The Deep Dive Episode 246: Outgrowing Modernity with Vanessa Machado De Oliveira
Jan 22, 2026
Join Vanessa Machado De Oliveira, a LatinX scholar and author, as she delves into the intricacies of modernity and its impact on race and inequality. She discusses her unique upbringing and how feelings convey knowledge often ignored by academia. Exploring topics like colonial narratives, the emotional labor of translation, and the importance of resigning from extractive roles, Vanessa connects these themes to psychedelic practices and AI. Her compassionate perspective invites new dialogues around culture and technology's future.
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Childhood Sparked Her Inquiry
- Vanessa Machado de Oliveira grew up in a mixed German–Guarani family and saw cultural dissonance early on.
- That childhood experience pushed her to map cruelty and seek a key from separation to kindness.
Separation Is Modernity's Foundation
- Vanessa locates modernity's root in an imposed sense of separation from the earth.
- That separation underpins capitalism, colonialism, racism, and systemic harm.
Concepts Narrow Relational Sensing
- Language and concepts narrow perception and atrophy other senses that connect us to planetary intelligences.
- Indigenous perspectives emphasize unlimited senses beyond verbal concepts for relational knowing.
