Our era judges itself against utopian fantasies rather than real historical comparison—the ultimate intellectual sleight-of-hand. This episode exposes the shocking truth: your life is VASTLY harder than you realize. Examining economic, social, spiritual, and physical aspects reveals how normal young people today live objectively terrible lives despite our denial. When ancient wisdom across civilizations aligns with cutting-edge science against modern assumptions, the horror of what we've done to ourselves becomes breathtaking.

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LINKS:

Link to my second podcast on world history and interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@History102-qg5oj

Link to my cancellation insurance: https://becomepluribus.com/creators/20

Link to my Twitter- https://x.com/whatifalthist

Link to my Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/rudyardwlynch/?hl=en

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RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

🎙️ This Won't Last - Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765665937

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast

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Bibliography:

The Lineages of Modernity by Todd Immanuel

The Origins of Ideology by Todd Immanuel

The Unabomber's Manifesto by Ted Kazcynski

The Economics of Discontent by John Michel Paul

Ages of Discord by Peter Turchin

Secular Cycles by Peter Turchin

The Great Wave by David Hackett Fischer

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Kuhn

The Knowledge Machine by Michael Strevens

Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quiggley

Religions of the World by Houston Smith

The History of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson

The Anxious Generation by Jon Haidt 

The Coddling of the American Mind by Jon Haidt

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer

Woke Racism by John McWhorter

The Leviathan and its Enemies by Sam Francis

Nihilism by Seraphim Rose

The Origins of Woke by Richard Hanania

Sex and Power in History by Amaury de Riencourt

Seeing like a State by James Scott

The Lonely Crowd by David Riesman

The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate

The Elephant in the Brain by Simler

A Hunter Gatherer's Guide to the 21st century by Bret Weinstein

Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber

How to Know a Person by David Brooks

The Culture of Narcissism by Lasch

Lost Connections by Johann Hari

The Culture of Narcissism by Lasch

The Master and His Emissary by Ian McGhilchrist

The Happiness Hypothesis by John Haidt