The Metagame

Stephen Zerfas is the CEO and cofounder of Jhourney — a startup that targets specific meditative states known as jhanas using novel teaching methods and technology. Their first product is a week-long meditation retreat that’s won hyperbolic testimonials from tech executives and engineers (e.g. OpenAI, DeepMind). Most participants learn to enter states previously thought to require thousands of hou...

Soryu Forall is an ordained Zen Buddhist monk and the guiding teacher at the Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth (MAPLE) in Vermont. With over two decades of intensive monastic training, Forall was ordained in 1998 by Zen Master Shodo Harada at Sogen Temple in Japan. He has since trained in monasteries across India, Tibet, and China, and draws on various spiritual traditions, in...

Andrés is the Co-founder and President of the Qualia Research Institute (QRI). He has a Master’s Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in computational models from Stanford and a professional background in graph theory, statistics, and affective science. His work at QRI ranges from algorithm design, to psychedelic theory, to neurotechnology development, to mapping and studying the computational pr...

Michael Edward Johnson is a philosopher, neuroscientist and entrepreneur. He’s the author of Principia Qualia and the co-founder of the Qualia Research Institute . He’s done pioneering work at the intersection of mathematics and consciousness studies, seeking to systematically map and measure subjective experiences. He writes at opentheory.net. Resources: * Principles of Vasocomputation: A Unifica...

Dr. Marc Gafni has been described as a world philosopher, integrating wisdom from across multiple disciplines into what he has called a New Story of Value. He is the president of the Center for World Philosophy and Religion and has authored twelve books including Your Unique Self: The Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment. Today we talk about his latest book First Principles and First Values. Res...

Michael Edward Johnson is a philosopher, neuroscientist and entrepreneur. He’s the author of Principia Qualia and the co-founder of the Qualia Research Institute . He’s done pioneering work at the intersection of mathematics and consciousness studies, seeking to systematically map and measure subjective experiences. Resources: * Principles of Vasocomputation: A Unification of Buddhist Phenomenolog...

Steve Schlafman is a recovering venture capitalist and professional transition coach. In 2017 he made partner at a multi-billion dollar VC firm and then promptly walked away from it all. Now he helps high performers in midlife discover and manifest their next calling. He draws upon a range of disciplines and brings a very sensitive, compassionate approach to the question of how to live well . Stev...

Malcolm Ocean is a multitude-containing, wildman systems design expert who founded the productivity app Intend.do . It’s a tool that prioritizes intentionality over task management and provides a compelling counterpoint to David Allen’s Getting Things Done method . Malcolm also writes extensively about goal crafting, trust dynamics and group coordination. He’s great at combining big picture galaxy...

Howard Bloom is an author and polymath. He was also a publicist in the 70s and 80s, running the biggest PR firm in the music industry. He helped build or sustain the careers of Michael Jackson, Prince, Bob Marley, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Queen, Kiss, Run DMC, ZZ Top, Joan Jett, Chaka Khan and 100 more. What’s his deal? He’s a student of ecstatic experiences. You ca...

Today I talk to Wolf Tivy , the founder of Palladium Magazin e. It’s a San Francisco-based publication that’s low-key coordinating the next generation of elites to do great things. Skip this episode if you don’t want to quit your job. Topics include: * Why you should quit your job. * Why civilization suffers from philosophical problems — not technical ones. * Why American technology basically stop...

Khe Hy is the Founder and CEO of RadReads , an online education company that helps professionals lead productive, examined and joyful lives. He used to be one of the youngest managing directors at Blackrock, outperforming other teams by teaching his analysts GTD. Now he teaches the popular cohort-based course Supercharge Your Productivity , using productivity as a trojan horse for existential inqu...

“The flinch is your real opponent, and information won't help you fight it. It's behind every unhappy relationship, every hesitation in your business life, every missed opportunity, and every regret you ever had." - Julien Smith Julien Smith is a serial tech entrepreneur and NYT best-selling author of the books Trust Agents and The Flinch . In 2012 he founded Breather a flexible real-estate compan...

Daniele Bolelli is martial artist, writer, professor, and host of History On Fire and The Drunken Taoist podcasts. He’s the author of several books on philosophy and he’s disarmingly down to earth. He also has a cool name and very smooth Italian accent. Topics include: * Real Philosophers vs Academic Philosophers. * The story of Ikkyu Sojun . An enlightened monk that loved sake and women. * How to...

This is probably the most inspiring conversation I’ve had all year. Fen de Villiers turns blocks of stone into powerful art. Just look at this . He willed it out of stone. With. His. Hands. Fen studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. He’s on a mission to reinvigorate sculpture to its most vital and energetic form. Maybe you’ll be reinvigorated too. Topics include: * How do you even beco...

Political philosopher and sociologist Daniel Görtz is a leader of "the Nordic school" of metamodernism. He co-authored The Listening Society and The Nordic Ideology under the pseudonym Hanzi Freinacht. Today we discuss his new “self-help” book with the working title “12 Better Rules for Life (and beyond).” Topics include: * The subtle art of sublime mediocrity * Why Rule #2 is “Fuck like a beast”...

A personal hero. David Allen needs no introduction. He’s the undisputed father of modern productivity. He literally created the category with his world-renowned book Getting Things Done: The art of Stress-Free Productivity . This method has already influenced your world by shaping Silicon Valley’s design ethos and products. GTD is also used by Jeff Beszos, Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern, Robert Downe...

Rebecca Fox is a ritualist and artist. She re-enchants modern people through embodied psycho-spiritual practices that level up their lives. She also used to be a literal witch. Then she studied Critical Thinking™️ and dabbled in Atheism. Now she’s something else entirely... Perhaps a shaman for the modern age. Topics include: * What happens when an Atheist takes Ayahuasca? * Rebecca’s journey from...

Sebastian Marshall brings the mentality of an athlete to knowledge work. He’s a cutting edge productivity expert and the CEO of Ultraworking — a company obsessed with making the nature of work better. Topics include: * Why you probably need “weird” practices to live the life you want. * The power of tracking everything you do with your time (and how to do it). * More evidence that everyone needs a...

Zak Stein . Is a writer, educator and futurist. He’s working to bring a greater sense of sanity and justice to education. He has a background in philosophy, educational neuroscience, human development, and the philosophy of education. While a student at Harvard, he co-founded what would become  Lectica, Inc. , a non-profit dedicated to the research-based, justice-oriented reform of large-scale sta...

Listen on Spotify or Apple . A blistering white-pill of a conversation. Uberboyo is an Irish storyteller and YouTuber who’s “finishing what Nietzsche started.” He’s also a highly practical Jungian who’s operationalized the most actionable insights from Carl’s works on individuation. Topics include: * “The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards...

Listen on Spotify or Apple . Cadell Last is a mensch. An extra-academic PhD philosopher with the mentality of an athlete. He takes embodied integrity seriously and teaches in a disarmingly practical, personal manner. He’ll rarely share a philosophical idea without describing how it personally changed his life. He also has a formal background in anthropology, history and psychoanalysis. He’s on a d...

Pure magic. This conversation completely re-enchanted my life. Bonnitta Roy is an organizational futurist, meta-modern philosopher and horse whisperer. She teaches insight practices for individuals who are developing meta-cognitive skills. She also served as the President of the National Qigong Association and has lived with horses for the last 30 years. Her teachings highlight the embodied, affec...

The tendency to hedge is a modern disease. This rich discussion re-inspired me to go all-in with my life. Daniel Thorson is dedicated to monastic practices and lives at The Monastic Academy in Vermont — a wisdom institution that trains trustworthy people. At the start of the 2020 pandemic, he became an overnight focus of media attention after he emerged from a silent retreat and tweeted, “I’m back...

Layman Pascal used to be a meditation and yoga teacher — but he’s feeling better now. He’s a post-metaphysical spiritual philosopher. That means he has the ability to re-enchant your experience of the world without triggering your inner skeptic. He also philosophizes about metamodernism, Integral Theory, nonduality, theology, shamanism, existential risk and politics. Topics include: * Layman’s ext...

Alex Ebert is a Golden Globe-winning singer-songwriter and composer. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the bands Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros . He is also a philosopher, exploring ideas around death, self-hood, creativity, media, status anxiety and coolness. Topics include: * Alex’s creative process (i.e. meeting the daemon) * Why memes have made e...