Introducing Kokoro Season 1

Kokoro is a new YouTube show created and hosted by Alex Lang. Kokoro is the sacred Japanese word describing the connection between body, mind and soul. Through stories, interviews and instruction, Kokoro seeks to expand your world and heal your soul. New episodes will be released on YouTube every Wednesday during the fall beginning September 18. Subscribe to the Kokoro YouTube Channel or find episodes posted on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

Inception

A couple of months ago, I happened across an old episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood on YouTube. Like many children of my generation, Mr. Rogers was an important part of my daily ritual. I have memories of sitting in front of my television transfixed by his program. What made Mr. Rogers special was that he spoke to kids in ways they could understand. He would talk about issues that impacted their lives—conflict, sadness, anger, divorce, death, violence and war.

What you may not realize about Fred Rogers is that he was a Presbyterian pastor. He attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963 to serve children through television programming. Mr. Rogers never explicitly discussed theology on his show, but underneath every one of his shows was a beautiful philosophy of love and acceptance.

When I got to the end of the episode, Fred Rogers closed with his famous words, “You’ve made this day a special day by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you. And I like you just the way you are.” Tears were in my eyes. As an adult, I can’t remember the last time someone said that to me.

Then I got to thinking: Wouldn’t it be nice if there was someone to remind us that we are enough? A Mr. Rogers Neighborhood for adults, where every so often we could come together and be reminded that, no matter the difficulties we are facing in our lives, we are loved and worthy just as we are. Personally, I think we need that message now more than ever.

Borrowing from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

Once this idea was implanted in my mind, I sat and watched a couple more episodes of Mr. Rogers. What I noticed is that the sets were simple and there was a consistency to his actions. Even though the topic was different in each episode, the segments were predictable.

He would start in the living room, then a guest would show up at the door. From there, Mr. Rogers would go into his kitchen and feed his fish or have a conversation with a friend. Then, of course, he would find his way into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe with all of his amazing puppets. Finally, he would finish by bringing all the elements of the show together into a closing message.

I wanted to mirror some of Fred’s methods in my own show—simplicity, consistency, and relevant topics. Like Mr. Rogers, I utilize multiple mediums to convey my message: stories, interviews, letters, art, poetry, literature, psychology, relationships and, most importantly, healing. These mediums convey the content of each episode, which revolve around a theme that impacts adults in their day-to-day lives.

For example, we all have anxiety, but recently there has been a significant rise in the number of adults who have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder. The question is why? I spend time examining the biological roots of anxiety and solutions to better manage our anxiety.

In another episode, I discuss the importance of cultivating curiosity for a fulfilling life. In another, we explore how the concept of identity is a double-edged sword that enhances our sense of belonging and, at the same time, is one of the most destructive forces in human civilization.

No matter the theme, the show follows the same pattern in each episode.  

Segment 1 - Story

I decided to begin every episode with a story that establishes the topic and sets the stage for the rest of the show. Following Mr. Rogers’ blueprint, I begin in my living room. Rather than make these stories visually appealing through computer graphics, pictures or recreations, I rely on the power of the story itself to draw in viewers. For example, in this opening, I tell the story of the chess prodigies, the Polgar sisters.

Segment 2 – Interview

From my living room, I move into my kitchen. This is often where Mr. Rogers would interview his guests. Similarly, I often interview a guest and, together, we eat a meal, snack or dessert that reflects the topic of the show. For example, in the clip below, the theme is wounds, or the ways that the physical and psychological injuries we incur as children manifest in adulthood. For this episode, I’m interviewing a psychologist who works with addicts. During the interview, we eat spaghetti and meat sauce, which I explain has a negative association from an incident in my childhood.    

Segment 3 – Tactile Learning

After finishing the interview, I move down to my family room, where I’m sitting on the floor. During this segment, I’m always engaged in something tactile. Mr. Rogers would always have an object lesson within his episodes, so I decided to mirror this by working on something that becomes a visual representation of the episode. Concurrent with constructing some object, I am also teaching a specific concept that is the lynchpin of the episode. In the clip below, I am building a structure out of Magnetiles. This structure represents the theme of the episode where I’m discussing the issue of trust in adulthood.

Segment 4 – Conclusion

The final segment takes place in my dining room. Whatever I was working on in the previous segment is now on display while I talk about strategies for addressing the topic of the episode. This is where I diverge a bit from Mr. Rogers in his methodology. Although Mr. Rogers provided practical applications for the children whom he was addressing, children, by the nature of their disposition, have limited capacity to change their circumstances. Because children have so little control over their environments, the function of making them feel seen is the goal of the show.

For adults, we have more volition and choice in our lives. We also have more life experiences that can weigh us down. Therefore, my goal at the end of each episode is two-fold: 1) Let the viewer know that whatever baggage they carry with them is understandable and 2) provide inspiration/strategies for improvement. The clip below is where I’m discussing how purpose and anxiety are interlinked.

Kokoro is Born

When I was thinking of what I should call this series, I came across the term Kokoro, which is the sacred Japanese word describing the connection between heart, mind and soul. Kokoro encompasses what we’re thinking and feeling; our aspirations for ourselves. One of best English renderings is “the heart of the matter,” which really embodies the purpose and goal of the show.

Beginning September 18, I’ll be releasing an episode every Wednesday throughout the fall. Each episode touches on a theme that revolves around the struggle to find acceptance in adulthood. Every topic is designed to stimulate your movement towards self-acceptance. My hope is to lead you down the path of experiencing a renaissance or rebirth within yourself. I want you to reestablish the connection between your heart, mind and soul. 

The goal is to eventually move Kokoro from a pre-recorded show to a live show on Patreon in January where we can experience this restoration by interacting with and supporting one another. Unlike children who watch Mr. Rogers and believe themselves to be in his house, adults require interaction to feel seen. The interactivity of platforms like Patreon is the perfect bridge that allows people from all over the world to create community.

With this in mind, I have a request: Please share this around! When new episodes come out, if there’s a theme or segment that really resonates, send it to people who you think might benefit. From now until December, I want to build the Kokoro audience so that, come January, the weekly show will have a community in attendance who cares about these ideas and is open to learning, healing and sharing with each other.

More information to come. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Episode	Theme	Release Date
Episode 1	Possibility	Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Episode 2	Trust	Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Episode 3	Anxiety	Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Episode 4	Curiosity	Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Episode 5	Regret	Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Episode 6	Wounds	Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Episode 7	Doubt	Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Episode 8	Imagination	Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Episode 9	Perseverance	Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Episode 10	Risk	Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Episode 11	Numb	Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Episode 12	Identity	Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Patreon	Live Show	Wednesdays, January 8-March 26, 2025