Listening ideas for 25 March 2011

The China History Podcast
The Qing Dynasty Part 2
In this episode we examine the Yongzheng emperor, the second of the three great Qing emperors who reigned during the most golden of times for the Manchu dynasty. A tireless emperor who was a wizard at managing the machine of state, he reigned for only thirteen years before his son later brought the Qing dynasty to its greatest heights.
(review, feed)

On Being aka Speaking of Faith
Sidling Up to Difference
Our Civil Conversations Project continues with the Ghanaian-British-American philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah. His parents' marriage helped inspire the movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. He's studied ethics in a world of strangers and how unimaginable social change happens. We explore his erudite yet down-to-earth take on disarming moral hostilities in America now.
(review, feed)

Forgotten Classics
Genesis, chapters 22-23
In which Abraham and Isaac go to the mountaintop and Abraham buys at top dollar.
(review, feed)

Making History! with Ran Levi
הקוף שידע לאהוב, או איך התחלנו ללכת על שתים
בפרק זה נעקוב אחר אחת מההתפתחויות החשובות והדרמטיות ביותר באבולוציה האנושית: המעבר להליכה זקופה
(review, feed)

Tapestry - Karen Armstrong - Compassion (a year hence)

Remember Karen Armstrong's Charter for Compassion? That initiative was launched a little over a year ago and one may wonder how that went further. Armstrong returned to the CBC program Tapestry to tell about it. (feed)


I did not know the Charter started with funding by TED that Armstrong won and was to invest any which way she saw fit. It was not felt when she spoke at TED about the Charter. By now TED's money has been used, but the Fetzer institute stepped in to continue the funding. Apart from the interfaith dialog, there is also a book Twelve steps to a compassionate life - is that a paraphrase of AA's twelve steps program? We do seem to be addicted to our selfishness all right.

Listen to Mary Hines's conversation with Karen Armstrong on Tapestry and and pay attention to what she says about dialog. For me that comes straight to my heart: how I love good conversation and how rare is it. Another podcast that pointed that subject out was On Being when Krista Tippet received John O'Donohue (feed) and he asked: when was the last time you truly conversed with someone else; when you had a conversation where you heard yourself say things you did not know you had in you and thus the dialog changed you both. How often is human interaction a senseless reiteration of the same sentences we speak on and on?

More Tapestry:
Giordano Bruno,
Surviving in the Wilderness,
Survival of the Kindest,
Fear,
Terry Eagleton.