Last Train

In this episode, we discuss talking about a list of philosophical Aphorisms by one of DT's favorite scholars & public intellectuals - Nasime Taleb. https://thelasttrain.fm --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

"Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason." - Wikipedia. This episode, Kadi joins the crew to discuss Stoicism. This episode's Last Stop Question: "Why don't men cry?" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

In this episode, Kadi joins Tobi and Iyanu to discuss a variety of topics from BLM to watching the Miracle of Life video in Biology class in high school. Introductions (00:50). Recap of our conversation with Sonia last episode (02:37). Connecting with Hip Hop, Kanye and Chapelle on a different level as black kids (19:32). Is it our role to be race translators (21:44). Iyanu brings up the role of intent in social interactions (26:00) and Kadi brings up the counter-point of impact (27.43). The Miracle of Life video we all had to watch in high school (38:23). As a man, will you be in the room with your wife as she gives birth? (41:50). Tobi's dad goes on a roller coaster for the first time (01:02:50). Tobi's bear story (01:07:55). Kadi's fear response (01:15:27). Nature stays undefeated (01:24:00). --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

Sonia Orlu is a PhD student in Political Science at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver and author of the MLI commentary: Why I do not support the Black Lives Matter movement. Follow her on instagram @sonia_orlu. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

As an extension of philosophical existentialism or on a more surface level a kind of psychology; we relate to guilt as an extension of a moral obligation of character. However, we don't simply feel guilt solely in arbitrary instances of subjective moral decision making. Rather at its very core; we experience guilt because it's strongly connected to the fundamental condition in which we find ourselves as human beings. In other words, I feel guilty because I am human. And to be human is to have to constantly reflect on the fact that that "one day I am going to die". And because of this fact, we carry the burden of existence. In so which we almost owe it to ourselves to be more productive, love more, say more, live better, all so we can die easier. Guilt is about taking a moment to examine how we stand up next to our own potential for a life where we truly gave it everything we had, and to be ultimately humbled by the excruciating reality that we may die never being able to live up that person. As Ernest Becker says "Guilt results from unused life, from the 'unlived' in us". And it is from this definition that we will build our conversation today. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

We all struggle with being ourselves in some capacity. Why is that? Should we always be ourselves or are there times when it's okay not to? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

In our first post-podcast episode, Julianna tells the crew about a Netflix show she watched - Bling Empire. This episode is filled with spoilers so do not listen if you plan to watch the show and do not like spoilers. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

In this episode we want to examine how a world in which we seem to be faced with endless choices is actually leading to lives full of anxiety and deep uncertainty. I’m sure this anxious place is where a lot of people find themselves in whatever stage they are in life, but what is it exactly about the choices we are confronted with, that is so anxiety provoking? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

In this episode we discuss tradition versus things like change, transition, evolution etc. Tradition is definitely important but when do we decide when to evolve or move on? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

From Nigeria to Surrey, BC and then Yale Law School. How did Temi get there? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

The main idea of this episode is to explore this notion of our fixation on merit as a true indicator of success in our society and if we ought to move to a model that is a little more holistic. A model that pays attention to the role of humility, cultural togetherness and luck in our general lives. This goes a little beyond just finding ways to deal with wage disparity but really trying to reflect on how we define success and the dignity of work in our culture. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

This episode the crew discusses the art of the con artist. They start with the quote of the episode and discuss how we sometimes lie to ourselves (01:30). Magician story (08:30). DT shares a time when he believes he got conned (19:20). Discussion begins on Ponzi schemes (26:00) and it naturally leads to Bernie Madoff (28:00). Iyanu and DT bond over almost being scammed by fake missionaries on Craigslist when house hunting (55:30). Is the same stone cold relentlessness Madoff had an ingredient to making it to the top today? (01:08:45). Closing thoughts: (01:24:15). The Last Stop: This week’s question (01:26:35) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

Sydney Zeller is a Certified Personal Trainer and a Fitness Influencer on Instagram (@sydprogress). She is currently in College studying Sport Science, Physical Education and Coaching as well! She is super passionate about all aspects of health and fitness, and even more passionate about helping others. Her goal is to inspire others to truly live their best life, and feel confident in their own skin. Visit her website: https://www.sydprogress.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

First off, Happy Birthday Tobi! (02:15). This episode we discuss the process of comparing ourselves to others. We start off by defining comparison (03:58). "Comparison is the act of estimating ourselves against others and finding ourselves to be inferior or superior. We not only judge ourselves but also judge others in the process." Why do we compare ourselves to other? (10:30). Do you consider the process the person had to go through? (28:30). Sometimes we compare ourselves to our younger/older self (37:16). Healthy and Unhealthy comparisons: Self Assessment vs Self Enhancement (42:53). Social media's role in social comparison (01:03:02). Helpful tips for proper comparisons (01:22:02). This week's question (01:27:36). Credits Why You Compare Yourself to Other People (And How to Stop) The Baggage Reclaim Sessions Ep. 162 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

The crew discuss some of the woes of adulting, and whether or not the routine of life as we age makes it gradually difficult to derive meaning from the things we find ourselves doing. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

On this episode, the crew put together a spooky halloween themed episode. Shoutout to the amazing intro and outro by Julianna. They start with the opening quote from Joel Rifkin (06:18) and transition to discussing psychopaths and manipulation (11:40). Then story time: Story 1 - Dracula Countess (24:10); Story 2 - Edmund Kemper (29:09); Story 3 - The Giggling Granny (41:20); Story 4 - John Wayne Gacy a.k.a Pogo the Clown (53:47). The crew discusses their fascination with killers (58:52). Iyanu gives a self control analogy (01:01:12). Is there room for an empathy conversation? ( 1:03:20). How do the psychotic fit in society and can that conversation change in the future? (01:06:15). DT talks about a possible way in which Psychopaths can become useful in society (01:10:08). Final Story: Baba Anujka (01:15:17). This episode's question: "What your favourite candy?" (01:26:50) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

Tobi, Iyanu and Julianna start out this episode talking about love (01:10). They go on to discuss the relationship process versus being too focused on the happily ever after (17:27). Tobi brings up a philosophical perspective and discusses Schopenhauer's pessimism (28:45). Do you think people have a problem of expectations? (35:02). Relationship requires some changes and flexibility (46:30). This Episode's Question: Love Languages: What are your top love languages and what love language are you worst at giving? (01:17:30) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

This episode, Tobi, DT and Iyanu start off by discussing Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery Squad a.k.a. SARS and the #EndSARS movement (04:37). They then transition to college/university talk (29:00); Iyanu asks some questions about school and you get to hear the crew's responses. Question #1: In what grade did school become important to you? (31:53) Question #2: Did you ever pull an all-nighter? (43:30) Question #3: What was your most clutch moment in university? (47:45) Question #4: What did you think university would be and what did it turn out to be? (55:15) Question #5: Is there anything you would have changed about your university experience? (1:00:18) Question #6: How much sleep did you get in university? and now? (01:05:06) Follow us on instagram & twitter: @lasttrainpod | Visit our website: thelasttrain.fm | Leave us a voice message at https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

You want an Spooktober episode? You got it. Welcome to our spookiest episode yet! Filled with black cats, witches and superstitions you probably didn't know about. In this episode, Iyanu, Julianna, and Tobi discuss superstitions. They begin with personal thoughts on the topic (02:05) from Bloody Mary to stepping on cracks on the sidewalk and much more. How did we become superstitious? (13:16). Julianna tells us about her halloweens growing up (21:10). Some superstitions have a religious origin or others have a practical one to guide people's choices. In discussing superstitions with religious origins (25:18), the topic of witches and black cats come up (31:10). Julianna can't believe people think witches can turn into cats so Iyanu shares some black cat witch stories (47:35). Superstitions that do not have religious origins (55:32). 57 minutes into the podcast, a technical difficulty leaves the crew freaked out after just talking about witches for so long.. (57:09). We decided to leave in our reaction including Tobi's plea to witches (58:45). Superstitions that do not have religious origins continued (01:00:07). Superstitions can become phobias (01:06:55). Today's question: What rich person would you want to hang out with for a day? (01:19:25). Follow us on instagram: @lasttrainpod | Visit our website: thelasttrain.fm | Leave us a voice message at https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message Fun Facts The fear of number 13 is called Triskaidekaphobia. The fear of Friday the 13th is referred to as Paraskevidekatriaphobia, also known as Friggatriskaidekaphobia. The fear of eternity is referred to as Apeirophobia. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

The crew explores whether this age old idea of being innocent until proven guilty, which is probably the grounding principle in which we all want to relate to the law, is challenged by the way social media is being mobilized around issues like #metoo. For better or worse, is trial by media an effective way to empower a legal system that is at times arbitrary and slow to respond to serious issues of assault? Furthermore, if not by social media lynching, can more traditional forms of media "justice" seriously damage the lives of the innocent before they are even formally accused of anything? Some Time Markers: Reaction to the First Presidential Debate Of 2020 U.S. Election (02:24) Today’s topic (19:23) Trial by Media (25:00) Dave Chapelle’s analogy (42:19) Identity Reparative Reconstruction (54:27) Final remarks (1:24:46) Today’s question (1:27:33) Iyanu asks the listeners for help (1:37:40) Music: Hanto - "La Saison des Loups" Boom Bap Miles Ahead - Lounge Jazz | Vodovoz Music Productions --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

The crew discusses some of the scientific theories behind "tripping out" and also talk about the ways in which current forms of drug restriction policies are in fact censoring research and could be potentially damaging to patients with issues of mental health. They start off discussing the brain (04:20). Why are these drugs banned? (16:30). Julianna makes a brilliant statement that resonates with the crew (20:10). Tobi discusses David Nutt, the neuropsychopharmacologist (36:40). The crew try to remember their earliest memories (43:20). Iyanu talks about a psychedelic study mentioned in Rick Doblin's "The future of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy" Ted Talk (49:40). This episode, as always, ends with a question (1:00:20). For any feedback or questions, email us at hello@thelasttrain.fm --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

At first glance, beauty seems to be a central guiding principle in our lives, a way in which we define our aesthetic experience with each other and the universe. It’s very much something thats brings people and communities together from things like dances and festivals of colors, to introspective films about the humans conditions and exhibitions of nature But in an era where beauty is extremely commodified and perhaps economically manipulated, it begs the question of if we need to alter our notion of beauty or even doubt if beauty as we once understood it is on its way out. That is why we’ve decided to call this episode “Beauty is dead?” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

I believe it was Oliver Sacks that once said that we live much of our childhoods in an arcadian state, and thus we spend the rest of our lives trying to recapture that state; even if it did not exist in the first place. And what a fitting tone to start an advanced conversation on the blissful ignorance we are at times seem to be searching for. However, perhaps going beyond just an arbitrary need from a break from adulthood once in a while, Margret Herfernan’s theory of Willful Blindness represents a more elevated culture of ethical and social avoidance that not only causes us to voluntarily see less of the world as it truly is but also robs us of our own agency and creative and imaginative capacity to live a more free life. Thus this episode is called “Freedom and the Blissfully Ignorant” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

There is a common notion that it is quite possible to be in a room otherwise filled with people yet still feel quite alone. And given the state of the world, and the increasing need for physical distancing from one another, it brings about a serious fear of an emergence of a kind of social rescission. However, even if many people find themselves struggling to deal with loneliness especially in these times, perhaps it's an even bigger opportunity to learn some things about who we are within our isolation; and maybe come to find out that we are in fact never truly alone. Thus this episode is titled “Loneliness and the Social Recession” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

Perhaps one of the oddest feelings in this human life is that awkward feeling of familiarity when you’re in a seemingly new environment or place yet you feel as if you’re reliving a past experience. In other words there is this chilling sense as if you’ve seen this all before. Sort of like watching a movie you’ve sworn you've seen before. There is a word for that in our culture and that is the french term “Deja Vu” which means already seen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

After Obama was elected, people often affirmed that America was entering a “post race” era, but maybe this only a superficial understanding of the political climate. Maybe we are entering a new era of racial understanding; one that is characterized by the existence of a “post race” era but rather one based on the myth of a “post race” era. Michel Foucault often said that we should understand society as it relates to various rotating seats of power and how power structures can be used as a form of social control through social institutions. Power is everywhere and in everything. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

Andrea A Davis, an associate professor in the humanities department at York University, once said that the sheer belief in the fundamentals of a democratic and multicultural society makes people somewhat able to accept the fact that racism is not just still largely the act of a few morally flawed individuals and that its not ubiquitous. But it's perhaps it more important for people to accept that racism isn't just manifested through hate, but through things like apathy, silence, ignorance, and a refusal to challenge one's self to understand the reality of the racial other. Michel Foucault often said that we should understand society as it relates to various rotating seats of power and how power structures can be used as a form of social control through social institutions. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

In our struggle against the human condition the biggest question we find ourselves confronting is how to deal with the trauma of existing, but furthermore how to come to terms with who we are and in turn become masters of our own reality. Does Wild n Out make you feel somehow connected to your blackness? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

The Black Lives Movement is an ideal that stretches farther than its original organizers could have ever imagined as it challenges the majority within society (who do not experience racism as a part of their reality) to confront their privilege and its image as its contextualized within history and modern-day societal prejudice. It's about finding a way to take control and I also argue coping with Alienation. Certain provinces pose a strange threat to Indigenous child care reform programs. What was your best date memory, and describe your perfect date? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

Apologies for the terrible audio. Certain mayors in the United States are fighting for guaranteed income for struggling Americans with no strings attached and furthermore they are advocating for these types of wage supplement policies nationwide. This was founded by the mayor of Stockton, California Micheal Tubbs, and includes the leaders of other cities such as Tacoma, Compton, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Newark and so on. Trump attempts to push millions of Americans off Obamacare in the middle of the global health crisis. How have you embarrassed yourself in front of a crush, and what would you tell your past self now? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message

Trump wants to put people in prison for upwards of 10 years for the destruction and general vandalism of statues, monuments and structures commemorating the service of persons in the armed forces. To reiterate the significance of the veterans memorial preservation act put forward by the US congress in 2003 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lasttrainpod/message