Zak is a writer, educator, and futurist whose work explores issues around existential risk and the meta-crisis. He studied religion and philosophy at Hampshire College and then later educational neuroscience, human development, and educational philosophy at Harvard. He is a co-founder of several organizations including Lectica, Civilization Research Institute, and the Center for World Philosophy and Religion. He is also the author of several books including “Education in a Time Between Worlds” and a co-author of “First Principles and First Values: Forty-Two Propositions on Cosmoerotic Humanism, the Meta-crisis, and the World to Come.” In this episode we speak about the problems of post-modernity, why value & consciousness are fundamental aspects of reality, Cosmo-Erotic humanism, evolving perennialism, the problem of evil, the most powerful and dangerous religion in the world today and so much more.



🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

• Zak Stein’s personal site
• First Principles First Values by David J. Temple (Zak’s latest book)
• My first conversation with Zak on the Education Crisis
• My second conversation with Zak on his approach to human development
• David Ray Griffin
• David Hume
• Iain McGilchrist
• John Vervaeke
• Nick Land
• Deep Utopia by Nick Bostrom
• Perennial Philosophy
• Jurgen Habermas
• Ken Wilber
• Stuart Kauffman
• B.F. Skinner
• Noam Chomsky
• Richard Dawkins
• Rupert Sheldrake

📝[Show Notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
1:55 - The Problems of Post-Modernity
12:31 - Why value & consciousness are fundamental aspects of reality
21:35 - What is Cosmo-Erotic Humanism?
42:40 - Evolving Perennialism and The Problem of Evil
52:20 - Global Intimacy Disorder & Emotional Maturity
1:04:35 - Balancing advances in technology with ethical development
1:10:36 - Bringing the wisdom of religions to the scientific rationalist mind
1:26:26 - The most powerful & dangerous religion in the world today
1:32:30 - The difficulty of transmitting ethical leadership



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Cedric Chin is a business operator, programmer, and writer. He is also the founder of Commoncog - a publication that explores the models of business expertise and how to accelerate the acquisition of that expertise. His approach to writing and learning is finding interesting ideas, trying them out in his life, and then sharing the results. Over the years he has compiled an extensive knowledge base on how to think and learn better in business and beyond. In this episode we speak about the limits of mental models, Ray Dalio & believability, three approaches to expertise, why you should read biographies, overcoming information overload and so much more.

🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

• Commoncog (Cedric’s blog)
• Follow Cedric on Twitter/X
• Farnam St
• Charlie Munger
• Principles by Ray Dalio
• The Fund by Rob Copeland
• Less Wrong
• Sources of Power by Gary Klein
• Daniel Kahneman
• Jean Piaget
• High Output Management by Andrew Grove
• You Have a Choice by Eric Nehrlich
• The Seven Secrets of the Prolific by Hillary Rettig
• Accelerating Expertise (book)
• Milton Hershey
• Warren Buffett
• The Engines that Move Markets by Alasdair Nairn

📝[Show Notes]📝

0:00 - Intro
2:54 - What led Cedric to study expertise (limits of mental models)
8:05 - The Problem with Deliberate Practice
10:05 - What is Commoncog?
12:48 - Ray Dalio & Believability
21:03 - Sensemaking Less Wrong (Epistemic vs Instrumental Rationality)
25:11 - How “Irrational” people can be successful
26:39 - Gary Klein VS Daniel Kahneman
29:44 - Three approaches to gaining expertise
34:20 - What is tacit Knowledge?
38:38 - The Recognition Primed Decision Making Model
47:30 - Cognitive Task Analysis
49:49 - The most important questions to ask experts
52:10 - Accelerating expertise in meditation & transmission of mind
56:48 - How to actually learn from books
1:00:50 - Cognitive Flexibility Theory & ill-structured domains
1:06:55 - Integration (noticing sameness & difference)
1:09:31 - Using case studies to become an expert in cult dynamics
1:13:21 - Why you should read biographies
1:16:52 - How to overcome Information overload
1:21:48 - Mindful social media use
1:25:22 - Luck vs skill in success
1:30:48 - Cedric’s opinion on Crypto
1:33:54 - The best and worst thing about living in Singapore
1:34:59 - Building the biggest storehouse of business expertise

Cadell Last is an anthropologist, philosopher, and founder of Philosophy Portal - an online educational platform opening space for the next generation of philosophical thought. After developing a strong grounding in evolutionary anthropology and biology, he began a deep study of philosophies of phenomenology and psychoanalysis, which opened him to fresh perspectives and helped him better navigate some of life's most challenging aspects. Today his work explores biocultural evolution, mind-matter relation, and speculative futures. He is the author of “Global Brain Singularity”, and “Systems and Subjects”, co-author of “Sex, Masculinity, God”, as well as lead editor of community anthologies “Enter the Alien” and “Abyssal Arrows." In this episode, we speak about the limits of science and the Importance of philosophy, connecting dead philosophers with living philosophers, dialectical thinking, what Jordan Peterson & Richard Dawkins have in common, Global Brain Singularity and so much more.


🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

• Cadell’s personal site
• Connect with Cadell on X/Twitter
• Connect with Cadell on Substack
• Become a member at Philosophy Portal
• Global Brain Singularity by Cadell Last (reach out to Cadell for a free pdf copy)
• Systems & Subjects by Cadell Last
• Plato
• Hegel
• Lacan
• Zizek
• Jordan Peterson
• Richard Dawkins

📝[Show Notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
2:51 - The Limits of Science and the Importance of Philosophy
15:10 - Building on the main ideas of Plato, Hegel, Lacan & Zizek
30:55 - Connecting dead philosophers with living universally impactful thinkers
33:36 - You have to understand thinkers deeply before you can deconstruct them
36:23 - The Importance of Dialectical Thinking
47:30 - What Jordan Peterson & Richard Dawkins have in common (Myths vs Drives)
57:55 - Putting Jung & Freud into Dialectics
1:02:49 - What is Global Brain Singularity?
1:18:46 - Cultivating a Global Commons
1:31:50 - The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
1:38:29 - Non-duality, Non-Monism, Buddhism & affirming appearances
1:46:44 - Making sense of the upswing in Christian conversions & Unpacking Religion
1:56:20 - Cadell’s vision for Philosophy Portal

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Tom Morgan is a former financier and founder of The Leading Edge, a media platform and transformational community dedicated to sharing world-changing ideas and facilitating life-changing experiences. An Oxford graduate with a Masters in Philosophy, Politics, and economics, he has spent 20 years navigating the finance industry, working at top firms like Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and most recently Sapient Capital. After becoming disenchanted with finance he had an awakening experience that caused him to quit his job and explore paths of meaning leading to a challenging yet transformative multi-year existential crisis. Eventually, he was able to piece together his life, integrating finance with the pursuit of meaning & wisdom. Today he describes himself as a “curiosity sherpa” and spends his life seeking out the most interesting thinkers and ideas to share with the world. In this episode, we speak about Tom’s journey from working in finance to exploring wisdom, navigating an existential crisis, integrating left and right brain functioning, shadow work, how to connect to your curiosity, bridging money & meaning, and creating a network of transformational communities.



🔗[Links & Resources] 🔗

• Connect with Tom on X/Twitter
• Read Tom’s writing
• Join the Leading Edge community
• The Master & His Emissary by Iain McGhilchrist
• Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson (In-depth book summary)
• Syntropy by Ulisse Di Corpo
• Ervin Laszlo
• C.S. Lewis
• Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned by Kenneth O. Stanley & Joel Lehman
• The Passion of the Western Mind (epilogue) by Richard Tarnas
• Mona Sobhani
• Rebel Wisdom

📝[Show notes]📝

0:00 - Introduction
2:07 - Working in finance, existential crisis & exploring wisdom
8:30 - Navigating hell
11:21 - Reinventing yourself
13:55 - Integrating left and right brain functioning
20:22 - Applying a Mythic lens to life
25:06 - Shadow work, Monstrosity & Jordan Peterson
32:29 - How to connect to your curiosity
36:44 - When you don’t listen to your daemon it becomes a demon
38:37 - Holistic living (What Tom’s day looks like now)
41:36 - Why greatness cannot be planned
45:38 - Bridging Money & Meaning
50:19 - Navigating the Generalist-Specialist dynamic
55:44 - Does the world financially reward those who follow their bliss?
1:01:29 - Creating a network of transformational communities
1:03:16 - Unpacking the Leading Edge community
1:08:00 - The problems many online transformational communities face
1:14:58 - What makes Tom angry about society?
1:15:49 - Creating a community full of love
1:16:55 - What Tom believes to be true that most people disagree with


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Kyle Kowalski is an ex-marketing executive turned solopreneuer. After experiencing an existential crisis he left the corporate world and founded Sloww - a digital knowledge base and community which shares insights into the art of living for students of life. He is an interdisciplinary dot collector and synthesizer who creates in-depth book summaries, e-books, and a wisdom-packed weekly newsletter. His work integrates slow living with meaning, purpose, money mastery, transformational learning, and human development. In this episode, we speak about how Kyle built his audience, monetized Sloww & overcame imposter syndrome, the impact of ego development theory, why the meta-crisis is a me crisis, the various challenges of post-conventional life, balancing knowledge consumption with direct experience and Kyle’s brand new Synthesizer course.

🔗[Links & Resources] 🔗

• Sloww Website
• Connect with Kyle on Twitter/X - https://x.com/KyKow
• Subscribe to the Sloww Sunday newsletter
• Get Kyle’s Synthesizer course
• Get the IKIGIA 2.0 E-book by Kyle Kowalski
• Sign up for the Sloww Premium Community
• Introduction to Susanne Cook-Greuter’s Ego Development Theory
• Metacrisis.org
• Is the meta-crisis a me crisis
• Wise Walk by Kyle Kowalski
• Paul Millerd & Kyle Kowalski path comparison
• Nora Bateson synthesis

📝 [Show notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
1:43 - Insights from entrepreneurship (navigating money & meaning )
13:33 - The process of transitioning from the corporate world to solopreneurship
23:00 - How Kyle built his audience, monetized Sloww & overcame imposter syndrome
31:40 - The challenges of monetizing generalist/holistic content
43:44 - How to create purposeful work
52:34 - How Ego Development Theory impacted Kyle
56:37 - Synthesizing Nora Bateson’s opinion of developmental stage theories
1:09:55 - Why the Meta-crisis is a me crisis
1:16:18 - The Post-conventional shift and the challenges that come with it
1:22:52 - Balancing knowledge consumption with direct experience ( becoming a spiritual translator )
1:29:40 - The role of relational practices in human development
1:37:52 - Unpacking Kyle’s Synthesizer course
1:43:28 - Gauging interest before creating a product
1:45:45 - What makes Kyle most angry about society today?
1:51:12 - Tears of joy
1:56:34 - Final message



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Bernardo Kastrup is a philosopher of mind and the leading voice for metaphysical idealism - the view that all of reality is essentially mental. He holds PhDs in Philosophy and Computer Engineering, combining rigorous academic discipline with extensive practical experience. As a scientist, he has worked for the Europen Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Phillips Research laboratories where the “Cassimir Effect’ of Quantum Field theory was discovered. He’s also had a rich career in technology where he founded the parallel processing company Silicon Hive which was acquired by Intel in 2011. Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of the Essentia Foundation, an organization dedicated to presenting scientific and analytic evidence that challenges traditional materialism in an accurate yet accessible way. He is the author of over 10 books including “Why Materialism is Baloney”, “The Idea of the World” and the upcoming “Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell.” In this episode, we discuss why all of reality is mental, why the brain does not generate the mind, how to avoid cognitive entrenchment, how idealism impacts meaning in life, suffering & happiness, psychedelics & self-deception, If enlightenment is real, and so much more.



🔗[Links & Resources] 🔗

• Bernardo’s personal site
• Follow Bernardo on Twitter
• Analytic Idealism course (free)
• Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell by Bernardo Kastrup (pre-order)
• Why Materialism is Baloney by Bernardo Kastrup (In-depth book summary)
• Rupert Spira
• David Chalmers
• Christof Koch
• Giulio Tononi
• Integrated Information theory

​​


📝 [Show notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
2:33 - Pivotal events and influences that shaped Bernardo
8:32 - From intellectual to experiential understanding
13:02 - Fear of death
15:54 - The simplest explanation of idealism
19:12 - A dream in the infinite mind or Dissociation
23:33 - The thinkers who most influenced Bernardo Kastrup
26:40 - Is there a way to test idealism scientifically?
33:13 - Why the mind is not generated by the brain
37:58 - You can never convince someone of something they don’t already know
39:56 - How does Idealism impact meaning in life
45:49 - Psychedelics, self-deception & symbolism
51:02 - How Bernardo avoids getting trapped in his ideas
1:00:10 - Intellectual pursuits, human connection and loneliness
1:08:46 - Capacities Bernardo wishes he innately had
1:12:14 - Suffering, happiness, responsibility, and contentment
1:32:22 - Bernardo’s conception of Enlightenment (The monk who set himself on fire)
1:37:13 - What makes Bernardo most angry about society
1:40:13 - What Bernardo is most worried about
1:45:52 - Crying tears of joy
1:53:29 - What makes Bernardo’s upcoming book “Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell” unique
1:56:35 - What Bernardo is writing about now
2:00:09 - What will never disappear



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James Baker is an inner work practitioner and founder of Intentional Society. After spending 15 years in software development he became disillusioned with the corporate world and decided to pursue his passions. He launched Intentional Society - an online transformational community centered on developmental and relational practices. After over 150 weekly gatherings the community has grown into a unique space for personal transformation and interpersonal exploration. In this episode, we speak about the role of relational practices in human development, playing with power dynamics, breaking through social conventions, navigating the relationship between safety and growth, becoming developmentally aware, and the paradoxical dance between being and becoming.



🔗 [Links & resources] 🔗

• Intentional Society (online transformational community)
• Follow James on Twitter
• Becoming Developmentally Aware by Artem Zen
• Already Free by Bruce Tift

📝 [Show notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
1:30 - From software development to human transformation
7:13 - What is Intentional Society and the premises it’s built on
10:21 - Interpersonal development and relational practices
13:09 - Major takeaways from over 150 weekly gatherings
18:48 - Moving from modern to post-modern to metamodern perspectives
21:24 - Playing with power dynamics
24:10 - Breaking through social conventions and stretching boundaries
29:55 - The Three Principles of Intentional Society
34:45 - Navigating the relationship between safety and growth (Meta-Safety)
43:18 - Transforming our relationship to judgmental thoughts
45:40 - What intentional society members have in common
49:52 - Becoming Developmentally Aware
53:39 - The paradoxical dance between being and becoming (unfolding)
1:02:55 - The future of transformational online communities
1:10:27 - Cultural evolution vs. individual development
1:13:25 - The increasing need for an ecology of practices
1:19:15 - A message of fundamental okayness





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*For Contact, questions or ideas email me at artem@artemzen.com

Layman Pascal is a prominent thinker in the Liminal, Metamodern, Game B, and Integral spaces. His work explores post-metaphysics, nonduality, metamodernism, integral metatheory, new shamanism, the future of religion, developmental philosophy, and meta-progressive politics. He is also the co-host of the mind-bending Integral Stage podcast. This episode was a live event recorded during Limicon 2024 and explored some of Layman’s ideas from his two popular essays “The Metamodern Business Burea” & “Make Game A Pay for the Wall”. After our dialogue, we opened the floor for participants to ask questions and share reflections. We navigated a wide range of topics including transforming the money & meaning relationship on a personal and societal level, developing a more conscious approach to business, new economic experiments, starting liminal business crews, bridging left and right brain ways of knowing, our relationship to dopamine and so much more.


🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

The Metamodern Business Burea by Layman Pascal - https://laymanpascal.substack.com/p/the-metamodern-business-bureau-mmbb
Make Game A pay for the Wall by Laman Pascal - https://laymanpascal.substack.com/p/make-game-a-pay-for-the-wall?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
Layman’s substack - https://laymanpascal.substack.com/
Integral Stage podcast - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaA4zkLRnR3lGm8Y7c5Tvdw
Linchpin by Seth Godin - https://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591844096


📝 [Show notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
2:40 -Transforming the money & meaning relationship on a personal and societal level
5:52 - Making the Metamodern Business Burea come alive
10:39 - Early examples of liminal business crews and what’s missing
13:42 - Developing a more conscious approach to business and economics education
16:45 - New economic experiments
20:16 - Finding clients who can pay for your services
27:52 - Do we need to be more careful, or more courageous, in our sources of material wealth?
33:23 - How we can influence the wealthiest families in the world to distribute their money?
36:50 - Do liminal & metamodern thinkers go over people’s heads?
38:16 - Finding your role in the liminal ecosystem (simplifying and complexifying)
41:08 - Connecting people with complementary skill sets and starting businesses
44:25 - Nominating liminal business leaders, failing forward, and learning from elders
49:30 - Group reflections
49:52 - It doesn’t need to be perfect we just need to take action
52:31 - Finding the right words to connect the liminal/metamodern space to the conventional world
57:07 - Bridging left and right brain ways of knowing
1:00:00 - Finding the economic model hidden in the inspiration and locating people & spaces at the edge of Game A
1:03:27 - How to do better business, why do we need marketing, bullshit jobs & our relationship to dopamine
1:13:22 - Mapping coherence and navigating divergence
1:16:32 - What’s next?


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