In our productivity obsessed culture we struggle to justify investing time or money into something that doesn’t have a defined outcome—this podcast is a journey to turn the lens of curiosity back on itself and nudge the rest of us 'grown-ups' to take their curiosity more seriously.
curiosity, gentle, challenging, unique, deep, perspective, questions, excited, need, world, life, amazing, great, love, curious humans, jonny miller.
Listeners of Curious Humans with Jonny Miller that love the show mention:The Curious Humans with Jonny Miller is hands down one of the best podcasts out there. Jonny's ability to ask thought-provoking questions and truly listen to his interviewees sets this podcast apart from the rest. Each episode is a captivating and immersive conversation that covers an array of topics, making it a truly enriching experience for the listener.
One of the best aspects of this podcast is how it serves as a balm for isolation and loneliness. Through its wise, gentle, and generous approach, it reminds us of our interconnectedness and brings a sense of comfort in knowing that we are not alone. Jonny and his guests illuminate how opening ourselves up to new experiences and curiosity can amplify our contribution to the world and foster harmony beyond our own understanding. The lessons offered in this podcast are kind, challenging, and filled with hope.
Another standout aspect of The Curious Humans is Jonny himself. He is profoundly inquisitive and wise, bringing his own unique perspective to each conversation. His ability to bridge concepts and connect with people creates an inclusive atmosphere that inspires listeners to explore their own curiosity. The podcast strikes a perfect balance between being intensely philosophical yet lighthearted at the same time.
In terms of criticisms, it is hard to find any significant flaws in this podcast. Some may argue that certain episodes may delve too deep into abstract concepts or veer off on tangents that may not resonate with every listener. However, these moments are few and far between, and overall do not detract from the overall quality of the show.
In conclusion, The Curious Humans with Jonny Miller is an exceptional podcast that should be at the top of everyone's must-listen list. With its engaging conversations, profound insights, and Jonny's natural interview style, it offers a refreshing perspective on life's mysteries and encourages listeners to embrace curiosity as a means of personal growth. If you're looking for a podcast that will inspire, challenge, and uplift you, look no further than The Curious Humans.
Franzi is someone whose work sits at the powerful intersection of nervous system health, emotional resilience, and embodied leadership. What I admire most about her is the way she weaves personal integrity, deep inquiry, and relational intelligence into every facet of her life — from parenting her three sons to working with founders navigating burnout and stuck emotions. We explore what it truly means to lead from a place of wholeness — and why she believes leadership should be a force for healing, not just productivity. Franzi shares how curiosity became her greatest ally through grief and trauma, and how movement became a portal into somatic healing. We also discuss the difference between performative boundaries and boundaries that foster deeper connection, how interoception builds relational capacity, and why numbness is often the most potent entry point into this work.Other topics we touch on include:
In this episode, I'm speaking with a friend, author, entrepreneur & prolific writer Nat Eliason.The timing of this conversation was interesting as we recorded it shortly before the US elections, after which the crypto markets shot back into the mainstream. You'll hear about the intense emotional rollercoaster he went through, losing millions of dollars in a very short period of time — how it felt to write about this — what he's learned about cultivating creative endurance with his writing, as well as his perspective on relaxation versus numbing and how our relationship with work pushes us towards coping mechanisms rather than genuine rest.Official Links
In this episode, I'm speaking with Dan Shipper — Dan is a friend, the founder of Every, and someone who I consider to be a philosopher founder.This conversation didn't go the direction that I thought it would, I had prepared questions exploring the future of AI and technology, but I'm glad we listened to the thread that was most alive — which ended up being exploring Dan's personal journey with OCD and recent deep dive into Jungian archetypal perspectives — and living on the borders of things — the Twilight Zone that he poetically described. Dan did manage to save me towards the end and loop the conversation back towards AI with a super interesting thesis around how it might allow us to make our intuitions more visible and reproducible in the world.Official Links
In this episode, I'm speaking with Marc Champagne — who after building a journaling app that reached nearly 90 million users and then having to shut it down, emerged with profound insights about the power of transformative questions and the Socratic Method.In this conversation, we explored:❓ What it means to ask better quality questions, some of the specific questions that have altered the trajectory of Marc's life — like “How can I be the most curious person in the room?” or “Whom haven't I thanked lately?”
In this episode, I'm speaking with Tom Morgan — who after 15 years on Wall Street and experiencing what he describes as a "hellish midlife transition" (which is putting it mildly) has emerged with profound insights about human development and — especially relevant for this podcast – the nature of curiosity itself.In this conversation, we explored:
I'm speaking with theoretical neuroscientist Michael Edward Johnson — who, after spending seven years researching consciousness and writing the book Principia Qualia, has developed a revolutionary theory that could fundamentally change how we understand trauma, meditation, and human wellbeing. Mike's theory of ‘latches' — what he calls vasocumputation — may provide a testable and concrete biological mechanism for how trauma gets stored in the body, and how to release it effectively.This sounds nerdy and abstract, but it's my belief that if his claims can be tested and validated — it would revolutionize the medical system and allow somatic modalities or MDMA-assisted therapy to be compared and tested side-by-side in their efficacy and we could harness the scientific method for ways to release trauma.Official Links
I've been following River's substack essays for a few years now and I feel a real kinship with his irreverent and genuinely unique perspectives — as well as his talent for self-experimentation and weaving together esoteric yet incredibly practical concepts which he uses for self-exploration.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:
In this conversation, I'm speaking with my good friend and cofounder of Ultraspeaking Tristan de Montebello. Tristan has an incredible story of training to become a finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking in just seven months.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:
A few years back Ali decided to quit his job as a junior doctor in the UK to become a full time YouTuber. Since then his career and life has skyrocketed — he's built a channel with over 5.5 million youtube subscribers and recently published a New York Times Bestselling book called ‘Feel Good Productivity'In this conversation Ali shares:
I'm speaking with co-founder of Reboot Jerry Colonna. Jerry is one of the most infamous executive coaches in the world — with a reputation for making CEOs cry and asking devastatingly poignant self-reflection questions.In this conversation, we explore:
Ben is the author of the phenomenal new book: The Way Home: Discovering the Hero's Journey to Wholeness at Midlife. I was really excited to talk to Ben because the hero's journey has been a framework that I still use myself as a way of orienting and meaning making. Ben shares how his own life has been a series of spiraling journeys, embodying the hero's path.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:
Marcela Ot'alora worked as the lead co-therapist and principal investigator for all of the MAPS — which stands for Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies — MDMA-assisted psychotherapy studies. She has also been designing curriculum and training therapists associated with MAPS.In this conversation, which we recorded together in our home here in Boulder Colorado, we explored how she found her way into this work over three decades ago, possible tension I perceived between the clinical aspect of these studies and the sacredness of the work, how she trains therapists in the rare art of being able to hold space for deep transformation, and what she believes is happening that has led to the extraordinary results that the MAPS trials have created — a 71% reduction in otherwise untreatable symptoms of PTSD.Official Links
I'm choosing to republish this episode that I had with David Whyte four years ago, because I had found myself revisiting his timeless book Consolations' and rediscovering wisdom that felt appropriate for these times — which has remained within an arm's reach of my bedside ever since I first discovered it. It ratcheted open my mind to a new perspective on the definitions of words like Ambition, Courage and Heartbreak, that I thought I previously understood.I'm not sure how to even begin to describe exactly what David does. On paper, he's an acclaimed poet, a writer, and a philosopher. But to my mind, after having spent a magical week with him on the Irish Atlantic coastline on one of his poetry walking tours, I feel like he's a true elder with a deep philosophical curiosity and gift for weaving together our inner and outer worlds in what he calls 'the conversational nature of reality'.It's a wide-ranging conversation, and towards the end, we cover some really interesting ground on the questions he believes we're living our way into as a society and how childhood is the act of growing older whilst adulthood is the act of growing younger back into body back into our birthright visionary experience of the world.Official Links
In this episode, I am speaking with Steve March — who is, although maybe lesser known in the public sphere, what he has created with Aletheia, which we will get into — is, to my mind, a revolutionary innovation in the realm of human development and how we orient to personal growth.Expect to have your paradigm of personal growth turned upside down as we cover:⚖️ Self-development vs. Self-unfoldment, which points to why so much of the personal development industry and individual efforts to self-improve are doomed to fail from the outset. And how might we make a New Year resolution as unfolding, with no improvement?
Khe Hy is a dear friend, creator and philosopher in residence at Rad Reads, which is a business he started after leaving a 7-figure salary on Wall Street. He is a dedicated Father, host of the superb Examined Life podcast and makes time to get in the ocean and surf every single day. In this conversation, you can expect to hear:- How Khe has worked through his feelings of self-doubt - Exploring his insights from wrestling with desires for fame and validation. - The question of 'Winning the Game of Life' has evolved for him over the years into a pursuit of Aliveness.Official Links
Ryan Duey is an entrepreneur, podcaster, the founder + CEO of Plunge.com and as you'll hear in this episode, a remarkably self-aware and courageous human.Over a decade ago, Ryan had what he calls his “greatest gift” — a head-on motorcycle accident in Thailand. This near-death experience catapulted Ryan into a journey of self-inquiry, leading him to the jungles of the Amazon, the inside of a float tank.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:⚖️ How to balance of selfishness and selflessness❄️ His relationship with surrendering into the cold
Brooks Baron is an experienced leadership coach specializing in nature-based initiations and rites of passage — to help the leaders he works with explore their vulnerability, find their inner wisdom, and surrender to the flow of what wants to come through them.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:- Brooks' definition of wholeness as a human being - The difference between the desire to make an impact in the world from above the line vs. below the line.- How he shifted out of victim consciousness and took 100% responsibility for his life.- The dynamics of being nice versus being kind - The importance of vulnerability and healing- The benefits he sees in going through a vision quest or wilderness-based rite of passage- How this enables us to transition into psychological adulthood.Timestamps[00:04:07] Positive impact, burning out, seeking purpose, profound change[00:09:22] Embrace all aspects, shift from fear to love.[00:14:04] Curious about the good versus bad dynamic.[00:22:06] Struggling with climate change; personal healing journey.[00:23:57] Driven by impact, trust, acceptance, and growth.[00:30:34] Vision quest: therapy vs. transformation, death and rebirth, shift into trust.[00:37:51] Unfamiliarity pushes people to embrace change and growth.[00:42:42] Sacred wound: discomfort that creates beauty.[00:51:45] Struggling to balance passion, responsibility, and self-care.[00:54:01] Ego keeps me from acknowledging my needs.[01:01:09] Importance of fitting in while embracing uniqueness.[01:04:44] "Awakening experiences lead to divine connection, but require rigor."Official Links
Show NotesMatt Maruca is the founder of RaOptics, who make, I think it's fair to say objectively, the world's best blue-blocking glasses — but more importantly, he is in my view a radical citizen scientist, self-experimenter, and articulate communicator — and what's more he's only 24 years old. Which, given his depth of knowledge and wisdom, is somewhat mind-blowing for someone of his age.This conversation didn't go the way that I had expected. I'd been reading journal papers and studies on photobiology, mitochondrial health, and how to optimize our light environment... but fairly quickly it became clear that this wasn't the direction that the conversation wanted to go. I think a former version of me would have wanted to stick to the script — but instead we veered off into a fascinating tangent into Matt's explorations into spirituality and what he describes as surrendering to life.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:
Dr Michael Yang is an integrative medicine specialist based in Los Angeles who specializes in Ketamine treatment. I had an absolute blast with Michael and honestly feel a renewed sense of optimism for the medical system knowing that there are doctors like him treating patients.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:
Jim Dethmer is co-author of the bestselling book 'The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership' and is one of the most sought after executive coaches in the world. It was an honor to speak with Jim, and I had the sense that I was sitting in the presence of someone who really had spent a lifetime embodying and living what he teaches.In this wide-ranging conversation, you can expect to learn:
When I first started this podcast, I had Derek Sivers in mind as the archetypal curious human — and to this day, I think of him as one of the most interesting and provocative philosophers of life. His career path involved joining the circus as a ringleader, then becoming a professional musician and touring, building a company and selling it for $22 million dollars, then giving most of the money away to charity, then becoming a TED speaker and author... to now where he's a minimalist living in New Zealand as a full-time dad.In this conversation, you can expect to learn the following:
Show NotesA large part of my personal motivation for creating this podcast — is the privilege of speaking with those who I consider to be elders, those who have lived their lives to the absolute fullest and have stories and insights to share with younger generations about what it means to truly live well.And this conversation with Kevin Kelly turned out to be exactly that. You'll probably want to have a pen and paper handy to take notes, and it was so rich with practical wisdom — in part because that was the subject of Kevin's new book — called 'Excellent Advice for Living'Some of the pieces that resonated most with me were:- How his curiosity and obsession with tinkering & making things paved the way for his later career - Why giving your time away is by far that's the most valuable thing that you can offer- The immense value in designing family rituals and rites of passage- Why he believes that AI will eventually want to have an identity and a name and will act as a forcing function to propel us forward — like children do, to be better than we would have been- Finally, why we should attend as many funerals as possible — and endeavor to become fully ourselves ⏳ Timestamps[00:05:07] Thoreau and the Whole Earth catalog were influential in shaping the interviewee's passion for inventing their own life and stripping down to the minimum to achieve contentment. Thoreau was a mentor and hero while Stuart Brand was a greater influence.[00:09:15] Deep listening means trying to hear what's unsaid, not just focusing on responding. It involves being affected by what's being said, not just hearing it like a recorder. Many people don't truly listen and miss out on understanding.[00:13:08] The worthiest projects take five years to complete, but prototyping is important too, and only one five-year project should be focused on at a time. Anything worthwhile should be accounted for as a five-year project.[00:17:14] Textual content is created as reminders of timeless wisdom from past philosophers and religions. Advice includes putting things back where they were found and deciding not to be outraged for a day. These reminders are short and condensed, meant to be easily remembered and applied.[00:20:50] Invest in a donor appointed fund that grows and can be given to high leverage charities, which teach people to fish rather than just giving a fish. Volunteering and donating time is the most precious thing to give.[00:25:19] Parents celebrate their kids' coming-of-age at 21 with a small ceremony where they cut a symbolic cord, give them their last check, and allow them to drink legally. The event sometimes includes wagers or promises, and kids add their own innovative participation. One child ate paper with advice written on it.[00:30:30] Create family rituals to provide stability, consistency, and a sense of anticipation for children, which will become part of the family identity and provide comfort in adulthood.[00:34:21] The author believes that technology has tendencies that are independent of humans, and that consciousness, sentience, and identity may be inevitable for technology. He thinks that technology may want a name.[00:40:36] The goal is to fully become yourself with the help of others, it's a long process involving constant self-challenge and it's the key to accomplishments. Attend funerals to hear about character over achievements. The question to ask is "who do I want to become?".[00:47:02] AI development will force us to question what we want the AI to be like, as they will carry biases and issues of average humans. It will lead to a discussion of how we can make ourselves better as well.Official Links
Today I'm speaking with Kyle Kowalski — who might be one of the most well-read humans and certainly most relentlessly curious humans that I've ever met — in fact as he shares in this episode, he believes that his purpose or Ikigai in life is to synthesize lifelong learning that catalyzes human development.As the title of this episode suggests, we nerded out on so many fascinating topics — we discuss how Kyle's crisis and burnout transformed him, discovering the Concept of Intentional Living, how he created Ikigai 2.0, Navigating the Four Stages of Ego Development Theory and how they act like filters of reality, the idea of the Birth Lottery and much much more.Official Time-stamps[00:05:57] "Finding Purpose: How a Crisis Transformed Me"[00:13:57] Exploring the Crisis that Transformed a Life[00:18:44] "Discovering the Concept of Intentional Living"[00:24:47] "Ekigai 2.0: The Evolution of a Viral Meme"[00:28:48] "Phased approach to evolving money mindset"[00:42:02] "Navigating the Four Stages of Personal Development"[00:45:56] "Warren Buffett's Thought Experiment Reveals Life's Lottery"[00:52:01] "The Illusion of Free Will: Liberating Realizations"[00:59:57] "Challenging Modern Myths of Cognition"[01:08:05] "Unlocking the Power of a Synthesizing Mind"Official Links
This is my second conversation with Anne Laure — I reached back out after I read a powerful account of her transformative experience drinking Ayahuasca 9 months ago and how following this experience, in her words, she is 'not depressed anymore, I quit drinking… And, for the first time ever and truly happy to be alive'.So we do a deep dive into her plant medicine experience she had, her reflections since that experience — as well as why linear goals are inherently fragile as compared to what she calls growth loops, how her relationship to ambition shifted after Ayahuasca, her favourite mental model, liminal vs. liminoid spaces, the importance of metacognition and much more!Episode Timestamps[00:04:05] "The Hyper Focus of ADHD: Blessing or Curse?"[00:12:06] "Leaving Silicon Valley: Finding a New Path"[00:18:26] "Overcoming the Shame of Functional Depression"[00:25:04] "Experiencing Ayahuasca: Effects and Intention Setting"[00:38:45] "Psychedelics Increase Brain Rewiring: Emerging Evidence Shows"[00:47:00] "Mindful Recovery: Checklist vs Listening to Body"[00:49:56] Embracing the Liminal Space: Redefining Ambition.[00:54:19] "The Power of Letting Go of Fear"[00:59:08] "Mastering Growth: The Simple Process of Experimentation"[01:05:16] "Importance of Metacognition for Growth Group Success"Official Links
This is a powerful conversation with executive coach Brett Kistler — entrepreneur and executive coach who spent much of his life traveling the world full-time as an extreme sports athlete while building a remote software company. Brett also co-hosts the Art of Accomplishment podcast with Joe Hudson, who was a previous guest on this podcast. We unpack many things, including how BASE jumping acted as a hard reboot on his mind and how he uses his emotional inquiry practice to stay alive in extremely risky situations.~~
This is a special episode with Daniel Thorson — who I initially came across through his super podcast called 'Emerge' and later learned that he was living as a full-time monastic at the Monastic Academy in Vermont — where after a series of conversations, he persuaded me to come and sit for a 10-day retreat — which I just returned from myself recently.I found this was an immensely rich conversation, and I'm grateful to Daniel for opening up about some of the experiences he had recently during 73 days of solitude and silence (which he described as the most profound experience of his life) — during which he had some brushes with insanity but emerged (no pun intended) on the other side with some very hard-won insights to share.~~
Dr. John Churchill spent 15 years training and teaching “Great Seal” meditation in an Indo-Tibetan lineage and is a founding member of the Integral Institute led by the well-known philosopher, Ken Wilber. Over the last 25 years, John has developed his style of practice — an integrated Fourth Turning path — that weaves together somatically based contemplative practices that integrate psychodynamic healing, adult development, and meditation. This was an incredible conversation that touched on how 'trauma fuses our awareness to our attentional system', his views on how to integrate plant medicines and psychedelics into this work and what he calls the 'fundamental interior science breakthroughs'.
This is a slightly different type of episode — in which my friend Christofer interviewed me for his superb DO EXPLAIN Podcast. I enjoyed the conversation so much that I decided it was worth releasing here as well. This is one of the deepest dives I've done on all things related to emotional fluidity, and various modalities for working with somatics and finding wholeness. Christofer was such a superb conversational partner and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
My brother Alex Olshonski ~ aka. "Olo" ~ is a dear friend. We've spent time together in Guatemala, and he is fast becoming one of the most prominent voices on addiction and the psychedelic renaissance. We dive into Olo's personal story of breaking free from his proclivity to taking a cocktail of narcotics whilst working in high-growth tech startups ~ and his powerful journey navigating his addiction.We discuss concerns, risks & hopes for the rise of entheogens ~ what he learned from spending time with the Shipibo indigenous lineages, how we both got a little 'messed up' from studying post-modernist philosophy, navigating the 'woke, anti-woke culture wars' his definition of false urgency + socially acceptable addictions, unpacking the modality of Hakomi ~ a lesser-known method of somatic psychology & much more.~~
Today's guest is Daniel—who goes by the name of 'Grimhood' on Twitter. I've been a subscriber to his Patreon account for a while and was so impressed with his immensely well-researched and in-depth that blended his knowledge of pharmacology with indigenous systems of medicine.In this conversation, we unpack a handful of these protocols that he shares, including a deep dive on all things Magnesium, why so many of us are deficient in it, why you're almost certainly not getting enough and how to dose correctly. Then we dive into his protocol for dealing with OCD and anxiety, the importance of seeing sunrise and sunset daily to set the circadian rhythm and much more.Just a heads up that this episode does get into the weeds with a lot of detail, but if you'd like the summary of Daniel's protocols, I recommend finding his Patreon page linked in the show notes and finding his in-depth resources there.
Today's guest is Erwan Le Corre. Erwan is many things, including the founder of MovNat ~ which is a synthesis of his passion for physical competency with his love of movement in nature. More recently, Erwan also became a US national static breath hold record holder.In this conversation, we talk about what he describes as the challenges of 'Hamster fitness' & movement poverty predicament and some of his ideas for what he describes quite brilliantly as Human Zoo counter-measures. We also dive into (pun not intended) some of the benefits of practising breath-holding, increasing your CO2 tolerance ~ and how he can hold his breath for over 8 minutes.
Chris Sparks is a one-of-a-kind human; he's a retired professional poker pro who was once ranked one of the top 20 players in the world.But in recent years, he has applied himself to coaching and running workshops on decision-making, systems thinking, and peak performance. And as you'll hear in this conversation, he is not only brilliant but also wise. Before we hit record, I said to Chris let's record a masterclass in mindset for staying calm and making good decisions in high-stress environments ~ and he didn't really disappoint.Our conversation ranged from talking about tools he used to stay calm or shift his state during high-stakes poker games and how he eliminated mental distractions in critical moments. He shared some meta-principles that he learnt through poker but applies to life more broadly—as well as how his approach and philosophy around productivity have shifted over the years.I deeply enjoyed this conversation with Chris, and I have a sense that you will too. I'll also mention that Chris has what he calls a 'performance assessment', which I've linked in the show notes ~ that provides a series of excellent questions to reflect on.
Aaron is a pioneering manual therapist and movement coach, founder and creator of the Align Method. I'm currently looking at Aaron's book (The Align Method) & it's one of the books that has most impacted my relationship with not just fitness and movement, but a new philosophy of seeing the world as a playground and the fact that I'm recording this whilst squatting ~ is in part thanks to the wisdom and research that he shares.This is one hell of a fun conversation packed with big ideas and super practical takeaways ~ we range from talking about the value of play and emotional fluidity ~ to post-ejaculatory experiences and a mini-masterclass in how to leverage your physiology & posture to change how you feel.“I believe the way to obtain true, optimal health is through aligning our mind, body, and movement. The fundamentals are simple and I'm here to help.” – Aaron Alexander~~~
It's always fun to have conversations with friends and this one, in particular, has been several years in the making. If you're interested in meditation, breathwork or getting more done with more joy then this episode is a must-listen. Some of the themes we unpack include: what it means to 'expand your awareness', exploring the space and freedom between stimulus + response, what it means practically to 'escape grind mode' and what we both mean when we talk about increasing our sense of 'aliveness'.~~~~~~
In this episode, Edward Dangerfield and I do a deep dive on a new modality of breathwork, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Facilitated Breath Repatterning ~ or FBR for short ~ will be globally recognised in 4-5 years' time and that the research that is beginning here in Bali will go on to make some significant discoveries about the connection between breathing patterns + patterns of behaviour.As you'll hear in this conversation, what I believe is truly unique about this mode of breathwork ~ is that it is both scientific in its approach, involving the practitioner 'reading the breath' of the client, and then making facilitations that often elicit profound shifts. I'll also add that my capacity to hold myself through intense experiences and feel comfortable expressing emotions has been transformed by this work. Since recording the initial conversation with Ed (link) I completed a 400hr training with him and the team here in Bali. But despite having literally hundreds of hours of conversations with him, I learnt so many new things myself from this conversation. ~~~~~~Some of the highlights were:
Paul and I first met 3 years ago at an event in Portland—he had recently left his job in corporate consulting and we bonded over how lost we'd both felt at times.Later that week I gave him a copy of 'The Three Marriages' a book by David Whyte where he talks about the Pathless Path that is required for anyone looking to do or create something original.Fast-forward to today and Paul has just published his first book — Called the Pathless Path — which is his roadmap of sorts for those of us who might have had the boldness to quit the default path & taking an experiment-based approach to figure out how to live well.Some of the themes we dive into are:
This is a really unique episode—Michael King has been a mentor of mine and dear friend for nearly four years now. If it weren't for some of our conversations I'm not sure that Curious Humans would even exist, at least not in the form that it does today.I find some of his perspectives and approaches to meditation and life so refreshing and my goal for this conversation was really to tease out some of the ideas and radical concepts that he has shared with me privately over the years.Some of the questions we explored:
I'm really thrilled to be bringing you this philosophical deep dive with truly I think one of the most radical and thoughtful thinkers of our generation.Dr. Zachary Stein is a co-founder of The Consilience Project—which publishes novel research and explores questions surrounding global risk mitigation and existential threats facing humanity. He is the Academic Director Center for Integral Wisdom and the author of 'Education in a Time Between Worlds' – which I've personally gifted myself to many friends and shifted how I think about the future of schooling.In this conversation, we cover some truly fascinating territory, because of his multi-disciplinary approach Zak has a truly unique perspective on some of the biggest questions of our time.To give you a sense of what to expect in this conversation:
Joe Hudson is many things — he's a Venture Capitalist and renowned executive coach, but beyond that, he is a rare example of someone who in my perspective has accessed some profound truths about the human experience and is putting himself out there into the world helping others to find greater joy and ease in their lives. ***❓ We begin with his perspective on wonder and explore what makes for the capacity to ask transformational questions.
In this episode, I speak with my good Twitter friend Malcolm Ocean. Malcolm is many many things, but first and foremost I consider him to be not only relentlessly curious but also prolific in sharing his practical philosophy mostly through the medium of thoughtful Twitter threads.I predicted that the experience of listening to this conversation might be a little like the feeling of being trapped inside a pinball machine bouncing between unrelated topics... but in fact, what unfolded was a really satisfying dance around parallel threads which centred around our mutual interest of human attention and perception — and how these theories have deep practical value our daily life.Some of the topics we danced around include:❓ The value and art of holding questions, and sitting with deep uncertainty.
Kelly Wilde is an artist, podcaster, performer, meditation mentor and poet who has been exploring the intersections of soul explorations, creative work and rewilding. She also happens to be my wife, and this episode fell on our 18-month anniversary — it's a particularly juicy conversation and easily the most personal conversation that I've aired to date.In this conversation, we dance around a range of personal topics including:
Conni and I have collaborated on a number of projects over the years and we've both followed remarkably similar paths from the world of entrepreneurship into the world of breathwork & nervous system science. In this conversation, Conni starts off by sharing some of her personal journey, her various heartbreaks and compartmentalisation of her sexuality that led her from being a very successful travel writer into being a prolific creator in the world of personal development and ultimately to the work she's doing now as a breath coach. From there we pretty rapidly dive go into the nitty-gritty aspects of breathwork and unpack some of the nervous system neurobiology that we've both been learning... including:
In one of the longest and most wide-ranging episodes to date, this conversation is with filmmaker, poet, relationship coach and utterly unique human being Alice Frank—who is here as she says to proudly "eff the ineffable".Her book 'My Real Name Is You' has been loved by Eckhart Tolle said 'My favourite poem I ever heard' and Jason Mraz who shared: 'Her words are alive the same way notation can fly off a page and become sweet music.'I'm slightly at a loss for words attempting to describe the ground that we covered but I will add that she is one of the most present people I've ever met and has a truly astounding capacity to articulate the great mysteries of life. Here's a sampling of where our conversation led:✨ Her spiritual awakening that lasted for a decade and what her experience was of being no-one (and the challenges of living so deeply in the present)... followed by what she described as her 'breakup with god'.
Max Stossel is an award-winning poet (whose short films have been seen over 40 million times) advisor to Tech for Humanity, successful filmmaker and all-around wise human who I'm grateful to call a brother.In this poetic + lyrical conversation we explore:
This is one HELL of an episode with honestly one of the most interesting and radical thinkers of our generation.Jamie is a renaissance man. He's well known for his work writing Stealing Fire and creating the Flow Genome Project—and as you'll hear in our conversation the book he has just published is unlike anything else you'll ever read.I see Jamie as being a bridge between the spiritual and the scientific. He's pioneering studies with Johns Hopkins and MAPS whilst wading deep into questions of how to we evolve and mature as humans or in his words—how do we "Stay awake. Build stuff. And help out."In this conversation which felt more like a science-fiction rhapsody we bounce around between:
"True Adults and Elders are people who know why they were born, who know who they are as unique individual participants in the web of life, and who, in most everything they do, creatively occupy their distinctive ecological niche as a life-enhancing gift to their people and to the greater Earth community." – Dr Bill Ploktin
"Never let a good calamity go to waste" – Cris Beasley
"There are only four causes of procrastination: Lack of clarity, lack of courage, lack of motivation and lack of energy." –Arthur Worsley
"Good luck isn’t just chance—it can be learned and leveraged." — Dr. Christian Busch