Peter Coyote - Most of Us Have a Kind of Merciless Junkyard Dog in Us

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Acclaimed actor, famed narrative voice and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote joined us in a far reaching dialogue which took in his acting and voice careers as well as his life and his life philosophy and sharp edged political views. We spoke, too, about the content in his latest book, Zen in the Vernacular and his early, preeminent family influences and the shaping influences of the Diggers, as well as his heroin addiction and his radical political beliefs and faith in what he calls radical optimism and the four noble truths of Buddhism. He named those he believes deserve to be called our greatest actors, told all about of his first meeting with Ken Burns and spoke of the inequity of wealth and CEO salaries as well as Paul Weyrich's Christian nationalist film "Bad Faith" and the infamous Lewis Powell memo. He described the U.S. presidential race as democracy versus autocracy and the rise of Trump politically as the product of a sixty year struggle. We concluded with him speaking about his name change to Coyote and defining the Buddhist concept of dharma. Time well spent with a fascinating man of many accomplishments and strong views on politics and our essential connectedness.