Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
In this climactic culmination of the Ishmael series, we ask the question: How do we transform an entire society? We’ll meet the fantastical Prince who first concocted the criminal justice system, have a final reckoning with our Taker Mythology hat, and return to the abandoned land of Ashbourne.
Is it possible to build a civilization that flies? (Metaphorically speaking of course.) How did we first learn to fly in the first place? It wasn’t by defying gravity and disobeying aerodynamics but by learning how to work with them. This is an episode of short stories, cinematic sound effects, and wacky voices. Strap in for liftoff.
The story of the Garden of Eden has been told and retold for thousands of years. Why do we keep telling it? With insight from modern biblical scholarship, we investigate the origins of this ancient story and what warning this active myth still has yet to be heeded today.
When we use the term “civilization” who do we include and exclude? Who is civilized and what does that mean? In this episode we take a step back from Ishmael to better view the context it was written in, discussing noble savage theory, romantic-primitivism, and the rise of the identity “indigenous.”
When do kids stop playing imaginary games? Ishmael the telepathic gorilla believes they never do and theorizes our culture is held captive by a story we’re all enacting. In this episode we explore the mythology that’s leading to the destruction of the world.
In this second episode of the podcast, Alex Leff invites you on an adventure through a landscape of ideas. You’ll scrape through a dystopian future where Nazi Germany won the war, attend a family reunion with our long lost furry and feathery cousins, and conduct an investigation into a planet-wide crime scene.
In this first episode of the podcast, Alex Leff takes you back in time to a fateful childhood summer when the world was a magical place to explore, yet seemed like it was ending just as he was getting to know it. It was then that Alex first read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, the book that begins the quest of Human Nature Odyssey.
Dr. Teresa Ryan draws from her ancestral Tsimtian heritage and her work as a fisheries scientist and natural resource conservation expert. Motivated by the way her forefathers interacted with the environment, Dr. Ryan demonstrates how the synergistic Aboriginal knowledge of cyclic resource production and variability can help promote the sustainable use of fishing resources today. … Read more
A unique ecosystem of plants, birds and monkeys thrives in the treetops of the rainforest. Nalini Nadkarni explores these canopy worlds — and shares her findings with the world below, through dance, art and bold partnerships. Video reposted from TED under a (CC BY–NC–ND) license.
