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In this episode of A Big Sur Podcast, I sit down with Brita Ostrom — longtime Esalen resident and author of Steeped: A Big Sur Elixir of Sulfur and Sage.

Brita’s life bridges several revolutions at once: the islands of the Pacific Northwest, the Haight-Ashbury explosion of 1966–67, the psychedelic and political turbulence of the Summer of Love, and the early, formative years of the Esalen Institute.

We talk about Haight Street — the overwhelming beauty of it all: the posters, the music, the saturated colors. And later, how the fog began to settle in. About sidewalks so crowded you could barely move, and children who quietly went missing. About free love and jealousy, about massage tables and incense, about the uneasy dance between material success and spiritual seeking.

Brita describes arriving at Esalen for the first time — the candlelit baths, the shock of nakedness, the silkiness of sulfur water against cold skin. She reflects on figures like Fritz Perls, Storm, and Lars — and on what it meant to come of age inside a cultural experiment that promised liberation but carried its own tensions and blind spots.

This is not nostalgia. It is a reckoning.

What does it mean to “drop out”? What does it cost? What does it give?
What remains when the fog clears?

Brita’s memoir is a meditation on community, intimacy, ritual, and the long arc of a life shaped by Big Sur’s muse-like pull.

As she writes in her dedication:

I hope you’ll enjoy this thoughtful, tender, and at times unsparing conversation.

— Magnus

• Esalen Institute
• Haight-Ashbury
• Golden Gate Park
• Henry Miller Memorial Library

People Mentioned

• Fritz Perls
• Alan Watts
• Ebba Malmborg
• Carlos Castaneda
• Cesar Chavez
• Ken Kesey
• Dennis Murphy
• Selig Morgenrath

Bands of the Era (Referenced in the Conversation)

• Grateful Dead
• Jefferson Airplane
• Moby Grape
• Quicksilver Messenger Service
• The Charlatans

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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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Andrew Munn in conversation!

Deep Listening, Between Cage and Wagner, from Silence to Parsifal. Listening for the unheard, where sound becomes ceremony.

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Links to more on what we spoke of:

ANDREW MUNN

Short video from the HMML performance.

Peter Mattei

John Cage

Pauline Oliveros

Deep Listening

Rami Sarieddeine

Shanghai Concert Hall

Tanglewood

Parsifal

Magic Flute

Elektra

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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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The Ballad of Kendra and Matt (or, The Song That Never Made It to the PA)
 
A neighborhood celebration, a home-recorded love song, a forgotten “play” button — and a reminder that even when things go sideways, community and humor always find a way. Magnus tells the true story behind a tune that almost didn’t get heard — until now.

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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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Support the show

_________________________________________________


This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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A clown stands alone… somewhere between Henry Miller and Samuel Beckett… somewhere between laughter and the cosmic void.

Henry Miller once said, “A clown is a poet in action.” Today, that poet is Kangalee—the one-man actor and director—returning to the stage with a new mono-drama that refuses to stay in one world. Silent film. Revolutionary vaudeville. Delirious mime. Poetry. Nirvana.

This is the modern holy fool—not Keaton, but Kangalee—struggling, leaping, breaking through to offer us something sacred.

And for the first time in America, Henry Miller’s most mysterious story comes alive on stage in Smile: A Clown’s Ascension — based on The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder.

This episode is a conversation with Kangalee! 

Please visit:

Kangalee Arts Ensemble

HM 21 Symposium

With support form the Arts Council of Monterey County

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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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Author-photographer Josh Jackson grew up camping the Midwest’s state-parks but it wasn’t until he had moved to California, and after the birth of his third child, in 2015—when every California campground was booked solid—that a friend uttered the words “BLM land.” One spur-of-the-moment trip to the Trona Pinnacles cracked open a new universe: 15 million acres of under-sung, “left-over” public land in California alone.
Over the next decade Jackson made pandemic-era pilgrimages to deserts, sagebrush plateaus, and the Lost Coast’s King Range, keeping a field journal, hauling a camera, and gradually uncovering two intertwined stories:

1. A Scrappy, Essential Landscape – Bureau of Land Management parcels host wild‐and‐scenic rivers, endangered species, Indigenous cultural sites, and 60+ first-come camps where solitude still reigns.
2. A Perpetual Target – From the Sagebrush Rebellion to Senator Mike Lee’s 2025 amendments that would auction up to 1.2 million acres, BLM lands survive only by “enduring” repeated sell-off and extraction threats.

The Enduring Wild braids those threads—personal awakening, ecological portraits, Indigenous history, and political urgency—into 100 photographs and 45 k words aimed at turning anonymity into affection. Jackson’s thesis echoes Baba Dioum: “In the end, we will conserve only what we love.” His book is an invitation to know, love, and therefore defend America’s most overlooked public commons.

Come down to the Henry Miller Library - browse and buy your copy ofThe Enduring Wild. 

Wallace Stegner;
These are some of the things wilderness can do for us. That is the reason we need to put into effect, for its preservation, some other principle that the principles of exploitation or "usefulness" or even recreation. We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope.

https://psych.utah.edu/_resources/documents/psych4130/Stenger_W.pdf

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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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This episode is a particularly tender one. I had the privilege of speaking with Patte Kronlund whose husband, Butch, recently passed away after a long and difficult battle with cancer. 

Patte and I have an open, heartfelt conversation—one marked by courage, honesty, and that shows Patte's extraordinary personal strength.

She speaks about grief, love, and the quiet acts of devotion that carry us through our darkest times. Her willingness to share such intimate reflections is something I deeply respect, and I think you will, too.

There’s of course also much more we could have talked about Patte than what we were able to cover here. For one Patte has been a vital part of our Big Sur community through her work with CABS, and although we touched on that in our conversation, I chose to focus this episode on her personal story. I hope we’ll return to her community work in a future episode.

For now, we're simply grateful to Patte—for her openness, for her strength, and for reminding us that even in loss, there can be great beauty and connection.

Here's a link to the podcast with Butch.

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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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Support the show

_________________________________________________


This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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Ever since she picked up her father’s camera at age twelve, Rachael Short has been captivated by the art of photography. Listen to our conversation to learn more from and about Rachael's remarkable story.

LINKS:
Relay for Rachael

Gallery Exposed

Rachael Short Photography

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SUMMARIES:

Rachael's Nature-Inspired Photography Journey
Rachael and Magnus reminisced about their past interactions and shared experiences. Rachael, who grew up in Carmel Valley, expressed her gratitude for her upbringing, which included spending time in nature and observing the environment. She credited this upbringing for influencing her photography and creativity. Magnus and Rachael discussed how Rachael's experiences, such as horseback riding and long drives through nature, shaped her perspective and artistic vision.

Rachael's Photography Journey and Technical Skills
Rachael discusses her early experiences with photography, starting in high school and continuing through her education at Brooks Institute. She was drawn to black and white photography and the darkroom process, which she began learning as a sophomore. Rachael explains that she didn't fully appreciate the significance of famous photographers from her area, like Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, until later in her studies. She describes her time at Brooks Institute, where she experienced the transition from film to digital photography, and highlights the technical skills she gained there, particularly in lighting and the zone system. Rachael also mentions her focus on fine art photography and portraiture, which led to her work in wedding photography as a means to fund her artistic pursuits.

Neurological Trauma Experiences Compared
Rachael and Magnus discussed their experiences with neurological traumas. Rachael shared her vivid memories of a 15-year-old accident that left her paraplegic, while Magnus described his wife's recent stroke. They compared their experiences, noting similarities and differences. Magnus asked Rachael about her memories of the accident and how she has coped with the trauma over the years. Rachael confirmed that she still remembers painful aspects of the accident and has no memory of the first few days in the hospital.

Quadriplegia and Community Support
Rachael discussed her quadriplegia, emphasizing the difference between paraplegia and quadriplegia. She acknowledged the fragility of life and the ongoing challenges of finding the right care to manage her condition. Rachael also expressed gratitude for the community support she receives, particularly through the annual run organized by a core group of friends. Despite the difficulties, she remains hopeful and appreciative of the love and support she receives.

Rachael's Photography and New Project
In the meeting, Rachael discussed her photography work, including a series of images taken at her grandparents' property after it was sold. She explained t

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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!

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In memory of Butch Kronlund, this episode is a replay of a live interview recorded as part of the Under the Persimmon Tree series at the Henry Miller Library.

In this conversation, Butch reflects on his early life and upbringing, meeting his beloved wife Patte, and his arrival in Big Sur—where he would go on to lay the foundations of the Post Ranch Inn, collaborate with architect Mickey Muennig on several iconic homes, help build the new Big Sur Health Center, and oversee the rebuilding of the baths at Esalen.

We also hear about his more recent efforts to raise and distribute critical funds for community members affected by fires and floods—a testament to his enduring care for the coast and its people.

Thanks for listening, and for remembering Butch with us.

There will be a celebration of Butch's life in June. 
Announcement will be forthcoming.

Thank you for listening!

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! 😊
[email protected]

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