Existential Tetherball
Claim This Podcastby Rachel Fell & Gordon Smith
Podcast Overview
<p>Existential Tetherball invites complex thinkers and sensitive souls to explore nuance, meaning, and the wonder of the embodied subjective. Dynamic guests join dynamic hosts, Rachel Fell and Gordon Smith, for fun, deep, and provocative existential play. <br /><br />Each episode begins with an idea, a phrase, or even just a single word – our tether. Together, we explore the worlds within these words and ideas; the connections, associations, and meaning-making made meaningful by lived experience and co-creativity.<br /><br /></p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
1/30/2026
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Recent Episodes
June 23, 2026
Ep. 9 - Levity
<p>Levity - jokes, fart noises, inappropriate humor, the policing of behavior, relatability, naturally opposing forces, the imbuing of lightness... <br /><br />This episode's got a lot going on (as always seems to be the case, tbh).<br /><br />In this episode, Rachel & Gordon jam on levity - what it is (defined - present day usage, etymological deep dive) as well as what it means and evokes for them personally. They touch on present day usage, connotation, and inferred shared meaning around social convention and humor, but then dive into the physiology and physics of levity - an opposing force to gravity, natural intelligence finding ways to lightne, imbue lightness. Etymologically speaking, levitate shows up - to rise in by virtue of lightness) and Rachel likens levity to... baking soda? But for real, what is levity and how does it work? Together, Gordon and Rachel explore tricker and comedic applications, but go beyond to touch into "shining a light on" and "creating space" as well as "speaking truth" as forms of levity. They also get curious: what does levity do in any given situation, relationship? <br /><br />Gordon gets an idea about giving away whopee cushions at his funeral. (It's brilliant.)<br /><br />In a word rife with polarity, how does a force like levity influence the gravity and seriousness of our curerent context? What does levity have to do with the nervous system, with space, with play, and neuroplasticity?<br /><br />Tune in for another fun and "the good kind of meandering" exploration and find out!<br /></p>
June 2, 2026
Ep. 8 - Multiplicity and Coherence
<p>We're back! In Episode 8, G and R jam on "Multiplicity and Coherence."<br /></p><p><b>Covered:</b></p><ul><li>We start with "multiplicity" - exploration of meaning, many Michael Keatons; also: visualizing atomic and cellular multiplicity and coherence</li><li>We then move to "coherence" - an exploration of meaning (external and internal), key themes: connection and "co"herence (in contrast to "adherence); "nonduel" and "nondual"</li><li>Ways of observing, assessing, measuring, recognizing coherence</li><li>Unifying themes here (also, the core functions?) of observation and perspective (see also: quantum physics and the power, influence of witness)<br /></li></ul><p><b>Wait, there's more!</b></p><ul><li>What about the relationship between individuated forms and the elasticity of forms?</li><li>What about the relationship between coherence and uncertainty tolerance?</li><li>Metaperspectives on multiplicity and coherence as process!</li><li>Jamming on unique frameworks, hyperstructures of meaning, containers, therapeutic models, and symbols</li><li>The role of the observer in understanding and integrating various aspects of the self (self-coherence/identity)</li><li>The coherence between somatic and intellectual intelligences... how we connect with each, know where we are, and tune in more holistically...</li></ul><p></p><p><b>And still, even more!</b></p><ul><li>Zooming in and zooming out - an important skill to develop</li><li>Consideration of the various relationship between individual and collective humanity - "stigmergy" and calling back to our episode with Bee Mayhew (Ep. 2)</li><li>The slow existential and spending time in definition, meaning = important (that's why this podcast exists, lol)</li><li>Coherence as process and part of larger process(es) - fractal connection, anyone?</li><li>The dynamic nature of identity and change</li><li>Coherence as fine grained felt sense AND alignment with choice, intention, self-determinism...</li></ul><p></p>
May 27, 2026
Ep. 7 - Intelligence
<p>Today, on EPISODE SEVEN of Existential Tetherball, Rachel and Gordon explore intelligence. <br /><br />They jam on definitions/meanings/assumptions of (and around intelligence), the nature of intelligence and new ways of understanding, new models for engaging with intelligence, notions of participation and stewardship of intelligence, and the significance of neurodiversity and the sensing body.<br /></p><p>intelligence is the living application of knowledge and learning. How do we cultivate a relationship with lifelong learning? What are we learning in the service of? <br /><br />Even more! The impact of conditioning and trauma on how we sense, think, problem solve and create, the embodiment of cognition and neurodiversity, an off-road but important exploration of fate, free will, and choice, the relationship between intelligence, oppression, and neurodiversity, and the reconfiguration of a healthier paradigm. It emphasizes the need to break free from hierarchical supremacy and embrace neurodiversity as an extension of biodiversity.</p><p><br /></p><p>Takeaways</p><ul><li>Exploration of intelligence – incomplete maps at best, partial and erroneous ones at worst (the ironly! not logical!)</li><li>Stewardship of intelligence involving attention, intention, and learning</li><li>Neurodiversity anchors in a triadic model, acknowledging interconnectedness and distinct experiences </li><li>The limitations of IQ tests in measuring intelligence; measuring versus contextualizing and orienting (neurodiversity in systemic ecological design)</li><li>"Intelligence" etymology = "discernment, choice"; the role of intelligence in being influence, influencing and discernment</li></ul><p></p><p>Chapters</p><ul><li>00:00 Definition and Meaning of Intelligence; Needs Update</li><li>10:56 Stewardship of Intelligence</li><li>18:46 Neurodiversity and Embodied Intelligence</li><li>27:34 The Impact of Conditioning and Trauma Schema on Sensing and Perception</li><li>37:29 Fate, Free Will, and Choice</li><li>49:27 Reconfiguring Our Relationship with Intelligence - Personal, Collective</li></ul>
10 total episodes available
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- What is Existential Tetherball?
<p>Existential Tetherball invites complex thinkers and sensitive souls to explore nuance, meaning, and the wonder of the embodied subjective. Dynamic guests join dynamic hosts, Rachel Fell and Gordon Smith, for fun, deep, and provocative existential play. <br /><br />Each episode begins with an idea, a phrase, or even just a single word – our tether. Together, we explore the worlds within these words and ideas; the connections, associations, and meaning-making made meaningful by lived experience and co-creativity.<br /><br /></p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Information about guest appearances is not available.
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