The Podcast With A Thousand Faces

Latest Episodes:

EP 51: Rupert Spira & Tyler Lapkin Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, we speak with Rupert Spira about the meeting place between the Direct Path and the mythic imagination.

Rupert Spira is a teacher, author, speaker, and former ceramic artist whose work explores consciousness, non-duality, meditation, and the nature of lasting peace and happiness. His books include The Nature of Consciousness, Being Aware of Being Aware, You Are the Happiness You Seek, and The Shining of Being. Drawing from Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Sufism, Buddhism, Zen, and mystical Christianity, Rupert’s teaching invites us to look directly into the nature of experience and recognize the awareness that is prior to thought, belief, identity, and the story of the separate self.

Before becoming widely known as a teacher of non-duality, Rupert spent decades as a ceramic artist, a background that gives his work a rare sensitivity to form, beauty, silence, and attention. Today, through his books, retreats, conversations, meditations, YouTube channel, Substack, and the Luminous meditation app, he continues to guide people toward what he often calls our true nature: the simple awareness of being.

Together, Tyler and Rupert explore Joseph Campbell’s understanding of myth as a symbolic journey beyond the limited ego and into a deeper ground of being. They discuss the relationship between myth and direct recognition, the difference between progressive paths and the pathless path, the separate self as a story, poetry, pottery, beauty, the hero’s journey, spiritual integration, and love as the felt recognition of our shared being.

This is a conversation about the stories that help us, the stories that limit us, and the possibility of recognizing what is prior to all stories: the quiet, radiant awareness in which life appears.

For more information about Rupert visit: https://rupertspira.com/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

The Podcast With A Thousand Faces is a production of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. It is hosted and produced by Tyler Lapkin. Executive producer, Joanna Gardner. Editing and Audio services by Dia Griffiths. All music exclusively provided by APM Music. (apmmusic.com)

EP 50: Laura Carney & Tyler Lapkin Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

What if the greatest adventure of your life began with someone else's unfinished dream?

Laura Carney is a writer, memoirist, and longtime copy editor whose work has appeared in publications including Good Housekeeping, People, Washington Post, Maria Shriver's The Sunday Paper and Runner's World. But it was a deeply personal story that would become her bestselling memoir, My Father's List: How Living My Dad's Dreams Set Me Free.

When Laura was twenty-five, her father was killed by a distracted driver, leaving behind more than memories. Hidden away was a handwritten list of sixty dreams he had written as a young man -dreams he would never have the chance to fulfill. Years later, Laura made the extraordinary decision to complete the list herself, transforming an unimaginable loss into a journey of courage, healing, and self-discovery.

In this heartfelt conversation, we explore Laura's remarkable journey, the enduring influence of Joseph Campbell, the Hero's Journey, synchronicity, forgiveness, and the surprising ways our relationships with those we've lost continue to evolve. Together, we reflect on what it truly means to embrace life fully, and how sometimes the path to becoming ourselves begins with answering a call we never expected.

Find out more about Laura and her book at https://www.bylauracarney.com/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

Bonus: Phil Cousineau - The Wisdom of The Odyssey Jul 19, 2026

Show notes

In this special bonus episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, author, mythologist, and longtime friend of the Joseph Campbell Foundation Phil Cousineau returns to discuss his new book, The Wisdom of The Odyssey.

In conversation with JCF’s John Bucher, Phil explores why Homer’s ancient epic continues to speak so powerfully to the modern world, especially as Christopher Nolan’s new film adaptation brings The Odyssey back into popular culture. Together, they reflect on Odysseus’ long journey home not simply as an adventure story, but as a map of the soul - a timeless meditation on memory, exile, temptation, self-control, wisdom, and the deep human longing to return to what is most true.

This conversation invites us to ask what our own odysseys are teaching us, what we may have forgotten along the way, and what wisdom we are being called to bring home.

For more information on Phil Cousineau and his new book The Wisdom of The Odyssey visit: https://www.philcousineau.net/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

EP 49: Vanessa Chakour & Joanna Gardner Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of The Podcast With a Thousand Faces, Joanna Gardner speaks with author, herbalist, naturalist, land steward, and boxing coach Vanessa Chakour.

Vanessa’s work invites us into a deeper relationship with our inner and outer wilds. Through her books Awakening Artemis and Earthly Bodies, she weaves memoir, myth, plant medicine, animal kinship, and ecological healing into a powerful call to remember ourselves as part of the living Earth.

In this conversation, Joanna and Vanessa explore rewilding as a return to our true nature, the healing power of boxing, the mythic force of Artemis and the fierce feminine, Joseph Campbell’s influence on Vanessa’s life and work, and the stories we must question, compost, and rewrite if we are to live in deeper kinship with the more-than-human world.

Together, they ask what it means to come home to the body, to the land, and to the wild intelligence that has been waiting beneath the surface all along.

For more information about Vanessa visit : https://www.vanessachakour.com/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

EP 48: Moiya McTier & Joanna Gardner Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

What happens when mythology meets astrophysics, and the stars become storytellers? In this episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, JCF’s Joanna Gardner sits down with Dr. Moiya McTier - an astrophysicist, folklorist, author, and science communicator whose work bridges the worlds of science, story, mythology, and creativity. Since breaking barriers at both Harvard University and Columbia University, Dr. McTier has given hundreds of talks around the world, helped design museum exhibits, consulted on projects with Disney, and become a compelling voice helping people reconnect wonder, metaphor, and meaning with the cosmos. She is also the host of the astronomy podcast Pale Blue Pod and the author of the upcoming book Mothers of Invention.

Together they explore Joseph Campbell’s influence on her work, the mythic resonance of the Artemis II mission, the role of metaphor in both science and myth, and what creativity can teach us about being alive in an increasingly technological world. Thoughtful, expansive, and full of wonder, this conversation invites us to reconnect with curiosity, imagination, and the shared human experience beneath the stars.

For more on Dr. McTier visit https://www.moiyamctier.com/

Instagram: @goastromo

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

EP 47: Sean Brawley & John Bucher May 05, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Sean Brawley, performance coach, former top-ranked professional tennis player, and expert in accelerated learning, joins John Bucher for a wide-ranging conversation that begins in the world of elite sport and opens into something much deeper. Drawing on his experience competing at the highest levels and his work with Tim Gallwey and the Inner Game philosophy, Sean shares how his understanding of performance shifted from effort and control toward awareness, attention, and the way we learn.

From there, the conversation moves into language, etymology, and the hidden layers of meaning within the words we use every day. Along the way, the ideas of Joseph Campbell weave through the discussion, especially the notion of following your bliss and the unexpected turns that shape a life. What emerges is a thoughtful exploration of performance, identity, and how paying closer attention - to both our experience and our language - can open up new ways of seeing and engaging with the world.

To learn more about Sean vist: https://seanbrawley.com/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

EP 46: Cassidy Gard & Joanna Gardner Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

Cassidy Gard is a three time Emmy Award–winning journalist, author, and entrepreneur whose work bridges storytelling, healing, and cultural insight. After more than a decade in the high pressure world of television news, including her years at Good Morning America, a personal and spiritual turning point during the pandemic led her to step away and reimagine her life and career. Her work explores recovery from childhood trauma, perfectionism, burnout, conscious sobriety, and the identity shifts of modern motherhood. She is the author of the memoir Cosmic Goodness: Surrendering the Shadows to Live in the Light, and lives abroad with her partner, their two sons, Golden and Indigo, and their fifteen year old Maltipoo, Hazel.

In this episode, Cassidy joins JCF's Joanna Gardner for a rich and personal conversation on the power of storytelling, the influence of Joseph Campbell, and the meaning of following your bliss. Together, they explore how our struggles can become sources of strength, and how the hero’s journey can unfold not as conquest, but as an inward reclamation - one rooted in authenticity, creativity, and the courage to live what truly lights us up.

For more on Cassidy and her book visit: https://www.cosmicgoodness.com/

Instagram: @cassidygard

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

EP 45: Catherine Svehla & Joanna Gardner Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Catherine Svehla joins JCF’s Joanna Gardner for a wide-ranging and deeply alive conversation about myth as a living force in our lives. Catherine Svehla, PhD, is an independent scholar, storyteller, and mentor in the mythic life who has been working in the liminal fields of myth, creativity, and consciousness for more than thirty years. She holds a doctorate from Pacifica Graduate Institute, is the creator of the Myth Matters podcast - part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s MythMaker Podcast Network - and is the author of Myths to Live By: A Skeleton Key Study Guide. Through workshops, storytelling, and one-on-one mentorship, she helps artists and seekers reconnect with their inner wisdom and the transformative power of myth.

In their conversation, Catherine and Joanna explore myth not as dogma or relic, but as conversation partner, something that reveals our conditioning, stretches our imagination, and invites us into greater autonomy. From Inanna’s descent to fairy tales and the modern myth of progress, they examine how stories shape our consciousness, and how we might begin to shape the stories we live by, more consciously and creatively.

For more about Catherine visit: https://mythicmojo.com/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

EP 44: Brandon Boyd & Tyler Lapkin Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we welcome Brandon Boyd. Best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the multi-platinum band Incubus, Brandon has cultivated a parallel life as a painter, writer, and visual artist. He has published three books of visual art, exhibited internationally, and created large-scale installations and residencies in the U.S. Across music and visual work alike, his creative output returns to themes of impermanence, identity, nature, and transformation. Alongside his work with Incubus, Brandon continues to release solo music while expanding into acting and mentorship.

In this conversation with Tyler Lapkin of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, we explore where creativity begins, Brandon’s movement between music and painting as a single inner current, the influence of myth and Joseph Campbell, and the artist as a conduit for something larger than the self.

For more on Brandon visit: https://www.brandonboyd.me/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

EP 43: Leigh Melander & Brad Olson Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, mythologist Leigh Melander joins longtime friend and fellow Campbell scholar Brad Olson for a wide-ranging, playful, and deeply human conversation about myth, imagination, and meaning.

Drawing from their shared history at Pacifica Graduate Institute and their long involvement with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Leigh and Brad explore myth not as a static archive of ancient stories, but as a living, breathing way of seeing — one that quietly shapes how we understand ourselves, our culture, and the world we’re making together.

Along the way, Leigh brings her full mythic lineage into the room: her background in cultural mythology and psychology, her longtime leadership with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and her work as co-founder of Spillian, a regenerative center for imagination and creativity in the Catskills. She shares how her scholarship and creative practice converge around play, frivolity, and the imaginal as serious forces for transformation — whether through ritual, community, writing, or her evolving SpillianQuest project, a mycelial web of tools and adventures designed to help people create meaning in times of change.

What emerges is a conversation rooted in friendship and intellectual play — a reminder that myth doesn’t give us answers so much as it sharpens our questions. It’s an invitation to loosen our grip on the literal, re-enter the imaginal, and remember that myth is still alive, thinking through us, and quietly asking us to participate.

Learn more about Leigh and Spillian at https://spillian.com/

For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.

To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe

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