Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma
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Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma episodes

  • Ep 39: Chandan Pandey & Sayari Debnath: Stories of desolation & translation
    (Audio in Hindi & English)
    In this interview, Chandan Pandey, the award-winning author of the The Keeper of Desolation, published by HarperCollins India, and translator Sayari Debnath, talk about the “surreal yet gritty, violent yet poetic” stories that form the book and the importance of translating from regional languages. 

    He recalls breaking down, sitting in a boat in Varanasi, after writing the haunting short story “Forgetting”, an exploration of inner family dynamics where one member is forgotten by the rest of the household. Meanwhile, “The Decision” was born of a desire to weave a story around his fascination for the name Mausam, given to the protagonist. Pandey, based in Bengaluru, whose stories are set in the heart of small town India, finds himself immensely rooted in memories of his hometown Deoria as he grows older. Listen in!


    Chandan Pandey is the author of four short-story collections and two novels in Hindi. He has been honoured with the Bharatiya Jnanpith’s Navlekhan Award, the Vanmali Yuva Katha Samman, the Shabd Chhaap Samman, and is a recipient of the Krishna Baldev Vaid Fellowship. The translation of his acclaimed debut novel, Vaidhanik Galp, was published in English as Legal Fiction in 2021."


    Sayari Debnath translates from Hindi and Bengali into English. She is a culture journalist at Scroll where she writes about books, literary trends and art.

    Timestamps
    01:18 Staying away from happy endings
    04:40 Sayari on translating Chandan’s stories
    07:36 On the story “Forgetting”
    16:45 Sayari’s favourite story ‘The Mathematics of Life’
    18:53 The Keeper of Desolation on a lady who loses her ring; Chandan on why there are no more “professional” thieves
    22:17 His connection to Deoria, his hometown; stories from small towns
    28:32 Are Hindi writers more connected to the grassroots?
    33:00 Translating from regional languages and the difference in tones
    37:15 The connection to the past and role of memories
    43:40 The book is a selection of his stories from 4 volumes
    45:13 Finding time and the motivation to write
    48:45 Sayari on the fun of translation, and the challenges
    59:00 Chandan’s writing influences; his love for reading
    01:02:40 The scope for translation as a career in India
    01:11:56 Urdu writer Sayyed Mohammad Ashraf’s “Aakhri Sawariya”

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    Email: [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.


    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 17 min
  • Ep 38: Dr. Erika Rosenberg: Buddhist ‘Tonglen’ meditation—compassion in action
    The Buddhist Tonglen meditation, a “warrior training” that reinforces altruistic resolve, allows us to take in the suffering of others, witness pain and stay without fleeing, building courage, opening us up to be of service. While it makes us kinder and more compassionate, it also makes us strong, says Dr. Erika Rosenberg, a US-based psychological scientist, who integrates traditional Buddhist practices with key concepts and techniques from Western Psychology. The Tonglen meditation practice (at 40:00) gives you something you can turn to in situations where you feel there’s nothing else you can do.

    Dr. Erika Rosenberg is a Founding Faculty at the Compassion Institute, a non-profit devoted to promoting compassion education worldwide. She co-authored the Compassion Cultivation Training program with Thupten Jinpa and others in 2009 at Stanford University. She is part of the faculty at The Nyingma Institute in Berkeley. She is also a world-renowned expert in facial expression, who trains and consults on facial measurement using the Facial Action Coding System .

    References:

    • Online Compassion Cultivation Training with Erika Rosenberg October 2024
    • How to Practise Tonglen Meditation by Pema Chödrön 
    • Pema Chödrön’s essay “Transforming the heart of suffering”
    • Roshi Joan Halifax - Strong Back, Soft Front
    Timestamps:
    01:23 Erika’s journey into meditation and Tonglen, discovering Buddhism
    10:00 The Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT)
    11:55 How Tonglen is transformational
    15:23 The four stages of Tonglen; cultivating active compassion
    19:00 The neuroscience of helping; a mental rehearsal
    21:37 Does Tonglen make a difference to the other person or recipient?
    26:44 Two lived personal examples of Tonglen
    33:36 Pema Chodron and “Tonglen as you go”
    40:00 A preliminary Tonglen meditation practice
    45:23 Learning acceptance; acknowledging what is present
    48:25 Tonglen intensive workshop by Erika
    51:00 “Lojong” slogans
    53:39 Skills to deal with mind wandering
    54:50 Meta cognitive awareness; mindfulness of mind
    57:17 Her expertise in facial expression and emotion (Facial Action Coding System – FACS)

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    Email: [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.


    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 2 min
  • Ep 37: Fernando Hettiyadura: ‘Used responsibly, magic mushrooms can be more powerful than meditation’
    “The one who needs to be loved is the one in the mirror. And if we can love ourselves so deeply, we can love even a stranger and see their suffering,” says Thailand-based Fernando Hettiyadura, a Multidisciplinary Therapist and ICF-designated Master Certified Coach, who leads unique interventions derived from integrative neuroscience, Vipassana and psychedelic plant medicine. He has also launched the world’s first-ever Professional Coaching Qualification for Psychedelic Integration, accredited to the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

    A part of the LGBTQI+ community, Fernando faced bullying as a child, along with other adversities. His first encounter with psilocybin or magic mushrooms, he recalls, left him feeling lightheaded and with a sense of abundance, realising for the first time how it felt to be mentally healthy.

    He also quotes modern breakthroughs in psychedelic research led by esteemed institutions such as Johns Hopkins and Imperial College London, on the healing and mind-enhancing capabilities of Plant Psychedelic Medicine. While mentioning the beneficial effects in alleviating depression and anxiety, he cautions that the session should be conducted in a controlled setting, following strict safety protocols, after consulting with a medical expert and with the correctly prescribed dosage, in keeping with the laws of the specific country or region. Certain drugs, such as antidepressants, may also interfere with the process, therefore, expert guidance is essential.

    Fernando is also the founder of Ignite Global, Evolving Temple, Awaken Mind Guide and the Global Center for Reflective Practices & Consciousness – a group of organisations dedicated for healing and mind development. Currently, he is pursuing a postgraduate degree in Counseling Psychology and conducts research, focusing on “Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Integrated Coaching in Treating Childhood Trauma”.

    His message? “Let’s be open-minded; every powerful resource has positive and negative impact, it’s important we pay attention and recognise the possibilities.”

    Timestamps:

    01:15 Talking about psilocybin or magic mushrooms as part of Fernando’s life coaching practice
    07:25 How Fernando discovered the “power” of magic mushrooms16:00 Understanding our default mode network and sense of identity
    24:25 Does the experience help you discover who you are?
    31:10 Comparing the effect of psilocybin to meditation; experiencing altered states of consciousness
    45:00 Dosing and micro-dosing
    56:26 Fernando as a “wounded healer”, healing from the adversities of his early life
    01:02:54 Overcoming adversity in his early life; facing bullying and assault as part of the LGBTQI+ community
    01:05:45 His first encounter with plant medicine, waking up with a feeling of abundance
    01:10:00 Fungi as the most powerful ecosystem on earth

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    Email: [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.



    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 18 min
  • Ep 36: Prof. Tracy Coleman: Krishna stands for women empowerment
    As we celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna on Janmashtami, we should also honour him as a god who models positive masculinity, says Tracy Coleman, Professor, Department of Religion at Colorado College, US, She says, “Bold, strong, outspoken or aggressive, women are not a threat to him. He loves them as they are. In the Gita Govinda, he even submits to Radha.” Krishna, she believes, can be potentially socially transformative in empowering women by shifting the male gaze, despite being seen as a divine, all-powerful hyper masculine figure.

    In her research spanning early texts such as the Harivamsa, Bhagavata Purana and the poet Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, Tracy explores Krishna in various shades, including his playful divinity and the “viraha-bhakti” or the longing of separation he inspires, which is akin to becoming one with the universal divine.

    A scholar of Hinduism and its traditions of bhakti (or devotion), especially Krishna-bhakti in the Sanskrit epics and purāṇas, her teaching and research addresses issues of women, men, and gender in religion and society. Tracy has also been the Editor in Chief of Oxford Bibliographies--Hinduism since 2016. 


    Timestamps
    01:00 What drew Tracy to studying Sanskrit and the Hindu “bhakti” tradition; being intrigued by poet Jayadeva's Gita Govinda
    05:00 “Kama” (desire) vs “prem” (selfless love): What the early Sanskrit texts say in relation to Krisna, Radha and the gopis
    09:50 Krishna as the “Yogeshwara” of Bhagavata Purana vs the sensuous lover of Gita Govinda
    13:14 ‘Yoga in action’: Krishna’s “karma yoga” vs Buddha’s renunciation
    20:00 The Bhagavad Gita places everyday actions in a larger context, as part of a greater cosmic plan
    25:00 Krishna’s childhood, his relationship with both his mothers; the supreme god conceived as a human in the early texts
    31:15 Krishna as a symbol of women’s empowerment; loves women just as they are
    46:50 Play is an essential part of his divinity, signifying divine freedom and inspiring “bhakti”
    52:46 “Viraha bhakti” as devotion during separation, embodied by Radha and the gopis
    58:14 There is no Krishna bhakti without suffering
    01:05:28 Happy Janmashtami!

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    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.



    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 7 min
  • Ep 35: Sachin Chitambaran on suicide prevention: Just listen, don’t try to fix the problem
    (Trigger warning: Mention of depression, suicide and suicidal ideation)
    What makes India the suicide capital of the world? Did you know that a majority of suicide attempts are made by women, among which housewives figure in large numbers? Mumbai-based Sachin Chitambaran, who started as a volunteer on suicide prevention helplines over a decade ago and now works full-time in the field, talks to us about the importance of mental health, how suicidal ideation works as well as why we need to learn how to listen better and be ready to accept help from others.

    The founder of the Connect Hut, Sachin is a passionate mental health advocate with over 13 years of dedicated experience in the field of suicide prevention. Sachin is also Assistant Director of Training and Development at Samaritans Mumbai, a 30-year-old suicide prevention helpline and President of Befrienders India, where he oversees a network of 14 suicide helplines operating nationwide. He also runs his unique Dot Listening workshops. 

    Timestamps:
    00:50 Introduction to Sachin and Connect Hut
    07:00 Offering affordable therapy, with free preliminary sessions
    09:00 Why it’s important to pick the right therapist
    11:40 How Indians listen; good at reading non-verbal cues and intuitive listening
    19:38 His “Dot Listening” programme
    34:30 Working on the suicide prevention helpline  
    38:00 Not playing God; “We suffer with our callers”
    43:00 India as the suicide capital
    52:00 We’re not taught to focus on ourselves; setting boundaries
    59:00 Women and mental health; higher suicide attempts by women; endometritis as a trigger in the girl child
    01:08:24 Pressure on housewives
    01:14:00 Need to build human connection
    01:16:52 How suicidal ideation works

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    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.


    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 31 min
  • Ep 34: Mital Salia: Game therapist and unschooling mom
    In this episode, Mital Salia, game therapist and founder of Khel Khel Mein talks about how she prescribes games to teach life skills and for mental wellbeing. A counselling psychologist and educator, she started by curating game nights at home, which were a huge hit. Certain games, whether solo or multiplayer, teach dexterity, stimulate brain function and raise EQ, she informs. 

    Playing also releases feel good hormones dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, while reducing cortisol, the stress hormone. Games, like physical sports, also teach children to deal with failure gracefully and bounce back for the next round, says Mital. 

    The Mumbai-based therapist talks about travelling through India, particularly villages in south India, coming across ancient games etched on temple floors. In one Madurai household, she discovered the mathematical game Pallanguzhi (an Indian version of Mancala) being played by generations of women. 

    Mital also pulled her son, now 21, out of school at the age of 14 as it was not giving him any real life skills. She talks about sending him to live on a Bengaluru farm to explore his interest in reptiles, besides pursuing scuba diving and snowboarding.

    Mital is the author of Game Your Mind - All about Game Therapy: Reshape Your Skills and Emotions; Become a Better Version of Yourself by Playing Games as well as Practical Handbook on Brain Fitness: Ways to Reverse The Age of The Brain. 

    Here are some of her all-time favourite games:
    Find it First or Spot It, Top That, Dr Eureka, Marble Solitaire, the Hide and Seek series, Traffic Hour or Rush Hour, Brainvita, Nine Men Morris, Splendour, Seven Wonders, Wingspan, Century: Spice Road and Coup. She recommends neuroscience-based online portals such as Lumosity, Brain HQ and Einstein Riddle.

    Listen in!

    Timestamps:
    00:40 What is a game therapist?
    03:25 From counselling psychologist to education and game therapy
    07:43 Organising game nights at home
    13:15 Getting to know people’s social and emotional intelligence through games
    16:00 Happy hormones released through playing games
    18:53 Games for families
    22:50 Impact of game therapy workshops
    27:00 Board games for strategizing, warfare, entrepreneurship
    30:30 Pallanghuzhi, the mathematical game from the villages of Tamil Nadu
    33:39 Travelling through south India to research ancient games
    38:47 Pros and cons of video games
    42:35 Decision to unschool her son
    50:52 Message for adults and kids on board games

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    Email: [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.



    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    53 min
  • Ep 33: Nidhu B. Kapoor: How to manifest money
    We make money everyday and not just at our jobs, according to Nidhu B Kapoor. And we can create more of it using the power of her “WORDS” (World of Retrograde Decrees Switchsentences), she assures. While the results, Nidhu promises, are instantaneous, attracting money has a lot to do with who we are. In this chat, she urges us to question our relationship and belief system regarding money. And yes, she also gives some powerful “switch sentences”, such as “What If”, to unleash the power of positive manifestation. Her decrees, says the WORD doctor, can be adapted to life issues, health problems or even to repair a geyser. It’s no wonder that actor Vidya Balan has her on a speed dial. 

    Listen in as Nidhu generously shows us how we can, well, attract money into our lives using her decrees!

    Time-stamps:
    02:00 Making the shift
    09:26 Speed as her USP; the two types of people who show up for a money workshop
    18:10 Light medicine and Nidhu’s decrees
    21:30 Safety is paramount in manifesting money
    25:00 Work doesn’t always mean a job
    31:20 Our associations with money
    36:00 If a Rs 5 crore cheque arrives, what will you do?
    42:50 The making of money is very different from getting it
    45:25 Two-word medicine to attract money: “What if…”
    53:50 The mind thinks in words; releasing blockages
    1:01:16 The four-word medicine: “You can leave now”
    01:08:10 The Vidya Balan association; what W.O.R.D Medicine means
    01:13:30 How it works with Nidhu
    01:15:50 Adapting decrees to life issues

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    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.


    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 23 min
  • Ep 32: Jerry Pinto: 'Murder in Mahim' — Mumbai is like an open-air casino
    “Mumbai is like a large open-air casino and we are all putting our stakes on something,” says author Jerry Pinto, whose 2018 novel Murder in Mahim has been made into a series, playing on Jio Cinema.

    The action begins when a gay sex worker is found dead, his stomach ripped open, in a toilet at a Mumbai railway station. The plot thickens as good friends Peter Fernandes (played by Ashutosh Rana in the series), a retired journalist and Shiva Jende ((played by Vijay Raaz), a cop piece the clues together even as the body count keeps rising. It also leads Peter into uncharted territory, navigating “gay Mumbai” and coming to terms with the fact that his son may be queer. In some delightful cameos, we have Leslie, a flamboyant and ageing gay man and Unit, a young upwardly mobile sex worker.

    The book, he says, was born out of anger when the Supreme Court reversed the Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising gay sex in 2016. However, on September 6, 2018, the apex court partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising same-sex relations between consenting adults.

    Listen in as Pinto talks about how we exist on the spectrum of possibilities and whether we can look forward to more peter-Jende thrillers!

    Chapters:

    01:03 The book was born out of anger, before homosexual sex was decriminalised
    04:00 Eating what he wrote as a child
    05:17 Characters Peter Fernandes and Shiva Jende first appeared in the Mumbai Noir anthology; the author as an observer
    09:10 “Would you welcome having an LGBTQI child?”
    14:50 When a Dalit friend came home for dinner
    21:30 The visual thrill of the human body
    23:06 His own discovery of “gay Mumbai”: Research is other people
    25:35 Many layers to gay sexuality
    28:50 Mumbai is like a large open-air casino; physical vs abstract intelligence
    34:10 “We are a parade of possibilities”
    37:30 Jerry as “Jotin Perry”; writing an honest cop
    41:50 More Peter-Jende mysteries?

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    Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

    Email: [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.



    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    45 min
  • Ep 31: Women’s motorbike coach Meghna Khanna: “I like the wind in my hair”
    Meghna Khanna, a Bengaluru-based women’s motorcycle coach, is a Limca Book of Records holder for being the first Indian woman motorcyclist to reach Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world. You can have the biggest car in the world, but nothing beats the feeling of the wind in your hair when you ride a bike, she says. “When you ride a motorcycle, you know why a dog sticks their head out of the car,” she remarks. 

    For her 10-year-old daughter, it’s a surprise when she sees her father park the bike, “Oh, he knows how to ride too?” Begging her dad to teach her to start a scooter when she was barely a teen, Meghna’s story of the first bike she fell in love with — and later owned — is serendipitous with meeting her husband.

    While she goes with the flow, running Levitate, a craft store for 18 years, a preloved store for fashion finds and starting the “Bindi Project”, her passion lies in riding her 1994 Royal Enfield Bullet through dirt roads and forest trails. Listen in!

    Chapters:
    01:00 Her love for bikes started at age 12
    06:20 Her first bike – the Enfield 1994 Bullet — and meeting her husband
    10:00 No fear when biking; driving as a new mom
    13:20 The Khardung La journey, navigating hairpin bends
    23:35 Motorcycling is a solo journey
    29:20 Helping hand from bikers
    34:10 Coaching across age groups
    37:25 Driving responsibly; her dad’s advice
    39:20 Stories of women riders
    44:38 Wearing many hats
    47:10 Moving from Mumbai and starting Levitate in Bangalore
    53:43 How preloved works
    57:15 Empowering women

    Follow and share to grow the conversation.

    Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
    Email: [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.



    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 1 min
  • Ep 30: Mindful leader Nitesh Batra: The mind is clear & knowing
    Living with a negative thought is like chasing a rodent in the house, according to Nitesh Batra, Mindfulness teacher and Certified Compassion Cultivation Trainer (CCT). He is founder of The Mindful Initiative and also runs the Ashtanga Yoga Program in Bengaluru. 
    Mindfulness, he explains, is focussing on the task at hand, cherishing what you are doing and practising non-judgement. “When you are washing the dishes, wash the dishes,” he remarks. The mind, he says, is clear and knowing. If you sit in stillness, it’ll become calm and you can look through it. 


    For leaders, he recommends practising to be calm in the eye of the storm to give out the right energy. He also talks about practising compassion on the go, “Be kinder, more loving, more compassionate and it will reflect in the world around you; something subtle shifts in our mind and life is a lot more joyous.”

    He emphasises, “We need to put in the effort; without it, nothing will happen.” Simply start by sitting still for a minute in a day, setting a gentle intention.

    Follow and share to grow the conversation.

    Chapters:
    01:00 Guided meditation
    05:40 Explaining the concept of mindfulness
    11:10 Accepting negative emotions in mindfulness – good stress vs bad stress
    26:58 The Bhagavad Gita and the power of Om
    29:02 We need to put in the effort
    32:34: The neuroscience of mindfulness; prefrontal cortex vs the fear centre
    36:30 Response vs reaction
    38:40 Does mindfulness make us live in denial of problems?
    44:45 On his mindfulness for effective leadership workshop with Prof Dinesh Kumar at IIM Bangalore
    52:14 Compassion cultivation training and the Stanford course; how compassion works
    58:16 Compassion vs empathy
    01:04:54 Lojong teachings and the Tibetan Tonglen practice
    01:10:35 We are lost in “maya”, we forget there is something beyond ourselves

    Reading references:

    * The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
    * Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn
    * Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras by Swami Vivekananda
    * Start Where Your Are: How to Accept Yourself and Others by Pema Chodron
    * The Great Path of Awakening: The Classic Guide to Lojong, a Tibetan Buddhist Practice for Cultivating the Heart of Compassion by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Ken McLeod
    * Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa (wrongly credited in the audio)


    Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
    Email: [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.



    Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5
    1 hr 14 min

About Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma

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Listen in to conversations that "swish" or shift your perspective! Journalist and Mindset Coach Anuradha Varma interviews a diverse cast of people who share their expertise and experiences on a range…