Nadia Asparouhova, author of "Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading," joins me for a fascinating exploration of why some ideas go viral while others—often the most important ones—resist transmission entirely.

We dive into antimemes, Curtis Yarvin's journey from being canceled to becoming mainstream, St. Paul as history's ultimate memetic engineer, and why "Don't Mess with Texas" became a masterpiece of viral messaging. Plus her current research on advanced meditation techniques, internet dynamics, and MUCH MORE!

Important Links:

• Nadia's Twitter
• Nadia's LinkedIn
• Personal Website
• Nadia’s Substack: Monomythical

Show Notes:

• Nadia’s fall into the Antimemetics Rabbithole
• Girardian Theory vs. Antimemetics
• The Story of Curtis Yarvin
• How Subcultures Form and Coalesce
• Engineering Supermemes
• Why Maxims are Compressed Memes
• The History of Antimemes
• Truth Tellers and Meme Spreading
• Gaining Immunity from Memetic Viruses
• Nadia’s Jhana Journey
• Nadia as Empress of the World

Books Mentioned:

• Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading; by Nadia Asparouhova
• Virus of the Mind; by Richard Brodie
• There Is No Antimemetics Division; by qntm
• Steal This Book; by Abbie Hoffman
• Collective Illusions; by Todd Rose
• How to Change Your Mind; by Michael Pollan
• Thank You for Smoking; by Christopher Buckley
• Last Chance to See; by Douglas Adams

I’m joined today by two remarkable men I met through the O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants program.

Israel Balogun was homeless and illiterate until the age of 22. Now, he leads a Nigerian youth rehabilitation nonprofit for street kids and is building a self-sustaining village for 200 out-of-school children with the support of an OSV Fellowship.

Miyoba Hamuhuma lost both parents by 12 and battled polio as a child. Now he runs Enlight Abilities, a Zambian organization advocating for inclusive education and economic dignity for children with disabilities and their families, backed by an OSV Grant.

“Inspiring” is overused nowadays, but here, it barely does them justice. As well as digging into their stories, we explore how personal pain became public mission, how grassroots enablement beats top-down intervention, and why they believe rewriting destiny begins with changing who gets seen, who gets supported, and who gets to dream.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack.

Important Links:

• Israel Balogun's Akhin Foundation
• Israel Balogun's LinkedIn
• Miyoba Hamuhuma's Enlight Abilities
• Miyoba Hamuhuma's LinkedIn

Show Notes:

• First Goodnight in 12 Years
• How OSV Helped to Build a Home for Street Kids
• The Street King – Reclaiming Agency
• The Dignity of Choice
• Microenterprise for the Mothers
• Rethinking the Street Kid Stigma
• Inclusion is Not a Luxury, It is a Necessity
• Trust over Control: We help the kids Lead
• We seek to enable and empower
• Emperors of the World
• $10 = 30 bricks = Home for a Street Child

Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, neuropsychiatrist and author of "The ESP Enigma," joins me for a mind-bending exploration of consciousness, savant abilities, and the limitations of materialist science. Trained at Johns Hopkins under a neurologist-turned-psychiatrist, Diane has spent decades investigating phenomena that challenge our fundamental assumptions about how the brain works.

We dive deep into why the scientific establishment reacts so emotionally to consciousness research, her fascinating work with autistic savants, and why she believes the brain functions as a navigation tool for consciousness rather than its creator.

This is one of those conversations that might just upgrade your entire worldview. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!,” check out our Substack.

Important Links:

• Personal Website
• The Telepathy Tapes
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Show Notes:

• Dr. Powell’s Journey through Science
• Early Interest in Savants
• Filter Failure and Consciousness
• Why People Reject Obvious Data
• Why are Savants different from Neurotypical People?
• The Sheep Goat Effect in Parapsychology
• The Brain as a Navigational Tool
• Improving our own Intuition and Focus
• Dr. Diane’s work on Twins
• Speculations in Post-Materialism
• Dr. Diane as Empress of the World

Books Mentioned:

• The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat; by Oliver Sacks
• The ESP Enigma; by Diane Hennacy Powell
• What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell; by Erwin Schrödinger
• Mind Over Back Pain; by Dr. John Sarno