PODCAST · education
Dr. John Vervaeke
by Upfire Digital LLC
The Official John Vervaeke Podcast Feed
Episodes
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Philosophy and the Daimonic: A Dialogue with Charles Stang (Charles Stang Dialogue 3)
What if becoming wiser requires a relationship with a "divine double" within you? In episode three of the series, John and Harvard's Charles Stang move on from Plato, Xenophon, and Aristophanes to Apuleius' 2nd-century text On the God of Socrates, which imagines philosophy as a kind of…
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Socrates, Daimons, and the Space In-Between (Charles Stang Dialogue 2)
What was Socrates actually hearing when his daimon spoke, and why might the space in-between, neither purely inside us nor fully outside us, be the key to discerning spirits today? In part two of the Lectern series on the daimon, Charles Stang and John Vervaeke move from Plato to Socrates' other...
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Why Is Wisdom So Hard to Access?
How do you make deep philosophical and transformative work accessible to more people without sacrificing the precision, rigor, and depth that make it meaningful in the first place? John Vervaeke, with Ethan Hsieh and Taylor Barratt, discusses recurring feedback that his work is meaningful but…
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John Thatamanil on Circling the Elephant: Religion, Porosity, and the Promise of Pluralism | Silk Road Seminar
What if the problem isn't that religions disagree, but that we invented the idea that you can only belong to one? In this Silk Road Seminar, John Vervaeke sits down with theologian John J. Thatamanil, author of Circling the Elephant: A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity. Thatamanil…
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Awakening to the Divine Double: An Introduction to Daimons in Greek Tradition
Could the "divine double" be a hidden guide within us, and what happens when we begin to recognize it? Harvard Divinity School professor Charles Stang, author of Our Divine Double, joins Ethan to introduce his Lectern course Daemons in Divinity and the ancient Greek idea of the daimon. Stang…
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Cognition, Religion, and the Trust Apocalypse Are More Connected Than You Think
What if religion was never really about belief, but about how we make meaning? Trust in institutions like religion, law, science, and journalism is collapsing, yet some of the most demanding traditions, like Eastern Orthodoxy and the traditional Latin Mass, are growing as people seek ritual,...
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Communal Living as Spiritual Practice: Friendship, Formation, and Renewing the Senses
Can we find freedom in a world of endless choice—or is deeper liberation found in the people we refuse to leave? In the first of a three-part Lectern Dialogues series, John Vervaeke is joined by Elizabeth Oldfield and her husband, Christopher Oldfield, for a conversation on intentional communal...
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Andrew M. Davis & Matt Segall on Process, Relational Ontology, and Seeing God Again | Silk Road Seminar
What if God isn't a finished substance standing outside the world, but a living process we participate in? In this Silk Road Seminar, John Vervaeke is joined by process philosophers Andrew M. Davis and Matt Segall. John opens with the core moves of Seeing God Again for the First Time and the...
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How Nonbeing Haunts Being: Corey Anton on Death, Spirituality, and the Meaning of a Finite Life
What if the very thing we fear most—nonbeing—is also what gives life its deepest meaning? John Vervaeke welcomes philosopher Corey Anton to discuss his book, How Nonbeing Haunts Being: On Possibilities, Morality, and Death Acceptance. They explore how absence, limitation, possibility, mortality,...
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Notes on No-Thing: John Vervaeke on Nihilism, the Kyoto School, and the Sacred
What if nihilism is not the end of meaning, but an opening into a deeper way of seeing? John Vervaeke is joined by Ethan Hsieh to introduce Notes on No-Thing, a course on the Kyoto School of Philosophy and its response to nihilism, nothingness, and the advent of the sacred. They explore why…
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Reconnect to the Real: Vervaeke, Sengstock, and Koch on Nature, Circling, and Socratic Practice
Why are we losing our taste for what is real—and what practices can help us recover it? John Vervaeke is joined by Guy Sengstock and Kyle Koch for a conversation on connection as something constitutive of who we are: our relationship to nature, one another, story, personhood, and the sacred....
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Parenting, Meaning, and Reconnecting with the Real
Is civilization making us smarter while disconnecting us from what matters most? In this episode, John Vervaeke speaks with Kyle Koch, a deep nature connection practitioner and new father living in an intentional community in northern British Columbia, about applying Vervaeke's work to raise...
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John Vervaeke & Guy Sengstock: Why Modernity Can't See the Sacred Anymore
What does it mean to "see God again" after modernity has taught us to look for the sacred in all the wrong ways? In this special Lectern conversation, John Vervaeke is joined by Guy Sengstock for a deep reflection on John's three-part course trilogy, Seeing God Again for the First Time. John...
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Live Q&A with Brendan Graham Dempsey | Questions, Dialogue, and the Pursuit of Wisdom
What is applied metatheory - and why might it matter for ordinary people trying to make sense of reality, meaning, spirituality, and complexity? In this live Q&A from The Lectern, Ethan Hsieh speaks with Brendan Graham Dempsey about metatheory, meaning-making, complexity, and the spiritual task…
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Why Wonder Is More Than Curiosity with William Desmond
What happens when wonder is reduced to curiosity, and curiosity becomes a drive to master everything? In this second conversation with William Desmond, John Vervaeke returns to the question of astonishment: not as a passing emotional state, but as a deeper opening of the mind to reality. Desmond...
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Why We No Longer Know What We Should Do with Jordan Hall, Guy Sengstock, and Christopher Mastropietro
What happens when a society possesses extraordinary technological power but lacks a shared sense of what that power is for? John Vervaeke, Jordan Hall, Guy Sengstock, and Christopher Mastropietro reunite for a sustained inquiry into normativity: the structures by which human beings perceive...
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Ish Peregrino: Pilgrimage Is More Than Travel. It Changes How You See Reality
What if pilgrimage is not primarily about reaching a destination, but about learning how to be addressed by reality again? In this episode of Lectern Dialogues, John Vervaeke speaks with Ish Peregrino, a practitioner, facilitator, and pilgrim whose very chosen name carries the meaning of...
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William Desmond and John Vervaeke: Strong Transcendence, Plato, and the Between
Can transcendence still make philosophical sense after modernity? John Vervaeke speaks with philosopher William Desmond about Platonism as a living tradition, the meaning of strong transcendence, and Desmond's philosophy of the metaxu: the between. The conversation builds from John's proposal…
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Reconnect to the Real: John Vervaeke, Guy Sengstock, and Kyle Koch Announce the Whistler Retreat
Why is the modern world making us lose our "taste for the real," and can ancient practices like animal tracking and Socratic dialogue actually save our personhood from the "virtual matrix" of AI? John Vervaeke, Guy Sengstock, and Kyle Koch announce their second "Reconnecting to the Real" retreat...
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Brendan Graham Dempsey: Matters Over Time
What if the question is not simply whether life has meaning, but how our capacity for meaning develops? In this Lectern conversation, Ethan Hsieh speaks with Brendan Graham Dempsey about his upcoming course, Matters Over Time: How the Sacred and Significant Evolve in Self and Society. Brendan...
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From Flow to Mystical Experience
What if flow, insight, and mystical experience are different scales of the same underlying process? In this standalone Lectern episode, John Vervaeke speaks with Hüseyin and Daniel about their recently published paper on the cognitive continuum: a framework that moves from fluency to insight…
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Who is Ethan Hsieh? | Teaching, Play & What TIAMAT is For
What does it mean to say the world is fundamentally open for play - and why does it take something to even have to say it at all? In this episode - the third and final in a live-recorded three-part series with Ethan Hsieh, Taylor Barratt, and John Vervaeke - the conversation centers on Ethan as…
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Silk Road Seminar: John Vervaeke with Edward Slingerland
Thank you for joining us for this Silk Road Seminar from The Lectern. John Vervaeke is joined by Edward Slingerland for a live, unscripted dialogue exploring wisdom, cognition, spontaneity, ritual, and the relationship between ancient traditions and modern scientific understanding. Edward...
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Who is Taylor Barratt? | Practice, Theory & the Ethics of Facilitation
What does it mean for practice to become "really real" - and how does theory help keep that experience honest? In this episode - the second in a live-recorded three-part series with Taylor Barratt, Ethan Hsieh, and John Vervaeke - the conversation centers on Taylor as he reflects on the movement...
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Silk Road Seminar: John Vervaeke with James Matthew Wilson and D.C. Schindler
Thank you for joining us for this Silk Road Seminar from The Lectern. In this second conversation, John Vervaeke is joined by poet, critic, and philosopher James Matthew Wilson and philosopher-theologian D.C. Schindler for a live, unscripted dialogue exploring philosophy, theology, poetry,...
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Bridging the Gap: Theory, Practice, and Trust
What happens when our need for certainty quietly disconnects us from the very meaning we're trying to find? In this episode, live-recorded first session of a three-part conversation series with Taylor, Ethan, and John Vervaeke, the group introduces a format combining an hour of dialogue with a...
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Poetry Wakes You to Reality | John Vervaeke & Adam Walker
What if poetry is not optional to human flourishing, but essential to it? In this second dialogue, John Vervaeke and Adam Walker explore poetry as a way of knowing reality rather than merely describing it. Their conversation moves through imagination, inexhaustible meaning, beauty, sacredness,...
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Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Bridging the Chasm Between Academia and the Public | John Vervaeke & Adam Walker
Can reclaiming poetry spark a second renaissance and wake us from our digital slumber? John welcomes Adam Walker to the Lectern dialogue series, praising his balanced critique of higher education and his work on poetry as a spiritual practice and the possibility of a second renaissance. Adam, an...
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Lectern Live Q&A with Mark Miller (03.29.26)
Lectern Q&As are monthly live sessions where members of the Lectern community explore the practical application of cognitive science, philosophy, and contemplative practice in everyday life. These conversations typically feature John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh responding to questions from the...
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Can Zen and Neoplatonism Solve the Meaning Crisis? Vervaeke and Hsieh
Can the meaning crisis be addressed by transforming how we perceive reality rather than what we believe about it? In this episode, John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh introduce the course Between East and West, which explores Zen Neoplatonism as a dialogical framework integrating Eastern and Western...
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Is Reality Incomplete? Desmond and Vervaeke on Meaning and Being
Is reality fully captured by science or are we missing its most essential dimension? In this dialogue, John Vervaeke joins William Desmond and Guy Sengstock to explore the philosophical foundations of meaning, being, and knowing. Their exchange reveals a shared concern that modern frameworks have...
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The Cognitive Science of Happiness with Mark Miller
Why does the modern pursuit of happiness so often leave people feeling lost? In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke speaks with cognitive scientist Mark Miller about the emerging science of happiness and the deeper architecture of the human mind. Drawing from predictive processing theory,...
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Lectern Live Q&A with Mark Miller (02.28.26)
Lectern Q&As are monthly live sessions where members of the Lectern community explore the practical application of cognitive science, philosophy, and contemplative practice in everyday life. These conversations typically feature John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh responding to questions from the...
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Deep Calls to Deep | Poetry, Prophecy, Philosophy in Ibn Gabirol with Zevi Slavin
Is reality fundamentally inert, or is it structured by divine desire? In this episode, John Vervaeke and Zevi Slavin explore the metaphysical vision of Ibn Gabirol and the integration of Jewish thought with Neoplatonism. They examine the claim that all of existence arises through the coupling of...
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Is Matter Alive? The Metaphysics of Divine Desire
In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke sits down with Zevi Slavin to explore the radical metaphysics of Ibn Gabirol and the role of divine desire at the heart of reality. Ibn Gabirol, also known as Avicebron, was a major figure in Jewish Neoplatonism whose philosophy reshaped medieval...
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Finding Faith: A Conversation on Therapy, Trust, and Transformation
How can ancient spiritual practices be reanimated for modern life? In this compelling episode, John sits down again with therapist Seth Allison to delve deep into the themes of suffering, trust, and growth within the frame of internal family systems therapy and Jungian analysis. Seth discusses…
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Lectern Live Q&A (2.4.26) — The "Underground Man" Problem, Dissociation, and Prayer as Re-centering
In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke and host Ethan Hsieh explore what Ethan calls the "Underground Man" problem. How we can get trapped in endless abstraction, lose contact with lived meaning, and oscillate between inflation and collapse. They unpack the reflectiveness gap...
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Exploring Predictive Processing and the Science of Happiness with Mark Miller
In this episode of The Lectern, host Ethan Hsieh sits down with philosopher and cognitive scientist Mark Miller to explore the science of predictive processing and its implications for happiness, meaning, and wellbeing. They unpack how the brain is not a passive receiver of reality, but an active...
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Silk Road Seminar: Jung, Meaning, and Cognitive Transformation
Thank you for joining us live for this month's Silk Road Seminar, featuring Kevin Lu and Anderson Todd. Kevin Lu is a Jungian psychoanalyst, lecturer, and scholar whose work bridges analytical psychology, philosophy, and religious studies. As a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, his...
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Dante, Blake, and the Power of the Imagination
In this episode, John welcomes Mark Vernon to discuss his two books, 'Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey' and 'Awake: William Blake and the Imagination'. They explore the profound psychological, philosophical, and spiritual insights offered by Dante and Blake, touching upon...
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Silk Road Seminar with J.P. Marceau
Thank you for joining us live for this month's Silk Road Seminar, featuring JP Marceau. JP Marceau is a philosopher and author specializing in the integration of Neoplatonism, Thomism, and Cognitive Science. With a Master's degree in the Philosophy of Mind, his work emerges from a personal and...
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Cultivating Virtue in Educational Practice with Ethan Hsieh
To learn directly from Ethan Hsieh, John Vervaeke and Taylor Barratt, The Lectern is partnering with 5ToMidnight to offer a long form hybrid (online/in-person) practice program called TIAMAT-X. This program brings a full ecology of practices, endorsed by The Vervaeke Foundation to help you…
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Silk Road Seminar - Nicole Baden
Thank you for joining us LIVE for this special Lectern Launch Event with Nicole Baden and Dr. John Vervaeke. Nicole Baden is a contemplative teacher, somatic practitioner, and long-time collaborator within the ecology-of-practices community. Her work focuses on integrating embodiment, meditative...
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LIVE TIAMAT X Q&A with Ethan Hsieh
Learn more about the program here: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/tiamat-x Led by Ethan Hsieh, John Vervaeke and Taylor Barratt, The Lectern is partnering with 5ToMidnight to offer a long form hybrid (online/in-person) practice program called TIAMAT-X. This program brings a full ecology...
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Cultivating Virtuosity: Integrating Philosophy into Everyday Life
Led by Ethan Hsieh, John Vervaeke and Taylor Barratt, The Lectern is partnering with 5ToMidnight to offer a long form hybrid (online/in-person) practice program called TIAMAT-X. This program brings a full ecology of practices, endorsed by The Vervaeke Foundation to help you develop the capacity…
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Lectern Live Launch Event — Reflections, Updates, and a Major Announcement
In this livestream, John relected on the past year, walk through important updates to the Lectern platform, preview upcoming courses, and share a major announcement: Led by Ethan Hsieh, John Vervaeke and Taylor Barratt, The Lectern is partnering with 5ToMidnight to offer a long form hybrid...
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A Thorough Critique of Popular and Psychological Accounts of Meaning of Life
This is John's second video essay, and it delivers a thorough critique of contemporary theories of meaning in life. With his student Arjun Arora assisting, John dismantles the standard psychological and folk categories — purpose, coherence, significance, and mattering — showing why they fall…
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Silk Road Seminar - Jonathan Pageau
Thank you for joining us for our monthly Silk Road Seminar! Today's guest is @JonathanPageau Jonathan Pageau is a Canadian artist, writer, and public thinker exploring the patterns that unite art, symbolism, and meaning. As an icon carver and lecturer on symbolic thinking, Jonathan has become a...
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Virtuosity as a Way of Life | Ethan Hsieh and the Tiamat Process
Something is coming: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/p/whatnext What if mastery isn't about perfection—but about transformation? In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke is joined by Ethan Hsieh to explore how the cultivation of virtuosity—typically associated with the arts—can become…
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Silk Road Seminar - Elizabeth Oldfield
Thank you for joining us for our monthly Silk Road Seminar! Today's guest is Elizabeth Oldfield. Elizabeth Oldfield is an experienced leader, writer, consultant and podcast host with a passion for intelligent public engagement on issues of reconciliation, identity, and healing our common life.…
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Dr. John Vervaeke currently has 254 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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