EP 40: Robbie Blasser & Michael Lambert
From The Podcast With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell Foundation
October 14, 2025 · 58 min · Episode 40
About this episode
The episode discusses the relevance of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey in modern education, particularly for high school seniors.
In this episode, we explore how Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey finds fresh relevance in the lives of today’s high school seniors. Our guest, Robbie Blasser, has developed a powerful way to bring Campbell’s work directly into the classroom—helping students navigate the challenges of growth, change, and becoming. Robbie is an English and Religious Studies teacher at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. Holding Master’s degrees in both Social Philosophy and Teaching, along with a B.A. in Theater Arts, he brings an interdisciplinary approach to education. A lifelong lover of storytelling, Robbie first discovered Campbell’s ideas through Star Wars, and that early spark grew into a deep exploration of myth, mind, and pedagogy. In his classroom, Robbie encourages students to “see the whole board”—to recognize connections between literature, neuroscience, philosophy, and myth. This unique perspective led him to consider how the Hero’s Journey aligns with modern brain science, and how students can use this mythic framework not only to interpret stories but also to rewire their own behavioral patterns during times of transformation. In this conversation with JCF’s Michael…
People in this episode
Host: Michael Lambert
Guest: Robbie Blasser
Topics covered
- Hero's Journey
- education
- storytelling
- high school
- personal growth
- mythology
- brain science
Keywords
- Hero's Journey
- Joseph Campbell
- education
- storytelling
- high school seniors
- myth
- brain science
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Bishop O'Dowd High School
Books & works: Star Wars
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