Oshan Jarow - Podcast Details

Shows

The MockingcastEpisode 271: The Trapdoor of GraceIn which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk diminished partying, fearful motivations, radical saints, and the difference between spells and prayers. Also, Sarah shares what will happen when all the yards are finally mowed. Click here for more details about our Spring Conference in NYC (5/1-3) Click here to pre-order Dave's new book, The Big Relief Click here to read Oshan Jarow's newsletter about mediation for Vox. Click here to read about Americans Need to Party More by Ellen Cushing in The Atlantic. Click here to read Elizabeth Kolbert's essay in The New Yorker, "Does One Emotion Rule All...2025-01-201h 12

UnexplainableWill AI ever ... feel?Some scientists think an explosion of AI awareness and feeling might be just around the corner. Others think it’s impossible for an AI to ever become conscious. How will we know?Guest: Oshan Jarow, staff writer at Vox’s Future PerfectThis episode was made in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect team.For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscriptsFor more, go to vox.com/unexplainableAnd please email us! unexplainable@vox.comWe read every email.Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Memb...2025-01-0828 min

The Gray Area with Sean IllingWhat do animals feel?Can you ever really know what’s going on inside the mind of another creature?In some cases, like other humans, or dogs and cats, we might be able to guess with a bit of confidence. But what about octopuses? Or insects? What about AI systems — will they ever be able to feel anything? And if they do feel anything, what are our ethical obligations toward them?In today’s episode, Vox staff writer Oshan Jarow brings those questions to philosopher of science Jonathan Birch.Birch is the principal investigator on the Foundations of Ani...2024-12-1652 min

The Right Time with Bomani JonesWeek 6 Recap: Bomani's Lions, Nick Sirianni, and Lincoln Riley, Plus IYHH and VoicemailsBomani Jones starts today's show by recapping the Cowboys vs Lions matchup. (0:50) He reiterates his Day 1 fandom of the Detroit Lions, while reveling in the blow out win over the Dallas Cowboys. Bomani explains that he had Super Bowl aspirations for this team right until the Aidan Hutchinson injury, which has certainly hurt the teams morale. Speaking of morale, the Cowboys look terrible following that loss and Bo discusses why they showed zero fight in that game. (9:30) From there, Bomani transitions to Nick Sirianni and the Eagles, who despite the win over the Browns, have a coach who should...2024-10-1456 min

The Gray Area with Sean IllingYour mind needs chaosIn part three of our series on creativity, guest host Oshan Jarow speaks with philosopher of neuroscience Mark Miller about how our minds actually work. They discuss the brain as a predictive engine that builds our conscious experience for us. We’re not seeing what we see. We’re predicting what we should see. Miller says that depression, opioid use, and our love of horror movies can all be explained by this theory. And that injecting beneficial kinds of uncertainty into our experiences — embracing chaos and creativity — ultimately make us even better at prediction, which is one of the keys to happ...2024-10-0951 min

What Could Go Right?Psychedelic Sea Change with Oshan JarowShould psychedelics be legal nationwide? Are they a bipartisan topic? And if they become a retail product like marijuana, how would screening and licensing work? Join Zachary and Emma as they speak with Oshan Jarow, a staff writer at Vox's Future Perfect. Oshan discusses psychedelics in politics, cultures using these drugs therapeutically and spiritually, and both the controversial history and legal future of psychedelics.What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and The Podglomerate.For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.or...2024-08-0757 min

TC After DarkExploring Psychedelics Vox Reporter Oshan Jarow gives me a tutorial on hallucinogenic drugs!2024-08-0132 min

The Trip Report#8 Oshan Jarow - Towards a General Theory of SpiritualityWelcome back to The Trip Report Podcast, a production of Beckley Waves, a psychedelic venture studio.Today, we are speaking with Oshan Jarow.Oshan is a writer, podcaster, and a fellow at Vox Media’s Future Perfect, a division focused on covering the crucially important issues that are often under-reported.In this role, Oshan writes about the intersection of economics and the contemplative sciences–this includes things like psychedelics, meditation, and as we get into some depth, the emerging science of the mind. I’ve been following Oshan’s work for a few yea...2023-10-1257 min

Musing Mind PodcastPsychedelic politics and humanities, with Oliver DavisWhat is the current arc of the psychedelic renaissance in Western society missing? How do psychedelic experiences affect politics? And what are the psychedelic humanities? To guide us through these questions, I speak with Oliver Davis. He's a professor of French Studies and director of graduate studies at the University of Warwick in the UK, a co-editor of an ongoing series on the psychedelic humanities, is working on a book about the politics of psychedelics, and wrote of a recent paper on the French artist Henri Michaux’s writings on psychedelics, which serve as a guide for our c...2023-09-201h 27

Musing Mind PodcastHow algorithms undermine consciousness, with Eran FisherAs algorithms rise to play larger roles in how we interact with the world, how are they recursively acting upon us to play larger roles in how we experience ourselves? What, in short, does an algorithmic society do to consciousness? Eran Fisher is a professor of sociology at the Open University of Israel, and has a recent book out titled: Algorithms and Subjectivity: On the Subversion of Critical Knowledge. In it, he digs beneath the more obvious conversation around how algorithms are changing our worlds, to ask how they're changing our-selves. In the conversation, we di...2023-04-221h 27

Musing Mind PodcastEmancipatory Social Science, with Christian ArnspergerChristian is an economist whose work can help answer the question: how might economics become an 'emancipatory' social science? Christian holds a PhD in economics, is a professor at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, a former advisor to the alternative bank of Switzerland, and was a long-time researcher at the Belgian National Science Foundation. He's the author of Critical Political Economy and Full-Spectrum Economics, among other books on political economy with an existential and ecological focus. As an economist unafraid to venture into questions around spirituality, or the evolution of consciousness, his works are...2022-11-151h 54

Musing Mind PodcastAn Evolutionary Economic Paradigm, with David Sloan WilsonToday, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson joins the podcast to discuss his recent paper, co-authored with Dennis Snower: "Rethinking the Theoretical Foundation of Economics." Neoclassical, or orthodox economic theory is based on physics equations that assume the economic system is always trending towards equilibrium. Their paper suggests replacing physics with Darwin's evolutionary science, which sees the economy as a system always undergoing evolution, driven by the triad of variation, selection, and replication. David is a distinguished professor of biological science at Binghamton University, co-founder of a number of organizations that work to put evolutionary theory...2022-08-221h 32

Musing Mind Podcast[Unlocked] Reflections & Extras from Michael Levin PodcastAn unlocked, patreon-only episode where I reflect on the process at the heart of my conversation with Michael Levin, the evolutionary process through which little selves integrate into larger collective intelligences. Also incudes a fun experiment where I splice in audio clips from a prior conversation – with Ruben Laukkonen – to show themes that run across episodes. If you'd like access to past & future reflection episodes, consider becoming a Patreon supporter, which also has the fun byproduct of helping the project continue existing. Thank you! 2022-07-0541 min

Musing Mind PodcastScaling Selfhood: Collective Intelligence from Cells to Economies, with Michael LevinHow does collective intelligence emerge? How do parts get integrated into larger wholes? How can we increase the intelligence and agency of collective systems? Are cities, economies, or even societies intelligent systems of which humans are unwitting parts? On this episode, I'm joined by Michael Levin to discuss how his research in the collective intelligence of biological systems might help us think through larger collective systems, like the economy. Michael is a professor of biology at Tufts University, director of both the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology and the Allen Discovery Center, an e...2022-05-021h 56

Musing Mind PodcastMeditation & Predictive Processing: Ruben LaukkonenOn this episode, I'm joined by Ruben Laukkonen to describe his new model that makes sense of what meditation does to the mind, through the lens of predictive processing. Ruben is a post-doc cognitive scientist at the University of Amsterdam, a contemplative with experience in traditions like Advaita and Therevada, has consulted for the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, and writes on topics ranging from education, artificial intelligence, to psychedelics. We cover: Predictive processing, meditation, and counterfactual depth How meditation affects precision weighting, leading to changes in phenomenology How deconstructive practices like meditation...2021-12-011h 51

Meta-Ideological PoliticsEpisode #6: Oshan JarowOshan Jarow is one of the premiere ‘contemplative economists’ exploring how it is that economic systems play in in the construction of conscious experience and, vice versa, the role that consciousness might play in revamping a normative dimension to economic development. He’s the host and producer of the Musing Mind podcast where he’s conversing with economists, philosophers, and practitioners about how we might live in the 21st century. With Kasey Klimes he’s also a co-founder of The Library of Economic Possibility, where he’s researching and writing about economic possibilities for the next paradigm, with topics including a...2021-09-051h 52

Musing Mind PodcastDigital Capitalism to Acid Communism, with Emma StammOn this episode, I explore data capitalism, acid communism, and the psychedelic ties between them, with Emma Stamm. Emma holds a PhD in cultural & social thought, and works at the intersections of the philosophy of technology, critical theory, and science and technology studies. She has taught at both NYU & Virginia Tech, and is now a professor in the philosophy department at Villanova University. Our conversation explores the relationship between data capitalism & consciousness, using psychedelic science as a way of illuminating those aspects of consciousness that cannot be rendered via data's language. Enjoy! 2021-07-091h 44

Musing Mind PodcastUnselfing: Philosophy of Psychedelics w/ Chris LethebyIn this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Chris Letheby: a philosopher of cognitive science who focuses on psychedelic experience & its implications for our understanding of consciousness. Chris is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Western Australia and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Adelaide. He has a soon-to-be-published book: Philosophy of Psychedelics. Along with Philip Gerrans, Chris is behind one of the most interesting theories of what the self is, a theory that explains why the sensation of being a ‘self’ arises in consciousness, which they call the “predictive self-binding account”. His...2021-03-221h 38

Musing Mind PodcastConsciousness & Fiction: Erik HoelMy guest in this episode is (once again!) Erik Hoel: PhD in neuroscience, research assistant professor at Tufts University studying consciousness, and author of the upcoming (phenomenal) novel, The Revelations. We center the conversation around themes from his novel, which lead us into: How fiction, as a form of “intrinsic media”, offers a unique approach for exploring consciousness that non-fiction and TV can’t The theories and potentialities at the frontiers of consciousness research The relationship between evolution, complexity, consciousness, and emergence Some limits of the scientific study of consci...2021-03-022h 17

Musing Mind PodcastCapitalism & the Self: Barnaby RaineIn this conversation, intellectual historian Barnaby Raine joins me in a wide-ranging, encyclopedic, and wonderful conversation about capitalism and the self. Barnaby is working on his PhD at Colombia, where he studies the end of capitalism in social & political thought since Marx, with a focus on ‘the problem of transition’: the challenge of seeking to move beyond a system upon which our lives still depend. Barnaby is also a teacher at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, where he taught a course on “Capitalism and the Self”, which I took and loved, the content of which is...2020-12-063h 02

Musing Mind PodcastKatherine Gibson: Self-Transformation for Post-CapitalismMy guest on this episode is Katherine Gibson, a fiercely creative thinker on the relationship between post-capitalism and consciousness. With Julie Graham, she is co-author of a number of books, including The End of Capitalism as We Know It, and Postcapitalist Politics. Katherine is an economic geographer at Western Sydney University, and founded the ‘Community Economies Collective’, which is a project that involves both academics and communities in theorizing and practicing new economic visions. In our conversation, we explore: The relationship between self-transformation and economic transformation How post-capitalism is not something that...2020-10-101h 21

Musing Mind PodcastJulie Nelson: What If Capitalism Isn't the Problem?My guest today is Julie Nelson: economist, and zen teacher. She co-edited a book in 1993 that became known to many as an early manifesto for feminist economics, and has spent her career questioning assumptions - of both the human mind and the discipline of economics. She is an economics professor (emeritus) at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, a senior research fellow at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts, and a senior assistant teacher at the Greater Boston Zen Center. She is author of the book Economics for Humans, co-editor of Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory...2020-09-131h 16

The Pathless Path with Paul MillerdThe Possibilities Of Life Beyond Work with Oshan JarowOshan sums up his worldview as: "We’re all going to die, but in the meantime, the world is far more mysterious, wonderful, and stimulating than human consciousness plagued by economic precarity can experience.” We explore that possibilities might emerge if we can imagine a life beyond work. Be brave and join us on this episode? Oshan's Work: Musing Mind Subscribe to boundless: Subscribe 📘 GOOD WORK: LIVE! => Learn More📕 Buy Paul’s Book (50k+ Sold): The Pathless Path😁 Join Hundreds On Unconventional...2020-09-091h 21

Musing Mind PodcastBen Hunnicutt: Leisure, the (Forgotten) Basis of American ProgressMy guest today is the historian and professor of leisure studies at the University of Iowa, Ben Hunnicutt. His scholarship focuses on a simple, perplexing question: why, after 100 years of shortening working weeks, did America abandon the pursuit of leisure? I feverishly read two of his books - Work Without End, and Free Time: The Forgotten American Dream - that chronicle the history of the relationship between America’s political economy and the pursuit of leisure time for all. He brings the precision of a historian together with the sensibility of a poet (no...2020-07-221h 27

Musing Mind PodcastMichael Brooks: Politics and ConsciousnessMy guest today is Michael Brooks: host of The Michael Brooks Show and author of Against the Web. On top of having one of the most popular Leftist political talk shows (full of wonderfully deep political analysis), Michael has a rich background in meditation, integral philosophy, and the general consciousness scene. He regularly speaks about the need to situate the Leftist political project within a broader spiritual context, placing questions of consciousness at the center. In our conversation, we discuss: The (lacking) relationship between ‘consciousness culture’ and politics The politics of free time ...2020-06-161h 00

The Joseph Wells PodcastOshan Jarow: UBI and the Capitalist Production of ConsciousnessMy guest today is Oshan Jarow. Oshan spent the last five years learning about economics, universal basic income, and consciousness. In his essay, Universal Basic Income and the Capitalist Production of Consciousness, he ties those topics together in an interesting and educational way. In this episode, Oshan and I discuss the underlying reasons for UBI, ways to pay for UBI, common critiques, and much more. Oshan is the most articulate, informed, thoughtful, and open minded person I've ever talked to about UBI. Even if you think it's a foolish idea, this conversation is worth a listen. It...2020-06-101h 09

Musing Mind PodcastGustav Peebles: Reclaiming Adam Smith & Splenetic PhilosophyMy guest today is Gustav Peebles: professor of economic anthropology at The New School, and author of an explosive essay that turns Adam Smith on his head. In our conversation, we explore: The forgotten “splenetic” philosophy of Adam Smith, and how his Theory of Moral Sentiments challenges the popular notion of his economic vision How the conflation of wealth with wisdom is bad for individuals, but great for society How Adam Smith and Karl Marx agreed on false consciousness, but disagreed on what to do about it Social dividends, publi...2020-04-051h 09

Musing Mind PodcastGlen Weyl: The Myth of Individualism, Radical Markets, New SocietiesMy guest today is Glen Weyl: co-author of Radical Markets, founder of the RadicalxChange movement, Ph.D. in economics from Princeton, and in his spare time, works as Microsoft’s Chief Technology Political Economist and Social Technologist (OCTOPEST). In our conversation, we explore: How social technologies and economic institutions shape our physical, mental, and social lives The myth of individualism How does RadicalxChange compare & contrast with Piketty’s progressive taxation approach? How to design markets beyond neoliberalism, as mechanisms for complexity UBI, the role of art and arti...2020-03-101h 28

Musing Mind PodcastPeter Frase: Futures of Democratic Socialism & Free TimeMy conversation today is with Peter Frase, author of Four Futures: Life After Capitalism, and member of Jacobin Magazine’s editorial board. Peter is among the most cogent writers on complex socioeconomic topics I’ve encountered. He dropped out of a sociology PhD program & began writing for a more popular, inclusive audience both through his personal website, and as a frequent contributor for Jacobin Magazine, a leading voice in radical left politics. We spoke about: The past, present, and future of democratic socialism How economic frameworks create the conditions with human deve...2020-02-271h 38

Musing Mind PodcastAlex Williams: Where Did The Future Go? Power in Complex EconomiesToday, I’m speaking with Dr. Alex Williams. Alex is co-author of the fantastically provocative book, titled: Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work. He’s also coauthor of a forthcoming book titled Hegemony Now, which updates Antonio Gramasci’s theory of how power operates in societies in light of complexity science. When he’s not writing, he’s a lecturer at the University of East Anglia in the UK. Alex and I discuss his book on post capitalism, including things like full automation, universal basic income, and shortening the working week. We discuss the role of education in how it condit...2020-02-131h 45

Musing Mind PodcastJohn Vervaeke: The Cognitive Science of Capitalist RealismIn this conversation, John Vervaeke & I discuss: The meaning crisis as a crisis of interiority The religion that is not a religion Socioeconomic policies as forms of psycho-technologies The cognitive science of capitalist realism The tension between wisdom and commodification John is a professor of cognitive psychology & science at the University of Toronto. He recently completed a 50-episode lecture series on Youtube: Awakening From the Meaning Crisis. The series is a wonderful integration of cognitive science and ‘spirituality’, for lack of a better term. He deve...2020-01-301h 24

Musing Mind PodcastKarl Widerquist: The Basic Income EpisodeMy guest today is Karl Widerquist. Karl has been an active support of Universal Basic Income for 40 years. During that time, he earned two phD’s, one in economics and another in political theory from Oxford. He works on theories of justice and freedom, as the motivation for adopting a basic income. He’s a professor at Georgetown’s Qatar campus, co-chair of the basic income earth network, and a really, spirited, brilliant guy. A few topics we got into: The first half hour or so looks at the relationship between basic income and freedom. Then, around the 37...2019-11-112h 25

Musing Mind PodcastZak Stein: 13 Social Miracles for a Time Between WorldsIn today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Zachary Stein. Zak is difficult to introduce because he’s so wide-ranging. He works alongside philosophers Ken Wilber and Marc Gafni at the Center for Integral Wisdom, bringing the heart of integral theory into the discussion of 21st century possibilities. He did his graduate education at Harvard, studying education and human development, and most of his work focuses on education, broadly conceived as the kind of ‘human making forces’ within a society. His latest book - Education in a Time Between Worlds - is insane. It focuses on what education might become as we...2019-10-011h 29

Musing Mind PodcastErik Hoel: The Supersensorium, Consciousness, and Extrinsic DriftErik Hoel studies consciousness & emergence as a research assistant professor at Tufts University. Since growing up in his family-owned bookstore, he’s also a magnificent writer. We discuss consciousness, two of his essays - Fiction in the Age of Screens, and Enter the Supersensorium - why Freud was the best thing to ever happen to television, meditation, and why rediscovering a sense of snobbery might define the meta-modern move. 2019-09-141h 27

Musing Mind PodcastAndrew Taggart: Total Work and Finding a New Existential CenterAndrew Taggart is a nomadic philosopher and contemplative currently writing about ‘Total Work’, where the paradigm of work is becoming the central mechanism of our identities. In our conversation, we dig into the relationship between Total Work and postmodernism, the shortcomings of radical leftists in considering what constitutes ‘the good life’ beyond material subsistence, his experience with meditation, consciousness, and various methods - from education to psycho-technologies - for moving beyond nihilism. 2019-09-141h 42

Musing Mind PodcastRon Purser: Beyond McMindfulnessI’m joined by Ron Purser to discuss how mindfulness, rather than starting any meaningful revolution, is feeding right into the neoliberal capitalist ideology, and becoming what Purser calls “the new capitalist spirituality”. Ron is a professor of management at San Francisco State University, as well as an ordained Zen dharma teacher in the Korean Zen Taego order of Buddhism. We discuss the incompatibility between meditation practice and neoliberal capitalism, the difference between democratic socialism and anti/post capitalism, and the flexibility of our experience of time. 2019-09-141h 00

Musing Mind PodcastEpisode 0 - IntroductionA quick introduction to the podcast, and the shenanigans to come. 2019-08-3004 min