Beyond 80%

About Beyond 80%

Beyond 80 Percent is a podcast that delves into critical thinking, shifting perspectives, and deeper discussions around self-growth and societal narratives. Join us as we interview interesting, everyday people who share their personal journeys, the experiences that shaped them, and the missions that drive them today. We invite you to awaken your consciousness and explore the world with a deeper perspective. Each episode encourages you to think critically, push beyond the surface, and engage with the ideas that shape our consciousness. Ready to awaken your mind? Let’s evolve together.

Publisher

Ryan Olexson

Category

health & fitness · science · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

2 Apr 2025

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

51 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Oct 2026

   A Vote for Bigger Questions: Beyond 80% Is a Signal Awards Finalist

   Beyond the Brain is officially a Signal Awards finalist for **Most Inspirational Podcast in the Limited Series category**. In this special episode, Ryan shares what the recognition means for a small, independent podcast and reflects on the bigger reason Beyond 80% exists: to create a space where curiosity matters more than certainty. Ryan revisits the story behind the nine-part Beyond the Brain series, which began with a simple curiosity about near-death experiences and quickly became a much bigger exploration of consciousness, the brain, death, and what it means to be human. Across the series, researchers, skeptics, scientists, and people who have experienced near-death experiences firsthand offered very different perspectives on one of humanity’s oldest questions: **What happens when we die?** The goal was never to tell listeners what to believe. It was to put the evidence, experiences, disagreements, and unanswered questions on the table and let listeners decide for themselves. Ryan also reflects on the larger mission of Beyond 80%: challenging the beliefs we inherit, resisting the temptation to outsource our thinking, and staying curious enough to explore ideas that might change the way we see the world. And now, listeners have a chance to be part of what happens next. Beyond the Brain is also up for the **Signal Listener’s Choice Award**, with voting open through October 15. If this series made you question something, investigate an idea further, change your mind, or simply see something through a different lens, this episode is a thank-you — and an invitation to cast your vote for Beyond 80%.

2. 

   22 Jul 2026

   Waking up: The Whole Point Was Each Other

   In the finale of the Waking Up season, Ryan sits down solo to connect the dots across four very different conversations: Scott & Heidi, Marc Defant, D. Paul, and Chris Baron and finds the same thread running under all of them: we've forgotten how to connect with each other. Weaving in the data behind America's loneliness epidemic, Ryan makes the case that the season's inner work was never the destination; it was preparation. Waking up to yourself and to the systems around you only matters if you bring it all back to the person in front of you.

3. 

   15 Jul 2026

   BONUS EPISODE: Breaking Bread in a Fast-Food World with Aran Goldstein

   Food has become something we rush through, outsource, and barely think about. But what if food isn't just nutrition? What if it's one of the deepest expressions of being human? In this episode, Ryan sits down with chef, educator, and father Aran Goldstein to explore why cooking is about so much more than what's on your plate. Together they unpack how modern life has disconnected us from food, why convenience has quietly replaced culture, and how reclaiming the act of feeding ourselves might also reconnect us to our families, our communities, and even ourselves. This isn't a conversation about diets. It's about slowing down. It's about questioning the systems we've normalized. And it's about remembering that some of the most meaningful moments in life happen around a dinner table. If you've ever felt like life moves too fast, meals have become another task, or you've wondered why so many people are craving a return to simpler living, this conversation will leave you looking at your next meal very differently.

Who has been a guest on Beyond 80%

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Eben Alexander
• Dr Marieta Pehlivanova
• Nancy Orlen Weber
• Benjamin the Dream Wizard
• Dr Robb Kelly

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

67

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

15 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 35 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

32

Social presence

0

YouTube

63

Engagement

32

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Modern Wisdom

• 

  Huberman Lab

• 

  Ukraine: The Latest

• 

  Prof G Markets

• 

  The Tech Report