’T is you that are the music, not your song.
The song is but a door which, opening wide,
Lets forth the pent-up melody inside,
Your spirit’s harmony, which clear and strong
Sing but of you. Throughout your whole life long
Your songs, your thoughts, your doings, each divide
This perfect beauty; waves within a tide,
Or single notes amid a glorious throng.
The song of earth has many different chords;
Ocean has many moods and many tones
Yet always ocean. In the damp Spring woods
The painted trillium smiles, while crisp pine cones
Autumn alone can ripen. So is this
One music with a thousand cadences.
—Amy Lowell, “Listening”
***
Once upon a time, way back in the 1990s, I studied journalism and media, and the famous saying of Marshall McLuhan, that “the medium is the message,” which I didn't entirely comprehend at the time, has since proved to be, in my view, an immensely important, fundamental truth, especially as it concerns young, developing human beings.
In other words, when considering the impact of media, the primary influence is not the "content" so much as the means of communication, be it a book, a radio program, television, film, or . . . the internet, which, in a way, combines, or mimics, all previously-known media in a new form.
(Around here, you may have guessed, we quite like books, the best and most durable of mediums, of which we have several new, or new-again, featured this week.)
With McLuhan in mind, I have been somewhat ambivalent about “broadcasting” human voices over the internet—call it a podcast—and thus entering even more deeply into a relationship with an increasingly ubiquitous medium that seems to desire an ever-more complete integration with human consciousness. . . .
However, always aiming for a balanced view of things, and as people here and there continued to suggest that we do something along these lines, I considered the possibility, aware also of the more positive aspects of the medium, the reality of its current presence in the cultural sphere, and the need for its ultimate redemption. Eventually, with the help of a trusted producer-collaborator, I decided to do it; to make a podcasted audio “show,” but based on certain self-imposed conditions and intentions:
in-person human conversations only (no “zoom” calls; conversants meet face-to-face)
audio only, and of the highest quality, given our recording circumstances (at our offices, not a studio)
we “wing it”: any questions or prompts on my part, are born out of a genuine human interest in my "guest" and what they know, feel, or believe to be true (no pre-conceived formulae or agendas, ideally)
We call it “Aleatory Encounters,” even though, just as Mr. Dylan sings, “I don’t gamble with cards and I don’t shoot no dice.”
You can expect a new episode every three weeks for the rest of the year.
This first episode, the human-machine interface w/ Joe Allen, appropriately enough, deals quite directly with these and many more questions, challenges, and possibilities of our human-technological age. Let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading, always, and this time, if you like, thanks for listening.
Keep in touch, John-Scott
New Releases
Listening to Our Teachers
Advocacy through Research
Torin M. Finser, PhD
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This book (first published as Silence Is Complicity) began life at an Antioch University Waldorf program for educators to introduce students to action research, a philosophy and methodology for transformative change through the process of taking action and doing research. This revised and expanded edition focuses on research and the inner life, indigenous research methods, and much more—all to empower teachers and support their enthusiasm for learning and developing new curricula. Teacher research goes beyond personal understanding to a level of documented inquiry that holds up to public scrutiny while also challenging misguided funding, tests, and legislation. READ MORE
Baking Real Bread
Family Recipes with Stories and Songs in Celebration of Bread
Warren Lee Cohen
READ MORE | CONTENTS
This is a fully revised second edition of the ever-popular Baking Bread with Children, first published in 2008. Share the magic of baking, with family-friendly recipes and a whole chapter on gluten-free recipes. These family-friendly, easy-to-follow recipes turn flour, water, salt, and yeast into a variety of delicious breads. Warren Lee Cohen also offers advice on nutrition and wheat sensitivities, as well as tips on rebuilding the local bread economy and building a real bread culture—from farm to plate, growing healthy wheat, heritage wheats, fresh grains, artisan bakeries, home milled flour, and supporting artisan bakeries. READ MORE
The Maria Thun Biodynamic Almanac 2025
North American Edition
Titia Thun and Friedrich Thun
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The original biodynamic sowing and planting almanac, adapted for North American (EST) dates and times—essential reading for more than sixty years!
The simple, two-week-to-view layout features detailed planting, tending and harvesting information to help both seasoned biodynamic farmers and beginner gardeners maximize the yield and vitality of crops and plants. Trusted by generations of growers, the ultimate biodynamic almanac features:
An easy-to-read layout making it simple to plan what to do and when
Space to add your own notes
Clear headings and sections for fast look-ups
Lay-flat spine makes it easy to consult the almanac while planning
Information on solar and lunar events and planetary aspects
A pull-out wallchart that can be pinned up as a handy reference
Eco-friendly printing with recycled FSC paper using plant-based inks READ MORE
From the Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
Human and Cosmic Thought
4 lectures, Berlin, January 20–23, 1914 (CW 151)
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What convinces us of the truth of a point of view?
Why do we find it difficult to understand or accept differing perspectives?
What are the inner foundations of our knowledge?
In these concentrated, aphoristic lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks of twelve main philosophical perspectives and the importance of comprehending each of them. Appreciating the variety of worldviews not only sharpens our thinking and makes it more flexible, but also helps us to overcome a narrow-minded one sidedness, promoting tolerance of others and their ideas and opinions. The future of philosophy rests not on defending one perspective and refuting all others, but in learning to experience the validity of all perspectives.
Steiner also explains how each philosophical standpoint is colored by a particular soul “mood” that influences the way we pursue knowledge as individuals. He describes the work of several thinkers in this way while shedding light on their unique contributions to human culture. Through such insights into the true nature of human thinking, we are led to understand the quality of cosmic thought, and how human beings are a thought that is thought by the hierarchies of the cosmos. READ MORE
