At a Distance
A podcast about the bigger picture. Host Spencer Bailey calls on leading minds, from scientists and technologists to artists and climate activists, to zoom out and look at some of the planet’s most pressing issues from a whole-earth, long-view perspective.
Latest episodes
Jun 25, 2020 • 33min
Daphne Javitch on the Cumulative Health Benefits of Daily Routines
Daphne Javitch, Integrative nutritionist and founder of Doing Well, discusses the importance of daily routines in promoting stability and well-being. She explores the impact of thoughts and daily routines on wellness, empowering clients through consistency and self-authority. Javitch also advocates for a holistic approach to health, active living, and the value of essential workers in society.
Jun 24, 2020 • 39min
Michel Rojkind on Approaching Life as a Practice
Architect Michel Rojkind discusses designing against fear, why our nature as humans is interconnection, the benefits of moving away from a competitive mindset, and finding balance through running and drumming.
Jun 22, 2020 • 33min
Merlin Sheldrake on How Fungi Expand Our Perspectives of the World
Biologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of the new book “Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures,” speaks with us about fungal networks, lifeforms as ecosystems, and the transformative power of LSD to shift how we think.
Jun 18, 2020 • 35min
James Harding on Today’s Fractured Media Landscape
Tortoise Media co-founder and former BBC News director James Harding talks with us about journalism as a public conversation, the parallels between Slow News and Slow Food, and the opportunities to be found through a slower, more contextual approach to media making.
Jun 17, 2020 • 28min
Shirazeh Houshiary on Understanding Life By Confronting Death
London-based Iranian artist Shirazeh Houshiary discusses her deep appreciation of the natural world, the power of embracing uncertainty, transcending the “duality of existence” through multidisciplinary learning, and training ourselves toward long-view thinking.
Jun 15, 2020 • 25min
Laila Gohar on Society Moving From Apathy to Empathy
Food artist Laila Gohar speaks with us about togetherness in a time of crisis; food as a medium for comfort, healing, and pleasure; how a culture of convenience has dumbed down our senses; and why living a responsible life means not throwing out any food.
Jun 11, 2020 • 21min
Dr. Alejandro Junger on Changing the World Through Your Diet
Dr. Alejandro Junger, the founder of the Clean Program, talks with us about impacting tomorrow’s pandemics by addressing chronic diseases today, taking an open-minded approach to medicine, and why not everybody necessarily needs to do a cleanse.
Jun 10, 2020 • 31min
Gina Rae La Cerva on Wild Food in the Age of Industrial Agriculture
Anthropologist Gina Rae La Cerva, author of the new book “Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food,” discusses why wild food has come to be considered a luxury, and the pressing need to build better, more resilient ecological and agricultural systems.
Jun 8, 2020 • 41min
Asha Rangappa on Finding Reassurance in the Protests
Former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa, a senior lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, discusses the ways in which social media platforms are being weaponized and how the Trump administration has botched the handling of both Covid-19 and George Floyd’s killing.
Jun 4, 2020 • 35min
Deana Haggag on Art as a Tool for Creating Awareness and Change
United States Artists president and CEO Deana Haggag speaks with us about the “many viruses” of the current White House leadership, why art is essential for unpacking and exploring the complexity of our current moment, and her hopes for a reoriented political system.
