Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
These days, the practice of meditation is everywhere. It's the the subject of TED Talks, it's taught in kindergarten classrooms, and apps to help you meditate abound.
But how did this ancient Eastern practice become so popular here in the West? Many credit an Indian guru named Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who brought Transcendental Meditation, or TM, to the U.S. in the 1960s.
Maharishi quickly won over followers throughout the country, but the most devoted of them wound up in Fairfield, Iowa.
That's where L.A.-based journalist Claire Hoffman spent much of her childhood. Her life there and her struggles with faith in Maharishi and meditation is the subject of her new book, "Greetings From Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood."
She joined host Alex Cohen to share more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB-oNU1tTx0
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.