Heart of the Matter

17 Episodes

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Matthew Graves on Rationalism, LessWrong, and Analysis/Action

2021-07-2101:20:19

Matthew Graves is a brilliant thinker who has been a member of the Rationalist movement for a long time. He is an admin at LessWrong, one the most popular Rationality blogs, a former staff writer at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), and has worked as an instructor at the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR), which hosts retreats and trainings. In this conversation, we talk about most of those things, and also the balance between being on the analytical sidelines of major issues versus being "in the trenches".

Terrisa Bukovinac on Secular Anti-Abortion Activism

2021-06-0853:04

Terrisa Bukovinac is a secular anti-abortion activist who has devoted her life to raising awareness about what she regards as an ongoing atrocity. In this conversation, we talk about the ethical underpinnings of her perspective, the story of how she got there, and the current landscape of the pro-life movement.

13 | Ben on Guantanamo Bay, justice, and judicial process

2021-03-0158:51

In this episode, recorded in May 2020, we talk with Ben Farley about his work as a lawyer defending a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, and the associated questions related to justice, human rights, and due process.

12 | MCK on Language, Communication, and Bounce

2020-10-2501:07:19

In this Episode, we talk to MKC (Michael C. Keefrider) about two projects, 3PW and Bounce, which are communication modalities aimed at giving people space to share stories and overcome challenges in their lives. We also chat about language learning, life as an expatriate, and MCK's path to honing in on communication as his life's calling. Connect with the guest: MCK Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

11 | Mark Hiew on Multiculturalism and Migration

2020-10-1601:00:57

In this episode, we share a fun conversation with Mark Hiew. Mark is a digital marketer who is passionate about understanding people, migration, and culture, which closely relates to his Malaysian, Chinese, Australian, and American upbringing. Mark also hosts the podcast, How to Second Gen. Give it a listen! Connect with the guest: Mark Hiew Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

10 | Kevin Kuruc on Effective Altruism, Veganism, and Economics

2020-07-1101:16:03

This week we share a conversation with Kevin Kuruc, a professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma, in which we talk about effective altruism, veganism, and the economics of the COVID-19 stimulus. Connect with the guest: Kevin Kuruc Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

09 | Buck Perley on Crypto, China, and the Constitution

2020-07-0101:31:37

In this episode, we share a conversation with Buck Perley, a long distance motorcyclist, crypto technologist, and US constitution enthusiast, based in Austin, Texas. We talk about Buck's experiences riding a motorcycle across China, the history and future evolution of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and the long-lasting implications of European colonization. So if you're interested in history from a few hundred years ago to the latest technology that's coming in the near future, spiced in with hot geo-political topics, tune in! Connect with the guest: Buck Perley Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

08 | Alex McAnarney on Human Rights and Identity

2020-06-2301:13:40

Today we share a conversation with Alex McAnarney, a Latin America policy expert and the Director of Communications at the Center for Justice and International Law, based in Washington, DC. We talk about the response to Covid-19 in Central America, how to define human rights, and the challenges of living with complex identities. Connect with the guest: Alex McAnarney Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

07 | Brian Robertson on Holacracy and Social Technology

2020-06-1401:20:41

This week we share a conversation with Brian Robertson, founder of Holacracy, a social technology for corporate governance. In this episode, we talk about Brian's childhood, path to founding Holacracy in 2007, how it was rolled out at Zappos and Brian's vision for the future of corporate governance. Connect with the guest: Brian Robertson Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

06 | Happi Adams on Critical Pedagogy, Power, and White Privilege

2020-06-0601:23:12

In this episode, we talk with Happi Adams, an educator and theorist of education in training. Coming from Durham, North Carolina, she's currently at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. We talk about how she became an educator, the boundary between theory and practice, and racial dynamics in Southern education and identify. Connect with the guest: Happi Adams Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

05 | Scott McClure on Sexuality and Tantra

2020-05-1756:48

In this episode, we talk with Scott McClure, co-founder of Ecstatic Hearts Tantra, about sex, sexuality, spirituality, and the path to becoming a sex and intimacy coach. Connect with the guest: Scott McClure Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

04 | Scott Van Camp on Counseling and Non-Judgement

2020-05-0901:08:45

In this episode we talk to Scott Van Camp, from the Austin Center for Grief and Loss, about his career as a counselor and his colorful life from New York to LA to Austin. We talk about the practices of holding space, recognizing the boundaries between ourselves and others, and how to sit in a state of curious non-judgement. Connect with the guest: Scott Van Camp Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

03 | Amy Mosely on Southern Identity and Politics

2020-05-0101:11:57

In this episode, we talk to Amy Mosely, the founder of Influence Texas, an organization aimed at using public data to bring transparency to Texas politics. Our conversation covers wrestling with southern identify, corruption, the role of data in political decision-making, and engaging across political boundaries. Connect with the guest: Amy Mosely Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

02 | Dylan Baddour on Journalism

2020-04-1901:19:56

Our guest this week is Dylan Baddour, an acclaimed journalist from Austin, Texas reporting on the Venezuelan migration crisis. Based in Bogota, Colombia, Dylan's reporting has been published in The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Vox, NPR among many other publishers. In 2017, he left behind his seat at the Houston Chronicle business desk to try his luck as a freelancer in South America. He talks with us on a recent visit home to Austin on his adventurous life reporting from the front lines and his future aspirations. We go straight to the heart of the matter in this thought-provoking, engaging discussion and by the end of it, Jay is egging Dylan to publish a book on his adventures! Connect with the guest at dylanbaddour.com Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

01 | Kyle Zamcheck on Active Listening

2020-04-1901:04:45

In our first episode, we talk with Kyle Zamcheck, co-founder of Listenly.co, an online platform connecting trained listeners with users seeking to relieve stress and improve mental clarity with an active listening session. Kyle Zamcheck is a technology industry leader and an executive communication coach with the Speech Improvement Company. She is the former COO of Jackrabbit Mobile, where she led the team to become one of Inc’s 5000 fastest growing companies. She is currently working on healing the world through impactful communication. To this end, she is the co-founder of Listenly, a digital platform connecting and training people for empathy-based listening sessions. Her work focuses on the intersection of humans and technology. Connect with the hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

Michael Iglesias on taxes, tax avoidance, capitalism, and protecting assets

2021-10-0501:02:04

In this episode, Michael and Bryan talk about Michael's company, Lightbeam Financial, and the problem his team is attempting to solve. The conversation covers trusts, ways of minimizing tax liability, and the role of taxation in society.

14 | David Perkins on the hippie counterculture, intentional communities, and America's shadow

2021-03-0101:47:571

In this episode Bryan chat's with David Perkins, a founder of the Libre commune, one of the oldest continually-inhabited intentional communities in the country. In the interview, Bryan and David dig into the context that motivated the hippie movement and America's journey since then.

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