DRUMMING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD | Free Radical Podcast #69 | Fr. Hyacinth Cordell | 5/6/26

About this episode

This episode features a conversation with Father Hyacinth Cordell about the intersection of drumming, spirituality, and personal vocation.

In this episode of the Free Radical Podcast, we’re joined by Catholic priest, pastor, and acclaimed drummer Father Hyacinth Cordell—a man where philosophy meets pulse, and theology meets rhythm. With training in philosophy, theology, and pastoral ministry, Father Hyacinth carries a rare integration of intellectual depth and lived spirituality. Alongside his priestly vocation, he has also cultivated a global following as a drummer, where rhythm itself becomes prayer—an embodied offering, a language beyond words, a direct line to the sacred. Our conversation moves fluidly through music, spirituality, and the many surprising ways art can become devotion. We explore drumming, poetry, and embodied expression as portals into something larger than language—spaces where celebration, transcendence, and intimacy with the divine naturally arise. We also enter into his personal journey: the unexpected call to priesthood, the shaping force of discipline and devotion, and the everyday practices—running, veganism, contemplative living—that quietly structure a life oriented toward meaning. Along the way, we touch questions of vocation, celibacy, longing, and what it means to live a life…

People in this episode

Host: Swami Padmanabha

Guest: Fr. Hyacinth Cordell

Topics covered

• drumming
• spirituality
• theology
• art as devotion
• personal journey
• vocation
• contemplative living

Keywords

• drumming
• spirituality
• theology
• art
• vocation
• celibacy
• contemplative living

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Free Radical Podcast

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