The Great Remembering

The Modern Science of Ancient Wisdom

The Next Big Idea, 19 October 2026. The author is the guest. The book comes up at 2 min 21 sec in.

June Cohen, author and guest, is interviewed by host Rufus Griscom about her thesis that ancient human practices constitute 'wisdom systems' whose effectiveness modern science now validates. The episode ranges across communal grieving and festivals, saunas and cold plunges, epic physical challenges, psychedelic rituals, and sexuality—examining how these practices developed independently across cultures over thousands of years and are now re-emerging to address mental-health and community crises.

Listen to this episode ↗︎