N.T. Narbutovskih (Nick) is a former military pilot, published author, and certified leadership coach. In his writing, especially in his newest book, Steel in the Blood (learn more about him and his work here- narbutov.com) he uses science fiction to explore philosophical questions and dilemmas-- which made him a really intriguing guest for the show. Nick started by highlighting his most important value as "respecting other humans and treating them like an end not as a means to something else." We explored this a ton from many different angles to understand what that really means, what are the pros/cons to this approach, and how does it play out in real life. 

As I think back, what I found super interesting and thought provoking about this discussion was that Nick's value seemed to be built on a belief that the optimal path to happiness as an individual is to do your part to ensure our society as a whole functions well. At times, this may mean de-prioritizing some of your own values to support other values that are more accepted by the society you live in. As you might imagine, we spent time discussing the dangers of this approach. Ultimately Nick thought, although it has risks, it is the better way to go-- with a caveat that deep self reflection and questioning are necessary to mitigate those risks.