On Mountains

In today's episode, I speak with Edwin Bernbaum about his book, Sacred Mountains of the World. As its name suggests, the book covers a large number of sacred mountains across the globe, organized into regional chapters. It examines the spiritual and cultural importance of these peaks, showing how they inspire awe and meaning in people’s lives while also addressing contemporary concerns like climate change and conservation.

Our conversation touches on topics like Ed’s early work in Asia preserving Tibetan manuscripts, how the idea of writing the book came to him, Mircea Eliade’s idea of Axis Mundi, climate change and tourism’s impact on mountains, the loss of connection to the sacred in modern culture, Ed’s conservation work, re-thinking our understanding of the “sacred” beyond religious contexts, how everyone can benefit by thinking about sacred mountains, and other topics.

Read the ⁠⁠show notes⁠⁠ for more information about this episode, or visit the ⁠⁠On Mountains⁠⁠ website for more material related to mountains.

In today's episode, I continue my discussion of mountains and hills in the Book of Exodus. For a full transcript of the episode, visit: ⁠http://jeremybassetti.com/on-mountains/2025/mountains-in-exodus-part-2/⁠

In today's episode, I discuss mountains and hills in the Book of Exodus. For a full transcript of the episode, visit: http://jeremybassetti.com/on-mountains/2025/mountains-in-exodus-part-1/

In today's episode, I discuss mountains and hills in the Book of Genesis. Because of the global reach of the Abrahamic traditions via Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the mountain ideas in Genesis have had a tremendous impact in culture and in the global history of ideas.

For a full transcript of the episode, visit: https://jeremybassetti.com/on-mountains/2025/mountains-in-genesis/

I speak with Dawn Hollis about her new book "Mountains Before Mountaineering." Dawn's work takes aim at the prevailing idea that, until the modern era, mountains weren’t visited or appreciated. Instead, they were ugly, terrifying things to be avoided.

You can find the episode show notes at more at onmountains.com.

On Mountains is a podcast that explores the intellectual and cultural history of mountains, from myth to modernity. It features interviews with researchers, writers, academics, poets, and photographers who think about mountains and our relationship with them.

In addition to episode show notes, the podcast’s website also features a blog with mountain-related essays, book reviews, and research notes.

You can find more at onmountains.com.

Please subscribe to the show and thanks for listening.