The Bardo Podcast

In this episode of The Bardo Podcast, comedian Marc Salmon is joined by writer and researcher Gabriel Kennedy, author of Chapel Perilous: The Life & Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson, for a wide-ranging conversation about uncertainty, belief systems, and the art of not knowing. They explore the life and work of Robert Anton Wilson, including ideas like model agnosticism, reality tunnels, Chapel Perilous, and the SNAFU Principle, and why his thinking feels especially relevant in an age...

What happens when honesty becomes risky, and how do we care for ourselves and others when we tell the truth? In this episode of The Bardo Podcast, comedian Marc Salmon is joined by writer, performer, and comedian Abby Wambaugh for a wide-ranging conversation about vulnerability, creativity, and honesty in performance. They discuss comedy, sincerity, trauma, and responsibility, with Abby reflecting on making work that risks truth without causing harm. The conversation explores humour and socia...

In this solo episode of The Bardo Podcast, I reflect on what accountability looks like for me in practice. This is a more personal and reflective episode than usual. I talk about sobriety, spiritual identity, ego, mixed motives, and the discomfort of speaking publicly while still figuring things out. I discuss Buddhist ideas like samsara, beginner’s mind, and confession without self-punishment as a way of thinking about accountability as something lived and ongoing. Artwork by Zoe Brownstone ...

In this episode of The Bardo Podcast, I’m joined by Mark Simmons, award-winning one-liner comedian, for a focused conversation about stand-up comedy, confidence, failure, and the philosophy of laughter. We explore what really happens when a joke lands or fails, how audiences perceive confidence on stage, and what “dying on stage” actually means. The conversation covers joke writing, wordplay, timing, audience trust, taboo, and why the same material can succeed in one room and fail in another....

What happens when the stories we’ve relied on no longer work, and certainty itself starts to feel like part of the problem? In this episode of The Bardo Podcast, I’m joined by Dr Steve Todd and Cesare Saguato for a wide-ranging conversation about the so-called meta-crisis, the overlapping crises of meaning, ecology, politics, and mental health shaping modern life. Drawing on Tibetan Buddhism, physics, psychotherapy, and Western esotericism, we explore how rigid worldviews can collapse into ...

What happens when we stop trying to get everything right and allow ourselves to be seen as we are? In the first episode of The Bardo Podcast, I’m joined by award-winning comedian and actor Lara Ricote for a thoughtful conversation about uncertainty, play, and living without pre-approval in art, politics, and everyday life. We explore clowning as a philosophy of life, the fear that shapes creativity and politics, and why joy and silliness are so often dismissed as naïve. Along the way, we talk...

The Bardo Podcast is a podcast about alternative ways of thinking, inner and outer change, and what happens in the space between. Hosted by comedian Marc Salmon, the show features thoughtful conversations with comedians, philosophers, Buddhist thinkers, and other curious minds. Episodes cover philosophy, Buddhism, counter-cultural ideas, and the messy, often funny business of being human. This is not about expertise or certainty, but about questioning assumptions, sitting with ambiguity, and ...