Hello Furious Curious listeners. We will be back in ’25 with a slate of new epic episodes and a few suprises. 

In the meantime, we will continue to surface the best of our previous episodes in our feed for you to enjoy, ya know… just in case you missed them the first time.

Enjoy your Q4, we’ll see you soon. And stay curious.

In this episode, The Furious Curious dives into the world of altered states of consciousness and their potential to enhance creativity and problem-solving. Hosts David and Britt discuss techniques for achieving these states without substances, including Gnostic states—altered consciousness reached through singular focus. They explore methods such as holotropic breathwork, sleep deprivation, polyphasic sleep cycles, lucid dreaming, binaural beats, and hypnagogic light sessions.

The hosts share personal insights and experiences, emphasizing the importance of consistency, intention, and journaling for tracking progress and gaining valuable insights.

Takeaways:

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: Unlocking the Power of Altered Consciousness

01:34 Exploring Gnostic States: Achieving Singular Focus

04:08 Understanding Altered States of Consciousness

05:28 Techniques for Inducing Altered States

08:05 Holotropic Breathwork: Breathing to Bypass Ordinary Consciousness

13:01 Sleep Deprivation: Pushing the Limits of Wakefulness

26:45 Polyphasic Sleep Cycles

28:14 Lucid Dreaming

29:52 Reality Checks for Lucid Dreaming

37:31 Binaural Beats

45:07 Hypnagogic Light Sessions

Sources:

Gnosis (Chaos Magic)

Altered State of Consciousness

Breathwork (New Age)

Holotropic Breathwork Research

Altered States Without Drugs

Lucia Light Experience

Ness Labs: Altered States

Sleep Deprivation and Hallucinations

Polyphasic Sleep

The Science of Hypnagogia

Holotropic Breathwork

Lucid Dreaming Techniques

Sleep Cycles Explained

Books:

Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Lucid Dreaming - Clare R. Johnson, PhD

Holotropic Breathwork - Stanislov & Christina Graf

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction (2nd Edition) - Susan Blackmore

Follow Us: LinkedIn: The Furious Curious

Credits:

Hosted and produced by Britton Rice, along with David Harper, Alexander Woell, Chase Domergue, Alex Detmering, and Nicole Lazar. Our original logo was designed by Nate Betts.

Music:

“All Comes Crashing” by Metric

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©2024 The Furious Curious

Summary

In this episode, The Furious Curious delves into the world of online gurus, discussing how to avoid becoming a “fluffluencer.” They explore the reasons behind the rise of online gurus, including the demand for simple answers in a complex world and the accessibility of social media. An online guru is defined as an internet personality who offers simple or secret solutions to complex problems. The hosts highlight red flags to watch out for, such as overblown promises, lack of credentials, high-pressure sales tactics, cult-like behavior, lack of transparency, promoting dependency, and an excessive focus on the guru. They also identify green flags, including realistic expectations, credentials and experience, empowerment, ethical conduct, and a focus on personal development.

The episode covers topics like discernment, sharing ideas online without becoming a full influencer, the importance of personal experience, understanding concepts versus real-world application, the dangers of creating bad guys and in-groups/out-groups, using flash for credibility, and using vulnerability at manipulation. The hosts emphasize the importance of self-awareness, humility, and genuine intentions in content creation.

Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction: Online Gurus and Fluff Fluencers

09:01 - The Rise of Online Gurus

18:06 - The Education Gap and the Demand for Practical Knowledge

28:46 - Red Flags: How to Spot a Scammy Guru

32:33 - Green Flags: Signs of a Legitimate Online Guru

35:27 - The Difficulty of Calling Out Red Flags

37:22 - Navigating Negative People and Cutting Them Out

38:21 - Sharing Ideas Online Without Being a Full Influencer

39:45 - The Importance of Personal Experience

41:39 - Understanding Concepts vs. Real-World Application

47:52 - Avoiding the Creation of Bad Guys and In-Groups/Out-Groups

51:59 - The Pitfalls of Using Flash for Credibility

53:49 - The Manipulation of Vulnerability

Follow

LinkedIn - The Furious Curious

Credits

Hosted and produced by Britton Rice, with David Harper, Alexander Woell, Chase Domergue, Alex Detmering, and Nicole Lazar. Original logo by Nate Betts.

Music

“Cult of Personality” by In Living Colour

Sources

Fake Online Gurus: The Art of Deception

Economic Distress Stimulates Religious Fundamentalism

A Plague of Gurus: How the Internet Was Flooded with Fake Success

YouTube: The Art of Deception

LinkedIn: Jason Vana

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©2024 The Furious Curious

Exploring empathy fatigue and its impact on creators. Understanding the differences between empathy, sympathy, and compassion, as well as the symptoms of empathy fatigue.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Empathy Fatigue and Its Impact on Creators

10:20 - Chapter 1: Recognizing Audience Exhaustion

17:01 - Chapter 2: Creating Calming Content

20:26 - Chapter 3: Embracing In-Person Experiences

24:21 - Chapter 4: Avoiding Empathy Fatigue as a Creator

31:36 - Chapter 5: Cultivating Empathy

35:24 - Chapter 6: Connecting with Your Audience

FOLLOW:

LinkedIn - The Furious Curious

CREDITS:

Hosted and produced by Britton Rice, with contributions from David Harper, Alexander Woell, Chase Domergue, Alex Detmering, and Nicole Lazar. Our original logo was created by Nate Betts.

KEYWORDS:

empathy fatigue, creators, empathy, sympathy, compassion, symptoms, audience exhaustion, calming content, in-person experiences, emotional energy, writing exercises, mindfulness meditation, understanding audience

MUSIC:

“Emotion” (Curls)

SOURCES:

_______________

©2024 The Furious Curious

The Dead Internet Theory is an online conspiracy theory that asserts much of today’s internet activity is generated by bots and AI rather than real people.

This week, Chase, Harper, and Alexander break down Dead Internet Theory, why it’s important, and what it means to create in the age of AI.

This is The Furious Curious podcast, where we explore culture to inspire creators.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:20 - Definition

06:00 - Examples

07:40 - Suspending Disbelief

10:10 - Youth and the Digital World

12:30 - Downsides

13:20 - What the Bots Say About the Bots

14:20 - Hypotheticals

15:20 - The Alternatives That May Re-emerge

19:05 - Reasons Why: A Premium on Human-Made

21:40 - Reasons Why: The Rise of Large Language Models (LLMs)

23:15 - Reasons Why: The ’16 Election

24:20 - Media Literacy

26:10 - The Evolution of Twitter (X)

27:15 - “The Inversion”

29:40 - Reasons Why: Do Social Media Companies Love Bots?

31:10 - Reasons Why: The Rise of Fake Images

35:52 - The Creative Opportunity

FOLLOW: LinkedIn

SOURCES:

Wikipedia: Dead Internet Theory

Springer Article

New York Magazine: How Much of the Internet Is Fake?

The Atlantic: Dead Internet Theory

YouTube Video

CREDITS:

Hosted and produced by Britton Rice, along with David Harper, Alexander Woell, Chase Domergue, Alex Detmering, and Nicole Lazar. Our original logo is by Nate Betts.

©2024 The Furious Curious

Can K-Pop inspire copywriters? Does pickleball explain virality? Are comic books a branding masterclass? 

We think so. 

Because we believe curiosity creates opportunity, wonderful ideas hide in weird places, and exploring, inspires. 

If you’re like us, you’re a curious creator with a culture-wide mindset. You find inspiration outside the lines — even if your work lives inside them. You revere the collective genius of culture because you know it says something new and useful every day if you listen. You ask “why” to truly understand, then ask “why it matters” to apply it.

If this is you, get ready. 

Pack your compass, grab your bag, and join us as we roam cultures’ corners, peaks, and valleys looking for inspiration. We’ll leave no stone unturned, no question unasked, and no territory unmapped in our quest to make sense of the world — so you can make your mark on it.

Welcome to The Furious Curious — we explore culture to inspire creators.

Evoking emotions through your craft doesn’t happen by luck. This week, we’re breaking down the essence of methodically communicating fear via Creepypasta and some horror theory.

But, what is Creepypasta, and why are we talking about it? We’ll explore that and we’ll explore what fear and horror actually are, and why we experience them. Plus! We’ll dive into some tips and techniques for crafting spine-chilling tales.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:45 - What is Creepypasta?

09:55 - Ostension

13:34 - Creepypasta Example #1

21:24 - What is fear? What is horror?

22:20 - What do we fear?

24:40 - Epigenetics

28:40 - Fear lives in the brain

42:45 - Paradoxical Pleasures

48:20 - Creepypasta Example #3

57:54 - What do we fear?

01:04:00 - Techniques & Tips

01:11:05 - Things to avoid

FOLLOW:

www.Linkedin.com/company/the-furious-curious

MUSIC:

"Look Out" (Myuu)

"It's Not Safe Here" (LVKEHOUSE)

"Very Creepy Song with Bells" (Trickolas)

"It's Coming..." (FesliyanStudios Background Music)

CREDITS:

Hosted and produced Britton Rice and David Harper, along with Alexander Woell, Chase Domergue, Alex Detmering, and Nicole Lazar. Our original logo is by Nate Betts.

SOURCES:

Web:

Books:

©2024 The Furious Curious

Everyone loves a success story. But what about tales of failure?

This week Alex, Alexander, and Chase unpack some of tech’s most marvelous misses. Th en we'll ask ourselves, as creators, what can we learn from history’s almosts.

Because if failure is the best teacher, may these disasters be our Yoda.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:50: Intro

03:30: Failed Future #1: Nuclear-Powered Cars

13:36: Nuclear-Powered Cars - Lessons for Creators

19:10: Failed Future #2: General Magic Smartphone

31:08: General Magic Smartphone - Lessons for Creators

33:30: Failed Future #3: iSmell, Smellivision

45:08: Passion Doesn’t Always Make a Product

48:20: Failed Future #4: Pneumatic Tubes

57:39: Lessons for Creators

58:52: Failed Future #5: The Concorde

01:02:32: The Concorde - Lessons for Creators

SOURCES:

https://www.vox.com/2015/6/24/8834989/when-the-pneumatic-tube-carried-fast-food-people-and-cats

https://hiddencityphila.org/2014/04/pneumatic-philadelphia/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohrpost_in_Berlin

https://thehustle.co/digiscents-ismell-fail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISmell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_scent_technology

https://commoncog.com/c/cases/general-magic/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Magic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon

https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/nuclear-powered-cars-were-once-a-real-possibility/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_propulsion

https://www.britannica.com/question/How-much-was-a-ticket-on-the-Concorde

https://inews.co.uk/news/why-did-concorde-stop-flying-last-flight-2775291

https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-concorde/

https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/concorde/the-concorde-story/concorde-timeline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Age

MUSIC:

"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" (Timbuk 3)

©2024 The Furious Curious

This week, Brit and Harper talk with designer Jon Delman about creative leadership.

Jon Delman has had a diverse and influential career in design over the past 27 years. He is currently leading the Design Systems team at Workiva, focusing on helping product and engineering teams build world-class enterprise software. Jon has a wealth of experience working with major brands such as Google, Apple, Splunk, and Samsung. His prior roles include Executive Creative Director at Ueno, Group Creative Director at Beyond, and Creative Director at Huge.

In addition to his professional endeavors, Jon has also been involved in educational initiatives, contributing as a guest speaker on topics like building a learning organization and leading change management in digital environments. Jon’s deep commitment to fostering a nurturing environment for design teams is reflected in his public discourse about leadership in design. He emphasizes the importance of kindness, curiosity, and authenticity in leadership, advocating for a more inclusive and supportive approach within creative teams. This philosophy aims to challenge the often rigid norms of leadership within the design industry and promotes a more flexible and humane approach to managing and inspiring teams.

His blend of hands-on design work and educational outreach highlights his dedication to both practicing and teaching design, aiming to inspire and develop the next generation of designers.

TIMESTAMPS

7:24 - How to cultivate curiosity within oneself

11:28 - Embracing “not getting it”

16:57 - Staying in your craft

23:33 - How creatives take in work from a team

28:40 - Strong opinions, loosely held

29:28 - Redefining creative contributions

38:12 - Created while managing

45:16 - People you want to be around

51:50 - Design systems

57:29 - Giving feedback the right way

58:16 - The role of the creator in taking in feedback

01:09 - Addressing Imposter Syndrome

1:12 - Advice for young creators

MUSIC:

“Am I Dreaming [Instrumental]” (Metro Boomin, A$AP Rocky, Roisee)

©2024 The Furious Curious