Tim Kasser is Professor of Psychology at Knox College in Illinois and author of various books on materialism, values, well being and environmental sustainability including ‘The High Price of Materialism’ and ‘Psychology and consumer culture’. He’s going to talk to us today about a book he co-authored with Tom Crompton entitled ‘Meeting Environmental Challenges: The Role of Human Identity’ , how they see this as being often a missing link in environmental campaigning and how this all might relate...
Dec 31, 2014•49 min
My guest today is Steven Howlett who is a senior lecturer at Roehampton University business school and previously was a senior research fellow at the Institute for Volunteering Research where he was involved in many projects looking at the profile of volunteering, the management of volunteers and polices towards volunteering. He’s the co author of ‘Volunteering and Society in the 21st Century’ and he’s here to talk to us today about volunteering in general, some of the research projects he’s bee...
Dec 25, 2014•34 min
My guest today is Shauna Shapiro who is a professor of psychology at Santa Clara University, a clinical psychologist and an internationally recognized expert in mindfulness. She’s the co-author of the critically acclaimed book: The art and science of mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. She’s here to talk today about the IAA model of mindfulness, the integration of mindfulness into psychotherapy, the evidence behind the effectiveness of mindfulness an...
Dec 13, 2014•28 min
My guest today is Mary Searle-Chatterjee, a retired anthropologist and resident of the Lancaster Co-housing Project which won the Observer Ethical Award for 2014. She’s going to tell us something about the history, aims and values of the project and she’s also kindly agreed to give us a tour of the place. I went along with my camera too.
Dec 06, 2014•41 min
My guest today is Sir Harry Burns, who is the professor of global public health at the University of Strathclyde and a former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. He begins by talking to us about why poor people take longer to recover from illness, the causes of inequality in health and the causes of wellness. He then goes on to talk about some solutions that he has implemented alongside other potential ideas and how this all might relate to the Middle Way.
Nov 21, 2014•44 min
My Guest today is Steven C. Hayes, who is Nevada Foundation Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. He’s the author of many books including the popular ‘Get out of your mind and into your life’ which for a while was the number one best-selling self-help book in the US. He’s the co- founder of Acceptance and Commitment therapy or ACT as it’s more commonly known and he’s going to talk us today about act, what’s unique about it, what ...
Nov 05, 2014•1 hr
My guest today is Adam Corner of the Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN). He’s the research director at COIN and also writes regularly for the national media including the Guardian, New Scientist and the Ecologist. He’s going to talk to us today about COIN, its approach to climate change, its aims and objectives and how it might relate to the Middle Way.
Oct 24, 2014•41 min
My guest today is Marek Duda of the Centre for Effective Altruism. He talks about what Effective Altruism is, it’s five main principles, counters some of the more common objections against giving to aid organisations and how this all might be related to the Middle Way.
Oct 18, 2014•38 min
My guest today is Elliot Aronson, one of the most distinguished social psychologists in the world, his books include the Social Animal and Cooperation in the Classroom: The Jigsaw Method, he co-authored the book on cognitive dissonance ‘Mistakes were made but not by me’ with Carol Tavris and has also fairly recently written his autobiography ‘Not by chance alone’ – the latter two I’ve read and would highly recommend. He was chosen by his peers as one of the hundred most influential psychologists...
Oct 11, 2014•42 min
Talk by Robert M Ellis of the Middle Way Society on the various limitations on our attention and awareness, including cognitive biases that affect our attention, and practical responses to these limitations. Followed by questions and discussion. Recorded on retreat in August 2014.
Sep 30, 2014•52 min
Robert M Ellis introduces four key concepts in Middle Way Philosophy: The Middle Way, Integration, Brain lateralisation and cognitive biases. The first talk given on the Middle Way Society summer retreat 2014, and followed by discussion.
Sep 22, 2014•46 min
This week’s guest is Professor Susan Wright who is chair of arts education at the University of Melbourne and author of ‘Understanding creativity in early Childhood’. She is going to talk to us today about her research regarding young children’s meaning-making and communication using symbol systems and multi-modal forms of expression and why she feels the arts deserve a pre-eminent place in education and culture.
Sep 20, 2014•29 min
This week’s guest is the journalist and author of the award-winning book ‘Fishing in Utopia’. He also writes a regular column in the Guardian on themes concerned with religion and this is the topic of the conversation today.
Sep 04, 2014•35 min
In the first of a series of regular dialogues with thinkers on various subjects, the chair of the society Robert M. Ellis discusses dogma and the brain with psychiatrist , author and patron of the Middle Way Society Iain McGilchrist.
Aug 28, 2014•40 min
In this latest member profile, Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney Animation talks about his new book Creativity Inc., the finding of the ‘Middle’ and how one sets up the conditions in a work environment so that creativity might flourish. He goes on to explain how he tries to maintain a work/life balance and why he decided to join the Middle Way Society.
Aug 09, 2014•39 min
In this latest interview Robert M. Ellis, the chair of the society, talks about cognitive biases, what they have in common, how you go about recognizing them and how you can work with them.
Aug 02, 2014•29 min
I posed this question in various forms to Paul Gilbert, Mark Vernon, Jim O’Driscoll, Claire Kelly, Vishvapani Blomfield, Rich Flanagan, Viryanaya, Peter Worley, Don Cupitt and Kristin Neff. To hear the full interviews, go to www.middlewaysociety.org/audio/podcasts
Jul 10, 2014•22 min
I posed this question in various forms to Vidyamala Burch, Julian Adkins, Iain Mcgilchrist, Stephen Batchelor, Peter Goble, Emilie Åberg, John Bolwell and Norma Smith. To hear the full interviews, go to www.middlewaysociety.org/audio/podcasts.
Jul 06, 2014•20 min
In this latest member profile Nina Davies tells us about growing up in Singapore, doing VSO in Malawi, Buddhism and her work in social care. She then goes on to talk about the importance of feminism in her life, her interest in Lacanian Psychoanalyis, and the work of Judith Butler and Donna Harraway. Finally, she explains what were the reasons that made her join the society.
Jun 27, 2014•29 min
In this episode Andy West, a transformative mediator talks to us about the transformative framework, the nature of conflict, what we should do about conflict and what we should do about conflict that can’t be resolved. We then explore the difference between transformative mediation and Non-Violent Communication and to what extent this relates to the Middle Way.
Jun 21, 2014•21 min
In this episode Martine Batchelor, a Buddhist teacher and author talks about ethics from a Buddhist perspective and to what extent it differs from more rule based ethical positions. We also explore topics such as absolutism versus relativism, karma, ‘engaged’ Buddhism, the precept of non-harming, laying people off, prisons and her understanding of the Middle Way.
Jun 14, 2014•28 min
In this episode, Jonathan Rowson, a Scottish chess Grandmaster and director of the social brain centre at the Royal Society of Arts, talks to us about the Social Brain project, it’s aims and objectives, some working assumptions that underpin its approach, its ongoing initiative on spirituality and how all this relates to his understanding of the Middle Way.
Jun 07, 2014•40 min
In this latest member profile, Paul Teed a professor of history at Saginaw Valley State University tells us why he joined the society, what history means to him and why it matters. We also discuss objectivity, how to critically assess history, what he thinks of the film ‘12 years a slave’, the importance of ‘telling a story’ and how all this relates to his understanding of the Middle Way.
May 31, 2014•26 min
In this episode Kristin Neff, Associate Professor in Human Development and Culture at the University of Texas talks to us today about self-compassion, how she feels it differs from self-esteem, its contingent nature, and why it’s such a useful thing to cultivate in life. She goes on to talk about remorse, responsibility, shame and guilt and what her understanding is of the Middle Way.
May 23, 2014•19 min
In this episode Viryanaya talks to us about teaching critical thinking as a part of spiritual practice as opposed to a more academic focus. She also gives her thoughts on the perception that critical thinking is somewhat cerebral and a male dominated skill, the value of teaching it to children from an early age and her understanding of the Middle Way in relation to all this.
May 10, 2014•19 min
In this episode we are joined by Claire Kelly, who is the Operations Director of the Mindfulness in Schools Project. She’s going to talk to us today about why she feels it’s important to introduce children to mindfulness practices, how the project goes about it and how it might relate to the Middle Way.
May 02, 2014•20 min
In this episode we are joined by the Christian theologian and philosopher Don Cupitt. He talks to us about how he understands religion and his non-realist position about God. He also touches on Jungian archetypes, agnosticism, Stephen Batchelor and how he views the Middle Way.
Apr 12, 2014•21 min
In this episode we are joined by Peter Worley, the co- founder of the Philosophy Foundation and author of the ‘If Machine’ and the award winning ‘Philosophy Shop’. The main topic is teaching philosophy to children and philosophy’s wider role in education.
Apr 04, 2014•39 min
Discussion following the talk, including Katja, Barry, Julian and Tim. Topics discussed include whether there are only 3 types of moral theory, justice, moral progress and the use of principles.
Apr 03, 2014•24 min
How Middle Way Ethics can also be applied to political decisions.
Apr 03, 2014•14 min
