Waypoint – “The Fortune Teller”

About this episode

The episode discusses Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis's work 'The Fortune Teller' and explores themes of fate, chance, and moral accountability.

  10 April 2026 Waypoint – “The Fortune Teller” by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis is perhaps the greatest writer of Brazil. In “The Fortune-Teller,” a secret affair driven by anonymous threats pushes a committed skeptic toward a dingy attic and a deck of cards. It is a study in how easily we trade our reason for a comfortable prophecy, and a reminder that the future rarely negotiates with the stories we tell ourselves. As a setting for our discussion on the role of chance, fate, and destiny against moral accountability, we might find few better examples. Chapters 00:00 Waypoint Introduction 00:14 Title: “The Fortune Teller” by Machado de Assis 00:33 Reading: “The Fortune Teller” 26:01 Outro Reflection Questions: How does the physical weight of a “secret” alter the way your mind perceives the “random” events of the day? In the moment Camillo enters the fortune-teller’s house, is he seeking a discovery of the future, or a sanctuary from the present? How does the “logic” of a skeptic become the primary tool for their own self-deception? If the fortune-teller…

People in this episode

Host: Steve Chisnell

Topics covered

• fate
• destiny
• moral accountability
• self-deception
• chance

Keywords

• Machado de Assis
• The Fortune Teller
• fate
• destiny
• self-deception
• moral accountability
• chance

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Fortune Teller

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