Evolve Faster with Scott Ely
49 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 81 ratingsEverything is changing, yet the questions that drive us remain the same. Will humanity face the absurdity of our collective existential crisis in time? Join Scott Ely as he takes us deep into the rabbit hole with philosophical experiments to reboot your mind, psychological tales to upgrade your life and existential practices to explore your soul. Are you ready for what emerges at the intersections of fact and fiction, science and spirituality, philosophy and psychology? To Evolve Faster is to see the fact that you will die someday as an awesome challenge, instead of a source of fear. Create your reality…before it creates you. Isn’t it time for an upgrade?
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Episodes
EF49 (S2-E10): The Domino Effect: The Momentum of an Unstoppable Future
May 26, 2020 15:00 - 37 minutes - 43.8 MBSam Payne is on the brink of tearing down the entire world in hopes of getting in touch with a higher force she believes created the universe. Not knowing what the force might be, she’s risking everything to get to the other side. In the last moment, as she plans to quit to spare the universe, the force replies. Although the distant future is unknowable, we can still predict what the near future brings. Unlike philosophical theories that deal with the present and the past, futurism doesn’t h...
EF48 (S2-E9): Checkmate: A Child’s Guide to the Good Life
May 12, 2020 11:00 - 28 minutes - 32.8 MBSam Payne, a physicist, finally discovers the true origin of the universe after sacrificing most of her life to the endeavor. But the discovery has vast repercussions which shake the foundation of Sam’s sanity. In light of the drastic nature of her existential dread, Sam is unsure how to even define what a good life would look like for her now. She finds a glimpse of hope in the curious, enigmatic mindset of her 5-year-old daughter, Maya. The hope and desire to live a good life is ingrained i...
EF47 (S2-E8): Infinite Regress: Drawing Back The Veil of Perception
April 28, 2020 14:00 - 35 minutes - 40.9 MBSam Payne was a physicist on the verge of discovering the true nature of reality when her project was shut down. But a suspicious gift enables her to go underground to an illegal world of virtual work, in order to try and recruit rogue scientists to restart her research. As the risks pile up, and the heat is on, she realizes what she’s been seeking for the last three decades of her career has been hidden in plain sight all along. But the answer is also far more dangerous than she could have i...
EF46 (S2-E7): Empathetic Distortion: Rigging the Scales of Justice
April 14, 2020 14:00 - 30 minutes - 34.8 MBPut in an impossible position early in her career, Mary Payne was forced to make a choice between saving a single identifiable victim or helping an entire community of nameless people. The decision haunts her entire life. Many years later in old age, Mary is faced with another trolley bearing down on her where she will once again be forced to make a difficult decision on which track to send it. But unlike before, this time her life sits in the balance on one of the tracks. In theories about a...
EF45 (S2-E6): Weaving Society’s Web: Purpose in a Future Without Work
March 31, 2020 15:00 - 41 minutes - 47.9 MBIn a post-work society governed by an artificial intelligence corporation, John Weber is the creator of an illegal virtual world called Silk that is cloaked in secrecy. Accused that Silk is causing VR overdoses that leave players in debt or even dead, Weber is forced to negotiate with the government’s representative, Karl Shultz. Although the premise for the meeting is to find a mutually beneficial resolution, it quickly becomes clear that both parties have more nefarious ulterior motives. Al...
EF44 (S2-E5): Reality Unchained: Smashing the Icons of Social Delusion
March 17, 2020 13:00 - 32 minutes - 38.1 MBSam Payne is a renowned physicist investigating the nature of reality at an advanced particle accelerator. Immediately after making a groundbreaking discovery, the research mysteriously gets shut down. Without a team or a lab, Sam’s life’s work is at risk of disappearing behind chained doors. But as Sam is forced to decide if willing to break the chains on the ‘stuff’ of this reality, things continue to get even more perplexing. Life in society imposes rules you are expected to follow. Some r...
EF43 (S2-E4): Evil Urges: The Fiery Duality of Human Nature
March 03, 2020 13:00 - 43 minutes - 50.1 MBMichael Fleming, a crestfallen journalist, interviews an infamous euthanasia doctor named Dr. Theodor Payne. Initially, Michael’s goal appears to be proving that Payne’s deeds are pure evil, with the implication that he should be prosecuted for performing over 1,000 assisted deaths. But as the two men collide, the line between good and evil becomes blurry, and hidden agendas become clear. Will the nature of evil be revealed? We’d like to think it should be easy to identify who, or what, is ev...
EF42 (S2-E3): Civil Individualism: Loneliness Atop Mount Empowerment
February 18, 2020 13:00 - 32 minutes - 37.8 MBThe big question driving Episode EF42 is ... What does it mean to be an individual? Sam Payne is finishing her Ph.D. in physics under the advisement of a professor making a controversial claim as to why the Big Bang wasn’t the beginning of the universe; his new theory of everything posits a universal force which is being interpreted as proof that God exists. Sam gets caught in the crossfire between the professor and the angry mob of protesting college students who believe he is trying to brin...
EF41 (S2-E2): Transhuman Fallibility: The Existential Risk of a Superhuman Future
February 04, 2020 12:00 - 42 minutes - 49.4 MBWill Storia is a graduate student whose PhD work in history and evolutionary psychology is evolving into a manifesto about radically changing the trajectory of civilization. On his show, The Next Evolution, he argues to a global audience that we are at the edge of an abyss, about to hand off what remains of our humanity to machines. His latest guest is John Weber, a revolutionary techie, who believes technology will solve all of humanity’s problems. As they publicly clash with the world watc...
EF40 (S2-E1): Dehumanized: The Search for Self in the Devil’s Looking Glass
January 21, 2020 13:00 - 38 minutes - 44.4 MBThe big question driving Episode EF40 is ... Do we need society and culture? Sam, a 16-year-old from the South, organizes a school walkout to protest the technological trends leading society towards an AI-run government owned by corporate tech royalty. Will this lead to a near future of radical inequality between the transhuman haves and have-nots? Facing backlash from the previous generation which refuses to look inself the mirror to see the truth, Sam learns that social conformity hasn’t ch...
EF39 (S2-E0): LIFE, UPGRADED: Welcome to Season Two of the Evolve Faster Podcast
January 07, 2020 13:00 - 10 minutes - 12.9 MBWelcome to Life, Upgraded. On 1/21/2020, ten new cautionary tales of speculative fiction begin to drop every other week. The goal of Season Two of the Evolve Faster Podcast is to help you explore the contracts you’ve unwittingly signed with society and its layers of cultural institutions. Then it will be up to you to decide if it’s time to tear up and rewrite any of them. Season Two is about LIFE. Humanity rose to the top of the food chain because of our ability to cooperate and communicate; ...
EF38 (AMA-EF13): Flow, Creative Improvisation and Other Altered States of Consciousness — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF13
December 10, 2019 12:00 - 21 minutes - 25 MBEF38 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF13 (The Bloody Fingerprint of Creativity). Where does creativity come from?! It’s impossible to understand if creativity is born as soon as we are or is creativity a quest we need to work to achieve. Or maybe it’s both?
EF37 (BTP-EF13): Where Creativity Comes From and How to Find Your Uniquely Bloody Fingerprint — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF13
November 26, 2019 13:00 - 35 minutes - 40.7 MBEF37 is a Behind The Podcast about Episode EF13 (The Bloody Fingerprint of Creativity). The driving question of this episode is ... Where does creativity come from?! Art, imagination, and creativity aren't mystical powers divinely granted to only a few, but instead are a cumbersome process where you need to wake up every day and work hard — just like any other job requiring hard work and years of practice. Although everybody wants to be creative, it's the will we usually lack. But, unlike so...
EF36 (AMA-EF12): Pyrrhic Victory and Finding the 10% of Your Mind that Defines Who You Are — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF12
November 12, 2019 12:00 - 28 minutes - 32.7 MBEF36 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF12 (Wired to Fail: Leveling Up in the Game of Life). What defines us? Success, failure and fear are the three main ingredients that define what we are and what we can and will be. But how much freedom and power do we have at controlling how much of each ingredient goes into the pot?
EF35 (BTP-EF12): Cryptocurrencies, Gaming and Leveraging Failure to Help Us Define Who We Are — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF12
October 29, 2019 15:00 - 28 minutes - 33.6 MBEF35 is a Behind The Podcast about Episode EF12 (Wired to Fail: Leveling Up in the Game of Life). The driving question of this is ... What defines us? What have you done in your life that makes you feel proud? Although it can be anything — from having a satisfying job to a blossoming relationship with a person you love, we often don't know what defines us. It's not as easy as its three simple words imply.
EF34 (AMA-EF11): On Perfection, the AI Alignment Problem, and the Possibility of Quantum Leaps of Creativity — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF11
October 15, 2019 11:00 - 32 minutes - 38.3 MBEF34 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF11 (When the Lights Go Out: The Blinding Light of an Artificial Future). For the first time, something is breathing down humanity's neck as evolution accelerates. So will humanity see this as a challenge to further evolve, or will we get overwhelmed by the unprecedented capability of our machines? Do we stand a chance when for everything humanity took centuries to perfect, AI can master in days or weeks? Can our ape-like brains even comprehend what m...
EF33 (BTP-EF11): The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Creativity — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF11
October 01, 2019 10:00 - 30 minutes - 35.5 MBEF33 is a Behind The Podcast about Episode EF11 (When the Lights Go Out: The Blinding Light of an Artificial Future). The driving question of this episode is ... Can machines think, be creative or fall in love? It's obvious we're witnessing the dawn of artificial intelligence (AI). As the generation living through and directing this big change, we have to feel both excited and nervous. What will the next step be? Will machines become a new race with their own rights to live, love and create?...
(EF32) AMA-EF10: Mind Control Through a Well-Chosen Tattoo and the Unlikely Case of Being Happy Enough — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF10
September 24, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutes - 30.4 MBEF32 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF10 ((The Road to Happiness is Inked in Suffering). The driving question of this episode (and this BTP) for you to think through is ... Does happiness define the good? The eighth episode of the first season of the Evolve Faster Podcast Episode is driven by the big question Does happiness define the good. We want to be happy, yet there are only a few people who can honestly claim that. So are we hardwired to sadness or simply bad at our job?
EF31 (BTP-EF10): Dharma, Modifying Negative Thinking and the Never Ending Pursuit of Happiness by Embracing Suffering — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF10
September 17, 2019 15:00 - 37 minutes - 43.4 MBEF31 is a Behind The Podcast about Episode EF10 (The Road to Happiness is Inked in Suffering). The driving question of this episode (and this BTP) for you to think through is ... Does happiness define the good? We need to be happy to feel good. Even a 4-year-old child knows this somewhere in the chaos of their still-evolving mind. Thus, it seems logical the closer we are to becoming happy 24/7, the better. But when was the last time you met someone who achieved this? And have you ever thought...
EF30 (AMA-EF9): Emotional Manipulation, Tribalism and Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Think Before you Feel — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF9
September 10, 2019 15:00 - 24 minutes - 28.8 MBEF30 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF9 (I Feel, Therefore I am: Capsized on the River Emotion). The driving question of this episode (and this AMA) for you to think through is ... Can rationality and emotions coexist? We wish we don’t feel pain, sorrow or sadness. But what if somehow we managed to remove every single emotion. Could we really exist? The seventh episode of the first season of the Evolve Faster Podcast Episode is driven by the big question Can rationality and emotions coe...
EF29 (BTP-EF9): Waging War Between Reason and Emotions and the Importance of Leaving Things Unresolved — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF9
September 03, 2019 15:00 - 33 minutes - 38.9 MBEF29 is a Behind The Podcast about Episode EF9 (I Feel, Therefore I am: Capsized on the River Emotion). The driving question of this episode (and this AMA) for you to think through is ... Can rationality and emotions coexist? We tend to put people (and ourselves) into two groups: people who are rational, and people who are emotional. So what should you strive being? A rational or emotional person? Rationality is usually more encouraged as too many emotions can blur your mind. But is it that ...
EF28 (AMA-EF8): Drugs, Consciousness Manipulation and Cheating Your Way To a Better You — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF8
August 27, 2019 15:00 - 26 minutes - 31.1 MBEF28 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF8 (Without a Compass: All Who Sail the Seas of Identity Are Not Lost). The sixth episode of the first season of the Evolve Faster Podcast Episode is driven by the big question Who Am I? Many people use drugs to make quick “fixes” to their identity. But if there was a drug that could instantly change you once and for all, would you take it?
EF27 (BTP-EF8): Who are You and is it Possible to Upgrade Your Identity as an Adult? — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF8
August 20, 2019 11:00 - 31 minutes - 36.2 MBEF27 is a Behind The Podcast of Episode EF8 (Without a Compass: All Who Sail the Seas of Identity Are Not Lost). The driving question of this episode is ... Can you change your identity? Or the shorter philosophical classic, who are you? Although you know your name, vital statistics, and other necessary information — you likely still ask yourself from time to time 'who am I?' What do we mean when we ask this seemingly simple, but infinitely deep, question? And is it possible that the answer c...
EF26 (AMA-EF7): The Impossibility of Honest Politicians and Protecting Our Kids from The Most Insidious Fake News — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF7
August 13, 2019 12:00 - 29 minutes - 34.1 MBEF26 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF7 (Sleight of Mind: The Black Magic of Rhetoric). The driving question of this episode (and this AMA) for you to think through is ... can we trust reason? In an online world now overcome with fake news, reason and rational thinking would seem to be an obvious bet for an antidote. But how many times did you find yourself in a situation where your reasoning was unreasonable to somebody else? Does this mean it’s not a consistent tool we can trust in al...
EF25 (BTP-EF7): The Power of Propaganda and Rhetoric to Divide Us and the Quest for a Better World — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF7
August 06, 2019 12:00 - 29 minutes - 34.6 MBEF25 is a Behind The Podcast (BTP) looking back at Episode EF7 (Sleight of Mind: The Black Magic of Rhetoric). The driving question of this episode is ... can we trust reason? Since perfected by the ancient Greeks, rhetoric has slowly devolved from a respected art into a manipulative tool used in marketing, politics and any other walk of life where mental and verbal coercion pays. Rhetoric, propaganda and the strategic use of logical fallacies are mental and verbal manipulations similar to t...
EF24 (AMA-EF6): Is Less Really More When it Comes to the Pursuit of Wisdom or is Ignorance Bliss? — Ask Me Anything of Episode EF6
July 30, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutes - 30.8 MBThis is an Ask Me Anything (AMA) about Episode EF6 (Information Mainlining and the Folly of Modern Wisdom). The driving question of this episode is ... is wisdom necessary for leading a satisfying life? It certainly seems useful, but what exactly do you get from it? And does prudence require you to know more than the basic math back from elementary school? Or maybe, wisdom trumps traditional knowledge and a person can be wise no matter the number of books read?
EF23 (BTP-EF6): Scaling Mount Wisdom Without Suffocating Under an Avalanche of Ego — Behind The Podcast of Episode EF6
July 23, 2019 11:00 - 30 minutes - 35.8 MBIs it possible to learn to be wise? This is a Behind The Podcast (BTP) of Episode EF6 (Information Mainlining and the Folly of Modern Wisdom). The driving question of this episode (and this BTP) for you to think through is ... what is wisdom?
EF22 (AMA-EF5): Defeating Fake News and Critical Thinking as the Superpower the World Needs Most — Ask Me Anything of Episode EF5
July 16, 2019 13:00 - 23 minutes - 27.3 MBThis is an Ask Me Anything (AMA) looking back at Episode EF5 (The Truth is Clay in the Hands of a Sculptor). The driving question of this episode (and this AMA) for you to think through is ... what is the truth? Without knowing the truth, what can we do? Somewhere deep in our DNA, there's a code that says we always need to seek honesty, we need to fight for trustworthiness. So then why is there so much dishonesty in the news and our collective discourse?
EF21 (BTP-EF5): Should Lying be Made Illegal and the Importance of Figuring Out Why You Believe What you Believe — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF5
July 09, 2019 12:00 - 43 minutes - 50.2 MBThis is a Behind The Podcast (BTP) of Episode EF5 (Season 1, Episode 3 of the Evolve Faster Podcast) titled The Truth is Clay in the Hands of a Sculptor. The driving question of this episode (and this BTP) for you to think through is … what is the truth? Without knowing the truth, what can we do? Somewhere deep in our DNA, there's a code that says we always need to seek honesty, we need to fight for trustworthiness. So we do our best to seek justice we all believe to be the same. When we atta...
EF20 (AMA-EF4): The Declining Value of Information and Taking Risks to Determine What is the Truth — Ask Me Anything of Episode EF4
July 02, 2019 15:00 - 29 minutes - 34.1 MBEpisode EF20 is an Ask Me Anything (AMA) looking back at Episode EF4, which was Season 1, Episode 2 of the Evolve Faster Podcast titled 'The Decapitation of Reason: A Skeptic’s Guide.' That episode of the first season of the Evolve Faster Podcast Episode was driven by the big question 'How can we know anything?'
EF19 (BTP-EF4): Head Transplantations and Finding Inspiration for Speculative Fiction — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF4
June 25, 2019 14:00 - 36 minutes - 42.6 MBThe driving question of this episode (and this BTP) for you to think through is ... How can you know anything? It’s a fascinating question that actually has surprisingly little research or philosophical investigation. You’re about to listen to a Behind the Podcast (BTP) of Episode EF4, which was Season 1, Episode 2 of the Evolve Faster Podcast titled The Decapitation of Reason: A Skeptic’s Guide.
EF18 (AMA-EF3): The Mystical Allure of Converting to Buddhism and Speculating about Quantum Mechanics— Ask Me Anything for Episode EF3
June 18, 2019 16:00 - 33 minutes - 39.1 MBThe first episode of the first season of the Evolve Faster Podcast Episode is driven by the big question What Am I Supposed To Do. We as human beings are known for making bad decisions in the moments of desperation. And what crisis than the existential crisis? Possibilities are limitless, correct answers next to none and there is no how-to manual. Ready to start?
EF17 (BTP-EF3): What Am I Supposed To Do, Free Will and Other Everyday Problems — Behind the Podcast of Episode EF3
June 11, 2019 16:00 - 44 minutes - 51.2 MBThe first episode of the first season of the Evolve Faster Podcast Episode starts with the big question that’s always lurking in your head: “What Am I Supposed To Do?” And it’s not referring to your lunch plans. Instead, it’s asking what will you until the inevitable day comes when you’re 6 feet underground to make sure you live a satisfying life of meaning? And let’s assume there’s no lunch down there to worry about anyway.
(EF16) BTP: On Creative Writing, Video Games and the Future of the Evolve Faster Podcast (About Antonio Rozich)
June 04, 2019 12:00 - 45 minutes - 52.5 MBIn this episode, we go behind the scenes where Scott Ely talks to Antonio Rozich — his creative collaborator and co-writer on most of the episodes — on how they met, what it takes to be a creative writer and other odd background stories from creating Season One of Evolve Faster Podcast. From joint eureka moments to pointless yet heated arguments over if a character should go left or right on a river fork, this interview dissects how creativity can sometimes be better as both a shared and an i...
EF15 (AMA): Ask Me Anything — About Scott Ely and Evolving a Philosophy of Life
May 29, 2019 03:00 - 58 minutes - 69 MBWelcome to the first Ask me Anything (AMA) Episode, which will be loosely framed around the question ... Who controls your narrative? Evolve Faster is my laboratory to write and think about ideas in an attempt to learn to be a better human…which can be surprisingly difficult. But with a series of minor mindset shifts, it doesn’t have to be so hard.
EF14 (BTP): Behind the Evolve Faster Podcast — The Making of a Speculative Fiction Meets Philosophical Nonfiction Podcast
May 21, 2019 13:30 - 1 hour - 85.3 MBPose yourself this thought experiment: What if you could start over with a brain unhindered by evolutionary hangovers? A fresh life with no societal baggage and an aspirational soul with a complete focus towards finding meaning to your existence? In other words, what if that nagging question—what in the hell am I supposed to do?—was easy to answer?
EF13 (S1-E11): The Bloody Fingerprint of Creativity
May 07, 2019 12:00 - 50 minutes - 69.7 MBFacing serious amnesia, Eric Clemens with the help of Dr. Eden Harper tries to recollect his lost memories. Dr. Harper takes an unconventional road not only to help Eric track his past, but to create a foundation for his future as well. As they dig deeper and deeper, Eric has to face demons he didn’t even know existed. This episode of the Evolve Faster Podcast will investigate what art is and how do we perceive the concept of creating art. Through psychological theories ranging from William J...
EF12 (S1-E10): Wired to Fail: Leveling Up in the Game of Life
April 23, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 96.4 MBInfuriated by the risk-averse approach of his company, Vihaan Raid decides to design his latest game on his own. A widely renowned game developer known to the gaming world as “Koji,” believes he can entirely change how humans see life with his radical new video game concept. He teams up with a respected psychologist to make sure his vision will manipulate the human psyche as he suspects it will—a critical factor to the game’s potential. As Koji slowly reveals secretive details of his mysterio...
EF11 (S1-E9): When the Lights Go Out: The Blinding Light of an Artificial Future
April 09, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 85.3 MBAldford Herbert, a famous science fiction writer, is on the brink of finishing his latest novel about a realistic, dark future of artificial intelligence. A stroke of luck provides him with an opportunity to talk to Cynthia Butler, the mastermind behind the world’s most bleeding edge AI company. Aldford sees this as the perfect opportunity to secretly learn how precise his fictional predictions might be. What he doesn't know is that Cynthia might just have a mysterious, and even more insidiou...
EF10 (S1-E8): The Road to Happiness is Inked in Suffering
March 26, 2019 11:48 - 1 hour - 86.2 MBComing from a wealthy family, most others would only dream of the life Alex leads. Every moment is another silver platter where he is handed all the best education, can have his pick of expensive items and to experience seemingly infinite joys. Although grateful for everything, Alex can't shake the reality he isn't happy or fulfilled by any of this at all—nor could he really even define what happiness would look like for him. But why? What could possibly be missing when having everything you ...
EF9 (S1-E7): I Feel, Therefore I am: Capsized on the River Emotion
March 12, 2019 14:00 - 49 minutes - 67.8 MBElliott made a terrible mistake that's been haunting him ever since. As if rafting through Class V rapids without a paddle, Elliott's sanity is inches away from crashing into sharp rocks of guilt, shame and sadness. Where do we turn when it feels like our emotions have us hurtling out of control in dangerous waters? And is there any hope for recovery even once you’ve faced the reality of your situation head-on, in light of the power of these emotional currents? We all have emotions, but what ...
EF8 (S1-E6): Without a Compass: All Who Sail the Seas of Identity Are Not Lost
February 26, 2019 13:00 - 43 minutes - 60 MB(EF8) You're the sailor of the ship called you, and yet most people let their boats go into great disrepair and neglect. Feeling moored in the same spot for years with no clear understanding of the direction she needs to go, Lisa gets a unique opportunity to upgrade her identity boat with a chemical compass of sorts—a mysterious drug that will supposedly alter her complete identity—to supposedly better enable her to navigate through life’s rough waters. Could a change in your identity actuall...
EF7 (S1-E5): Sleight of Mind: The Black Magic of Rhetoric
February 12, 2019 12:45 - 53 minutes - 73.9 MBEdward, a marketing master and spokesperson for the dark arts of rhetoric and propaganda, is hired to educate a controversial businessman running for an important public office. It's Edward's job to bestow the black magic of verbal and written manipulation on the businessman to win the election. Where the tongue is quicker than the mind—and the pen sharp enough to cut—are these skills a well-respected art? Or are they just cheap mental tricks wielded by insincere charlatans? Since perfected...
EF6 (S1-E4): Information Mainlining and the Folly of Modern Wisdom
January 29, 2019 13:00 - 28 minutes - 39.6 MBThe big question driving Episode EF6 is ... How do you acquire wisdom? Paul, a child prodigy who became a leading theoretical physicist in his early 30s, is facing a personal dilemma that is making him miserable—the realization that he might be woefully deficient in the one thing he most reveres. Although filled with endless knowledge, he isn't wise. But how? Isn't harnessing more and more information the key to becoming wise? In his attempt to figure it out, Paul might realize the obstacle h...
EF5 (S1-E3): The Truth is Clay in the Hands of a Sculptor
January 15, 2019 13:00 - 42 minutes - 59.3 MBThe big question driving Episode EF5 is...What is the Truth? Truman, an ordinary man with a regular job, is caught lying in a country where lying is illegal. Thanks to his actions, he ends up facing a mandatory Truth Course to get him back on the track. Terrified, Truman slowly realizes the truth is not what we all grew accustomed to believe. Is it possible that facts are nothing more than a piece of clay molded by someone's interests? Time is running out for Truman, and the sculptor of trut...
EF4 (S1-E2): The Decapitation of Reason: A Skeptic’s Guide
January 01, 2019 12:00 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MBAt the height of his success, a controversial philosopher named Ian Ament reveals a dangerous plan to do a head transplant swap with his brother. Nobody knows why and both the scientific and medical communities at large are concerned. In a tense live interview with a potential surgeon named Ross Hunter, Ament methodically explains his reasoning to the world. Yet his reasons only bring more questions. Is there something more behind Ament's plan? For the next 60 minutes of this interview, the h...
EF3 (S1-E1): All Aboard the Experience Machine: Destination…Unknown
December 18, 2018 13:00 - 43 minutes - 60.6 MBThe big question driving Episode EF3 is... What am I supposed to do? You can't say we get to choose if we want to live this life or not. One day you're born, and that's it--your journey starts with zero preparation. Thus, it's natural we don't know what the hell we're doing, and we get lost. Should I go to college? Should I leave everything behind and start fresh? Because really, what are you supposed to do? In EF3, Jonathan finds himself forced between two paths: a meaningful life filled ...
EF2 (Intro): Life is a Near-Death Experience (Welcome to The Evolve Faster Podcast)
December 04, 2018 13:00 - 53 minutes - 73.6 MBIn this introduction to the Evolve Faster Podcast, we’ll ride an hour-long roller coaster of a thought experiment designed to challenge your normal modes of conscious life experience. We’ll look at a psychological tendency that makes it difficult for you to break out of the mental auto-pilot in which you rarely acknowledge the fact that you could die around the next curve. Next, we’ll investigate what it means to Evolve Faster as a metaphor for personal and societal change. Finally, we’ll exa...
EF1 (Trailer): The Evolve Faster Podcast Trailer (Extended Version)
November 20, 2018 13:00 - 3 minutes - 4.8 MBEverything is changing, yet the questions that drive us remain the same. Will humanity face the absurdity of our collective existential crisis in time? Join Scott Ely as he takes us deep into the rabbit hole with philosophical tales to reboot your mind, upgrade your life and explore your soul. To Evolve Faster is to see the fact that you will die someday as a formidable challenge, instead of a source of immense fear. Create your reality…before it creates you. Isn’t it time for an upgrade?