Mere Mortals Conversations

Why does Bjorn Lomborg believe that the current discussion & solutions for climate change are not only unhelpful, but will hurt the poor? In Episode #182 on 'Climate Change' Juan and I discuss: Bjorn Lomborg and his book False Alarm, the outcomes predicted by the UN climate science reports, analysing how much good $1 spent can achieve across varied categories, why some of the propose...

Alyse Grace was a highly experienced Business Development Manager and Public Relations Consultant, who transitioned into her own online business project, took on new challenges, became an ironwoman, started the "Trillions" podcast and much, much more! Alyse joined Juan for Conversation #48 and discussed the ways she broke the rut she was in, the way to attract mentors and their importanc...

Unreasonable confidence and an assertive attitude can be positive traits in a lot of situation, but when can they lead you astray? In Episode #181 of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: Juan's troubles with being too assertive in personal relationships and at work, why having a more chilled out attitude can help in a lot of situations, making yourself humble when starting something new, s...

Yodellers, debaters, salsa dancers, contortionists and sales people beware; the Mere Mortals may not like you! In Episode #180 of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: why certain skills may not be an attractive thing to have in a friend, what sort of TV show would make us watch +100 hours, Juan getting click baited by a shit show, how some things can change their qualia with an extra bit of...

The Ultimate Rule: Pet a house in perfect order while pursuing skateboarding child-cats & comparing the truth with your shoulders back! In Episode #179 - Rules For Life, Juan and I discuss Jordan Peterson's book called '12 Rules For Life' and go through a thorough breakdown of what we found useful and what did not stand out. As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out! Timeli...

Brendan Jayo is the handstand man! In Conversation #47 we discuss all things handstands including: the reason people balance on their hands, common injuries that occur from this exercise, what it is like to teach other people in a group setting, personal inspirations and the best handbalancers at the moment, how long it takes to learn a 60s handstand, where Brendan gets his memes and whether we ar...

What is it about cryptocurrency that brings with it the dark side of hustlers & scammers? In Episode #178 of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: my recent shithouse banking experience, crypto makes sense but has some dodgy people in the community, the extreme left and extreme right, the complexity of the financial systems and what our fitness goals will look like when we are older. As alwa...

Do you like cauliflower and if so, explain to me how you managed to burn off your taste buds? In Episode #177 - Meanderings, Juan and I discuss: disgusting foods that we have tasted, Juan's lack of care for taste, the dropping sperm counts of men due to plastics, items nowadays that could become very valuable in the future, why I hate buying things, the scale of difference between a good/shit...

Are humans lazy, hard working or somewhere in between? In Episode #176 - Hard Work, Juan and I discuss: the episode between Lex Fridman and Simon Sinek on the Lex Podcast, our personal thoughts on skipping out on sleep to do more work, Juan's hatred of people who clock in and clock out of their job, why 100 hour work weeks are a bad idea, how much pressure one should apply to get the most out...

Welcome to Mere Mortals Conversation #46. Tofe Evans is the author of the book 'Everyone Has a Plan Until Sh!t Hits the Fan'. To some, he’s known as that kid who ran a race down the slopes of Mt Everest but most of the time he gets called ‘crazy’ or ‘nutcase’ more times than his name. All for the right reasons though. As a firm believer of pushing the boundaries of what the human body an...

Why do people read? In Episode #175 - Musings, Juan and I discuss: another examination of some ideas from Simon Sinek, a clarification on my purpose for doing the podcast, why a small act of volunteering can have an exponential/compounding impact, the areas in our lives that act as bottlenecks for action or achieving goals, my genetic makeup that forces me to read, ensuring you are reading a book...

Share some stories with us of when you have behaved (knowingly or not) like a complete asshole! In Episode #174 - Meanderings, Juan and I discuss: sneaking into organisations and causing havoc, the meme economy and where to get the best memes, our recent bulk spamming on Instagram, why it might be necessary to be impolite on occasions, insulting people about their age, our first ever photobombing...

Simon Sinek says to start with WHY, so why do we do the Mere Mortals podcast? In this themed episode on 'Podcasting' Juan and I discuss: some minor changes that are coming to our themed episodes, improvements/changes we have noticed in ourselves in the last 1.5 years, the definition of what a podcast is, Simon Sinek's book and our reasons for continuing to put time/effort into this...

In the long-term is it better to be more focused upon the management of your time or energy? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: why it can be stressful to always be trying to be the most efficient possible, why we both have changed our opinion on time & energy, the difference between long-term and long-long-term, why actively asking for constructive criticism is importa...

What are some steps that one could take to get expelled from a monastery in a plausibly deniable way? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: why it might be useful to be less serious at work, how inefficient we all actually are at our jobs, why Nike was inspired by the last words of a death row inmate, the fun times of chimpanzees in cars and usefulness of anteaters, sweati...

Who are the people that you have met in your life that have the most zeal? In this themed episode on 'Zeal' Juan and I discuss: the fervour and tireless devotion of someone with zeal, the religious connection with the word, whether humanity is less zealous with the decline of religion, coming across as desperate, whether we care about anything enough to die for it, my growing appreciatio...

Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous month's goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, show...

When was the last time that you were humbled in your day to day life? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: Juan's changing opinion on free will and how he has been influenced by Sam Harris, the three levels of consciousness and why they matter, Juan's theory on how emotions are the basic motivation for every action we take, how I was repeatedly humbled this week (in...

My recent experience attending a gymnastics class has convinced me that gymnasts are a different breed of people. In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: just how dangerous it is to be moving through the air without control, first-hand account of people getting hurt doing flips, the point behind using swear words, substituting swear words for silly made up things, whether we...

No-one ever talks about the downsides of being young so the Mere Mortals are here to change that! In this themed episode on 'Youth' Juan and I discuss: the ages between that someone could be called a youth, having less freedom and the turbulence of being in your teens, some things we would personally love to have again, the concept of 'The Fountain of Youth', some tips that we...

Did you know that there are specially designed shoes just for CrossFit? Matt Ward is a long-time friend of both myself and Juan, harkening back to our days on the wild prairie of the high school playground. In this conversation we chat about: Matt's conversion to the barefoot/minimalist shoe lifestyle and the benefits he has gotten from it, how someone can get into CrossFit and know whether t...

What is the experience of fasting for 5 days and how should you prepare for this? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: my recent experience of fasting, the reasons behind intermittent (and longer) fasting and the necessary preparation, the disappearance of hunger pains, potential hurdles and pitfalls that can arise, the mental fortification required to do things that are unco...

Which are the most disappointing books that you have had the displeasure to read? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: the discrimination in the children's romance section, how the Mere Mortals would keep the Earth safe from potentially hostile aliens, what are our sensory triggers for recalling memories, Juan's story of playing Monopoly with a hidden cockroach,...

What are some examples of xenophobia in Australia and is the word actually useful? In this episode on 'Xenophobia' Juan and I discuss: how rare it is to hear the word being used correctly and why that makes it kind of pointless, why it often gets confused with 'racism', the Australian immigration system and the open/closed border dilemma, the comparatively tame race riot of 200...

Sarah Newport is the Founder & Managing Director at TwentyTwo Digital, a Brisbane based digital marketing agency, offering SEO, Paid Media, Design, Web Development, App Development, Data Analysis and Holistic Marketing. Sarah is a highly motivated and driven individual, and in this conversation her passion for marketing/growth in all aspects of life were open for discussion. The convo starts o...