Paul Saltzman is an Emmy-award winning Canadian documentary filmmaker.

But in 1968, he was a heartbroken young traveler looking for inner peace.

In an incredible twist of fate, he accidentally found himself meditating at the same ashram as the Beatles during their famous Rishikesh sojourn (which inspired most of the songs on the White Album).

This conversation took place in 2016 for my old podcast, Travels in Music. But it’s so good that I thought it deserved to be rebroadcast here, for Humans in Love.

In many ways, this conversation represents the genesis of Humans in Love: I realized that this is the kind of conversation I wanted to be having for a podcast, filled with discussion about all the things I like: spirituality, travel, art, relationships.

Paul is a marvelous storyteller, and I think you’ll enjoy learning about what it was like to spend a week with John, Paul, George, and Ringo during one of their most creative and inspired periods as a band.

Mentioned in this episode:

Paul’s book The Beatles in India

“Raga Kedara” by Ravi Shankar (Amazon / iTunes)

“Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” by the Beatles (Amazon / iTunes)

The Beatles by The Beatles (Amazon / iTunes)

Paul’s India tour

Connect with Paul at

His Beatles in India website

Please don’t forget:

If you’re enjoying Humans in Love, and you’d like me to continue making new episodes, please be sure to subscribe to the show, and leave a rating and a review on iTunes. (Or your podcast app of choice.)

Thanks for listening.