Aliveness: Technology, love, money, sex, soul, governance – Détails, épisodes et analyse

We project our anger onto those in power as if they were our parents constraining our freedom and failing us at every turn. In this short episode, I explore the emotional work of democracy: learning to see our leaders as human, to move from complaint to contribution, from projection to participation.

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This episode asks: how do we stay human inside each of the social media platforms?

I trace the ways some of the platforms undermine my values: from Meta and its documented harms, to TikTok’s dopamine machine, to Substack’s conflicted role in the attention economy. I bring in Shoshana Zuboff’s theory of surveillance capitalism, the story of Cambridge Analytica, teen suicides linked to Instagram, and a chilling case of a man’s fatal entanglement with a Meta AI.

This is an episode about radical ethics. It’s about what we consent to, what we refuse, and how we choose to connect in ways that don’t hollow us out. Mostly it's about responsibility. I walk through my decisions platform by platform, and why podcasting has become my chosen container.

• What “surveillance capitalism” means, and why it threatens democracy
• The blurred line between influence, manipulation, and consent online
• Meta’s record: Cambridge Analytica, teen mental health, and AI experiments gone wrong
• Why TikTok and reels destroy our dopamine balance
• Why Substack works for me—and where it fails on anti-censorship
• The lure and limits of LinkedIn, BlueSky, and YouTube
• Why podcasting is my chosen space: no ads, no algo, no intrusion
• Web3: I forgot to mention this in the podcast! Web3 social is an area of active research for me and while I’m not sharing my work on Forecaster or Base it’s in the works. This is where we own our work.

• 02:00 Why the container matters as much as the content
• 04:30 Surveillance capitalism (Shoshana Zuboff)
• 06:00 Not all data use is surveillance, but the line blurs
• 09:20 The escalation: clicks → biometrics → behaviour shaping
• 11:00 Substack as a model, but also its flaws
• 13:40 Meta’s record: misinformation, Cambridge Analytica, teen suicides
• 15:17 Meta AI harms: the New Jersey stroke patient case
• 19:00 X as cesspool, TikTok as dopamine hijack
• 25:00 Why feeds are different from algorithms
• 28:00 LinkedIn, Blue Sky, YouTube—different shadows
• 35:00 Substack’s anti-censorship stance and my conflict
• 42:00 Why podcasting: intimacy without intrusion
• 46:00 Closing: real life is local

• Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: Book link
• Cambridge Analytica scandal (Facebook fined $5B, 2019): Wikipedia
• Research on Instagram and teen mental health / suicide risk: Wall Street Journal coverage
• Meta AI and the New Jersey man’s death (stroke patient case): Reuters
• GenAI Content Risk Standards leak (Meta, 2025): Reuters
• On TikTok’s dopamine effects and algorithm design: Brown University
• Robert Reich’s Substack (“Coffee Klatch”): Robert Reich Substack
• Research on YouTube radicalization: Data & Society report

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What's the difference between submission and surrender?

Both of these terms hold the essence of letting go, but there’s a fine line between the two of them.

Surrender can be an embodied state that supports our ability to create our desires and experience life as it is, while submission can be where we fall into the false idea that “it is what it is.” 

In this episode, Alison shares the nuances between these two energies to support you in spotting where you might be surrendering versus where you might be submitting so you can realign toward surrender.

“This is a very natural human longing to surrender to life — to stop trying to take care of what clearly cannot be taken care of. And then there's submission — the following of the rules, the doing what we feel we should do, the “I don't see any other alternatives, so I'll just do this,” and it's a very, very, very fine line.”

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Paper by Emmanuel Ghent, "Masochism, Submission, Surrender: Masochism As a Perversion of Surrender"

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Julie McIntyre, author and Earth Ceremonialist, shares how by developing a personal relationship with our bodies and trusting their wisdom, we can navigate life with more authenticity — which she describes as a wildness that embraces the sacredness of all life forms. 

Julie takes us on a personal journey, at the age of 10 when she discovered a magical place in a corner of her family’s farm where a massive old cottonwood tree stood. This became her refuge, a space to escape the chaos and connect with something beyond herself. She experienced an energy exchange with the tree, a profound connection that has stayed with her throughout her life.

This pivotal moment set her on a path of following something non-human, something from the natural world, to nurture the health of her soul.

Join us as Julie shares her wisdom on the power of heart-centered living, intimate self-connection, and the interconnectedness of humans, soul, and plants. 

“You start by feeling. It's not a mental thing. It's really a feeling thing. Trusting your senses, trusting your body, trusting the feelings that are coming. Our bodies don't lie. They're very sophisticated sensory GPS systems. Life is less lonely when you have this relationship of trust with yourself, trust with your body, and trust in the earth.”

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Julie McIntyre is a writer, international lecturer, and workshop leader

having taught throughout North America, Ireland, and the UK. Julie is an Earth ceremonialist and practitioner of Deep Gaia focusing on the sacredness and relationship between Earth and human beings and plants and the circle of all life. 

She offers workshops focused on ceremonies and practices that facilitate closer human bonding with the Earth.

An ordained practitioner of the Church of Gaia, Julie has directed a state ceremonial program for Native men in prison. She worked as a clinical herbalist for twenty years working with people in 20 countries around the globe with chronic illness, especially Lyme disease and co-infections. 

She is the author of “Sex and the Intelligence of the Heart; Nature, Intimacy and Sexual Energy” and the forthcoming, “The Confluence of Gaia, Plant Medicine, and the Human.”  

Website: https://juliemcintyre.net/ 

Sex and the Intelligence of the Heart: Nature, Intimacy, and Sexual Energy

The Confluence of Gaia, Plant Medicines and the Human Soul 

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Listen to Juicy Stories: 16 women have joined together to share their stories about spirituality in all its forms.

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APPLY FOR EXPAND TO STEP FULLY INTO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

Expand is a three month alchemical program to transform your current experience into a new chapter in your life.  

In Expand you will engage in deep mental, emotional and somatic work in a structured process so that you can fully step into your life in every way you desire. You will also have the opportunity to experience one full microdosing cycle combined with the inner work if you choose.  

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When our sexual energy is blocked, it can be challenging to create what we want in the world — whether that’s to create a thriving business or simply how we want to engage with our family in a healthy way. 

Freedom of expression is a practice that can unlock this energy that’s needed to create the life you desire in all aspects of your life. 

Here Alison shares how she needed to reclaim her self-expression and how you can find ways to express your own as a way of connecting with your sexual energy. 

“It’s really fun to explore these things in other ways with other people and just see who you really are, to dream about what you want to create in the world, to actually create it with no purpose whatsoever, but that you enjoyed it and to see what happens.”

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Freeing my Expression – Chrysalis

• Musical collaboration — Snake + Carla Tour the Multiverse

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Listen to Juicy Stories: 16 women have joined together to share their stories about spirituality in all its forms.

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HOW TO MICRODOSE FOR TRANSFORMATION GUIDE

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APPLY FOR EXPAND TO STEP FULLY INTO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

Expand is a three month alchemical program to transform your current experience into a new chapter in your life.  

In Expand you will engage in deep mental, emotional and somatic work in a structured process so that you can fully step into your life in every way you desire. You will also have the opportunity to experience one full microdosing cycle combined with the inner work if you choose.  

Learn More and Apply for Expand

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Mentioned in this episode:

JOIN PLEASURE AS MEDICINE, A FREE, 5-DAY EXPERIENCE

From Monday, June 5 - Saturday, June 10, I'll share practices and teachings to increase your life force energy, reconnect to your aliveness, and hear what your heart and soul are speaking through your experience of your sexual energy. WIN A 1-1 SESSION WITH ALISON — ENTER BY MAY 31! Win a 1-1 session with Alison during the Pleasure as Medicine experience June 5 through June 10 to process and listen to what your body, heart, and soul are saying. To enter, simply leave a rating and review on Apple Podcast and take a screenshot of the review before submitting it. Share your review on your Instagram Stories and tag her, @AlisonCrosthwait You have until Wednesday, May 31 to enter and we’ll select 2 winners who we’ll notify through a direct message on Instagram!

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Challenges in the area of desire tend to call us towards interpersonal dynamics.  We think it is a relationship problem.  I believe this is a misdirection of attention.  Experiencing a lack of desire in your relationship isn’t necessarily a sign that there’s something “wrong” with your relationship. 

All sexual desire starts with you, even when you’re in a partnership. 

Feeling a lack of desire towards your partner is a sign that your own sexual energy needs tending to, and in this episode, Alison shares the very first step to take to do just that. 

“What I see is a need for self intimacy first, that from a place of knowing one's self, knowing one is safe, knowing one is loved, which means loving oneself, almost anything is possible.”

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Listen to Juicy Stories: 16 women have joined together to share their stories about spirituality in all its forms.

https://alison-crosthwait.lpages.co/juicy-stories-series/

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HOW TO MICRODOSE FOR TRANSFORMATION GUIDE

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APPLY FOR EXPAND TO STEP FULLY INTO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

Expand is a three month alchemical program to transform your current experience into a new chapter in your life.  

In Expand you will engage in deep mental, emotional and somatic work in a structured process so that you can fully step into your life in every way you desire. You will also have the opportunity to experience one full microdosing cycle combined with the inner work if you choose.  

Learn More and Apply for Expand

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Mentioned in this episode:

JOIN PLEASURE AS MEDICINE, A FREE, 5-DAY EXPERIENCE

From Monday, June 5 - Saturday, June 10, I'll share practices and teachings to increase your life force energy, reconnect to your aliveness, and hear what your heart and soul are speaking through your experience of your sexual energy. WIN A 1-1 SESSION WITH ALISON — ENTER BY MAY 31! Win a 1-1 session with Alison during the Pleasure as Medicine experience June 5 through June 10 to process and listen to what your body, heart, and soul are saying. To enter, simply leave a rating and review on Apple Podcast and take a screenshot of the review before submitting it. Share your review on your Instagram Stories and tag her, @AlisonCrosthwait You have until Wednesday, May 31 to enter and we’ll select 2 winners who we’ll notify through a direct message on Instagram!

Explore November Classes

How can we not only become okay with suffering but welcome it, love it, and appreciate it? 

That’s the question that unfolds in this episode with Heather Vesey, a Wisdom Mentor. 

Through this emotional and profound conversation, you’ll receive a beautiful call to cultivate your relationship with the Divine and with love itself.  

Alison has been supported through Heather’s Wisdom Mentorship since the summer of 2022 and invited Heather to share this wisdom with you in this episode. 

“What is your way of relating to the divine inside you? It's a relationship. It's a companion. It's an intimacy. It's knowing that presence, that love that we can just not put words to is there and is yours. It’s with you and for you and in you and ahead of you and behind you and around you. Express your love to that divineness and receive it back.”

CONNECT WITH HEATHER 

Heather has always had an interest and a sense of home within the Christian Wisdom tradition. She grew up in the Indian Himalayas, where her father was a doctor, specializing in community health care.  These were profoundly formative years for Heather, where her Christian faith was nurtured and where she also developed and absorbed a deep appreciation of other religious traditions and cultures.

After completing her secondary education in the UK, she worked with street kids in Bolivia and Peru, and then in Nursing and Social Work. She soon realized, however, that her deeper heart was in more directly accompanying others in their spiritual Unfolding.

In 2014 she moved to Colorado with her husband Nicholas, and their kids Sam and Jessica (now 19 and 17), to work at the Aspen Chapel, where she is “Director of Contemplative Work.” She divides her time between leading services and small groups there, and doing her own one-on-one “Wisdom mentoring,” a form of spiritual direction and accompaniment. This is her main focus and joy – deeply listening and accompanying people who want to live more fully into their own authenticity and relationship with the Divine.

Join Heather for meditation and contemplative services.

You can contact Heather directly at heather@vesey.net

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• An Interrupted Life by Etty Hillesum

• Christian Meditation by James Finley

• Bill Redfield

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APPLY FOR EXPAND TO STEP FULLY INTO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

If you are ready to step fully into what you are here to do and live every day with the kind of magic you know is possible, apply for Expand. 

Expand is an intimate three-month online community experience that supports you through one full microdosing cycle combined with deep mental, emotional and somatic work so that you can fully step into your life in every way you desire.

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Join Write Together November 2025

There are so many healing practices and therapy modalities that can support you with on your healing journey, so how do you choose what type of healing and therapy is right for you?

In this episode, Alison shares both her perspective from her personal experience as well as research that highlights the most important consideration when choosing who to work with and why it matters so much on your healing journey.

This insight will help you tune into your own intuition to guide you toward who and what will be most supportive for you right now.  

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APPLY FOR EXPAND TO STEP FULLY INTO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

If you are ready to step fully into what you are here to do and live every day with the kind of magic you know is possible, apply for Expand. 

Expand is an intimate three-month online community experience that supports you through one full microdosing cycle combined with deep mental, emotional and somatic work so that you can fully step into your life in every way you desire.

Learn more and apply at Learn More and Apply for Expand

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This is a follow-up to episode 16, “The Two Stages of Healing.” If you haven’t already tuned into that episode, start there and then come back to this episode.

This episode is filled with insight that will shape your understanding and open your mind on the deep work that needs to happen to change our state of being in the world. 

Here, Alison explores what the third stage of healing is, how you can identify where you’re at in different areas of your life as a way to expand your awareness of what’s possible, and a few ways you can support yourself with moving through to the third stage. 

She also offers two refinements to what she’s shared thus far on the stages of healing that provide a layer of nuance to support you with how you think about these stages in your own life and healing work. 

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APPLY FOR EXPAND TO STEP FULLY INTO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

If you are ready to step fully into what you are here to do and live every day with the kind of magic you know is possible, apply for Expand. 

Expand is an intimate three-month online community experience that supports you through one full microdosing cycle combined with deep mental, emotional and somatic work so that you can fully step into your life in every way you desire.

Learn more and apply at Learn More and Apply for Expand

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What does it look like to thrive in all five aspects of your health — physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and sexual? 

This episode is intended to serve as a North Star on your healing journey. Alison shares a few of the most important qualities we’re working toward embodying in order to thrive in each of these aspects. 

Sharing what a healthy state of each of these five aspects might look and feel like gives you an understanding of where you are currently with each and where you may desire to focus in your healing and growth.

And a reminder —  it’s important not to judge or criticize yourself for wherever you may currently be, but rather use this as understanding and inspiration for where you’re able to go. 

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HOW TO MICRODOSE FOR TRANSFORMATION GUIDE

APPLY FOR EXPAND TO STEP FULLY INTO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

If you are ready to step fully into what you are here to do and live every day with the kind of magic you know is possible, apply for Expand. 

Expand is an intimate three-month online community experience that supports you through one full microdosing cycle combined with deep mental, emotional and somatic work so that you can fully step into your life in every way you desire.

Learn more and apply at Learn More and Apply for Expand

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