As my regular listeners will know, I’m deeply influenced by the perspective known as Integral philosophy, and in particular, the insights it affords us into how human culture has evolved—and is still evolving today. This perspective informs the conversations I have on this podcast, to one degree or another. But every now and again, I get the opportunity to welcome a guest who is deeply versed in this philosophy, and we get to have a conversation that more explicitly and directly explores the nuances of this unique way of looking at the world. Since this is a somewhat regular occurrence, I’ve dubbed these Integral Conversations, and I’m thrilled to share this one, with my friend and colleague Jeff Salzman, creator of the Daily Evolver podcast and fellow board member at the Institute for Cultural Evolution.

For well over a decade now, Jeff has been bringing the insights of integral theory and philosophy right down to the ground level, applying them to the social and political issues of the moment. Integral thinkers are often focused on big-picture insights about history and worldviews and consciousness, so Jeff’s commitment to making these ideas accessible and relevant to current events is refreshing—as is his unwavering confidence that culture is indeed evolving, despite what the headlines might suggest. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jeff and I tackle the culture wars, social media, Elon Musk, the war in Ukraine, identity politics, and more.