Peter Coyote: The Counterculture, Zen, and Hollywood
From Sighs and Whispers by Laura McLaws Helms
January 2, 2026 · 1h 24m
About this episode
Laura McLaws Helms interviews Peter Coyote about his diverse life as a countercultural icon and Zen Buddhist priest.
Fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms is back with a conversation with writer, actor, narrator, Zen Buddhist priest, and countercultural icon Peter Coyote. As the narrator for many of Ken Burns’ documentaries, Peter Coyote has been described as the “voice of America,” yet his life and career are far most interesting and diverse. He came to screen acting and fame in his 40s, leading a wild and colorful life of adventure on the edges of society before that. Coyote was a founding member of the Diggers, a San Francisco anarchist collective. Once the Diggers evolved into the Free Family, Coyote went on to live on several communes. Drugs and the downfall of the counterculture brought Peter Coyote to Zen Buddhism in the mid-70s, which shifted the tenor and direction of his life and career, bringing him into the arts and eventually back into acting, something he had first attempted in the mid-60s as part of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. After re-starting his acting career in 1978, among his first films was as the mysterious government agent Keys in Steven Spielberg’s ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982). A successful career in the United States brought him to Europe, where he…
People in this episode
Host: Laura McLaws Helms
Guest: Peter Coyote
Topics covered
- counterculture
- Zen Buddhism
- Hollywood
- acting
- narration
Keywords
- documentaries
- Digger
- Free Family
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- San Francisco Mime Troupe
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Places: Hollywood, America, San Francisco, the United States, Europe
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