It was a pleasure to reconnect with Jeremy. Jeremy has been a Kindergarten teacher in Salt Lake City for many years. He's recently gone through some major life changes. Our conversation ranges from educational issues to finding community, from learning from life's difficulties to recapturing one's attention and many other topics.
Here are detailed show notes, with links to various articles and podcasts mentioned in the episode and a great picture of Jeremy in nature!

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Keep building community and connections.

Thanks for Listening!
Jonah

Hello Good People,

Maybe, just maybe, I can convince a few people to talk to me about political progress, rebuilding democracy, avoiding cynicism and resignation. In May, June and July, I will be recording something. Either short monologues or conversations with other good people. Take a listen. If you're interested in setting up a summer talk, email me at jonahasks at gmail.

Midterms are in November. He won't be in office forever,
Jonah

Welcome Back to Jonah Asks,

Here's part two of my conversation with Moshe. We discuss: attention, social media, happiness and mental suffering, the human species and biology, artificial intelligence, universal basic income and the future. 

music: 

This instrumental piece is an original of mine, based around a piano recording, added effects and then a sampled cello and atmospheric pad loop from samplefocus.com. You can find it on my other podcast, Poems, Guitar and Meditations.

https://player.fm/series/poems-guitar-and-meditations/piano-cello-atmospheric-loop-for-sleep

Parenting

Balancing the desire to give attention and support with the need to step back and observe young children. 

6 min

Attention and Focus

Maintaining attention amidst the wave of information and social media's impact.

10 min

Moshe Chooses Happiness

Mental suffering - Mental suffering was rampant in Moshe's family. 
Moshe's aunt was a Holocaust survivor. On her deathbed, her son asked her "Was everything so bad?" She responded, "There were some good things, but we don't talk about that." Happiness seemed unavailable to many who lived through and survived the Holocaust. 

Moshe has atrial fibrillation. He has to be careful with his heart. Too much stress with atrial fibrillation can lead to stroke. 

20 min

Progress of the Human Species

Moshe is a firm believer in the progress and survival of the human species. 

"I'm not arguing with the universe. I will argue with reality. My optimism is based on the possibility that the evils of capitalism the way we know it and the development of artificial intelligence and other technologies will force mankind to develop a new paradigm and new understanding of how society should work. 

28 min

Considering the Future: 2050 and Beyond

We veer into the future, the impact of artificial intelligence, the possibility of Universal Basic Income, etc. We disagree about how humans will evolve. 

37 min

Technology and Techno-Utopianism

Moshe sees human progress as an inevitability. Jonah sees human connection as a practice that has been eroding in modern life. 

42 min

Biology Isn't Bothered By Our Obsession with Technology...or Is It?

Moshe believes in biology. Jonah believes in our biological need to make connections. 

Resources:
New Yorker "Two Supreme Court Cases That Could Break the Internet"
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/two-supreme-court-cases-that-could-break-the-internet

Tristan Harris - Center for Humane Tech
https://www.humanetech.com/who-we-are

Welcome Back to Jonah Asks,

Moshe is my neighbor. He is a modern philosopher, with an optimistic outlook, having trained himself in positive psychology. He was born in Israel in 1951 and came to New York City in the early 1970s, before returning to Israel and then eventually landing in the Bay Area. 

music: Neil Cowley "Eureka Pulse"

3 min

Positive Psychology
Moshe discusses his study of positive psychology and choosing his own personal happiness and well-being. "Wanting to be happy is a license that I acquired in my years. There is a methodology for it and I think I got. At this point it works for me and I am good with that. I was a sad Jew."

9 min

Spirituality and Identity
Going beyond the self. Fighting to define yourself rather than be defined by a given identity.

12 min

Moshe's Family History
Parents leaving Poland and arriving in Israel during the 1930s. Cold and superstitious places. Pogroms and then the Holocaust. Moshe's father came to Palestine in the mid 1930s, with many Jewish immigrants. Moshe's mother escaped Poland in 1938 via train through Germany, before taking a ship from Trieste to Palestine. 

17 min

Middle Eastern history and Moshe's parents. Palestine and the creation of Israel in 1949.

23 min

Memory
Jonah discusses memory and writing. Moshe has been studying philosophy and psychology. He discusses the biological need to recall negative experiences for survival.

26 min
Being Jewish
Israeli experience compared with suburban American experiences

Moshe explains how the history of Jewish oppression informs the Israeli pride in Judaism.

Jonah's mother's childhood: Secular Jews in suburban DC (late '40s into early '60s)

32 min
Pain versus Suffering
Moshe discusses Yuval Noah Harari's ideas about pain versus suffering. Pain is contemporary and neurological event. Suffering is spread over time and is often a speculative psychological event.

37 min
Moshe wrote to Professor Sapolsky, who studies stress.

39 min
Moshe in New York City, 1973
Moshe was released from Israeli military service in 1973 and found his way to New York City.

43 min
Moshe Meets His First Wife, Tina
Couch-surfing, squatting, and getting by. Figuring out how to live in the United States, with a tourist visa.
A wild pack of cats and a smelly small apartment in New York City.

47 min
Moshe and Tina move to Somerville, MA then back to Israel then Children
From New York to "Slummerville." Tina had to hide the relationship from her strict Jewish mother. Eventually, they moved back to Israel and had children. Later, they moved to the Bay Area, in part to get medical treatment for their son, who had a kidney situation. 

53 min
Divorce and a New Marriage
After 19 years of marriage and two children, Moshe discovers Carla at his child's preschool.
"I saw this beautiful woman working with a jackhammer, breaking the asphalt."

61 min
Moshe Is Afraid of Helplessness (Like Many of Us)
Through much of his life, Moshe has prized self-sufficiency. He understands this as a reaction to his mother's helplessness.  In his later years, he has accepted the deep love of his second wife and attachment.

Many thanks to Moshe for the wonderful conversation.

Stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon.

Links:
Yuval Harari's TED talks
https://www.ted.com/speakers/yuval_noah_harari
Positive Psychology TED talks
https://positivepsychology.com/positive-psychology-ted-talks/