
The Meaning Crisis Explained...Is Modernity Killing Meaning? John Vervaeke and Malcolm Guite hosted by John Nelson
From Unbelievable? by Premier Unbelievable?
April 9, 2026 · 1h 12m
About this episode
The episode explores the 'meaning crisis' in modern life with insights from John Vervaeke and Malcolm Guite.
In this Unbelievable conversation, host John Nelson tackles the “meaning crisis” that’s been bubbling up across the internet: the rise in loneliness, anxiety, addiction and a sense of cultural fragmentation and the growing hunger for depth, belonging and transcendence. John Vervaeke (University of Toronto) argues that modern life suffers from a “propositional tyranny”, over-privileging facts and analysis while neglecting other ways of knowing procedural, perspectival and participatory that bind us to reality, one another, and ourselves. Poet and priest Malcolm Guite agrees, tracing the crisis to modernity’s split between mind and world, and making a passionate case for imagination, myth and poetry as truth-bearing, meaning-making faculties. Together they explore logos, “religio” as binding, the limits of “spiritual but not religious”, and why practices, community and pilgrimage may be part of the way back. John Vervaeke and Malcolm Guite Galahad and The Grail [https://amzn.to/4pxU93F] John's platform website can be found here: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/ YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke X profile: https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke John's latest book…
People in this episode
Host: John Nelson
Guests: John Vervaeke, Malcolm Guite
Topics covered
- meaning crisis
- modernity
- loneliness
- anxiety
- cultural fragmentation
- imagination
- community
Keywords
- meaning crisis
- modernity
- loneliness
- anxiety
- cultural fragmentation
- imagination
- community
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Toronto
Books & works: Galahad and The Grail
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