Conversations with Chamomile

Ned Buskirk is the founder of You Are Going to Die (http://www.yg2d.com/), an open mic and non-profit dedicated to exploring the topics of death and loss. I met Ned when I went to You Are Going to Die shows and I felt there was something special in the air. We talk about the meaning and origin of the show and a lot about death. 

Guy Sengstock is the inventor of circling and founder of The Circling Institute (http://www.circlinginstitute.com/) where I am a student. Circling is a method of having mindful conversations where participants are encouraged to follow aliveness and go in search of what is true. The result is conversations that are often surprising, emotional, and downright magic.  

In this podcast we talk about the power of conversation, and particularly the power of listening. We talk about the Intellectual Dark Web, how we make ourselves and lose ourselves in relationship, and how conversation allows us to discover new knowledge. 

Today's conversation is with experience designer EJ Harkness. She creates immersive, interactive artistic experiences through her design companies Extra Meta and Weird Art Party

https://www.extrameta.design/

http://weirdart.party/

Immersive interactive art is art that invites the audience to become part of the experience. In this conversation, we talk about her journey from the traditional art world, the application of Silicon Valley design principles to art, and the power of the lofi aesthetic to bridge the gap between artist and audience. 

I knew this guy from Mountain View like 5 years ago. He leaves, and the next thing I know I'm seeing pictures of him on facebook dressed in army fatigues, carrying around weapons, and riding on armored vehicles. Barry was one of the few people ever to leave Silicon Valley for the US Army. It's such a contrarian life choice, I had to pick his brain about it. 

We talk about discipline, dominance hierarchies, and lots and lots of anecdotes from his time in the service. 

Warning: lots of strong language. 

In today's episode, I talk with Presbyterian minister Derek Radney about whether or not smart people can be religious, faith, and FOMO. 

Here are some resources mentioned in the episode:

Tim Keller's "Questioning Christianity" lectures:

https://www.redeemer.com/r/qc_audio_2015

"A Secular Age" by Charles Taylor:

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674026766&content=reviews

And the following three books by Francis Schaeffer:

"He Is There and He Is Not Silent"

"Escape from Reason"

"The God Who Is There"

Today's podcast is with Director of One Salon SF, Helen Tsim. We talk about overcoming social anxiety, vulnerability and its limits, building community and deep connections. 

My guest Charlie Deist runs the libertarian group blog Let a Thousand Nations Bloom. He's interested in seasteading and an adult convert to Roman Catholicism. We talk about seasteading as personal praxis, the experience of learning to sail, the philosophy of Rene Girard, and the conflict between grace and responsibility. Charlie is currently the producer of the libertarian radio program "The Bob Zadek Show"

Resources for today's show:

- A Thousand Nations blog

- The Philosophy of Rene Girard at the Internet Encyclopedia

- Getting Over It, a game by Bennet Foddy

Scott Jackisch is the founder of the Oakland Futurists. You can find him online at http://oaklandfuturist.com/. We talk about the PERMA model of happiness, Ephemerisle, community and subculture. 

Here are some resources mentioned in today's show:

"Flourish" by Martin Seligman 

"Geeks, Mops, and Sociopaths in Subcultural Evolution" by David Chapman

"Against Edenism" by Peter Thiel

"Meditations on Moloch" by Scott Alexander

I sit down with worldly philosopher Michael Gibson, founder of the 1517 fund. We talk about living the philosophical life, Nozick's vision of utopia, polycentrism, zen, and education. 

Here's a list of resources mentioned in today's podcast:

Blog Posts

- David Chapman on Robert Kegan's 5 stages of adult moral development

- Scott Alexander's Archipelago

Books

- Anarchy, State, and Utopia by Robert Nozick

- Philosophical Explanations by Robert Nozick

- A Theory of Justice, John Rawls