Fred Pinto

Many of today's moral debates start with the same question: who's on the cross? Gaza. Trans people. Immigrants. Women. Even white America. Claim the victim's place, and you win the moral argument. This wasn't always the case. To the Romans, the cross meant humiliation. It was the death you gave a slave. It was Christianity that turned it into a symbol of virtue. Two thousand years later, we still argue in its terms. And the rest of the world has learned to speak to the West in those terms, sometimes to manipulate it. In the West, the victim holds the moral high ground. That's the argument historian Tom @holland_tom, co-host of The Rest Is History, makes in Dominion: the West never left Christianity as cleanly as it thinks. Human rights, the secular state, the duty to protect the weak, even the case against religion ... all, argues Tom, forged in Christianity. We discuss Rome's turn to Christianity, the culture war as "a family feud inside Christianity," secularism as a "useful myth," why so much atheism is "Protestantism without a belief in God," and why "All You Need Is Love" might have launched a new Reformation. One of my favourite conversations ever! Something in it for the history buffs, and anyone interested in religion or how we came to have the values - and moral debates - we have today. You can check it out on YouTube, Spotify and all the streamers now :) @therestishistory

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake @RupertSheldrake has long been a controversial figure in modern science. He's been maligned, cancelled and criticized for poking at the excess certainty of scientists on big, unsolved questions (his name still comes up when you Google "the banned TED talk"). Is the universe really "just a big machine"? Is free will "just an illusion"? The core of this conversation was about whether science today still allows for radical curiosity, a sense of mystery and awe, and a spiritual understanding of life rooted in consciousness, not matter. What ensued was a majestic, renegade history of science by Dr. Sheldrake, discussing the blind spots of materialism, and a summary of his later work, in which he examines the scientific evidence for spiritual practices. I absolutely loved this conversation. Out on all podcast platforms and YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=ANjGr_kU…

In his Lincoln Memorial speech in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King famously said people should be judged on “the content of their character.” Today this idea is being attacked on both sides of the political extremes. We’re told merit and values either don’t exist, or aren’t what really matter. Activists like Ibram X Kendi argue that “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination”, while writers like Robin DiAngelo write that being less oppressive means being “less white”. Meanwhile, woke right X lights ablaze with a racial animus unseen in the West in decades. I recently interviewed The Free Press’ Coleman Hughes, whose book The End of Race Politics brings Dr. King’s arguments to life for our times. We discussed the blowback he experienced in the mainstream for advocating colourblindness, why it’s the only possible foundation for a fair and just society, the impact of the culture war and social media on today’s youth, and other topics. Coleman is a voice of reason in these wild times and I can’t recommend his work highly enough … hope you all enjoy !! @coldxman @TheFP m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2D-ZI…

“Intellectuals hate progress.” Today’s top thinkers and politicians feed us negative ideas like their careers depend on it (maybe they do?). We then scroll from one moral panic to the next, out of one rabbit hole and into another - and call it “staying informed”. Modern information networks hack the worst parts of our psychology – our negativity bias, our herd instincts, and our natural inclination to make cognitive errors – and feed a highly distorted map of the world back to us. I was lucky enough to discuss this and other topics with Dr. Steven Pinker @sapinker recently. We discussed why we’re not wired for truth, why negativity isn’t just a bug, how ideology sells false certainty, why progress doesn’t just happen naturally, and why reason may be seen uncool … but it’s more critical than ever. Dr. Pinker brings not just a clarifying lens, but also a healthy dose of optimism – humans have solved tons of problems in our past, and we can solve more IF we renew our commitment to reason, common sense, and high scientific standards. Anyone tired of the screaming headlines, the tribal loyalty tests, and the mediocrity of online debates, and interested in a return to common sense should give this conversation a listen! Out on YouTube and all the podcast platforms: youtube.com/watch?v=tHdM8A7i…

Why are the generations so different from one another? It wasn't always this way. But technology has sped up social change, and increasingly fuels a "Tower of Babel" problem - we don't just dress and talk differently than other generations ... we have increasingly have legitimately different ways of looking at the world. I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Jean Twenge (@TwengeM @jean_twenge) whose latest book Generations is the ultimate deep dive into the data on how the generations differ on matters like education, life goals, mental health, political views, income, sexual attitudes, and broader social values. She dispels the stereotypes (though they do tend to contain some truth), identifies underlying trends, and ultimately helps us humanize and better understand other generations. Her work is absolutely critical to creating better social dynamics and not enclosing ourselves in the generational biases we were born into. Full episode on YouTube and on all the podcast platforms! youtube.com/watch?v=pBKHY0tJ…

The Planet is Fine. On repeat, please. youtube.com/watch?v=Kmo8sh77…

Descartes famously said "I think, therefore I am", proposing the primacy of thought over existence - but is it really so? Since the 1980's, neuroscientists have been exploring the "embodied cognition" framework, understanding the brain and the body as one deeply interconnected system of cognition. For example, one Swedish study shows that cardiovascular fitness predicts cognitive performance, another one shows that physically gesturing helps children solve a complex puzzle better and faster, and Alia Crum's lab at Stanford shows that the way you think about stress directly impacts stress hormone markers. It isn't "I think therefore I am", it seems to be more - I am, therefore I think and move synergistically! I recently interviewed neuroscientist, philosopher, and chief scientist at the Flow Research Collective @thefrc_official, Dr. Michael Mannino. We discussed the nature of cognition, group flow, free will, and how religion "doesn't even come close" to the crazy insights modern science is unveiling. Link to the full length interview below, and available everywhere! youtube.com/watch?v=y87LHib0…

What does optimal human experience consist of? According to the research, scrolling on social media, adopting the "right" political opinions, even the state of endless relaxation people crave in "retirement" have little to do with it. This is a fascinating new area of psychological study some call "engagement", better known in some quarters as flow. Researchers describe it as a state where we not only feel our best, but also perform our best. It leaves us more engaged with life, and with greater mastery and resiliency to face life's inevitable curveballs. But it requires very particular conditions: pushing too hard or too little knocks us out of the "flow channel." It's got some basic prerequisites. New studies using PET and fMRI scans show that flow triggers operate in very specific ways and that a recurrent flow cycle must be respected to cultivate this tool as part of an overall lifestyle. My guest in this special episode of the podcast, 12-time bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and executive director of the Flow Research Collective (@thefrc_official), @StevenKotler, has probably done more to elucidate what flow states actually are, and how anyone can access them, than anyone in the world. We discussed how he became obsessed with this topic after healing from a debilitating 3-year bout with Lyme disease with the help of flow (and surfing, more specifically), what the flow triggers all have in common, where Mamba mentality and spirituality intersect, and how anyone can build a high flow lifestyle with the proper knowledge and tools. Anyone interested in peak performance and lifestyle optimization will surely learn something in this one – Steven is a treasure trove of knowledge and wisdom on this topic. Hope you all enjoy - here's the link to the interview on YouTube (also available on all the podcast platforms): youtube.com/watch?v=fN_mrMHA…

Mark Twain once advised - never let school get in the way of your education. Why do so many top innovators learn better outside the traditional classroom? Had a great time chatting about this and more with tech entrepreneur, investor, best-selling author and podcast host James Altucher. We discussed his process for launching new products, how to use fear as fuel for innovation, his public spat with Jerry Seinfeld on whether New York City is dying, and tons more - available now on YouTube (link below) and all the podcast platforms! @jaltucher youtube.com/watch?v=CUJd7HSs…

A society that wants to be able to rise above the dictates of political power must value friendship over politics. The degree to which you’re able to carry a friendship with someone you disagree with politically. That’s the measure of it.

“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.” - Carl Sagan

Building teams is hard. It’s also extremely valuable. John D. Rockefeller once said he’d pay more for the ability to deal with people than any other skill under the sun, and it’s for a reason. The greater the goal, the more it turns on the dynamics of collectives. I witness entrepreneurs, in particular, struggle with this challenge daily. In fact, I’m one of them :) I interviewed VaynerX’s @claudesilver, and she shared some of the wealth of practical wisdom she’s accumulated into this elusive, but critical discipline. We discussed why teams are more than just groups of people, hiring for character, why culture fit is nice but culture addition is better, the dangerous assumptions behind DEI, and much more. Anyone building teams and collectives is bound to get value from Claude’s unique experience and approach to the topic. Full episode here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=QlLbRe…

“It is provided in the essence of things that from any fruition of success, no matter what, shall come forth something to make a greater struggle necessary.” - Walt Whitman

So much conflict today comes down to our inability to agree on a definition of “God” Are we talking about a tyrannical sky-man who talks to some of us and not others? Is God just a metaphor for the forces of nature? A supernatural intelligence that created the universe? And if so, what are the practical consequences? These are far from purely theoretical questions: people live and die, sacrifice and kill for God. People rattle the sabres of World War 3 for God. Or they pride themselves on denying anything they can’t touch or measure. Are these really the choices? Anyone interested in these questions should check out my conversation with iconographer and host of The Symbolic World, @PageauJonathan Jonathan pushes against the simplistic ideas of fundamentalists and new atheists alike, challenging us to look for divinity in the way we perceive the world itself. He came to the studio on the heels of his multi-city tour with @jordanbpeterson, and we discussed the transcendent power of art, Walter White’s moral qualms, how political activism substitutes for transcendence, and much more. This was one of my favourite conversations ever – I invite anyone interested in religion, philosophy and mythology to check it out (out on Youtube and all the podcast platforms). youtube.com/watch?v=Vs-65oGD…

“The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge.” - Aristotle

More friends, less followers More laughing, less complaining More listening, less judging More sex, less porn More nature, less fashion More moving, less sitting More love, less righteousness More faith, less fear More life.

Ideology and politics are tearing us apart. Culture warriors advance a reductively black and white view of social conflict - the fact they gain in career or attentional benefits is presented as either heroic or coincidental. In reality, the vast majority of people in America hold nuanced views and are willing to compromise in the interest of living side by side with people they occasionally disagree with. The culture is being hijacked by ideologues and conflict entrepreneurs. Politicians and media personalities have no incentive to emphasize what brings us together ... but that doesn't mean it's not extremely significant. This is the conclusion of the great Hidden Tribes of America study by @Moreincommon_ which everyone should check out. I had the pleasure of discussing this and other matters with one of the lead researchers behind the study, Dr. Daniel A. Yudkin @dyudkin - we talked about why he recently decided to leave academia, how psychedelics and secular festivals enhance social bonds, why babies punish those closest to them the harshest, why the more we watch the news, the less accurate are our views of our political opponents, and much more. Daniel's a refreshing voice informed by high research standards - something especially needed in today's cultural environment! youtube.com/watch?v=NJReyeAm…

“They muddy the water, to make it seem deep.” - Nietzsche

The most powerful way to overcome hardship is to have a reason to live beyond ourselves. The strongest reason is genuine love something or someone. Love, then, is our greatest source of strength.

Speaking “truth to power” can be a bit of a cliché in journalism - it’s not that valuable when (a) it aligns perfectly along partisan lines (in which case you’re really just a mouthpiece for one “side” seeking power versus the other”), and/or (b) it aligns perfectly with your comfort or career incentives, ie you pay no “price” for speaking truth (in which case it’s careerist marketing). In my view, few people have straddled that line with as much honesty, courage, and consistency than @ggreenwald. He’ll skillfully eviscerate people on the right and the left when he smells hypocrisy, and his background as a constitutional lawyer has been needed many times in staving off the attacks he’s faced from various agencies and powerful players … It was a true honour interviewing him in this episode of the podcast, where he breaks down his thoughts on civil liberties, big government, big tech, and his personal journey fighting his many battles. Full episode available here and all the platforms: youtu.be/bqQtQNzK4kc?si=eTga… You can also sign up to my substack if you want one monthly email (no promos) with my latest episode or article - always about uncovering the best insights I can find on elevating the human experience : fredpinto.substack.com/p/the…