CIIS Public Programs

With the second renaissance and re-emergence of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, the general public and therapists alike are confronted with new areas of exploration, but with few systematic frameworks available. With questions surrounding legal access to care, ongoing criminalization, and medical restrictions to care limiting the therapies available, the immediate future of psychedelic-assisted therapy remains shrouded in uncertainty, even in the face of expanding interest. On the cusp of this new era—one of excitement but also uncertainty—one of many ways to explore this emerging landscape is through the lens of the psychospiritual and the therapeutic uses of psychedelics.

In this episode, clinical psychologist, founder of the Center for Existential Exploration, and author Kile Ortigo is joined by licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and social justice advocate Mary Sanders for a conversation on Dr. Ortigo's latest book, Beyond the Narrow Life, an exploration of the psychospiritual and therapeutic use of psychedelics, which includes the process of psychedelic integration.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 26th, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. We hope that each episode provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection and growth.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing:

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

sfsuicide.org

ciis.edu/counseling-and-acupuncture-clinics

Fat Black people in the United States are subject to socio-politically sanctioned discrimination, abuse, condescension, and trauma. In their writing and work, Da’Shaun Harrison—a fat, Black, disabled, trans writer and community organizer—offers an incisive, fresh, and precise exploration of anti-fatness as anti-Blackness.

In this episode, Afro-Caribbean photographer, herbalist, and multidisciplinary artist KaliMa Amilak joins Da’Shaun for a conversation about their latest book, Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness, their life and work, and how we can all work to dismantle our cultural programming to create real change.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on August 19th, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. We hope that each episode provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection and growth.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing:

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

sfsuicide.org

ciis.edu/counseling-and-acupuncture-clinics

In her latest book, Losing Eden, acclaimed journalist Lucy Jones interweaves her deeply personal story of recovery from addiction and depression aided by the support of the natural world with an exploration of the intersection of science, wellness, and the environment. In this episode, scholar and CIIS staff member Laura Pustarfi joins Lucy for a conversation about the importance of maintaining our bond with nature and why we need communion with the wild to feel well.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 14th, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. We hope that each episode provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection and growth.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing:

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

sfsuicide.org

ciis.edu/counseling-and-acupuncture-clinics

In his latest book, The Web of Meaning, author and integrator Jeremy Lent investigates the ways in which seemingly disparate streams of thought are compatible, and when taken together, they are key to facing the existential problems of the 21st century.

In this episode, CIIS Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Professor Matthew Segall joins Jeremy for an inspiring conversation exploring a new worldview based on a deep recognition of connectedness within ourselves, between each other, and with the entire natural world.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 11th, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. We hope that each episode provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection and growth.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing:

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

sfsuicide.org

ciis.edu/counseling-and-acupuncture-clinics

In unsettling and uncertain times, the individual and collective heartbreak that lives in both our bodies and our communities can feel insurmountable. Many of us have been conditioned by the dominant culture to not name, focus on, or wade through the difficulties in our lives. But in order to heal, we must make space for grief, prioritizing our wholeness and humanity.

Social justice activist, social worker, and yoga teacher Michelle Cassandra Johnson offers the tools people need to be present and open hearted with their grief. In this episode, program innovation leader in mindfulness, trauma, and racial healing Jenée Johnson talks with Michelle about her latest book, Finding Refuge, as well as her life and work helping people to process family, community, and global grief.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 4th, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. We hope that each episode provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection and growth.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing:

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

sfsuicide.org

ciis.edu/counseling-and-acupuncture-clinics

Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. Examining the complexities of disability issues with wisdom, humor, and honesty, author and disability advocate Rebekah Taussig seeks to normalize the lived experience of disabled persons while also advocating for improvements and a paradigm shift—something that we all play a necessary part in.

In this episode, self-proclaimed queer, Black, biracial Glamputee Alex Locust joins writer, teacher, and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty, Rebekah Taussig for a conversation about her book, also titled Sitting Pretty, as well as her life and her work.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on July 22nd, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. We hope that each episode provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection and growth.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing:

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

sfsuicide.org

ciis.edu/counseling-and-acupuncture-clinics

What makes cults so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Author and journalist Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has.

In this episode, CIIS professor, writer, and speaker Zara Zimbardo talks with author and journalist Amanda Montell about her latest book, Cultish, in which she argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. Zara and Amanda discuss influence, the social science of cults, and how to recognize the language of fanaticism all around us.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on July 14th, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. We hope that each episode provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection and growth.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing:

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

sfsuicide.org

ciis.edu/counseling-and-acupuncture-clinics

Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence and hailed as a scientist who conveys complex, technical ideas in ways that are dazzling and profound. In this episode, Suzanne is joined by scholar and CIIS staff member Laura Pustarfi for a conversation about her life, her work, and her recent book Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 24th, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

Astrologer and author Alice Sparkly Kat is ushering in a new wave of astrology that is intersectional, inclusive, and geared towards queer and POC communities.

In this episode, educator, creator, and astrologer Kirah Tabourn talks with Alice Sparkly Kat about their work and their latest book, Postcolonial Astrology. Kirah and Sparkly Kat share insights into ways we can use astrology to challenge our own practices, interrogate our truths, and reshape our institutions to build better frameworks for communities of care.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on May 21st, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

Racism permeates every aspect of society. Environmental racism is a form of systemic racism in which people of color are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste such as sewage works, mines, landfills, power stations, major roads, and emitters of airborne particulate matter.

In this episode, co-founder of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project, Gopal Dayaneni is joined by community organizer and environmental justice advocate Carla Maria Pérez for a powerful conversation exploring the connections between environmental racism and climate change and what we can do as individuals and communities to address and heal from the harms of both.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on April, 28, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.