Heart Yoga Radio
321 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingWide-ranging talks on all things relating to spirituality, meditation, yoga, current affairs, politics and philosophy. contact me via info AT peteyates.uk.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
DODGY DAVE? - INTERESTING TIMES 78
April 18, 2024 20:38 - 16 minutes - 22.5 MBIn this podcast, I engage with the UK's Foreign Secretary's pronouncements on the Iranian missile attack on Israel. I argue that the FS' reflections are contradictory and incoherent and reflect the deep dysfunctionality at the heart of UK politics, culture, social arrangements and education system. [Free. 17 minutes.]
RETALIATION - INTERESTING TIMES 77
April 14, 2024 18:59 - 20 minutes - 28.2 MBIn this podcast, I reflect on Iran's retaliatory drone attack on Israel, which we expected in the previous podcast and which subsequently happened. I examine configurations in the region which may lead to further escalation and the ramifications globally should this happen. I also consider the authoritarianism in the West, which is growing rapidly, seemingly as a concomitant of the increasing tension in the Middle East. In particular, I consider the UK Labour Party's disgusting stance on the...
THE DIN OF RATTLING SABRES - INTERESTING TIMES 76
April 12, 2024 21:08 - 16 minutes - 23.2 MBIn this podcast, I reflect on growing geo-political tensions around Iran's intent to retaliate against Israel's attack on its Damascus embassy in which several prominent members of Iran's military were assassinated. I include in my considerations some of the cultural effects of these developments in the UK, particularly the calls for conscription, Labour's intent to increase spending on the military should it gain power, and its full embrace of nukes. Throughout, I use some previous consider...
MUSIC - UP THROUGH THE WOODS
March 27, 2024 21:43 - 4 minutes - 6.44 MBGuitar improvisation [Free. 4 mins 41 secs]
THOUGHT FOR TODAY - INTERESTING TIMES 75
February 09, 2024 12:57 - 27 minutes - 38 MBIn this podcast we take a critical look at the output of BBC Radio 4's Today Programme which has an influential position in the distribution of news to the UK. We take a couple of examples for closer scrutiny, the daily homiletic Thought for Today slot, and a particular interview with opposition shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, on her back-peddling on green issues. [Free. 28 minutes. Strong language.]
RULES BASED ORDER? - INTERESTING TIMES 74
February 03, 2024 20:26 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBIn this podcast, I reflect on the ramification of The International Court of Justice's initial ruling on the charge of genocide levelled against the State of Israel by The Republic of South Africa. [Free. 29 minutes.]
CHUANG TZU 3 - CRACKING THE SAFE
January 09, 2024 15:22 - 45 minutes - 62.3 MBIn this podcast, we discuss Chuang Tzu's Cracking the Safe [ix. 2.], which outlines the emergence and persistence of kleptocratic states and the operations of their rulers. Chuang Tzu mocks the plethora of 'rules and principles' rhetorically expounded by kleptocrats and characterises them as merely the ideological support for unwieldly bureaucracies. Against this mode of social organisation, Chuang Tzu proposes simplicity and bucolic peace. We discuss the resonances between this passage and...
LOOKING BACK OVER 2023 & FORWARD TO 2024 - INTERESTING TIMES 73
January 03, 2024 07:56 - 50 minutes - 69 MBIn this podcast, we look aback over 2023 and offer our prognostications for 2024. Amongst themes discussed are war, environment, economy and geopolitics. [Free. 52 minutes.]
TURKEY, DEVOLUTION, GAZA - INTERESTING TIMES 72
December 16, 2023 20:33 - 42 minutes - 58.9 MBIn this podcast, we walk into the labyrinth of current affairs discourse surrounding the genocide taking place in Gaza. Considerations include: the possibility of escalation of violence into regional war, the geo-politics of Turkey and NATO, the strengths of the the Turkish army and Hezbollah, the opinions of world governments as reflected by the United Nation Security Council and the General Assembly, the opinions of the worlds' "street" and more. [Free. 43 minutes.]
CHUANG TZU 2 - CUTTING UP AN OX
December 09, 2023 14:53 - 52 minutes - 71.9 MBIn this podcast, we discuss the Chapter of the Chuang Tzu entitled Cutting Up An Ox. In this chapter, we see the application of non-doing (wu wei) to a specific practical task and how it enables the highest degree of skill. We expand on Chuang Tzu's phenomenology of this application of wu wei. We discuss the application of this skill to creative as well as artisanal tasks, and also to meditation and living in general. [Free. 53 minutes.]
WHAT DOES THE BBC WANT YOU TO THINK TODAY? RAW THOUGHT
December 02, 2023 18:48 - 31 minutes - 43 MBIn this podcast, we discuss two recent propaganda offensives that the BBC is engaging in and which the rest of the MSM are parroting. They are the propositions that (1) carbon capture and storage can mitigate climate disruption and we can accordingly go on with business as usual, and that (2) the Israeli state are the good guys. Needless to say, we dispute both of those propositions. [Free. 32 minutes.]
CHUANG TZU 1 - ACTION AND NON-ACTION
November 25, 2023 20:47 - 30 minutes - 42.2 MBIn this podcast, we consider a passage from the Chuang Tzu entitled Action and Non-action. We describe how the processes of action and non-action are not stark opposites but mutually dependent phases of a profound meditation on the Tao. [Free. 31 minutes.]
MUSIC - GRACE OF RAIN
November 21, 2023 21:33 - 3 minutes - 4.79 MBSome guitar improvisation. [Free. 3 mins 29 secs.]
A MAD MONDAY IN UK POLITICS & BEYOND - INTERESTING TIMES 71
November 14, 2023 19:56 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBIn this podcast, we discuss three political events reported in the UK on Monday morning [13/11/23]. They are: the sacking of the Home Secretary, the appointment of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary, and the Liberal Democrats call for a cease fire in Gaza. We relate all of these to the unfolding cataclysm in Gaza, and its history and geopolitics. [Free. 52 minutes.]
A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR OUR FUTURE? - INTERESTING TIMES 70
November 03, 2023 14:17 - 1 hour - 89.5 MBIn this podcast, we reflect on recent events in Gaza. We pay particular attention to huge pro-Palestine marches and demonstrations across the earth, as well as geo-political shifts that are taking place this moment. We plead for immediate ceasefire. [Free. 1 hour 6minutes.]
BALLOTS, BOMBS, BLOWBACK - INTERESTING TIMES 69
October 20, 2023 13:33 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MBIn this podcast we reflect on three current events - the Tory byelection defeats in the UK, the crescendo in ongoing violence in Israel-Palestine, and the authoritarian crackdowns on the supporters of the people of Gaza in Europe and beyond. We show how these seemingly disparate events are intimately connected by being a part of the same complex pathology. We touch on the importance of geopolitical, global-economic and historical contexts. [Free. 27 minutes.]
CHUANG TZU - AN INTRODUCTION
October 11, 2023 13:40 - 26 minutes - 36.4 MBThis podcast is an introduction to our forthcoming series on the work of Chuang Tzu, and which builds on our long series on Lao Tzu. [Free. 27 minutes.]
TORY CONFERENCE 23 - INCOMPETENCE, FRAGMENTATION AND MADNESS - INTERESTING TIMES 69
October 07, 2023 13:13 - 41 minutes - 57.1 MBIn this podcast, we reflect on widely reported items from the 2023 Tory Part Conference, and plug into some of the wider political and philosophical issues they give rise to. [Free. 42 minutes.]
LAO TZU 68
October 04, 2023 17:58 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBIn this podcast, we engage with the final chapter [81] of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. In this chapter, Lao Tzu is suspicious of book learning and loquacious oratory, instead intimating that knowledge gained through meditation and clear seeing and plain speech are preferable. He also reminds us that non-doing is the way of both the sage and the Tao itself. [Free. 29 minutes.] For details and to book our forthcoming live event - http://peteyates.uk/live-events/
TRAILER FOR ’THE APOCALYPSE & YOU’ LIVE EVENTS
September 20, 2023 10:11 - 28 minutes - 39.7 MBIn this podcast, we outline the material we'll cover in our forthcoming series of live talks on zoom. The series starts on 15th October, 1pm BST and four more events follow at weekly intervals. To book, visit http://peteyates.uk/live-events/. [Free. 29 minutes.]
LAO TZU 67
September 18, 2023 18:42 - 27 minutes - 37.4 MBIn this podcast, we discuss Chapter 80 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. In this chapter, Lao Tzu considers and recommends a life of rural simplicity in a 'small is beautiful' culture. There are many resonances with some strands of current environmental thinking which we draw out. [Free. 28 minutes.] [Find out about our forthcoming live talks on zoom HERE.]
LAO TZU 66
September 10, 2023 13:29 - 29 minutes - 40.2 MBThis podcast deals with Chapter 79 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Here, Lao Tzu considers debt and credit, both spiritual and financial. Lao Tzu recommends a spiritual abundance which urges us to forgive what we are owed and to honour what we owe. The trailer for our upcoming zoom events is included at the end of the podcast. For details and to book see HERE. [Free. 30 minutes.]
A SUSPICION - CLIMATE & CULTURE WARS
September 03, 2023 19:00 - 27 minutes - 37.5 MBJoin me on my constitutional as I entertain the suspicion that the UK right-wing government is on the brink of refocussing its culture wars on net zero, and eco-concern generally, and throwing everything it can muster at it. I place these speculations in a context of a brief and rough explanation of the hermeneutics of suspicion. The podcast ends with the trailer to our upcoming series of live zoom talks. See http://peteyates.uk/live-events/ [Free. 28 minutes.]
LAO TZU 65
August 29, 2023 20:49 - 35 minutes - 48.5 MBIn this podcast, we consider Chapter 78 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching in the light of current affairs and alignment with the Tao. The theme of the power of the softness of water is a major concern for Lao Tzu here. [Free. 36 minutes.] To book into upcoming zoom event CLICK HERE.
LAO TZU 64
August 19, 2023 14:58 - 27 minutes - 38.4 MBIn this podcast, we reflect on Chapter 77 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Here, Lao Tzu contrasts the human way with the way of Tao in a way which is highly apposite for our current condition. The human way, according to Lao Tzu is nothing other than our 'trickle up' economic system in which the few get wealthier and more powerful and the many are increasingly immiserated. The contrasting way of Tao is one of spiritual abundance to which giving and helping are intrinsic. We include a trailer for ...
INTERESTING TIMES 68 - WHERE IS THE WAR ON WOKE GOING?
August 11, 2023 06:45 - 33 minutes - 46.4 MBWe devote the first few minutes of this podcast to announcing our forthcoming series of live talks on zoom entitled, The Apocalypse and You. The first of the four weekly talks will be on October 15th, 1 - 3pm. Email me on info AT peteyates.uk if you're interested in the series of talks. The podcast proper jumps off from a consideration of a peculiarly fervid and florid rant which the UK Home Secretary delivered recently in the UK Parliament and which declared war of the 'tofu eating wokerat...
LAO TZU 63
August 05, 2023 13:13 - 19 minutes - 27.4 MBIn this podcast, we consider Chapter 76 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. The main theme that emerges is that Lao Tzu distinguishes ways of being which are inflexible, rigid and death-orientated from ways of being which a supple, flexible and life-orientated. We draw out how these orientations play out in all aspects of life, including politics and meditation. [Free. 20 minutes.]
MUSIC - HOMAGE
August 04, 2023 17:58 - 7 minutes - 10.3 MBA raw guitar improvisation - no effects, double tracking etc. [Free. 8 minutes.]
LAO TZU 62
July 28, 2023 12:51 - 45 minutes - 62.6 MBIn this podcast, we reflect on Chapter 75 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. We consider the role of tax and money in various social organisational forms, the notion of surplus product disposed of by a hegemon, anarchism in relation to capitalism and marxism, and resonances with our current state of affairs, and more. [Free. 46 minutes.]
LAO TZU 61
July 21, 2023 13:39 - 33 minutes - 46.3 MBIn this podcast, we discuss Chapter 74 of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Matters discussed include; the power dynamics involved in social organisation, the relative value of fearful and fearless orientations to life, and the tendency of humans to attempt to enhance life through their ingenuity. [Click HERE to buy me a coffee.] [Free. 34 minutes.]
LAO TZU 60
July 14, 2023 12:26 - 28 minutes - 38.9 MBIn this podcast, we discuss Chapter 73 of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Themes covered include; the paradoxical and contradictory nature of the text, the practicality and creativity of alignment with the Tao, the meditation on forgetfulness, and more. Particularly, we describe how this chapter is a reminder against dogmatism. [Free. 35 minutes.]
LAO TZU 59
July 12, 2023 09:34 - 36 minutes - 49.8 MBIn this podcast, we discuss Chapter 72 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Themes covered include; the nature of the sage and political leadership, the matter of interpreting texts, and the mediation of masks or personae in communication. [Free. 37 minutes.]
LAO TZU 58
July 04, 2023 13:34 - 24 minutes - 33.1 MBIn this podcast, we consider Chapter 71 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. This chapter is about self-deception, understood as a sickness. We appraise the character of many modern politicians in the light of Lao Tzu's insights on this matter. [Free. 25 minutes.]
SOCRATES & THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
June 23, 2023 13:39 - 50 minutes - 68.7 MBIn this podcast, we discuss the resonances between the question asked by Socrates in Plato's Republic, 'How should life be lived?', and the TV series, The Walking Dead. [Free. 50 minutes.]
BORIS JOHNSON’S PERFECT POST-TRUTH MOMENT - INTERESTING TIMES 66
June 17, 2023 12:34 - 25 minutes - 34.4 MBIn this podcast, we reflect on the resignation of Boris Johnson from the UK parliament after having been found by the Commons Privileges Committee to have lied to Parliament. We take it that Johnson's subsequent and immediate appointment on a six-figure salary as a columnist for the Daily Mail is significant as a kind of culmination of the UK's deep immersion in post-truth confusion, which has for some time been an advantageous state for global oligarchs in a time of wide-spread unrest. [Fre...
AI - THREAT OR PROMISE?
June 10, 2023 20:02 - 59 minutes - 82.1 MBIn this podcast, we discuss AI and its recent emergence into the public sphere. We examine four main aspects of AI; what the term 'AI' signifies, the knowledge status of its products, the political and economic ramifications of AI, especially its role in automation, and its position in current affairs public discourse. [Free. 61 minutes.]
NAT-C OR NAZI? INTERESTING TIMES 65
May 21, 2023 18:19 - 1 hour - 131 MBIn this rather long podcast, we analyse various moments from the National Conservatism conference which was recently held in London, and some of the commentary that has ensued. We focus on the ideological substrate of the organising group, The Edmund Burke Foundation which is named after the 18th Century writer and Parliamentarian who is often hailed as the founder of both UK and US conservatism. [This despite Burke belong to the Whigs rather than Tories.] We ask, is this movement fascist a...
CLICK BAIT, RAGE BAIT & CALM BAIT
May 14, 2023 21:26 - 33 minutes - 46.6 MBIn this podcast, we discuss rage bait and its role in the manipulation of behaviours through news and social media and what seems to be the deliberate arousal of strong emotions. We consider the application of behavioural science in conjunction with massive amounts of data collected by big tech in the persuasion business, especially as applied to nudging election results. The discussion ranges wide and includes a comparison of psychoanalytic approaches to behaviour manipulation with those d...
GOD SAVE THE KING! SERIOUSLY? INTERESTING TIMES 64
May 05, 2023 12:34 - 25 minutes - 34.4 MBIn this podcast, we take an irreverent look at the forthcoming coronation of King Charles the Third. [Warning: contains profane language.] We conclude, that on balance, it isn't a good thing. We focus particularly on the bizarre onto-theology which attempts to rationalise the event. [Free. 25 minutes.]
OUR BIGGEST DANGER?
April 30, 2023 12:32 - 38 minutes - 52.4 MBIn this podcast, we consider Nietzsche's assertion that "Our biggest danger is disgust at man." The discussion ranges wide and includes an appraisal of Nietzsche's counter-insight that life is redeemed by art. [Free. 39 minutes.]
EARTH DAY 2023 - INTERESTING TIMES 63
April 24, 2023 21:43 - 37 minutes - 51.6 MBIn this podcast, we discuss the recent earth day demonstrations in London which involved over 200 organisations acting in accord to demand climate justice from the UK Government. [Free. 38 minutes.]
BLUES IN G 5 - MUSIC
April 05, 2023 19:57 - 4 minutes - 5.6 MBSome improvised music. [Free. 4 mins 4 secs]
CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES - INTERESTING TIMES 62
March 01, 2023 11:38 - 56 minutes - 78 MBIn this podcast, I examine the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) by many of the world's central banks, including the Bank of England, and its possible ramifications. I examine both liberal (in the original sense) and right wing anxieties about the dystopian possibilities of this development and conclude, that though the anxieties are well-founded, they are easily misdirected into culture wares and other divide and rule distractions. [Free. 57 minutes.]
A UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE?
February 14, 2023 13:30 - 22 minutes - 31.2 MBWhat is a universe of discourse? In this podcast, I attempt an answer, followed by an appraisal of the uses and abuse the concept might be put to. (Click the link to buy me a coffee.) [Free. 23 minutes.]
STARING INTO THE ABYSS
February 04, 2023 19:21 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MBWhat did Nietzsche mean when he said, "If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you."? In this podcast, I attempt an answer. (Click the link to buy me a coffee.) [Free. 18 minutes.]
PROMISES & SLOGANS
January 22, 2023 18:54 - 24 minutes - 33.5 MBIn this podcast, we question the simplification involved in the reduction of public discourse to slogans. We single out "free-speech absolutism" in particular and test it against Austin's concept of "performative speech acts" and Nietzsche's account of the importance of the performative speech-acts of making and keeping promises as an institution central to civilised life. We conclude, amongst other things, that over-simplification is a danger and we do do well to remember the complexity of ...
INDIVIDUAL & COLLECTIVE, (& FARMING)
January 12, 2023 13:41 - 31 minutes - 43.1 MBThis podcast is a wide-ranging discussion which ends up entertaining the suspicion that the individual and collective do not make up a stark opposition, as much right-wing propaganda presupposes. The journey includes some thoughts about soil and ecological degradation and cultural shifts taking place regarding struggles over how agriculture should be best conducted. Not to mention, a stab at answering the pressing conundrum, "What is woke, exactly?" [Free. 32 minutes.] (Click on the link to...
FESTIVAL DANCE
January 10, 2023 20:27 - 9 minutes - 13 MBA slowly intensifying dance improvisation. (Click the link to buy me a coffee.) [Free. 9 mins 267 seconds.]
PATHOLOGICAL IRRATIONALISM IN THE UK AND BEYOND
January 08, 2023 13:00 - 58 minutes - 79.8 MBIn this rambling rant, we attempt to outline a mass and individual psychology of Thatcherism and trace its fallout in our current situation. We note that science denial which is prevalent on social media is also often promoted by extreme right wing people. We the move on to a suggestion that Thatcher's denial of the social character of human existence is an example of the same pathological irrationalism that is a core feature of historical fascism. (Click the link to by me a coffee.) [Free. ...
LOOKING BACK OVER 2022 & FORWARD TO 2023 - INTERESTING TIMES 62
January 05, 2023 12:51 - 56 minutes - 76.9 MBIn this podcast, I look back over 2022 and check how accurate our prognostications made at the beginning of the year have turned out to be accurate. I then attempt to identify big trends that might manifest in 23. (Click the link to buy me a coffee. ) [Free. 56 minutes.]