The Passing Through Podcast

What does it mean to build a new world when you haven't figured out how to leave the old one behind?

Grace Rachmany returns to The Passing Through Podcast for the second time, this time calling in from Malaysia, where she had been living inside a crypto-bro utopia not entirely dissimilar to the eco-villages where we first met. Different tribe, same restless hunger for something better.

We talk about what separates those two worlds, what they unexpectedly share, and what gets lost when you try to build culture without knowing how.

We also get into death — specifically, our disagreement with Bryan Johnson about it — trauma, what it quietly does to the brain, apocalypse porn and Plato's virtue signaling.

This is a wide-ranging, unscripted conversation that went places neither of us planned for.

Links:

Grace's Website: https://gracerachmany.com

DAO Leadership: https://www.daoleadership.com

Decentralized Identity Foundation: https://identity.foundation

So You've Got a DAO (Grace's book): https://www.daoleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/So-Youve-Got-A-DAO-2.0-The-Big-DAO-Fail-Expose-Grace-Rachmany.pdf

Mentioned in this episode:

Bryan Johnson / Don't Die: https://bryanjohnson.com

Balaji's Network School: https://networkschool.com

Grace's first appearance on Passing Through — https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SeH5vQTSLQ1DcZeRCffNC

In this solo episode of The Passing Through Podcast, we dive deep into the ancient meditation practice of Vipassana.

After completing my third 10-day silent retreat, join me for a talk where I unpack what really happens inside a Vipassana course: the intense physical pain, the psychological unraveling, and my confrontation with an unfocused mind.

Before we start I'll lay out some core Buddhist concepts—impermanence (anicca), non-self (anatta), suffering (dukkha)—as well as sila, samadhi and panna. From concentrated breathing to scanning sensations to dissolving deep-rooted reactions (sankaras), this episode reveals how meditation can become a laboratory for understanding reality itself.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• What is Vipassana and what happens during a 10-day silent meditation retreat?

• Is Vipassana for me?

• Is it wrong to crave bagels?

• What's the difference between acceptance and resignation?

Sit back, and let's stretch out that third eye!

This week I’m joined by biologist, author, educator and deep listener David George Haskell.

David is a contributor to publications such as the New York Times, Scientific American and The Guardian, he has produced sound projects with Emergence Magazine, and he has a brand new book coming out later this month, titled How Flowers Made Our World.

David’s work is perched in the wonderful place between science and poetry, where forests aren’t just ecosystems but bustling communities, and where listening carefully to the world can be a beautiful way of befriending it.

His books such as The Forest Unseen, The Songs of Trees, and Sounds Wild and Broken explore how life is woven together through sound, scent, story, and relationship.

Together we explore the strange and beautiful intelligence of the natural world: the decentralized awareness of trees, the communal genetics of ocean microbes, and the ways flowers have revolutionized our world. We discuss what modern science sometimes misses—that loss of sensory intimacy with our living planet—and how a more respectful, relational approach to inquiry is emerging among scientists today.

We also examine the tension between Western scientific frameworks and Indigenous ecological perspectives, asking what it means to approach forests, plants, and animals not merely as objects of study, but as participants in relationship.

David introduces the ideas behind his new book How Flowers Made Our World, revealing how flowering plants reshaped the planet—creating rainforests, grasslands, and also the evolutionary conditions necessary for human life. Through cooperation, beauty, and sometimes deception, flowers transformed Earth’s ecosystems and continue to sustain the vast webs of life around us.

Links to find David

How Flowers Made Our World

US: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775876/how-flowers-made-our-world-by-david-george-haskell/

UK:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/470547/how-flowers-made-our-world-by-haskell-david-george/9781911709985

David's Website:

https://dghaskell.com/about/

Join me for a different kind of episode this week, and it's a long one.

Lots of people are talking about Epstein—not enough, in my opinion, considering it’s quite possibly the biggest, most disturbing scandal in modern history—so I’d like to share some thoughts. I’m going to explore this with a "straight from the horses mouth" approach, using sometimes graphic multimedia throughout this episode, so listener discretion is advised.

I'm going to be investigating:

- Who was Epstein

- How did he make his money

- What’s the timeline we’re looking at here for the Epstein Files

- What’s in them, what has been redacted or withheld, and what are the implications?

If an international group of ultra wealthy ultra powerful individuals are known to be abusing and trafficking children—the most innocent and vulnerable among us—committing unspeakable crimes and operating above the law, what does this mean for our governmental institutions and democracy?

References

Who’s Faced Consequences

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/us/epstein-files-names-fired-resigned-fallout.html#

Survivor Claims

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/epstein-superior-gene-pool-babies-b2913060.html

Trafficking

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/epstein-files-new-batch

Redactions

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/18/politics/epstein-documents-redaction-process

JMail

https://jmail.world

Israel Connections

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/9/what-were-jeffrey-epsteins-links-to-israel

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/world/middleeast/epstein-israel-barak-ehud.html

https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/was-jeffrey-epstein-mossad-agent-spy-israel-w6p35b9v6

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260208-new-documents-reveal-epstein-donated-to-the-israeli-army-and-funded-settlements/

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/epstein-funded-organisations-linked-israeli-military-fbi-document-says

Carbyne

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/02/10/epstein-police-surveillance-investments-with-ehud-barak/

https://carbyne.com/resources/press/carbyne-powers-nationwide-emergency-communications-expansion-for-global-medical-response/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbyne_(company)

Netflix Documentaries | Filthy Rich

https://www.netflix.com/title/80224905

https://www.netflix.com//title/81380539

Some DOJ References

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01246048.pdf

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02603821.pdf

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01714002.pdf

In this episode of The Passing Through Podcast, entomologist, ecologist, educator and author Doug Tallamy reveals why insects are the foundation of life on Earth, and what happens if they disappear.

From caterpillars and chickadees to invasive species, deer, and global insect decline, we explore how biodiversity underpins our food systems, ecosystems, and even social stability.

Doug explains why native plants matter, how light pollution is driving down moth populations , and how simple acts like planting oaks or switching to yellow “bug lights” can help restore local ecosystems.

Are we separate from nature, or participants in a vast living web? This conversation bridges science, enchantment, and responsibility, offering practical steps anyone can take to rebuild biodiversity from their backyard, balcony, or voting block.

If you care about conservation, ecology, rewilding, regenerative living, butterflies or the future of the planet—this episode is for you.

https://homegrownnationalpark.org/doug-tallamy/

https://www.udel.edu/canr/departments/entomology-and-wildlife-ecology/faculty-staff/doug-tallamy/

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-nature-of-oaks-the-rich-ecology-of-our-most-essential-native-trees-douglas-w-tallamy/9789d335ef5f46d5?ean=9781643260440&next=t

Right now the world feels like it’s unraveling—politically, ecologically, spiritually. We’re at a time when love can feel naive, beauty can feel fragile, and the word empire is painfully alive and present.

In this episode, I’m honored to be joined by Indigenous scholar, scientist, musician, and activist Dr. Lyla June Johnston. We explore love as resistance, beauty as a moral force, and what Indigenous wisdom might teach us about being human in times of collapse.

We talk about nonviolence, collective power, kinship with the more-than-human world, land, indigenous food systems and economies, and allyship. I love how Lyla dispels the myth that humans are merely a plague on this planet, and I hope you do too.

If you'd like to find out more about Lyla or attend one of her courses, check out her links below:

Website(s):

https://www.lylajune.com

https://www.rehuman.earth

IG:

https://www.instagram.com/lylajune

Course:

Building Solidarity With Indigenous Communities 101 https://www.rehuman.earth/courses/building-solidarity-with-indigenous-communities-101

This week I'm down with the sickness (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah).

I'm ill! Part man, part exotic virus. Join me for a very quick and delirious update from the non-ordinary state of consciousness we collectively call sickness.

In this solo episode, I reflect on stillness, resistance and the use of force, as well as what it means to live through times of ecological and social crisis.

I talk about the pressure of weekly creation, the value of slowing down, and the tension between offering something out of obligation versus presence. I speak about what’s unfolding in the United States — state-sponsored violence, authoritarianism, and the violation of human dignity — and the difficult questions this raises around nonviolent resistance, the use of force, and how to respond to the monstrous without becoming monsters ourselves.I also explore the interconnectedness of ecosystems through a story of ‘The Destroyer’s’ invasion in North America, and how ecological imbalance mirrors deeper fractures in our societies.

This episode is an invitation to consider human dignity, resistance without hatred, moral courage, and the quiet practice of choosing goodness in a world that often feels unstable and overwhelming.

What if learning to love a forest could change how you see responsibility, courage, and your place in the living world?

From trees that sweat clouds to foxes guided by invisible forces, today’s conversation invites us back into a world alive with wonder.

Joining us today on The Passing Through Podcast is Ethan Tapper, author of the award-winning book How to Love a Forest. Ethan is an internationally recognized forester, educator, and digital storyteller devoted to re-enchanting our relationship with the natural world. He currently lives on a 175-acre forest in Vermont, a place he calls “Bear Island.”

In this episode, we explore the complex beauty of the living world — from the surprising and scientifically proven connection between birding and ear hair, to the profound responsibilities of ecological stewardship, and the quiet magic of trees creating clouds. We reflect on how the forests we wander today are only shadows of their former selves, uncover the hidden wonders of magnetoreception in animals, and explore re-enchantment as an antidote to modern apathy. This conversation invites us to consider how our actions — big or small — can help cultivate a healthier, more vibrant planet. If you’re longing to deepen your relationship with nature and rediscover a sense of wonder, this episode is for you.

All the links you need to find Ethan are below:

https://ethantapper.com

https://www.instagram.com/howtoloveaforest

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5pCDPHUyOiA2vW1l7L6oA

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551839705724

https://www.tiktok.com/@howtoloveaforest

Ethan’s book

https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-love-a-forest-the-bittersweet-work-of-tending-a-changing-world-ethan-tapper/aadfae3187214809?ean=9798889830559&next=t&

Winnebago Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSWUWPx2VeQ

This week I'm passing through the snowy mountains of southwestern Poland.

Join me for a meandering ramble that begins with dissolution and letting go. What does it mean to let go of everything and dissolve? In this episode I ask questions like:

• ​What is this podcast about?
• ​Who is it for?
• ​What's the point?
• ​Should you pull the mouse from the maw of a feral beast?

This is an episode for new listeners and old. Come all ye faithful and lend me your ears. I'm unpacking the tentpoles with you in real time and trying to reassemble the pieces. Let's sit down by the fire and make the time more easy passing.

This episode brought to you by LiminAL