Shows / The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
The Road Home podcast with author and teacher is Ethan Nichtern is a contemporary exploration of Buddhist teachings and conversation with thought leaders interested in Psychology, Art, Culture, and Politics through the lens of mindfulness practice. Since 2002, Ethan has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and workshops around the United States and online. He is the author of multiple books, including The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of The Buddhist Path. He is currently…
Episodes
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 186 - Lotus Girl: At The Crossroads of Buddhism in America
On the latest episode of The Road Home podcast, Ethan is joined by award-winning author and founding editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Helen Tworkov. We…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 185 - Trump in The Bardo
With apologies to Buddhist author George Saunders, this title came to me as I was reflecting on the recent American midterm elections and their implications…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 184 - You're Definitely Going To Die, But Probably Not Today
On the latest episode of The Road Home podcast, I talk about classic Buddhist teachings that remind us about the basic facts of life, and go over a recent…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 183 - Conscious Parents, Conscious Daughters, Conscious Sons with Dr. Shefali
On the latest episode of The Road Home podcast, I am joined by bestselling author, clinical psychologist and Buddhist meditator Dr. Shefali. Her work combines…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp 182 - The Three Poisons
On the latest episode of The Road Home podcast, we dive into one of the deepest and most crucial teachings of Buddhist philosophy of the mind: the three…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 181 - You Must Be Somebody Before You Can Be Nobody with Noel Coakley
On the latest episode of The Road Home podcast, Ethan was joined by friend Noel Coakley. A brilliant and kind psychotherapist and Dharma teacher, Noel has a…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 180 - What's Up With The Dudes? with Dr. Chris Willard
Recently I was talking to my friend Dr. Chris Willard, and he mentioned a desire to have a conversation about the effects of patriarchy on men, and especially…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 179 - The Power of Women Spiritual Teachers with Erica Bassani
After a brief memorial to the late Tenzin Robert Thurman, Ethan welcomes author and seeker Erica Bassani to discuss her new book, Women in Love with the…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 178 - What Acceptance Means (and What It Doesn't)
In this solo episode, Ethan takes on the practice of "acceptance." He gets into the nitty gritty of how frequently we spiritual folks misinterpret the meaning…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 177 - Love is Messy: The Dharma of Relationships with Devon and Nico Hase
Ethan welcomes teachers and authors devon and nico hase to discuss their new book, This Messy, Gorgeous Love: A Buddhist Guide to Lasting Partnership. Devon…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 176 - Loving an Addict and Making Friends with Grief with Bryan Welch
Ethan welcomes author, meditator, entrepreneur and organic farmer Bryan Welch for a heart-opening conversation about grief, loss, and loving someone who can't…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 175 - Crucial Questions: What Is The Mind, Anyway? Musings on the relationship between Consciousness and Matter.
Hey friends, in this solo episode of The Road Home, I continue my occasional foray into some of the more interesting and important questions that come up while…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 174 - Mindfulness in Hell and Making A Dharma Mix Tape with Oneika Mays
Ethan welcomes yoga/mindfulness teacher Oneika Mays— the author of the great new book Sit With Me— for a fascinating conversation on her personal path through…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 173 - Fail Like A Legend: Confidence, Longing, and The Eight Worldly Winds, Revisited
Hey friends, this is the first episode of The Road Home in a bit. Please remember to check out and sign up for the upcoming Windhorse (Confidence) meditation…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 172 - Invoking The Muse: Dharma Art with Josh Ritter
"Intuition doesn't seem to act aggressively." -Josh Ritter Ethan welcomes his friend, contemporary folk musician and novelist Josh Ritter for a conversation…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 171 - How To Make Use of Your Broken Heart
Sometimes life breaks your heart. Right now, the world is breaking most of our hearts. And if it isn't breaking your heart, you're not paying attention. But…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 170 - Worldly Enlightenment and The Path of The "Householder" with Lou Sharma
In classic Buddhism, there is often a meaningful emphasis on going very deep into the spiritual life, often through leaving the world behind for long periods…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 169 - On Mindful Democracy with Jeremy David Engels
What's wrong with democracy these days? Can it be rescued? Can it be made more mindful? Can we work together to build something better? What's the role of…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 168 - How (and When) Do We Practice Compassion For Those Who Cause Harm?
Ethan tackles an age-old dharma question: how do we generate compassion for those who do harmful things? Should we even try, or does that make things worse? In…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 167 - The Fire Inside: A Conversation with Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad
Ethan talks to author, scholar and teacher Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad about her insightful new book The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 166 - Kindness, Innocence, And Emotional Awareness: A Conversation with Sharon Salzberg
What is the relationship between Metta (lovingkindness practice) and developing, or rediscovering, a childlike innocence? How can Buddhist meditation help both…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 165 - Against The Stream: Karma, Mindfulness, and The Algorithms We (Don't Have To) Live By
Ethan continues recent conversations on tech, mindfulness and dharma to examine how much of our karma (ie "habit energy" according to the late master Thich…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 164 - What is Engaged Buddhism? A Conversation with Roshi Joan Halifax
At a recent event in support of Dharma Moon's Yearlong Buddhist Studies program on January 6th, Ethan was joined by the great Roshi Joan Halifax, to discuss…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 163 - The Astrology of 2026: Revolutionary Momentum, Breakthrough and Integration with Juliana McCarthy
Ethan welcomes back bestselling author and Buddhist Astrologer Juliana McCarthy (Ethereal Culture, The Stars Within You) to dive headfirst into a discussion of…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 162 - One Samsara After Another: An End To Gun Violence and The First Precept
After a heavy weekend on Earth, Ethan discusses violence and gun violence via the mass shootings at his alma mater of Brown University and the Jewish community…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 161 - Cover The World In Leather - Seeking Stability with Dan Harris
Ethan welcomes Dan Harris, one of the leading voices in the mindfulness movement, for a live (and lively) conversation about the quest for stability in an…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 160 - The Cosmic Joke: Developing A Sense of Humor Along The Path
The path of awakening is often treated as serious business for serious people. This approach can make us rigid about our experience of reality, when what we…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep 159. - Radical Change with Adriana DiFazio
Ethan is joined by old friend and teacher Adriana DiFazio for a wide ranging discussion of the limitations of a Western Buddhism that focuses on individualism…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 158 - Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Buddhist Socialism, and Standing (or Sitting) For Something
How did NYC become the epicenter of all the tensions and promise of American society and politics, and do the Buddhist teachings have anything to offer to…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 157 - How Am I (Really?) Doing: The Power of Accurate Self-Assessment
Drawing on concepts from his latest book, Confidence, Ethan explores how it is that our self-assessment can be so off the mark so frequently, especially when…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 156 - The Myth of (Conditional) Freedom
Ethan is back with a solo episode to discuss the Buddhist experience of liberation and (moksha) and how we can glimpse an experience it in our awareness and…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 155 - What Should a Teacher Say? with Francesca Cervero
Ethan is joined by friend and yoga teacher Francesca Cervero to talk about becoming a teacher as a livelihood, the duty of the teacher when it comes to…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 154 - How Do I Know If I'm Enlightened?
In this episode, Ethan discusses the crucial question of "enlightenment," better translated as "awakening." What does this word mean? What doesn't it mean? How…
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Ep. 153 - You Won't Heal Until You Love It : Inside The Neurological Storm with Reggie Hubbard
16 months ago, yoga/meditation/sound teacher Reggie Hubbard had a near-death experience, a major stroke. He visits the podcast to describe the experience of…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 152 - Crucial Questions: What Is The Bodhisattva Vow?
Ethan discusses three reasons we take vows and make commitments from a Buddhist perspective, and gives special emphasis to The Bodhisattva Vow, where we commit…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 151 - Buddhist Geeks, 21st Century Practice, and The Duhkha of Palestine
Ethan welcomes Buddhist Geeks Co-Founder, teacher, and Palestinian-American Dharma teacher Vince Fakhoury Horn. They discuss the rise of "podcast dharma" in…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 150 - The Virtues of Boredom (The Most Boring Podcast Ever!)
This is the 150th episode of The Road Home Podcast! Yay, Big Deal! But, it's—as always—also a conversation about the Dharma, and the mind, and how to work with…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 149 - The Whole World Is Gold To Me: Tantra and Generosity
(This episode of The Road Home is dedicated to the memory of Joanna Macy—founder of the Eco-Dharma and Deep Ecology Movements—who passed this weekend at the…
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 148 - No More Billionaires - Wealth, Livelihood and Generosity in the Hinayana and Mahayana
What is generosity ("dana" in the Buddhist languages), and how does it relate to our experience of wealth, our consumption, our labor, and our shared values as…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 147 - Don't Stop Believing - Faith and Awareness in The Six Bardos of Collapse and Rebirth
How we work with our minds in the spaces between collapse and rebirth (those uncomfortable gaps in life as well as the huge "gap" after death) hold the key to…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 146 - The Dissonance of 2025
Ethan visits a recurrent conversation he's been having with his students, his friends, and within his own mind: the dissonance between feeling like your…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 145 - Always Meditate on Whatever Provokes Resentment
What is resentment? Why is it so corrosive? How can we work with our resentments? How can we overcome a victim mentality while still protecting ourselves…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 144 - Microdosing Grief and The Practice of Saying Goodbye
In a spontaneous episode, Ethan discusses grief and loss while processing multiple events. At a recent compassion meditation retreat, colleague and friend René…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 143 - Meditations for Mortals with Oliver Burkeman
How can we embrace the limitations of time and the certainty of death and create real fulfillment that thrives on an honest assessment of our human…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 142 - The White Lotus, The God Realm and Pop-Culture Dharma
In this episode, Ethan does what at least 40 people have asked him to do (special shout-out to Michele S. in Iowa who convinced him to devote a whole podcast…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 141 - Strong Back, Soft Front: The Posture of Meditation is The Posture of Courage
In this episode, Ethan links a crucial set of instructions from mindfulness meditation teachers of the past regarding how we carry our posture to what it means…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 140 - Equanimity Feels Different on a Roller Coaster
After tariffs were broadly imposed by the current American regime (including, apparently on uninhabited islands populated mostly by penguins) causing a nearly…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 139 - A Buddhist View of A.I. (It Ain't Great...)
In light of revelations about the theft of countless authors' work by one A.I. company (guess which one), Ethan finally talks about a topic he's been requested…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 138 - Torched Teslas, Fart Noises, And Right Action Against The Oligarchy
Ethan delves further into right action during a time of protest and chaos, using the recent examples of Tesla cars and cybertrucks being set on fire as a…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 137 - People-Pleasing: A Buddhist View
Ethan delves into the Bodhisattva teachings on happiness, benefitting beings, and "idiot compassion," or what happens when compassion becomes an ego…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 136 - The Heart Sutra, Groundlessness, Joy, and Crumbling Patriarchy with Susan Piver
Ethan welcomes bestselling author and Dharma teacher Susan Piver for a discussion of the groundlessness of our current world framed through her new book…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 135 - The Three Lords of Materialism
Ethan discusses the classic origins of the worldview of "Materialism," as well a framework developed by the Tibetan teacher Chogyam Trungpa called "The Three…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 134 - The Power of Choice: The Five Precepts as a Recipe for Transformation
Ethan discusses a classic Buddhist concept, sīla (or shila), through the lens of knowing where to place our attention and action, knowing "what to cultivate…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 133 - The Dharma of Film: A Complete Unknown, Or A Cesspool of Ego? with Andrew Buckland
Ethan is joined for an insightful discussion about Dharma Art with Academy Award-winning film editor and Buddhist meditator Andrew Buckland. They discuss the…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 132 - Is Mindfulness Enough (Why Study Buddhist Philosophy)?
Ethan is joined for an insightful discussion about Entering the Study of Buddhism with the faculty of Dharma Moon's Yearlong Buddhist Studies program. Check…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 131 - The World Is On Fire
Ethan offers a lovingkindness (metta/maitri) meditation for all who are effected by the climate crisis, and discusses why when global crises require our…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 130 - Five Keys To A Sustainable Meditation Practice
Ethan discusses the difficulty with keeping a meditation practice going that is relevant for those who are new to practice as well as those who have been…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep 129 - The Astrology of 2025 (Not A Chapter, A Whole New Book) with Juliana McCarthy
Ethan is joined again by friend, bestselling author, dharma practitioner and astrologer Juliana McCarthy. They discuss the various movements in astrology in…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 128 - Enlightened Society with David Nichtern
Ethan is joined by Dharma Moon founder and award winning musician/composer David Nichtern for a true moment of Nichternity. They engage in a wide-ranging…
- The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ep. 127 - Conspirituality: Compassion Down The Rabbithole with Derek Beres
Ethan is joined by health journalist and podcaster Derek Beres to discuss the dominance of misinformation in the health, wellness and spiritual spaces, and how…