Info

The Mindful Cranks

Shortly after my Huffington Post essay “Beyond McMindfulness” went viral, a popular mindfulness promoter accused me of being a “crank”. So why not own it? Alas, The Mindful Cranks was born. The Mindful Cranks was the first podcast to critique the mindfulness movement. Conversations with guests soon expanded in scope to include critical perspectives on the wellness, happiness, resilience and positive psychology industries - sharing a common concern that such highly individualistic and market-friendly techniques ignore the larger structural and systemic problems plaguing society. Whether these be trendy Asian spiritualities such as mindfulness or yoga, or other interventions from therapeutic cultures, The Mindful Cranks will call them out without mercy. I am very fortunate to engage with my favorite journalists, authors and public intellectuals whose works that I admire, as well as educators and spiritual teachers who I have learned from — fellow cranks who don’t simply accept the way things are. They’re modern muckrakers who dare to question the unquestionable. But being cranky can be critically wise and compassionate. Casting a wide net around the impending meta-crisis, The Mindful Cranks also explores with leading thinkers how the problems of our times are deeply entangled with our ways of knowing and being. Rather than just retreating from such problems by sitting on cushion, doing yoga or listening to a meditation app, I believe using our minds is not necessarily a bad thing if it challenges the limits of human knowledge.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
The Mindful Cranks
2023
July
May
April
March
February


2022
November
October
July
May


2021
November
October
August
July
April
February
January


2020
December
October
September
July
April
February


2019
December
April
March
February
January


2018
September
January


2017
November
June
April
February
January


2016
April


2015
November
August


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: November, 2022
Nov 26, 2022

Why is everything now about wellness and “self-care”? And it’s not just about Goop – the global wellness industry – from leech therapy, MCT oils, to yoga, clean eating and New Age manifestation coaches -- is now a booming $4 trillion-dollar global industry. In this Episode, I spoke with Rina Raphael about her new book, The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care.

Rina comes to this topic as a former wellness consumer herself, and as journalist working long hours under tight deadlines – she, like many other women today suffering from the stress of modern lifestyles, was in search for that silver bullet remedy or regimen, that magic natural supplement that would give her an competitive edge and extra boost. Consumed with her own health, Rina tells us how she eventually unshackled herself from this obsession when she began reporting on the wellness industry for Fast Company – gaining access to marketing insiders and publicists at wellness brands, along interviews with such self-help gurus like Gwyneth Paltrow, bio-hacking entrepreneur David Asprey of Bullet Coffee fame.

 Rina Raphael is a journalist who specializes in health, wellness, tech, and women’s issues. She was a features contributor for Fast Company magazine and has also written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CBS, NBC News, and Medium’s Elemental, among other publications. Her wellness industry newsletter, Well To Do, covers trends and news and offers market analysis. Raphael has spoken on the wellness industry at national conferences such as the Global Wellness Summit and the Fast Company Innovation Festival. Previously, she served as a senior producer and lifestyle editor at TODAY.com and NBCNews.com.

 

1