The Podcast With A Thousand Faces

Епизоди

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  Bonus: Phil Cousineau - The Wisdom of The Odyssey 19.07.2026 40мин

  In this special bonus episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, author, mythologist, and longtime friend of the Joseph Campbell Foundation Phil Cousineau returns to discuss his new book, The Wisdom of The Odyssey. In conversation with JCF’s John Bucher, Phil explores why Homer’s ancient epic continues to speak so powerfully to the modern world, especially as Christopher Nolan’s new film adaptation brings The Odyssey back into popular culture. Together, they reflect on Odysseus’ long journey home not simply as an adventure story, but as a map of the soul - a timeless meditation on memory, exile, temptation, self-control, wisdom, and the deep human longing to return to what is most true. This conversation invites us to ask what our own odysseys are teaching us, what we may have forgotten along the way, and what wisdom we are being called to bring home.
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  EP 49: Vanessa Chakour & Joanna Gardner 07.07.2026 56мин

  In this episode of The Podcast With a Thousand Faces, Joanna Gardner speaks with author, herbalist, naturalist, land steward, and boxing coach Vanessa Chakour. Vanessa’s work invites us into a deeper relationship with our inner and outer wilds. Through her books Awakening Artemis and Earthly Bodies, she weaves memoir, myth, plant medicine, animal kinship, and ecological healing into a powerful call to remember ourselves as part of the living Earth. In this conversation, Joanna and Vanessa explore rewilding as a return to our true nature, the healing power of boxing, the mythic force of Artemis and the fierce feminine, Joseph Campbell’s influence on Vanessa’s life and work, and the stories we must question, compost, and rewrite if we are to live in deeper kinship with the more-than-human world. Together, they ask what it means to come home to the body, to the land, and to the wild intelligence that has been waiting beneath the surface all along.
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  EP 48: Moiya McTier & Joanna Gardner 10.06.2026 59мин

  What happens when mythology meets astrophysics, and the stars become storytellers? In this episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, JCF’s Joanna Gardner sits down with Dr. Moiya McTier - an astrophysicist, folklorist, author, and science communicator whose work bridges the worlds of science, story, mythology, and creativity. Since breaking barriers at both Harvard University and Columbia University, Dr. McTier has given hundreds of talks around the world, helped design museum exhibits, consulted on projects with Disney, and become a compelling voice helping people reconnect wonder, metaphor, and meaning with the cosmos. She is also the host of the astronomy podcast Pale Blue Pod and the author of the upcoming book Mothers of Invention. Together they explore Joseph Campbell’s influence on her work, the mythic resonance of the Artemis II mission, the role of metaphor in both science and myth, and what creativity can teach us about being alive in an increasingly technological world. Thoughtful, expansive, and full of wonder, this conversation invites us to reconnect with curiosity, imagination, and the shared human experience beneath the stars.
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  EP 47: Sean Brawley & John Bucher 05.05.2026 1ч

  In this episode, Sean Brawley, performance coach, former top-ranked professional tennis player, and expert in accelerated learning, joins John Bucher for a wide-ranging conversation that begins in the world of elite sport and opens into something much deeper. Drawing on his experience competing at the highest levels and his work with Tim Gallwey and the Inner Game philosophy, Sean shares how his understanding of performance shifted from effort and control toward awareness, attention, and the way we learn. From there, the conversation moves into language, etymology, and the hidden layers of meaning within the words we use every day. Along the way, the ideas of Joseph Campbell weave through the discussion, especially the notion of following your bliss and the unexpected turns that shape a life. What emerges is a thoughtful exploration of performance, identity, and how paying closer attention - to both our experience and our language - can open up new ways of seeing and engaging with the world.
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  EP 46: Cassidy Gard & Joanna Gardner 07.04.2026 55мин

  Cassidy Gard is a three time Emmy Award–winning journalist, author, and entrepreneur whose work bridges storytelling, healing, and cultural insight. After more than a decade in the high pressure world of television news, including her years at Good Morning America, a personal and spiritual turning point during the pandemic led her to step away and reimagine her life and career. Her work explores recovery from childhood trauma, perfectionism, burnout, conscious sobriety, and the identity shifts of modern motherhood. She is the author of the memoir Cosmic Goodness: Surrendering the Shadows to Live in the Light, and lives abroad with her partner, their two sons, Golden and Indigo, and their fifteen year old Maltipoo, Hazel. In this episode, Cassidy joins JCF's Joanna Gardner for a rich and personal conversation on the power of storytelling, the influence of Joseph Campbell, and the meaning of following your bliss. Together, they explore how our struggles can become sources of strength, and how the hero’s journey can unfold not as conquest, but as an inward reclamation - one rooted in authenticity, creativity, and the courage to live what truly lights us up.
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  EP 45: Catherine Svehla & Joanna Gardner 10.03.2026 1ч 2мин

  In this episode, Catherine Svehla joins JCF’s Joanna Gardner for a wide-ranging and deeply alive conversation about myth as a living force in our lives. Catherine Svehla, PhD, is an independent scholar, storyteller, and mentor in the mythic life who has been working in the liminal fields of myth, creativity, and consciousness for more than thirty years. She holds a doctorate from Pacifica Graduate Institute, is the creator of the Myth Matters podcast - part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s MythMaker Podcast Network - and is the author of Myths to Live By: A Skeleton Key Study Guide. Through workshops, storytelling, and one-on-one mentorship, she helps artists and seekers reconnect with their inner wisdom and the transformative power of myth. In their conversation, Catherine and Joanna explore myth not as dogma or relic, but as conversation partner, something that reveals our conditioning, stretches our imagination, and invites us into greater autonomy. From Inanna’s descent to fairy tales and the modern myth of progress, they examine how stories shape our consciousness, and how we might begin to shape the stories we live by, more consciously and creatively.
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  EP 44: Brandon Boyd & Tyler Lapkin 10.02.2026 1ч

  In this episode, we welcome Brandon Boyd. Best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the multi-platinum band Incubus, Brandon has cultivated a parallel life as a painter, writer, and visual artist. He has published three books of visual art, exhibited internationally, and created large-scale installations and residencies in the U.S. Across music and visual work alike, his creative output returns to themes of impermanence, identity, nature, and transformation. Alongside his work with Incubus, Brandon continues to release solo music while expanding into acting and mentorship. In this conversation with Tyler Lapkin of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, we explore where creativity begins, Brandon’s movement between music and painting as a single inner current, the influence of myth and Joseph Campbell, and the artist as a conduit for something larger than the self.
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  EP 43: Leigh Melander & Brad Olson 13.01.2026 1ч 19мин

  In this episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, mythologist Leigh Melander joins longtime friend and fellow Campbell scholar Brad Olson for a wide-ranging, playful, and deeply human conversation about myth, imagination, and meaning. Drawing from their shared history at Pacifica Graduate Institute and their long involvement with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Leigh and Brad explore myth not as a static archive of ancient stories, but as a living, breathing way of seeing — one that quietly shapes how we understand ourselves, our culture, and the world we’re making together. Along the way, Leigh brings her full mythic lineage into the room: her background in cultural mythology and psychology, her longtime leadership with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and her work as co-founder of Spillian, a regenerative center for imagination and creativity in the Catskills. She shares how her scholarship and creative practice converge around play, frivolity, and the imaginal as serious forces for transformation — whether through ritual, community, writing, or her evolving SpillianQuest project, a mycelial web of tools and adventures designed to help people create meaning in times of change. What emerges is a conversation rooted in friendship and intellectual play — a reminder that myth doesn’t give us answers so much as it sharpens our questions. It’s an invitation to loosen our grip on the literal, re-enter the imaginal, and remember that myth is still alive, thinking through us, and quietly asking us to participate.
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  EP 42: Rebecca Armstrong & John Bucher 09.12.2025 53мин

  Rebecca Armstrong is a mythologist, minister, and educator whose life has been guided by the transformative power of story. For twelve years, she served as the International Outreach Director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, helping to create and nurture the worldwide Mythological RoundTable™ groups that carried Campbell’s work into communities around the globe. With an earned doctorate and two master’s degrees, Rebecca has spent over three decades teaching myth, religion, ethics, and film studies at major universities, and she currently leads a course called Movies & the American Myth at Indiana University. In her private practice as a Jungian Coach and Spiritual Guidance counselor at workingwithsoul.com, she helps others reconnect with the deeper stories moving through their lives. In this episode, Rebecca joins JCF’s John Bucher for a rich conversation about her life, her relationship with Joseph Campbell, and how myth continues to inform her work in the world today.
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  EP 41: C.J. Macias & Tyler Lapkin 11.11.2025 1ч 8мин

  C.J. Macias is a big wave surfer, healer, and teacher whose life feels as mythic as it is deeply human. Featured in HBO’s Emmy Award–winning series 100 Foot Wave, C.J.’s journey stretches from the beaches of Florida, where he first surfed with his dad, to Nazaré, Portugal, home of the largest waves on earth. Along the way he has faced devastating wipeouts, near-death moments, and the kind of initiations that strip life down to its essence. In 100 Foot Wave, we witness not only the danger and beauty of Nazaré, but also the brotherhood among surfers, the intimate dance with fear, and the transformation that comes from surrendering to the ocean’s immense power. In this conversation, we explore C.J.’s path, his call to big waves with Garrett McNamara, his evolving relationship with fear and the unknown, the ocean as teacher, and how Joseph Campbell’s vision of myth resonates with his own path.
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  EP 40: Robbie Blasser & Michael Lambert 14.10.2025 58мин

  In this episode, we explore how Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey finds fresh relevance in the lives of today’s high school seniors. Our guest, Robbie Blasser, has developed a powerful way to bring Campbell’s work directly into the classroom—helping students navigate the challenges of growth, change, and becoming. Robbie is an English and Religious Studies teacher at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. Holding Master’s degrees in both Social Philosophy and Teaching, along with a B.A. in Theater Arts, he brings an interdisciplinary approach to education. A lifelong lover of storytelling, Robbie first discovered Campbell’s ideas through Star Wars, and that early spark grew into a deep exploration of myth, mind, and pedagogy. In his classroom, Robbie encourages students to “see the whole board”—to recognize connections between literature, neuroscience, philosophy, and myth. This unique perspective led him to consider how the Hero’s Journey aligns with modern brain science, and how students can use this mythic framework not only to interpret stories but also to rewire their own behavioral patterns during times of transformation. In this conversation with JCF’s Michael Lambert, himself a veteran high school educator, they explore what it means to help students face the unknown, reshape their habits, and find courage at life’s thresholds.
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  EP 39: Stephen Larsen & John Bucher 09.09.2025 1ч 4мин

  We’re honored to welcome Dr. Stephen Larsen—psychologist, author, mythologist, and longtime student and friend of Joseph Campbell. Stephen and his wife Robin were close companions of Campbell for over two decades and co-authored Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind, the definitive biography of his life and legacy. With deep access to Campbell’s journals, personal reflections, and inner circle, their book offers an unparalleled portrait of the man behind the myth. In this conversation with JCF’s John Bucher, Stephen reflects on their friendship with Campbell, the process of writing A Fire in the Mind, and the enduring relevance of mythology in today’s world.
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  EP 38: Mark Epstein & Tyler Lapkin 12.08.2025 1ч 4мин

  In this episode we are joined by Dr. Mark Epstein - psychiatrist, author, and pioneer in integrating Buddhist psychology with Western psychotherapy. With decades of experience, Mark has transformed how we understand the mind, self, and emotional healing. His books, including Thoughts Without a Thinker, Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart, Open to Desire, The Trauma of Everyday Life, and The Zen of Therapy , offer a profound synthesis of Eastern spiritual insight and Western psychological depth. Influenced by teachers like Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, and Joseph Goldstein, Mark shows us how, psychotherapy, mindfulness, and compassion can lead to deeper self-awareness. In our conversation, we dive into Mark’s journey, how both Buddhism and Western psychology can illuminate the stories we live by. We also discuss his connection to Joseph Campbell, and how myth can serve as a powerful vehicle for self-discovery and personal growth.
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  EP 37: Maureen Murdock & John Bucher 08.07.2025 50мин

  In this episode of The Podcast With a Thousand Faces, we’re joined by Maureen Murdock - author, psychotherapist, educator, and a groundbreaking voice in the world of myth and memoir. Maureen is best known for her influential book The Heroine’s Journey: Woman’s Quest for Wholeness, written in response to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Maureen had a personal and professional relationship with Campbell and it was through their dialogue that her vision of the feminine mythic path began to take shape. Her newest work, Mythmaking: Self-Discovery and the Timeless Art of Memoir, invites us to explore how our personal stories echo ancient archetypes and how writing can become a transformative act of reclaiming the self. In this conversation with host John Bucher, we explore the evolution of the heroine’s journey, Maureen’s reflections on Campbell’s legacy, and how myth and memoir together can help us find meaning in the chaos of change.
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  EP 36: Max Klau & Tyler Lapkin 10.06.2025 1ч

  In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Max Klau to explore the intersection of leadership, service, and inner transformation. Max’s work centers on the transformational path of servant leadership: helping individuals integrate their inner life with outer impact. A Harvard-trained scholar in human development and leadership, Max has spent decades designing programs that support leaders who are committed to service. He most recently served as Chief Program Officer at New Politics Leadership Academy, where he worked to bring more military veterans and national service alumni into politics. His upcoming book, Developing Servant Leaders at Scale, offers a roadmap for growing compassionate, courageous leaders. Deeply influenced by Joseph Campbell, Max views leadership as a mythic process—an invitation to face your shadow, grow from adversity, and return with wisdom in service of something greater than yourself. In this conversation, we explore Max's journey, what true servant leadership looks like, and how building better leaders might just be one of the most powerful ways to heal our fractured world.
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  EP 35: Maria Souza & Joanna Gardner 01.05.2025 53мин

  In this episode, we welcome Maria Souza - Comparative Mythologist, poet, educator, and host of the Women and Mythology podcast on the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s MythMaker Podcast Network. Maria’s work bridges myth, ecology, and the sacred. With advanced degrees in Comparative Mythology and Ecology & Spirituality—and years working in the Brazilian Amazon with Indigenous communities—she brings a unique and powerful perspective to the relevance of myth in our lives today. Her book Wild Daughters explores feminine initiation through myth and poetry, and her workshops and mentorships help women reclaim archetypal wisdom and sovereignty through mythic storytelling. In this rich conversation with JCF’s Joanna Gardner, Maria reflects on her journey, the deep initiatory stories of the feminine, and how myth can be a living, healing force for our time.
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  EP 34: Francis Weller & Tyler Lapkin 01.04.2025 1ч

  Grief is not just something to endure—it’s an initiation into deeper connection. Our guest in this episode, Francis Weller, is a psychotherapist, writer, and soul activist who has dedicated his life to restoring the sacred work of grief. His book The Wild Edge of Sorrow has touched thousands, and his work integrates psychology, mythology, and indigenous wisdom to help us rediscover the power of ritual and communal healing. Tune in as we explore the profound role of grief in personal and collective transformation.
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  EP 33: Enuma Okoro & Tyler Lapkin 04.03.2025 1ч 1мин

  In this episode we are joined by Enuma Okoro, a columnist for Financial Times Weekend, where her globally read column, The Art of Life, explores the intersection of art, philosophy, spirituality, ecology, and culture—all in service of understanding the human condition. At the core of her work is a deep belief in the power of narrative—how the stories we inherit and create shape our perception of the world and our place within it. She invites us to question the narratives we unconsciously live by—many of which are inherited from dominant cultural traditions. Beyond her writing and lecturing, Enuma brings these themes to life through curatorial work. Most recently, she curated The Flesh of the Earth at Hauser & Wirth, an exhibition that invited audiences to rethink their relationship with nature. In this conversation, we explore Enuma’s journey, the ways myth, art, and storytelling shape us, and how we can use them as tools to reimagine both our personal and collective realities. In this conversation, we explore Enuma’s journey, the ways myth, art, and storytelling shape us, and how we can use them as tools to reimagine both our personal and collective realities.
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  EP 32: Crispin Freeman & John Bucher 11.02.2025 1ч 6мин

  Crispin Freeman is a renowned voice actor, director, and storyteller whose career has left a mark on the worlds of anime, video games, and animation. Beginning his journey as a theater actor in New York City, Freeman transitioned to voice acting in 1997 and quickly became a prominent figure in English-language dubs of Japanese anime. His performances have brought to life a wide range of complex and memorable characters, captivating audiences around the globe. In the conversation, JCF’s John Bucher joins Crispin to explore Crispin’s life and work, the history of animated storytelling in both the East and West, its connection to mythology, and the ways Joseph Campbell’s influence is woven into it all.
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  EP 31: Robert Maldonado & Scott Neumeister 08.01.2025 1ч 6мин

  Today, we’re excited to bring you a conversation with Dr. Robert Maldonado, a pioneering voice in the intersection of psychology, spirituality, and mythology. With advanced degrees in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, Dr. Rob has dedicated his career to helping others overcome limitations and embrace spiritual transformation. As the President, Co-Founder, and Educational Director of CreativeMind, he offers a unique program that blends cutting-edge science with deep spiritual insight—bridging worlds that are often seen as separate. Dr. Rob’s work is deeply influenced by the teachings of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, two legendary thinkers who explored the mysteries of the human psyche and the power of myth. Through his practice and teachings, he invites us to uncover the transformative potential of both science and spirituality in our lives. In this episode, JCF’s Scott Neumeister sits down with Dr. Rob to explore his journey, his approach to the human mind, and the ways in which mythology has shaped his work.