Learning from Brazil cover art

Learning from Brazil

Learning from Brazil

By: Kurt Shaw
Listen for free

Over the last 35 years of living in South America, I’ve seen how people all over the continent — but especially people of indigenous and African descent — can turn the way we think upside down and challenge us to a life that’s about flourishing and joy… and not so much about stuff.

Learning form Brazil uses the insights from one of the most extraordinary places on Earth as a way to make life better for everyone.

Shine a Light 2026
Episodes
  • From samba to the dabucuri: being together in Brazil

    From samba to the dabucuri: being together in Brazil
    Jun 12 2026

    Aristotle began his Politics by defining humanity as a zoon politikon (ζῷον πολιτικόν), a phrase often translated as “political animal”, but which really means something closer to “community animal” or “animal that likes to be together.” Though day-to-day living together in Brazil owes more to African and indigenous cultures than to ancient Greece, the country is truly a place where people value and seek for ways to be together. Aristotle will not be our guide through contemporary Brazil, but his idea shows that Brazilians are not alone in seeing “estar juntos” or being-together as one of the most important goals of a good life.
    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet