On the 136th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I’m delighted to welcome our guest, Aadita Chaudhury. Aadita is a researcher, writer and arts practitioner inhabiting the intersection of the arts, science, ecology, and spirituality. Her work is shaped by ethnographic approaches, poetic inquiry, embodied methodologies, sonic practices, photography, and encounters with mythology, folklore and ritual, guided by ethics of slow, non-extractive decolonial research. She is interested in perspectives from the Global South in relation to technoscientific imaginaries, decolonial, feminist and working-class social movements. Aadita has conducted research in the US, Canada, the UK, Italy, India and Mexico. Her academic and public work has appeared in International Relations, Conservation Letters and Al Jazeera.

In this conversation, Aadita explores the themes of rootedness, belonging, and identity amidst a rapidly changing world. She reflects on her journey through liminal spaces, the impact of cultural expectations, and the quest for enough-ness. The discussion delves into the implications of human exceptionalism, the importance of direct communication, and the value of community connections.

Ultimately, Aadita considers a good life as one that embraces honesty, embodiment, and the emergent flux of reality.

For more of Aadita's work:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aadita/
Website: https://www.aaditachaudhury.com/

Contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, my 5-week group courses, or to discuss experiences I create to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams.

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00:00 Navigating Liminal Spaces

04:00 A Practice of Presence

06:00 Rootedness, identity, and preference

09:55 Cultural expectations 

14:30 The expectation of proving our worth

16:30 Exploring human exceptionalism

20:00 Conditional enough-ness

26:00 Concepts from human exceptionalism 

30:00 Fear of death and immortality 

34:00 Moving from abstract to embodied

42:30 Attentiveness to our community

53:00 The repression of forced politeness

59:15 An appreciation for directness

1:06:00 Summary and what is a good life for Aadita?