Salvador Podcast

Join physicist and teacher Brett Hall, host of the TokCast podcast, as he dives into the intricacies of consciousness and personhood. He argues that consciousness may be rarer than we think and discusses the power of explanatory knowledge. Hall critiques traditional academia and reveals why he believes AI isn't close to achieving AGI. The conversation also touches on the moral implications of viewing AI as human-like and challenges the conventional understanding of empathy, emphasizing kindness and curiosity in the pursuit of knowledge.

David Deutsch, a physicist at the University of Oxford and author of iconic books on reality and knowledge, dives into fascinating concepts of truth and creativity. He argues that error correction is essential for human progress and discusses how Enlightenment thinking fostered advancements. Deutsch contrasts AI with AGI, emphasizing their distinct approaches to creativity. He critiques educational systems for stifling innovation, while advocating for capitalism that encourages problem-solving and optimism, exploring how we can better navigate challenges.

Garett Jones is an economist at George Mason University and the author of Hive Mind, 10% Less Democracy, and The Culture Transplant. His work explores how intelligence, institutions, and ancestry shape national prosperity — often in surprising ways, follow Garett on Twitter We talk about national IQ, smarter governance, immigration policy, and why “less democracy” might sometimes mean better results. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps 00:00 – Intro03:11 – Smart people build better institutions that help everyone06:22 – IQ gaps, immigration, and intergenerational convergence09:33 – IVF, embryo selection, and boosting intelligence12:44 – Should we optimize our children’s genetics?15:55 – Axelrod, cooperation, and designing better institutions19:06 – What does “10% less democracy” really mean?22:17 – Making the case for longer political terms and elite control25:28 – Populism, Trump, and democratic decisions28:39 – Education, cosmopolitanism, and political tolerance31:50 – Why Europe is less market-friendly than the U.S.35:01 – Does democracy really cause economic growth?38:12 – Governance, boards, and the myth of top-down control41:23 – Iceland, open borders, and testing migration theory44:34 – Capitalism, communism, and cultural risk47:45 – Guest worker models and citizenship debates50:56 – Global elite summits and influence networks54:07 – Teaching general principles that stick57:18 – Public choice and win-win cooperation over 10,000 years Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe

Johan Norberg is a Swedish author and historian of ideas. He’s a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of Progress, In Defense of Global Capitalism, The Capitalist Manifesto and more recently Peak Human. His work explores the roots of prosperity, the case for open societies, and why freedom leads to human flourishing, follow Johan on TwitterWe talk about what really drives progress, how innovation emerges, the false promises of degrowth, and why optimism is a moral stance. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps00:00 – Intro02:31 – Why trade and openness drive innovation05:03 – The mindset of responsibility and agency07:36 – Capitalism, sustainability, and environmental progress10:10 – Why human flourishing isn’t guaranteed12:42 – How human creativity builds prosperity15:17 – What profit really means in free markets17:51 – Risk-taking and the power of entrepreneurship20:27 – The decline of global inequality23:03 – Can markets handle externalities fairly?25:41 – Why regulation doesn’t mean anti-market28:15 – Cultural mixing and progress through diversity30:54 – Embracing uncertainty instead of fearing it33:20 – Against utopia: why hope must stay grounded35:59 – Degrowth and the real moral risks of stopping progress38:36 – Lockdowns, poverty, and policy trade-offs41:10 – The future of work, leisure, and meaning43:45 – Green growth and energy optimism46:12 – Literature, imagination, and moral insight48:50 – Final reflections on freedom and fallibility Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe

Leigh Brasington is a meditation teacher in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition and the author of Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhānas. He was authorized to teach by Ayya Khema and is known for his deep knowledge of jhāna practice and insight meditation.We talk about altered states of concentration, awakening without dogma, what it feels like to perceive without ego, and how practice transforms life. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps00:00 – Intro02:37 – Seeing reality beyond the ego05:15 – Learning the jhānas with Ayya Khema07:53 – Insight that follows deep concentration10:31 – What real meditation absorption feels like13:09 – Leigh’s critique of lighter jhāna methods15:47 – Retreat environments and access to jhānas18:25 – Teaching online vs in-person21:03 – What helps students succeed23:41 – Stories from students’ breakthroughs26:18 – Is jhāna possible for everyone?28:56 – Why we procrastinate on practice31:34 – Insight meditation and Satipaṭṭhāna34:12 – How meditation shapes happiness36:50 – Is full awakening really possible?39:28 – Letting go of the sense of self42:06 – Dependent origination explained44:44 – Emptiness and early perception47:22 – Final reflections and recommended books Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe

Max More is a philosopher, futurist, and one of the world’s most influential advocates for cryonics and life extension. He’s the former CEO of Alcor and a leading thinker on transhumanism, personal identity, and long-term survival, follow Max on Twitter We talk about cryopreservation, memory, the limits of death, technological ethics, and why future generations might live radically longer and freer lives. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps00:00 – Intro02:37 – How memory works through death and anesthesia05:15 – What happens to the body before legal death07:53 – Ending the inevitability of aging10:31 – How many people are signed up for cryopreservation?13:09 – What embryos teach us about freezing humans15:47 – How the procedure works: cryoprotectants and vitrification18:25 – Clinical death and revival windows21:03 – How advanced technology defines death23:41 – Governance and the future of cryonics organizations26:18 – Skepticism vs honest uncertainty28:56 – Sci-fi myths and public misunderstanding31:34 – Why Max sees biostasis as rational34:12 – The precautionary principle and political risk-aversion36:50 – What the IPCC really says about climate change39:28 – Living in extreme conditions without panic42:06 – Financial preparedness for uncertain futures44:44 – What kind of world could revive you?47:22 – Reprogramming mood and personality in the future Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe

Richard Y. Chappell is a moral philosopher and Associate Professor at the University of Miami. He works on effective altruism, utilitarianism, moral realism, digital minds, and the ethics of the far future. He co-authored An Introduction to Utilitarianism and writes at the blog Good Thoughts, follow Richard on Twitter We talk about doing good effectively, moral truth, AI consciousness, and why compassion needs reason. Topics and ideas are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps0:00 – Intro0:24 – What is effective altruism?4:08 – Longtermism & future risks9:34 – Beneficentrism vs utilitarianism14:56 – Donating 10%17:16 – Emotions vs reason19:09 – Writing with MacAskill20:28 – What is moral realism?24:35 – Liberalism vs relativism25:12 – Why normativity matters26:30 – Reason vs evolution28:50 – Conscious AI30:28 – Who counts morally?33:55 – Mechanistic minds?34:52 – Books that shaped him35:24 – Defining personhood37:30 – Should philosophers reach people?40:43 – Status quo bias43:07 – The meaning of life Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe

Eric Kaufmann is a political scientist and professor at the University of Buckingham. He writes on culture, demography, identity, and liberalism. He’s the author of Whiteshift, The Rise and Fall of Anglo-America, and Taboo: How Making Race Sacred Produced a Cultural Revolution, follow Eric on TwitterWe talk about identity politics, liberalism vs authoritarianism, population decline, post-liberal ideology, and how Western societies might navigate demographic and cultural change. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps 00:00 – Intro02:41 – Why demographic change is politically explosive05:21 – The taboo around discussing majority group decline08:02 – Why liberal universalism isn’t enough anymore10:43 – From classical liberalism to post-liberal society13:24 – The rise of sacralized race and gender categories16:05 – How the left became institutional18:46 – Are we in a cultural revolution?21:27 – The role of elite overproduction24:08 – Demographic realism vs cultural idealism26:49 – Immigration and identity management29:30 – What population decline means for the West32:11 – The emotional core of cultural anxiety34:52 – When neutrality becomes a threat to belonging37:33 – Liberalism, nationalism, and assimilation40:14 – Why Western countries may resist open borders42:55 – The future of political polarization45:36 – Institutional reform vs counter-revolution48:17 – Final thoughts on hope, fear, and pluralism Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe

Paul Turke is a physician and evolutionary biologist. He’s a pioneer in evolutionary medicine and has written widely on parenting, cooperation, and how evolutionary theory reshapes how we think about human health and behavior, follow Paul on Twitter We talk about how modern lifestyles diverge from ancestral ones, how kin networks shaped child development, why evolution still matters in medicine, and what it means to parent well in a mismatched world. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps 00:00 – Intro02:37 – Working with Randy Nesse and framing sickness evolutionarily05:15 – How childrearing worked in ancestral environments07:53 – The hidden role of kin in development10:31 – What modern families are missing13:09 – Antibiotic resistance and selection pressure15:47 – Mismatch theory and chronic disease18:25 – Are modern immune systems overreacting?21:03 – Exposure, allergens, and immune calibration23:41 – Evolutionary roots of emotion26:18 – Emotions as adaptations for coordination28:56 – Phones, feedback loops, and behavioral hijacking31:20 – The smoke detector principle and anxiety34:12 – Adolescence and the modern identity crisis36:50 – Monitoring, tech, and tribal perception39:28 – Genetics, ethics, and the future of parenting42:06 – Why aging exists from an evolutionary view44:44 – What med school misses about human nature47:22 – Final thoughts on bringing evolution into healthcare Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe

Jac O’Keeffe is a spiritual teacher, author, and founder of the Association for Spiritual Integrity. She guides students on the path beyond ego, and speaks openly about awakening, trauma, power dynamics, and the mystery of consciousness. We talk about spiritual awakening, teacher-student dynamics, the traps of identity, and how integrity fits into the inner path. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps 00:00 – Intro02:37 – Ego breakdowns and spontaneous mystical experiences05:15 – Helping a spirit cross over07:53 – Interactions with beings and inner dialogues10:31 – Realizing her spiritual orientation13:09 – The moment that changed everything15:47 – Intuition, autism, and social trust18:25 – Embodiment and energetic memory21:03 – Why spiritual teachers sometimes behave badly23:41 – Founding the Association for Spiritual Integrity26:18 – Why students fear giving feedback to teachers28:56 – When teachers project their unmet needs31:34 – Empowering students to reclaim their authority34:12 – Shared blind spots in the teacher-student dynamic36:50 – Projecting and mirroring in spiritual relationships39:28 – Becoming comfortable with full humanness42:06 – Misunderstanding Jesus and obedience44:44 – Doing spiritual service without funding47:22 – Consciousness incarnating to experience separation Get full access to From the Lotus World at www.fromthelotus.world/subscribe