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About Natasha Heller

Natasha Heller is an associate professor of Chinese Religion and Buddhism at the University of Virginia. Find her on Twitter @nheller.

NBN Episodes hosted by Natasha:

Buddhist Studies February 9, 2022

Storied Companions

Trauma, Cancer, and Finding Guides for Living in Buddhist Narratives

Karen Derris

Hosted by Natasha Heller
Facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, Karen Derris—professor, mother, and Buddhist practitioner—instinctually turned to books. By rereading ancient Buddhist stories with fresh questions and a new purpose in mind, she discovered …
Buddhist Studies June 25, 2021

Worldly Saviors and Imperial Authority in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

April D. Hughes

Hosted by Natasha Heller
What is the relationship between Buddhism and politics? How might Buddhism be realized in this world? And how might Buddhist texts help legitimate new rulers? These questions are ably addressed …
East Asian Studies May 28, 2021

Divine, Demonic, and Disordered

Women Without Men in Song Dynasty China

Hsiao-wen Cheng

Hosted by Natasha Heller
In Divine, Demonic, and Disordered: Women Without Men in Song Dynasty China (University of Washington Press, 2021), Cheng Hsiao-wen’s monograph looks at the women who are not married or otherwise in relationships …
East Asian Studies February 1, 2021

A Fourth-Century Daoist Family

The Zhen'gao, Or Declarations of the Perfected, Volume 1

Stephen R. Bokenkamp

Hosted by Natasha Heller
The Zhen’gao, or Declarations of the Perfected is one of the most important Daoist texts, and a literary classic in its own right. The Declarations of the Perfected collects fragmentary …
East Asian Studies September 3, 2019

The Wrong of Rudeness

Learning Modern Civility from Ancient Chinese Philosophy

Amy Olberding

Hosted by Natasha Heller
Amy Olberding’s The Wrong of Rudeness: Learning Modern Civility from Ancient Chinese Philosophy (Oxford UP, 2019) is a joy to read, both entertaining and rich in ideas. The Wrong of …
Buddhist Studies April 26, 2019

American Dharma

Buddhism Beyond Modernity

Ann Gleig

Hosted by Natasha Heller
In her new book, American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity (Yale University Press, 2019), Ann Gleig makes a major contribution to scholarship on American Buddhism. Gleig focuses on meditation-based convert Buddhist …
East Asian Studies July 10, 2018

Chinese Surplus

Biopolitical Aesthetics and the Medically Commodified Body

Ari Heinrich

Hosted by Natasha Heller
Ari Larissa Heinrich’s new book, Chinese Surplus: Biopolitical Aesthetics and the Medically Commodified Body (Duke University Press, 2018), is a fascinating study of representations of the Chinese body in the …
Buddhist Studies July 5, 2018

Mandalas in the Making

The Visual Culture of Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang

Michelle C. Wang

Hosted by Natasha Heller
Michelle C. Wang’s new book Mandalas in the Making: The Visual Culture of Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang (Brill, 2018) joins a growing body of scholarship on esoteric Buddhism in China …
Buddhist Studies March 20, 2018

Unfortunate Destiny

Animals in the Indian Buddhist Imagination

Reiko Ohnuma

Hosted by Natasha Heller
Reiko Ohnuma's Unfortunate Destiny: Animals in the Indian Buddhist Imagination (Oxford University Press, 2017) is a masterful treatment of animals in Indian Buddhist literature. Although they are lower than humans …
Buddhist Studies February 27, 2018

Birth in Buddhism

The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom

Amy Langenberg

Hosted by Natasha Heller
Birth and suffering are deeply linked concepts in Buddhism, and their connection has shaped how the bodies and status of women were understood. Join us for a conversation with Amy …