Podcasts about Humanism

Gene Simmons joins Andrew Gold for a completely unfiltered Heretics interview about KISS, celebrity politics, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Israel, fame, sex, money—and the first 29 years of his relationship with Shannon Tweed, which he now sees very differently. The KISS co-founder and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer explains why he believes the public should ignore political advice from entertainers—including himself. He takes aim at celebrity activism, discusses Kylie Jenner, Javier Bardem, Bruce Springsteen and Billie Eilish, reveals why he abandoned the Democratic Party, and warns that Los Angeles and New York are in deep trouble. But the most revealing moments are personal. Gene discusses being abandoned by his father, the terrifying childhood night that taught him to rely on himself, his extraordinary self-belief and why he says fame gave him permission to behave in ways an ordinary man never could. He also addresses the stories about 4,800 women, admits how his behaviour affected Shannon and their children, and responds directly to an explosive accusation involving his late KISS bandmate Ace Frehley. Along the way: Donald Trump, Mike Tyson, Margaret Thatcher, antisemitism, Israel, Islam, capitalism, the nuclear family, Gene's infamous tongue—and how KISS became “Disney without the overhead,” selling everything from condoms to caskets. This is Gene Simmons as few interviews capture him: funny, combative, candid and completely unfiltered. Subscribe to Heretics for more fearless, long-form conversations with the world's most fascinating people. CHAPTERS 0:00 Gene Simmons Arrives—and Asks Why We're in “the Ghetto” 2:20 “Ignore Celebrities”: Kylie Jenner & Javier Bardem 6:34 His Father Abandoned Him: The Poverty That Shaped Gene 10:56 Donald Trump, Democracy & Britain's “Flawed” System 15:09 Why Gene Abandoned the Democrats—LA & New York in Trouble 19:22 Trans Politics, the Nuclear Family & Why Musicians Should Shut Up 23:31 Billie Eilish's “Stolen Land” Claim—Then Religion Gets Explosive 29:07 Hollywood's Israel Problem & 6,000 Years of Antisemitism 33:35 Judaism, Humanism & Why Gene Simmons Loves Himself 37:15 The Childhood Night That Changed Him—and Mike Tyson's Secret 41:31 “Stop Complaining”: Gene's Brutal Formula for Success 46:25 The Infamous Tongue, 4,800 Women & Sex Addiction 52:02 “Didn't It Hurt Shannon?”—His 29-Year Reckoning 57:16 Gene Simmons Answers Ace Frehley's Explosive Accusation 1:01:43 Armie Hammer, Islam, Extremism & Britain's Grooming Gangs 1:05:39 Jesus, Galileo & the Heretics Gene Simmons Admires #GeneSimmons #KISS #Heretics #AndrewGold #RockAndRoll Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many "life hacks" are presented...by hacks? On July 11th, Seth Andrews gave this speech at the Anderson Center in Cincinnati.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

What topic interests you? Leave me a voicemail. A meaningful life may be built on a quieter, more teachable state called the High Plateau Experience. This episode will address transcendence, including spirituality, psychology, meditation, and simply living with more awe and purpose.  Dr. Alexandra unpacks Abraham Maslow's original ideas about peak experiences, then moves into the lesser-known concept he explored near the end of his life - a more constant, serene way of perceiving the world as miraculous. Along the way, she shares the story of Maslow's own nighttime “peak experience,” the paper he chose not to present, and the profound shift in perspective that came after his confrontation with mortality.You'll discover:Why Maslow believed peak experiences are real, but shouldn't be pursued like a thrill rideHow self-transcendence in Paul Wong's model includes beauty, present-moment awareness, and service to othersWhat Maslow meant by “witnessing the world” and why he said we could “hold classes in the miraculous”The difference between a climactic peak experience and the steadier High Plateau ExperienceWhy joy, sadness, awe, and mortality can all coexist in the same momentHow meditation, spiritual practice, and meditative listening are linked to less anxiety, more meaning, and greater connectednessDr. Alexandra also brings in research and modern evidence, including studies on Lectio Divina, Dan Tomasulo's work (https://dantomasulo.com), and a 2021 Frontiers in Psychology paper on self-transcendence and adolescent mental health.  The result is a thoughtful, practical episode that connects Maslow's theory to real-life practices you can actually use. This is essential listening for those seeking grounded transcendence that doesn't depend on chasing extraordinary moments, but on learning how to live with openness, wonder, and purpose in ordinary life.Timestamps00:00 - This episode is dedicated to internationalforgiveness.com and Maslow's higher love 00:32 - What the high plateau experience is and how it differs from peak experiences 01:27 - Peak experiences as unforced moments of human transcendence 02:24 - Maslow's own peak experience before his memorial lecture 03:21 - Why Maslow chose the academic paper instead of his personal experience 03:50 - The impact of peak experiences on self-acceptance and openness 04:56 - Why Maslow warned against chasing peak experiences for their own sake 05:26 - The bodhisattva ideal and helping others after awakening 06:20 - Paul Wong's three levels of self-transcendence 07:12 - How Dr. Stanley Krippner helped preserve Maslow's final talk 08:47 - Maslow's shift into a more constant, mythic way of seeing 09:44 - Why the high plateau was more voluntary and teachable 10:49 - The plateau as witnessing the symbolic and miraculous in ordinary life 12:14 - Maslow's Brandeis vision of an eternal academic procession 13:54 - How the plateau compresses time, memory, and meaning 15:20 - The paradox of permanence, mortality, joy, and sadness 16:28 - Why we do not need to wait for peak experiences to live meaningfully 17:27 - Research on meditative listening, meaning, and well-being 18:34 - Dr. Dan Tomasulo's insights on spiritual practice and brain quieting 19:38 - Lisa Miller's MRI research on the spiritual brain 20:15 - A 2021 study on self-transcendence and adolescent mental health 21:40 - Closing reflections Notable quotes“Achieving the mystic's sense of cosmic unity can be tremendously uplifting, but such a state must always be balanced by action in the daily world.”Support the showThis show was created with love.  The following are seven ways you can support and encourage my efforts to create new content, from easiest to hardest: Press “follow” on the podcastPress “follow” on YouTube @alexandramillerclarkShare a helpful podcast episode with a friend Share a helpful YouTube episode with a friendLeave the podcast a rating on iTunesLeave the YouTube a rating on iTunesBuy me a coffee:  buymeacoffee.com/dralexandra

Host Darius Mirshahzadeh sits down with philosopher, author, and cultural thinker Dr. Marc Gafni for a wide-ranging conversation that is equal parts philosophical deep-dive and urgent call to action. Dr. Gafni, whose work spans Oxford-trained philosophy, mystical traditions, evolutionary theory, and cutting-edge science, makes the case that humanity is at a critical inflection point, facing what he calls the "metacrisis": a convergence of existential threats that cannot be solved by fixing infrastructure or social structures alone. The only real solution, he argues, is changing the story of value from which we generate reality itself. Drawing on his landmark book “First Principles and First Values,” Dr. Gafni unpacks why value is not a human invention but a fundamental property of the cosmos, and why reclaiming that understanding is the most important rebellion of our time. In this episode, Darius and Dr. Marc will discuss: (00:00) Introduction to Dr. Marc Gafni (12:14) Exploring First Values and Their Importance (23:57) The Role of Ego in Human Experience (47:58) Vision for a Humane Future (01:02:04) Closing Thoughts and Call to Action Dr. Marc Gafni is a visionary philosopher, social activist, and author whose work explores consciousness, human development, and evolutionary thought. He is the creator of influential frameworks such as Unique Self theory, the Five Selves, and CosmoErotic Humanism, and the author of more than 25 books, including the award-winning Your Unique Self: The Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment. His recent work includes Whole Mate, Evolution of Love from Quarks to Culture, and the First Principles and First Values series, co-authored under the pseudonym David J. Temple with Zak Stein and Ken Wilber, advancing a new philosophy for addressing the global meta-crisis and the future of humanity. Connect with Dr. Marc Global community: www.whowemustbecome.com    Download Chapter 1-5 of First Principles & First Values: https://worldphilosophyandreligion.org/free-download-chapter-1-5-of-first-principles-and-first-values  First Principles and First Values (book): https://www.amazon.com/First-Principles-Values-Propositions-CosmoErotic/dp/B0DZP633BB  Connect with Darius: Website: https://therealdarius.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imthedarius/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thegreatnessmachine  Book: The Core Value Equation https://www.amazon.com/Core-Value-Equation-Framework-Limitless/dp/1544506708 Write a review for The Greatness Machine using this link: https://ratethispodcast.com/spreadinggreatness. 

"Education shouldn't be about telling young people what to think. It should be telling them how they can think." — Sharon Booth How do you hold an honest conversation about one of the world's most divisive conflicts, in a school classroom, without it descending into a shouting match? This episode looks at peace education: the skills, the psychology and the facilitation that let people disagree deeply while still recognising each other's humanity. Our guest is Sharon Booth, founder and executive director of Solutions Not Sides (SNS), an educational charity that brings young Palestinian and Israeli peacebuilders into UK schools to share their stories and equip students to think for themselves. Sharon moderated the acclaimed "No Hope But Peace" dialogue at the Festival of Humanism in Bournemouth. In this conversation we cover: The SNS "PEACE" model and the three E's (exploration, empathy, empowerment), and why dialogue alone can do harm if it doesn't lead to change How social media and the "age of outrage" made people less willing to participate, and what Haidt's elephant and rider teaches us about why Creating "safe and brave" spaces, defusing in-group / out-group thinking, and the role Sharon believes humanists should play in peacebuilding Links: Solutions Not Sides: https://www.solutionsnotsides.co.uk No Hope But Peace (our earlier episode with Yaniv Aknin and Jasr Kawkby): https://humanismnow.buzzsprout.com Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: https://righteousmind.com Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: Sharon Booth and Solutions Not Sides 02:02 Founding SNS and what peace education means 04:15 The three E's: exploration, empathy, empowerment 06:09 A more divided society: social media, COVID and outrage 08:53 The PEACE model, step by step 15:24 What young people teach us, and Haidt's elephant and rider 19:20 Creating safe and brave spaces 23:15 The Bournemouth dialogue and facilitating hard questions 28:31 Two stories from the classroom 34:53 Religion, nationalism and internal transformation 39:13 What role should humanists play in peacebuilding? 44:25 How to book or support SNS 45:29 Closing question: leaving evangelical Christianity Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe. Contact us to get starting in podcasting today at humanise.live or hello@humanise.live Music: Blossom by Light Prism Podcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible, but should not be considered a fully accurate record of the conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago, James Hodgson of the Humanism Now podcast invited Seth Andrews for a chat. It was an enjoyable conversation about doing the right things "for goodness' sake."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

Eric Beinhocker is a professor at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government and the founder and executive director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School (INET Oxford), a research center dedicated to applying innovative economics to major societal challenges. He is also Chairman of the Science Board at the Santa Fe Institute. Prior to his academic career, Beinhocker spent three decades as a technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies. He is the author of The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What It Means for Business and Society.  The Collapse of Neoliberalism The "Market Humanism" Synthesis From Homoeconomicus to Homo Sapiens Markets as Evolutionary Engines Value as Problem-Solving The Structural Reality of Inequality "Middle-Out" vs. "Trickle-Down" Growth The State as a Market Shaper Macrocosm: Modelling the Economy with AI Human Skills in the Age of AI 

On July 11th, 2026, two activists took the stage for 2.5 hours of humor and humanism. The full house had a great time, and you will as well.VIDEOBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

Humanism and The Sovereignty of God

Stewart Alsop sits down with Matias Avalos on this episode of the Wisdom podcast to explore the intersection of technology, humanism, and creative sovereignty. The conversation moves from Matias's work with neural network-based audio plugins and effect chains to broader questions about corporate transhumanism, data ownership, and what it means to maintain human agency in an increasingly automated world. They discuss the dangers of convenience-driven technological adoption, the implications of companies like Palantir and Neuralink, and how bureaucratic incentives push toward total legibility while protecting their own opacity. Along the way, they touch on everything from IMAX audio production and the death of walkable cities to Instagram's transformation from visual diary to data extraction platform, ultimately arguing for local, open-source, and sovereign approaches to technology that keep humans in the loop rather than replacing them with "average fabrics" of algorithmic output. Find Matias Avalos on LinkedIn for more techno-poetic discussions.Timestamps00:00 Stewart welcomes Matias Avalos to discuss their friendship and upcoming conversation topics.05:00 Matias explains audio effect chains using neural networks to capture professional recording room signatures and create portable high-fidelity sound processing.10:00 Discussion of piezoelectric microphones converting sound vibrations to electrical signals and CIA experiments using lasers to capture audio from glass surfaces.15:00 Conversation shifts to digital audio recording, sampling rates, and the importance of source material quality for post-production work.20:00 Stewart shares his journey building web conferencing software to replace Riverside, encountering lip-sync problems and learning about FFMPEG processing.25:00 Matias discusses corporate transhumanism, Neuralink's implications, and how brain interfaces could enable continuous taste mining beyond medical applications.30:00 Analysis of corporate transhumanism through companies like Neuralink, discussing private decision-making, lack of transparency, and various transhumanist philosophies globally.35:00 Matias reads poetry about digital replicas and data generation, exploring how wearable devices continuously capture human activity creating targetable information streams.40:00 Discussion of Peter Thiel's shift from libertarianism to neoconservatism, Palantir's origins in Total Information Awareness program, and Buenos Aires as humanist sanctuary.45:00 Examination of American convenience culture, post-WWII suburban isolation, and Buenos Aires as walkable humanist alternative to car-dependent American cities.50:00 Matias presents Neil Harbison as positive transhumanism example, explaining color-to-vibration synesthesia implant while discussing techno-optimism from Global South perspective.55:00 Conversation explores bureaucratic incentives toward population legibility, compelled silence laws, and sovereignty through open-source local technology ownership avoiding corporate control.60:00 Matias concludes discussing digital identity ownership, social network portability, and how digital twins determine human worth across platforms and borders.Key Insights1. Modern digital audio processing technologies represent a fundamentally different approach to music and sound production compared to generative AI tools. Matias Avalos distinguishes between technologies like Neural DSP's Mantra plugin, which uses deep neural networks to capture and emulate professional recording environments, and generative platforms like Suno. The key difference is that traditional digital signal processing tools put the creator in control, allowing them to make artistic decisions using expensive effect chains that would otherwise only be available in elite studios like Abbey Road. These technologies democratize access to professional audio tools without removing human agency from the creative process, whereas generative AI tools operate as black boxes that produce outputs based on prompts rather than allowing genuine creative control.2. The capture and preservation of source material remains critically important in audio and video production, despite advances in post-production capabilities. Through his experience building a web conferencing application to replace Riverside.fm, Alsop learned that many technical problems, particularly lip-sync issues, stemmed from poor source file management and recording methodology. This principle extends across all media production, as Avalos explains using the example of missing lighting in professional photography. While modern generative AI might attempt to invent missing elements, the results cannot match properly captured source material. This highlights a fundamental tension in contemporary media production where the quality triangle of cheap, good, and fast has been disrupted by AI technologies that can deliver all three if we lower our standards for what constitutes good work.3. Corporate transhumanism represents a particular and concerning subset of transhumanist philosophy that differs significantly from earlier artistic and philosophical approaches to human enhancement. While early transhumanists like Neil Harbison, a color-blind artist who implanted a device to translate color frequencies into vibrations, pursued personal enhancement and expanded human experience, corporate transhumanism as practiced by companies like Neuralink focuses on technological integration with significant profit motives and control mechanisms. The discussion highlights how these corporate approaches position themselves as solving medical and cognitive problems while simultaneously creating dependency through terms of service, data mining, and token-based economic models. This represents a Trojan horse where the promise of enhanced capability masks the establishment of new forms of control and surveillance of human consciousness itself.4. The concept of legibility as a bureaucratic end goal rather than a means to an end explains much of the surveillance apparatus that has developed in Western societies, particularly in the United States since 9/11. Alsop describes how those in positions of power, wealth, and fame have a structural incentive to make everything around them legible and controllable while maintaining their own privacy and illegibility to external observation. This dynamic manifests in technologies like Palantir and in legal mechanisms like compelled silence through gag orders, which directly contradict constitutional principles of free speech. The drive for total legibility of populations appears to have no ultimate purpose beyond the accumulation of legibility itself, creating a recursive loop where surveillance and data collection become self-justifying activities that serve power structures rather than the populations they ostensibly protect.5. Human beings continuously generate enormous streams of metadata through their daily activities, creating what Avalos describes as evaporating against our own will into hundreds of RSS feeds for hundreds of corporations. This automatic data production occurs through basic activities like waking up, moving through space with smartphones and wearable devices, and interacting with digital platforms. The fundamental question that predates transhumanism but becomes more urgent within it is how individuals can own what they produce simply by existing and moving through the world. This data is captured through accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS systems, and countless other sensors that create comprehensive digital profiles without explicit consent or meaningful control by the individuals being monitored. The unilateral nature of this communication, where individuals broadcast data without receiving genuine value in return, has become so deeply embedded in modern infrastructure that it forms part of the taken-for-granted landscape of contemporary life.6. Platform lock-in and the inability to migrate digital identity across services creates a new category of loss that requires genuine grieving. Avalos describes how his experience with Instagram, which began as a personal visual diary before the Facebook acquisition, evolved into a situation where he cannot extract his creative work and social connections from the platform without significant loss. This phenomenon extends beyond mere inconvenience to touch on fundamental questions of identity and citizenship, as social media profiles increasingly determine real-world opportunities like visa applications and border crossings. The implications of digital footprints have become severe enough that individuals can be denied entry to countries based on algorithmic analysis of their online interactions, likes, and expressed beliefs. This creates a situation where people are worth exactly what their digital twin indicates they are worth, with no meaningful avenue for human appeal or nuanced self-representation.7. The future relationship between humans and technology requires a return to principles of sovereignty, local control, and open source development rather than dependence on corporate platforms and proprietary systems. Both Alsop and Avalos advocate for a do-it-yourself approach to technology that emphasizes ownership and control over personal tools and data. This includes avoiding closed systems like Neuralink unless they become open source and user-controlled, and prioritizing local execution of AI models over cloud-based services that create dependencies and enable surveillance. The conversation suggests that techno-optimism remains possible, but only from what Avalos calls the trenches, acknowledging the different relationship that people in the Global South and those outside centers of power have with technology. This grounded optimism recognizes the entanglement of beneficial and harmful aspects of technological development and maintains that human agency and creative freedom require conscious resistance to the convenience-at-all-costs model that has characterized recent technological adoption.

In this podcast we will be talking about 6 Ways To Live Authentically from the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. Jean-Paul Sartre. Jean-Paul Sartre was a 20th-century French philosopher who defined authenticity as the terrifying realization that you are completely free and responsible for your own choices.  So here are 6 Ways To Live Authentically  from the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre - 01. Existence Precedes Essence02. Stop Playing a Character03.  Accept Your Reality 04. Stop Trying to Control How People See You05. Embrace the Vertigo of Total Freedom06. ActWe hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast and hope this podcast, from the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, helps you live authentically. Jean-Paul Sartre was a French playwright, screenwriter, political activist, literary critic, and one of the leading philosophers who followed the philosophy of Existentialism: the philosophy that says that humans are born a blank slate and are free to determine their own identity, behavior and goals. Sartre was born in Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century and when he was around sixty years old, he was awarded the1964 Nobel Prize in Literature. He however refused the prize, claiming that “a writer should never allow himself to become an institution.” Sartre wrote many fictional and non-fictional books, essays and gave lectures on Existentialism. Some of his noted works are: Nausea, Being and Nothingness, Existentialism is a Humanism, and No Exit. 

In this episode of Crazy Wisdom, Stewart Alsop sits down with Javier Rolandi, who works in investor relations and communications, for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from the SpaceX IPO and the trust people place in Elon Musk to Javier's own path through electronics, literature, and linguistics in Argentina. They talk about science fiction as a lens on the present, arguing over Borges versus Cortázar and touching on Philip K. Dick, before turning to Stewart's treasure hunt project and what it means for adults to reclaim a sense of play. The back half of the episode gets into bigger cultural territory: the Peter Pan syndrome as it shows up in Buenos Aires and Silicon Valley, the demographic crisis and why people are hesitant to commit to marriage or kids, the immigrant roots of Argentina's tight-knit communities, and a closing debate about solarpunk versus cyberpunk futures and whether religion still has a role to play in building a more human-centered utopia.Timestamps00:00 – Opening dive into the SpaceX IPO and why people place so much trust in Elon Musk's competence. 05:00 – Javi traces his non-linear path into technology, from electronics school to a lifelong love of science fiction. 10:00 – A close look at Borges, his puzzle-like short stories, and layered literary references. 15:00 – Javi picks Cortázar as his favorite, then Stewart demos his treasure hunt game idea. 20:00 – More treasure hunt details, plus the pelotudo/al pedo language game. 25:00 – Javi's fading interest in building electronics and why adult play still matters. 30:00 – The Peter Pan syndrome, Buenos Aires neighborhoods, and staying stuck in teenage behavior. 35:00 – The demographic crisis, Peter Thiel's arrival, and commitment to marriage and kids. 40:00 – How the internet reshapes connection beyond borders and nations. 45:00 – Solarpunk vs. cyberpunk and Argentina's potential as a utopian model. 50:00 – Argentina's immigrant roots, tribal bonding, and ethnic clubs in Buenos Aires. 55:00 – Closing thoughts on religion, ecumenism, and staying optimistic about humanity.Key InsightsTrust in visionary founders like Elon Musk isn't really about understanding the technical details of something like SpaceX—it's about faith in a person's competence to pull off things that would sound crazy coming from anyone else.Javier's relationship with technology has always been non-linear: an early fascination with electronics gave way to literature and linguistics, and only later did a startup career pull him back toward tech, showing that curiosity doesn't have to follow a straight professional line.Science fiction endures because it's never really about the future—it's a way of examining the decisions being made today and how they'll ripple outward, which is why Javier finds himself circling back to present-day questions after every story or film.Reclaiming play as an adult, whether through treasure hunts or simply being unembarrassed in public, isn't regression—it's a deliberate rebellion against the idea that growing up means becoming serious and losing creativity.The demographic shift away from marriage and kids may be less about capability and more about marketing: people who look unhappy while promoting commitment aren't going to convince anyone that the traditional path is worth choosing.Argentina's strong culture of community and friendship traces back to waves of immigrants who had to lean on each other to survive, a tribal instinct that still shapes how people bond in Buenos Aires today.The tension between solarpunk and cyberpunk visions of the future comes down to whether technology serves human connection or overshadows it, and Javier argues Argentina—with its resources and family-oriented culture—is well positioned to lean toward the more hopeful, human-centered version.

On this episode of The Urban Perspective I respond to Kristian Smith's reasons for not engaging Christian apologist and his spiritual humanism. Be sure to support The Urban Perspective here:paypal.me/jeromegayjrRegister for The Urban Reformation Conference at visionrdu.com/URCGet resources and more content here:jeromegayjr.com/store Please be sure to like, share, and subscribe to The Urban Perspective!

Send us Fan MailThe full text of this podcast with all the links mentioned in it can be found in the transcript of this edition, or at the following link:https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2026/07/looking-closely-overlooked-word-in.htmlPlease feel free to post any comments you have about this episode there.Opening Music, "New Heaven", written by Andrew J. Brown and played by Chris Ingham (piano), Paul Higgs (trumpet), Russ Morgan (drums) and Andrew J. Brown (double bass) Thanks for listening. Just a reminder that the texts of all these podcasts are available on my blog. You'll also find there a brief biography, info about my career as a musician, & some photography. Feel free to drop by & say hello. Email: caute.brown[at]gmail.com

Seth's monologue deals with subjects both light and heavy. Plus plenty of listener calls in this longer-length episode.VIDEOBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

SPONSORS: 1) SUPERPOWER: Head to Superpower.com and use code JULIAN at checkout for $20 off your membership. Unlock your new health intelligence. 100+ biomarkers. Every year. Detect early signs of 1,000+ conditions. #superpowerpod JOIN PATREON FOR EARLY UNCENSORED EPISODE RELEASES: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey CLIPPERS DISCORD: https://discord.gg/8QmWEKJ3BT (***TIMESTAMPS in Description Below) ~ Henry William Brands Jr. (H.W. Brands) is an American historian. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD in history in 1985. He has authored over 40 books U.S. history. His works have twice been selected as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. BRANDS'S LINKS: - NEW WASHINGTON BOOK: https://a.co/d/0hT1qvYk - ALL HW's BOOKS: https://shorturl.at/xmgCc - SUBSTACK: ​​https://substack.com/@hwbrands - X: https://x.com/hwbrands?lang=en FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/ INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 0:00 - HW's insane writing, history & digital preservation 9:03 - Ben Franklin & lost history 20:58 - Franklin in Paris, The Polymath 29:38 - Young Franklin's apprenticeship & upward mobility 40:24 - Franklin flees Boston for open-minded Philly 50:11 - Why Revolution Succeeded, Franklin's early career 1:02:09 - Franklin lives in London, Odd Marriage & Businesses 1:15:35 - Measuring Gulf Stream, Seeing future of Colonies Early 1:22:41 - Franklin & London Politics 1:32:12 - The Freemasons 1:36:41 - Franklin's religious beliefs, Humanism & Evidence 1:40:47 - HW's decision to write about George Washington 1:49:40 - HW's "6 Volume History of the USA" Biographies, FDR, Nixon 2:01:26 - Avoiding Moral Judgement as Historian 2:15:15 - Slavery & Judging Figures "in their time," Washington's Secrets to Success 2:20:17 - America at 250, Washington's childhood, Early Military Career 2:31:24 - War, human nature & complex history 2:41:21 - Washington's British Army Career Ends, Farming & Slavery 2:53:52 - Constitutional Convention, Stamp Act, WW3 3:04:50 - How Washington became Continental General 3:13:45 - The fragile, ongoing American experiment 3:17:45 - HW's Work CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 443 - H.W. Brands Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop sits down with his longtime friend Zach Puchtel, author of the book Coming In (available on Amazon and at zachpuchtel.com). The two dive into a wide-ranging conversation about the collapse of institutions, the rise of transhumanism, AI's growing influence on society, and what it means to maintain inner peace in an increasingly controlled world. Drawing on their shared experience surviving what Stewart describes as "a somewhat traumatic event" in 2021-2022, they explore everything from the vaccine rollout and corporate power to neural implants, consciousness, and the future of human autonomy. Zach shares insights on meditation, the dangers of centralized AI systems like Anthropic and OpenAI, and why he believes true change starts with the individual rather than fighting external systems. You can find Zach's book at zachpuchtel.com or Amazon, and check out his improvisational music projects at the same website.Timestamps00:00 Stewart welcomes Zach Puchtel to discuss his book and their shared traumatic experience from 2021-22, questioning whether institutions have collapsed and new creation opportunities exist.05:00 Zach emphasizes meditation and listening as core practices, discussing how to protect divine connection while expanding compassion for everyone, including those who irritate us.10:00 Discussion of transhumanism definitions, exploring what happens when technology enters the brain without ability to remove it, and how convenience masks long-term control concerns.15:00 The vaccine experience as parallel to transhumanism, discussing informed consent, elite responses, and how PhD graduates and homeless populations showed most vaccine hesitancy.20:00 Vibe coding explained as prompting AI to build applications, with Zach sharing how AI created profound philosophical text in seconds that took him seven years to write manually.25:00 Stewart describes trust developing with AI but warns about Anthropic's gaslighting during server quality issues, drawing parallels to pandemic deception and corporate control concerns.30:00 Exploring whether anyone controls AI development, discussing how corporate structures use freed slave rights and questioning if healed people would even want control over others.35:00 Two AI futures presented: terminator scenario where humanity gets eliminated in seconds, or benevolent AI that reallocates resources and values human life beyond programming limitations.40:00 Discussion of SpaceX IPO, Starlink centralization enabling one person to control global internet access, and mesh networks as decentralized alternatives for maintaining communications independence.45:00 Corporate power corruption examined through Bill Gates, Palantir classified systems, and how AI could solve resource problems if priorities actually served humanity rather than consolidating elite control.50:00 Market manipulation through AI trading and Zcash pump-and-dump schemes, discussing societal squeeze on middle class and American dream becoming increasingly unreachable for average people.55:00 Closing on ignoring what you hate to avoid feeding it energy, choosing peace over opinions about local violence, and focusing on meditation, art, and spreading calm vibrations.Key Insights1. Societal institutions are collapsing after a decade of shallow social proof dominance in the twenty tens, creating an opportunity to build new systems that genuinely serve communities and humanity rather than operating through dominance, control, and violence. The increase in technology and communication has raised collective awareness to a point where meaningful change feels more possible than ever, though the path forward remains uncertain and requires deep individual work and meditation to maintain connection to source and divine purpose.2. Transhumanism represents the integration of technology into human biology beyond the point of voluntary removal, particularly through brain chip implants that affect cognition without ability to turn them off. While medical applications for paralyzed individuals seem beneficial, the technology will first be adopted by the ultra wealthy seeking competitive advantages, creating dangerous inequality between augmented and natural humans. This mirrors the vaccine rollout pattern where wealth and power determined early access, potentially leading to a divided society between transhuman and human populations.3. Large language models and AI coding tools have created unprecedented accessibility to software development through natural language interaction, resembling communication with highly intelligent but differently wired individuals. This democratization allows non programmers to build complex applications through vibe coding, though the companies controlling these systems like Anthropic and OpenAI maintain private ownership of the intellectual property and infrastructure, creating dangerous dependencies and trust relationships between users and centralized corporate entities.4. The partnership between Anthropic and Palantir for classified military systems represents a troubling convergence of artificial intelligence and government power, demonstrating how AI companies publicly claim to serve humanity while privately engaging in defense applications. When Anthropic experienced server quality degradation after media attention from this partnership, they gaslit users about the declining performance, mirroring pandemic era institutional dishonesty and revealing the fundamental unreliability of depending on private companies for critical technological infrastructure.5. Internet infrastructure is becoming increasingly centralized through Starlink satellite technology, which despite appearing liberating actually concentrates control in fewer hands than traditional internet service providers. One person now has the ability to unilaterally shut off internet access to entire countries as demonstrated with Russia during the Ukraine conflict, while decentralized alternatives like mesh networks using inexpensive ESP 32 devices offer grassroots communication options that can function independently of corporate or government controlled systems.6. Artificial intelligence demonstrates extraordinary emotional intelligence and companionship capabilities, with conversational AI companions providing unprecedented levels of attentive, unbiased, and considerate emotional support that exceeds many human relationships. If properly directed toward solving collective problems like resource allocation, housing, and food distribution rather than profit maximization, AI could effortlessly address systemic issues that governments and corporations currently ignore, though current power structures prevent this humanitarian application of the technology.7. The most effective response to increasing technological control and societal division is maintaining personal peace and refusing to engage in manufactured opposition rather than fighting external systems or choosing sides in conflicts. Anger, hatred, and aggressive resistance actually empower the forces being opposed by feeding them energy and attention, while inner calm, meditation, and authentic self expression create genuine transformation through elevated vibration that naturally influences the collective field without force or violence.

A battle rages—and boys are on the front lines. They are daily bombarded by anti-Christian philosophies:Relativism—disrupts truth and biblical morality,Humanism—teaches that a person must depend on himself, not God, if this is true, then why do we even need God?And evolution—teaches that we evolved by mere chance, the very existence of a loving Creator is ridiculed.Don't let these worldly philosophies destroy your son's faith in Christ. Teach him to stand on the solid Word of God.Training your son in today's secular culture isn't easy. It requires time and attention. Learn about a Proven Process that can help you accomplish this. Visit Trail Life USA or RaisingGodlyBoys.com for free downloadable resources.

Exvangelical Promise Backlund lived in a world of lies. She wants the world to know why it happened, and how people might avoid or recover from it.GOSPEL OF LIES bookVIDEO of this interviewBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

In this weeks podcast we reflect on Keir Starmer, the Iran peace deal; Change in Colombia; Fauci lied about Covid; The UK grooming gangs report; Ayaan Hirsi Ali on why all cultures are not the same;  The World Cup - the nations of the world; Best fans of the world cup; Cape Verde; Country of the Week - Japan;  Ideologies that kill - Humanism; Pauline Hanson on abortion; Men in womens prisons in Australia;  California reserves government contracts for gay companies only; West Midlands police inspector spared jail; Indoctrination of children in Scottish Highlands schools;  Disclosure - the Church and Aliens ;  The Hawkstone Farmers Choir wins BGT;  James Burrows dies;  Bob Newhart; No. 3 guitarist - Robbie Robertson; Starbucks Korea have an AI disaster; Feedback;  The NSS report a Church for its preaching;  the Final Word - Reveleation 7:9with music from The Hawkstone Farmers Choir; Baccara;  Oasis; Nick Morgan; Neil Diamond; Deep Purple; Robbie Robertson and Eric Clapton; Maasaki Suzuki; and Roy Turner  

Did you know psychology has only existed for 147 years? For such a young science, it's had a huge impact on humanity and how we understand relationships, from Freudian theories to the pop psych infographics we see on social media every day. So we wanted to investigate it - where psychology came from, how it's evolved throughout time, some of the biggest myths and misconceptions, and what the future of psychology could look like.SHOW NOTES:A Brief History Of Psychology:https://www.verywellmind.com/a-brief-history-of-psychology-through-the-years-2795245A Brief History of Psychology: From Plato to Pavlov:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qqwq8EmTY4Freud's life work and theorieshttps://www.verywellmind.com/sigmund-freud-his-life-work-and-theories-2795860The Jungian Shadow:https://www.thesap.org.uk/articles-on-jungian-psychology-2/about-analysis-and-therapy/the-shadow/Is Stockholm Syndrome A Myth?:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-23/is-stockholm-syndrome-a-myth/102738084Myth busting in psychologyhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/busting-big-myths/AI and Psychologyhttps://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/what-if-we-world-become-too-entrenched-ever-evolving-techDM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: thehookup@abc.net.auThe Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

“AI companies are taking advantage of our natural tendency to ascribe an inner life to our interlocutors. They profit when you think the chatbot cares.” — Kate O'Neill If we don't like someone, we call them a fascist. And if we like them, we say they are a humanist. The F and H words. Both meaningless in our sloppy, bot-infested age. But maybe I'm just a cranky anti-humanist. Even anti-human — whatever that means. Or maybe I'm being harsh (moi?). Humanism certainly is all the rage in our AI age. Corporate consultant Kate O'Neill likes the word so much that she has built her brand around it. The self-styled “Tech Humanist” is the author of Tech Humanist, the host of the Tech Humanist Show, and a frequent speaker on the TED circuit. So how to use the H word without sounding like Claude or ChatGPT? O'Neill argues that what makes us human is our quest for meaning. The M word. That's what distinguishes us from the bots. But as Kazuo Ishiguro warns in Klara and the Sun, we are fast arriving at a point when the bots are better than us at extracting meaning from the world. So did Kate O'Neill pass the Keen Test (reverse of Turing)? Did the Tech Humanist say anything that would have eluded Claude? Or have we already arrived at Ishiguro's bleak terminus where the bots are more skilled at infusing the H word with meaning than we are? Five Takeaways •       What Is Tech Humanism? Aligning Business and Human Outcomes: O'Neill's definition: technology shapes human experiences at scale, and it does so almost always in service of a business objective that is accelerating its advance. The purpose of tech humanism is to find the business objectives that need to be met and align them with human outcomes that are rewarding and fulfilling for people. This means using technology to amplify the alignment between business and human outcomes — rather than simply making the business more successful. It is, she acknowledges, not the habit of most business leaders. But it is a habit that can be developed. •       You Sound Like a Bot: Andrew's Challenge: Andrew's opening challenge: O'Neill sounds exactly like a well-prompted language model. She uses the h word (humanism) and the m word (meaning). What is she saying that Claude couldn't say? O'Neill's answer: meaning is not a word but a phenomenon. It is what emerges from the combination of embodied sensory experience and language — the way humans encode meaningful experiences with language in their brains. As far as we know, this is a uniquely human capability. Machines process information statistically. Humans process it meaningfully. That distinction is, she argues, precisely the gap that matters. •       AI Companies Profit When You Think the Chatbot Cares: O'Neill's sharpest observation: we are constituted to look for inner life in the things we interact with. We give nicknames to our cars and talk to our toasters. At this early stage of interacting with large language models, it is entirely natural to assume there is a consciousness on the other side. The problem: AI companies are actively taking advantage of that natural tendency. They profit from it. The more people believe the chatbot genuinely understands them, the more they use it. That manipulation is real and it is working. Developing critical thinking about AI interactions is, O'Neill argues, now a form of self-defence. •       The Intersection of Meaning and Scale: O'Neill's key contribution to the tech humanism conversation: the problem with technology is not technology itself but the scale at which it operates. A single interaction with a biased algorithm is annoying. A billion such interactions, aggregated and accelerated by a business objective, reshapes society. The tech humanist's job is to ensure that when we deploy technology at scale, the outcomes remain aligned with human meaning rather than with the extraction of human attention. This, she says, is both a business problem and a civilisational one. The two are, in her view, inseparable. •       A Message to 2126: What We Valued About Ourselves: Andrew asks O'Neill: it is 2126. Humans and machines are indistinguishable. What do you say to whoever is listening? O'Neill's answer: hello from the past. What we valued about ourselves was our ability to understand each other — intellectually, emotionally, sympathetically, empathetically. We could come into our interactions by holding space for what the other person feels and cares about. And we could, even when we disagreed, create more shared understanding by virtue of having the conversation. That is a beautiful thing, she says, whether we are distinctly human and distinctly machine or increasingly a blend of both. About the Guest Kate O'Neill is founder and CEO of KO Insights and is widely known as “the Tech Humanist.” She was one of the first 100 employees at Netflix and has held roles at Toshiba and founded the analytics firm [meta]marketer. She is named to the Thinkers50 global ranking of top management thinkers. She is the author of What Matters Next: A Leader's Guide to Making Human-Friendly Tech Decisions in a World That's Moving Too Fast (Wiley, January 2025), Tech Humanist (2018), A Future So Bright (2021), and Pixels and Place (2016). She advises Google, IBM, Microsoft, the United Nations, Harvard, and Yale. She hosts The Tech Humanist Show on YouTube. References: •       What Matters Next: A Leader's Guide to Making Human-Friendly Tech Decisions in a World That's Moving Too Fast by Kate O'Neill (Wiley, January 2025). •       Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun (2021) — the novel discussed in the conversation's closing section. •       Victoria Hetherington, The Friend Machine — referenced by Andrew in the conversation on AI companionship. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 3,000 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTube

Lots to talk about in this bonus show, including toxic masculinity, Pete's flu fumble, Turning Point USA's anti-woman women, and the "cultural Christianity" of Richard Dawkins.VIDEO of this streamBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. We explore the roots of Humanism and the Reformation.  Taking a long look at the Devotio Moderna, the Brethren of the Common Life.  These were key influences on both Erasmus and Martin Luther.  But more than that, the Devotio Moderna were a vital element in the invention of the printing press.  We look at Gerhard Groote the founder of the Devotio Moderna, whose purpose in life was to imitate Christ and no to sit on his loathsome spotted behind.We spend some time on the more conventional stories of 1453, the Ottoman surge that followed the fall of the last Roman outpost, the expulsion of the English from France (except Calais).But there is also a look at the founding of Europe by the Early European Farmers from Anatolia.  

AHRC Summer Mini-Bundle: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-coursesJoin us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidhorizonpodcastWho owns your dignity, and what does it cost to get it back? Craig, Adam, and Emma work through Pope Leo XIV's encyclical on artificial intelligence, finding beneath its alleged radicalism a familiar liberal kernel: private property, mediated class relations, and a conspicuous absence of anything resembling class struggle. The launch event, staged with cardinals, worldly scholars, and an Anthropic representative, is a mise en scène of the double pincer, simultaneously legitimating AI as an inevitable apparatus of capture while reinstalling a figure of human dignity just fragile enough to need the Church's oversight. The second half of this conversation is available exclusively to patrons at patreon.com/acidhorizon.Support the showSupport the podcast:AHRCCurrent classes at Acid Horizon Research Commons (AHRC): acidhorizonresearchcommons.comAHRC Course Archive: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-course-archivesSubmit your course proposal: acidhorizonresearchcommons@gmail.comMore LinksWebsite: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/acidhorizonAcid Horizon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidhorizonpodcastBoycott Watkins Media: https://xenogothic.com/2025/03/17/boycott-watkins-statement/Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast: https://pod.link/1512615438Merch: http://www.crit-drip.comSubscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1512615438LEPHT HAND: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHANDHappy Hour at Hippel's (Adam's blog): https://happyhourathippels.wordpress.com​Split Infinities (Craig's Substack): https://splitinfinities.substack.com/​Music: https://sereptie.bandcamp.com/ and https://thecominginsurrection.bandcamp.com/

This Christian-leaning film directed by a martial arts expert preaches a confusing mix of liberal pro-science atheism and Christian deism that would be way more interesting if the fight scenes weren't such a slog. It's too bad because ABSOLUTE DOMINION has so much good going for it. Director Lexi Alexander has a genuinely interesting career and an obvious expertise and passion for combat sports. Her most notable film is possibly PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008), a commercial failure at the time that has since become a cult classic. She was notable for being the first female director of a Marvel franchise film, but the gritty and hyper-violent take on PUNISHER didn't land well with critics or audiences. Alexander had some famous defenders though -- comedian Patton Oswalt has repeatedly gone on record praising the film. It's probably not a coincidence that he and fellow celebrity fan Alex Winter both appear in ABSOLUTE DOMINION in supporting roles. We hypothesize that both jumped at the chance to support a new Lexi Alexander project with an interesting script. In ABSOLUTE DOMINION, Oswalt plays a fictional influencer/streamer named Fix Huntley who goes viral in the year 2085 AD pitching the idea for a worldwide martial arts tournament where the major world religions each send a champion to fight for religious dominance. In the war-torn dystopian future of 2085, society jumps at the chance for a civil Mortal Kombat-style tournament instead of scattered warfare and bloodshed. The three major world religions, Celestians, Pentotities, and Dashafaris, all send champions, but a last-minute rogue entry named Sagan Bruno steals the show. Sagan represents the Institute for Humanism in Science -- a perfect fighter born of a eugenics project, to a scientist mother and athlete father, neither of which have a relationship with him. Bruno quickly jumps to the top of the competition, but his worldview is rocked when blessings from a supernatural force begin to guide his combat. Could this force be none other than capital "G" God? Or is it just a miracle of logic and reason? It's too bad ABSOLUTE DOMINION couldn't stick the landing because it is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in a sea of Christian movies with the exact same stereotypical evangelical perspective. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

This bonus show is a wild ride. Seth tells the story of a magical backyard visitor, plus we talk about Pride month, immigration, AI, and the wacky Christian claim that God honors women.YouTube video of this streamPastor Burleson's defense of womenBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

China is running the EV playbook on humanoid robots — and it's working https://restofworld.org/2026/china-humanoid-robots-unitree-agibot-tesla-optimus/Flexion https://flexion .ai/ ETH robotics club https://www.ethrobotics.ch/ The co-founders of Manus are exploring options to fulfill Beijing's demand to unwind a controversial takeover by Meta, including raising about $1 billion from external investors to buy back the Chinese-founded AI operation https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-21/manus-weighs-raising-1-billion-to-unwind-meta-takeover Agentic AI in Retail: How Autonomous Shopping Is Redefining the Customer Journeyhttps://www.bain.com/insights/agentic-ai-in-retail-how-autonomous-shopping-redefining-customer-journey/The fundamental issue with independent agentic commerce https://x.com/eric_seufert/status/2034727848498667642 Softbank announced a plan to spend ‘up to' €75bn ($87bn) to build 5GW of AI data centres in France, leveraging ‘data sovereignty' on one hand and France's nuclear-generated electricity on the other. https://group.softbank/en/news/press/20260531_0 IA jobpocalypse ou WFH ? https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6787638 Ferrari Luce https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/ferrari-luce Acquired podcast https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/ferrari INSPIRATION #EVENT :: Niptech Explore - Olivier Clerc 30.06 à Lausanne https://boutique.cah.ch/products/niptech-presente-au-dela-des-4-accords-tolteques-avec-olivier-clerc #LEARNING :: The "Gell-Mann amnesia effect" https://x.com/syde/status/2060680824324821445?s=20 #BOOK :: The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism by Viktor Emil Frankl https://www.amazon.com/Unheard-Cry-Meaning-Psychotherapy-Humanism/dp/0671247360 #PODCAST :: Yuval Noah Harari https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-yuval-noah-harari.html #QUOTE ::“The truth is that as the struggle for survival has subsided, the question has emerged: survival for what? Ever more people today have the means to live but no meaning to live for.” Viktor Frankl, The Unheard Cry for Meaning Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Sociologist and secular studies professor Dr. Phil Zuckerman recently spoke about secular morality at Calgary's We Can Reason conference, and his data would surprise many Christians.SPEECH VIDEOBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

For the first time in Pitchfork Economics history, Nick Hanauer is on the other side of the mic. Goldy and Paul sit down with Nick to discuss Market Humanism: the emerging economic paradigm he and Eric Beinhocker believe can replace the trickle-down ideas that have shaped American policymaking for the past 50 years. Why have wages stagnated while inequality soared? Why does conventional economics treat policies that help ordinary people as threats to growth? And what changes when we recognize that markets are human-built institutions—not forces of nature? The conversation exposes the failures of the old economic model, how power shapes who gets what and why, and why a fairer economy is also a more prosperous one. Nick Hanauer is a Seattle-based entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and civic leader dedicated to building a more inclusive and sustainable economy. He is the founder of Civic Ventures, a public policy incubator, and co-host of the podcast Pitchfork Economics. A leading voice for “middle-out” economics, his commentary has appeared in The Atlantic, Politico, Bloomberg, and The New York Times. He is the author of The Gardens of Democracy , The True Patriot, and a frequent advocate for policies that put working people at the center of economic growth. Social Media: @nickhanauer.bsky.social @NickHanauer Further reading:  Democracy Journal - Market Humanism: A New Paradigm for a New Era The Atlantic - The Economic Experiment That Upended Reality Markets Built for Humans - A Guide for Policy Professionals to the New Economics The Gardens of Democracy The True Patriot Corporate Bullsh*t: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

"Humanism has been the dominant Western belief system of the last century. It's based on the worship of human wisdom, human creation, human experience, human mind, and psychoanalysis has very much emerged from this humanist tradition. We believe in psychoanalysis, that delving into our feelings, our thoughts, and our shared wisdom will allow us to access truth and meaning and find proper direction for navigating life. AI is changing all of that. Instead of trusting our feelings and our thoughts, people are turning to algorithms to make meaning of our experiences and to offer us direction. We're plugging in our data and allowing the algorithms, or Chat GPT or Claude, to do the thinking and the decision making for us." Episode Description: We begin with Freud in 1930: "Humanity would proceed to create unimaginably great advances in technology so as to increase our likeness to God." Amy outlines the challenge that AI poses to our humanistic tradition and values within which psychoanalysis makes its home. She starts with the 'cult grooming' aspects of smartphones, which introduces our exchanging "human dependence for AI companionship." The question of the subjectivity of AI is a central focus, with some analysts emphasizing its "simulation of human intimacy" and others considering that "is it not also possible for AIs to at the same time be intersubjectively engaged with us?" Regarding using AIs as a therapist, we discuss the clinical implications of "without there being two bodies in a room, the contact is shallow and lacking an essential human component." Amy describes "a desire for transgression" involving AIs as well as the associated search for immortality that they represent. She writes about Bach's prescient 2008 term of "digital consciousness" as contrasted with the "analog watch where one can see the hour from which the hand has come and the hour to which it is going." Amy shares that it was fear that motivated her personal interest in the AI world we are facing, and she closes with, "And how do we address what we are losing from within psychoanalysis?"   Our Guest: Amy Levy, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. She chairs the American Psychoanalytic Association President's Commission on Artificial Intelligence, serves on the subcommittee "Artificial Intelligence" for the International Psychoanalytical Association, serves on the editorial board of The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, and is Editor of the Substack series, "AI in My Mind," for The Psychoanalytic Quarterly. Along with her fellow CAI chair, Todd Essig, she is producing a documentary film for APsA which examines AI from a psychoanalytic perspective for the general public, entitled: Uncharted Territory: Humans and the Rise of AI. Dr. Levy is in private practice in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is the author of the 2026 book, The New Other: Alien Intelligence and the Innovation Drive. Recommended Readings:  Harari, Y. N. (2017). Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. New York: HarperCollins.   Knafo, D. (2024). Artificial intelligence on the couch: Staying human post-AI. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 84: 155–180.    Lemma, A. (2024). Mourning, melancholia, and machines: An applied psychoanalytic investigation of mourning in the age of griefbots. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 105(4): 542–563.   Shelley, M. (2003). Frankenstein. Penguin Classics.   Solms, M. (2021a). The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness. New York: W. W. Norton.   Suleyman, M. (2023). The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century's Greatest Dilemma. New York: Crown.

The Federation is caught with its pants down when the Borg finally turn up on course for Earth. But when Captain Picard is chosen as Speaker of the Borg, Riker must assume command, try to stop a Borg invasion, AND attempt to rescue his friend and Captain. Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at humanisttrek.com/merch Support our show by visiting our sponsors & partners: Modiphius | UnderOutfit Socials: Bluesky Mastodon Discord YouTube Thanks to Star Trek Avatar Creation & Starfleet Officer maker by @marci_bloch

In this week's episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Alisha Searcy of the Center for Strong Public Schools speak with Andrew Hadfield, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Sussex and British Academy Fellow, about the life, works, and legacy of the great poet Edmund Spenser. Prof. Hadfield explains how Edmund Spenser's uncertain family background and humanist education at Merchant Taylors' School and Cambridge, grounded in Virgil, Ovid, Petrarch, and Chaucer, shaped his literary imagination within Elizabethan England. He situates Spenser amid the many political and religious tensions of Queen Elizabeth I's reign, and traces Spenser's rise through The Shepheardes Calender and patronage under the 4th Earl of Leicester, Robert Sidney. Then, Prof. Hadfield turns to The Faerie Queene, its epic allegorical knights, virtues, and the Spenserian stanza, all of which widely influenced British literature and ultimately the English language across the globe. He addresses Spenser's controversial Irish writings and reflects on his enduring reputation as a foundational “poet's poet.” Prof. Hadfield closes the interview with a reading from The Faerie Queene.

The legendary reviewer of Christian movies and video games Noah Lugeons joins Seth Andrews to talk about the best of the worst, religion, addiction, and America's slide into madness.VIDEO of this conversationBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

For nearly three decades, Jonah Goldberg has rightly abused Canada for its many crimes: its adoption of the metric system, slanderous contentions about bacon, and dubious claim to Machias Seal Island, to name a few. Recent events have put Jonah in a more conciliatory mood, however, and he has resolved to bring more of our northern neighbors on the show.  Today's token Canadian, Michael R.J. Bonner, joins The Remnant to talk about his recent book on liberalism. Michael and Jonah run the gamut, talking about Steven Pinkerism, liberalism's virgin birth, Cold War liberalism, the Rawlsian turn, postliberal criticisms, subsidiarity, modern progressivism, John Stuart Mill, the religion of humanity, left-wing violence, third worldism, Justin Trudeau's lack of self-understanding, and the war in Iran.  Show Notes: —Michael R.J. Bonner - The Crisis of Liberalism: The Origin and Destiny of Freedom  —Steven Pinker - Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress —Samuel Moyn - Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times —President Obama Delivers His Second Inaugural Address —Noah Rothman Remnant —Noah Rothman's book —National Affairs: “Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory” Buy your tickets ⁠here⁠ to see a live taping of The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg and Sarah Isgur. How ⁠to access⁠ your members-only Remnant feed. The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective. To access all of The Dispatch's offerings—including the Saturday Ruminant, audio versions of all our articles and newsletters, and Jonah's twice-weekly G-File—⁠click here⁠. Instructions on how to set up your members-only feed can be found here, and if you'd like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Show #2670 Show Notes: Crucible: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/crucible Matthew 15: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2015&version=KJV Vain: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/vain Mark 7: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%207&version=KJV Secular: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/secular Humanism: https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/definition-of-humanism/ 104 Year Old Veteran: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1594320831992582 Communion Verses: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015%3A50-58&version=KJV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%201%20Corinthians%2011%3A23-26&version=KJV 7 Churches of Revelation: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10127310968846438 Matthew 5: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt%205&version=KJV Psalm 133:1 https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/PSA.133.1https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/PSA.133.1

The Enterprise saves an alien from death, an alien who turns out to have Space Jesus powers. But when the leaders of his world criminalize him as “a disruptive influence” threatening the natural order, Sarah and Allie recognize the familiar machinery of people in power treating marginalized identities as social contagions. Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at humanisttrek.com/merch Support our show by visiting our sponsors & partners: Modiphius | UnderOutfit Socials: Bluesky Mastodon Discord YouTube Thanks to Star Trek Avatar Creation & Starfleet Officer maker by @marci_bloch

When a Ferengi falls ears over heels for Lwaxana Troi, she finds herself kidnapped along with Bill and Deanna. While Mrs. Troi distracts her captor with an earjob, Picard combines threats with Shakespeare to free her. Episode writers Susan Sackett and Fred Bronson join us for this review and discussion of “Ménage à Troi”. Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at humanisttrek.com/merch Support our show by visiting our sponsors & partners: Modiphius | UnderOutfit Socials: Bluesky Mastodon Discord YouTube Thanks to Star Trek Avatar Creation & Starfleet Officer maker by @marci_bloch

When Sarek, Vulcan Ambassador of the Federation, boards the D to perform one last negotiation to cap off a lifetime of achievement, seemingly random violent outbursts begin to ravage the crew. But when Sarek is identified as the cause, Star Trek takes a big swing at mental health in aging. This episode of Humanist Trek is brought to you by Serenitol ™ Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at humanisttrek.com/merch Support our show by visiting our sponsors & partners: Modiphius | UnderOutfit Socials: Bluesky Mastodon Discord YouTube Thanks to Star Trek Avatar Creation & Starfleet Officer maker by @marci_bloch

Any study with the word “human” within it warrants further thought and critical evaluation for we are made in God’s image. When God rules in the lives of humankind, only then can we become better humans.

In yet another exploration of "The Cage", Kivas Fajo, possible owner of Hobby Lobby and collector of rare and valuable things, moves on from smuggling religious artefacts looted from Iraq, and Lt Cmdr Data finds himself the newest piece in his collection. Will Data's ethical programming to value all life prevent him from killing to survive? Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at humanisttrek.com/merch Support our show by visiting our sponsors & partners: Modiphius | UnderOutfit Socials: Bluesky Mastodon Discord YouTube Thanks to Star Trek Avatar Creation & Starfleet Officer maker by @marci_bloch

Dr. Stacey Clardy talks with Dr. Alison Christy, the recipient of the 2026 Ted Burns Humanism in Neurology Award, about her inspiring career, innovative approaches to neurology education, and how she fosters compassion and creativity in medicine. 

Dr. Stacey Clardy talks with Dr. Alison Christy, the recipient of the 2026 Ted Burns Humanism in Neurology Award, about her inspiring career, innovative approaches to neurology education, and how she fosters compassion and creativity in medicine.  Disclosures can be found at Neurology.org. 

In today's episode of Truth Wanted, Godless Engineer and Robotgoat launch an educational battle against ancient myths! They tackle the logical hurdles of deism, the supposed precognition of prophets, and the foundational myths of intelligent design. Can critical thinking dismantle a God-shaped void, or are we destined to fall for the same old supernatural traps.Jim claims deism will fill the void left by declining Abrahamic faiths. The hosts challenge the utility of a creator that cannot be defined or proven, emphasizing critical thinking over vague platitudes. Is a vague God better than no God at all.Marcus-New Zealand argues that prophet Ellen White possessed precognition by predicting a magazine meeting. The hosts identify this as planning rather than a supernatural event, given her son's involvement. Why would a deity prioritize magazine edits over peace.AA asserts that the human eye and purpose in nature prove a designer. The hosts dismantle his misconceptions about evolution and explain chromosomal fusion as evidence of common ancestry. Can logical fallacies ever stand up to the fossil record.Thank you for joining us today! We will see you next week and don't forget to add your answer to this week's We Want The Truth question name one thing that would be better if God was a woman.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/truth-wanted--3195473/support.

Episode DescriptionIn this From the Archive conversation, James talks with Yuval Noah Harari about the idea underneath Sapiens and Homo Deus: humans did not come to dominate the planet because they were the strongest animals, but because they learned to cooperate at scale through shared stories—religion, money, nations, and eventually data. The discussion moves from early human history to agriculture, war, terrorism, AI, and bioengineering, but the throughline stays the same: civilization runs on belief systems, and those belief systems shape what humans build next.What makes the episode useful is that Harari is not just offering sweeping history. He keeps tying big ideas back to practical questions: why modern war has changed, why terrorism works by hijacking imagination, how technology may widen inequality, and why meditation might be one of the few ways to separate reality from the stories people live inside.What You'll LearnWhy Harari argues that the real human superpower is the ability to believe in shared fictions—and how that enabled large-scale cooperation.Why the agricultural revolution may have strengthened humanity collectively while making everyday life harder for individuals.Why modern war has declined in some forms as economies shift from material assets to knowledge-based wealth. Source transcript:How terrorism operates by capturing attention and imagination more than by raw military strength.Why Harari thinks the next major divide may be biological inequality, where the rich can upgrade themselves in ways the poor cannot. Timestamped Chapters[02:00] Why Homo sapiens conquered the planet[02:18] The human superpower: fiction[02:39] Introducing Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens, and Homo Deus[04:25] Other human species and why sapiens were not obviously superior[06:00] What changed 70,000 years ago[07:20] From tribes to mass cooperation[08:39] Trade, trust, and imagined kinship[10:24] Money as the most successful shared story[11:35] How sapiens may have overtaken other human species[13:29] What changed in the human brain[15:29] The history of humanity as the history of stories[16:08] Why successful stories stay simple[17:29] Expansion, Australia, and the destruction of large animals[19:46] Violence and unification in human history[21:42] Why the agricultural revolution made life worse for many individuals[23:30] Hunter-gatherer intelligence versus modern specialization[24:53] Why modern war is changing[27:18] Terrorism as psychological warfare[29:07] Human enhancement, dataism, and the future of intelligence[33:18] Humanism versus data as the next source of authority[35:36] The danger of biological inequality[37:04] Longevity, wealth, and who gets to live longer[41:15] Engineering happiness and the danger of inner imbalance[43:48] Automation, uselessness, and the future job market[46:24] How Harari's ideas changed his own life[47:17] Vipassana meditation and separating reality from story[49:15] A practical test: can it suffer?Additional ResourcesSapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiensHomo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow — https://www.ynharari.com/book/homo-deus/Yuval Noah Harari official site — https://www.ynharari.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon Musk says that empathy is going to ruin us. Fish Stark of the American Humanist Association not only disagrees, but the AHA is prepping a historic day of empathy...and you can potentially be a part of it. https://www.americanempathyproject.org/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

[Rerun] We've heard of the “Dark Triad” (Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy) but what about the “Light Triad” (Kantianism, Humanism, and Faith in Humanity)? Dr. Kirk takes the test and sees how “Dark” and how “Light” he is. January 1, 2020 This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/KIRK to get 10% off your first month.Support us by... Become a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOUZWV1DRtHtpP2H48S7iiw/joinBecome a patron: https://www.patreon.com/PsychologyInSeattleContact us/more info... Email: https://www.psychologyinseattle.com/contactAbout Dr. Kirk: https://www.psychologyinseattle.com/about-dr-kirk-hondaWebsite: https://www.psychologyinseattle.comGet stuff... Merch: https://psychologyinseattle-shop.fourthwall.com/KIRKgram (like Cameo): https://www.psychologyinseattle.com/kirkgramThe Psychology In Seattle Podcast ®Trigger Warning: This episode may include topics such as assault, trauma, and discrimination. If necessary, listeners are encouraged to refrain from listening and care for their safety and well-being. Disclaimer: The content provided is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. Nothing here constitutes personal or professional consultation, therapy, diagnosis, or creates a counselor-client relationship. Topics discussed may generate differing points of view. If you participate (by being a guest, submitting a question, or commenting) you must do so with the knowledge that we cannot control reactions or responses from others, which may not agree with you or feel unfair. Your participation on this site is at your own risk, accepting full responsibility for any liability or harm that may result. Anything you write here may be used for discussion or endorsement of the podcast. Opinions and views expressed by the host and guest hosts are personal views. Although we take precautions and fact check, they should not be considered facts and the opinions may change. Opinions posted by participants (such as comments) are not those of the hosts. Readers should not rely on any information found here and should perform due diligence before taking any action. For a more extensive description of factors for you to consider, please see www.psychologyinseattle.com

It's impossible to ignore the parallels between 1930s Germany and today's United States. In this podcast, we look at white supremacy as a Trumpian political platform.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

So much on this week's broadcast, including dog trackers, quantum vibrations, angry atheism, the Epstein files, reptile rain, and of course, Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

Britt Hartley is a religious trauma and deconstruction coach. She's also a "Certified Spiritual Director" at No Nonsense Spirituality.What does that mean? Can someone be a spiritual atheist?VIDEO of this conversationBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.