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, individual liberation, and "secular" practice. They discuss how to create a Dharma that is more focused on intersectionality and systems, along with a truly spiritual approach. Enjoy!

Adriana DiFazio is a Buddhist meditation teacher, scholar, chaplain, and parent whose work explores the intersections of Buddhism, critical theory, and social change. Her teaching emphasizes the dharma as a collective and liberatory practice, grounded in both personal and systemic transformation. She holds an M.Div. in Buddhism from Union Theological Seminary, where she focused on Engaged Buddhist ethics and Marxism. Adriana teaches meditation and Buddhist studies through her online newsletter and community, Radical Change(adrianadifazio.substack.com). Her website is www.adrianadifazio.com

Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Additional links and show notes are available there. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Thursday Meditation Group happens each week at 8am ET on Thursdays, and a guided audio meditations are released monthly. Another bonus podcast for paid subscribers discussed a mindful take on intuition, and Ethan also offered instruction in the RAIN method for working with emotions with self-compassion. These are all available to paid subscribers. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Ethan's Website, etc). Subscribe now

You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Ethan's Website, etc).

Find out about the 2026 Yearlong Buddhist Studies program at this link!

Check out about upcoming live events like a live talk with Ethan and Dan Harris December 10, a New Year's Eve Intention-Setting Workshop, and a live talk with Ethan and Roshi Joan Halifax January 6th! A new free video course on a classic Buddhist contemplation called The Five Remembrances is available at this link.

Check out all the cool offerings at our podcast sponsor Dharma Moon. Free video courses co-taught by Ethan and others, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download at Dharma Moon.

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 understanding this political moment? Using the rise of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in his home city—a city of perpetual immigrants—Ethan explores themes of community engagement, sangha, social democracy and the power of standing up for what you believe in to talk about this chaotic (yet potent) moment on Earth.

Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Additional links and show notes are available there. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Thursday Meditation Group happens each week at 8am ET on Thursdays, and a guided audio meditations are released monthly. Another bonus podcast for paid subscribers discussed a mindful take on intuition, and Ethan also offered instruction in the RAIN method for working with emotions with self-compassion. These are all available to paid subscribers. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Ethan's Website, etc). Subscribe now

Find out about the 2026 Yearlong Buddhist Studies program at this link! Check out about upcoming free live events like a panel on Mindfulness and Holiday Stress Nov 12, a live talk with Ethan and Dan Harris December 10, and a live talk with Ethan and Roshi Joan Halifax January 6th! A new free video course on a classic Buddhist contemplation called The Five Remembrances is available at this link.

Find out about the 2026 Yearlong Buddhist Studies program at this link!

Check out all the cool offerings at our podcast sponsor Dharma Moon, including a free webinar with David Nichtern on the new Advanced Teacher training on November 20. Free video courses co-taught by Ethan and others, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download at Dharma Moon.

Subscribe now

Ethan's most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds was just awarded a gold medal in the 2025 Nautilus Book Awards. You can visit Ethan's website to order a signed copy. Please allow two weeks from the time of your order for your copy to arrive.

(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 age of 96)

On this episode, a follow-up to episode 148, Ethan explores wealth and generosity from a tantric perspective. If you could take the view, for just one moment, that you, your perceptions, and your world were all perfect in being exactly what they were, how would that change your experience of yourself, your resources, and your participation in society? What is generosity ("dana" in the Buddhist languages) from a Tantric perspective? How does tantra change our ability to practice Dana, or "fluid exchange" with our experience? In the second part of a two episode discussion, Ethan looks at an understanding of wealth and generosity in the Vajrayana systems of Buddhist practice, incorporating themes of spacious awareness, teacher Rick Hanson's crucial four-step practice of "Taking in the Good," and the practices of Ratna Jewel, Golden Key and Enriching Presence from the Tantric and Shambhala traditions.

Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Thursday Meditation Group starts up again on July 10th, and a special guided meditation on Open Awarenesswas released this month. Another bonus podcast discussed a mindful take on the Revolutionary Astrology of Summer 2025 with Juliana McCarthy and Ethan Nichtern. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Spotify,Ethan's Website, etc).

Ethan's most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds was just awarded a gold medal in the 2025 Nautilus Book Awards. You can visit Ethan's website to order a signed copy. Please allow two weeks from the time of your order for your copy to arrive.

Don't forget to sign up for the August 23 "Windhorse Meditation" Online Retreat at this link and the upcoming 5 day retreat at the lovely Garrison Institute at this link !

Check out all the cool offerings at our podcast sponsor Dharma Moon, including theBody of Meditation Teacher Training program beginning July 10th, 2025. Free video courses co-taught by Ethan and others, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download.

Buddhist teacher, and Ethan's father, David Nichtern joins to bring the luminous into the temporal in a conversation merging Dharma, money, and mindfulness for the modern age.

David Nichtern is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. Along with being an Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated composer and musician, David is a business consultant integrating meditation into large companies. He is also Founder & CEO of Dharma Moon – a mindfulness-based education platform and global community; as well as host of the Be Here Now Network podcast Creativity, Spirituality and Making a Buck.

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Ethan Nichtern and Ruth Ozeki discuss her new novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness, the similarities between writing and meditation, and how to perceive the voices of the object world.

Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest. She is the award-winning author of four novels, The Book of Form and Emptiness, My Year of Meats, All Over Creation, and A Tale for the Time Being, which was a finalist for the 2013 Booker Prize. Her nonfiction work includes a memoir, The Face: A Time Code, and the documentary film, Halving the Bones, which was screened at Sundance and on public television. Ruth is affiliated with the Brooklyn Zen Center and the Everyday Zen Foun­dation. She teaches creative writing at Smith College, where she is the Grace Jarcho Ross 1933 Professor of Humanities. Learn more about her at ruthozeki.com.

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Ethan Nichtern welcomes back Kate Johnson for a conversation around ways that the Buddha's teachings on friendship offer the potential for personal and communal transformation.

Kate Johnson is a meditation teacher, facilitator, and author of Radical Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World. She teaches classes and retreats integrating Buddhist meditation, somatics, social justice and creativity at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, the Kripalu Center, the Omega Institute, the Rubin Museum NYC, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. Kate also works as a culture change consultant, partnering with organizations to help them achieve greater equity and sustainability in their inner and outer work. Learn more about her at katejohnson.com.

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Dr. Judson Brewer joins Ethan in an uplifting conversation on unwinding anxiety, illustrating how to break cycles of fear, uncertainty, and worry in order to heal our minds.

Neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and bestselling author, Judson Brewer MD PhD—affectionately, Dr. Jud—is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as a research affiliate at MIT. Before that, he held research and teaching positions at Yale University and the University of Massachusetts' Center for Mindfulness. He recently published his New York Times Bestseller: Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. For more info please visit DrJud.com

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With springtime in bloom, Ethan Nichtern offers a mindful optimism for thawing this bardo, nourishing the soil for rebirth. The question is: Rebirth of What?

In this special solo episode of The Road Home, Ethan Nichtern builds from a podcast released this past January, Into the Bardo: What Happens Now, which illuminated the painful collective gap experienced this past winter in regards to coronavirus, politics, uncertainty, and fear. As spring thaws away the ice, moods shift, politics hopefully become less volatile, and vaccines begin to roll out, Ethan shares a cautiously optimistic sentiment, exploring the metaphor of spring through the Buddhist lens of rebirth, investigating the very direct question: the rebirth of what?

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On this episode of The Road Home, Ann Gleig joins Ethan Nichtern for a conversation about her book, American Dharma, and the state of postmodern Buddhism in the Western world. 

Ann Gleig is an associate professor of religion and cultural studies at the University of Central Florida. She is the author of American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity 

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Writer, Chenxing Han, joins Ethan to discuss the intersection of race and privilege within Western Buddhism, focusing on giving voice to the Asian American Buddhist minority.

Chenxing Han is a Bay Area–based writer whose publications have appeared in Buddhadharma, Journal of Global Buddhism, Lion's Roar, Pacific World, Tricycle, and elsewhere. She holds a BA from Stanford University and an MA in Buddhist studies from the Graduate Theological Union. After studying chaplaincy at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California she worked in spiritual care at a nearby community hospital in Oakland. Her first book, Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists, was published by North Atlantic Books in January 2021.

This episode is dedicated to Chenxing's friend and inspiring fellow crusader in Buddhism and race relations; the late, great, Angry Asian Buddhist, Aaron J. Lee:

"The real issue for young Buddhists in the Asian-American community is that there are very few Buddhist communities that they can go to without having to suppress part of their identity." – Aaron J. Lee

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Through the lenses of dharma & collective karma, Ethan Nichtern explores the polarizing political climate & extremism that stoked the January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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Performer Sarah Jones joins Ethan to discuss how her empowered multicultural cross-section of meditation, comedy, & social justice creates such entertainingly potent political activism.

Sarah is a Tony® Award-winning performer, writer, comedian and activist. Called "a master of the genre" by ​The New York Times​, Sarah is known for her multi-character, one-person shows, including Broadway hit ​Bridge & Tunnel​, and the critically-acclaimed show ​Sell/Buy/Date​. She has given multiple main-stage TED Talks garnering millions of views and performed for President and First Lady Obama at the White House. Sarah recently launched Foment Productions, a social justice-focused entertainment company aligned with her progressive, intersectional activism. She has appeared in film and TV projects ranging from Sesame Street to ​Marriage Story,​ and she will next be seen in an upcoming Netflix dramedy series, ​On the Verge. Learn more about Sarah's work at sarahjonesonline.com

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Exploring 2020 through the lens of the Tibetan bardos, Ethan Nichtern illuminates the awareness and aspiration involved in integrating the personal, interpersonal, and collective levels of our being.

Returning from a short hiatus, Ethan Nichtern begins the show by sharing rawly about his struggle with seizures at the hands of his recently diagnosed epilepsy. Offering compassion for anyone effected by illness right now, he explains his personal healing journey, before zooming out to the pressing global issue of the surging coronavirus pandemic. Touching on both the gross and acute trauma created through this pandemic, Ethan invites us to step into the bardo, and ask, "What happens now?"

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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 a society? How can we work with our craving for always have more like one of those a metal claw machines in a video game arcade, leaving us unable to live in the practice of Dana, or "fluid exchange" with our experience? Similarly, how do we create a society that acknowledges the sacredness of labor and the social benefits of collective generosity? How can we as a society generate wealth without the fixation to hoard billions of dollars? In the first part of a two episode discussion, Ethan looks at an understanding of wealth and generosity in the "Hinayana" and "Mahayana" systems of Buddhist practice, and next week in Episode 149 he will look at a Vajrayana understanding of wealth and generosity through the "Ratna Jewel of Enriching Presence."

Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Thursday Meditation Group starts up again on July 10th, and a special guided meditation on Open Awarenesswas released this month. Another bonus podcast discussed a mindful take on the Revolutionary Astrology of Summer 2025 with Juliana McCarthy and Ethan Nichtern. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Spotify,Ethan's Website, etc).

Ethan's most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds was just awarded a gold medal in the 2025 Nautilus Book Awards. You can visit Ethan's website to order a signed copy. Please allow two weeks from the time of your order for your copy to arrive.

Don't forget to sign up for the August 23 "Windhorse Meditation" Online Retreatat this link!

Check out all the cool offerings at our podcast sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Body of Meditation Teacher Training program beginning July 10th, 2025. Free video courses co-taught by Ethan and others, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download.

Dharma teacher Sebene Selassie returns to The Road Home for a conversation about her new book, and why we all need to respond to the call for connection.

Sebene Selassie has studied Buddhism for over thirty years. She received a BA from McGill University in religious and women's studies and an MA from the New School, where she focused on cultural studies and race. For over twenty years, Sebene worked with children, youth, and families nationally and internationally for small and large not-for-profits.

Sebene lives on unceded Lenape Territory in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has taken her everywhere from the Tenderloin in San Francisco to refugee camps in Guinea, West Africa. She has been teaching meditation workshops, courses, and retreats for over a decade and is one of the most popular teachers on the Ten Percent Happier app. Her first book, "You Belong: A Call for Connection" was published by HarperOne in August. Learn more about Sebene's offerings at sebeneselassie.com.

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Through a Buddhist lens, Shannon Watts and Ethan discuss harnessing the ancient and cultural power of motherhood to enact change in 2020.

Shannon Watts, a mother of five, social activist, and Buddhist practitioner; is the founder of Moms Demand Action, a leading force for gun violence prevention, and is an active board member of Emerge America and Rise to Run, two of the nation's leading organizations for recruiting and training women to run for office. Watts is a contributor to The Huffington Post and Medium, and her writing has appeared in Vogue, Time, and The Washington Post. Shannon recently authored, Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World.

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Ralph De La Rosa joins Ethan to talk Western psychology meeting Buddha Nature, mindfulness as psychic survival, and normalizing dharmic rage.

Ralph De La Rosa, LCSW, is an author, psychotherapist, meditation teacher, Buddhist philosopher, and student of Amma. He leads healing retreats at Omega Institute, Spirit Rock, and Kripalu, and his work has been featured in the New York Post, CNN, GQ, SELF, Women's Health, and many more. For information on Ralph's ongoing work and his new book, Don't Tell Me to Relax: Emotional Resilience in the Age of Rage, Feels, and Freak Outs, head over to ralphdelarosa.com

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Committed yogi and political strategist Reggie Hubbard joins Ethan Nichtern for a conversation about the union of politics and spirituality, and the sacred importance of voting. 

Reggie Hubbard is currently a senior political strategist for MoveOn, managing their relationships, impact and communications with Capitol Hill. He has previously worked on presidential campaigns for John Kerry and Bernie Sanders. In addition to his political work, Reggie is a certified yoga teacher who has taught members of Congress, sharing techniques for growing peace and ease as a foundation, not an afterthought. Learn more about Reggie at activepeaceyoga.com and follow him on Instagram.

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In this shared Dharma talk, Ethan Nichtern and Sharon Salzberg share insight and practices for taking refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

Sharon Salzberg is the host of the Metta Hour podcast. Her newest book, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World is now available for pre-order. Learn more about Sharon at sharonsalzberg.com.

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Author Pamela Weiss joins Ethan Nichtern for a conversation about fierce feminine Buddhism, patriarchy in spiritual traditions, and what it means to be a lay practitioner in the world.

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Ethan brings back guests Aarti Tejuja, Dr. Shanté Paradigm Smalls and David Perrin to follow up on where they are at nearly two years after the Shambhala community was transformed by scandal and an opportunity for growth.

This is the continuation of a conversation held in November of 2018 (Episode 7) around the impact that allegations against Shambhala leader Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche had on themselves and their community.

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Mindfulness and meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer returns to the Road Home Podcast for a conversation with Ethan around what they as white men still have to learn about unseen bias and the roles they play in systemic injustice.

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How can we find the path of liberation through our anger? Lama Rod Owens speaks with Ethan about ways we can work with anger as a healing energy in our practice.

Considered one of the leaders of the next generation of Dharma teachers, Lama Rod Owens has a blend of formal Buddhist training in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and life experience that gives him a unique ability to understand, relate and engage in a way that's spacious and sincere. He invites you into the cross-sections of his life as a Black, queer male, born and raised in the South and heavily influenced by the church and its community. Learn more about Lama Rod's offerings and upcoming teaching events at lamarod.com.

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Ethan invites Shelly Tygielski to the podcast for a timely conversation surrounding topics pertinent to life in modern times. Ranging from Shelly's meditative beginnings and first meetings with Buddhist teachers like Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman, to her decision to quit her corporate job to find ways to bring mindfulness to her community, this episode of The Road Home explores how we can offer true service through imbibing our authentic self. 

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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 creating futures that do not replicate the stuckness and suffering of our past. This is true both personally and collectively. As always, with recent world events in mind, we discuss the six bardos of classic Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the three qualities we need to effectively navigate the space between the death of what was and the birth of what will be.

Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Thursday Meditation Group starts up again on July 10th, and a special guided meditation on Open Awarenesswas released this month. Another bonus podcast discussed a mindful take on the Revolutionary Astrology of Summer 2025 with Juliana McCarthy and Ethan Nichtern. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Spotify,Ethan's Website, etc).

Ethan's most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds was just awarded a gold medal in the 2025 Nautilus Book Awards. You can visit Ethan's website to order a signed copy. Please allow two weeks from the time of your order for your copy to arrive.

Don't forget to sign up for the August 23 "Windhorse Meditation" Online Retreatat this link!

Check out all the cool offerings at our podcast sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Body of Meditation Teacher Training program beginning July 10th, 2025. Free video courses co-taught by Ethan and others, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download.

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, senior fellow of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, he's lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. Learn more about Rick, available courses and his podcast, Being Well, at rickhanson.net.

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Sharon Salzberg returns to The Road Home for a conversation with Ethan Nichtern around how the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the truth of interconnection and interdependence.

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Songwriter and musician Annie Hart joins Ethan Nichtern for a conversation that touches on the intersection of meditative practice, activism, and music.

Annie Hart is a New York City-based composer, songwriter, and performer. She made her name with David Lynch favorites and Twin Peaks alums, synth trio Au Revoir Simone, and has since branched into a swift-moving solo career. Annie continues to break boundaries by composing music for patient listeners in her own distinctive self-taught style. Her new album, A Softer Offering, explores deep emotional content with a paradoxically lush spareness in sound. Find Annie's music at anniehart.nyc.

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On this episode of The Road Home, Ethan Nichtern offers some thoughts on working with anxiety and fear, and how we can continue practicing in the world as it is during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Author, public speaker, and musician Justin Michael Williams visits the Road Home Podcast for a conversation around making mindfulness and meditation relatable and accessible to all people.

From growing up with gunshot holes outside of his bedroom window to sharing the stage with Deepak Chopra, Justin Michael Williams knows the power of healing to overcome. He is an author, top 20 recording artist, and transformational speaker whose work has been featured by The Wall Street Journal, Grammy.com, Yoga Journal, Billboard, Wanderlust, and South by Southwest. With over a decade of teaching experience, Justin has become a pioneering millennial voice for diversity and inclusion in wellness. Learn more at StayWokeGiveBack.com

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Ethan Nichtern shares a conversation with author and meditation teacher Jay Michaelson around integrating The Dharma into our modern lives.

Jay Michaelson is a meditation teacher and editor at Ten Percent Happier, a leading meditation platform, and a weekly columnist at the Daily Beast covering religion, the Supreme Court, and LGBTQ issues. Jay has been leading meditation retreats in Buddhist, Jewish, and secular contexts for fifteen years. In addition to this work, Jay is also the author of seven books on contemplative practice; including his newest release, Enlightenment by Trial and Error. He has a JD from Yale Law School, a PhD in Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, and nondenominational rabbinic ordination. Find articles and conversations with Jay that touch on a variety of topics at jaymichaelson.net.

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Writer and meditation practitioner Steve Silberman joins Ethan Nichtern on The Road Home Podcast for a conversation that touches on turning our imperfections and the challenges we face into fuel for our Dharmic growth.

Steve Silberman is an American writer based in San Francisco, California. Silberman is best known as the author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, which became a New York Times bestseller and was awarded the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize. His next book, The Taste of Salt, will be a history of cystic fibrosis. Silberman's article "The Placebo Problem" won the AAAS "Kavli Science Journalism Award for Magazine Writing." Silberman's Wired article "The Geek Syndrome", which focused on autism in Silicon Valley, was one of the first articles about autism in the technology industry. Learn more about Steve's work and find insightful articles and blogs from Steve at stevesilberman.com.

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On this episode of The Road Home, journalist Simran Sethi joins Ethan Nichtern for a conversation about her work with environmentalism and agricultural biodiversity.

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On this episode of The Road Home, Ethan Nichtern talks about making a sustainable meditation practice and overcoming some of the obstacles that can block your progress. 

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This time on the Road Home Podcast, Ethan Nichtern is joined by leadership coach Jerry Colonna for a conversation around balancing leadership and wealth with the principles of mindfulness and spiritual practice.

Jerry Colonna is the CEO, and co-founder, of Reboot.io, an executive coaching and leadership development firm whose coaches and facilitators are committed to the notion that better humans make better leaders. For nearly 20 years, he has used the knowledge gained as an investor, an executive, and a board member for more than 100 organizations to help entrepreneurs and others to lead with humanity, resilience, and equanimity. Learn more about Jerry's offerings at Reboot.io.

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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 personal life and close community are in basically good places, while simultaneously raising your gaze to see the immense suffering and chaos of the world. How can we hold those two and find our compassion and skillful means? Framing thoughts around the massive ICE raids that are tearing families apart, followed by the subsequent mass protests in Los Angeles and across the country, Ethan examines how we can remain grounded in our own beings and work with any guilt we might feel for feeling safer than others right now. How can we stay grounded in ourselves and leverage what is classically called the "Precious Human Birth" to experience a harmonized practice on three levels of showing up: the personal, the interpersonal, and the collective?

Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Meditation Group starts up again on May 15th, and a special podcast/meditation on "Intuition" was be released to paid subscribers this month. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Spotify,Ethan's Website, etc).

Ethan's most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds was just awarded a gold medal in the 2025 Nautilus Book Awards. You can visit Ethan's website to order a signed copy. Please allow two weeks from the time of your order for your copy to arrive.

Check out all the cool offerings at our podcast sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training program beginning June 13th, 2025. Free video courses co-taught by Ethan and others, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download.

Dharma teacher and author Ruth King joins Ethan Nichtern for a conversation around diversity in spiritual communities, white privilege and guilt, and understanding racial conditioning.

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Ethan and David share their thoughts on the transformative impact of the Buddhist teachings, especially as the mindfulness revolution continues to become more mainstream. 

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Author Shauna James Ahern joins Ethan for a conversation about finding our worth and healing the hungry ghosts that haunt us.

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Ethan welcomes author Amber Scorah to The Road Home for a conversation about her exit from the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the 'partial cults' we can all find ourselves trapped in.

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Ethan welcomes back David Nichtern to the Road Home to talk about creativity, spirituality, and livelihood, and how we can fit together the pieces of our life puzzle. 

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This time on The Road Home Podcast, Rhonda Magee joins Ethan for a conversation about where mindfulness and meditation practices fit into our work in the world, our society and the justice system that governs us.

Rhonda Magee is Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and is an internationally-recognized thought and practice leader on integrating Mindfulness into Higher Education, Law and Social Justice. Keep up with Rhonda online at rhondavmagee.com.

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Sharon Salzberg joins Ethan Nichtern for an exploration of the ways we can develop our confidence through the practices of mindfulness and meditation.

Recorded at the Garrison Institute, Sharon and Ethan share insight into the eight vicissitudes from the Buddhist tradition. Looking at how the vicissitudes can help us move away from the traps our ego and walk through life with confidence that comes from clear perspective and skillful action.

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Dharma mentor and writer Sebene Selassie joins Ethan for a conversation that touches on engaging with injustice dharmically, the direction of Western Buddhism, and the search for belonging.

Sebene is a dharma teacher, writer, coach, and consultant. She began studying Buddhism over 25 years ago and has an MA from the New School where she focused on race and cultural studies. She is the former Executive Director of New York Insight Meditation Center and is passionate about making the dharma accessible and relevant for our times. Learn more about Sebene's offerings at sebeneselassie.com.

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Astrologer Juliana McCarthy joins Ethan for a conversation about the intersection of astrology and Buddhist practice.

For almost twenty years, Juliana McCarthy has been studying and practicing Western Astrology, finding it to be a powerful tool for self-exploration and examining how we relate to others. She loves working with people to help them understand their authentic selves—their complexities, gifts, karma, and life paths. A longtime student of Tibetan Buddhism, Juliana is an avid meditator and spiritual practitioner. 

She writes articles for her website, etherealculture.com, and runs a popular Instagram feed by the same name: @etherealculture

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Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison visits The Road Home Podcast for a conversation about taking a wholehearted approach to our dharma practice.

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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, protecting others, and protecting truth? In this solo episode, Ethan uses a classic Tantric Buddhist contemplative slogan from the Lojong mind training tradition that translates as either "Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment" or "stay close to your resentment." Enjoy the listen!

Ethan's most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds was just awarded a gold medal in the 2025 Nautilus Book Awards. You can visit Ethan's website to order a signed copy. Please allow two weeks from the time of your order for your copy to arrive.

Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! The Meditation Group starts up again on May 15th, and a special podcast/meditation on "Intuition" was be released to paid subscribers this month. You can also subscribe to The Road Home podcast wherever you get your pods (Apple, Spotify,Ethan's Website, etc).

Check out all the cool offerings at our podcast sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training program beginning June 13th, 2025. Free video courses co-taught by Ethan and others, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download.

Oren Jay Sofer visits the Road Home Podcast for a conversation about integrating our spiritual practices into how we communicate.

Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation and Nonviolent Communication in both secular and Buddhist contexts. He is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and a graduate of the IMS – Spirit Rock Vipasanna Teacher Training. 

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Ethan Nichtern shares a conversation with Caverly Morgan about bringing mindfulness and meditation practices into the education system.

Caverly Morgan is a meditation teacher, nonprofit leader, and visionary, blending the original spirit of Zen with a modern nondual approach. She is the Founder and Guiding Teacher of Peace in Schools, a nonprofit which created the nation's first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools, and Presence Collective, a community dedicated to igniting personal transformation and collective awakening. Her practice began in 1995 and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. 

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This week on The Road Home Podcast, Ethan shares a conversation with Dr. Mark Epstein about the intersection of Western psychotherapy and Buddhist psychology.

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