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:

Karen Derris, "Storied Companions: Trauma, Cancer, and Finding Guides for Living in Buddhist Narratives" (Wisdom Publications, 2021)

February 9, 2022

Storied Companions

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 …

April D. Hughes, "Worldly Saviors and Imperial Authority in Medieval Chinese Buddhism" (U Hawaii Press, 2021)

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…

Hsiao-wen Cheng, "Divine, Demonic, and Disordered: Women Without Men in Song Dynasty China" (U Washington Press, 2021)

May 28, 2021

Divine, Demonic, and Disordered

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 …

Stephen R. Bokenkamp, "A Fourth-Century Daoist Family: The Zhen’gao, or Declarations of the Perfected, Volume 1" (U California Press, 2020)

February 1, 2021

A Fourth-Century Daoist Family

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 Declaratio…

Amy Olberding, "The Wrong of Rudeness: Learning Modern Civility from Ancient Chinese Philosophy" (Oxford UP, 2019)

September 3, 2019

The Wrong of Rudeness

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 …

Ann Gleig, "American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity" (Yale UP, 2019)

April 26, 2019

American Dharma

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 Amer…

Ari Heinrich, "Chinese Surplus: Biopolitical Aesthetics and the Medically Commodified Body" (Duke UP, 2018)

July 10, 2018

Chinese Surplus

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 fasci…

Michelle C. Wang, "Mandalas in the Making: The Visual Culture of Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang" (Brill, 2018)

July 5, 2018

Mandalas in the Making

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 scholars…

Reiko Ohnuma, "Unfortunate Destiny: Animals in the Indian Buddhist Imagination" (Oxford UP, 2017)

March 20, 2018

Unfortunate Destiny

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 …

Amy Langenberg, "Birth in Buddhism: The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom" (Routledge, 2017)

February 27, 2018

Birth in Buddhism

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 u…