The Urban Monk podcast with Dr. Pedram Shojai

Today's guest has a fascinating relationship to the human heart. Struggling with heart disease himself, Dr. Thomas Cowan set to study the human heart not only in medical terms, you know, as a muscle that pumps blood, but also on a deeper level. Dr. Cowan was interested mostly in the work of Rudolf Steiner and his claim that the heart is not simply a pump. If so, what then is the heart? What is the relationship of the heart to the rest of the body? If we change how we look at the human heart, then how does that change how we study it? Treat diseases affecting it? If we change our relationship to our own hearts, how does that change our relationships to one another?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk070ThomasCowan.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

Women have to deal with a lot of crap men don't have to deal with, sorry to say. The guy writing this description (Hi, I'm Lorenzo!) apologizes on behalf of nature, I guess? There are certain differences between men and women that will never be fully equalized such as biology for example. But what about the stuff that can be helped? Equal pay, or the difference in media treatment and coverage, for example? Today we welcome Beth Newell from Reductress as she talks about her new book, "How to Win at Feminism." She comes to let Pedram know that feminism, while serious, doesn't have to be an entirely serious affair. How can humor be used to affect change in both society and policy regarding the equality of women?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk069BethNewell.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

In many cultures, bone broth has long been considered a great healer. What is bone broth and what gives it such healing powers? Dr. Kellyann Petrucci has been a proponent of bone broth for years and joins the program today and talks with Pedram about the awesome power of bone broth. What has bone broth been proven to help? Is bone broth something we can buy in a store? Is it easy to make at home?
How hard is it to get into meditation? There are a lot of gurus out there coming from what seems to be a completely different world than the one most of us live in. Now enter Emily Fletcher. She comes from the world of Musical Theater which is a world of its own. Having been in shows such as The Producers and A Chorus Line, being an actor on Broadway is a high-stress profession. She discusses her time being an actor on Broadway and the toll performing eight shows a week, six days a week took on her. When she's working that much, how did she even find time to start meditating? But for someone as high-octane as Emily, what was she able to gain from meditation? How can the rest of us get into meditation? How much focus do we have to put to it? Do we jump right in or can we gradually fold it into our lives?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk068KellyannPetrucci.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

How hard is it to get into meditation? There are a lot of gurus out there coming from what seems to be a completely different world than the one most of us live in. Now enter Emily Fletcher. She comes from the world of Musical Theater which is a world of its own. Having been in shows such as The Producers and A Chorus Line, being an actor on Broadway is a high-stress profession. She discusses her time being an actor on Broadway and the toll performing eight shows a week, six days a week took on her. When she's working that much, how did she even find time to start meditating? But for someone as high-octane as Emily, what was she able to gain from meditation? How can the rest of us get into meditation? How much focus do we have to put to it? Do we jump right in or can we gradually fold it into our lives?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk067EmilyFletcher.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

Dr. Larry Brilliant has lived a very full and interesting life. Born in Detroit, he went on to become a physician, a technologist, a philanthropist, and now an author of a memoir. On this episode Larry joins Pedram to talk about his new book, "Sometimes Brilliant." He lived in an ashram in the Himalayas before working with the World Health Organization and leading the effort to eradicate smallpox in Asia. He was named the inaugural Executive Director of Google.org which led Google's philanthropic efforts. He was the CEO of two public companies. He has even worked on movies such as Contagion. How does one person experience so much?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk066LarryBrilliant.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:53am MDT

We have a bonus episode! Nick Polizzi is a good friend of ours and happened to be in town so we told him to sit tight and we recorded a quick episode of the podcast! Pedram and Nick do some catch up. They talk a bit about Nick's son and the experience of putting him in a forest school. Why was it important to Nick to put his son in a non-traditional school? What different experiences does his son have versus a child in a more traditional school? What is Nick's background to want to put his son in such a school? Nick is the filmmaker behind the documentary, "Sacred Science." What led Nick down the path of studying old world medicinal techniques? Nick used to suffer from headaches and migraines. What old techniques was Nick able to try to relieve him of that pain?

Direct download: UrbanMonk065NickPolizzi.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

We all want the highest quality food for ourselves and our families. Some of us focus on trying to make as many meals as possible completely homemade. For Maria Rodale it's not a trend or fad that comes and goes, cooking homemade meals from scratch has always been her life. She joins Pedram to talk about cooking comfort foods that are innately health because all of the ingredients are real. For people who aren't masterchefs, is it possible to cook entire meals that are wholesome and healthy for the family while trying to balance life with work and kids and school?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk064MariaRodale.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

Women approaching midlife have had had to be concerned about perimenopause and menopause for generations. One would think we know everything there is to know about the process. However scientists continue to conduct research and studies and doctors like today's guest Tara Allmen are staying at the forefront of information regarding one of the most challenging times in a woman's life. What is to be expected going through menopause? Does it affect all women equally? Is there a point through menopause where someone will feel like their normal selves again?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk063TaraAllmen.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

There are 25 states along with the District of Columbia that have laws legalizing marijuana in some form. Four states have legalized it outright for recreational use. This upcoming November, California has a ballot that will legalize it for "adult" use. What is leading this shift? We already know the detrimental effects of using cannabis. Or do we? Because of its classification as a Schedule 1 drug by the DEA, studies using it are fairly difficult to conduct. To explain basically everything there is to know about cannabis and how it came to be a Schedule 1 drug, Joe Dolce joins the program and gives Pedram the run down. What is the history behind the usage of cannabis? How did the government get so involved in prohibiting its use? And what does it mean to legalize it on a state-by-state basis?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk062JoeDolce.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:03am MDT

We all know the importance of diet and exercise in living a healthy life free from aches and pains. But can exercise help relieve tension in our bodies caused from the stress of daily living? Today's guest, Sue Hitzman, talks to Pedram about the MELT Method which is intended to keep people healthy and live pain-free by focusing on often ignored components: a balanced nervous system and healthy connective tissue. What does MELT do to address these two areas and how does that lead to a pain-free day? What is involved with MELT? Is it something to do on top of the diet and exercise we already focus on? How soon can we feel results?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk061SueHitzman.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:24am MDT

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