Ep. 166 - Kindness, Innocence, And Emotional Awareness: A Conversation with Sharon Salzberg
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
What is the relationship between Metta (lovingkindness practice) and developing, or rediscovering, a childlike innocence? How can Buddhist meditation help both kids and adults with emotional regulation and resilience? Is there anything about the way kids meet thoughts and emotions that we grown-ups can learn from? And, as Ethan wonders, are all children Democratic Socialists? Ethan welcomes dear mentor and friend —now author of a children’s book called (and it’s an excellent one)—for a discussion about kindness, mindfulness, and rediscovering our innocence. is one of America's...
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Ep. 165 - Against The Stream: Karma, Mindfulness, and The Algorithms We (Don’t Have To) Live By
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ethan continues recent conversations , mindfulness and dharma to examine how much of our karma (ie “habit energy” according to the late master Thich Nhat Hanh) is determined by pre-chosen and manipulative algorithms. How can we use our mindfulness practice to understand the internal and external forces influencing our patterns of behavior, and use our dharma practice to create more gaps of genuine awareness, gaps in which our intention and agency create a space for right action, or at least not doing exactly what the seemingly almighty algorithm wants us to do? In 2025, we were able to...
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Ep. 164 - What is Engaged Buddhism? A Conversation with Roshi Joan Halifax
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
At a recent event in support of program on January 6th, Ethan was joined by the great Roshi Joan Halifax, to discuss the practice, history and theory of Engaged Buddhism. Why is this integrated approach to the dharma so crucial now? Ethan begins with an impassioned plea after the ICE murder of the Renee Good in Minneapolis to come together as sangha and practice engaged dharma this year. And every time the thought arises “I could do something but it won’t really make any difference,” please label that thought thinking. Roshi Joan Halifax is Founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of , a...
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Ep. 163 - The Astrology of 2026: Revolutionary Momentum, Breakthrough and Integration with Juliana McCarthy
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ethan welcomes back bestselling author and Buddhist Astrologer Juliana McCarthy (, ) to dive headfirst into a discussion of the momentous year ahead. They break the discussion into four areas: spiritual practice, creative practice, technology and politics. Juliana predicts big personal and collective moments ahead in February, April and especially in July 2026, including a massive revolutionary placement of planets that coincides directly with July 4th, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence (Which Ethan wishes was called the Declaration of...
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Ep. 162 - One Samsara After Another: An End To Gun Violence and The First Precept
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
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 in Sydney at Bondi Beach, along side the movie One Battle After Another and the murders of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer. Ethan contemplates the first precept (to refrain from killing) as both a personal and a political practice. He also argues that the American love of “free speech” and our widespread addiction to guns are directly at odds with each other, and as a society, we must either choose guns or speech and can’t have...
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Ep. 161 - Cover The World In Leather - Seeking Stability with Dan Harris
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Ethan welcomes , one of the leading voices in the mindfulness movement, for a live (and lively) conversation about the quest for stability in an unstable world, and to present the . When Ethan mentioned a classic quote from the Indian master Shantideva about “covering the world in leather,” Dan responded with one of his slightly irreverent and not-safe-for-the-monastery quips. It was a great conversation. Check it out! A former ABC news anchor, is the bestselling author of 10% Happier and Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. He hosts the . You can follow his work and subscribe to his...
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Ep. 160 - The Cosmic Joke: Developing A Sense of Humor Along The Path
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
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 want to develop is greater flexibility, appreciation, and openness to ouselves and others. For that, we need the path to include a great sense of humor. So when is the spiritual path funny? When is humor an obstacle or a neurotic defense mechanism? How can comedy point us toward Ultimate Truth? In this solo episode, Ethan explores where comedy and humor aid the path, where they might lead us astray, and why you should crack up every once...
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Ep 159. - Radical Change with Adriana DiFazio
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
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! 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...
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Ep. 158 - Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Buddhist Socialism, and Standing (or Sitting) For Something
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
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 and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Additional links and show notes are...
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Ep. 157 - How Am I (Really?) Doing: The Power of Accurate Self-Assessment
The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern
Drawing on concepts from his latest book, , Ethan explores how it is that our self-assessment can be so off the mark so frequently, especially when it comes to seeing our progress along a long-term path like meditation, or the deeper journey of spiritual and psychological . Why is it so hard assess our traits, and to see our strengths as well as our stuck places, clearly? How can we overcome our negativity bias and meet the inner critic more skillfully in everyday life. What does it mean to develop clarity when asking ourselves the question: “How am I doing, really?” Please support the...
info_outlineEthan 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.