The Bardo Podcast

Marc Salmon is joined by Aboriginal scholar and author Tyson Yunkaporta for a wide-ranging conversation about Indigenous knowledge systems, Aboriginal culture, comedy, Buddhism, ecology, power, and the stories that shape the worlds we live in. Together they explore why humour keeps power in check, right story versus wrong story, high and low context cultures, animism, serpent lore, meme magic, and...

Marc Salmon is joined by comedian, writer and illustrator Marty Gleeson for a conversation about creativity, perfectionism, stand-up comedy, artistic competition and staying playful. Together they explore how drawing competitions changed Marty's relationship with art, preparing a debut Edinburgh Fringe show, getting an agent, comedy writing, synchronicities and why the funniest ideas often ar...

Marc Salmon is joined by Buddhist teacher, author and meditation instructor Tsering Paldron for a conversation about Buddhism, anxiety, burnout, compassion, ageing, identity and what actually matters in life. Together they explore why we create stories that make us suffer, the difference between empathy and compassion, how Buddhist practice can help us respond to uncertainty without becoming overw...

Marc Salmon is joined by author John Higgs for a wide-ranging conversation about David Lynch, Robert Anton Wilson, reality tunnels, creativity, synchronicity and the challenge of making sense of modern life. Together they explore meditation, humour, Discordianism, the KLF, the internet, subjective experience, certainty, and why questioning our own stories might be one of the best protections again...

Marc Salmon is joined by comedian and clown Lawrence Dodd for a wide-ranging conversation about comedy, Buddhism, sobriety, neurodivergence, political despair and the search for connection in confusing times. Together they explore clowning, autism, masking, intrusive thoughts, addiction, spirituality, organising, identity, and how play, community and vulnerability might help us stay human when cer...

Marc Salmon is joined by writer and philosopher Emily Herring for a wide-ranging conversation about Henri Bergson, time, freedom, memory, intuition, laughter and why modern life can feel increasingly mechanical. Together they explore Bergson's philosophy of lived experience, the difference between clock time and lived time, habit and freedom, élan vital, mysticism, Bergson's debates with...

Marc Salmon is joined by award-winning comedian Rob Copland for a wide-ranging conversation about stand-up comedy, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, creativity and the reality of life as a comedian. Together they explore writing, performing, the pressures of the Edinburgh Fringe, success, anxiety, ego, and why external achievements don't always bring the relief we expect. Support the podcast If...

Marc Salmon is joined by Dr Steve Todd and Cesare Saguato for a wide-ranging conversation about the Buddhist idea of the bardo, death, impermanence, consciousness and learning to live with uncertainty. Together they explore Tibetan Buddhism, the Six Bardos, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, awareness, change, and why the bardo might not just describe what happens after death, but how we experience lif...

Marc Salmon is joined by storyteller, director and screenwriter Fer Rodil for a wide-ranging conversation about cancer, comedy, philosophy, mortality, love and the search for meaning. Together they explore what a cancer diagnosis can teach us about attachment, relationships, creativity, happiness and the mind, drawing on Buddhism, William James, Nietzsche and the power of storytelling to transform...

Why does activism sometimes feel miserable? And how could politics feel joyful again? In this solo episode of The Bardo Podcast, comedian Marc Salmon reflects on activism, community, and why movements trying to change the world can sometimes lose their sense of humour. Through stories from activist meetings, reflections on anarchist philosophy, and everyday examples of mutual aid, Marc explores id...

Marc Salmon is joined by writer and researcher Gabriel Kennedy, author of Chapel Perilous: The Life & Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson , for a wide-ranging conversation about Robert Anton Wilson, uncertainty, belief systems, anarchism, humour and the art of not knowing. Together they explore model agnosticism, reality tunnels, Chapel Perilous, the SNAFU Principle, conspiracy culture, sync...

Marc Salmon is joined by writer, performer and comedian Abby Wambaugh for a wide-ranging conversation about vulnerability, creativity, comedy, sincerity and what it means to make honest work. Together they explore trauma, responsibility, contemporary clowning, audience care, humour as a force for social change, and Abby's acclaimed show The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows , produced by Hannah Gad...

In this solo episode of The Bardo Podcast , I reflect on what accountability looks like for me in practice. This is a more personal and reflective episode than usual. I talk about sobriety, spiritual identity, ego, mixed motives, and the discomfort of speaking publicly while still figuring things out. I discuss Buddhist ideas like samsara, beginner’s mind, and confession without self-punishment as...

Marc Salmon is joined by award-winning comedian Mark Simmons for a conversation about stand-up comedy, joke writing, confidence, failure, timing, creativity and the philosophy of laughter. Together they explore what really happens when a joke lands or fails, how audiences respond to confidence on stage, why the same material can work in one room and bomb in another, and what comedy can teach us ab...

Marc Salmon is joined by Dr Steve Todd and Cesare Saguato for a wide-ranging conversation about the meta-crisis, Tibetan Buddhism, Western esotericism, psychotherapy, physics, uncertainty, and the overlapping crises shaping modern life. Together they explore how rigid worldviews collapse into despair, why certainty can become dangerous, and how play, plurality and mystery might offer new ways of r...

Marc Salmon is joined by award-winning comedian and actor Lara Ricote for a conversation about creativity, uncertainty, clowning, politics, play and learning to live without certainty. Together they explore why joy and silliness are often dismissed, how fear shapes both art and politics, and what becomes possible when we stop trying to control life and learn to stay with mystery instead. Support t...

The Bardo Podcast is a podcast about alternative ways of thinking, inner and outer change, and what happens in the space between. Hosted by comedian Marc Salmon , the show features thoughtful conversations with comedians, philosophers, Buddhist thinkers, and other curious minds. Episodes cover philosophy, Buddhism, counter-cultural ideas, and the messy, often funny business of being human. This is...