The Classical Ideas Podcast

Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson is the elected Allsherjargoði (high priest) of the Icelandic pagan group, Ásatrúarfélagið, or Ásatrú Association. He is also a musician and composer.

You can find Ásatrú Association's translatable website at: https://asatru.is/

Dr. Giulia Evolvi is the author of "Blogging My Religion: Secular, Muslim, and Catholic Media Spaces in Europe," out now from Routledge. Evolvi is a Research Associate at the Centrum für Religionswissenshaftliche Studien (CERES) in Germany and she manages the Religion and Materiality Focus Group for the Käte Hamburger Kolleg project.

Follow her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/giuliaevolvi

Buy American Sutra from Harvard Press here

Bio from: https://www.duncanryukenwilliams.com/

Duncan Ryuken Williams was born in Tokyo, Japan to a Japanese mother and British father. After growing up in Japan and England until age 17, he moved to the U.S. to attend college (Reed College) and graduate school (Harvard University, where he received a Ph.D. in Religion). Williams is currently an Professor of Religion and East Asian Languages & Cultures and the Director of the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture. Previously, he held the Shinjo Ito Distinguished Chair of Japanese Buddhism at University of California at Berkeley and served as the Director of Berkeley's Center for Japanese Studies for four years. He has also been ordained since 1993 as a Buddhist priest in the Soto Zen tradition and served as the Buddhist chaplain at Harvard University from 1994-96.

He is the author of a monograph entitled The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Soto Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan(Princeton University Press, 2005) and co-editor of seven volumes including Hapa Japan (Kaya Press, 2017), Issei Buddhism in the Americas (U-Illinois Press, 2010), American Buddhism (Routledge, 1998), and Buddhism and Ecology (Harvard University Press, 1997). He has also translated four books from Japanese into English including Putting Buddhism to Work: A New Theory of Economics and Business Management (Kodansha, 1997). His latest book is American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War (Harvard University Press, 2019). He has previously received research grants from the American Academy of Religion, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, the Japan Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Numata Foundation/Society for the Promotion of Buddhism. In 2011, Williams received a commendation from the Japanese government for deepening the mutual understanding between the peoples of Japan and California.

Roger Lipsey is a biographer, art historian, translator, and, for many decades, a participant in the Gurdjieff teaching. Among his recent books is Hammarskjöld: A Life,which has been hailed as the definitive biography of Dag Hammarskjöld. His latest book, Gurdjieff Reconsidered: The Life, the Teachings, the Legacy, is out now from Shambhala Publications.

Buy the book here:

https://www.shambhala.com/gurdjieff-reconsidered.html

Sean Michael Wilson is an award-winning Scottish graphic novel/comic book writer. He has written more than 30 books, published by a variety of US, UK and Japanese publishers and translated into 12 languages. His books are of two broad types: 'western' style graphic novels, including original story ideas and various books on social issues; and a unique line of manga style books on Japanese themes, unmatched by any other English language comic book writer.

His latest book is an adaptation of the Tao Te Ching in collaboration with Cary Kwok and William Scott Wilson.

Find him online:

https://seanmichaelwilson.weebly.com/

https://www.instagram.com/seanmichaelwilson/

Buy the book: https://www.shambhala.com/authors/u-z/sean-michael-wilson.html

Dwight Hwang is a California-based Gyotaku artist. His notable artistic achievements include a 2018 solo showcase by Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Japan Foundation, as well as providing cover art for the book "Simply Fly Fishing" by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard.

You can follow Dwight Hwang on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/fishingforgyotaku/

You can find Dwight Hwang's website and store here:

https://fishingforgyotaku.com/

Guest discussant Michael Vanhartingsveldt (featured in episode 47) is a contributing columnist at Buddhistdoor Global. He works at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. He did his masters in East Asian Art Business at Sotheby's Institute of Art, and he also works as a lecturer for the Japan Foundation.

Dr. Margaret Winslow is Professor Emeritus of Earth and Atmospheric Science at City College of New York. She was a field geologist for three decades and is the author of two travel memoirs recounting her field experiences in South America. Those titles are "The Cusp of Dreadfulness: Fifteen Seasons in Tierra Del Fuego and Patagonia," and "Over My Head: Journeys in Leaky Boats from the Strait of Magellan to Cape Horn and Beyond." She is most recently the author of the book "Smart Ass: How a Donkey Challenged Me to Accept His True Nature and Rediscover My own" from New World Library.

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/margiewinslow

Visit her website: https://www.margiewinslow.com/

George Coe is a religious studies, current events, and world history teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia. He runs a popular blog with teaching resources at: https://worldhistoryeducatorsblog.blogspot.com/.

This conversation talks about constitutionality of teaching about religion; how to arrange a semester of teaching high school religious studies, a wide-range of resources that he and I have used to with success in our own classrooms, and a deep dive investigation of a typical religious studies class in a typical United States high school. This is a snapshot of a hardworking teacher doing great work for teenagers in the United States.

Follow George Coe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggcoe

Allison Coffelt lives and writes in Columbia, Missouri. She works as the director of education and outreach for the annual documentary-based True/False Film Festival, as well as hosting the fantastic True/False Podcast, featuring interviews and commentary with documentary filmmakers, available anywhere you get podcasts. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Oxford Public Health Magazine, and more. She won the 2015 University of Missouri Essay Prize. The topic of today's conversation is her new book, "Maps Are Lines We Draw," out now from Lanternfish Press.

Buy the book from Lanternfish Press

Brevity Magazine review of "Maps Are Lines We Draw"

Dr. Christopher Ives teaches in the area of Asian Religions at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. In his scholarship, he focuses on modern Zen ethics. In 2009 he published Imperial-Way Zen, a book on Buddhist social ethics in light of Zen nationalism. Currently he is engaged in research on Zen approaches to nature and Buddhist environmental ethics. He is the author of "Zen on the Trail: Hiking as Pilgrimage," out now from Wisdom Publications.

Find the book here: Zen on the Trail from Wisdom Publications