Ciis Public Programs & Performances

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * As we approach the first season change of the year, we are finding ourselves inclined to revisit this conversation centered on time and ritual featuring author Sasha Sagan and CIIS Interdisciplinary Arts professor Carolyn Cooke. * Sasha Sagan was raised by secular parents, the astronomer Carl Sagan and the writer and producer Ann Druyan. They taught her that the natural world and vast cosmos are full of profound beauty, that science reveals truths more wondrous than any myth or fable. * When Sasha herself became a mother, she began her own hunt for the natural phenomena behind our most treasured occasions—from births to deaths, holidays to weddings, anniversaries, and more—growing these roots into a new set of rituals for her young daughter that honor the joy and significance of each experience without relying on religious frameworks. * Sasha’s first book, For Small Cre

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Michelle Tea is best known for her book, Modern Tarot, which is now a cult classic. Her latest book, Modern Magic, explores her magical roots. Sharing how she crafted her own magical practice, Michelle offers a framework to tap into the distinctive magic that lies within each of us, a framework that incorporates queer, feminist, anti-racist, and intersectional values. * In this episode, self-described DIY witch, professional tarot reader, author, and feminist icon Michelle Tea is joined by arts-based, psychedelic-assisted ancestral psychotherapist Camara Meri Rajaberi for an illuminating conversation that explores modern magic. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on November 6th, 2024. You can also watch it on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube channel. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. To find out more about CIIS and public programs like this o

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * For over 40 years somatic sex educator Dr. Betty Martin has explored the nuances of consent. In her framework and book, The Wheel of Consent, Dr. Martin traces the fundamental roots of consent back to our childhood conditioning. As children, many are taught that to be “good” we must ignore our body’s discomfort and be compliant. As adults, this conditioning remains with us until we unlearn it. The implications of this approach to consent education extends beyond touch and intimate relationships. When we forget how to notice what we really want, we lose our inner compass. When we continue to go along with things we don’t feel are right, we lose our ability to speak up against injustice. * In this episode, Dr. Martin is joined by Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigiqueer soma-cultural sex therapist, sexuality educator, writer, activist, and musician Dr. Roger Kuhn for an empowe

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Talking about death is often deemed morbid or taboo, but to fully embrace life, scientists, psychologists, and spiritual leaders all agree—contemplating death is the key to living a life with meaning. In this episode, Joanna Ebenstein, author and founder of Morbid Anatomy—an organization exploring the spaces between art and medicine, death and culture—is joined in conversation with CIIS faculty and Chicane philosopher Saraliza Anzaldúa exploring how to befriend death. * Sharing insights from her latest book, Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, Joanna discusses what it means to be mortal and shares how to both come to terms with what death means and live alongside it without fear. In doing so, you can see your own life in a new light and discover what makes life worth living. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on October

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Emerging research in psychological and philosophical circles is showing us that there is more to the good life than past or current conversations suggest. Psychological richness is the missing piece to the good life, and, Lorraine Besser, a founding investigator in these studies, shows how we can add it to our lives by making them full of what she calls the Interesting—experiences that captivate and engage our minds, stimulate new thoughts and emotions, and impact our perspectives. * In this episode, author and professor of philosophy Lorraine Besser is joined by CIIS Expressive Arts Therapy professor Shoshanna Simons for an inspiring conversation exploring how we can make our lives more interesting without having to make dramatic changes. Lorraine shares ideas from her research and latest book, The Art of the Interesting. They discuss how everyone can obtain and strengt

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Each person has a unique, ever-changing relationship to hope. Hope alone can be transformational—but in moments of despair, or when you’re up against profound injustice—it isn’t enough on its own. As we enter a new year full of complicated hopeful feelings, we are finding this episode from our archives to be timely. * In this episode, CIIS Chief Diversity Officer Rachel Bryant has a conversation with transformative learning and social justice educator Kari Grain introducing Dr. Grain’s concept of critical hope. This is hope in action: a vibrant, engaged practice and a commitment to honoring transformative potential across a vast spectrum of experience. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 5th, 2022. You can also watch it on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube channel. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. To find out more about CIIS and public

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * When a film touches us, makes us laugh, and has that feel-good spirit, we want more of it. We want a sequel! In this episode, psychotherapist and CIIS Assistant Professor in the Integral Counseling Psychology program Emily Marinelli is joined by therapist and activist DDS Dobson-Smith for a conversation exploring the psychology of movie sequels from the 1980s and 1990s. * Sharing personal stories and insights from their latest book Comfort Sequels, Emily dives deep into the psychology behind what makes certain movie sequels memorable, safe, predictable, and comforting. These sequels are more of the universe we love—exploring something new while maintaining something familiar. Emily interprets characters, story arcs, and major themes while sharing fun and random behind-the-scenes facts about sequels including Grease 2, Gremlins 2, My Girl 2, Ghostbusters II, Batman Return

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * In the context of non-monogamy, compersion or the emotion of positive empathy is understood as sharing our partner’s joy regarding their other intimate relationship or relationships. Drawing upon her seminal research with consensually non-monogamous individuals, author and mindful dating and relationship coach, Dr. Marie (two-un) Thouin, unravels the complexity of compersion in her recent book, What is Compersion?, the first ever book to offer a comprehensive model of compersion and a practical roadmap to cultivating it. * In this episode, Dr. (two-un) Thouin is joined by Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigequeer activist, artist, sex therapist, and somacultural theorist Dr. Roger Kuhn in a conversation exploring compersion as a roadmap for radical love in monogamous and non-monogamous consensual relationships. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 8t

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Majority cultural norms in the United States suppress our ability to truly feel our grief and each person’s experience with grief is as unique as the grief itself. Writer, somatic practitioner, and artist Camille Sapara Barton’s take on grief speaks directly to the ways that BIPOC and queer communities and individuals disproportionately experience unique constellations of loss. In their work, Camille honors every experience: The loss of displacement from homelands, severed lineages and ancestral ways of knowing. The grief of colonization and theft. The deep heaviness that burrows into our bodies when society tells us our bodies are wrong. * In this conversation with author, educator, activist, and intuitive healer Michelle Cassandra Johnson, Camille shares ways we can tend to our grief both alone and in community, drawing upon their new book Tending Grief, written specifi

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * In anticipation of our upcoming workshop exploring shamanic tools for liberating our true longing with author and shamanic healer Langston Kahn, we are revisiting his conversation with energy worker and spiritual practitioner Maryam Hasnaa. In this deep conversation, Langston and Maryam discussed ways we can address the root of past trauma and heartbreak to reclaim our personal and collective power. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on January 26th, 2021. You can also watch it on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube channel. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. To find out more about CIIS and public programs like this one, visit our website ciis.edu and connect with us on social media @ciispubprograms, where you can also find information and register to attend Langston’s workshop taking place live online January 25th and 26th, in 2025. * We hope that

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Choctaw multimedia artist Tricia Rainwater’s wide-ranging work is rooted in themes of identity and grief. Her artistic practice offers a perspective through the lens of a Choctaw survivor. In her most recent series, Falama: to return, she shared a sustained desire to repair ties to ceremony and culture. To create Falama, she set out on the Trail of Tears, the route followed by five southeastern tribal nations—including her own ancestors—when they were forcibly displaced from their homes to areas west of the Mississippi designated as Indian Territory. * In this episode, Nunatsiavut Inuk multimedia artist and writer Chantal Jung joins Tricia for an engaging conversation about her ongoing explorations of return, reconnection, and repair with her Indigenous family, culture, and land—past and present. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on July 25th, 2024.

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Dr. Thema Bryant is a psychologist and leading mental health expert with more than two decades of experience in clinical psychology and trauma recovery. As a trauma survivor herself, she knows that trauma and everyday challenges can cause us to disconnect and fall into survival mode. In her latest book, Reclaim Yourself, she shares accessible and practical steps toward creating the life you want while processing stress and trauma. * In this episode, CIIS Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Rachel Bryant talks with Dr. Thema Bryant about her life and work and how Dr. Bryant’s approach can help trauma survivors heal their emotions and actively take steps toward growth. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on July 11th, 2024. You can also watch it on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube channel. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. To find o

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * As we continue to navigate years of collective upheaval, are there ways for us to face the complexities of our time with joy, authenticity, and connection? Prentis Hemphill, embodiment practitioner, therapist, and activist, shows us that we don't have to carry our emotional burdens alone. * In this episode, Prentis is joined by comedian, author, and filmmaker W. Kamau Bell in a grounding conversation exploring the principles of embodiment awareness and how we can create a future in which healing is done in community. * In the conversation Prentis shares ideas from their latest book, What it Takes to Heal, which draws on their experiences as a trauma survivor and a clinician, as well as lessons learned from their time as a social movement architect. Prentis invites us to heal our bodies, minds, and souls, to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to bust down the doo

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * This week, we are diving into our archives in preparation for the northern hemisphere’s upcoming winter season which brings with it a call for all earthly beings to rest. In this episode, we are revisiting CIIS Integral and Transpersonal Psychology program director Kendra Diaz-Ford’s conversation with social psychologist Devon Price. * Like many Americans, Devon Price believed that productivity was the best way to measure self-worth. Dr. Price was an overachiever from the start, graduating from both college and graduate school early, but that success came at a cost. After Dr. Price was diagnosed with a severe case of anemia and heart complications from overexertion, they were forced to examine the darker side of all this productivity. * Dr. Price began a thorough examination of what they call the “laziness lie”—which falsely tells us we are not working or learning hard e

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * What role does dominant culture play in how we experience the sensations, thoughts, feelings, and deeper existential mysteries of our bodies? Dr. Roger Kuhn, a Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigequeer activist, artist, sex therapist, and somacultural theorist, believes that Two-Spirit people hold a unique and valuable perspective. Straddling colonial imposition and tribal significance, Two-Spirit identity offers a powerful decolonizing framework to achieve freedom and navigate the toxic systems of domination that impose upon the precious truth of who we are. * In this episode, Dr. Kuhn is joined by queer nonbinary therapist and mediator Jay Tzvia Helfand for a conversation illuminating the ways our bodies offer portals to our own liberation and how viewing our bodies through a somacultural lens can help us better understand how dominant culture informs and, all too often, mis

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Renowned developer of Somatic Experiencing Dr. Peter A. Levine changed the way psychologists, doctors, and healers understand and treat the wounds of trauma and abuse. * In this conversation with CIIS professor of somatic psychology Rae Johnson, he shares his own experience of severe childhood trauma and how he helped thousands of others before resolving his own trauma. Sharing insights from his recent memoir, An Autobiography of Trauma, Dr. Levine explains how being guided through Somatic Experiencing allowed him to illuminate and untangle his traumatic wounds and shares the history of the Somatic Experiencing method being derived from his studies of wild animals in their natural environments, neurobiology, and more than 50 years of clinical observations. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 16th, 2024. You can also watch it on the CIIS Public

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Historically, the field of sexuality research in the United States has not included the experiences and wisdom of racialized sexologists, educators, therapists, or professionals. Instead, sexuality professionals have been trained using a color-free narrative that does an injustice by both excluding their work as well as failing to offer a fuller examination of how they expanded the field and held it accountable. * In this episode, educator and sexologist Bianca I Laureano is joined by Founder and Executive Director of Sacramento Peers on Prevention Dr. Ericka Burns for an illuminating conversation highlighting the voices, experiences, strategies, and solutions from sexologists that have been excluded and yet have still emerged as vital contributors to the U.S. and broader North American sexuality field. Bianca shares insights from her recent collection, The People’s Book

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Christopher Marmolejo is a Brown, queer, and trans writer, diviner, and educator who uses divination to promote a literacy of liberation. In their latest book, Red Tarot, each card’s interpretation is further bolstered by the teachings of Toni Morrison, bell hooks, Paulo Freire, José Esteban Muñoz, and others in an offering that integrates intersectional wisdom with the author’s divination practice—revealing tarot as an essential language for liberation. * In this episode, Christopher is joined by arts-based, psychedelic-assisted ancestral psychotherapist Camara Meri Rajabari for a conversation that moves beyond self-help and the Hellenistic frame of tarot to reclaim it for liberation, self-determination, and collective healing. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 23rd, 2024. You can also watch it on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube channel. A

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Alice Wong is an acclaimed disabled activist whose work and writing has shaped the modern conversation around disability. As the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, her work foregrounds the stories of those living with disabilities and paints a vibrant picture of disability media and culture. In her latest book, Disability Intimacy, Alice uses her distinctive voice to highlight and curate stories of intimacy. More than sex, more than romantic love, the pieces in her stunning and illuminating new anthology offer broader and more inclusive definitions of what it can mean to be intimate with another person. * In this episode, Alice is joined in a conversation with writer, educator and trainer for transformative justice and disability justice Mia Mingus. Their conversation about Alice’s life and work will free your thinking, invigorate your spirit, and

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * Empathy is so much more than feeling deeply—it holds transformative power to heal ourselves, strengthen our relationships, and amplify our purpose. Psychiatrist and bestselling author Judith Orloff presents empathy as a daily healing practice and a form of emotional intelligence accessible to all. Drawing on insights from neuroscience, psychology, and energy medicine, Dr. Orloff’s newest book, The Genius of Empathy, shows us how to access our sensitivities, soothe our nervous systems, and stop absorbing the emotions of others. * In this episode, Dr. Orloff is joined by empath, spiritual seeker, and intuitive healer Laura Rowe for a conversation about igniting empathy as a superpower for transformative personal healing, deeper relationships, and more potent work in the world. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on April 24th, 2024. You can also watch it