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Zach Leary

It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 129 – David Seidler

Posted on November 28, 2024

Oscar winning screenwriter David Seidler takes us through the multi faceted brilliance and inner workings of his mind! Yes, David won an Oscar for his film, The Kings Speech, but to say that it’s not the most interesting thing he’s ever done may in fact be true. In his 81 years, David has led ten lives that resemble a fantastical odyssey of international wonder, intrigue, mystery all while dancing with the stars! Our conversation went exactly where it was supposed to go as it traversed his current work, Hollywood, the current state of culture and the craft of writing. My only regret is that it wasn’t longer. To me, David is the quintessential example of where the arts meets the humanities!

Intro rant – The nature of change in the form of material possessions

David Seidler–

A Londoner by birth, David was sent to the USA as an infant during WWII which resulted in a childhood stammer. George VI, the stuttering reluctant King, became a boyhood hero, role model, and many years later the inspiration for his film The King’s Speech staring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, and Guy Pearce, which won the Best Picture Oscar for 2010 and for which David was awarded the golden man for Best Original Screenplay, two BAFTA’s and numerous other gongs. His stage version has toured England, played the West End, and been produced so far in eight foreign languages. He no longer stutters.

Seidler’s career commenced with writing dubbing scripts for Godzilla The Monster movies. He has over twenty credits to his name including: Tucker, The Man and His Dream starring Jeff Bridges, directed by Francis Coppola. Nominated for Writing Achievement by the WGA three times (winning for Onassis, The Richest Man In The World). David has also written three animated features, including Quest for Camelot. He is currently working on a Miles Davis project, So What, for Denzel Washington to direct.

David has lectured in Milan, Rome, Porto, A.F.I. Los Angeles, Sundance, Dreamago Institute in Switzerland, and Laboratorio Novas Historias in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He lived for several years in Fiji, where he was Political Advisor to Chief Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. He also resided in New Zealand for eight years and returns to Godzone yearly to educate the trout and torment his son Manu who is a senior video editor at TVNZ. His daughter, Maya, is a documentary producer in NYC.

It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 128 – Visvambhar ‘Vish’ Sheth

Posted on November 13, 2024

Recorded in the midst of the swirling love-verse that is BhaktiFest, Vish graces the podcast with his wisdom, heart and humor. Visvambhar or “Vish” as he is affectionately known uses kirtan as his vehicle for delivering knowledge on how to incorporate practical devotion into your daily life. Our conversation covered his unique take on Bhakti Yoga, growing up in ISKCON, the many different philosophical paths, daily practice and the joy of kirtan. I’ve known Vish for a few years now and to see him rise to become not just a magnificent kirtan wallah but also a wisdom leader is remarkable. Listen with love!

Intro rant – The elections, fires and what we can do

Please support the Mayapuris fundraising drive for their new album – 9islands – CLICK HERE

Visvambhar ‘Vish’ Sheth –

Visvambhar ‘Vish’ Sheth is the lead singer of the internationally acclaimed group ‘The Mayapuris’, a headlining Kirtan group that has rocked stages from India to Florida, Australia to South Africa. Starting at the age of 5, Vish has spent his life leading Kirtans in the ISKCON (Vaisnava) tradition. He is a multi-instrumentalist, and a master of the Mridanga drum and performs in traditional as well as fusion styles. Vish started performing in the modern yoga studio culture 2007, and since then he has performed at countless studio gatherings and well known spiritual venues like Bhaktifest, Omega Institute, Wanderlust, Beloved Festival, Floyd Festival, and many others. In addition to being a master percussionist, Vish also plays many instruments – harmonium, bamboo flute, guitar, sitar, and bass. Vish is an in-demand sideman as well, and has toured with Kirtan pioneer Jai Uttal and is also a performing and recording artist with the renowned world-beat ensemble, The Hanumen. Vish has not only mastered his art but has a rare capacity to invoke the ‘rasa’ or the essence of the transcendental energies that define the Kirtan path.

It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 127 – Mark Pesce

Posted on October 21, 2024

The brilliant Mark Pesce jumps into the cryptocurrency flow of the IAH podcast. Episode 127 focuses on Mark’s authoritative demystification of the world of cryptocurrency that he talks about often in his new podcast “The Next Billion Seconds.”

“It’s vitally important for everyone – not just bankers and techies – to understand this new world of finance, investing and money. CRYPTONOMICS gives listeners the tools they need to understand this new world. This is the 101 for everyone,” says Pesce.

Our conversation tried to take a piece by piece approach to the complex world that crypto currencies inhabit and make into an accessible platform for discussion and possibly even investment. I learned more on this podcast than I have in a long time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Intro rant – Insight into the insecurities of my 45th birthday

Mark Pesce –

Mark Pesce is a futurist, inventor, writer, entrepreneur, educator and podcaster. In 1994 Pesce co-invented VRML, a 3D interface to the Web. Pesce was a judge on Australian Broadcasting Company’s series The New Inventors, celebrating Australia’s newest inventions, and writes an award-winning column for global tech publication The Register.
Pesce hosts several podcasts, including This Week in Startups Australia; and The Next Billion Seconds – winner of the Best Technical and Scientific Podcast of 2024 at the Australian Podcast Awards – offering a window into the world of tomorrow. Pesce has written six books, including The Playful World, VRML: Browsing and Building Cyberspace, and Hyperpolitics, and founded postgraduate programs at both the University of Southern California and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, holding appointments as Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney, and Honorary Adjunct at the University of Technology, Sydney.
It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 126 – Tommy Chong

Posted on October 5, 2024

Amidst a cloud of wisdom infused comedic mystical smoke, Episode 126 beams into your mind with the brilliance of Tommy Chong! Our conversation traversed Tommy’s 80 years of life on this planet that has seen him having a front row seat for the counter cultures permanent shift on our society. He’s part comedian, part film maker, part activist and all mystic.

If you want to hear how life can manifest into a magical state of being – look no further. Tommy shared his earliest memories of being a struggling comic and club owner in Canada, the explosion of Cheech and Chong and his hard fought time as a cognitive liberty activist. Dig it!

Intro rant – Kant, Enlightenment and Your Own Free Will

Tommy Chong –

When you hear the name Tommy Chong you immediately think of Cannabis. As one-half of the legendary comedy duo Cheech & Chong he helped pioneer a completely unique brand of comedy directed at the counter-culture movement of the early 70’s. The pair came to define a generation of young entertainers and single-handedly launched the genre of Stoner Comedy. And at the heart of this brand of entertainment was, of course, cannabis. On screen and off Tommy became a vocal advocate for his favorite herb. In a time where cannabis had to be talked about in whispers, Tommy was a loud voice for the advocacy movement, working tirelessly to destigmatize the use of this healing plant. Now that society has moved in a more positive direction regarding the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis, Tommy’s voice continues to ring out loudly, touting its benefits and place in society.

It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 125 – LIVE from Bhakti Fest with Deepak Chopra, Shiva Rea and Jai Uttal!

Posted on September 22, 2024

Episode 125 of the podcast comes to you LIVE from Bhakti Fest 2024. Dive in deep to many core topics of life in the modern world as seen through the spiritual and sometimes scientific viewpoints of Deepak Chopra, Shiva Rea and Jai Uttal. These three are icons of Eastern Spirituality as it’s practiced in the west. Between the three of them they have touched countless thousands of people striving to understand their place in this wild world and how to better their relationship to it. I moderated the panel in front of a packed house that was full of beaming energy and tons of love. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Intro rant – The poison as a result of injecting dogmatic religion into spiritual gatherings.

Jai Uttal –

Jai Uttal (born June 12, 1951) is an American musician. He is a Grammy-nominated singer and “a pioneer in the world music community with his eclectic East-meets-West sound.” He is a “sacred music composer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist, [who] combines influences from India with American rock and jazz to create a stimulating and exotic multicultural fusion that is truly world spirit music.”

Shiva Rea –

Movement is life for Shiva Rea, M.A, global prana vinyasa teacher, activist, and innovator in the evolution of vinyasa yoga around the world from large-scale festivals and conferences to unplugged retreats. She has taught thousands of students, teachers, and movers and shakers how to integrate yoga as a way of life.

As founder of Prana Vinyasa & Samudra Global School for Living Yoga, she integrates the roots of vinyasa, yoga, ayurveda, and tantra in creative and life-transforming online courses, workshops, retreats, and trainings. Her studies in the Krishnamacharya lineage, kalarippayatu, world dance, yogic arts, and somatic movement infuse her approach to living yoga and embodying the flow.

Shiva has collaborated across many fields and is known for offering the synthesis form of Vinyasa Flow throughout the world, bringing the roots of yoga alive for modern practitioners in creative, dynamic, and life-transforming ways for over 25 years around the globe.

Deepak Chopra –

Chopra studied medicine in India before emigrating to the United States in 1970 where he completed residencies in internal medicine and endocrinology. As a licensed physician, he became chief of staff at the New England Memorial Hospital (NEMH) in 1980.[7] He met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1985 and became involved with the Transcendental Meditation movement (TM). He resigned his position at NEMH shortly thereafter to establish the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center.[8] Chopra gained a following in 1993 after he was interviewed on The Oprah Winfrey Show about his books.[9] He then left the TM movement to become the executive director of Sharp HealthCare’s Center for Mind-Body Medicine and in 1996 he co-founded the Chopra Center for Wellbeing.

It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 124 – Bhagavan Das

Posted on August 11, 2024

This episode of the podcast features the one, the only, the truly unique and powerful force that is Bhagavan Das. Our hour long conversation weaves in and out of the nature of yoga, the self and spiritual practice in a way that only he can. Told through the lens of Bhagavan Das’s own story of transformation that began with his leaving for India in 1965, I discovered that it’s nearly impossible to put into words the energy that swirls around this man. He is truly one of the most authentic characters to stem from the greater counter culture movement of the 60’s. Eastern spirituality as we know it in the West would not be what is today if it were not for the karamas of Bhagavan Das. Melt into this episode, you’ll be glad you did.

Intro: Listen closely for a chance to win two passes to Bioneers 2024!!

Bhagavan Das

I left America for India in 1963 to find my Guru. I was the the first American to live in the jungle of the Himalyas as a hermit-sadhu. I was given the Holy Name of Ram by Bhramanada Saraswati through his disciple Mahish Yogi. I went off alone to the caves in the mountains to meditate. I then came to meet Swami Chaitanya Prakashananda Tirth who gave me tapas to fast and pray for God’s Grace. After a year of fasting, prayer and intense purification I met my Sat-Guru the Great Mahasiddha Neem Karoli Baba. I then lived with my Guru, side by side for many years. Then one day because of the tantric path that he seemed to know I must travel and the many karmic connections due to ripen, he sent me away. So I went towards Tibet to go deeper deeper and then beyond with the last living Yogis from high in the mountain peaks of Tibet and Nepal. During my time with the Tibetan Yogis I was the first to meet and live with Lama Kalu the Guru of the 16th Karmapa. He gave me the Essense Mahamudra Transmission, mind to mind. I recieved the Mother Light from His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche and then the Vajra Yogini directly from the Karmapa in Sikkhim. I lived with Yogi Chen who explained all the details to me in english in his hermitage in Kalingpong. When on pilgrimage to the holy Bodhanath Stupa in Kathmandu I met and became the Guru of Richard Alpert who was to become Ram Dass after I brought him to Neem Karoli Baba. I am here now by the grace of the Guru Dev Dakini. She is the Mother Light always guiding me on the true path of Bodhichitta. This is It for Now.

It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 123 – Jesse Paris Smith + Rebecca Foon

Posted on August 5, 2024

The founders and guiding visionaries of Pathway to Paris, Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon sit down for an in depth discussion on climate change and how to inspire change via the power of rock and roll. Our conversation traverses the difficult but perhaps ultimately optimistic way in which we can unite to combat the most pressing issue of our time. Jesse and Becca are extremely powerful activist avatars dancing in the world of art, activism, politics and community. Their foundation, Pathway to Paris, may in fact raise the bar on bringing crucial awareness to this issue while also rocking out!

Pathway to Paris is an initiative in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and 350.org that brings together musicians, artists, activists, climate change experts, academics, politicians and innovators to participate in a series of events, dialogues and leading initiatives to help turn the Paris Agreement into reality.

Attend one of their upcoming events in SF or LA in September. Patti Smith, Bob Weir, Flea and Eric Burdon are all a part of it!

Intro Rant – More discussion on climate change through the lens of a TED talk from Nicholas Sparks.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by The Yoga of Strength, a new book by Andrew Marc Rowe. Pre-order to publish now!

It's All Happening Podcast

IAH – Episode 122 – State of the Union with Zach Leary

Posted on July 19, 2024

This episode of the podcast is diving head first into waters that are deep, full of life and completely unexplored within the life of podcast. For this one there is no guest, rather I take an in depth look into two stories that happened within this weeks news cycle. Think of it as my ramshackle attempt at making an episode of an NPR program. It’s called State of the Union with Zach Leary!

Inspiration is born from many corners of my life and like most creative people finding ways to share that inspiration if often a struggle. The guests that I have on this show are the life blood of IAH and I look forward to having many more brilliant souls on the show. However on occasion, I will supplement the normal format of IAH by releasing an under 30 minute op-ed/news/radio style audio discourse on topics that I think are worth discussing.

On this episode we cover the Trump/Putin press conference and it’s wide reaching effects on the global consciousness. After that, we will take a look into the phenomena of Amazon Prime Day.

Please feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment on what you think of this one. It’s an entirely new adventure for me and I’m excited about the possibilities. Onward!