Against Everyone with Conner Habib

I'm so excited to welcome philosopher and author Federico Campagna back to the show! Together, we find the magic in defeat and the strength that it offers, using his new book, Otherworlds: Mediterranean Lessons on Escaping History as a springboard for our wide-ranging and empowering discussion.Federico gives many potent examples of the hidden strength in defeat. Whether it’s through Egyptian gods or the writer Joseph Roth, esotericists or people who felt the mythic effects of being defeated by Alexander the Great. We witness again and again options that become available for seeing and creating new worlds only when - as Federico writes of the people in the book:“Instead of clinging to the values of a vanishing world, or embracing the new rising power, they dared to migrate to the grand zero of the imagination where ideas and values can be extracted anew from the infinite virtuality of the possible.”May this episode bring you strength and magic, even in the most unexpected of places and conditions!SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: patreon.com/connerhabib

Friends: We need ideas which are not just radical or "revolutionary." We need ideas, feelings, and actions that work on many levels; that are systemic; that have multiple potentials for realization, and have enough points of articulation that they can touch on their own fabric and maneuver to witness themselves. And what better place to start then the ground beneath your feet: where you live?After all, you see the place you live every day. It's entered you as a daily language of patterns. It's become a set of expectations for your feet as you move through the morning. It lives in your lungs and gives your eyes nourishment. And I'm sure it also frustrates you sometimes, makes you feel blocked and angry. You might feel threatened there or bored. But I hope you also find joy, surprise, and feel held by where you live, greeted by each of its days.When my friend and collaborator - the artist, organizer, and journalist UNA MULLALLY - released her new 10-part podcast series SAVING THE CITY , I found in it a perfect representation of that transformative ideal we need.I also knew that Una and I had different ideas of what we wanted from cities. I like cars, I have trouble with a lot of bigger cities that Una loves. I even like an area of Dublin that Una has... let's say, different feelings about. But this is exactly right for transformation of a place- discussing with your neighbors what you want, what your concerns are, but most importantly what would bring you joy, piece of mind, excitement, potential, opportunity in the cityThis is a long episode, and like a city, it encourages a sort of wandering. Stop along the way any time you want, think about how it will apply to where you live whether it's a city or somewhere else. I'm so excited to share this episode with you. THIS SHOW DEPENDS ON LISTENER SUPPORT. PLEASE PLEDGE TO SUPPORT THIS SHOW TODAY ON PATREON

Grant Morrison, a rebel artist and spiritual visionary known for his groundbreaking work in comics, joins for a captivating discussion. They delve into the tactile intimacy of comics versus the emotional engagement of film. Morrison explains how stories can transform consciousness and even save lives. The conversation shifts to the waning authority of books in a networked world and the potential pitfalls of chaos magic. Finally, he shares insights on disciplined magical practices and the transformative power of personal illness.

Friends,After writing my previous episode, AEWCH 298, where I laid out my thoughts on how to reflect on A.I. to get to beyond the basic, boring conversation, I read ADAM BECKER's excellent book, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity .I immediately invited him on the show, and I wish I would've read it before. Even though there is plenty of overlap, Adam's vantage point offer a full vision of tech culture, and reveals just how deeply anti-science is is. That impact comes from the fact that Adam is great writer but also an astrophysicist, and author of the excellent popular book on quantum physics, What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics.We talk about how we got here in science and technology, why technology has been conflated with science, how conspiracy and science intersect, and what physics has to do with all of this.Of course the conclusion is that A.I. is not super smart, not supported by smart people, that the fantasies of tech billionaires are bonkers, and that the singularity is not near because it's not even a thing.SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: patreon.com/connerhabib

Dive into a deep conversation about artificial intelligence that challenges superficial narratives. Explore the spiritual dimensions of AI and its impact on art and literature, questioning authenticity and creative ownership. Discuss the balance between copyright and artistic freedom, and the role of language in preserving genuine human connection. This dialogue is all about invigorating thoughts on AI, pushing past tired debates to inspire new perspectives that foster a better understanding of technology's place in our lives.

Friends,Welcome to this massive double-length episode on religion in our time with Diana Young-Peak.You may not know Diana, or if you do, it may be from exactly 200 (!) episodes ago on AEWCH 97: DIANA YOUNG-PEAK or THE GREATEST STRIPPER OCCULT PRIESTESS YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF. That episode was recorded BEFORE I had a podcast - back in 2011, when I was part of her small esoteric church, the Church of the Living Christ Order of Melchizedek. That episode is at the end of this one - it gives all the context and background. If you want to listen to it first, you can jump ahead to about 2 hours in.But you can also listen to our latest conversation first. It's both a spiritual assessment of where we are in the world now, and also an assessment of the growing presence of religion and spirituality in people's lives. Two growing presences that are destined to meet: the presence of mutual aid community building, and the presence of RELIGION. I've never, in my lifetime, seen more interest in spirituality and its most accessible & durable pathway, religion, as I do now. And I've also never seen this many people coming together in new groups of belonging, with the aim of making safe and loving community and making the word a better place,In my understanding, this is a convergent evolution that is destined for intersection. In eight years doing the podcast, I've noticed time and time again that activists, organizers, anarchists, leftists, and more want to talk about their religious and spiritual thoughts. And I've also gotten the sense that we have crossed into a territory where it is newly allowed.My observation on this is that it's because new people have been allowed into organizing spaces and communities, and it's not just leftist atheists or white christians. Religious and national plurality has given rise to new assemblages and new belongings that call for new spiritual ways of seeing.In some ways this is nothing new: spiritual movements, particularly small spiritual movements, are mutual aid movements. They provide space for conversations about how to consider reality, the self, the other, and the all. That necessitates action, and coherence. Feminist movements have roots in 19th and 20th Century spiritualism and magic. There were anti-slavery magic movements. The White Rose, inspired by anthroposophy, resisted the Nazis. But more than that, there's the many many groups living right next door to you and me and everyone holding small meetings. organizing for the sake of a sense of a greater good and full connection to the real.Diana's group - passed to her from her mentor and founder of the group, Grace Hooper Pettipher - is one of these groups. Meeting together, when I was an active participant, in a small hotel room in San Francisco (now they mostly meet online), there was community building, connection, growth, and attenuation to freedom. I don't attend these days, for the most part, but I have great respect for what Diana and the group do with the religious impulse. And I hope this new conversation will inspire you to think towards or even begin your own path with community-based religion and spiritual practice.I hope you enjoy this double-length episode.***SUPPORT THE SHOW: patreon.com/connerhabib

Lory Widmer Hess is the author of When Fragments Make a Whole, as well as a caregiver and spiritual direction facilitator in Switzerland. Her book chronicles her healing journey with the gospels - through various illness, medical procedures, and emotional and soul challenges - from an esoteric viewpoint.Support AEWCH on patreon: patreon.com/connerhabibLory's website: https://enterenchanted.com/Lory's book: When Fragments Become A Whole

Friends,Against Everyone with Conner Habib is eight years old today! Not many media projects last for eight years or make it up to nearly 300 episodes at this point.  To celebrate, I talk here about conversation; what it means to all of us. After all, if I asked you if conversation had changed your life, you’d probably say yes. A conversation that set you down a career path, or a new place to move to. An argument that went haywire and ended your relationship. A flirtation that led to the great love of your life.But we forget, too, that other people’s conversations change our lives. What does it mean to do a podcast, and how has the landscaping of podcasts degraded, fallen apart, as well as grown, in the past eight years? What have I noticed?As a bonus, I've attached my very first episode at the end. It's clumsy, personal, filled with insecurity and uncertainty. Please support the show - all eight years and 295 (free!) episodes of it - on patreon.Patreon.com/connerhabib

Episode DescriptionI'm joined by author, teacher, and theorist, Douglas Rushkoff. He’s one of the most important intellectuals of our time, some people call him a futurist, but he's always a step ahead of the future. The is the part 2 of the conversation we had on Doug’s podcast, TEAM HUMAN called "LIVE UP TO YOUR FOOL POTENTIAL". But of course, it also stands on its own and you don't have to listen to them in order.This show is supported through listeners. No ads! Please do support it via Patreon: patreon.com/connerhabibConner's Website: connerhabib.comConner's Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/againsteveryonewithconnerhabibAnd please also consider supporting Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhumanDouglas's website.

I talk with co-hosts of the Light in Every Thing podcast, Rev. Jonah Evans & Rev. Patrick Kennedy about meeting the world not as a "problem" to be solved, but as a realm already overcome by spiritual love.