Crazy Wisdom

Claire Tiwald is a painter, illustrator, sculptor, and comic book artist, and Fb friend of mine. We talk about wilderness camping, bears, mountain lions, camping in the winter, r-value and why it is important and much more. You can find Claire on her website clairetiwald.com and on her Instagram page @grimlemur. Enjoy! (5:04 – 7:52) What to actually do when you encounter a bear up close; surprising information on which bears are the most dangerous (has little to do with size). (8:07 – 9:25) Countryside vs city, which has scarier people? (I should run a poll on this); why animals are easier and more straightforward to deal with compared to human beings. (10:04 – 12:27) Bears vs Mountain Lions, which should you be warier of? When and where you should watch for mountain lions; how a donkey got between Claire and a bear. (13:29 – 14:45) Do you know you can take a donkey on the Pacific Crest Trail? The pros and cons of doing so; Claire’s experience with one. (16:00 – 18:54) How emotional struggles, her dad, and the healing effects of nature cultivated Claire’s love for the wilderness. (19:00 – 26:50) Tips on camping during winter; r-value: why you should pay attention to the r-value of your camping gear; why you should be wary of synthetic liners, blankets, pants, and clothing in general; why cotton is worse than synthetics for camping during the winter. (26:50 – 30:11) Do you know it’s possible to get hypothermia in the summer? Under special conditions of course; why listening to your body and being in the moment during wilderness hikes is a must; and, going back to camping during winter, how stacking claories up can stave hypothermia off, and why you shouldn’t take any alcohol when camping during the winter. (31:51 – 36:06) Weather forecasting and navigational precautions to take when deciding to go camping during the winter; courses to take on wilderness navigation and how to improve your ability to navigate in general. (37:00) Do you know it is illegal to have a drone in national forest airspace?

Today’s guest is Ruth from ‘The Temple of Truth,’ an underground guide for death and surrender practice who 5-MeO-DMT as a tool to induce mystical states that mimic dying, and helps her clients integrate these experiences. In this episode we discuss death, the fear of death, letting go and surrender, 5-MeO-DMT, and much more.While she currently doesn’t have an online presence, Ruth is working on a body of work that will be made available to the online public. That said, there’s always the chance you can find her in person. Enjoy!(1:34 – 2:52) What does it mean to help people experience death and rebirth? What does surrender mean? Does it simply mean to give up? Does it simply mean to lay down and die? Is death such a bad thing?(4:11 – 6:39) How an uncanny penchant for vivid dreams, at a young age, brought an onslaught of anxiety and neuroses, and drove Ruth to eventually confront her fear of death(7:45 – 11:57) Living in fear is a feedback loop that’s perpetuated by the body and mind; it’s a ‘chicken and the egg’ situation; the mind signals the body to generate hormones which signal the mind to further signal the body to generate more stress hormones; it’s a survival mechanism gone wrong; Ruth explains how facing our fear of death helps us reconfigure this loop into a positive one.(13:54 – 17:32) 5-MeO-DMT’s role in cultivating wellbeing and overcoming the fear of death, and the dangers of using it as a distraction from the important work of integration.(17:37 – 26:05) What is 5-MeO-DMT? Where does it come from? How is it different from regular DMT? Why is it called the God/Source molecule? How is Ruth able to use it to help people heal? Are there any differences between natural and synthetically produced 5-MeO?(27:43 – 32:05) The perils of seeking ‘oneness’ out of egoic desire, ignorance, or a means to control life, as opposed to deeply investigated intentions; the true cost of meeting ‘God.’ (Hint: There may be some screaming involved)(32:07 – 36:15) How skepticism can make the process of death and rebirth difficult, and the various reactions Ruth has witnessed skeptics have to 5-MeO-DMT.(36:17 – 38:50) You will never be free of the ego; why this isn’t a bad thing; how you can train the art of letting go.

Kelsey is working on a book that discusses both conscious-consumption and how to change reality from the inside. In this episode, we discuss creativity, perception, meaning, conditioning, circumstance, and how all these come together consciously and unconsciously to create our reality. Kelsey also shared some ideas from her upcoming book: “Mood Food.” You can find Kelsey on Instagram @luscious_alchemy. (1:32 – 2:51) The nature of reality; how our senses create reality, and how our choices, conditioning, and circumstances, in turn, influence how we perceive reality. (4:42 – 8:25) What a trip to Thailand taught Kelsey about how we can use our creative abilities, as human beings, to create an inner fulfillment that transcends experiences, whether good or bad; how seeking to create meaning in this way, as opposed to compiling a bunch of experiences is the key to this fulfillment. (Pro-tip: Getting good at it requires a fine balance). (8:50 – 15:22) How circumstances and conditioning create unconsciously unhealed wounds; trapped emotions and damaging inhibitions, especially as it relates to personal growth and creativity; how our conditioning creates narratives that keep us limited to certain behavioral patterns; suppressing our natural forms of expression; some techniques we can apply to dissolve these behavioral patterns. (16:27 – 19:38) The nature of being; what is being? What is the purpose of life? Is there a true purpose? How do we integrate the fact that we don’t actually know nor are we required to do any of the things we actually do as a society, save issues dealing with direct survival? How do we interpret emotion in a world that isn’t entirely objective? What does this mean for our ability to navigate and influence our experience in life? (19:40 – 23:14) Realms of reality; The various levels of consciousness that human beings experience, and how we can use this to grow through our pain. (23:14 – 28:37) Alchemy; the history of yoga; how the east inspired Carl Jung’s spiritual system; how culture moves through space and time and creates rifts among us when we see its practices as being more than what they are. (28:45 – 40:20) Kelsey shares themes from her book; how it was influenced by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; how we can navigate the path it charts (in no particular order) to better and more aligned states of consciousness and being; both in an individual sense and at a collective level.

Ray Alejandro is the Access to Finance Leader, Endeavor, Mexico City. He’s passionate about figuring out better ways to signal skills and talent, optimizing for the things you want, inequality of opportunity, properly contextualizing ideas, improving the education system, navigating upward and social mobility in emerging regions, philosophy and ideas, and economics and that forms the basis of this episode’s discussion. You can catch Ray thinking out loud on Twitter and medium @rayalcas. Enjoy. (1:52 – 10:54) Why you should treat life as a videogame; How Ray’s fundamental beliefs have been shaped by death, limitation, living in an emerging market, self-awareness, and trying to accomplish his goals via experimentation. (12:11 – 19:49) The role of credentials in emerging regions, such as Latin America, for aspects of life like mobility and social freedom; how these credentials are limited to certain aspects of the population and how knowledge of this limitation should guide your optimization process, such that you neither end up stuck nor end up enslaved by the glamorization of credentials. (20:12 – 21:56) How Ray learned to avoid the hype offered by credential-based thought leaders; the importance of contextualizing and idea-debugging. (23:15 – 27:40) Why the movement to liberate the lower class and create opportunities for social mobility of people of all classes should be supported just as strongly as movements such as feminism. (31:50 – 35:50) Mexico City in 15 years: Ray’s projections on the effect of urbanization on the city, based on the current trends. (Hint: large tech companies currently have very little impact on the lives of the majority of individuals.) (37:00 – 41:17) Why the education system is a cultural monopoly and how it holds the middle-class ransom to maintaining narrow forms of credentialing and signaling if they’re to experience any forward mobility; how this credentialing system is maintained by the inability, in most fields, to measure competency. (46:46 – 53:04) Creating your own life philosophy vs copying the playbook of people who have what you want; how to navigate this tension, and having the self-awareness to define success for yourself. (53:42 – 58:18) How Ray navigates consciousness, the sense of self, and personal identity and how he uses the insights he’s gained from studying this to deal with the struggles of life.

Norland Tellez is an artist and teacher, with a degree in film animation from Cal Arts, and a student of mythology and mythological history with a master’s and a doctorate degree in mythology from Pacifica Institute. In this episode, we discuss the Jungian idea of individuation, the nature of the individual, the two-ness of nonduality, and much more. You can reach Norland on Twitter @mythistorian or via his website: norlandtellez.com (3:47) Asking “who am I?” is a narrow approach to self-discovery; a better trail of inquiry as suggested by Norland. (5:10) Are the worldwide instabilities and widespread crises of meaning that are occurring in today’s world a sign that the religious and philosophical movements that were inspired in the axial age are coming to an end? If so, what attitudes should we take in response? Does the Popol Vuh say anything about this? (11:25) An interesting breakdown of the term ‘image,’ in the context of the religious idea (found across a variety of religions; not just Christianity) that “God/the gods attempted to make man in their own image” (13:12) What Carl Jung failed to see about the human psyche and why his psychological worldview is incomplete. (15:49) What exactly is Western Civilization? What is it and is it really behind the ‘hyper-individualistic’ psyche that dominates the majority of human society in today’s world? That said, are we just cogs in society’s machine? Or are we individuals with free will? Or is it both? (28:10) Individualism is a relational concept; an individual is a collective process. (31:50) How the concept of twinship, from the Popol Vuh, correlates with the structure of consciousness; the primordial archetype of ‘two-ness’; why the ‘One’ is actually a ‘twinship.’ (47:45) How we can deal with ideological traps.

Today’s episode is brought to you from the top of Shasta Mountain where I’m holding a virtual conversation with Woody Wiegmann, founder of the Woodside Investment Counsel. Our discussion focuses on gaining the courage to be disliked without losing your connection to community. You can find Woody on Twitter @woodywiegmann, or check his ideas out at woodsideinvestmentcounsel.com. Enjoy. (4:23) Navigating the balance between being okay with being disliked and being an asshole; Woody shares his daily attempts at navigating this spectrum. (Quick hint: you have no idea what anyone else is thinking.) (8:37) How our genetic programming to attempt to fit into an ingroup has led to the polarization of society and the steady disintegration we’re currently witnessing, especially in the political sphere, and once again, a metaphor we can use to parse the boundaries between seeking acceptance and living true to your core. (16:38) The downsides to identifying with the social identity, especially at the corporate level. (21:15) A suggestion we can practice to maintain our individual sovereignty without losing the attachment to community that gives our lives meaning, and what countries like Israel can teach us in maintaining this balance. (24:38) Have cities made us more ungrounded? What do you think? Have you ever lived outside the city? What was the experience like for you? Leave me a comment on twitter @stewartalsopIII with your thoughts on the matter and tag your post #episodewithwoodywiegmann (28:30) Woody’s interpretation of the US’ response to COVID-19; how America is becoming less and less habitable for the average householder. (31:43) What is America’s future in light of the various institutional and wealth inequality crises that are steadily nearing critical mass? (37:06) How America’s response to COVID-19 is killing capitalism and entrepreneurship in many places all over the country. (44:50) A solution to tackling the issues we face in today’s world. (47:43) Learning to deal with the unknown and a brilliant quote by Nicholas Nassim Taleb.

Ryan Delk is the CEO of Primer, a company that seeks to revolutionize and rebrand homeschooling, and his mission is to revamp the education system so that children grow up more ambitious, creative, and able to think for themselves. In this episode, we discuss homeschooling, education, what to aim for with education, and much more. You can visit Primer’s website at www.withprimer.com (6:03) Why preparing to homeschool a child can be more difficult than the day to day lessons themselves. (9:20) The various approaches parents take to homeschooling, and why this makes it difficult to create a one-size all fits app (12:33) What is the right way to educate a child? What are the factors involved? How people are responding to the changes needed to be made in educational goalposts and how Primer intends to provide a viable alternative. (16:00) Does AI have a role to play in the future of education? Ryan’s opinion on technology’s role in education. How technology is aiding the reformation of learning as a whole. (24:11) The biggest misconception people have about homeschooling, and the top reasons people opt for homeschooling rather than more conventional options. (26:49) How the increased popularity of remote work can afford more parents the time to prepare effective homeschooling experiences. (34:10) Will the alterations that COVID has wrought in the educational sector last? What will be the effects post-COVID? (36:11) The current immovable barrier to homeschooling, and Primer’s plans to tackle that. (41:01) How the incentive structures for teachers in public schools divert from the outcomes we want to see in society.

Ashton is a martial artist and yoga instructor dedicated to the exploration of human consciousness. He spent six and a half years traveling the world and has spent even more time practicing with various yoga instructors. In this episode, we discuss tantra yoga, the nature of bliss, meditation, escapism, wisdom traditions, and so on. Ashton's forte is tantric yoga and you can interact with his ideas at his website: yogawithashton.com, on his podcast: The anatomy of living, and on Instagram @yogawithashton. Enjoy. (3:48) Tantra is not what pop-culture has made you think it is. (7:04) Do you know you can pick out caves in North India for meditation retreat purposes? (8:21) Is your meditation practice really a tool to help you better handle the world or are you just using it as an escape from the world? (10:10) The wrong way to approach Yoga. (13:27) Why we can never fully rely on our beliefs (17:10) What Tantra can teach us about navigating differences (21:44) The goal of tantra (Hint: it has very little to do with the sexual or supernatural stuff) (27:22) How tantra avoids the fall into escapism (31:36) The point of tantra is how you reintegrate the insights you gain from states of samadhi into your daily life, rather than falling back into autopilot. (37:00) Is integration a practice or an attitude? (38:52) Freedom isn’t really about being able to do whatever your impulses dictate (43:32) Bliss isn’t happiness or pleasure

John Vervaeke is a professor of philosophy and cognitive science. He’s the mastermind behind the lecture series: ‘Awakening from the meaning crises.’ We explore, in this episode, the wonder of the human cognitive system; why our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses and how we’ve lost the society-wide ability to resolve this. You can find John on Twitter @vervaeke_john, check his ‘diologos’ series, called ‘Voices With Vervaeke,’ out, join his ‘Cultivation of Wisdom’ course, and community, or join his Discord community server. (4:07) Do you pass through deserts often? Does it feel like they play tricks on your cognition when you pass through? (5:26) Why the world feels alien to us. (11:12) The potential role of the virtual world (social media and internet culture) in bringing an axial age about. (16:22) Why everyone is actually seeking wisdom, even though it seems our society sees wisdom as irrelevant. (19:51 – 27:25) The most exhaustive description of wisdom, from a sensemaking perspective, you’ll hear this week (28:00) The mythos of crazy wisdom: what neural network techniques and transformational psychotechnology have in common. (38:41) The relationship between psychedelics and insight. (40:40) Why drugs should be decriminalized and yet treated with sacred respect. (43:27) Psychedelics and cognition cannot be reduced to the reductionist view that life is just the movement of atoms; how having an open mind towards the mechanics of these phenomena honors the ideals of science. (51:58) How do most people get postmodernism wrong? (57:52) Opponent processing: Why you always appear to be at war with yourself and why this is a good thing. Contradictory acceptance of self and others. (1:02:54) Spirituality is not just about the inside; inside and outside are one and the same; minds are group efforts

Jude Gomila is the CEO and co-founder of Golden; a firm dedicating to mapping all of human knowledge. As you’ve come to expect a lot of topics were touched in this episode. Do enjoy. You can find Jude @judegomila on Twitter. (5:50) The hidden limitations of modern-day supply chains, despite their ultra-efficiency, with examples, and a better metric to work with. (7:51) The wonders of synthetic biology, and the possibilities (and hazards) it holds for the revolutionization of manufacturing and food production. (12:17) What is construction theory? And is there a connection between it and synthetic biology? (17:02) Are there contradictions between what is possible in quantum mechanics and not possible in classical dynamics? (24:22) How cats got a sweet deal by optimally navigating of the curiosity-survivability loop. (31:00) Modeling COVID-19 as a network problem; how this can allow for more flexible solutions; the uncertainties involved. (35:47) Atoms, bits, biotechnology and the dawn of a new Information Age (38:45) Why is science, which is one in actual reality, so fragmented in theory? (41:02) Why Jude believes our educational system, in its current form, is suboptimal. (46:06) A theory of U.B.I. as a means of making ownership, rather than income, more widely available; how making capitalist incentives and access to ownership widespread in a transparent market can make an economy flourish. (54:27) Is the loss of labor (increase in automation) leading to the loss of sovereignty among individuals? Is there anything we can do about it? (57:24) What can we do to steer the future in a different direction? How do we build a vision of where we want to go? (1:03:41) Does our generation have the courage to make the changes necessary to face our coming future? (1:12:31) Why social distancing should have been called physical distancing instead.

Thomas, like any other human being, is a lot of things and is working on a lot of stuff. He loves to code, play the bass guitar, and is devoted to truth and beauty, among others. You can interact with his ideas on life on his blog at thosmos.com. In this episode, we discuss identity politics, the battle between the left and the right, consciousness, plants, inequality, and of course, much more. Enjoy. (3:25) The strangest podcast intro you’ll listen to this week. (7:35) The consequences of modifying government policies to help the rich get richer (9:07) Is upward mobility possible for everyone? (12:44) Some business models that allow for more equality between employees and employers. (18:13) Why facts don’t change our minds (21:00) How are we to transcend identity politics? (24:55) What indigenous tribes can teach us about establishing a harmonious society (29:09) Are plants conscious? A scientists’ interesting experimental report on communicating with a plant. (30:25) Where do thoughts come from? And what exactly is consciousness? Is it produced from the brain or do we receive it? (39:17) The fundamental polarity at play in human relationships and cooperation (42:14) The 99% vs the 1% isn’t really a battle between the lower-class and the elite or at least it doesn’t have to be; there’s a better way to unify. (45:34) How Bernard Lietaer connected economics, psychology, and archetypes; how suppressing important archetypes creates a dysfunctional society, and how modern society incentivizes greed and fear (53:15) The government is reflective of the collective psyche of the people.

Enzo is an investment professional at Dalus Capital, Mexico City, and an Angel investor as well. He has holdings in companies like Talently, and this episode discusses investing in Latin America, his unlikely journey to becoming an investment professional in Mexico City, his philosophies, the investing dynamics in different Latin American countries, his passion for the education sector, and a lot more. You can find Enzo on twitter @enzocavalie. Dive in! (3:37) His introduction to entrepreneurship, startups, markets and investing (5:05) How his desire for more and a job application with no expectation to be hired led to him ending up in Mexico City, all the way from Peru. (7:42) How market-size in Latin America affects where startups launch and how investment companies choose to fund these startups. (13:49) How college ignited his passion to reform the educational system. (16:00) Why are some people contrarians and others not? And why Enzo thinks it’s a trait that’s beyond choice (19:19) A difference between entrepreneurs in Latin America and those from places like Europe, or the U.S., that should be noted. (34:03) What types of backgrounds do the majority of the most successful founders in Latin America possess? (36:43) A lesson Latin American angel investors should learn from investors in San Francisco. (38:53) The value of social media, writing online, and building a reputation on the web; how it helps forge genuine connections; how it has helped in building his career and network, and how entrepreneurs can benefit from it. (43:36) The scarcity of original content in Spanish by Latin American venture capitalists and the opportunity it provides. (52:22) How Enzo comes up with content for his blog

Yoshua and I explore the world of plants (Do you think they’re conscious?) We discuss the wide-ranging influence they have on our lives- from being food sources to medicine to tools for spiritual awakening and, weaving a winding path, we branch into topics like death, awakening, Yoshua’s You Enjoy Life project, what it means to be enlightened, dealing with emotional trauma and a bunch of other random topics because, of course, I don’t believe in themes. To see more of Yoshua’s content google his project: ‘You Enjoy Life’ (podcast, YouTube channel, and Instagram page) and his book ‘Conversations with Your Best Friend’ (4:52) A brief description of permaculture (10:17) What dies when we die? Is there something in us that doesn’t die when our connection to our senses go? (13:13) What is ‘You Enjoy Life?’ (13:54) How Yoshua learned to communicate with plants (15:55) Learning from ayahuasca and psilocybin; his beliefs about how these plants work, and how they helped his inner work. (Do you know that there’s a religion that integrates ayahuasca and Christianity?) (25:55) Innocence: why pursuing childhood innocence is the wrong thing to do and what to look for instead. (28:10) A common misconception a lot of us have about enlightenment; what waking up to truth is really like; navigating this reality to continual growth and evolution (34:17) Is ‘science vs religion’ a valid debate? (36:08) Why depression is the most powerful tool for awakening and how it led to Yoshua’s experience of awakening. (41:05) Why Yoshua decided to ditch his ADD medication. (51:20) How we can all learn to be less wasteful without needing to be radical about it.

Pamela Valdez is the CEO and founder of Beek.io; one of the top-rated audio platforms in Latin America, known for its original, high-quality audio content, produced in Spanish. In this podcast we discuss the details of creating high-quality audio content in the Latin American market, the unique opportunities and experiences being the founder of the first Mexican company to be sponsored by Y Combinator have brought her, the challenges of growing a start-up and dealing with investors in Mexico, her philosophy and much more. You can find Pamela on Twitter on @pamevls and visit her company website: beek.io (4:38) The current big opportunity available for content creators in the Spanish speaking market. (10:30) What she learned from Netflix about localizing international content. (16:18) How she navigated investors and raising funds and what she feels investors who can afford less should focus on. (20:56) Getting into Y-combinator. (22:13) The major benefit of being part of the Y-combinator network for companies based outside Silicon Valley, asides the investments, and how Pamela takes advantage of it. (26:19) The one skill a founder needs that no one tells him or her to cultivate; the huge part it plays in helping Pamela refine her ideas for her company, and how she knows she’s used it effectively. (33:56) What meditation and God mean to her; how surfing helps her meditate, and what it has taught her about life.

What is the tripartite soul? What do we call people who thinking about thinking? What is the etymology of philosopher? What does it feel like to be unified by a scientific belief? What happens when we have disputes about the meaning of the truth? Is logic our instrument of finding the truth? What is polyproyism syndrome? How do we ensure equal opportunity? Why do people not like to ask questions? What is a stupid question?

Here are some other questions we discuss: What is the best way to take drugs? What is the relationship between creativity and drugs? What is the relationship between What is the ego? What is the difference between civilization and culture? What are accuator impulses? What is the control state? What is the motor state? What is the effect of the abundant virtual environments and how will that change evolution?

Here are some more questions we discuss: How did Ochem break you? Why is organic chemistry so hard? What is the neuroscience of cross country skiing? What living environment can you not stand (geographical)? How do you pick a career? Did academia stifle you? What is the model in neuroscience right now that you suspect is wrong yet everyone still believes? What is the system of memory that helps us build physical skills? What about other skills? Why does it help someone learn to give them a visualization? What is the emotional flavor you experience when you learn something new? Why is it important to learn Ochem? What's the deal with false memories? What is the neuroscience of it? Has anyone started to do virtual dissections on Zoom? Which is the school that is most open hearted when it comes to teaching cognitive science? This gets into mimetics How have you adapted to homeschooling your kids? What's the deal with abstraction from a neuroscience perspective? How have small liberal schools adapted to the recent change in higher education practices? Why is it important for your education to be intimate? What are the parts of studying neuroscience that you have to do in person? Are liberal arts colleges going to survive COVID 19? What things need to be abstracted away to teach someone something online? What is the difference between neuroscience and neurophilosophy? What is the divide between philosophy and psychology? What does it mean to be a reductionist? What is it we don't understand about neuroscience? Can we change the fact that scientific papers aren't written for the general public? Is that a good idea? Why does someone (or myself) need an editor? Read "the fourth draft" or "on writing well" What is missing in this thing I just wrote?

Here are some questions we discuss: What is Iboga? Why did Gabon get so much bwiti or Iboga rather than its neighbors Cameroon? What is different about hunting at night versus at hunting at the day? How does TCM use Ibogaine related plants? What is it like to have a waking dream state? What is the main receptor that iboga interacts with? Why is the mind so good at compartmentalizing?

Here are some questions we talk about: How do people in the woods hurt themselves? How does poor decision making manifest itself in the survival situations? What is the connection with survival situations and mindfulness? How important is knowing how to move in different environments essential to survival? Why is travel so different? What are the core components of wilderness therapy?

We also talked about the following questions: How does education work different in different countries? How has internet connectivity changed in Myanmar? How does an authoritarian government affect education and creativity? What does it take to learn? What does it mean to learn? What was it like to grow up in a dictatorship that is based on Buddhism?

Here are some of my favorite questions: What is the lifespan of an average system? Why does a system prioritize its own existence? How do adaptable systems manage inertia? Why is real estate so stable? Why are corn and soybeans such a good investment in the mid-west? What is regulatory capture? Why humans are so crazy about curiosity? How does consciousness help us eat, have sex, poop, and sleep better? What is the point of subconsciousness? What does it mean to be a system engineer? Can the systems of technology and the systems of nature coexist? Is a human pushing a rock off a cliff an example of technology? How would you describe the intention of a tree? What percent of services are automated now? What percentage will be in five years? Follow Matt on Twitter: @thatmatt

Here are some other questions we discussed: What is 3D trading technology? What is an idea market? What are the broken structures of the corporate media environment? How do you battle systemic corruption? How has the internet affected nuance? How can decentralized finance help to reshape the broken structures of modern institutions? How do you align interests without building monopolies or duopolies? What are the interests of corporations? What about the shadowy ones? How long is the average lifespan of an institution? How is attention like a currency? In what ways is it similar? In what ways is it different? Follow Mike here: https://twitter.com/harmonylion1

Here are some other questions we discuss: What did socrates say about the unexamined life? What would it mean to have free will? Is there a specialization in studying interdisciplinary studies? What does the university of the internet look like? What are the three components of effective education? What does excellence look like? How do you think more clearly? Where does originality come from? Follow Richard: @richardprice100 on Twiter

Warren is the father of Arik Gohl who is a previous guest and master bodyworker. Warren story is fascinating and has served in many roles over his life. He speaks several languages fluently and has keen insight into historical forces as well as how language creates the reality we live. I highly recommend listening to this episode.

Jesse is a old friend and has a company that makes it really easy to for cities and counties to make sure water is flowing in and out of houses. Follow Jesse here: https://twitter.com/JesseAizenstat

This was actually recorded several months ago before COVID19 but it's probably more relevant now. You seriously should check out SoundSelf for your 2-month quarantine-style meditation retreat: https://www.soundself.com/

Here are some other questions we talked about: What is the effect of COVID19 on residential real estate? What are the differences and similarities between 2008 and 2020? What percentage of the US economy is in real estate? How is COVID19 going to affect the Airbnb businesses? How did the government stimulus of 2020 effect commercial real estate? Why is a lease on commercial real estate so long? What are the cool cities in Wyoming? Jackson Hole What are the hybrid cities in the west coast? Why will people become more dependent on investment for income? What are the skills that matter at a high level after COVID19 and the drive towards automation? Generate and invest wealth What was it like to invest in the late 1990's? What is the mentality of the investor right now due to COVID19? How do you hedge in order to protect yourself in the market? What is debt monetization? What is the effect of unlimited money on the global economy? How do you separate the printing of money and the long term outlook of innovation? What are the fundamental trends that are immune to unlimited printing of money? What are the investments you should be making if you believe in the long term positive investment horizon? Bristol-Myers Squibb CVS Medtronic Heineken Starbucks Coke Amazon Target Kroger Berkshire Hathaway Prudential Bluebird What are dividends for stocks? How do you find out whether a company has a long term vision? How does this work differently between startups and established companies What are the world-class companies out there right now? What should you invest in biotech right now? How does a 20 year old change their investment horizon from 1 year to 40-50 years? How do you invest in CRISPR? What is the relationship between specificity, time, and prediction? How do hypotheticals help you make better investments? How do you get better at speculating on the future? What would happen if you believed that more money would be digital? medicine is more personalized? Why do you want to buy a basket based on trends? How do you buy a customized platform for investing in a basket? How do you change the How do you get better at risk management both in life and investing? Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/mikealfred

I sit down with Michael, the CEO of Bottomless, to talk about how his company is a key solution to the problems with the supply chain. He also shares his wisdom about how China has dealt with changes to its manufacturing capability in times of COVID19. Find Bottomless here: https://www.bottomless.com/

I've been seeing Arik for years and is one of my favorite bodyworkers. He developed something called manual ligament theory and his findings are counterintuitive and contrarian but correct. I sat down with him on my way through Guadalajara, Mexico a few weeks ago to go deep on this subject. Check out manual ligament theory here: https://gohlprogram.wordpress.com/

I haven't talked too much about Iboga on the show. I think I've mentioned it a couple of times in a few episodes. I decided to take Iboga on my way back from Colombia once I heard about Corona virus in early January. The experience itself was bewildering but it has been a key part of keeping my mental health in order during this period of chaos. This is an interview I did with Levi, one of the providers at Iboga Wellness Center. Here is the center: https://ibogawellness.com/

Matt is the Founder/CEO at a Stealth AI company. Angel Investor. Founder @ Dishcraft Robotics. Ex-NYC Paramedic. Champion of righteous underdogs. Questions that came up in the show: What is the most recent medical advice for having ADHD? Does remote work help people with ADHD? What does ADHD feel like for you? What is the emotional flavor of ADHD? Why do we fight back against the tradition of our parents? Is there anyway to tell whether an idea you have is crazy or not before testing it? If so how? What is the delta between someone’s assumed station in life (birth conditions) and where they end up in life? What was expected of them versus of what they did? How do you break a negative pattern or spiral? What is the foundation of self belief? What is the relationship between self belief and tough love? Is it possible to be both insecure and intellectual fearlessness? What is the relationship between accepting reality and greatness? How do hierarchies work differently in a remote work environment? What is the risk of telling the truth? Follow Matt here: https://twitter.com/mattmireles

We talk a lot about latin america and its use of crypto and how Simon's company is helping to make it all easier. Even though this was recorded almost 3 months ago before everything happened it is very prescient today because we talk about the rise of authoritarian governments, something which is happening rapidly with the corona virus (and very few people are even noticing it). Follow @simonvaliu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonvaliu

Reid is CEO at Virtue consultants where he helps tech companies get their ethics in order. He has a PHD in Philosophy. Here are some things we cover: Are ethics and morals just preferences? Why is academia so focused on novelty? What is the importance of foundations when learning something new? What is meta-ethics? How can philosophy help you do better business? Is there an issue with studying by dissecting? What is the relationship between psychology and philosophy? How can you tell when someone’s argument is not coherent? Follow Reid here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reid-blackman-ph-d-0338a794/

Here are some other questions we come up with: What was Neitzche reading from Eastern Philosophy? Are there paths of knowledge which will lead you to be more strong, and powerful as well as keeping the social norms of society? What is Schopenhauer’s understanding of will? How are wills exchanged when meeting online? What does it mean when the Bible says “the meek shall inherit the earth”? What do the hermetics say about goals? What is the relationship between courage and strength? What did nuclear weapons do to our understanding of centralization? What are your critiques of modernity? How do you make people wise at scale? Is wisdom for everyone? Check out Cent: https://beta.cent.co/

Sam and I have been connected for a while online and it's clear that he is up there in terms of thinkers that will define our generation. We talk about his theory of colors and how working with different colors can help our mental health. Highly recommend this episode. Follow Sam here: https://twitter.com/SamHincks

Jacob wrote this tweet thread and I had to reach out to him to find out what the hell free energy theory is: https://twitter.com/yashkaf/status/1207133151941840896 I had read a very interesting wired article on it but didn't understand most of it. Jacob lays it all down here and connects it to psychedelic and mental states. Check out Jacob's blog here: https://putanumonit.com/

Mathew is a podcast host and author and the Best Selling Author of Zen Athlete. We talk about a lot of things, mostly having to do with yoga, spirituality, and how to live a good life. The biggest thing I got from this episode is that if you want to change your life in a big way, do three kind things for strangers without telling anyone that you did those kind things. Check out the Zen Athlete here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L8MY5CK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

We talk about the following questions: What did the 3 mile island do to the public acceptance of nuclear power? What is the age distribution of nuclear engineers? What are the nuclear technologies Leslie is most excited about? Whats it like to build a startup in a field that is at the prototype stage with huge capital and regulatory requirements? What is currently going on in the Fusion startups? Check out nucleation capital here: https://nucleationcapital.com/

Here are some other questions we investigated: What is your objective function? Did Religion provide people with an objective function? When do you experience a child-like novelty? Is there anything more to life than just seeking experiences? What is the relationship to unique experiences and difficult experiences? What is the relationship between optionality and commitment? What are some things that are fungible besides money? And many more. Follow Geoffrey here: https://twitter.com/geoffreywoo

You will like this episode if you have a basic knowledge of crypto and want to find out more. Dan is an investor in crypto from a venture point of view and understands it deeply and fundamentally. I don't know that much but I am intensely curious so I invited him on to learn as much as I can. This is the product. Follow Dan for more insights from a master: https://twitter.com/DHannum8

This was a great episode about remote work and how to manage effectively in a remote work environment. We also talk about how life puts us into trying situations and its part of the way we make meaning to overcome them. Follow Gary here: https://twitter.com/garyposter

We also talk about the following questions: What is the value of internationalism? What is the nature of progress and collaboration? What is the relationship? How is the growth of convenience and infrastructure is going to take the whole world by surprise? Follow Svilen here https://twitter.com/svilenrangelov Check out Dronamics here (its pretty cool): https://www.dronamics.com/

We talk about two types of creativity: 1. Creativity that VC unlocks through the companies VC's invest in 2. Creativity of how to make investment decisions We also talk about these questions: How do you set up a relationship so that its good for the long term? What is the difference between creativity that is exponential and creativity that is linear? What will the search algorithm for Voice technology be once its more widespread? What are the roadblocks to speech to text algorithms today? Computation? Is imagination just a virtual game? What have you learned about reality from programming computers? Follow Leo here: https://twitter.com/lpolovets

I talk with Doug about his plan to give people $10K to move out of San Francisco and how they are building a network of coworking places where people can work remotely yet still find personal connections. We investigate the question: Will big companies trust remote work at scale? We also went into a tangent on what remote work looks like in China. Follow Doug here on twitter: https://twitter.com/dougludlow Check out Mainstreet here: https://www.mainstreet.org/home

This one was really fun because I got to talk to Brian about how humans are adapting to cities, one of my favorite things to talk about. Brian started a company that creates tiny rooms that people can use for meetings or podcasts escaping from open office floor plan hell. He was actually in one of the rooms while he recorded this podcast! Follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_bchen And check out Room: https://room.com/

I reached out to James on Twitter because he posts a lot of interesting things about machine learning. He's building a stealth startup in the space and studies it at university so he has some relevant and recent knowledge. If you have an interest in AI check this one out. Also follow James here: https://twitter.com/rishmishra

This one is a personal interest one for me. I found the CoffeeZilla Youtube Channel through a friend of mine and I immediately wanted to interview the guy who does it. In this channel, he goes after internet-enabled fake gurus and picks apart their schemes and shows people how they create fake value and sell that value and take people's money. It is so elegant and I highly recommend this episode if you want to understand how not to be a fool. Follow CoffeeZilla here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFQMnBA3CS502aghlcr0_aw

Chad and I both interviewed each other about how to learn effectively on the internet and not let it use you (and the companies behind the internet). This one was really fun! Check out Random Baddassery here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/random-badassery/id1090700348

Jan teaches creativity and how to create inspiring change in entertainment, technology, and media through the use of content design and development. We talk a lot about what creativity means and even how to use your dreams to be more creative. Here are some free downloads from Jan's work. I highly recommend checking it out: The Book Chapter from Thirty Days to Dream can be downloaded for free at www.Dreameroo.com. The free prerelease of my new teen book series- Coded4Greatness/Book 1- The Queens of Aventurine can be downloaded at HelloAventurine.com

We talk a lot about how to sell something in this episode including these questions about what to ask yourself when you have an idea for a product or service that you want to sell: What’s the value? What is the consumer receiving? We also talk about how: Most people aren’t successful because they build a system Change is difficult for everyone. Sales is trying to help Follow Steven Here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-glod-8a329220/