Unscripted, exploratory, and refreshingly honest, the Free Radical Podcast invites listeners into real conversations that bridge spirituality and everyday life. With a mix of insight, humor, and heartfelt questioning, Swami Padmanabha and his guests explore what it means to live with depth, courage, and sacred curiosity.
Airing 10 am (edt)
1st and 3rd Wednesdays
of each month on YouTube

The Free Radical Podcast is a creative encounter among like-minded and like-hearted spirits, regardless of their background or affiliation—or even non-affiliation. Following the call of our 21st Century spirituality, we embrace a trans-institutional commitment to spirituality rather than an institutionalized version of it. It is not so much about the demarkation of buildings but the exploration of hearts, not so much about fitting in but about deeply belonging—not so much about mere holiness but about wholeness as well. And it is the freedom born in the fire of these shared hearts who deeply belong to a process of becoming fully whole, fully persons, that creates the sacred space to step into new ways of being, deeper ways of being, radical—to the core—ways of being….and being what?….Being fully integrated individuals, whose humanity contextualizes their spirituality.Swami Padmanabha is an author, monk, and spiritual mentor who has just published his second book, called “Radical Personalism: Revival Manifesto for Proactive Devotion.”
The format of the podcast is not an interview as much as spontaneous exploration in dialogue, encouraging a multi-trait interdisciplinary method of approaching how we understand something—of looking at it from different angles and perspectives. We don’t expect to agree on everything with each person, but we do expect to use our differences as a way to approach each other, rather than an excuse for further distancing. The time has come to let down the draw bridges and learn how to deeply relate with ourselves, each other, and the world in meaningful ways. This experience of mutual enlightenment can be also called “Collective Introspection.” This joint reflection is probably “the highest form of worship and communion. Restricted to the individual, this power of reflection remains limited and rudimentary. It is only in connection to kindred spirits that we can discover our own depth and wholeness. In other words, the deepest form of reflection can be developed only in communion with others. It is essentially a social phenomenon.” (excerpt from Radical Personalism: Revival Manifesto for Proactive Devotion”).
The Free Radical Podcast attempts to invoke sacred space and sacred conversation through deep expressive exchanges with like-minded souls with whom we share one same purpose in mind and heart, that purpose being to align our lives with the loving will of the Sweet Absolute, and to compassionately point to those things that need to be addressed for that miracle to continue happening in each of us.
Please join the conversation. It won’t be the same without you.
In this episode of The Free Radical Podcast, Swami Padmanabha sits down with a dear friend and brother, Sanan—a servant leader, community builder, and deep listener whose presence speaks as powerfully as his words.
Sanan has been walking a spiritual path since 1977, learning from a wide range of teachers and traditions. In 2009, he was guided to bring the grace he had received into lived, practical expression by moving to the Peruvian Andes. There, he founded and continues to lead a nonprofit service organization, including a school and multiple projects serving his village and surrounding Indigenous mountain communities.
Together, Swami and Sanan explore what it means to return to village—not only as a social structure, but as an inner pattern of life: learning how to accompany one another through grief, love, and shared humanity. The conversation moves through themes of grief and mourning, the deeper meaning of love, and the subtle ways spirituality can become another mask if it is not embodied and honest.
They reflect on Krishna—the sweetness of His name, His līlā, and how to connect with divine play in the here and now—while emphasizing a spirituality that is grounded, relational, and free from escapism or bypassing. At the heart of it all is a call to demonstrate love and dedication in the immediacy of daily life and real relationships.
This is an invitation into an ongoing dialogue—between ourselves, with one another, and with reality itself.
▶ CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION: Gaudiya Reform Forum on Facebook .
~ Swami Padmanabha’s Channels
▶ YOUTUBE
▶ WEBSITE
▶ PURCHASE RADICAL PERSONALISM: Revival Manifesto for Proactive Devotion in hardcover, paperback, and/or Kindle formats on Amazon
▶ WRITE your REVIEW of RADICAL PERSONALISM
~ Tadatmya Sangha’s Channels
▶ WEBSITE
▶ YOUTUBE

The Soil of Sacred Service | Free Radical Podcast 61—Sanan Reid 1/7/26
Dharma Rebellion: A Vision of Spiritual Resistance | Free Radical Podcast 60—Hari-kirtana 12/17/2025
TRADITIONALISM & THE PERENNIAL WISDOM | Free Radical Podcast #59 | Kenneth Oldmeadow, Dec. 3, 2025
Rebooting Bhakti: The Plateau, the Reset, and the Hard Work | FRP #58 — Giri Govardhana 11/19/25
Everything Belongs: Contemplation at the Edges of Love and Mystery | FRP#57 — Mike Petrow 11/5/25
Does Hinduism Really Exist? | The Free Radical Podcast #56 — Arjuna | October, 15, 2025
Hindu and Catholic, Priest and Scholar—a Love Story | Francis X Clooney—Free Radical Podcast 10/1/25
What Coaching Really Is (and Isn’t) | The Free Radical Podcast #54 — Lily Seto, Sept 17, 2025
Ethics Before Ecstasy: The Role of Spiritual Integrity | Rick Archer—Host of Buddha at the Gas Pump