Tapestry from CBC Radio

CBC Radio's Tapestry is a weekly exploration of spirituality, religion and the search for meaning, hosted by Mary Hynes.

Updated: Weekly
Download episodes from this podcast for: 6 months

 

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Lamenting the Road Not Taken

It's only human to assess one's life and ponder what might have been. Everyone from John Lennon to Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront has tried to express the mix of regret and foggy optimism that our hearts associate with the roads not taken. Author Adam Phillips put it this way: We're "haunted by the myth of our own potential." He talks about it to Mary this week.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

Keeping the Doubt

We take a look at how doubt and skepticism can be essential ingredients to faith. Mary meets Rabbi Rami Shapiro - a rabbi who says he isn't religious, but rather a curious, holy rascal. She also talks to Michael Shermer, the founder of Skeptic Magazine. He's held his own against Deepak Chopra in a go round on consciousness and quantum physics.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

What is the World Made of?

All through the ages, the question has been asked by everyone from the toddler to the philosopher: What is the world made of? What is the stuff of the universe? On this week's show, we delve into fire, earth, and water. Michael Winter starts us off with story about fire. You get too close to it and it might change who you are. One minute, the Newfoundland author was heaving a pile of garbage into a raging incinerator and the next, well, he was going down the chute.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Spiritual but not religious...and totally self-obsessed.

Author David Webster argues that modern spirituality is not only unhelpful, it can make you stupid, selfish and unhappy.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Crossing the Line

As a journalist, Kevin Cox covered it all, including tragedies like the Westray mining disaster and the Swissair crash near Peggy's Cove. But he often felt that he was standing on the wrong side of the police tape. Instead of reporting the news, Cox wanted to be with the families, helping them cope with their loss. After 35 years, he left journalism and is now training to be a minister.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

Lessons for Living

What can the old teach the young about living a good life? This week on Tapestry, we hear wisdom from the elders on everything from marrying the right person, to raising happy children, to staying connected with the people you love.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

It Goes Both Ways: When God Talks Back

The anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann is fascinated by religious believers who experience god talking to them, either through visions, or a voice they can hear. She is the author of When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God.

Download It Goes Both Ways: When God Talks Back
[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

'Worshipping at the altar of vodka and cocaine'

This week on Tapestry, Mary Hynes talks to Don Lattin about his new memoir, Distilled Spirits: Getting High, Then Sober, with a Famous Writer, a Forgotten Philosopher, and a Hopeless Drunk. Later in the show, Mary meets a Montreal professor who's taking the subject of philosophy out of the classroom and into the streets.

Download 'Worshipping at the altar of vodka and cocaine'
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Prayer: the small but mighty

For Hindus, Buddhists and other eastern faiths it's the single-syllabled Om. For Jews it's the six words of the Shema. The Jesus Prayer is beloved by many Christians. This week we look at prayers of few words - the small-but-mighty sayings that inspire and sustain millions.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

Mavis Staples

Sorry, subscribers! This week's show with the legendary Mavis Staples is loaded with songs, and copyright rules do not allow us to podcast the music. To hear the show, go to cbc.ca/tapestry.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:00:31]

Do You Hear What We Hear?

This week Tapestry reconsiders the carol in three different ways. There's the mysterious back-story of a beloved tune; a professional singer on what many consider the show-stopper of midnight mass; and a meditation on one tune fit for the midwinter blues of life.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:32:48]

When the Stranger Calls Us Home

Mary Jo Leddy is woman of letters and recipient of many honours. The founder of one of Canada's most respected refugee aid groups says anyone can live a life of importance and consequence. You only need to say yes to someone who needs your help.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:26]

Revelation: the most psychedelic book in the Bible

Some believe it's a roadmap to the end of days. Others say it's one big hallucination. It's The Book of Revelation and, for a very long time, it has fuelled Christian fears of a judgement day literally full of fire and brimstone. The story from Elaine Pagels,the woman who wrote the book on The Book.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:57]

Apocalypse Soon

How is it that we find ourselves here once again with Doomsday close at hand? This time around it's the Maya calendar and the fact that some interpretations say it predicts the end will come on December 21, 2012. This week on Tapestry, Mary investigates the latest cultural obsession with the Apocalypse.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Checking the Box Marked 'None'

There was a time, not so long ago, when Canada's census form didn't offer "no religion" as an option. The category simply didn't exist. Now, those who tick that box are so numerous they have their own nickname: the 'nones.' They include atheists and agnostics, but also a lot of people who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious."

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

Wisdom in the lab

Some things you just can’t measure. Where is the scale that can measure the inner life? Where is the lab that can calibrate wisdom? Well, actually, there are quite a few of them. Neurologists the world over are studying wisdom. Their results, on this episode of Tapestry.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Rev. Richard Coles, Pop Star to Priest

Ever met a priest whose CV includes a number one hit song? You're about to. The Reverend Richard Coles is a prolific and hillarious Twitterer, and a sardonic radio host on the BBC. But, the Anglican vicar is also openly gay, living with his partner. Faith and fame in the form of a guest like no other, this week on Tapestry.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

Subtler Ways

Mary Hynes explores what happens when entire societies decree that being loud, confident, and outgoing is the only recipe for success. Introverts have given us everything from brilliant literature to the laptop computer.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:58]

Crazy Busy

There must have been busier moments than this in human history. Inventing the wheel, building entire civilizations - can't have been all that easy. So why does modern life feel so ... hectic? This week on Tapestry, Crazy Busy! Do we really need to be as busy as we think?

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

AI: The Answer to Cosmic Loneliness

Artificial intelligence is developing at an incredible pace. However, some people say we are neglecting to ask some crucial questions about its impact. Why are we creating it in the first place and what does that tell us about ourselves? Could it be that deep down we are intensely lonely?

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

And The Moral Of The Story Is...

The late British philosopher Bertrand Russell observed, "Most of the greatest evil that man has inflicted upon man comes through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was false." Producer Frank Faulk explores the dangers of moral certainty.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

Coping: Part 2

Part 2 in our series on coping. We’ve all had times where we’re just trying to get by. This week, Rabbi Harold S. Kushner tells us the story of the Book of Job, and why it's the ultimate textbook for how to deal when the going gets tough.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:02]

Coping: Part 1

We all experience misfortune, cracks in our lives, our relationships, our psyches. But perhaps it's how we respond that reveals who we are. There's a Zen saying that "Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." On this episode of Tapestry, we examine the ways we cope. This is part one in our two-part series on how we deal with tough times.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Idolatry for Beginners

We live in a time of widespread obsession with everything from money to celebrity. Is our culture’s fascination with ‘the best and the latest’ a new form of idol worship?

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

My Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc talked to heavenly voices, helped crown a king and saved France, all before she turned 21. Actually, she didn’t turn 21 because she was burned at the stake for being a heretic before she could. That was 600 years ago but Joan continues to inspire the religious and non-religious to this day.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]

Ashes - Season 18 : Episode 1

In a quiet but significant way, human ashes have affected us from ancient history to modern day life. People in all cultures face the question, what do we do with the ash? The differences tell us a lot about who we are and what we believe.

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[mp3 file: runs 00:54:00]