Mareike Smolka was interviewed by Dr. Will Mason Wilkes and Dr. James Riley, Research Fellows at the University of Birmingham, for the Science & Belief in Society Podcast.
The podcast features scientists and scholars whose various disciplinary backgrounds contribute to understanding the social and cultural aspects of the relation between science and religion.
Listen to the episode here.
Mareike talks about her ethnographic research in the contemplative science community, which approaches contemplative practices drawn from Buddhist traditions as objects of scientific investigation.
She traces the development of contemplative science from fringe to mainstream interest and demonstrates the tensions and trade-offs in play when exploring religious practices from within the boundaries of the neoliberal academy.
