We begin with where the podcast started: one of the characteristics of the contemporary world, which is both an active contributor to, as well as a passive reflection of, its being in crisis, is that in contrast to the modern worldview’s ideal

15. Conclusion Part 1: Strategies for Thinking the Present

Dec 22nd, 2020 29m 2s

In this episode, (part one of our two-part conclusion), we aim to tie together – like a nice bow on a Christmas present, know what we mean? – a number of themes (“thoughtlines”) raised throughout the series that present a diverse number of stra

14. The Ego and its Discontents

Dec 21st, 2020 28m 5s

The identification of the ego with power structures greater than itself, raises a whole host of questions around ego identity as healthy vs unhealthy; around tribal identity and tribalism and its transformation with the emergence of civilizatio

13. Power in History

Dec 18th, 2020 30m 43s

Power manifests in a regularly recurring historical pattern: when there is a successful critique of the dominant power and its institutions and accompanying mythology, the critique in turn becomes institutionalized as the new center of power an

12. Opposing Scale: Spiritual Practices and Small Communities

Dec 17th, 2020 29m 27s

In this episode, our deep dive into the Axial Age meets the podcast theme of the importance of scale. The themes of thinking at different time scales, our effort of following a "thoughtline" through changing historical scales, is provided its

11. Are we in a Second Axial Age?

Dec 10th, 2020 29m

We continue our discussion of the Axial Age begun in the previous episode, in terms of how our current time is (and is not!) a type of second Axial Age. Some key aspects of the Axial Age - as a highly self-conscious response to perceived crisis

10. The Axial Age: 2500 Years Ago

Dec 3rd, 2020 30m 27s

This episode introduces our listeners to "the Axial Age", the time period of the middle first millennium BC. The adjective "Axial" is derived from the notion of an "axis" as a dividing line, but within history. Karl Jaspers coins the phrase, a

9. Globalization: One Globe, Many Worlds

Nov 26th, 2020 28m 46s

Globalization means that economically, industrially, technologically, all humans have become interconnected. In this episode we argue the other side to the globalization story is a great diversity that we summarize as living in different cultur

8. Myth and Worldview

Nov 19th, 2020 28m 8s

If key to the modern Western worldview was the discovery of deep space, deep time, deep process, and deep consciousness, and a corresponding conception of no limits, what follows after that worldview’s demise in 1945 with WWII undoing European

7. After Modernity, what? Postmodernity, Ultramodernity, Multiple Modernities

Nov 12th, 2020 26m 43s

We discuss different ways to understand the “end” of the modern Western worldview: does it end? Does it entrench and solidify itself? Is it overcome, or an alternative present itself? How does it transform? In a sense, all of the above happens,

6. The Scientific Revolution and the Modern West

Nov 5th, 2020 30m 42s

The scientific, as well as political, and industrial revolutions that are key to the development of the “modern West” and its worldview from 1500 to WWII are examined. The shattering of the medieval Western worldview through discovering deep sp

5. Mobilization

Oct 29th, 2020 28m 19s

This episode examines the modern worldview in terms of its understanding of unlimited growth, and how this set the context for World War II and the Great Acceleration. Throughout there is a focus on the theme of mobilization: different ways to

4. State of Emergency: World War II as Precedent for Today

Oct 22nd, 2020 29m 27s

In this episode we look at what we’re calling “expansionism”, how the natural tendency of a species to expand into its niche, is unnaturally extended beyond those natural limits by humans. Pursuing this thoughtline brings us to a discussion of

3. Thinking at Different Scales: The Great Acceleration

Oct 15th, 2020 29m 21s

In this episode we will explore the notion of thinking at different timescales. We will look at four different time scales: the Great Acceleration (1950-2020), Holocene (last 10,000 years), Anthropocene (current epoch), and the emergence of Hom

2. Thinking the Present Moment Part 2: Coronavirus and the Impossible

Oct 8th, 2020 31m 5s

In this episode we take a closer look at the COVID-19 global pandemic and corresponding lockdown, discussing what possibilities for reflection and potential transformation the experience of lockdown affords. New episodes coming out every Thursd

1. Thinking the Present Moment: The World as a Convergence of Crises

Oct 1st, 2020 34m 21s

In this first episode of the Afterthought series we introduce some of the global crises that our world is faced with, and start to explore what it means to think strategically about coronavirus, climate change, and the end of the world. New epi