Healing practices vary across time and culture. Much of that knowledge has been lost to cultural extinction, but a decades-long effort to save and catalog that information has resulted in The Archive of Healing, the largest database of medicinal folklore from around the world.

Dr. David Shorter, a professor in the department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA and the current director of the archive, is set to publish a curated version of the archive later this year.

He spoke to the UCLA Arts podcast “Works In Progress” about traditional healing practices that can benefit us, especially in a time of widespread sickness and anxiety.