Ancient Futures

Does technology enslave or empower us? If someone built a machine that made people happy, would you be tempted to use it? What might we lose in a quest for lasting happiness? Are other priorities more important? If so, which and why? Anastasia Shevchenko is the author of The Happiness Engine , a novel that explores these themes alongside many others. She also teaches yoga and founded the Berlin Yo...

What if the average yoga class started with instructions to swallow some cloth before pulling it out again? How about if that were followed by administering an enema? Or inserting a thread up one nostril and out of your mouth? This might have been more common until relatively recently. James Russell researches intersections between haṭha yoga and Indian medical traditions. He’s also an experienced...

What does it mean to be free? One of the earliest overviews of yogic ideas is the Mahābhārata , whose epic stories include extensive teachings on philosophy and practice. These are detailed in a section called the Mokṣadharma-parvan , whose primary focus is liberating insight. James Fitzgerald has been working on this text for half a century. He recently published a full translation as part of a s...

To what extent is yoga compatible with drama? Performance is in some ways the opposite of inward focus, yet it might still be enhanced by yogic practices. Sergei Tcherkasski is a theatre director and teacher of acting at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. He is also the author of Stanislavsky and Yoga , which explores a key influence on the Russian pioneer of modern acting techniques....

What distinguishes self-centredness from care for oneself? To what extent is emotional healing a spiritual practice? How might an inner sense of safety and connection fuel better relationships and more sustainable ways of living? Justin Michelson is a meditation teacher, author and wilderness guide. His recent book The Dharma of Healing is billed by its publisher as: “A handbook for spiritual free...

What inspired the idea of being “spiritual but not religious”? Modern quests for experiential insight have diverse roots. Influences range from the work of Aldous Huxley – The Perennial Philosophy and The Doors of Perception – to the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and their references to “God as we understood Him”. Don Lattin is the author of Distilled Spirits: Getting High, Then Sober, with a F...

How might humans relate to other beings if we saw ourselves as animals? What if beastliness had positive qualities, instead of being seen as a defect to exorcise? Which natural tendencies might we embody if we paid more attention to ancestral insights? Elizabeth Sulis Kim is the author of the recently published Book of Beasts , which is subtitled “Reclaiming Animal Wisdom”. She is also the foundin...

Practically speaking, what does it mean to wake up? It’s literally the opposite of falling asleep, so it involves being aware. But since the Buddha’s name means he awakened, the bar seems quite high. This conversation with my friend Matthew Green reflects on what we’ve learned from decades of practice – not least that it’s ultimately not about us. So we talk about ways of processing unhelpful cond...

How much has yoga changed over the past 2,000 years? 🤔 In one sense, very little – assuming yoga means a state beyond mental activity, as ancient texts teach. However, nowadays, it mostly refers to something else – the regular practice of sequences of postures that developed more recently. My new book , The Evolution of Modern Yoga , is an engaging guide to the shifts in priorities that shaped ne...

What if everything we think is a dream? Would nothing be real? Or might it reveal how to live in infinity, untroubled by suffering? 🤯 Tamara Cohen wrote her PhD about the Yogavāsiṣṭha – a text whose original name was the Mokṣopāya , or “means to liberation”. Structured as a dialogue between the sage Vasiṣṭha and the young prince Rāma, it explains how to set oneself free from conceptual delusions....

What might we learn about mental resilience from ancient Greek mythology? 💭 Sam Akbar is a clinical psychologist and Oxford-trained classicist. Her new book is The Odyssey Mindset , which explores timeless guidance from Homer’s epic on finding purpose and strength in the face of life’s challenges. Sam’s speciality is trauma. She’s worked with refugees who’ve fled torture, war and sexual violence,...

What if yoga meant technology, jihad or sex with multiple partners? 😳 That’s just a sample of the thought-provoking papers presented in Paris at the Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference last week. This podcast shares a few reflections on what was discussed, plus my own presentation on misleading books that manipulate readers to generate sales (slides available here ). Expanding on a range of con...

How might we be inspired by a worldwide community of Yiddish-speaking Jews, whose cultural identity was broadly internationalist? David Mazower is the author of Yiddish: A Global Culture , which accompanies an exhibit he curated at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. Our conversation explores the heritage and influence of Yiddish – the everyday language of East European Jews, which...

What defines the right thing to do, and how helpful is yoga in doing it? 🤔 Yogic traditions present different frameworks for ethical conduct, with varying degrees of engagement in worldly affairs. If their aim is to promote liberation, can they also support human rights? Might ideas about the highest good, or a self in all beings, provide orientation? If so, which philosophy seems the best fit? B...

How reliable are articles on yoga by contributors to Wikipedia? 🤷‍♂️ More than they used to be, thanks to the input of Ian Alexander , who’s personally edited between a third and half of them. Many meet the criteria for what the free encyclopaedia calls a “ good article ” – combining clear and neutral writing with verifiable sourcing and broad coverage. For the 25 years since Wikipedia launched ,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com What does it mean to be human in the age of AI? 🤖 How old is the fear of machines taking over? What might we learn about how to respond from previous examples? Is technology dehumanising or can it also be liberating? How could philosophy expand our understanding of its potential? Dan Turello is a cultural hi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com How do we know what we think we know? Are our opinions our own, or are they conditioned by external influences? What helps to balance opposing views? How important are such questions to yoga – both philosophically and practically? This podcast explores some of the voices in my head. It was inspired by a recen...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com If mindfulness has drawbacks, what’s the alternative? 🤔 Ron Purser is perhaps best known as the author of McMindfulness , critiquing the movement as “capitalist spirituality”. His latest book Mind Space is radical in other ways. It considers how to meditate without being a meditator – inspired by the writing...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com Although Buddhism is widely considered a peaceful tradition, some of its monks incite hatred and slaughter. Sonia Faleiro explores this trend in her latest book The Robe and the Sword : How Buddhist Extremism is Shaping Modern Asia . Drawing on reporting from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, she unflinchingly...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com How do I interpret my rollercoaster ride on the yogic path? 🎢 This is a different sort of podcast to the usual interview – my guest today is my younger self. Responding to a listener’s question, I reflect on how to deal with the challenging “ups and downs of the yogic journey”. To help with that, I turn to t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com Can wisdom be taught? What if it were more about questions than finding "the answer"? How might reading be a meditative practice? Can writing from earlier centuries provide inspiration without mediation by academic experts? Valentin Gerlier is a scholar, musician and author, who is also the founder of the Sch...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com What exactly is Tantra, and how do modern teachings relate to traditions? Which other ideas inform intimacy workshops? Why is there often an emphasis on secrecy and power, and how is this exploited to enable abuse? Tova Olsson is a scholar of religion, as well as a teacher of yoga and Tantra. Our conversation...

What would you like me to talk about in 2026? 🗣️ As another year draws to a close, I’m reflecting on new types of podcasts. Today marks my 75th episode and while I plan to continue with the interview format, I’m also working on other ideas – including answering questions about any topic. So if there’s anything you want me to clarify, or to investigate, or if you have a dilemma you’d like to resolv...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com What does it mean to choose wisely? Which kinds of values support this? To what extent are they related to ethics? How similar are Indian traditions to modern ideas about what to prioritise? Might teachings need reframing to speak to us clearly? Simon Haas presents ancient wisdom for everyday life. He is the...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com What exactly is Kuṇḍalinī? It depends... What began as an energetic metaphor has morphed into a framework for transcending trauma, and much else besides. Does a snake-like entity really ascend? What sparks the experience? If it happens by chance, how should someone respond? There are few simple answers. Srava...