Banyen Books ~ Branches of Wisdom

Victor Chan & Stephen Post ~ Science and the 7 Paths to Inner Peace 14.05.2026 1j 1min

Dr. Stephen G. Post, bestselling author and expert on compassionate care, and Victor Chan, co‑author with the Dalai Lama and co‑founder of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, discuss Pure Unlimited Love: Science and the Seven Paths to Inner Peace. Drawing on more than four decades of research in medicine, spirituality, and ethics, Post outlines seven practical paths—such as giving, kindness, honoring nature, and raising kind children—for cultivating inner peace, connection, and wellbeing in a divided world. Together with Chan, whose long collaboration with the Dalai Lama helped bring teachings of compassion and forgiveness to a global audience, they offer a grounded, hopeful vision for personal and cultural healing rooted in love, generosity, and deep human care.

David A. Robertson ~ How I Learned to Live with Anxiety 01.05.2026 1j 2min

David A. Robertson, two‑time Governor General’s Literary Award winner and celebrated author, speaker, and advocate, joins Banyen Books for a deeply personal and illuminating conversation on mental health, healing, and hope. In All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety he explores the struggles and small victories of living with chronic anxiety, panic attacks, and depression, sharing hard‑earned wisdom to help others feel less alone. With warmth, humour, and insight, he shows how mental illness has shaped his life as a father, partner, and writer, and how he keeps going through therapy, medication, community, and self‑reflection—reminding listeners that healing isn’t about being cured, but about learning to live with care, courage, and hope. Robertson is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and was honoured in 2023 with a Doctor of Letters from the University of Manitoba, among other distinctions.

Elena Brower and Carrie-Anne Moss ~ Hold Nothing 16.04.2026 1j 3min

Elena Brower, bestselling author, podcast host and Zen practitioner, and Carrie-Anne Moss, acclaimed actor (Trinity in The Matrix series) and founder of Annapurna Living, discuss Elena’s new book, Hold Nothing: An Invitation to Let Go and Come Home to Yourself (Shambhala Publications). They explore how slowing down, embracing emptiness, and practicing self‑empathy can help us reconnect with presence, stillness, and inner clarity in a changing world, weaving together insights from yoga, nonviolent communication, Zen teachings, and Brower’s own life experience. The conversation frames Hold Nothing as a gentle yet powerful companion for personal transformation, inviting listeners to attend to what truly matters beneath the noise of daily life.

Judith Orloff, MD ~ Nurturing Young Empaths 26.03.2026 1j 1min

In this episode, Judith Orloff, MD—bestselling author of The Empath’s Survival Guide—returns to explore how to recognize, celebrate, and protect children’s sensitivity while nurturing resilience and healthy boundaries. Drawing from her new children’s book, The Highly Sensitive Rabbit, Orloff shares the story of Aurora, a caring cottontail who learns to embrace her gifts as a highly sensitive being after her family is displaced by a flash flood. Designed for parents, educators, and anyone who has ever been told they are “too sensitive,” this conversation weaves together storytelling, psychology, and lived experience, as Dr. Orloff reflects on her own journey as a sensitive child and offers compassionate guidance for supporting sensitive children—and the inner child within us all.

Andrew Feldmár ~ Psychedelic Psychotherapy 12.03.2026 1j 1min

In this episode, pioneering psychotherapist Andrew Feldmár joins Kolin Lymworth, founder of Banyen Books, for a wide-ranging conversation on the evolving role of psychedelics in psychotherapy and the central importance of human relationship in healing. Drawing from his book Radical Adventure: An Inquiry Into Psychedelic Psychotherapy, Feldmár reflects on his early initiation into LSD therapy in the 1960s and decades of clinical practice, challenging standardized protocols in favor of deep, relational engagement between therapist and patient. A Vancouver-based psychologist trained by figures such as R. D. Laing and Stan Grof, Feldmár brings a lifetime of insight into psychedelic therapy, while Lymworth offers the perspective of a community-builder whose vision has helped make Banyen Books a gathering place for wisdom, inquiry, and healing.

Rosemary Gladstar ~ The Generosity of Plants 26.02.2026 1j 5min

In this episode, world-renowned herbalist, teacher, and author Rosemary Gladstar reflects on a lifetime of relationship with the plant world through her book The Generosity of Plants: Shared Wisdom from the Community of Herb Lovers. Drawing on more than five decades of practice, Rosemary shares stories, insights, and teachings rooted in herbal healing, gardening, and wildcrafting, illuminating the generosity, intelligence, and sacred presence of plants. Often called the “godmother of American herbalism,” Gladstar is a central figure in the modern herbal movement and the author of many influential works, including Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide, offering listeners a rich, contemplative exploration of plant wisdom and community.

Paul Hawken ~ Carbon: The Book of Life 12.02.2026 1j 5min

In this episode, New York Times bestselling author and environmental thinker Paul Hawken explores the deeper story of carbon through his latest book, Carbon: The Book of Life. Moving beyond the familiar climate narrative, Hawken reveals carbon as the elemental force that animates all living systems—plants, animals, fungi, agriculture, and human life itself—and invites a more integrated, life-affirming relationship with the natural world. Founder of Project Drawdown and Regeneration, and author of influential works including The Ecology of Commerce, Blessed Unrest, and Regeneration, Hawken brings decades of insight into how re-imagining our relationship with nature can help shape a just, resilient, and hopeful future.

Michael Meade ~ Mythic Imagination in a Troubled World 29.01.2026 1j 12min

In this episode, mythologist and storyteller Michael Meade reflects on the ancient sources of wisdom that continue to surface amid the polarization and rapid change of modern life. Drawing on his deep background in mythology, anthropology, and psychology, Meade weaves together timeless myths, cross-cultural ritual, and contemporary insight to illuminate the stories we are living now. Author of Awakening the Soul, The Genius Myth, Fate and Destiny, Why the World Doesn’t End, and The Water of Life, and creator of the Living Myth podcast, Meade is also the founder of the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, where he brings mythic understanding into service of cultural healing and community renewal.

Elaine Pagels ~ Miracles and Wonder 15.01.2026 1j 3min

In this episode, renowned scholar Elaine Pagels explores the hidden histories behind the figure of Jesus, drawing from her groundbreaking new book Miracles and Wonder. Blending rigorous historical scholarship with vivid storytelling, Pagels examines how stories of Jesus’s miracles, resurrection, and divine birth emerged, evolved, and came to shape a world-changing movement. A longtime professor of religion at Princeton University and recipient of the National Humanities Medal, Pagels reflects on why these narratives proved so enduring and what they continue to reveal about the spiritual questions at the heart of Christianity today.

Tami Simon & Julie Kramer ~ Becoming a Spiritual Healer 31.12.2025 1j 13min

In this episode of Branches of Wisdom, guest host Tami Simon—founder and CEO of Sounds True—joins master shamanic healing practitioner Julie M. Kramer to explore the spiritual call to healing, which often arrives through dreams, illness, synchronicities, and life transitions. Julie, founding instructor of The Art and Practice of Shamanic Healingprofessional training, shares how to recognize this call and develop the skills needed to serve others, drawing on her decades of teaching and practice. Together they discuss core spiritual healing techniques Julie teaches—including soul retrieval, psychopomp work, compassionate depossession, and curse unraveling—and how spiritual healing can be thoughtfully integrated into a multidisciplinary approach to well-being.

Mark Nepo ~ Creativity in the Second Half of Life 19.12.2025 1j 3min

Beloved poet and philosopher Mark Nepo joins Joel Fotinos to discuss The Fifth Season, an inspiring reflection on the gifts and challenges of aging. Now in his seventies, Nepo explores how growing older can be a time of integration, creativity, and deeper clarity—a “fifth season” when life’s true colours begin to shine. A New York Times #1 bestselling author of more than 20 books, including The Book of Awakening and Surviving Storms, and a cancer survivor interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and Robin Roberts, Nepo offers this new work as a companion for making meaning, finding grace, and sharing the journey of living and dying.

Stephen Jenkinson ~ Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work 27.11.2025 1j 4min

Stephen Jenkinson—author of the award-winning Die Wise and founder of the Orphan Wisdom School—presents his provocative new book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart’s Work. In a time of hollow ceremonies and self-congratulatory rites, Jenkinson calls for a return to the true purpose of matrimony and ritual as communal acts of meaning. Through vivid storytelling, cultural reflection, and lived experience, he explores matrimony as a village rite—a shared acknowledgment of transformation and belonging to something older and truer than the self. A renowned teacher of grief, culture, and elderhood, Jenkinson brings decades of work in theology, social work, and cultural regeneration to this stirring exploration of the heart’s work.

Carol Off ~ At a Loss for Words: Conversations in an Age of Rage 14.11.2025 1j 1min

Award-winning author and longtime As It Happens co-host Carol Off discusses her #1 national bestseller At a Loss for Words: Conversations in an Age of Rage, an urgent exploration of how words like democracy, freedom, and truth have been distorted and weaponized, eroding our shared political language. Drawing on decades of acclaimed reporting and over 25,000 interviews, Off shows how this loss of meaning silences dialogue, fuels division, and leaves us vulnerable to authoritarianism and greed. A celebrated journalist who has reported from war zones and political upheavals worldwide, Off is also the bestselling author of The Lion, the Fox, and the Eagle, Bitter Chocolate, The Ghosts of Medak Pocket, and All We Leave Behind—and the recipient of numerous honours including a Gemini Award, two New York Festival gold medals, ACTRA’s John Drainie Award, and the RTNDA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Fritjof Capra ~ The Tao of Physics 29.10.2025 59min

Fritjof Capra, physicist, systems theorist, and bestselling author, speaks on the the 50th anniversary of his groundbreaking work The Tao of Physics. This influential book brought the mystical implications of subatomic physics to popular consciousness for the very first time, bridging the worlds of science and spirituality. A message of timeless importance, The Tao of Physics continues to inspire and challenge, offering profound insights into the interconnectedness of all life.

Dr. Steven Farmer ~ Healing Ancestral Family Patterns 16.10.2025 1j 4min

Dr. Steven Farmer, best-selling author and shamanic practitioner, speaks on his new book Healing Ancestral Family Patterns: A Practical Guide to Ending the Cycle of Intergenerational Trauma. Dr. Farmer explores how ancestral patterns shape our lives and provide practical tools to break free from inherited cycles of trauma. Dr. Steven Farmer is a world-renowned author, teacher, shamanic practitioner, and Soul Healer. A best-selling author of Animal Spirit Guides, Healing Ancestral Karma, and Earth Magic, Dr. Farmer is also a licensed psychotherapist, ordained minister, and former college professor with three collegiate degrees. His extensive knowledge and experience enable him to offer an exceptional and transformative experience to his clients.

Valarie Kaur ~ Sage Warrior 30.09.2025 1j 1min

Valarie Kaur, author of See No Stranger and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project, shares profound inner wisdom for courageous action. In her book, Sage Warrior: Wake to Oneness, Practice Pleasure, Choose Courage, Become Victory, Valerie Kaur explores how to envision a new world and find the courage to fight for it, even in seemingly apocalyptic times. Drawing from the Sikh tradition of the sant sipahi, the sage warrior who embodies love and fights for humanity, Kaur tells the epic story of her Sikh ancestors, focusing on the women who mapped this path. Her narrative is intertwined with her personal journey to Punjab, India, with her young children, an adventure filled with moments of connection and insight. Each chapter offers lessons on practising pleasure, metabolizing grief, and choosing courage, guiding readers to cultivate their souls and transform the world.

Julia Cameron ~ The Artist's Way Toolkit 11.09.2025 1j 11min

Julia Cameron shares wisdom and tools to ignite your creativity from her new book, The Artist's Way Toolkit: How to Use the Creative Practices. Julia delves into the transformative philosophy behind The Artist’s Way, sharing insights into how its creative practices—from “morning pages” to artist dates—can unlock artistic potential for anyone. Through engaging stories and guidance, she’ll explore the power of consistent creative discipline and offer never-before-shared tips, answering questions to help participants connect more deeply with their creativity. Whether you’re new to The Artist’s Way or a longtime follower, this event and book will re-energize your creative journey with practical strategies and inspiration.Julia Cameron, hailed by the New York Times as “The Queen of Change,” is credited with starting a movement in 1992 that has brought creativity into the mainstream conversation—in the arts, in business, and in everyday life. She is the best-selling author of more than fifty books, fiction and nonfiction; a poet, songwriter, filmmaker and playwright. Commonly referred to as “The Godmother” or “High Priestess” of creativity, her tools are based in practice, not theory, and she considers herself “the floor sample of her own toolkit.” The Artist’s Way has been translated into fourty languages and sold over five million copies to date.Joel Fotinos has been a publishing professional for many years, as well as a minister and author. After 21 years as a Vice-President and Publisher at Penguin Random House, Joel joined Macmillan to start a new mind/body/spirit imprint called St. Martin's Essentials. He and Julia have worked together for 29 years so far, and hope for many years to come.

Dr. Samra Zafar ~ UNCONDITIONAL: Break Through Past Limits to Transform Your Future 04.09.2025 1j 4min

Dr. Samra Zafar, bestselling author of A Good Wife and one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Inspirational Women, speaks on her book, Unconditional: Break Through Past Limits to Transform Your Future.Blending personal experience with science, Unconditional reveals how unlearning deeply ingrained beliefs is the key to true freedom. After escaping an abusive child marriage, Samra built a new life—but discovered that the hardest battle was within. In this powerful and deeply personal discussion, she shares how to break free from limiting narratives, heal past wounds, and embrace self-love.SAMRA ZAFAR is an award-winning, internationally renowned speaker, physician, author and educator. She has been recognized among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, the Top 25 Most Inspirational Women in Canada, and the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants. Her book A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose, based on her journey of escaping an abusive child marriage to pursue her freedom, sheds light on gender-based oppression, and was a national bestseller and a CBC Best Book. One of the youngest alumnae to serve as governor at the University of Toronto, she is currently on the board of the Women’s College Hospital Foundation and a celebrated ambassador for Plan International. She is also the founder and executive director of Brave Beginnings, a national charity that provides mentorship to women who have escaped abuse. Her work has impacted millions and has been extensively featured in national and global media. Samra Zafar’s speaking portfolio includes four successful TEDx Talks and many leading organizations around the world.

Susan Gillis Chapman ~ Finding Heart in the Hardest of Times 28.08.2025 1j 3min

Susan Gillis Chapman shares helpful insights and wisdom from her new book, "Which Way Is Up?" She is joined in conversation with Jan Marie Martell.Drawing from her personal journey through cancer during the isolating years of the Covid pandemic, Susan offers a guide to navigating difficult times with mindfulness, compassion, and courage. Through the lens of Buddhist teachings on the "bardo"—a period of transition—she reveals how we can face our fears, transform suffering, and emerge stronger.Susan Gillis Chapman is a Buddhist teacher, retired family therapist, and author with decades of experience in contemplative psychology and meditation. She has trained under notable teachers like Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Pema Chodron, and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and her work emphasizes the power of mindfulness in times of personal crisis. Her first book, The Five Keys to Mindful Communication, has been widely praised. Her new book is Which Way Is Up? Finding Heart in the Hardest Times. Which Way is Up? offers practical and transformative guidance for facing life's greatest challenges.Jan Marie Martell is a poet, writer, photographer, botanical pharmacist, and former film teacher at Emily Carr University. She has been a student of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche since 1996 and member of his organization, Nalandabodhi, since its inception.

Cyndi Dale ~ Transforming the Legacy: The Subtle Body Approach to Honor and Heal Your Inherited Lineage 21.08.2025 1j 1min

Cyndi Dale, bestselling author of the Subtle Body series, discusses her new book Transforming the Legacy and her powerful subtle body approach to healing ancestral and soul-based patterns.Cyndi Dale presents a transformative method for addressing inherited and soul-based issues through the energetic anatomy—your chakras, meridians, and auric fields. Cyndi brings her expertise in energy medicine to help you release ancestral blocks, reclaim your authentic self, and establish a future rooted in love, clarity, and well-being. Join Cyndi for an enlightening exploration of how energy medicine can help transform your legacy and unlock new possibilities for healing and growth.Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned intuitive healer, speaker, and author of over 30 books on energy medicine, intuition, and spirituality, including The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy, a four-time award winner. With work published in 20 languages, she has helped over 80,000 clients and led workshops worldwide, from Beijing to Peru. A leading expert in subtle energy healing, Cyndi has been featured in documentaries and collaborates with medical professionals, therapists, and thought leaders to bridge science and spirituality in profound and practical ways.