Today I'm speaking with Dr. Jem Bendell. Jem exploded onto the internet with the release of his 'Deep Adaptation' paper, which has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. The paper makes a very persuasive argument for what Dr. Bendell calls 'Inevitable near term social collapse' due to climate change. In this conversation we talk about non-linear self-reinforcing negative feedback loops in climate systems, Dr. Bendell’s experience of grief in coming to terms with the reality of collapse,...
Mar 25, 2019•1 hr 13 min
No guest today, instead a short check-in and update about Emerge and the life of Daniel.
Mar 18, 2019•7 min
Today's guest is David Fuller, founder of Rebel Wisdom. We talk about Jordan Peterson, the inspiration (and synchronicities) behind the founding of Rebel Wisdom, David’s most recent thinking on what the teleology of the Intellectual Dark Web, the emerging worldview coming into being through distributed heterodox conversations, the significance of the James Damore Google Memo, the evolution of media towards non-ideological generative conversation, and how embodied practice support intersubjective...
Mar 11, 2019•1 hr 12 min
In this episode I’m speaking with Miki Kashtan. Through her work with Nonviolent Communication, movement building, and organization design, Miki speaks into the intersection of social and psychological transformation with a rare blend of pragmatic heartfulness. We talk about how economic and cultural systems inform our psychology, why none of us can know what ‘human nature’ is, the necessity of communities of practice for those who seek to transform their consciousness, how to practice full spec...
Mar 04, 2019•1 hr 24 min
My conversation today is with naturalist and author Paul Krafel. We talk about why you shouldn't go with the flow, how to discover opportunities for generative service in all domains of life, how to use multiple perspectives to see in '3D', the game of creating upward spirals, and how to observe the natural world in a way that discovers patterns & fit. Enjoy! Paul's book Roaming Upwards
Feb 25, 2019•1 hr 12 min
Nick Seneca Jankel is an author, professional speaker, leadership futurist, and philosopher. His recent book, Spiritual Atheism, reconciles spiritual and contemplative experience with science into a robust ‘human operating system’. I reached out to Nick after reading his recent article on medium called "Hacking Identity Politics To Save Our Species” , which we unpack in this conversation. We cover topics like the relationship between spiritual practice and social change, how to 'hack' identity p...
Feb 18, 2019•1 hr 16 min
In this episode I'm speaking with Jeremy Lent. Jeremy is the author of 'The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning' and the found of the Liology Institute, which has the aim of fostering a worldview that will enable humanity to thrive sustainably on this planet. Jeremy and I chat about how our world is the product of the success of certain cognitive patterns, how we can change reality by changing our metaphors, what it means to become conscious of the meaning we...
Feb 04, 2019•1 hr 24 min
In this conversation I’m speaking with Robert McNuaghten. Robert was the founder and executive director of the Integral Center in Boulder Colorado from it’s birth in 2013 until it’s recent closure at the end of 2018. We chat about the shadow side of idealism, leadership and patriarchy, the essence of conservatism, the history of the Integral movement in Boulder, intersubjective reductionism, Robert’s concerns about the spread of authentic relating throughout the world, and how understanding Atta...
Jan 28, 2019•1 hr 9 min
James Surwillo joins me in conversation this week to talk about his book 'Metamodern Leadership: A History of the Seven Values That Will Change the World'. We discuss the unique role of the millennial generation, evolving cultural value sets, the possibility of millennials being a ‘hero’ generation, Torbert’s seven stage model of leadership development, the need to master the game before you change the game (h/t Jordan Peterson), and conventional and post-conventional leadership. https://hbr.org...
Jan 21, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Miles Bukiet joins Emerge this week to talk about his paper ‘Monasteries of the Future’. We talk about the role of monasteries in the emerging future, the cultural significance of monasteries as an institution that demonstrates alternative ways of being human, the radical difference deep practice can make to our experience of being alive, and the 'crisis of standards' affecting the contemplative field. Read Monasteries of the Future The Monastic Academy A Day at the Monastic Academy (With Pictur...
Jan 14, 2019•57 min
In this episode of Emerge I'm speaking with Ria Baeck. Ria is a visionary practitioner in the domain of group process, facilitation, and collaboration, having spent many decades discovering how to manifest collective potential in order to meet the complex challenges of our era. Ria and I talk about why you cannot go straight for the answer, the re-localization of sense-making, moving beyond mental consciousness, the limitlessness of Applied Presence, the nature of collective intelligence, the sa...
Dec 24, 2018•1 hr 19 min
On this episode of Emerge I'm speaking with Joachim Stroh. Joachim is the co-founder of Change Agents Worldwide and the creator of the Social Ledger -- a meta-protocol for creating cooperative digital spaces. We touch on topics such as collective sensemaking in digital spaces, how time spent on the internet can form memories (or not), achieving flow states in digital connection, Joachim's 'Social Ledger' as a meta-protocol for measuring social capital and participation, and new architectures of ...
Dec 17, 2018•1 hr 11 min
In this episode I'm speaking with Jared Janes (@jaredjanes). Jared is the host of the Impactful Podcast, as well as a friend and off-air interlocuter. We share many interests in common, from meditation and philosophy to diet and productivity hacking. In this conversation, we chat about different models of stream entry, the lubricative nature of awakening, how the philosophical investigation of free will opens up the space for liberation, awakening through World of Warcraft, and the need to follo...
Dec 13, 2018•1 hr 8 min
On this episode, I’m speaking with Gail Bradbrook. Gail is a founder of Extinction Rebellion, one of the most exciting political movements on the planet right now (IMO). Extinction Rebellion is a group that believes that time has run out to address the ecological crisis and that it is the right and duty of every citizen to rebel in order to compel the government to tell the truth and decarbonize the economy in as short a period as possible. The movement is growing exponentially in Europe, and ha...
Dec 11, 2018•1 hr 1 min
In this episode of Emerge I'm speaking with Peter Park. Peter is a teacher and Assistant Director at the Monastic Academy in Lowell, Vermont. Peter and I talk about what a 'modern monastery is', the choice between comfort and truth, the role of monastic style training in a time of existential risk, and Peter's experience combining contemplative practice and authentic relating in the context of a monastic community. www.peterxpark.com www.monasticacademy.com Deep Adaptation & Systems Collapse...
Dec 03, 2018•1 hr 16 min
In this episode, I'm speaking with Peter Limberg. Peter is the creator of the Intellectual Explorers Club in Toronto, CA as well as co-author of 'Memetic Tribes and Culture War 2.0', a recent medium article that has been very popular in my odd corner of the internet. In this conversation we chat about memeplexes, grey pills, radical agnosticism, Robert Anton Wilson, how to speak with confidence in the midst of uncertainty, authentic relating, anti-debates, and pragmatic tribal affiliations for p...
Nov 26, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Nora Bateson is a Filmmaker, writer, educator, lecturer and President of the International Bateson Institute. In this conversation we discuss how systems learn and evolve, the importance of moving between contexts, how our dreams of incremental change have failed, and the how system change will likely emerge from the liminal space between institutions.
Nov 19, 2018•1 hr 14 min
In this episode John Michael Greer and I discuss his 'Kek Wars' article series on how the Chans used magick to influence the 2016 elections. We talk about political campaigns as magical performance, 4chan as the collective unconscious of the internet, the lefts failure to recognize a politics of existential crises, the myth of progress, and the antidote to cosmic indifference. 🐙 The Kek Wars Part 1: https://www.ecosophia.net/the-kek-wars-part-one-aristocracy-and-its-discontents/ Primer on Chaos...
Nov 12, 2018•1 hr 16 min
On this episode of Emerge I’m speaking with Zak Stein. Zak is a writer, educator, and futurist working to bring a greater sense of sanity and justice to education (and beyond). Zak joins me on the show to speak about his recent paper in the Integral Review titled Love in a Time Between Worlds: On the Metamodern “Return” to a Metaphysics of Eros. In addition to the paper, we talk about the antropocene and it’s relationship to the metamodern historical moment, why metaphysical questions are imposs...
Oct 29, 2018•1 hr 23 min
In this conversation Adam Roberts (@knowledgeecology) and I explore the idea of philosophical inquiry as perceptual transformation. We talk about the relationship between conceptuality and perception, the contemplative practice that Descartes used to produce his philosophy, how to sort through the spiritual marketplace, and the meta-freedom that exploring our assumptions can open for us. If you enjoy this conversation I recommend you check out The Side View, Adam’s new project based on the ideas...
Oct 25, 2018•1 hr 13 min
In this conversation, I’m speaking with Terry Patten. Terry is a leading voice in the integral movement as an author, speaker, and teacher focusing on the marriage of personal and political transformation. We talk about the relationship between Integral Theory and Metamodernism, the use and misuse of irony & sincerity, and why we should vote, even if it’s statistically meaningless. Terry is a true evolutionary activist and it’s a real pleasure to have him on the show. And if you appreciate w...
Oct 22, 2018•1 hr 21 min
In this conversation, I speak with Richard Dennis Bartlett. Richard is an author, organizational consultant, and founder of Loomio and The Hum, as well as a member of Enspiral network. He and I share an identity as former participants in Occupy Wall Street, me in NYC and Richard in New Zealand. Together we reflect on whether Occupy Wall Street could be seen as a ‘bootstrapped’ collective intelligence, the rise of the vTaiwan movement and digital governance, and the need to leverage both social a...
Oct 18, 2018•1 hr 11 min
On this episode of Emerge I’m speaking with Indra Adnan. Indra is the ‘co-initiator’ of the Alternative UK, a new political platform aiming to transform politics in the United Kingdom. We talk about the Alternative’s approach to political change, her development of a transformative movement building event that Indra calls a ‘Collaboratory’, and the new networked story of collective evolution that the Alternative is helping to catalyze. Enjoy! The Alternative UK https://www.thealternative.org.uk/...
Oct 15, 2018•1 hr 12 min
On this episode of Emerge I’m speaking with Jake Vartanian. Jake is the founder of Native, a platform for communities to create their own economic architecture using cryptocurrency. This is a project, like DAOStack, Holochain, or Colony, that is exploring the transition into an anti-rivalrous future that Jordan Greenhal and I spoke about in the last episode of Emerge. I recommend listening to that conversation first, as it will help you understand the significance of what Native is offering. And...
Oct 11, 2018•55 min
In this conversation, Jordan Greenhall and I talk about Rivalrous and Anti-Rivalrous dynamics, the rise of self-organizing collective intelligences (SOCIs), and how QAnon might be an early example of the future of collective sense-making. "We are currently undergoing a major transition from a world dominated by the forces of scarcity to a world dominated by the forces of abundance. This is a once in a thousand-year level (or larger) transition and must be understood in that context." The Rivalro...
Oct 08, 2018•1 hr 22 min
In this episode, I speak with Joe Brewer about the on-going collapse of our planetary system, the emotional and psychological difficulties of reckoning with this reality, and how we can each become stewards for what comes next.
Oct 04, 2018•40 min
In this episode of Emerge, Bonnitta Roy and I explore a Source Code analysis of Collective Action. This is the third and final conversation in our three episode arc together. We cover such topics as why having a liquid identity makes you a better team player, the core skills for participating in collective actions, and how to create ritual spaces that facilitate the emergence of new shared identities. This episode will be well worth your time if you ever try to do things with others. That means ...
Sep 10, 2018•1 hr 18 min
In this conversation with meditation teacher and author Rob Burbea we discuss the role of fantasy in meditation, the purpose of what Rob calls the 'Soulmaking Dharma' and some common traps that can obstruct our connection with beauty on the contemplative path. This was the first conversation I had with Rob (there are two more you can listen to in the Emerge podcast stream). For various reasons I decided not to release it immediately after we recorded it, feeling that the subsequent conversations...
Sep 03, 2018•1 hr 11 min
In this conversation, Bonnitta Roy and I explore what trust means within the context of complex and unpredictable systems. What is trust? How do we act in ways that amplify trust? And what does all this tell us about the vision for a 'trustless' future coming out of the Blockchain world? And why is it that sometimes highly trustworthy people are also the most unpredictable? 🤔 More notes (including the graphic we talk about during the show): https://www.notion.so/emerge/Bonnitta-Source-Code-Anal...
Aug 31, 2018•1 hr 20 min
In this first in a set of three conversations, Bonnitta Roy and I talk about a Source Code Analysis of the concept of Power. We explore how to speak and think about power in a way that releases complexity, cuts through confusion, and enables useful conversations. The hallmark of this approach is a commitment to unpacking hidden assumptions in order to identify a conceptualization (Bonnitta calls this a 'conceptual prime') that avoids the confusions and traps that much of our current culture is t...
Aug 27, 2018•1 hr
