How We Live Now with Katherine May
Katherine May
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How should we live in this world when so much is changed? Katherine May, author of Wintering and the Electricity of Every Living Thing, asks those most intimate with the effects of these transformations: what now?
How do we stay soft in a world determined to harden? How can we bear witness to suffering without being dragged into despair? How do we ride the waves of our anger, sorrow and exhaustion, and still find space for wonder, hope and joy? How can we possibly help?
In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, How We Live Now will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset for this long moment.
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Top 10 How We Live Now with Katherine May Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best How We Live Now with Katherine May episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to How We Live Now with Katherine May for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite How We Live Now with Katherine May episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Erica Berry on the meaning of wolves
How We Live Now with Katherine May
10/20/23 • 64 min
The wolf carries an almost unbearable amount of symbolism in western culture, encapsulating the predatory, the carnal, the supernatural and the ravenous. But in her book Wolfish, Erica Berry suggests that it’s time to understand wolves differently: as tender, as hunted, as guardians of the landscape.
What’s more, those evil qualities may be better attributed to ourselves than to wolves. Berry weaves memoir with natural history, cultural critique, folklore and conservation to show that wolves have too often been a cypher for all our fears, and that this has left them under threat of extinction.
In this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, recorded as part of Katherine’s True Stories Book Club, Erica discusses her experiences with wolves real and imagined.
Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK
Links from the episode:
- Erica’s website
- Erica’s book, Wolfish
- Join Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdes
- Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
- Follow Katherine on Instagram
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Marjolijn van Heemstra on the overview effect
How We Live Now with Katherine May
07/20/23 • 48 min
Marjolijn van Heemstra believes that we can change the world by gazing into the night sky. Her book, In Light Years There’s No Hurry, explores the ‘overview effect’, a personal transformation reported by astronauts who have seen the earth from space. People who’ve experienced this rare view often report an ethical shift taking place, a new sense of mission in their lives. They come to see themselves as guardians of their planet, rather than its passive citizens.
Clearly not all of us can - or want to - leave the atmosphere to gaze over the earth from space. But in this thought-provoking conversation, Marjolijn makes a case for us learning to draw on the overview effect from where we stand, suggesting that this could lead us to become better stewards of our environment, and form closer bonds with the communities around us.
Marjolijn is a Dutch theatre-maker, journalist and poet who has recently been named Amsterdam’s Poet Laureate. Her most recent work has focused on reacquainting ourselves with darkness, and this includes her creative project The Night Watch, and the Amsterdam Dark Festival, of which she is the founder.
Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK
Links from the episode:
- Marjolijn’s Instagram
- Marjolijn’s book, In Light Years There’s No Hurry
- Amsterdam Dark Festival
- Join Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdes
- Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
- Follow Katherine on Instagram
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Emma Dabiri on history and belonging
How We Live Now with Katherine May
07/07/22 • 66 min
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
Producer Note: You'll notice a slight change in Katherine's audio in the second half of the podcast. This is just due to a necessary 'source switch', where we had to change where her recording was coming from. Your ears will adjust very quickly but apologies for the ever so slight dip. Thank you!
This week Katherine talks to Emma Dabiri, author of Don’t Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next.
What begins as a conversation about Emma’s new-found commitment to appreciating all the seasons - not just summer - becomes something else entirely. Emma is one of our most agile thinkers and fearless speakers, and soon she is talking about everything from race and class to how we should think about the world right now. A thread of belonging runs through it all - how we seek and find it, how complicated our identities have become, and why it matters.
EMMA LINKS
KATHERINE LINKS
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Note: this contains affiliate links which means Katherine will receive a small commission for any purchases made.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Susan Cain on the bittersweet & introducing How We Live Now
How We Live Now with Katherine May
12/19/22 • 30 min
Susan Cain’s groundbreaking book, Quiet, taught a generation of readers to perceive and value their introvert qualities. Her latest book, Bittersweet is a song to the complex space between happiness and sadness. In this episode, Katherine talks to Susan about how she came to move so comfortably in the understated parts of life, and why the minor key is so beautiful.
While we’ve been away, The Wintering Sessions have been undergoing a metamorphosis. Katherine talks us through the process of becoming How We Live Now, and offers us a peek at the season to come.
Links from the episode:
Susan's Links:
Susan’s latest book, Bittersweet
Katherine's Links:
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Ross Gay on delight
How We Live Now with Katherine May
06/09/22 • 51 min
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week, Katherine talks to Ross Gay about finding delight in dark times.
Ross’s practice of writing down a daily delight - a small surprise or pleasure that might otherwise go unnoticed - is the foundation of The Book of Delights, his bestselling essay collection. Here, he talks about the way that delight can sit alongside our fear, anger, frustration and grief, not to block them out, but to find a way to survive them. Along the way, we touch on fleeting moments of human connection, the joy of tending a garden, and childlike art of noticing.
In a first for The Wintering Session, Ross closes with a beautiful reading that meditates on the softness of living in a male body.
We talked about:
- Fleeting moments of human connection
- The joy of tending a garden
- The childlike act of noticing
ROSS LINKS
KATHERINE LINKS
Shop all books from The Wintering Sessions
Note: this contains affiliate links which means Katherine will receive a small commission for any purchases made.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Raynor Winn on losing everything and finding home
How We Live Now with Katherine May
09/15/22 • 37 min
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
Author Raynor Winn talks to Katherine May about the losing her home when her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and finding new life from having nothing.
Raynor Winn has captured a multitude of hearts with her book, The Salt Path, which recounts the time she lost her home just as her husband received a terminal diagnosis. With nothing to lose, they set off to walk the South West Coast Path carrying nothing but a tent.
Here Raynor reflects on that transformative time that redefined the meaning of home - and gives a welcome update on Moth’s health. We also hear about her book, The Wild Silence.
I adored talking to Raynor about our shared love of the South West Coast Path, as I always do :)
RAYNOR LINKS
Raynor’s new book, Landlines
KATHERINE LINKS
Shop all books from The Wintering Sessions
Note: this contains affiliate links which means Katherine will receive a small commission for any purchases made.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dacher Keltner on awe, humility and purpose
How We Live Now with Katherine May
08/03/23 • 49 min
I stumbled across Dacher Keltner’s work when I was first researching Enchantment, and now - for the final episode in this season - I’m honoured to speak to him about Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.
Dacher’s research attempts to understand this very fleeting, ineffable emotion. He and his colleagues have shown that awe induces a feeling of being small within a vast universe - a radical shift into context. What’s more, by absorbing ourselves in awe, we become better people, more motivated to go out and do good. In this episode, we explore how it feels to experience awe, how we can seek it out in the everyday, and we share the personal experiences of awe that have inspired both of our books.
Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the director of the Greater Good Science Center. He has over 200 scientific publications and six books, including Born to Be Good, The Compassionate Instinct, and The Power Paradox. He has written for many popular outlets, from The New York Times to Slate. He was also the scientific advisor behind Pixar’s Inside Out.
Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK
Links from the episode:
- Dacher’s website
- Dacher’s book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
- Join Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdes
- Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
- Follow Katherine on Instagram
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jackee Holder on the good things in life
How We Live Now with Katherine May
05/06/21 • 56 min
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Jackee Holder, coach and author of 'Writing With Fabulous Trees', among many more.
Jackee Holder is a writer, walker, coach, interfaith minister and daughter of the windrush. In this uplifting conversation, she talks about the capacity of life to uplift us, her love of libraries, and how a tree helped her to treasure her name.
Hear Jackee expand too on her introvert / extrovert sides, rituals and body prayers, seasons and trees and nature metaphors, having skeletons on full display rather than in the closet, Enid Blyton, 'pouring libation', her superhero mother with hidden sea skills and a huge amount more in what Jackee herself refers to as a 'campfire chat'. A lovely and perfectly fitting finalé to season 2 of The Wintering Sessions!
JACKEE LINKS
Parable Of The Sower (Octavia Butler)
KATHERINE LINKS
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Elissa Altman on navigating the Motherland
How We Live Now with Katherine May
01/14/22 • 54 min
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Elissa Altman, author of ‘Motherland’ and more.
Katherine finds Elissa in that pre-Christmas zone, which serves as the perfect jumping-off point for a very upfront, candid and fascinating conversation on family. Specifically, Elissa's relationship with her mother. Like every family, it's a relationship which is unique and comes with its own inimitable history, and as such, informs where the two find themselves this present day, and it's a wonderful thing to hear Elissa talk openly about all that is contained within this box of memories and present moments. In addition, Elissa catches up with Katherine about the New England Winter, being a feeder, her relationship with her father, mental wellbeing, getting out of the 'swamp' via nature and its grounding properties, rediscovering and reprocessing her musical proclivities, and all with a real glint and sparkle.
ELISSA LINKS
KATHERINE LINKS
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Remona Aly on breaking an engagement, and the transformative force of grief
How We Live Now with Katherine May
07/21/22 • 52 min
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
While we take a rest over the summer, we’re sharing some remastered episodes from Season One, chosen by listeners.
In this episode, I speak to journalist and broadcaster Remona Aly about her life-changing decision to call off an engagement, and how it echoed through the years to teach her about forgiveness, faith and empathy.
This is such a special one for me - I went to school with Remona, and I think you can hear our joy at reconnecting after a couple of decades, and feeling so at home in the process. We cover all of human life here: buckle in.
We talked about:
- Finding the sacred in everyday life
- How grief changes you
- The need for community
- Breaking off an engagement and family shame
REMONA LINKS
KATHERINE LINKS
Shop all books from The Wintering Sessions
Note: this contains affiliate links which means Katherine will receive a small commission for any purchases made.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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FAQ
How many episodes does How We Live Now with Katherine May have?
How We Live Now with Katherine May currently has 67 episodes available.
What topics does How We Live Now with Katherine May cover?
The podcast is about Conversation, Grief, Women, Mental Health, Writing, Author, Podcasts, Memoir, Books, Self-Improvement, Education and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on How We Live Now with Katherine May?
The episode title 'Dacher Keltner on awe, humility and purpose' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on How We Live Now with Katherine May?
The average episode length on How We Live Now with Katherine May is 51 minutes.
How often are episodes of How We Live Now with Katherine May released?
Episodes of How We Live Now with Katherine May are typically released every 13 days, 23 hours.
When was the first episode of How We Live Now with Katherine May?
The first episode of How We Live Now with Katherine May was released on Jun 1, 2020.
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