Margot Adler
Encyclopedia
Margot Adler is an author, journalist, lecturer, Wicca
n priestess and radio journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR).
, Arkansas
, Adler grew up mostly in New York City
. Her grandfather, Alfred Adler
, is the father of individual psychology
.
and a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
in New York in 1970. She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
in 1982.
, FM 99.5, the Pacifica Radio
outlet in New York City. She created the talk shows Hour of the Wolf
in 1972 (still on the air as hosted by Jim Freund
) and later Unstuck in Time.
Adler joined NPR in 1979 as a general assignment reporter, after spending a year as an NPR freelance reporter covering New York City, and has since worked on a great many pieces dealing with subjects as diverse as the death penalty, the right to die
movement, the response to the war in Kosovo
, computer gaming, the drug ecstasy, geek culture, children and technology, and Pokémon
. Since 9/11
, she has focused much of her work on stories exploring the human factors in New York City, from the loss of loved ones, homes and jobs, to work in the relief effort. She was the host of Justice Talking
up until the show ceased production on July 3, 2008. She is a regular voice on Morning Edition
and All Things Considered
. She is also co-producer of an award-winning radio drama, War Day.
which was revised in 2006. The book is considered a watershed in American Neopagan
circles, as it provided the first comprehensive look at modern nature-based religions in the US. For many years it was the only introductory work about the American Neopagan communities. Her second book, Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution, was published by Beacon Press in 1997. Adler is a Wicca
n priestess in the Gardnerian tradition, an elder in the Covenant of the Goddess
, and she also participates in the Unitarian Universalist faith community.
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n priestess and radio journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR).
Early life
Born in Little RockLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Adler grew up mostly in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Her grandfather, Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. In collaboration with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues, Adler was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement as a core member of the Vienna...
, is the father of individual psychology
Individual psychology
Individual psychology is a term used specifically to refer to the psychological method or science founded by the Viennese psychiatrist Alfred Adler...
.
Education
Adler received a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
in New York in 1970. She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1982.
Journalism and radio
Adler first worked for WBAIWBAI
WBAI, a part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, broadcasting at 99.5 FM in New York City.Its programming is leftist/progressive, and a mixture of political news and opinion from a leftist perspective, tinged with aspects of its complex and varied...
, FM 99.5, the Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
outlet in New York City. She created the talk shows Hour of the Wolf
Hour of the Wolf (radio show)
Hour of the Wolf, named for the Ingmar Bergman film of that same title, originally hosted and produced by Margot Adler in 1972, is a long-running radio program, devoted to speculative fiction, hosted since 1974 by Jim Freund on WBAI in New York....
in 1972 (still on the air as hosted by Jim Freund
Jim Freund
Jim Freund is a radio personality and a prominent figure in the speculative fiction community as host of the Pacifica Radio show Hour of the Wolf and as curator of the New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series....
) and later Unstuck in Time.
Adler joined NPR in 1979 as a general assignment reporter, after spending a year as an NPR freelance reporter covering New York City, and has since worked on a great many pieces dealing with subjects as diverse as the death penalty, the right to die
Right to die
The right to die is the ethical or institutional entitlement of the individual to commit suicide or to undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood to mean that a person with a terminal illness should be allowed to commit suicide or assisted suicide or to decline...
movement, the response to the war in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, computer gaming, the drug ecstasy, geek culture, children and technology, and Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
. Since 9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, she has focused much of her work on stories exploring the human factors in New York City, from the loss of loved ones, homes and jobs, to work in the relief effort. She was the host of Justice Talking
Justice Talking
Justice Talking was a weekly radio show, syndicated on National Public Radio and hosted by Margot Adler, that tackled the law and public policy. A signature element of the program was its debate segment....
up until the show ceased production on July 3, 2008. She is a regular voice on Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
and All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
. She is also co-producer of an award-winning radio drama, War Day.
Neopaganism
Adler authored Drawing Down the Moon, a 1979 book about NeopaganismNeopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
which was revised in 2006. The book is considered a watershed in American Neopagan
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
circles, as it provided the first comprehensive look at modern nature-based religions in the US. For many years it was the only introductory work about the American Neopagan communities. Her second book, Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution, was published by Beacon Press in 1997. Adler is a Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n priestess in the Gardnerian tradition, an elder in the Covenant of the Goddess
Covenant of the Goddess
The Covenant of the Goddess is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens . It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among Witches and to secure for Witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other...
, and she also participates in the Unitarian Universalist faith community.
Contributed to
- 1989 - Healing the Wounds: The Promise of Ecofeminism - Judith Plant (editor) (New Society Pub) ISBN 0-86571-152-6
- 1994 - Return Of The Great Goddess by Burleigh Muten (ShambhalaShambhalaIn Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia...
) ISBN 1-57062-034-2 - 1995 - People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out by Ellen Evert HopmanEllen Evert HopmanEllen Evert Hopman, M.Ed., was born in Salzburg, Austria. She is an herbalist, lay homeopath, and counselor who lives and works in western Massachusetts....
, Lawrence Bond (Inner Traditions) ISBN 0-89281-559-0 - 1995 - The Emerging Network by Michael York (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.) ISBN 0847680010, ISBN 978-0847680016
- 2001 - Modern Pagans: an Investigation of Contemporary Ritual (Re/Search) ISBN 1-889307-10-6
- 2002 - The Free Speech Movement: Reflections on Berkeley in the 1960s - Edited by Robert CohenRobert CohenRobert Cohen is a Canadian comedy writer. He was raised in Calgary, Alberta and has written for The Simpsons , The Wonder Years, The Ben Stiller Show, MADtv, Just Shoot Me!, Father of the Pride, and American Dad!...
and Reginald E. Zelnik (University of California PressUniversity of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
) ISBN 978-0-520-23354-6 - 2003 - Sisterhood Is Forever: the Women's Anthology for a New Millennium - edited by Robin MorganRobin MorganRobin Morgan is a former child actor turned American radical feminist activist, writer, poet, and editor of Sisterhood is Powerful and Ms. Magazine....
(Washington Square Press) ISBN 0-7434-6627-6 - 2005 - Cakes and Ale for the Pagan Soul: Spells, Recipes, and Reflections from Neopagan Elders and Teachers - Patricia TelescoPatricia TelescoPatricia "Trish" Telesco is an American author, herbalist, poet, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, and folk magician who has written more than 60 books on a variety of subjects ranging from self-help and cookbooks to magic, folklore and global religion...
(Celestial Arts) ISBN 978-1-58091-164-1
Discography
- 1986 - From Witch to Witch-Doctor: Healers, Therapists and Shamans ACEAssociation for Consciousness ExplorationThe Association for Consciousness Exploration LLC is an American organization based in Northeastern Ohio which produces events, books, and recorded media in the fields of "magic, mind-sciences, alternative lifestyles, comparative religion/spirituality, entertainment, holistic healing, and related...
- Lecture on cassette - 1986 - The Magickal Movement: Present and Future (with Isaac BonewitsIsaac BonewitsPhillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an influential American Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. He was also a liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founded the Druidic organisation Ár nDraíocht Féin, as well as the Neopagan civil rights group, the Aquarian...
, Selena FoxSelena FoxSelena Fox is a Wiccan priestess and activist, psychotherapist, self-published author and lecturer in the fields of Neopaganism, Wicca, New Age and comparative religion.- Circle :Rev...
, and Robert Anton WilsonRobert Anton WilsonRobert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
) ACE - Panel discussion on cassette