One month before the NonProphet crew got COVID our friend Steve was deep in it. After being hospitalized his illness progressed to the point that End Of Life discussions were held with his advocates. He came through an experience that was different than ours and learned some interesting and useful lessons so we decided to talk about it. 

One of the first topics to arise was that of self-responsibility, which begins with awareness, an accurate assessment of one's current condition, and most importantly in this case, a strong personal desire to live. Medical personnel cannot make you want to survive, that must come from within and if you can't muster the will to live through a few weeks in the hospital (and all that ensues) you might not.

We also addressed the fact that it is really difficult to know what to do, and how to behave to remain healthy enough to avoid the hospital. We should have plenty of data and experience after two years of the virus circulating but attempts to collect and clarify the data are seen as efforts to minimize the threat — these are not the same thing. The only deliverable we have been offered after all those months is, "Get vaccinated." Surely this is not the best that the human species can come up with.

Data collection and analysis on an individual level is made more difficult by lockdowns. The more isolated we are the more we depend on technology, and the less accustomed to actual face-to-face social interaction we are. This allows whatever information that is permitted on various tech platforms to become authoritative declaration with little possibility for discussion and examination. And so isolated, the recipient of such information is even less able to critically assess it because people with whom they might discuss it aren't in close proximity, or have been washed down their own rabbit holes.

We spoke briefly about mandates and concluded that it is difficult to message properly (as policy) to people who aren’t receptive to it. We asked, "how do we tune the listeners to be more open and receptive?" but had no immediate answers although we did realize the difference between tricking people into changing their behavior and making them do so is that the latter causes resistance, while the former may not. Government too often resorts first to "make", i.e. coercion, rather than exploring the more difficult task of incentivizing citizens toward the behavior they believe best.

Perhaps lives were saved by these measures but were lives improved? It's a good question to ask.

Finally, during the third hour we actually talk about fitness, and how to program one's post-COVID recovery, which was distinctly lacking in the hospital discharge papers — and everywhere else on the internet, except here: https://www.nonprophet.media/journal/covid-recovery

We recorded this conversation back in October before London got sick and we were overtaken by events.

Stacy and RC Townsend join Blair and Mark to talk about art and photography and life. Stacy and RC Townsend join Blair and Mark to talk about art and photography and life. Stacy is a designer, photographer, and jewelry-maker while RC is currently (f)unemployed. We discuss the importance of mentors, people who believe in you, as well as the value of those who don't — because you need someone to tell you that you can't before saying, "I'll show you." Blair describes how heart is the source of art, and our human tendency to seek validation and then deal with criticism after putting art/heart out to the world.

In a random rabbit hole, Mark talks about his first trip to the Himalayas (an experience founded in insecurity while his partner, Jeff Lowe, had a different experience, one founded in absolute confidence). Climbing may appear to be very different from art but at the source our motivations and drivers are human, and therefore similar. We talk about the craft of writing, how difficult it is, and also, on some days, how it flows. And to get over the hesitation about the words being good enough Blair advises, "Just vomit the words and press 'Share'". Shortly thereafter, she assures Mark that there is still time for him to become a romance novelist ... instead, he invents the Romance Zine ... aka the 11-page romance novel.

Finally, the conversation turns to Stacy's unusual anti-marketing marketing; her website has been under construction for six years and she has made seven total social media posts yet she enjoys a full plate of work based solely on word of mouth and satisfied clients. This is pretty wild in an era where it seems like folks spend more time marketing than they spend making or creating.

"Full Send wherever you are."

Links to chase in this convo:

commonform.co

townsendcollective.com

blairspeedcreative.com

On November 19th Erin and Michael lost their 13-year old daughter, London, to a rare disease (HLH). It was an intense fight and escalated faster than anyone could cognitively understand. One of our practices is to be open and honest about our process and how we work influences how we live. This is the start of that conversation, of realizing your worst fear and stepping up to confront all that comes with grief, pain, loss, and love.

Our conversation with James (NLN) kicks off with the topic of Afghanistan and the US exit therefrom, regarding which he quips, "If you wait until the last minute it only takes a minute." Deeper in we discuss the benefits and problems that come from youthful (and adult) insecurity, and how the threat you are preparing yourself for might not be the one you confront. And speaking of illness, we talk through cancer, treatment compliance, smokers outside the cancer ward, and take a brief look at the Why of longevity. Over the course of the discussion we address the potential benefits of trauma and its ability to fix chronic stress, the failure of Box Breathing to address the stagnant weight of bureaucracy, and the notion that chronic pain makes you a shitty person. Finally, for the sake of positivity we chat about which shape or form the apocalypse will take ...

"If the point of manipulating you is for personal advantage that's evil but if the point of manipulating you is for your own good that's called leadership."

Some might consider this episode bombastic and cancel-worthy but we believe it to be informative with moments of hilarity. Erin and Blair join Michael and Mark to discuss their experiences with COVID-19, aka "The Wuhan COOF", which all of us had, shared, and — shockingly — survived. We chat about the variety of symptoms each experienced, non-standard treatments undertaken while under its influence, and talk over some ideas about how to return to physical activity and training, as well as, of course, the foods we craved and which TV shows and movies got us through.

#campcovid

Joe Holmes cements the title of "most frequent guest" on the podcast. He stopped by on his way home from Europe where he was directing a junior development cycling team through races in Belgium, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, as well as directing the national junior squad at the World Championships. Along the way he piloted the team car with a US Ambassador on board, drank fine wine, crashed a bike, took his first helicopter ride, and helped some racers bring home a little hardware.

Burkey returns for his sixth episode burdened with a little case of "empathy fatigue", i.e. when you exhaust your capacity to tolerate minor inconveniences. We had no useful advice or sympathy for him but did briefly discuss which affects us more, the virus itself or fear of it, and how one goes about vetting information should s/he refuse to take it at face value. After highlighting the difference between asking for permission and asking for information, which is an important distinction and one we are rarely able to self-monitor, Burkey accurately described 2020 by declaring, "it's about power, they need to do it willingly."

A discussion about the NXIVM cult leads to comparisons with the federal government ... I mean, why wouldn't it? Because, when someone else — someone in a leadership position, elected, self-appointed or otherwise — tells you what is information and what is misinformation, well, then you don't have to bother thinking for yourself. Wait, this podcast MUST be disinformation because we are encouraging you to think for yourself.

When the conversation finally turns to diet, Michael declares that it has nothing to do with science, that it is unknown and unknowable ... as mysterious as religion or the universe itself and yet, people "know enough to be ashamed" (of their behavior) but clearly don't care because, "they still drink SlimFast™."

Rabbit holes in this episode include Australia, the War on Drugs, marketing and shitty incentives, decision-fatigue, censorship, and raw milk.

Michael joins Erin and Elodie Guegan to discuss their perspective on athletic training for females and their own journeys through the process of discovering, pursuing, and ultimately growing from their participation in sport.

Nine months before we published the NonProphet Endurance Manual Michael and Mark sat down with George Briones to discuss which aspects of endurance are important, how to present them coherently, and how to tune the language of fitness to communicate about this particular characteristic. The conversation wasn't intended to be a podcast but instead a forum to explore ideas and refer back to while writing the manual. This was recorded in March 2020 but/and remains relevant because the lessons are timeless and universal. So now it's a podcast episode.

A few weeks back, Michael sat down with Tyr, Nichole, and Trevor from Black Rifle Coffee to discuss the valuable lessons surrounding the public’s reaction to Olympic athlete Simone Biles' voluntary withdrawal from the women’s individual gymnastics event. The importance of this — however trivial it seems — sparks something deeper, something primal and ancient to human nature, which is why the reaction was worth discussing. “Quit or Don’t Quit” is a fundamental question marking an intersection that each of us will have to acknowledge, and yet there are few honest conversations about it.