The Emerald podcast

The Emerald

The Emerald explores the human experience through a vibrant lens of myth, story, and imagination. Brought to life through the wise, wild, and humorous vision of Joshua Michael Schrei — a teacher and lifelong student of the cosmologies and mythologies of the world — the podcast draws from a deep well of poetry, lore, and mythos to challenge conventional narratives on politics and public discourse, meditation and mindfulness, art, science, literature, and more. At the heart of the podcast is the premise that the imaginative, poetic, animate heart of human experience — elucidated by so many cultures over so many thousands of years — is missing in modern discourse and is urgently needed at a time when humanity is facing unprecedented problems. The Emerald advocates for an imaginative vision of human life and human discourse as it questions deep underlying assumptions about societal progress.

The Emerald explores the human experience through a vibrant lens of myth, story, and imagination. Brought to life through the wise, wild, and humorous vision of Joshua Michael Schrei — a teacher and lifelong student of the cosmologies and mythologies of the world — the podcast draws from a deep well of poetry, lore, and mythos to challenge conventional narratives on politics and public discourse, meditation and mindfulness, art, science, literature, and more. At the heart of the podcast is the premise that the imaginative, poetic, animate heart of human experience — elucidated by so many cultures over so many thousands of years — is missing in modern discourse and is urgently needed at a time when humanity is facing unprecedented problems. The Emerald advocates for an imaginative vision of human life and human discourse as it questions deep underlying assumptions about societal progress.

 

#90

On Singing to the Beloved in Times of Crisis

We live in times of individual, sociocultural and planetary crisis, exacerbated by rising ... more

27 Feb 2025

2 HR 07 MINS

2:07:38

27 Feb 2025


#89

For the Divine Mother of the Universe (Remixed and Reissued)

There’s a lot of cultural clutter these days around 'The Goddess.' She appears everywhere,... more

01 Jan 2025

1 HR 38 MINS

1:38:48

01 Jan 2025


#88

This Episode is FIRE

In the deepest, oldest caverns of human memory, a fire burns... and that fire has been wit... more

03 Nov 2024

1 HR 50 MINS

1:50:45

03 Nov 2024


#87

(Why Mindfulness Isn't Enough)

In recent years, the practice of 'mindfulness' has become ubiquitous. Mindfulness has outg... more

01 Oct 2024

1 HR 35 MINS

1:35:54

01 Oct 2024


#86

Guardians and Protectors!

Practices of guardianship — invoking guardian deities, enlisting spirit help, clearing spa... more

02 Sep 2024

2 HR 31 MINS

2:31:46

02 Sep 2024


#85

Let Us Sing of the Syncretic Gods of Outcasts and Wanderers

The story of human ritual and cultural tradition is one of depth and deep connection to la... more

24 May 2024

2 HR 11 MINS

2:11:37

24 May 2024


#84

On Clouds and Cosmic Law

In the modern world, words like 'law' and 'order' carry with them a good deal of sociocult... more

09 Apr 2024

1 HR 58 MINS

1:58:12

09 Apr 2024


#83

Oh Justice

In times of global upheaval, ecological destruction, and societal inequity, justice can se... more

03 Mar 2024

3 HR 18 MINS

3:18:51

03 Mar 2024


#82

For the Intuitives (Part 2)

Across the globe, the arrival of 'civilization' brought with it the persecution of the see... more

31 Dec 2023

1 HR 58 MINS

1:58:57

31 Dec 2023


#81

For the Intuitives (Part 1)

Across cultures and traditions, there have always been those that speak with the dead, hea... more

21 Nov 2023

1 HR 37 MINS

1:37:05

21 Nov 2023


#80

All of My Lessons Come in the Form of a Sound ( w/ Trevor Hall)

There is... a sound. Many, through the ages, have heard it. It echoes in the world all aro... more

21 Oct 2023

1 HR 43 MINS

1:43:18

21 Oct 2023


#79

Reissue: On Trauma and Vegetation Gods

Modern discussions on healing individual minds, cultural wounds, and painful societal hist... more

28 Aug 2023

1 HR 13 MINS

1:13:17

28 Aug 2023


#78

So You Want to Be a Sorcerer in the Age of Mythic Powers... (The AI Episode)

The rise of Artificial Intelligence has generated a rush of conversation about benefits an... more

12 Jul 2023

1 HR 57 MINS

1:57:37

12 Jul 2023


#77

Inanimate Objects Aren't Inanimate (Or Objects)

In the myths and fairytales, everything teems with sentience and agency... Everything is a... more

06 Jun 2023

2 HR 05 MINS

2:05:55

06 Jun 2023


#76

Animism is Normative Consciousness (Re-mixed, Re-musicked, and Re-released)

For 98% of human history — over 10,000 generations — our ancestors lived, breathed, and in... more

09 May 2023

1 HR 02 MINS

1:02:33

09 May 2023


#75

The Revolution Will Not Be Psychologized, Part 2 (Interview w/ Báyò Akómoláfé)

Báyò Akómoláfé  is an author, celebrated speaker, teacher, and self-styled trans-public in... more

07 Apr 2023

1 HR 16 MINS

1:16:48

07 Apr 2023


#74

The Revolution Will Not Be Psychologized

Once upon a time, psychologist James Hillman spoke of anima, the breath of life, the soul ... more

21 Feb 2023

1 HR 37 MINS

1:37:52

21 Feb 2023


#73

Universe, Adorned: Ornament in Culture, Cosmos, and Consciousness

Human beings adorn. Scientists now say that the earliest adornments date back over 160,000... more

09 Jan 2023

1 HR 52 MINS

1:52:00

09 Jan 2023


#72

On Birds, and the Imperative of Mystic Flight

Birds in myth are messengers, deliverers of prophecy, and instigators of journeys. But bir... more

24 Nov 2022

1 HR 43 MINS

1:43:32

24 Nov 2022


#71

Embodiment Means Being Torn Apart and Flying Away

Modern embodiment discourse has arisen as a reaction to the Western world's fraught histor... more

24 Oct 2022

1 HR 27 MINS

1:27:57

24 Oct 2022


#70

No One Here Gets Out Alive (The Death Episode)

Death is universal, an undeniable fact of existence that every single one of our ancestors... more

17 Sep 2022

1 HR 44 MINS

1:44:07

17 Sep 2022


#69

Reissue: How Trance States Shape the World

Human beings need ecstatic trance. Trance states have played a vital and necessary role in... more

09 Aug 2022

1 HR 43 MINS

1:43:30

09 Aug 2022


#68

I Wish It Could Have Been Another Way (A Lament w/ Peia Luzzi)

Not easy listening, but possibly necessary listening — this episode of The Emerald dives d... more

29 Jun 2022

1 HR 27 MINS

1:27:03

29 Jun 2022


#67

Your Consciousness Comes From the Moon

Traditional mythic, animist, and astrological systems have long told us that the moon is m... more

31 May 2022

1 HR 27 MINS

1:27:50

31 May 2022


#66

Awake in the Forest of Dangers and Wonders

How many myths and stories and fairy tales take place in... the forest? The forest in thes... more

26 Apr 2022

1 HR 22 MINS

1:22:04

26 Apr 2022


#65

War and Ritual Ecstasy

The horrors of war have been part of the human story since the beginning. While there have... more

25 Mar 2022

1 HR 10 MINS

1:10:19

25 Mar 2022


#64

Neck Hairs of the Shapeshifter (w/ Simon Thakur)

Shapeshifting is nearly universal to global mythic tradition. The myths of the world featu... more

09 Mar 2022

1 HR 45 MINS

1:45:55

09 Mar 2022


#63

For the Divine Mother of the Universe (w/ Nivedita Gunturi)

There’s a lot of cultural clutter these days around 'The Goddess.' She appears everywhere,... more

07 Feb 2022

1 HR 37 MINS

1:37:49

07 Feb 2022


#62

Snail Juice & Bear Fat & Werewolf Moons (w/ Leah Song of Rising Appalachia)

Modern culture increasingly encroaches on unknown, uncharted space, both geographical and ... more

10 Jan 2022

1 HR 35 MINS

1:35:28

10 Jan 2022


#61

The Body is the Metaverse

Science fiction writers and tech enthusiasts have long spoken of a digital Metaverse — a v... more

03 Dec 2021

1 HR 07 MINS

1:07:38

03 Dec 2021