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Mythosophia – Peabody Endorsements

MYTHOSOPHIA ENDORSEMENTS FOR A PEABODY AWARD

In a day when narrative with global reach and resonance is both rarer and more valued than it has been for centuries ‘Mythosophia’ transcends the temporal for an audience that craves the eternal. With its delightfully discursive exploration of mythology that crosses borders and links cultures ‘Mythosophia’ is a unique philosophical yet practical program that already has become required listening for all those who relish sophisticated storytelling surpassing 140 characters.

John Powers

Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting (‘83)

Boston Globe

Harvard Magazine

William Linn’s MYTHOSOPHIA program blends story with wisdom, animating our understanding of what it means to be human.  In conversations that are not exercises in abstractions but lively exchanges that quicken our appetites for the stories by which we live, Linn reminds us of the collective cultural heritage we share.  The program has launched with stellar interviews, and it has featured guests committed to a shared intellectual odyssey.  Adventurous and fearless, William Linn thinks in terms that are both global and interdisciplinary, challenging his listeners to develop an imagination as capacious and expansive as his own.

Maria Tatar

John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures

Chair of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology

I truly enjoyed the morning I spent being interviewed for the MYTHOSOPHIA program. It provided me a wonderful opportunity to share my love of Greek mythology with a much wider and more varied audience than is available to me through my academic connections.  The interviewer was astonishingly well prepared to ask questions that elicited thoughtful and sometimes surprising even to me responses.  I also appreciated how the interview centered on me fit in with earlier, and I imagine later, episodes to create an amazingly rich overall exploration of the role that story and symbol play in human life.

Christine Downing

President of the American Academy of Religions ’74

By creating the Mythosophia series of radio-broadcast interviews with major figures in the field of mythological studies, Will Linn has managed to reach the kind of broader audience that Bill Moyers aspired to when he produced his series of conversations with Joseph Campbell. This audience is in need of the kind of deepening of our cultural narratives—communicated in a variety of contemporary media, such as film, graphic novels, and video games—that the perspectives of myth can provide.

Evans Lansing Smith, Ph.D. Chair and Core Faculty Mythological Studies Program

Dear Panel,

It was an enriching experience in being a part of the Mythosophia.  William and Richard conducted my interview in a well-researched manner.  Firstly, their aims and objectives behind conducting the interview are very clear. At the outset, they submitted a draft of the interview, which helped me in preparing myself for the same.  The questions and inputs as well as discussions are very precise, to the point, structured and systematic. They took keen interest in Indian Mythology and framed questions in such a way that I was comfortable and could speak up in detail.  They were aware of the distance, time frame and constraints of technology.  But they successfully overcame these odds to conduct the interview smoothly.

A look at the list of interviewees indicates that resource persons came from diverse backgrounds.  These interviews are like flowers in a garland woven into a common thread for creating awareness and interest in Mythology.

Moreover, the title ‘Mythosophia’ is very creative as it indicates love or passion for Mythological insight.  The work of the duo, William and Richard is befitting this title.  I strongly support the team for the PeabodyAwards.

Regards,

Madhavi Narsalay,

Chair,

Department of Sanskrit

University of Mumbai

Mythosophia, part of the “Tell Me Your Story” series hosted by Richard Duggan and Will Linn, is a wonderful forum for discussing leading edge ideas concerning systems of meaning and value in a pluralistic world. The show has great personal and cultural salience: as individuals, the interviews help us clarify and expand our own worldview; and, of equal or greater importance, the discussions help us understand ourselves in relation to cultures and systems of meaning that differ from our own.

—Dr. Patrick Mahaffey

Core Professor and Associate Chair

Mythological Studies Program

Pacifica Graduate Institute

Will Linn has brought together his impressive scholarly erudition and infectious enthusiasm to create Mythosophia, a radio program of deep significance for the people around the world interested in myth and related fields. The broadcast carries ideas and insights of critical value for those seeking life meaning and self-understanding in our secular age. It has its finger on the pulse of myth-making today, and, through engaging interviews with experts in the field, communicates its message with competence and verve.

Keiron Le Grice

Core Professor and Chair

Jungian and Archetypal Studies program

Pacifica Graduate Institute

I was fortunate enough to be one of Dr. Will Linn’s guests on the Mythosophia show on KZSB.  I was delighted with the structure and with the expertise that Dr. Linn showed in the questions he asked me.  I believe this medium, radio, to contact many more individuals is both effective and vital. To allow audience members to hear a conversation on the spot is much more dynamic than listening to one read a paper or offer a lecture.

I found the entire experience professionally organized and challenging.  It deserves to be considered as a serious contender for the Peabody Award. It has added immeasurably to the intellectual and cultural life of the community of Santa Barbara and surrounding area.  Many thanks for considering this excellent series.

Blessings, Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D.

Core Faculty,

Mythological Studies Program Pacifica Graduate Institute.

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