The Listening Salon

Writer and Buddhist chaplain Chenxing Han joins Nicole to widen what listening can mean. She begins in Buddhist temples—not only the chanting, but the knives on the cutting board, the kitchen that sounds boisterous at one temple and completely silent at another where the meal is eaten in meditation—and arrives at a line that reframes the whole show: temples are listening salons in their own way. Chenxing is the author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists, built from interviews with eighty-nine people, and One Long Listening, a memoir of grief, friendship and spiritual care. She talks about what high school students notice in a temple that adults have stopped seeing, why she never calls a wandering mind a distraction, and what her cello teacher means by saying we can only place our attention in one place at a time. Along the way she makes a claim worth sitting with: that the practice of listening rests on a foundation of rest. A generous, unhurried conversation for anyone who has been told to listen better and never told what that would actually require.

As the world mourns Dolly Parton, Nicole Furlonge reflects on what made her more than a country icon — a listener who modeled dignity across every divide. From "Jolene's" surprising afterlife on Robben Island to Dolly's gift for turning empathy into art, this micro salon traces a legacy of deep listening. A meditation on music and what it means to give one another the dignity of full attention. Check out our curated playlist full of Dolly's music and musical collaborations, all in rich conversation with other artists who demonstrate their own listening through re-imagining Dolly's music, and all framed by two tributes to Tennessee. Thank you for listening. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3jYgHHsXqgtBg7yvxCmone?si=1BvuCQKTQ26CuUrAtTXnHA

Award-winning television writer and producer turned Reiki master Vicky Roncero brings a completely different kind of listening into the Salon. As a Reiki practitioner, Vicky helps people find new perspectives — and once you find a new perspective, Vicky says, you might just learn something new, change your mind, or finally hear what you've been tuning out. Curious whether you can really feel Reiki through a screen? Vicky makes the case. Keep listening!

In this bonus clip, Rashad Randolph shares more about his early experiences at the Newport Jazz and Folk festivals.

As Assistant Stage Manager and Chief of Stage Crew at the Newport Festivals Foundation, Rashad Randolph has the best seat in the house. He takes us behind the curtain at two of the most legendary stages in music, the Newport Jazz Festival and the Newport Folk Festival, and shares what it's really like to create the conditions for others to listen: reading a room, anticipating a cue, and making sure the magic happens on time, every time. A backstage pass full of stories you won't hear anywhere else.

Musician Isaiah J. Thompson sat down with us fresh off the release of The Power of the Spirit, his soulful live album recorded in front of a rapturous crowd at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club. Isaiah opens up about the long road to becoming a musician, the mentors and heroes he still carries with him on stage, and the powerful truth at the heart of jazz itself: it's really an act of deep listening — to your bandmates, to the room, to yourself. A warm, groove-filled conversation for anyone who's ever wondered what musicians hear that the rest of us miss. For an extension of the topics in this conversation, check out Isaiah's most recent album, The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry.

What happens when listening becomes more than hearing? The Listening Salon brings together musicians, educators, writers, spiritual leaders, and creative thinkers for conversations about the many ways listening shapes our lives. Across each episode, our guests share stories, insights, and moments that reveal listening as a creative practice, a form of care, and a way of making sense of the world.  Whether we're talking about jazz, leadership, healing, grief, or the future, every conversation is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and discover what becomes possible when we truly listen.