Send us Fan Mail What happens in the hours after a wildfire starts in Big Sur—before the full machinery of a major incident has arrived? Over the coming weeks, A Big Sur Podcast will be talking with a number of people about the Timber and Plaskett Fires, and more broadly about Big Sur’s long and complicated relationship with wildfire. This first conversation is with Marcus Foster of Keep Big Sur Wild, who was on the ground during the early hours of the Timber Fire and has been involved with w...
Sep 20
1 hr 23 min
Send us Fan Mail Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land A dusty, life-size portrait no one looked at. A family name no one could spell. And a single line in a 1941 obituary — "a household name for Jews across the Russian Empire." At 24, Rachel Cockerell started pulling that thread, and it led her from a messy house in North London to the docks of Galveston, Texas. I talk with Rachel in her home in London about Melting Point. As you'll hear, I'm a big fan of the book...
Jul 20
1 hr 16 min
Send us Fan Mail Magnus, a secular Swede in Big Sur, speaks with Father Cyprian Consiglio — musician, Camaldolese monk, former prior of New Camaldoli, and now Secretary General of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue in Rome — about vocation, music, solitude, Rome, Iran, God, and why real love may simply mean: “I’ll be here tomorrow.” >>>>>>>>> Magnus speaks with Father Cyprian as an old Big Sur friend and as a secular Swede trying to understand what Christian depth c...
Jul 9
1 hr 23 min
Send us Fan Mail From Tehran to the Akasha: Rohini Moradi on grief, ancient wisdom, and the search for meaning Raised in a Hindu temple in Tehran before emigrating to the United States, Rohini Moradi brings an unusually personal perspective to ideas that are often presented only as modern spirituality. Meet Rohini Moradi at the Henry Miller Library on July 14 for a book reading. Reserve your spot here. Share this episode!!! Our conversation ranges from her childhood in Iran, her family's con...
Jun 26
1 hr 23 min
Send us Fan Mail Travel writer, guidebook author, former Big Sur ranger, and old friend, Stuart Thornton, returns to Big Sur—at least in spirit—to reflect on a career spent encouraging people to visit the very places he sometimes wishes they would leave alone. We talk about discovering California's coast, writing guidebooks, the challenge of over tourism, and whether AI will help travelers find deeper experiences or simply send more people to the same beautiful places. Along the way, S...
Jun 14
1 hr 46 min
Send us Fan Mail In this episode Magnus has a conversation with Carol Olson, Executive Director of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, about wilderness, responsibility, and the increasingly difficult art of protecting a place people love. GOOD LINKS: Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act Full text — Congress.govPublic Law details — GovInfoSummary — Ventana Wilderness AllianceVentana Wilderness Alliance Official websiteWikipediaBig Sur LUP Download Big Sur LCP Defense Committee — download pag...
Jun 1
1 hr 10 min
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of A Big Sur Podcast, I speak with the writer and journalist Matti Friedman about his remarkable book Out of the Sky — a work that begins with four words from the Bible, “Out of the sky,” and unfolds into a meditation on fear, memory, survival, aviation, mythology, Jewish history, and the strange psychological atmosphere that has surrounded Israel since October 7, 2023. We carry Matti Friedman's books at the Henry Miller Library. Important links: Matti Frie...
May 16
1 hr 5 min
Send us Fan Mail A conversation with artist Katie Holten about life and art, climate and action, walking and inaction! Katie's website Announcement for her new book! Support the show _________________________________________________ This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think! SEND US AN EMAIL! 😊 [email protected] FaceBook Instagram
Apr 26
1 hr 35 min
Send us Fan Mail "At intervals the condor passed, huge as an ocean liner.” Henry Miller in Big Sur and the Oranges Besides marveling at the exceptional beauty and almost mysterious power of these amazing birds Joe Burnett and I discuss work in Big Sur and Monterey. We talk about the rebuilding of the Ventana Wildlife Sanctuary after the 2020 Dolan Fire, how the sanctuary supports releasing, feeding, monitoring and recapturing condors to test for lead poisoning—the leading mortality thr...
Apr 1
1 hr 27 min
Send us Fan Mail The Mysterious World of the Bull Kelp Foresta New Heyday Book The Mysterious World of the Bull Kelp Website I sit down with artist, photographer, and author Josie Iselin, and what begins as a conversation about kelp opens into an exploration of the intricate world in the waters just off our coast. Josie traces her own path into that world—from artist to something closer to a naturalist of the shoreline—guided by curiosity, attention, and a willingness to look closely at what...
Mar 23
1 hr 12 min
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