An intro to the yogic philosopher Patañjali and the Yoga-Sutra ... The metaphysics of the Yoga-Sutra ... How does a yogi become awakened? ... Comparing yogic and Buddhist teachings ... Does yogic philosophy encourage isolation? ... Advice for new meditators ...

What Mark learned writing the New York Times “Beliefs” column ... Wittgenstein on religion ... What does the “spiritual” in “spiritual but not religious” mean? ... Crossfit and other secular communities that seem religious ... The puzzle of Jewish identity ... Being religious but not spiritual ...

Michael’s book, The Internet of Us, and “neuromedia” ... How Google short circuits our critical faculties ... Dangers of the “hive mind” ... The echo chamber effect and how to combat it ... How tech has—and has not—changed the way we learn ... Privacy in the age of big data ...

The future is real, and we could travel there ... Reasons to think the future may influence the present ... Can retro-causality explain quantum entanglement? ... Why our intuitions about time are wrong ... Is there a place for free will in a deterministic universe? ... The many worlds theory, quantum computers, and events without causes ...

Putting Kant's work in context ... Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and Prolegomena ... Kant's radical innovations in the Critique ... Defining different kinds of thought ... Active and passive faculties of the mind ... Are there two worlds, or two aspects of one world? ... Consequences of intertwining the world and the mind ...

Why Katherine wrote Grace Without God ... Getting the benefits of religion without the religion ... How do you find grace without God? ... Moral education without religion ... Non-religious spiritual experiences ... Dealing with death ...

Why Dan decided to teach a course about soul beliefs ... Almost all Americans believe in an undying soul ... When did religion become infused with morality? ... Greek philosophers on the soul ... How to challenge beliefs in a smart way ... Is religion a convenient way to deny death? ...

The story of John Frum and “cargo cults” ... How the John Frum movement challenged colonial rule ... Are cargo cults really about getting cargo? ... Religious tensions on the island of Tanna ... Is religion “false?” ... Life on Tanna ...

Doug's book Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America ... Psychedelics as gateway drugs to Buddhism ... Common ground between Buddhism and psychedelic spirituality ... What is Psychedelic Buddhism? ... When are psychedelics unhealthy? ... Compare and contrast between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism ...

Losing your job to a robot ... Can we prepare for a future with "brain emulations" and AI? ... Robot “zombies" vs. conscious AI ... Will AI lead to greater inequality? ... The future of social organization ... Will the robots rebel? ...