Explore every episode of the podcast LIMINAL NEWS with Daniel Pinchbeck
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Z. Morris | Sam Bankman-Fried, Effective Altruism & the Ideology Behind FTX | 11 Feb 2026 | 01:11:01 | |
In this episode of Liminal News, I'm joined by journalist and author David Z. Morris, whose book Stealing the Future examines the rise and collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried — not just as a crypto scandal, but as a warning about the belief systems driving Silicon Valley power today. We explore how effective altruism, longtermism, and utilitarian ethics became moral loopholes — allowing fraud, deception, and massive harm to be reframed as "ethical" actions in service of an imagined future. This conversation goes far beyond FTX. We talk about crypto's real and fictional use cases, AI as a quasi-religious project, elite networks of protection, stimulant-driven grind culture, and why figures like Peter Thiel loom so large in today's techno-authoritarian landscape. 👤 Guest Bio: David Z. Morris is a journalist covering technology, crypto, politics, and ideology. He is the author of "Stealing the Future", an investigation into Sam Bankman-Fried, effective altruism, and the techno-utopian belief systems reshaping Silicon Valley and global power. 🔗https://davidzmorris.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the Liminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #SamBankmanFried #FTX #EffectiveAltruism #Longtermism #CryptoCrash #TechIdeology #ArtificialIntelligence #SiliconValley #LiminalNews #TechAuthoritarianism #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #crypto | |||
| Adam Levy | Minneapolis Under Siege: ICE Raids, Resistance & the Fight for Democracy | 25 Jan 2026 | 00:30:49 | |
I speak with Adam Levy, a Minneapolis-based activist, educator, and musician, about what he describes as an unprecedented federal crackdown unfolding right now in the Twin Cities. Adam shares first-hand accounts of ICE raids, racial profiling, mass detentions, and families being targeted in their own neighborhoods — including a harrowing incident in which a baby nearly died after tear gas was fired under a family's car. Drawing on his background as a public historian who has studied fascism and genocide, Adam places these events within a broader historical and political context, warning that the United States is entering a dangerous and unstable phase. We also discuss how communities in Minneapolis are responding in real time: mutual aid networks, encrypted communication systems, legal accompaniment, nonviolent direct action, and community patrols designed to slow or disrupt enforcement. What emerges is a picture of grassroots resistance forming in the absence of institutional protection — and a sober assessment of what may come next. This is a difficult but essential conversation about democracy, state power, moral responsibility, and what it means to resist when the rules begin to collapse. 👉In this episode, we explore: • First-hand reports of ICE raids and detentions in Minneapolis • Civil liberties, racial profiling, and collective punishment • Historical parallels to fascist movements and authoritarian states • How mutual aid, patrols, and direct action are slowing enforcement • Why Minneapolis became a federal target • The psychological toll on communities under siege • What peaceful resistance can still accomplish — and where this may be heading 👤 Guest Bio: Adam Levy is a Twin Cities–based musician, educator, and activist. A former high school teacher of U.S. history, government, and economics, he is widely regarded as a public historian focused on movements of liberation, fascism, and genocide. After losing his child to suicide in 2012, he became deeply involved in mental health advocacy and community organizing. He is currently active in on-the-ground resistance and mutual aid efforts in Minneapolis. 🔗https://www.adamlevy.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #Minneapolis | |||
| Toxic Empathy: How Christian Nationalism Turned Cruelty Into Virtue | 10 Nov 2025 | 00:15:30 | |
This is an audio version of my recent video essay based on my recent Substack post, "Toxic Empathy: The Supreme Court and the Death of Christian Compassion." I explore how right-wing Christian nationalism has inverted the moral teachings of Jesus—transforming empathy into sin and cruelty into virtue. Drawing on Herbert Marcuse, Joy DeGruy, and the Gospels, I unpack how repression, self-denial, and hierarchy have been sanctified as "tough love." Read the original essay here: https://danielpinchbeck.substack.com/... Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uudg-3tORj0 📚 References & Mentions Eros and Civilization — Herbert Marcuse Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome — Joy DeGruy Toxic Empathy — Allie Beth Stuckey The Sermon on the Mount, Gospel of Matthew Liberation Theology — Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff Meister Eckhart, Christian Mysticism ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #ToxicEmpathy #ChristianNationalism #DanielPinchbeck #LiminalNews #ErosAndCivilization #JoyDeGruy #LiberationTheology #PostTraumaticSlaveSyndrome #MeisterEckhart #Theology #Philosophy #Psychoanalysis #ReligionAndPolitics #CulturalCritique #VideoEssay #evangelism #christiannationalism #christofascism #christianity | |||
| We're Not Totally F*ed—Yet | Ramez Naam on Climate, Tech & Hope | 07 Nov 2025 | 00:54:18 | |
I sit down with Ramez Naam—scientist, technologist, and award-winning sci-fi author—to unpack how we arrived at the brink of democratic collapse, and what we can still do to pull back. Ramez and I first met years ago at Burning Man. Since then, he's become one of the most lucid voices connecting climate change, clean energy, technology, and political reform. We talk about the tech industry's dangerous silence, the manipulation of social media, the rise of AI influence operations, and why "everything is downstream from protecting democracy." He also shares hopeful insights about the unstoppable rise of clean energy, how humor and compassion can still bridge divides, and why the fight for the future will be won through both emotional resilience and civic action. 🎙️ Guest Bio: Ramez Naam is a computer scientist, futurist, and former Microsoft program manager. He's the author of The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet and the award-winning Nexus science-fiction trilogy. His work explores the intersection of technology, climate, and human evolution. ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #RamezNaam #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck #Democracy #Authoritarianism #ClimateCrisis #CleanEnergy #TechEthics #AI #FutureOfDemocracy #BurningMan #PoliticalPolarization #SocialMedia #TrumpEra #Futurism | |||
| Adbusters' Kalle Lasn | How We Lost the Plot & How to Spark a Real Revolution | 05 Nov 2025 | 00:49:08 | |
I sat down with Adbusters founder Kalle Lasn to talk about his new book "Manifesto for World Revolution" and his call for a "third crack at world revolution." Lasn reflects on the legacy of Occupy Wall Street and 1968, arguing that real change requires vision, not reaction. We explore his ideas for true-cost markets, meta memes, and a new Bottoms Up Majority Party—a "Third Force" that could redefine politics for the 21st century. Along the way, Kalle explains why activism must move beyond left and right, and why, in his words, humanity needs to "learn how to wobble again." 🎙️ Guest Bio: Kalle Lasn is the founder and editor of Adbusters magazine, known for its groundbreaking campaigns Buy Nothing Day and Occupy Wall Street. A lifelong media activist and cultural provocateur, he has written several influential books including "Culture Jam," "Design Anarchy," "Meme Wars," and "Manifesto for World Revolution." His work continues to inspire global movements for social and ecological transformation. ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #KalleLasn #Adbusters #WorldRevolution #OccupyWallStreet #CultureJam #DanielPinchbeck #ThirdForce #MetaMemes #ClimateCrisis #TrueCostMarkets #GenZActivism #PoliticalChange #EcologicalEconomics #SystemicShift | |||
| Betsy Chasse | The Dark Side of "What the Bleep" & the New Age Industrial Complex | 03 Nov 2025 | 00:57:00 | |
Filmmaker Betsy Chasse, co-creator of "What the Bleep Do We Know!?", joins me to dissect how the New Age movement morphed into a billion-dollar self-help industry. We discuss cult dynamics, spiritual narcissism, the rise of Trumpian mysticism, and how "manifestation" culture paved the road from The Secret to MAGA metaphysics. In this episode, I speak with filmmaker, author, and cultural critic Betsy Chasse — best known as co-writer and director of the 2004 New Age phenomenon "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" Betsy reflects on the film's legacy and how its ideas about consciousness and quantum reality were later weaponized by the self-help industry. We explore the psychological and economic forces that turned spirituality into a marketplace — from the Law of Attraction to "conscious entrepreneurship." Together, we unpack how the wellness world's obsession with "positive thinking" and "manifestation" created fertile ground for denial, cult psychology, and authoritarian spirituality. Betsy speaks candidly about narcissism, greed, and the need for genuine compassion and social engagement in a time of disinformation, AI disruption, and creeping theocracy. 🎧 Guest Bio: Betsy Chasse is a filmmaker, author, and producer best known for co-creating "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" She has since written "Metanoia," "Killing Buddha," and hosts her Substack Betsy's Rants, where she takes aim at the commodification of spirituality and the contradictions of modern "conscious" culture. https://betsychasse.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #BetsyChasse #WhatTheBleep #NewAge #DanielPinchbeck #LiminalNews #LawOfAttraction #Consciousness #Spirituality #CultPsychology #WellnessIndustry #MAGA #AI #TheSecret #QuantumSpirituality | |||
| Frank Schaeffer | From Evangelical Royalty to Exile, Christo-Fascism & Trump | 03 Nov 2025 | 01:10:00 | |
Frank Schaeffer grew up inside the birth of America's religious right — making films with his father, Francis Schaeffer, that helped launch the modern anti-abortion and Christian nationalist movements. In this episode, we unpack how that movement gave rise to Trump, how money and media corrupted the church, and what real spirituality looks like beyond ideology. Frank was at the center of it all in the 1970's and 1980s— collaborating on the series "Whatever Happened to the Human Race" with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and witnessing firsthand how religion, politics, and money fused into a powerful cultural machine. We explore how those forces evolved into today's Christo-fascist MAGA movement, how Trump became the "chosen" figurehead for a corrupted theology, and what Frank calls "the expert witness to a crime that never ended." Frank also discusses his new book, "The Gospel of Zip," a memoir-philosophy written through the lens of his relationship with his dog. It's about empathy, cooperation, and what he calls "the survival of the friendliest"—a human alternative to the cruelty and greed of Trump-era politics. 📘 Frank Schaeffer – "The Gospel of Zip" https://www.thegospelofzip.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #FrankSchaeffer #TheGospelOfZip #ChristianNationalism #ChristoFascism #EvangelicalRight #TrumpEra #FaithAndPolitics #AmericanSpirituality #ReligionAndPower #EvangelicalMovement #CultureWars #DanielPinchbeck #Deconstruction #MAGAChristianity | |||
| Brett Scott | The Contradiction at the Heart of Capitalism | 03 Nov 2025 | 00:56:19 | |
Liberal capitalism tells us to be good and bad at the same time—innovate, compete, and care. In this episode, I talk with economic anthropologist Brett Scott, author of "Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for Our Wallets", about the failure of liberal reformism, the rise of tech-fueled authoritarianism, and how the ESG illusion collapsed into the culture wars. In this episode of Liminal News, I speak with Brett Scott about what he calls "the contradiction at the heart of capitalism." We unpack how liberal capitalism's moral split—between ruthless competition and moral virtue—has produced both guilt and confusion across modern society. Brett traces the lineage of "good capitalism" from ESG investing to tech-driven "effective altruism," and explains how the right wing and figures like Trump, Musk, and Thiel have exploited that contradiction. We dive into the symbolic death of liberalism, the collapse of reformist fantasies like "stakeholder capitalism," and the rise of a new authoritarian capitalism cloaked in techno-utopian ideals. Later, Brett explores how crypto, stablecoins, and private tech empires are reshaping global power—and what a truly progressive, peer-to-peer alternative might look like. 👉About: Brett Scott is an author, economic anthropologist, and journalist exploring the intersections of money, power, and technology. He's the author of "Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for Our Wallets" and writes the Substack Altered States of Monetary Consciousness. His latest work examines the politics of cash, digital finance, and the psychological architecture of capitalism. 📺 YouTube: / @brettscott 📰 Substack: https://www.asomo.co/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #BrettScott #DanielPinchbeck #Liberalism #Capitalism #Crypto #ESG #PeterThiel #ElonMusk #MarcAndreessen #TechIdeology #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Cloudmoney #Finance #AI #Politics #Utopia #Dystopia #SurveillanceCapitalism | |||
| Norman Ohler | Nazis on Drugs, LSD Origins & Psychedelic Futures | 03 Nov 2025 | 01:01:03 | |
What role did drugs play in the Third Reich—and how are psychedelics shaping our future? I sit down with Norman Ohler, author of "Blitzed" and "Tripped," to explore hidden history, consciousness, and the power of altered states. In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I talk with acclaimed German author Norman Ohler, best known for his groundbreaking book "Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich." We explore the hidden story of methamphetamines in Nazi Germany, Hitler's staggering drug intake, and how these revelations reshape history. We also dive into his follow-up book "Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of Psychedelics," which uncovers the early history of LSD, Nazi-era drug experiments, and how CIA programs like MKUltra grew out of those foundations. Along the way, Norman and I share personal experiences with psychedelics, including ibogaine, and reflect on their potential to transform individuals and societies. We also discuss Rudolf Steiner, Western esotericism, and the importance of reclaiming spiritual traditions in our fractured world. 👉About: Norman Ohler is a German novelist, journalist, and historian best known for his international bestseller "Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich," which revealed the hidden role of methamphetamines in Nazi Germany. His follow-up, "Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of Psychedelics," traces the early history of LSD and its entanglement with intelligence agencies and Cold War experiments. Ohler's work blends meticulous archival research with narrative storytelling, reshaping our understanding of history, politics, and consciousness. ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #NormanOhler #Blitzed #Tripped #Psychedelics #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck #Ibogaine #RudolfSteiner #MKUltra #LSD | |||
| Ralph White & Walter Alexander | Rudolf Steiner, Reincarnation, Anthroposophy & The Future of Consciousness | 03 Nov 2025 | 00:51:36 | |
In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I talk with Ralph White and Walter Alexander about the extraordinary life, teachings, and legacy of Rudolf Steiner—a visionary philosopher, spiritual scientist, and founder of biodynamic agriculture, Waldorf education, and anthroposophy. We explore Steiner's esoteric Christianity, his teachings on reincarnation and the evolution of consciousness, the challenges of our technological age, and how his ideas remain profoundly relevant today. 👉 Sign up for the month-long Rudolf Steiner seminar here: 🌐 https://www.liminal.news/awakening-th... 👉Ralph White Bio: Ralph taught the first course on holistic learning at NYU, and is the author of The Jeweled Highway: On the Quest for a Life of Meaning. He is director of the New Center for Holistic Learning NY and was co-creator of the New York Open Center, the city's leading venue for holistic programs for over 35 years. Ralph also directs the Esoteric Quest, a series of international conferences on the Western Esoteric Tradition, and is a long-time student of Rudolf Steiner's work. 👉Walter Alexander Bio: Walter has long been a prominent facilitator and program director at Anthroposophy NYC. He has been a fiction writer, teacher (public and Waldorf) and medical journalist (conventional and alternative) and is the author of Hearts and Minds: Reclaiming the Soul of Science and Medicine (Lindisfarne, 2019) and many articles. ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #RudolfSteiner #Anthroposophy #Consciousness #EsotericChristianity #Spirituality #WaldorfEducation #BiodynamicFarming #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck | |||
| Joe Dolce | Psychedelics, Consciousness & Cultural Shifts | 03 Nov 2025 | 00:53:57 | |
What role do psychedelics play in shaping culture, spirituality, and the future of consciousness? I sit down with journalist and author Joe Dolce to explore his latest book on psychedelics, the neuroscience of altered states, the wisdom of indigenous traditions, and the risks of commercialization. From ayahuasca to MDMA to microdosing, our conversation opens new perspectives on how psychedelics can transform our lives — and society. 👉About: Joe Dolce is a journalist, author, and media coach. He served as editor-in-chief of Details magazine and has written extensively on culture, consciousness, and psychoactive substances. His book Brave New Weed explored cannabis culture, and his new work brings a fresh, integrative perspective on psychedelics, blending neuroscience, indigenous wisdom, and personal practice. https://joedolce.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #Psychedelics #JoeDolce #LiminalNews #Consciousness #Ayahuasca #Microdosing #DMT #MDMA #PsychedelicScience #Spirituality #danielpinchbeck | |||
| Dr. Jeffrey Kripal & Andrew Gallimore | DMT, Hyperdimensional Contact & HIstory's End | 24 Oct 2025 | 01:05:30 | |
DMT as a hidden technology? Jeffrey Kripal & Andrew Gallimore join Daniel Pinchbeck to explore consciousness, aliens & the end of history. In this episode of the Liminal News, I sit down with two extraordinary thinkers: Jeffrey J. Kripal, historian of religions and author of "The Superhumanities" and "Secret Body," and Andrew Gallimore, neuroscientist and author of "Death By Astonishment", "Alien Information Theory" and "Reality Switch Technologies." We dive deep into the implications of DMT research, extended-state psychedelic experiments, and the possibility of human contact with non-human intelligences. We explore the "death by astonishment" experience, the limits of materialism, and the surprising parallels between ancient religious visions and cutting-edge psychedelic science. Could DMT be a kind of hidden "technology" that points humanity toward a higher-dimensional reality? Are we approaching a civilizational tipping point — an "end of history" moment? And what can science and the history of religions teach us about the true nature of consciousness? 📖 Guest Bios: Jeffrey J. Kripal is a professor of philosophy and religious thought at Rice University and the author of numerous books including "The Superhumanities," "Authors of the Impossible," and "Secret Body." His work examines the intersections of consciousness, altered states, mysticism, and the paranormal, challenging the limits of materialist science. Andrew Gallimore is a neurobiologist, chemist, and pharmacologist based in Japan. His research focuses on the DMT experience, extended-state psychedelic immersion, and the interface between neuroscience, mathematics, and higher-dimensional theories of reality. He is the author of "Alien Information Theory" and "Reality Switch Technologies." https://buildingalienworlds.com ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #DMT #JeffreyKripal #AndrewGallimore #Psychedelics #Consciousness #AlienInformationTheory #Superhumanities #SimulationTheory #EndOfHistory #DeathByAstonishment #Shamanism #Paranormal #Mysticism #terencemckenna | |||
| Salih Hudayar | China's Surveillance State, Uyghur Genocide & the Global AI Test Case | 21 Jan 2026 | 00:55:17 | |
In this episode of Liminal News, I speak with Salih Hudayar, Foreign Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, about China's mass detention system, the ongoing Uyghur genocide, and why East Turkistan has become one of the most advanced surveillance laboratories in the world. I've long known that the Uyghurs are a deeply oppressed people, often compared to Tibetans, but I realized I didn't fully understand the scale, history, or mechanisms of what's happening. This conversation felt like a necessary public service—to learn, to document, and to share what's largely being ignored. Salih walks me through the forgotten history of East Turkistan, including multiple declarations of independence before its occupation by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. He explains how millions of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples have been subjected to DNA collection, biometric tracking, AI-powered monitoring, forced sterilization, mass internment camps, and the removal of children into state-run boarding schools. One of the most disturbing themes we explore is how Western technology companies helped China develop and refine its surveillance infrastructure—systems that were tested on the Uyghurs and are now quietly reappearing in Western democracies. As Salih makes clear, East Turkistan wasn't just occupied; it was used as a testing ground for digital authoritarianism, with consequences that extend far beyond China's borders. 👤 Guest Bio: Salih Hudayar is the Foreign Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and a leading international advocate for Uyghur human rights. He represents both the Government in Exile and the National Awakening Movement, working with policymakers, NGOs, and civil society groups worldwide to raise awareness about China's occupation of East Turkistan and the ongoing genocide against Uyghur and other Turkic peoples. 🔗https://x.com/SalihHudayar 🔗https://east-turkistan.net/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #UyghurGenocide #danielpinchbeck #EastTurkistan #ChinaSurveillance #DigitalAuthoritarianism #AIandFreedom #HumanRights #China #SurveillanceState #BeltAndRoad | |||
| Robert Falconer | The Porous Mind, Spirit Entities & Collective Healing | 24 Oct 2025 | 00:47:57 | |
Are we truly in control of our minds — or are unseen forces at play? In this latest episode of Liminal News, I speak with Robert Falconer, author of "The Others Within Us", about trauma, spirit possession, and the porous nature of human consciousness. Falconer brings decades of psychotherapeutic experience and a deep understanding of Internal Family Systems (IFS) to a conversation that dives into the taboo: psychic parasites, entity attachments, and the darker dimensions of the human psyche. We explore how early trauma opens people to non-human influences, why psychedelics amplify both healing and danger, and how culture wars may reflect large-scale spiritual possession. 📚 About: Robert Falconer is a therapist, educator, and co-author of Many Minds, One Self (with Richard Schwartz, founder of IFS). His most recent work, The Others Within Us, explores the overlap of psychology and the paranormal, particularly in the context of healing from trauma. 🔗 Learn more: https://robertfalconer.us ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #RobertFalconer #IFS #SpiritPossession #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck #TraumaHealing #Psychedelics #EntityAttachment #PorousMind #Psychotherapy #Spirituality #CultureWars #Consciousness | |||
| Dr. Jeffrey Kripal | The Superhumanities & the Return of the Impossible | 24 Oct 2025 | 01:13:30 | |
In this episode of Liminal News, I speak with scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal about the suppressed dimensions of consciousness, paranormal experiences, UFOs, eroticism in mysticism, and the deep structure of human imagination. Kripal is one of the few voices from within the academy daring to think—and teach—the impossible. We explore how the humanities can (and must) evolve to account for precognition, near-death experiences, and altered states, and what it might mean to reconceive the human itself in light of the extraordinary. This is one of the deepest and most nuanced conversations we've had yet on the show. 🎓 About: Jeffrey J. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religion and Associate Dean of the Humanities at Rice University. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Authors of the Impossible, Secret Body, and his most recent, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else. His work explores how extraordinary human experiences challenge our basic metaphysical and epistemological assumptions. 🌐 Learn more: https://jeffreyjkripal.com ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #JeffreyKripal #Paranormal #Superhumanities #LiminalNews #UFOs #Mysticism #Consciousness #ReligiousStudies #NewEpisode #ImaginationIsReal #danielpinchbeck #occult #philosophy | |||
| Morgane Ciot & Alice Maynewaring | Psychomagic, Jodorowsky, LARP, and Ritual Theater | 24 Oct 2025 | 00:35:12 | |
In this episode, I talk with Morgane Ciot and Alice Maynewaring — co-founders of The Classics Department — about their new immersive theater project, "PsychoMagic 9", which just sold out its debut run in New York. Inspired by Alejandro Jodorowsky's cult classic "The Holy Mountain" and the spiritual tradition of psychomagic, their show blends performance, ritual, and audience participation in radically imaginative ways. We explore the lineage of avant-garde theater from Artaud to Grotowski, the resurgence of immersive experiences, and the challenges of creating transformational art in a time of social disconnection and political breakdown. We also touch on ketamine as a therapeutic and theatrical tool, the Enneagram as a narrative device, and how to awaken sovereignty through art. 🔗 https://classics-department.com ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #ImmersiveTheater #PsychoMagic #LiminalNews #Jodorowsky #LARP #Enneagram #AvantGardeTheater #RitualArt #NYCTheater #KetamineTherapy #danielpinchbeck | |||
| Carne Ross | Anarchism, Surveillance & the Authoritarian Future | 24 Oct 2025 | 01:04:12 | |
I sat down with former British diplomat turned anarchist thinker Carne Ross to explore the collapse of the rules-based global order and the rise of techno-authoritarianism in the US and beyond. Carne and I unpack the Trump phenomenon, Christian nationalism, Gaza, Israel, and the radical possibilities of democratic confederalism inspired by Murray Bookchin and practiced in Rojava. We explore historical parallels to Weimar Germany, the architecture of state surveillance, and why Carne believes anarchism is not only viable—but necessary. 💬 We also dive into Carne's ongoing work advising the autonomous region of Rojava in northeastern Syria, his reflections on digital resistance, and what a realistic lifeboat strategy might look like for those concerned about the U.S.'s political future. https://carneross.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #CarneRoss #Anarchism #Trump2024 #Authoritarianism #Rojava #IsraelGaza #SurveillanceState #Fascism #Bookchin #Ocalan #Collapse #Resistance #Palantir #SubstackVoices #danielpinchbeck #podcast | |||
| Micah Sifry | Civic Tech, Protest, and the Fight for Democracy | 24 Oct 2025 | 01:01:49 | |
In this episode of Liminal News, I speak with political writer, civic tech pioneer, and longtime democracy advocate Micah Sifry about the creeping authoritarianism in the United States—and whether there's still time to reverse course. Micah and I talk about everything from grassroots resistance to digital surveillance, from the failures of liberal institutions to the underestimated power of local organizing. We also explore what's happening beneath the radar—why the media isn't telling the full story, and what real, distributed defiance might look like. Micah brings decades of hard-won insight to the table—from co-founding Personal Democracy Forum and Civic Hall to writing about third-party movements and campaign finance reform. I found this conversation both sobering and energizing, and I hope it sparks some sense of strategic urgency in you, too. 🧠 About: MIcah Sifry is a writer, speaker, and organizer focused on democratic innovation. He co-founded Civic Hall and the Personal Democracy Forum and authored Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America. He's spent years helping build digital tools and communities to support more participatory democracy. ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #MichelSifry #LiminalNews #CivicTech #DigitalDemocracy #GrassrootsOrganizing #SurveillanceState #DemocracyUnderThreat #Authoritarianism #DanielPinchbeck #PoliticalAwakening #ProgressivePolitics #Indivisible #Resistance #HopeAndAction | |||
| Jamie Wheal & Douglas Rushkoff | Psychedelics, Fascism & Future of Consciousness | 24 Oct 2025 | 00:54:51 | |
In this special episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I sit down with cultural theorist Douglas Rushkoff and author/flow-state expert Jamie Wheal for a wide-ranging conversation on the dark evolution of psychedelia, the rise of techno-fascism, and how we might reclaim our collective soul in an age of chaos. We dive into the uncomfortable truths about how sacred tools are being co-opted for power, wealth, and control. From ayahuasca at country clubs to crypto-funded authoritarianism, we explore how spirituality, capitalism, and politics have become dangerously entangled—and what can still be done to shift the tide. 👉 Follow Jamie Wheal on Substack: https://jamiewheal.substack.com/ 👉 Follow Douglas Rushkoff on Substack ("Team Human"): https://rushkoff.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck #DouglasRushkoff #JamieWheal #PsychedelicRenaissance #TechnoAuthoritarianism #Ayahuasca #MAPS2025 #Collapse #FutureOfConsciousness #Hermeticism #NewMythos #AI #CryptoPolitics | |||
| Matthew Green | The Spirit Behind AI | 24 Oct 2025 | 00:53:05 | |
🎧 What kind of future is AI creating—and what deeper forces are driving it? I sit down with journalist and trauma educator Matthew Green to explore the spiritual, psychological, and political implications of artificial intelligence. We dive into the darker undercurrents of the AI revolution—from mass surveillance and job loss to mythic archetypes and occult prophecy. Matthew has been a participant in several of my courses, and I've deeply appreciated his clarity and depth. Together, we explore questions that I believe are essential for our time. Here, we discuss: 🔹 How AI may destabilize society on a massive scale 🔹 Why authoritarianism and tech oligarchs are fusing into a new power structure 🔹 Rudolf Steiner's prophecy of Ahriman and its uncanny parallels to today 🔹 The war on memory, cognition, and human agency 🔹 The rise of AI mysticism and synthetic religions 🔹 What kinds of practices and communities we need to respond 🔗 FOLLOW MATTHEW GREEN ON SUBSTACK https://substack.com/@matthewgreenglobal ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #ArtificialIntelligence #AIandConsciousness #SpiritualTechnology #Apocalypse #Ahriman #DanielPinchbeck #MatthewGreen #RudolfSteiner #LiminalNews #AIProphecy #TechnoMysticism #AIandAuthoritarianism #CollectiveTrauma #FutureofAI #Mysticism #AIandEthics #SyntheticReligion #AIcult #DigitalSpirituality #EsotericPodcast #BreakingTheAIBarrier #tech #bigtech #AI | |||
| Kimbra & Jaime Wheal | Reimagining Mysticism, Christ & the Future of Faith | 22 Oct 2025 | 00:57:51 | |
Daniel Pinchbeck convenes a soul-searching dialogue with Grammy-winning artist Kimbra @kimbramusic (Vows, The Golden Echo) and author-futurist Jamie Wheal (Stealing Fire, Recapture the Rapture). Together, they explore the possibilities for a new religious imagination grounded in mysticism, direct experience, and sacred community. Kimbra shares her early mystical encounters and evolving relationship with Christian mysticism, while Jamie unpacks how myth, Spiral Dynamics, and cultural architecture could birth a "Church of the Good, the Beautiful, and the True." Together, they examine the paradox of post-Christian yearning: How do we reclaim the sacred while resisting both fundamentalist revivalism and New Age drift? From psychedelic mysticism to the rise of muscular techno-Christianity among Silicon Valley elites, this conversation pulls no punches. A deep dive into archetypes, esoteric traditions, collective ecstasy—and the future of soul in an age of collapse. ✨ Topics include: 🌌 Mysticism vs. organized religion 👩🎤 Feminine divinity, art & direct revelation 📜 Reclaiming Christ consciousness 🧠 Spiral Dynamics & developmental faith 🛐 Gnosticism, Hermeticism & sacred community 🧬 Psychedelics, music & aesthetic transmission 📉 The collapse of liberal Christianity 🔥 Can we ignite a new spiritual renaissance? ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #ChristConsciousness #Mysticism #JamieWheal #Kimbra #SpiritualAwakening #Esotericism #NewReligion #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck #PsychedelicChristianity #GreatAwakening #FutureOfFaith #SpiralDynamics #GnosticRevival #PostChristian #podcast
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| Drew Dellinger | Cosmology, Power & Consciousness Crisis | 22 Oct 2025 | 00:56:10 | |
In this urgent and far-reaching conversation, Daniel speaks with poet-philosopher and activist Drew Dellinger about the convergence of spiritual emergency, ecological collapse, and rising authoritarianism. A student of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme, Dellinger critiques the troubling ideological drift of RFK Jr., Charles Eisenstein, and others in the New Age and eco-spiritual world. They explore: 🌌 The spiritual power of cosmology in an age of collapse ⚠️ The threat of Project 2025 & RFK Jr.'s alliance with Trump 🌀 Charles Eisenstein's rhetorical collapse & rightward turn 🤖 The role of AI, technocracy & surveillance in the New Age 🚫 False equivalence, epistemological nihilism, and the loss of discernment 🗣️ The danger of demobilizing narratives dressed up as "balance" 🎤 The poet's role in speaking truth to rising fascism 🕊️ A call for a united front for democracy, ecology, and justice 📝 The conversation ends with Drew's fiery original poem: "To the Quislings" — a stirring indictment of complicity in an age of creeping authoritarianism. 📚 About: Drew Dellinger is a poet, professor, and founder of Planetize the Movement. Known for integrating cosmology, activism, and justice into a prophetic philosophical framework. 📘 Love Letter to the Milky Way 🌐 https://www.drewdellinger.org 🔗 https://www.planetizethemovement.org ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: | |||
| Samuel Delesque | Blockchain, EcoVillages & The Commons | 22 Oct 2025 | 00:47:53 | |
In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, Daniel Pinchbeck speaks with technologist and regenerative systems builder Samuel Delesque about his experimental community in Portugal, the Traditional Dream Factory. Together, they explore how blockchain, Web3 governance, and ecological land stewardship can converge to support new models of post-capitalist civilization. The conversation weaves together themes of decentralized coordination, land that "owns itself," the crisis of modern liberal democracies, and how indigenous values and sacred economics are informing the next generation of intentional communities. 👤 About: Samuel Delesque is the founder of the Traditional Dream Factory and co-creator of Closer, a governance tool designed for decentralized ecovillages. His work bridges blockchain infrastructure with real-world regenerative projects. 🌐 Learn more: https://traditionaldreamfactory.com 🛠️ Explore the tools: https://closer.earth 📸 Instagram: @traditionaldreamfactory ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: | |||
| Patrick McCollum | The Man Who Unites 60 Million Indigenous People | 31 Dec 2025 | 00:59:30 | |
In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I'm joined by Patrick McCollum, a global peacemaker and the subject of the new documentary The Man Who Saves the World, directed by Gabe Polsky. Patrick's life defies easy explanation. At 15, he was killed in a motorcycle accident and pronounced dead for more than seven minutes. What he experienced during that near-death encounter set him on a path that would take him far beyond anything he could have imagined. Over the decades, Patrick has lived what he calls "ten different lives":
Most recently, Patrick became the central figure in an extraordinary effort to unite Indigenous nations across the Amazon. According to an ancient prophecy shared by elders from more than 300 Indigenous nations, a time would come when someone would help reunite their peoples to stand against the destruction of the rainforest. Patrick agreed to step forward — and over time, helped bring together more than 60 million Indigenous people in a shared commitment to protect the Amazon and sacred lands worldwide. In this conversation, Patrick recounts his journey to meet the Kogi, restoring what they describe as their stolen spiritual inheritance; his deep friendship with Jane Goodall; his belief in seeing every person as sacred — even those we fear or despise — and why, at 75 years old and in declining health, he continues to step forward rather than retreat. We also talk candidly about despair, burnout, the rise of authoritarianism, ecological collapse, and what it means to keep going when the future feels increasingly uncertain. This is a conversation about courage, sacrifice, prophecy, skepticism, and hope — and about what it really means to try to serve something larger than yourself in a time of global crisis. Learn more or support his work: https://themanwhosavestheworld.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: | |||
| Grace Blakeley | How Capitalism Became Oligarchy | 09 Aug 2025 | 00:58:17 | |
In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, Daniel Pinchbeck speaks with economist and writer Grace Blakeley about the rise of vulture capitalism, the convergence of tech elites and authoritarianism, and what a leftist path forward might look like in an era of social disintegration and political despair. The conversation explores AI, neoliberalism, historical fascism, and the role of organizing in reclaiming democracy. 👤 About Grace Blakeley: Grace Blakeley is a staff writer at Tribune Magazine and author of: 📘 Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom 📘 The Corona Crash: How the Pandemic Will Change Capitalism 📘 Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialisation She's a former economics commentator for The New Statesman, a former Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, and a frequent commentator across BBC Question Time, Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan Uncensored, and MTV News. 🌐 Official Site: https://graceblakeley.co.uk/ 📬 Substack: https://graceblakeley.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: | |||
| Sarah Wilson | The Rise Of Sovereign Individuals | 29 Apr 2025 | 00:51:53 | |
Sarah invited me to join a livestream on her Substack back on 3.7.25 to chat about my article "The Rise of Sovereign Individuals". Sarah Wilson is a multi-New York Times and Amazon bestselling author, social philosopher, international keynote speaker, minimalist and philanthropist. She edited Cosmopolitan magazine Australia at 29, founded the global I Quit Sugar movement, hosted the most-watched TV series in the nation's history – Masterchef Australia – and wrote the bestseller First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, which Mark Manson described as "the best book on living with anxiety that I've ever read." Her most recent book, This One Wild and Precious Life, won the US Gold Nautilus Prize, and she has ranked in the top 200 most influential authors in the world (two years in a row). Sarah leads dynamic, global conversations about modern philosophy, creativity, existential risk and climate change via her keynote speaking, Wild podcast, and her Substack and social communities (of 550,000 subscribers). She lives nomadically, but is based between Paris and Sydney, is a compulsive hiker and adventurer. "The Rise of Sovereign Individuals" - Substack Post from Daniel Pinchbeck: Sarah Wilson Official Site: Sarah Wilson on Substack: ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: | |||
| Live With Starhawk | (Substack Live 4/21/25) | 29 Apr 2025 | 01:09:23 | |
I had a chance to talk with Starhawk about a wide range of topics on a Substack Livestream on 4/21/25. Hope you enjoy! Starhawk is an author, activist, permaculture designer and teacher, and a prominent voice in modern earth-based spirituality and ecofeminism. She is the author or co-author of thirteen books, including The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess and the ecotopian novel The Fifth Sacred Thing, and its sequel City of Refuge. Her most recent non-fiction book is The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups, on group dynamics, power, conflict and communications. Starhawk founded Earth Activist Training, teaching permaculture design grounded in spirituality and with a focus on activism. She travels internationally, lecturing and teaching on earth-based spirituality, the tools of ritual, and the skills of activism. Starhawk Official Site: Starhawk on Substack: https://starhawk.substack.com/ ==================================Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: | |||
| Jamie Wheal | Bad Faith Techno-Jesus & The War For America | 29 Apr 2025 | 01:37:32 | |
A recording of a Substack LIvestream on 4/1/25 I hope you enjoy this conversation with Jamie Wheal, founder of The Flow Genome Project and author of "Recapture the Rapture", among other books. We started with a discussion about Silicon Valley's sudden embrace of Christianity, which Wheal characterizes as "a little soft, chewy 15% center of semi-sincere yet rudderless seekers, and 85% opportunistic pile on." Along with Wheal, Erik Davis and Jules Evans have written about the new techno-Christianity recently. Wheal said: "Dude, I think the era of looking for or tracing or tracking or policing or calling out ideological inconsistency is over, because the people who are the least coherent and consistent don't give a fuck about coherence and consistency. So you're sort of like spluttering and puffing like an old modern major general. No one gives a fuck anymore. You just play through. Everyone's like, "What about her emails?" I don't care. But how are terrorists part of a conservative free market ideology? It doesn't matter. And the same with Silicon Valley's turn to Christianity. It's like, 'Wait, did Jesus really say build bombs? Did he really say build a totally fucking satellite-enabled fascist surveillance state and say it's for Jesus and for Western values and to defend civilization and the Shire? Oh, by the way, the Shire, don't forget, because we're hobbits. We're not orcs.' You know, it's loopy." https://www.flowgenomeproject.com/ Jamie Wheal on Substack: https://jamiewheal.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #jamiewheal #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #tech #siliconvalley | |||
| Brett Scott | Cryptocracy And Its Discontents (Substack Live 3/5/25) | 15 Mar 2025 | 02:18:34 | |
A recording of a Substack LIvestream on 3/5/25 Brett Scott is a campaigner, monetary anthropologist and former broker. He is the author of The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money and Cloudmoney: Why the War on Cash Endangers Our Freedom. Brett has appeared in a wide range of TV shows, radio broadcasts and documentaries, including BBC World News and Sky News. He has written extensively on financial reform, digital finance, alternative currency, blockchain technology and the cashless society for publications like the Guardian, New Scientist, Huffington Post, Wired Magazine and CNN.com, and also publishes the Altered States of Monetary Consciousness newsletter on Substack. Excerpt from our discussion: "One of the things I'm interested in right now in terms of the underlying ideologies or the seeming inconsistencies between them is something I was calling in my last piece, "fractal libertarianism." Again, I'm still unsure about this, but if you look at the underlying image in a libertarian worldview—which is a native cosmology in capitalism anyway—it's of the solo islands, right? Each man is an island. This is the division that Margaret Thatcher put out: "There is no society, there are only individual men and women." Buy 'Cloud Money: Cash, Cards, Crypto, and War for Our Wallets" Subscribe to Brett's Substack Newsletter: https://brettscott.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #brettscott #cloudmoney #crypto #cryptocurrency #cash #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast | |||
| Nafeez Ahmed | Crisis As Opportunity (Substack Livestream 3/1/25) | 02 Mar 2025 | 01:27:37 | |
A recording of a joint Substack LIvestream on 3/1/25 I have been in intermittent contact with Nafeez Ahmed over the years. We are both systems theorists with many areas of overlap. What became clear during our dialogue is that we share a very similar — almost identical — analysis of the current geopolitical crisis. We also share a number of ideas about how to address it. Dr. Nafeez Ahmed is the founder of the Age of Transformation, a newsletter exploring what he calls 'the planetary phase shift' and Director of the System Shift Lab, a systems transformation consultancy based in London. A systems change expert, Ahmed has worked with some of the biggest organisations in the world, including United Nations agencies, national governments, Fortune 500 companies, and the world's largest philanthropic foundations - helping to build and deliver high-impact change strategies. The Evening Standard has twice named Nafeez in its Power 1,000 list of the top most influential Londoners. His award-winning journalism, praised by the Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Independent and many others, has been read and watched by millions. His new book is "Alt Reich: The Network War to Destroy the West from Within (2024)": an investigative history of how the Nazi-aligned Pioneer Fund has given birth to a global far-right network on the cusp of subverting Western democracies. Official Website: ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #authoritarianism #trump #fascism #liminalnews #nafeezahmed | |||
| Marianne Williamson | Responding To Our Current Moment (Substack Livestream 2/21/25) | 22 Feb 2025 | 01:05:48 | |
A recording of a joint Substack LIvestream on 2/21/25 "America's decline is not solely Trump's doing. Rather, this is the inevitable consequences of decades of Western economic and military dominance built on short-term exploitation, corruption, and global predation. Trump's role is to mask this systemic unraveling with populist rhetoric while enabling the true power holders, the transnational, financial, and corporate elite, or what Bolsen calls the anational owners and controllers of global financial capital, to consolidate their wealth, power, and control as America is hollowed out and broken." IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariannewilliamson ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #mariannewilliamson #trump #fascism #liminalnews | |||
| Ashanti Kunene | Life As Initiation | 14 Feb 2025 | 01:01:11 | |
Daniel and Ashanti will be hosting an upcoming seminar presented by The Elevator, a global consciousness incubator and think tank, where Ashanti is the Executive Director. You can sign up to receive more information (including access to reduced price or early bird tickets) at www.liminal.news Ashanti Kunene is a South African storyteller, strategist, and art activist dedicated to decolonial education, social justice, and regenerative leadership. Born into South Africa's born-free generation—those born after Nelson Mandela's release—she has navigated the complex intersections of race, privilege, and cultural identity in a post-apartheid society. She has worked in the UN and other organizations, using narrative power to shift cultural consciousness and drive systemic change, and has been a speaker at global forums on youth leadership, climate justice, and African spirituality. With a background in anthropology and political science, Ashanti brings a unique perspective that blends indigenous wisdom, social activism, and spiritual awakening. She is passionate about Ubuntu—the African philosophy of interconnectedness—and sees the current global crises as part of a profound initiation process, requiring a radical shift in consciousness and action. Her work challenges Western paradigms of leadership and progress, advocating for community-driven, regenerative solutions that honor both ancestral wisdom and future pathways. Ashanti Kunene: Official Website ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #ubuntu #consciousness
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| Jay Michaelson | A Jewish Psychedelic Buddhist Tells All! | 18 Jan 2025 | 01:16:54 | |
Would the full deregulation of psychedelics be a good thing? In today's podcast, author Jay Michaelson and I discuss the rapidly evolving legal and cultural landscape of psychedelics, including their potential fast-tracking under the new Trump/Musk/RFK regime. Will deregulation — long a goal of advocates — make it more difficult to responsibly integrate these powerful substances into society? We also explore broader societal concerns, such as the erosion of democracy, systemic inequality, and the tension between technological advancement and cultural decay. I hope you enjoy it! Michaelson is the author of ten books, including The Secret That Is Not A Secret and the National Jewish Book Award-winning The Heresy of Jacob Frank: From Jewish Messianism to Esoteric Myth. He is the Field Scholar at the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality and will be a visiting professor at Harvard Law School in Spring 2025. He holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Thought, a JD from Yale, among other degrees. He clerked for Judge Merrick Garland. As a journalist, his work explores the intersections of politics, religion, and ethics, appearing in Rolling Stone, The Forward, and his Substack, Both/And. He was also the Supreme Court columnist for The Daily Beast. Michaelson blends Jewish, Buddhist, and secular mindfulness traditions, frequently teaching at universities, companies, and religious institutions. Jay Michaelson: Official Website ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #psychedelics
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| Laura Loomer | Should Elon Musk Be King Of America? | 07 Jan 2025 | 01:11:16 | |
Recently, investigative journalist and MAGA mainstay Laura Loomer was "deplatformed" on Twitter/X by Elon Musk, for comments about the H1B visas. Loomer describes herself as a "free speech absolutist" whose book, Loomered, chronicles how she was previously censored and banned by tech platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and even UberEats. For many Leftists, this seemed a big "I told you so" moment: it was obvious to many on the Left that Trump was an opportunist whose alliegiance lies with the billionaire class. For Loomer and other MAGA members, there is a dawning sense of betrayal and perhaps the beginning of class consciousness, as it becomes clear that Trump's alignment with Musk could lead to a system of technocratic control without the free speech and support of American workers they were anticipating. The rift between the MAGA base and the tech billionaires who joined the campaign recently could be a bump in the road or a portent of more serious ruptures to come. https://x.com/LauraLoomer ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #lauraloomer #populism #elonmusk #technocracy #monarchy | |||
| Veteran Cult Reporter Don Lattin on Trump, Jim Jones, and Messianic Power | 29 Dec 2025 | 01:01:28 | |
In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I'm joined by journalist and author Don Lattin, who spent decades as the religion beat reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, covering cults, new religious movements, and American spirituality from the inside. We begin with a provocative question: Is Donald Trump functioning as a modern messianic cult leader? Drawing on his firsthand reporting on Jim Jones, Jonestown, and the cult "wars" of the 1970s, Don breaks down the psychological, political, and religious dynamics that define cult leadership — and why so many of those same patterns are visible today. From Christian nationalism and the New Apostolic Reformation to the strange convergence of psychedelics, wellness culture, tech elites, and authoritarian politics, this conversation maps the deeper forces shaping our current moment. We also explore Don's long engagement with psychedelics and religion, including insights from his books "The Harvard Psychedelic Club" and "God on Psychedelics." This is a wide-ranging, unsettling, and deeply informed conversation about belief, power, charisma, and the future of American consciousness. ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #LiminalNews #DonLattin #CultPsychology #Trump #JimJones #ChristianNationalism #Psychedelics #ReligionAndPolitics #Authoritarianism #NewApostolicReformation #PoliticalCults #Consciousness | |||
| Brett Scott | The Seductive Emptiness Of Bitcoin | 28 Dec 2024 | 01:11:30 | |
BRETT SCOTT. Like everyone else, I notice the skyrocketing value of Bitcoin compared to anything else. On the one hand, feel uneasy about it, yet, on the other, I wonder if I should invest my paltry life savings into the stuff. Bitcoin seems to defy any economic law of gravity to keep going up, and up, unattached to anything tangible or real. To address my uneasiness, I spoke with Brett Scott, who writes the Altered States of Monetary Consciousness newsletter and is the author of a few books, including "Cloud Money: Cash, Cards, Crypto, and the War for Our Wallets and The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money". Brett is a friend, and one of my go-to people when I feel confused — bamboozled? — about cryptocurrencies and other money-related stuff. He helps set me straight. Buy 'Cloud Money: Cash, Cards, Crypto, and War for Our Wallets" Subscribe to Brett's Substack Newsletter: https://brettscott.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #brettscott #cloudmoney #crypto #cryptocurrency #cash #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast | |||
| Jonathan Taplin | The End Of Reality? | 21 Dec 2024 | 00:53:41 | |
JONATHAN TAPLIN is a writer, film producer and scholar. He is the Director Emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California and was a Professor at the USC Annenberg School from 2003-2016 in the field of international communication management and digital media entertainment. Taplin began his entertainment career in 1969 as Tour Manager for Bob Dylan and The Band. In 1973 he produced Martin Scorsese's first feature film, Mean Streets, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Between 1974 and 1996, Taplin produced 26 hours of television documentaries (including The Prize and Cadillac Desert for PBS) and 12 feature films including The Last Waltz, Until The End of the World, Under Fire and To Die For. His films were nominated for Oscar and Golden Globe awards and chosen for The Cannes Film Festival five times. HIs new book "The End Of Reality" is available everywhere books are sold! Official Website: ==================================Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #tech #crypto #elonmusk #peterthiel #markzuckerberg #billionaire | |||
| Thom Hartmann | The State Of Disunion | 07 Dec 2024 | 01:17:50 | |
THOM HARTMANN: I always enjoy my conversations with the political analyst and ecologist Thom Hartmann. A progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host, Hartmann also writes a great Substack newsletter, The Hartmann Report. He's a New York Times bestselling author of 24 books. I particularly enjoyed his book The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, which inspired Leonardo Di Caprio's film The 11th Hour (in which Thom appears), as well as the the movie Ice On Fire. You can learn about his many books and storied career on his website. In this conversation, we discuss the fall-out from the election: Where we are now and what may happen next, and how accelerating warming and the environmental crisis could influence the near-future of civilization. ==================================Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #climatechange #thomhartmann #MoreFromThom | |||
| Curtis Yarvin | Should The USA Become A Technocratic Monarchy? | 28 Nov 2024 | 02:03:58 | |
CURTIS YARVIN: Software designer, intellectual and political theorist, Yarvin has become famous in some ways and perhaps infamous in other ways, depending on where you sit, as a philosopher of the neo-reactionary or "dark enlightenment" movement who's been credited by The New Republic and Vox and other publications for inspiring Peter Thiel and JD Vance with some of their more extreme ideas around monarchy and technocracy. Essentially, the necessity of shifting from democracy to something that's more authoritarian or autocratic. Curtis and I have very differing opinions and ideas about so many things, and therefore it was interesting to have this dialog with him. I hope you enjoy it. Curtis Yarvin's Substack Newsletter: https://graymirror.substack.com/about ================================== Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #yarvin #monarchy #CurtisYarvin #graymirror #darkenlightenment | |||
| Melik Kaylan | A Global Shift To Authoritarian Populism? | 23 Nov 2024 | 00:51:02 | |
MELIK KAYLAN has written about international politics and culture for the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Forbes for more than two decades. He has regularly reported from conflict zones throughout the world, from the North Korean border to the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the former Iron Curtain countries. https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/ ================================== Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #forbes #populism #authoritarian #wallstreetjournal | |||
| Simon Ostrovsky - Why We Should Care About The War In Ukraine | 29 Oct 2024 | 01:03:55 | |
Simon Ostrovsky is a PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent and an award-winning freelance news and documentary producer. In 2023 Simon was honored with a DuPont-Columbia Award and a citation from the Overseas Press Club of America for his coverage of Ukraine following Russia's full scale invasion. He led the first American TV crew into Bucha after its liberation in April of 2022 and produced a series of reports on the atrocities perpetrated during the Russian occupation of the Kyiv region. His series, "Russian Roulette", was nominated for two Emmys and went to over 100 episodes that have been viewed more than 35 million times. David Carr of the New York Times called his work "remarkable" and VICE News liked his dispatches so much they applied the template to their reporting from around the world, giving it the raw feel they're known for today. ================================== Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #simonostrovsky #war #ukraine #ukrain #russia | |||
| Matt Stoller - Why We Need Government To Rein In Big Tech | 16 Sep 2024 | 01:18:52 | |
Matt Stoller is the Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project. He is the author of the Simon and Schuster book "Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy", which Business Insider called "one of the year's best books on how to rethink capitalism and improve the economy." David Cicilline, Chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, has called Stoller's work "an inspiration." Stoller is a former policy advisor to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. He also worked for a member of the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives during the financial crisis. While a staffer, he wrote a provision of law mandating a third party audit of the Federal Reserve's emergency lending activities. He also helped cut part of a $20 billion subsidy to large financial institutions. His 2012 law review article on the foreclosure crisis, The Housing Crash and the End of American Citizenship, predicted the rise of autocratic political forces, and his 2016 Atlantic article, How the Democrats Killed their Populist Soul, helped inspire the new anti-monopoly movement. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, Fast Company, Foreign Policy, the Guardian, Vice, The American Conservative, and the Baffler. Stoller writes the monopoly-focused Substack newsletter BIG with tens of thousands of subscribers: https://www.thebignewsletter.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #mattstoller #monopoly #government #tech #bigtech | |||
| Chloe Macintosh - Exploring Sexual Wellness | 08 Sep 2024 | 00:51:45 | |
Chloe Macintosh is the founder and CEO of Kama, the #1 destination for sexual education and sexual exploration. Kama is a community and app that launched in 2020 with the mission to bring great Sex and Intimacy Education to every body. She is also a Venture Partner at Felix Capital. Before Kama, Chloe was the Chief Creative Officer for the Soho House Group. She co-founded Made.com in 2010, which IPO'd just under 1B in 2021. She spent the first 9 years of her career as Associate Partner at Norman Foster. Chloe recently moved to Ibiza, after 25 years in London, and she hosts Sexual Wellness Workshops and Explorative Retreats. ================================== Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #kama #sex #sexual #wellness #education #sexeducation | |||
| Alex Ebert - Politics & Consciousness | 23 Aug 2024 | 01:24:01 | |
Known for his highly melodic, folk and psychedelia-inflected indie pop, Alex Ebert kept himself busy from the early days of his career, fronting the punkier Ima Robot for several years before founding his more famous second group, the nearly dozen-member Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Ebert continues to be a prolific performer and publishes a very popular Substack newsletter: @BadGuru. ==================================Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #alexebert | |||
| Yancey Strickler - Kickstarter, Metalabel & The Future Of The Creator Economy | 20 Jun 2024 | 01:00:43 | |
Yancey Strickler is a writer and entrepreneur. He's the Cofounder and Director of Metalabel, Cofounder and former CEO of Kickstarter, and Cofounder of the artist resource The Creative Independent. He's the author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World, editor of The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet, creator of the philosophy of Bentoism, and the record label eMusic Selects. Yancey's career started as a music critic writing for Pitchfork, Spin, and The Village Voice. He grew up on a farm in Clover Hollow, Virginia. He lives in New York City. https://www.ystrickler.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to my Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #kickstarter | |||
| Ari Kuschnir & Schuyler Brown | AI, Imagination & the Spiritual Battleground | 24 Dec 2025 | 01:03:48 | |
The real battleground of our time isn't politics or technology — it's the imagination. Filmmaker Ari Kuschnir and embodiment guide Schuyler Brown join me for a deep conversation about AI, storytelling, spirituality, and how we reclaim agency in an age of dystopian futures. The future is being shaped in the imaginal realm — by the stories we consume, the images we repeat, and the futures we're told are inevitable. In this episode of Liminal News, I'm joined by filmmaker and AI storyteller Ari Kuschnir and embodiment guide Schuyler Brown for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence, creativity, spirituality, and cultural resistance. We explore AI not just as a technical tool, but as an imaginal force — one that can amplify propaganda and despair, or be used to create counter-visions, meaning, and agency. Mastering the Alchemy of AI Storytelling: A six-week live seminar for filmmakers, artists, writers, and cultural creators who want to work with AI consciously, creatively, and ethically — without losing their humanity. The course blends practical AI filmmaking workflows with embodiment practices, ethical inquiry, and storytelling frameworks designed to restore agency and imagination in an age dominated by automation and dystopian narratives. 👉 Learn more and enroll here: https://www.liminal.news/mastering-the-alchemy-of-ai-storytelling GUEST BIOS: ARI KUSCHNIR Ari is a storyteller and visual artist whose viral AI shorts — from TRUMP AYAHUASCA and WE CAN TALK to LOVE FORCE ONE and MAGA BALLROOM 2028 — have reached over 150 million views. Founder of the award-winning production company m ss ng p eces, he specializes in metaphysical stories built with emerging tools, imagining different futures while pushing the boundaries of contemporary storytelling. https://www.instagram.com/arikuschnir SCHUYLER BROWN Schuyler is a facilitator and creative channel. Former brand strategist and corporate consultant. Focuses on intuitive practice, heart-centered collaboration, and maintaining coherence in chaotic edge-times. Offers embodiment and subtle world practices to keep us human. https://www.artofemergence.com ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: Instagram: Official Website: | |||
| Paul Levy - "Undreaming Wetiko" | 12 Apr 2024 | 01:02:42 | |
A pioneer in the field of spiritual emergence, Paul Levy is a wounded healer in private practice, helping others who are also awakening to the dreamlike nature of reality. His work has gone through three phases: because of his intense interest in dreams (both night dreams and the dreamlike nature of reality), he was first known as "the dream guy." After writing Dispelling Wetiko, he became associated with the idea of wetiko. After the publication of The Quantum Revelation, he is now seen as connected with quantum physics. All three aspects - dreams, wetiko and quantum physics are interconnected and complementary facets of a deeper reality into which he is continually deepening his investigation. He is the author of The Madness of George Bush: A Reflection of Our Collective Psychosis (2006), Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil (2013), Awakened by Darkness: When Evil Becomes Your Father (2015) and The Quantum Revelation: A Radical Synthesis of Science and Spirituality (2018). A Tibetan Buddhist practitioner for over 30 years, he has intimately studied with some of the greatest spiritual masters of Tibet and Burma. He was the coordinator of the Portland chapter of the PadmaSambhava Buddhist Center for over twenty years. https://www.awakeninthedream.com/ ================================== Daniel Pinchbeck: Substack Newsletter! Daniel Pinchbeck: Official Website Books by Daniel Pinchbeck on Amazon Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE Instagram: YouTube: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast | |||
| Neil Theise - "Consciousness, Complexity, and our Psychic Future" | 28 Mar 2024 | 01:20:04 | |
NEIL THEISE is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Through his scientific research, he has been a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity and the anatomy of the human interstitium. He is also a longtime student of Zen Buddhism. Dr. Theise's studies in complexity theory have led to interdisciplinary collaborations in fields such as integrative medicine, consciousness studies, and the science-religion dialogue. https://www.neiltheiseofficial.com/ ================================== Daniel Pinchbeck: Substack Newsletter! Daniel Pinchbeck: Official Website Books by Daniel Pinchbeck on Amazon Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE Instagram: YouTube: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast | |||
| Jared Yates Sexton - "The Midnight Kingdom" | 17 Mar 2024 | 01:23:00 | |
Jared Yates Sexton is a political analyst and author of the forthcoming book THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM: A HISTORY OF POWER, PARANOIA, AND THE COMING CRISIS. His most recent book is AMERICAN RULE: HOW A NATION CONQUERED THE WORLD BUT FAILED ITS PEOPLE. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Politico, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. He is the co-host of The Muckrake Podcast and his writings can be found on his Substack newsletter Dispatches From A Collapsing State. ================================== Daniel Pinchbeck: Substack Newsletter! Daniel Pinchbeck: Official Website Books by Daniel Pinchbeck on Amazon Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE Instagram: YouTube: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast | |||
| Jem Bendell - "Breaking Together" | 29 Feb 2024 | 01:11:51 | |
In his new book, "Breaking Together", Jem Bendell argues we are experiencing the collapse of industrial civilization due to the ecological and climate crisis. A former Professor of Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cumbria, Bendell defines his position as Left "eco-libertarian," supporting human freedom outside of centralized corporate and government structures. He proposes that, often, this freedom is best expressed in tight-knit communities living in balance with their environment. He argues against hyper-technological approaches such as carbon capture or geo-engineering, in favor of humans relearning traditional methods that are inherently resilient and regenerative, and reinventing small-scale communities. Transcript coming soon. ================================== Daniel Pinchbeck: Substack Newsletter! Daniel Pinchbeck: Official Website Books by Daniel Pinchbeck on Amazon Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE Instagram: YouTube: #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #danielpinchbeck #liminalnews #podcast #jembendell #deepadaptation #breakingtogether | |||