Seize the Moment Podcast

On episode 111, we welcome back philosopher Helen De Cruz to discuss the significance of illustrating thought experiments, using them to illicit and explore our intuitive beliefs, the extended mind hypothesis and whether our cell phones are part of us, the nature of dreams, if created identical, lookalikes would be us, whether humans only behave ethically for selfish reasons, The Matrix and why so...

On episode 110, Alen and Leon discuss dealing with covid in 2021; the behind the scenes of podcasting - the struggles they both have with anxiety the night before and day of a show, finding ways to remain motivated, and with producing the show; the ways in which their guests have inspired them, especially Mike Walrond and Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who faced death on numerous occasions and continue to...

On episode 110, Alen and Leon discuss dealing with covid in 2021; the behind the scenes of podcasting - the struggles we both have with anxiety the night before and day of a show, finding ways to remain motivated, and with producing the show; the ways in which our guests have inspired us, especially Mike Walrond and Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who faced death on numerous occasions and continue to lead e...

On episode 109, we welcome back Dr. David Brendel to discuss his new book 'Think, Talk, Create'; active inquiry deficit disorder and its effects on the health of relationships; how open-ended questions can help save the lives of psychiatric patients; active inquiry as a compassionate way to change harmful behaviors; how red tape and administrative work make it difficult for mental health clinician...

On this special bonus episode, Leon chats with wrestling legend Jeff Jarrett about the development of his wrestling character, from Double J to the King of the Mountain; NWO 2000 and working with Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Scott Steiner; winning the WCW heavyweight championship for the first time; and whether Jeff was actually a member of the four horsemen. Jeff Jarrett is a former fou...

On episode 107, Leon speaks with Dr. Rachel Zoffness about the medical history of pain management; how the opioid crises is fueled by a purely biological understanding of pain; the emotional, social, and biological components of pain; the neurological anatomy of pain; the unhealthy thoughts and actions associated with pain and how changing them helps us modulate it; why therapists often fear treat...

On episode 107, we welcome philosopher Tom Morris to discuss why people naturally fear change despite it being an inextricable part of the human condition, why building confidence and creating habits are better remedies than resistance and isolation, OCD and lack of confidence being at its core, the importance of mentorship, the use of reframing to foster empowerment in seemingly daunting scenario...

On episode 106, we welcome  back management consultant Ryan Stelzer to discuss the importance of the active inquiry process known as 'Think, Talk, Create'; the perils of solely focusing on data and profit, or 'the quantitative mindset'; the New York Islanders and why moving to Brooklyn was a bad decision; creating psychological safety and long-term perspectives of profit; the exponential increase...

On episode 105, we welcome back Licensed Professional Counselor Emily-Kircher Morris to discuss teaching twice exceptional (2e) children, the neurodiversity movement and its contribution to helping us accept the neurological differences in one another, Alen's early struggles with anxiety and how they affected his schoolwork, how specific disabilities (such as Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, and Depressive...

On episode 104, we welcome back philosopher Andy Norman to discuss how we can protect ourselves from infectious ideas and mind parasites, the Socratic system of rational inquiry and why it's the most effective truth detector, how people become conspiracy thinkers, anti-vaxx sentiment and the importance of challenging it by doubting the doubters, how skepticism becomes extreme and useless when we q...

On episode 103, we welcome back philosopher William Irwin to discuss poetry and philosophy, our reactions to William's new book 'Both/And', the battle between continental philosophy and analytic philosophy, why aphorisms and platitudes are effective, the struggle between popularity and authenticity and why Ronnie James Dio left the band Rainbow, popular writing and the importance of clarity in pub...

On episode 102, we welcome philosopher David Livingstone Smith to discuss the psychosocial mechanisms of dehumanization, how humans can perceive other humans as both human and sub-human, what lynchings were actually like, how Nazis used psychotherapy and pseudo-scientific propaganda to justify anti-Semitic beliefs, the role of motivated reasoning in maintaining wealthy slave states, the subtle, mo...

On episode 101, we welcome Quarterback Brad Johnson to discuss the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers championship run, why the Joe Jurevicius 71 yard catch in the NFC championship game was the greatest play in Buc history, overcoming adversity on the field and dealing with self-doubt, playing under Jon Gruden, how Larry Bird persuaded him to continue playing football when he was ready to give up, his favo...

John D. Bieber is a writer and former international divorce lawyer. After a distinguished career as a UK lawyer, formerly with the celebrated Lord Goodman and later with his own law firm, John D Bieber left full time legal work to focus on family life with his wife Joey and four young children in their farm in the heart of Sussex, England, where he could pursue his passion for writing. John Bieber...

On episode 99, we welcome back existential psychologist Emmy van Deurzen to discuss the emotional effects of Brexit, how it compounded with Covid to create an existential crisis for EU nationals living in the UK, Emmy's personal experience of xenophobia and dealing with the threat of deportation, how existential crises tend to reveal prior problems that were denied, utilizing the catastrophe for g...

On episode 98, we welcome Pastor Michael Walrond to discuss mental health in the Black community, his medical journey and overcoming death on multiple occasions, how he found faith amidst the vast absurdity of life, becoming inspired by Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, his friendship with Jamal Joseph of the Black Panthers and meeting Afeni Shakur, how Tupac's music inspired a wave of men...

On episode 97, Leon chats with philosopher Julian Baggini about the philosophy and wisdom of David Hume, focusing on why he believed we could accept knowing things without knowing their foundations, the natural limitations of reason and need for intellectual humility, the importance of understanding human nature in order to form a coherent system of ethics, the incoherence of the concept of free w...

On episode 96, we welcome James Shakhnovich and James Moreno to discuss drug addiction and hear their stories, how addiction is linked to trauma, the shame and guilt addicts feel despite the common misconception that they're solely selfish, utilizing character development to overcome addiction, why "once an addict, always an addict" is a myth, how both men struggled with setbacks and used their co...

On episode 95, Leon chats with philosopher Andy Norman about mental immunity and how to reason well, what ideologies are and what makes them toxic, the responsibility each of us have to become rational thinkers and why, ethically, we can't just believe what we want to, how repetition fuels delusional beliefs, how we can remain hopeful and optimistic without fooling ourselves, human nature and why...

On episode 94, we welcome cognitive neuroscientist Christian Jarrett to discuss what comprises a personality, the positive and negative traits according to The Big 5 Factor Model, how the environment affects one's traits, why it's important that one's personality is still malleable in adulthood, the methods to increase positive traits and decrease negative ones like neuroticism, why it's difficult...

On episode 93, Alen and Leon speak about how anxiety has held them back in the past, the difference between common episodic anxiety and anxiety disorders, performance anxiety and how they used the fear of disappointing each other to push past it and create the podcast, the ways they self-sabotaged in their relationships due to rejection anxieties, the winner effect and the importance of focusing o...

On episode 92, Alen and Leon discuss the book The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef, focusing on how to cultivate an open-mind, the benefits and pitfalls of self-deception, holding your identity loosely, the right ways to interpret critical feedback, how to develop short-term rewards for long-term goals, the importance of feeling pride for the person you're becoming, Darwin's dual theory of natural sel...

On episode 91, we welcome author Michael Shermer to discuss why and how humans come to believe in anything, our difficulty with understanding randomness and how it contributes to the belief in improbable conspiracy theories, the harms of cancel culture, combating misinformation and bad arguments with better ones, why we should become better public speakers instead of silencing opposing views, usin...

On episode 90, we welcome author Mohamedou Ould Slahi to recount his imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay and discuss black and white thinking in the American narrative of the good guys vs. the bad guys, why he still loves Americans and can see the good in them, America's descent into fascism, the importance of applying the rule of law to both American and foreign citizens, the role of dehumanization in...

On episode 89, we welcome science fiction writer Christopher Mark Rose on to discuss his new story: God on a Bad Night, artificial intelligence and how it can change our relationships, the flaws of the multiverse interpretation of quantum physics, the ethical questions of creating new universes, how science fiction provides a platform for spreading philosophical ideas, and whether or not it matter...