Freedom matters, maybe more than anything else. To some more than life itself. It’s one of the central ideas this podcast has explored from an existential perspective. But have we ever stopped to ask whether freedom is really all it’s cracked up to be? Is it truly the ultimate goal of human life?

In this week’s episode, I question whether our idea of freedom is overly idealistic and maybe even a kind of fantasy. What if freedom is not only difficult, but deeply unsettling? What if, in some ways, we fear it more than oppression?

With the help of German-American psychotherapist Erich Fromm, we explore the human need for belonging, and how that need may quietly undermine our pursuit of true freedom.