Good Life Project Podcast Interview with Jonathan Fields and Kate Johnson

Friends make life better. We’ve all experienced that. But, could a very specific kind of friendship – Radical Friendship – lead not only to lasting bonds, love and joy, but also to systemic social change, liberation, and equality? That’s what we’re talking about today. Weaving in Buddhism, Western spiritual culture, dance, and social justice with my guest, Kate Johnson. Kate teaches classes and retreats integrating Buddhist meditation, somatics, social justice, and creativity at leading meditation centers, universities and cultural institutions around the country. She also works as a culture change consultant, partnering with organizations to help them achieve greater diversity and sustainability. She’s a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s four-year teacher training and she has also earned a BFA in Dance from The Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University and an MA in Performance Studies from NYU.

Her moving new book, Radical Friendship, makes a case for friendship – grounded in Buddha’s teaching – as a radical practice of love, courage, and trust, offering seven strategies that pave the way for profound social change. She invites us to consider how wise relationships make it possible to transform the barriers created by societal injustice. Radical Friendship offers a path of depth and hope and shows us the importance of working toward collective wellbeing, one relationship at a time.