✨ Seasonal shifts offer a gentle invitation to pause, pay attention, and make space for what comes next. THRESHOLDS is the guided reflection ritual I've returned to for years, now gathered into a workbook I'd love to share with you. Download your copy here.

"Seasonality isn’t just a feature of Japanese culture; it’s an inextricable keystone of life in this country.”

One of the foundational principles of Japanese culture is kisetsukan, the sense of being present with each season as it happens. In this rich conversation, Alexis Agliano Sanborn shares insights from her new book, Moments in Bloom, and guides us through the layers of the Japanese seasonal calendar so you can develop your own practice.

Episode Highlights

  • How an early fascination with manga and anime grew into deep study and teaching abroad in Japan
  • Ways the Japanese practice of kisetsukan (presence with each season) offers an architecture for deepening your own awareness
  • Seasonality as a counterforce to our urgent, always-on culture
  • Moving from a technical understanding of the 24 Japanese seasons to noticing what's abundant right now in your own place and time
  • The joy in hunting for and discovering what defines each season where you live
  • Seasons aren't just about nature—they're the rhythms and rituals woven through your own everyday life
  • How noticing the impermanence of all things builds resilience and supports your wellbeing
  • Finding unexpected support and grounding in seasonal awareness, especially during life's most challenging moments
  • The evolution of hosting a podcast to writing a book with a co-author

Links + Mentions

Meet Alexis

Alexis Agliano Sanborn is an independent researcher, nature enthusiast, and award-winning artist. She is an inventive storyteller who enjoys working across media. Among other creative projects, she directed the award-winning documentary short Nourishing Japan (2020), which explores the impact of food education and the school lunch system on Japanese communities. Alexis co-hosted and produced Season by Season, a monthly podcast that celebrates our connection to nature through sound and story.

She received her bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies from UC Santa Barbara, a master’s in regional studies of East Asia from Harvard University, and a master’s in public administration from New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and painting. Alexis lives with her husband and their two cats in the Northeast.

Stay Connected

Rss Apple Podcaster
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör Nicole Gulotta. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Nicole Gulotta och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.