Join Alec as he sits down with Garret Kramer, founder of Inner Sports, to talk about human conditioning, self-exploration, and what The Way Forward looks like for 2023. They discuss Garret's upcoming book, The True Self, as well as his unique take on self-exploration and non-duality. They explore the importance of intuition and logic in decision-making, the concept of awareness, and breaking conditioning for genuine lifestyle changes. They also share exciting updates about future projects and their upcoming book.

Rafael Payare, or “Rafa,” as he’s known more informally, is the energetic, electrifying and unmistakable conductor that is taking the classical world by storm. Payare currently serves as Music Director of both the Montreal and San Diego Symphonies. A graduate of Venezuela’s famed El Sistema program, Payare first attracted attention as winner of Denmark’s Malko International Conducting Competition in 2012. Since then, he’s brought his exuberance and elegance to conduct preeminent orchestras across the globe, from London to New York, Munich to Boston, and Stockholm to Chicago. Rafael Payare speaks with Alec about the many important conductors he’s learned from, how he approaches putting together a music program, and why finding the right chemistry with an orchestra is like falling in love.    The following compositions are featured in this episode: Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5 with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Rafael Payare, provided courtesy of Pentatone. You can find the album here.  Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 “The Year 1905,” conducted by Rafael Payare, courtesy of the San Diego Symphony on Platoon. You can find the album here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An area near the entrance to Death Valley National Park has the capacity to produce enough energy to power the entire planet if covered in solar panels. Yet for Nye County, Nevada residents, the question of what must be sacrificed – including the environmental and economic future of the area – and by whom, looms large. Hillary Angelo is the author of the Harper’s Magazine article, “Boomtown,” which explores the complexity of the solar land rush in the West. Angelo is an urban and environmental sociologist and Associate Professor of Sociology at UC Santa Cruz. Dustin Mulvaney, who was featured in the article, is a solar expert and Professor at San José State University. Alec speaks with Angelo and Mulvaney about the objections of residents, what spaces might be used instead, and how to rethink the future of energy.   You can find the article, “Boomtown,” here: https://harpers.org/archive/2023/01/boomtown-beatty-nevada-solar-farms-death-valley/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.