Welcome to AWAKEN Season 5

Welcome to Season 5 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” This season explores interdependence, a fundamental concept in Buddhism and in life that describes the mutual dependence of everything and experience. Hosted by singer, songwriter, and artist Devendra Banhart, the series focuses on a painting of the Wheel of Life from the Rubin Museum’s collection to see what it can teach us about the interconnected nature of existence. Experts in the realms of art, social science, Buddhism, and more illuminate how greater awareness of interdependence can be the wake up call that motivates actions for a better world. 

Trailer voices in order of appearance: Associate professor of Buddhism and East Asian religions Annabella Pitkin; Tibetan physician, scholar, and founder and medical director of the Sowa Rigpa Institute Dr. Nida Chenagtsang; singer, songwriter, and artist Devendra Banhart; social scientist, physician, and professor Nicholas A. Christakis; pastoral counselor, teacher, and author Pamela Ayo Yetunde.

AWAKEN Season 5 will launch on August 19, 2025.

Read a transcript, learn about the Rubin, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/welcome-to-awaken-season-5

Creators and Guests

Host

Devendra Banhart

Devendra Obi Banhart is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career.

What is Awaken?

AWAKEN is a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” Throughout the series we dive into the personal stories of guests who share how they’ve experienced a shift in their awareness, and as a result, their perspective on life.

Professor Annabella Pitkin:
When Buddhists talk about interdependence, they're really talking about the most fundamental Buddhist perspective on the way that we all exist and the way everything around us exists.

Dr. Nida Chenagtsang:
Today's problem is that we try to ignore the power of interdependence.

Devendra Banhart:
Welcome to season 5 of AWAKEN, a podcast from the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” I am Devendra Banhart, a singer, songwriter, and your host for this season of AWAKEN, where we are exploring interdependence, a fundamental concept in Buddhism and in life.

Professor Nicholas Christakis:
How you act or how you think or how you feel comes to depend on how others around you act, think, and feel. And that ripples through the network. And comes to affect your life.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde:
We belong together. We are making an impression upon one another. The lived experience, the phenomenological experience of compassion, love, and interdependence is intertwined.

Devendra Banhart:
We’ll hear from experts in the realms of art, social science, and Buddhism to discover how awareness of our interdependence can be the wake up call that motivates actions for a better world. Himalayan art has long been a pathway to insights and awakening, and in this season, we look at a painting in the Rubin Museum’s collection of the Wheel of Life to see what it can teach us about the interconnected nature of existence.

Annabella Pitkin:
The Wheel of Life is a really straightforward, ethical teaching. It says, wake up to the fact that we're all in this together and let's start acting like we are.

Devendra Banhart:
Wake up to what is possible. Tune in to Season 5 of AWAKEN wherever you get your podcasts.