Salvador Podcast

Richard Y. Chappell is a moral philosopher and Associate Professor at the University of Miami. He works on effective altruism, utilitarianism, moral realism, digital minds, and the ethics of the far future. He co-authored An Introduction to Utilitarianism and writes at the blog Good Thoughts, follow Richard on Twitter We talk about doing good effectively, moral truth, AI consciousness, and why compassion needs reason. Topics and ideas are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps0:00 – Intro0:24 – What is effective altruism?4:08 – Longtermism & future risks9:34 – Beneficentrism vs utilitarianism14:56 – Donating 10%17:16 – Emotions vs reason19:09 – Writing with MacAskill20:28 – What is moral realism?24:35 – Liberalism vs relativism25:12 – Why normativity matters26:30 – Reason vs evolution28:50 – Conscious AI30:28 – Who counts morally?33:55 – Mechanistic minds?34:52 – Books that shaped him35:24 – Defining personhood37:30 – Should philosophers reach people?40:43 – Status quo bias43:07 – The meaning of life Get full access to Salvador’s Blog at www.progreshion.blog/subscribe

Avi Kahan is a writer and thinker exploring the relationship between science, metaphysics, and religious thought. His work touches on Judaism, psychology, and the philosophical foundations of belief.We talk about the metaphysics of God, the psychological architecture of religion, how science can take on religious roles, and why faith persists in the modern world. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps 00:00 – Intro02:48 – God as a mental model and personal conviction05:36 – Upbringing, exposure, and identity shaping08:25 – Jewish history, struggle, and cultural continuity11:13 – Jesus and the Inquisition story14:01 – Leadership, law, and religious structure16:50 – Religion and the suppression of doubt19:38 – Greek gods and metaphysical abstractions22:26 – Prayer, science, and embodied rituals25:15 – Freud, Jung, and metaphysical psychology28:03 – Can science itself become a religion?30:52 – Scientific awe and religious feeling33:40 – Why religion won’t die36:28 – Religious cohesion across major traditions39:17 – Community, healing, and harm through religion42:05 – Optimism and human progress44:53 – Connection, communication, and modern unity47:42 – Moral convergence and global values50:30 – Aristotle, Antiochus, and metaphysical struggle Get full access to Salvador’s Blog at www.progreshion.blog/subscribe

Michael Strong is an educational entrepreneur, author, and co-founder of several ventures focused on liberating human potential — including the Academy of Thought and Industry and The Socratic Experience. He writes about innovation in education, startup cities, and moral development, follow Michael on Twitter We talk about how schooling shapes society, what freedom means in practice, and why creating better institutional environments matters more than reforming broken ones. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps 00:00 – Intro02:51 – The moral vision behind Socratic dialogue05:42 – School as an obedience-training system08:33 – The pain and purpose of adolescent development11:24 – Why most schools kill intrinsic motivation14:15 – Reimagining schools through freedom and trust17:06 – Human capital and educational entrepreneurship19:57 – Startup cities as moral ecosystems22:48 – The importance of good rules vs lots of rules25:39 – Why real liberty includes responsibility28:30 – Institutions that align with human flourishing31:21 – Virtue ethics, Aristotle, and thriving students34:12 – How to scale good ideas without bureaucracy37:03 – The future of self-directed learning39:54 – Unschooling, discipline, and long-term outcomes42:45 – Building a moral culture without coercion45:36 – School as simulation vs engagement with reality48:27 – The spiritual dimension of creative work51:18 – Final thoughts on education, meaning, and freedom Get full access to Salvador’s Blog at www.progreshion.blog/subscribe

Henry Holtz is a meditation teacher and engineer exploring non-duality, consciousness, and the paradoxes of awakening. His work brings together deep spiritual insight with direct, embodied experience, follow Henry on Twitter We talk about the nature of awareness, the illusion of self, the trap of seeking, and how spiritual awakening unfolds through deep honesty and surrender. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support my work here and follow me on Twitter hereTimestamps00:00 – Intro02:50 – The shift from “I am the thinker” to “thoughts arise in me”05:40 – How meditation reveals what was always the case08:30 – Chasing spiritual states vs recognizing the present11:20 – The illusion of a future enlightenment14:10 – How self-improvement becomes another ego game17:00 – Is there ever an endpoint to the spiritual path?19:50 – Practice vs surrender and the apartment metaphor22:40 – How meditation helps in daily life and engineering25:30 – Stress, discipline, and clarity at work28:20 – The “dark night of the soul” and spiritual depression31:10 – Letting go of self-improvement and facing sadness34:00 – Stability, grounding, and small daily actions36:50 – The illusion of self and what the robber sees39:40 – The mind’s frameworks can’t contain reality42:30 – Spiritual traps: idolizing teachers and bypassing the present45:20 – Searching for awareness while looking from it48:10 – The deeper paradoxes of perception and being51:00 – What is the default mode network and its spiritual role? Get full access to Salvador’s Blog at www.progreshion.blog/subscribe