podcasts where podcasts are found and MauraJames.com.  ["If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" - The Staples Singers]

    Ep 84: Freedom Is Possible w Jeanette Waddell

  7. 10/29/2020

    Ep 83: Seeking Comfort w Nick Nail

    Nick Nail is a musician, painter, gentle soul, and friend of ours in Birmingham. Here Nick explores his lifelong quest for comfort and belonging after experiencing a painful split in his consciousness in the wake of early childhood sexual abuse. At times Nick has found relief in long distance running and creating music and art and at other times in codependent relationships and regular heroin use. Nick has a tremendous capacity for compassionate observation. He talks with radical transparency about the gifts and limitations of addiction, choosing homelessness, bearing the stigma of being a "bad person," discovering the permission to enjoy life, and learning to be of service to the world. Nick recently detoxed from heroin at our house and this conversation was recorded a few days after he was finally walking, talking, and eating again. "Who's to say that anybody is wrong for doing something that they're lead to do? All the things that we go through are just something to help us do better tomorrow, you know?" More podcasts where podcasts are found, MauraJames.com and IG: @maurajames. ["Your Jewel" - Michael Nau]

    Ep 83: Seeking Comfort w Nick Nail

  8. 10/19/2020

    Ep 82: Ibogaine & Harm Reduction w Juliana Mulligan

    Juliana Mulligan is the founder of Inner Vision Ibogaine, where she coaches people before and after treatment sessions with the powerful entheogen ibogaine. Her call to devote her life to helping others formulate a new healing life structure is deeply personal: after seven years of struggle with opioid dependency, which forced her into the further trauma of the mainstream rehab system, from methadone and Suboxone to 12 step programs and the justice system, Juliana finally found freedom with ibogaine. Although the treatment was a success, the clinic did not followed proper safety protocols and Juliana nearly died several times during the experience. Ever since, she has been focused on safety guidelines, promoting women run clinics and co-authoring a guide for vetting providers. She became a certified EMT and trained in three Ibogaine clinics in South Africa, Costa Rica, and Mexico, acting as a provider and lay-therapist. She currently works as the Psychedelic Program Coordinator at The Center for Optimal Living, which focuses on Harm Reduction. You can find her recent articles at Double Blind and Chacruna. More podcasts where podcasts are found and at MauraJames.com. ["A Calf Born in Winter" - Khruangbin]

    Ep 82: Ibogaine & Harm Reduction w Juliana Mulligan
See All (81)

5
out of 5
43 Ratings

About

Conversations along the journey: ancestral medicines, ordinary magic, and the wisdom within us all. Hosted by Maura James McNamara.

Information

  • Creator
    Maura James McNamara
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2023
  • Episodes
    81
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Unbroken Chain Podcast