History Podcasts and Golden Thread Podcasts are both listed here - the religion and Faith selectors will only pull content from The Golden Thread.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1150
Central Character: Akka Mahadevi
Faith: Hinduism
About this episode: Akka Mahadevi, 12th century Kannada mystic-poet, renounced everything to follow her devotion to Shiva, leaving behind 430 vachanas and an enduring claim on women's spiritual sovereignty.
Central Character: Akka Mahadevi
Faith: Hinduism
About this episode: Akka Mahadevi, 12th century Kannada mystic-poet, renounced everything to follow her devotion to Shiva, leaving behind 430 vachanas and an enduring claim on women's spiritual sovereignty.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1160
Central Character: Basavanna
Faith: Hinduism
About this episode: Basavanna taught that the sacred lives in ordinary work and every human body --- a 12th-century vision that still speaks directly to modern life.
Central Character: Basavanna
Faith: Hinduism
About this episode: Basavanna taught that the sacred lives in ordinary work and every human body --- a 12th-century vision that still speaks directly to modern life.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1165
Central Character: Ibn Tufayl
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Ibn Tufayl's philosophical novel about a child raised alone sparked the nature vs. nurture debate that still shapes education, AI research, and how we see human potential.
Central Character: Ibn Tufayl
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Ibn Tufayl's philosophical novel about a child raised alone sparked the nature vs. nurture debate that still shapes education, AI research, and how we see human potential.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1170
Central Character: Gerard of Cremona
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: Gerard of Cremona translated eighty-seven Arabic texts into Latin, but his work was only possible because Christian rulers chose preservation over destruction.
Central Character: Gerard of Cremona
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: Gerard of Cremona translated eighty-seven Arabic texts into Latin, but his work was only possible because Christian rulers chose preservation over destruction.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1175
Central Character: Ibn Rushd
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Ibn Rushd defended the harmony of faith and reason in twelfth-century Córdoba, preserving philosophy for Europe through his commentaries on Aristotle.
Central Character: Ibn Rushd
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Ibn Rushd defended the harmony of faith and reason in twelfth-century Córdoba, preserving philosophy for Europe through his commentaries on Aristotle.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1175
Central Character: Zhu Xi
Faith: Philosopher
About this episode: Zhu Xi synthesized competing Chinese philosophical traditions, creating a framework that shaped East Asian thought for centuries and offers insight for our fragmented modern world.
Central Character: Zhu Xi
Faith: Philosopher
About this episode: Zhu Xi synthesized competing Chinese philosophical traditions, creating a framework that shaped East Asian thought for centuries and offers insight for our fragmented modern world.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1180
Central Character: Maimonides
Faith: Judaism
About this episode: his episode follows the quiet clarity of Moses ben Maimon-known as Maimonides-who lived in exile, healed with science, led with compassion, and wrote as if truth could be trusted.
Central Character: Maimonides
Faith: Judaism
About this episode: his episode follows the quiet clarity of Moses ben Maimon-known as Maimonides-who lived in exile, healed with science, led with compassion, and wrote as if truth could be trusted.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1191
Central Character: Eisai
Faith: Buddhism
About this episode: Eisai brought Zen Buddhism and tea to Japan, planting seeds that became two of the world's most enduring spiritual traditions.
Central Character: Eisai
Faith: Buddhism
About this episode: Eisai brought Zen Buddhism and tea to Japan, planting seeds that became two of the world's most enduring spiritual traditions.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1200
Central Character: Ibn Arabi
Faith: Islam
About this episode: This episode explores the life of Ibn ʿArabī, a poet, mystic, and philosopher shaped by the open intellectual culture of Islamic Spain.
Central Character: Ibn Arabi
Faith: Islam
About this episode: This episode explores the life of Ibn ʿArabī, a poet, mystic, and philosopher shaped by the open intellectual culture of Islamic Spain.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1209
Central Character: Francis of Assisi
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: This is the story of Francis-seeker, beggar, brother to all creation-whose life redefined what it means to be rich, holy, and free
Central Character: Francis of Assisi
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: This is the story of Francis-seeker, beggar, brother to all creation-whose life redefined what it means to be rich, holy, and free
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1210
Central Character: The Amalricians
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: The story of the Amalricians and what their destruction reveals about belief, faith, and the maps we carry.
Central Character: The Amalricians
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: The story of the Amalricians and what their destruction reveals about belief, faith, and the maps we carry.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1225
Central Character: Michael Scot
About this episode: Michael Scot translated Aristotle and Islamic commentaries, carrying recovered knowledge from Toledo to European universities and enabling the Renaissance.
Central Character: Michael Scot
About this episode: Michael Scot translated Aristotle and Islamic commentaries, carrying recovered knowledge from Toledo to European universities and enabling the Renaissance.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1227
Central Character: Dōgen
Faith: Buddhism
About this episode: Zen master Dōgen returned from China with nothing --- and gave the world the radical teaching that the divine is already here, closer than your heartbeat.
Central Character: Dōgen
Faith: Buddhism
About this episode: Zen master Dōgen returned from China with nothing --- and gave the world the radical teaching that the divine is already here, closer than your heartbeat.
Podcast: History's ArrowCirca: 1227
Central Character: Michael Scot
About this episode: A Scottish translator unlocked Aristotle for Europe, then history remembered the wizard instead of the scholar.
Central Character: Michael Scot
About this episode: A Scottish translator unlocked Aristotle for Europe, then history remembered the wizard instead of the scholar.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1228
Central Character: Clare of Assisi
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: Clare of Assisi defied an arranged marriage to found the Poor Clares and author the first monastic Rule written by a woman.
Central Character: Clare of Assisi
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: Clare of Assisi defied an arranged marriage to found the Poor Clares and author the first monastic Rule written by a woman.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1230
Central Character: Mafalda of Portugal
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: A denied princess builds a legacy of service at Arouca that outlasts the throne that was taken from her.
Central Character: Mafalda of Portugal
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: A denied princess builds a legacy of service at Arouca that outlasts the throne that was taken from her.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1230
Central Character: Shinran
Faith: Buddhism
About this episode: Shinran's radical insight that self-powered striving blocks the grace already in motion toward every human soul.
Central Character: Shinran
Faith: Buddhism
About this episode: Shinran's radical insight that self-powered striving blocks the grace already in motion toward every human soul.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1234
Central Character: Edmund of Abingdon
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: A reluctant 13th century archbishop uses the authority of a life lived with integrity to defend Magna Carta --- and changes the course of history without knowing it.
Central Character: Edmund of Abingdon
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: A reluctant 13th century archbishop uses the authority of a life lived with integrity to defend Magna Carta --- and changes the course of history without knowing it.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1240
Central Character: Aisha al-Manoubiya
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Harmonia remembers her friend Aisha al-Manoubiya, a 13th century Tunisian Sufi saint who chose the street over the cell.
Central Character: Aisha al-Manoubiya
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Harmonia remembers her friend Aisha al-Manoubiya, a 13th century Tunisian Sufi saint who chose the street over the cell.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1243
Central Character: Haji Bektash Veli
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Haji Bektash Veli taught that the perfected human soul has no gender or tribe --- a radical claim lived quietly in 13th-century Anatolia.
Central Character: Haji Bektash Veli
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Haji Bektash Veli taught that the perfected human soul has no gender or tribe --- a radical claim lived quietly in 13th-century Anatolia.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1244
Central Character: Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili
About this episode: Harmonia tells the story of Sufi mystic Al-Shadhili and his teaching that ordinary work can be a form of devotion.
Central Character: Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili
About this episode: Harmonia tells the story of Sufi mystic Al-Shadhili and his teaching that ordinary work can be a form of devotion.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1244
Central Character: Shams of Tabriz
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Shams of Tabriz-the wandering dervish whose fierce honesty transformed Rumi
Central Character: Shams of Tabriz
Faith: Islam
About this episode: Shams of Tabriz-the wandering dervish whose fierce honesty transformed Rumi
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1250
Central Character: Beguines
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: An exploration of the Beguines, medieval women who lived faith through work, service, and community—without separating devotion from everyday life.
Central Character: Beguines
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: An exploration of the Beguines, medieval women who lived faith through work, service, and community—without separating devotion from everyday life.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1250
Central Character: Matthew Paris
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: A monk, an elephant, and the medieval chronicle tradition that built the historical record we still rely on today.
Central Character: Matthew Paris
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: A monk, an elephant, and the medieval chronicle tradition that built the historical record we still rely on today.
Podcast: The Golden ThreadCirca: 1260
Central Character: Mechthild of Magdeburg
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: Mechthild of Magdeburg saw divine love as an endless stream flowing to every soul---a vision that helped shape our modern understanding of inherent human dignity.
Central Character: Mechthild of Magdeburg
Faith: Christianity
About this episode: Mechthild of Magdeburg saw divine love as an endless stream flowing to every soul---a vision that helped shape our modern understanding of inherent human dignity.