Grow, reflect, act together.
The New School is Commonweal’s learning community and podcast. Together, we explore life’s big questions, offering events and publications in Commonweal’s areas of focus: finding meaning in a changing world, growing inner and community resilience, advocating for justice, and stewarding the natural world.
Conversations for meaningful change
Be in the room during conversations with inspiring thought- and action-leaders of our time. Explore life’s big questions in a “slow conversation” setting, reflect on different worldviews, and find connection in a welcoming community.
Beyond Survival: Sustaining Human Agency in Challenging Times
Graham Leicester and Oren Slozberg with Host Katherine Fulton
We are living in challenging times. Commonweal has been a trailblazer in recognizing this as a moment of long- and short-term peril and opportunity–a rolling “polycrisis.” It may feel overwhelming, but we have copious capacity to rise to the challenge of these times. What will it take to muster a fully human response to polycrisis? How can we draw on reserves of existential courage to face the reality of the present and mobilize our natural human capacities for growth, learning, wisdom, and hope?
Join Commonweal Board Chair Katherine Fulton and Executive Director Oren Slozberg for a conversation with Graham Leicester, founder of International Futures Forum, a group established in 2001 precisely to address the challenge of effective agency in “a world we do not understand and cannot control.”
Graham spent two weeks in residence at Commonweal in February as a visiting scholar, musing on these challenges with friends and fellow travelers. This was the final event in his residency, a conversation reflected on the experience, with the human response to polycrisis as a central focus.
This is part of Commonweal’s 50th anniversary year—a time when we’re reflecting on five decades of healing ourselves and the Earth and asking how we navigate these times through community, learning, and resilience. Illustrations by Jon Marro.
Events that bring us together
Join live gatherings—online or in person—to share stories, reflect, and build community. From famous to quietly fabulous, our speakers and hosts are doing inspiring things in the world, and every voice is welcome.
The Medicine of Flow: Conversation and Experiential Workshop on Effortless Healing
Saturday, April 11
11 am – 1 pm PDT
In Commonweal Library or on Zoom
$20 suggested donation, no one turned away
Cynthia Li and Host Serena Bian
What is healing, really—below the story or journey, and even beyond any meaning? After Dr. Cynthia Li experienced a radical healing firsthand, she began studying the science of physiological coherence, and deepening in her practice of embodied flow. Since then, she has been supporting others in activating their body’s peak healing state: for personal healing, […]
Opening the Channels: The Medicine of Nature
Part of the On the Land Series
Tuesday, April 21
1:15 pm PDT – 2:45 pm PDT
in the Commonweal Garden
$15 suggested donation, no one turned away
In person event only
Anna O’Malley
We are living in times of great change. Many of us are holding a vision, carrying the seeds, and tending the soil of a regenerative future on this beautiful Earth. The Commonweal Garden is a place where the vision of this regenerative future has long been tended. Join Anna O’Malley, physician-healer, lover of nature, and […]
Lines of inquiry that expand your worldview
Immerse yourself in a line of thought or inquiry at your own pace—building resilience and sparking new insights. Follow the journey of our Visiting Scholars, our favorite topics, and our favorite guests at Commonweal’s New School.
Words that inspire action
From thoughtful articles to creative zines and published books, the spirit of our community is captured in the sharing of ideas, stories, and practices that nurture resilience, wisdom, and care for the world.