Fascinating!

About Fascinating!

Step into a universe of sharp wit and deep insights with Fascinating!, where your host Rik from Planet Vulcan explores the dominant narratives shaping our world. Through the lens of evolutionary thinking, Fascinating! deconstructs conventional wisdom on economics, social justice, morality, and more. Each episode cuts through the noise of collective illusions—what Rik calls ecnarongi (ignorance backwards)—and exposes the pervasive hangover of pre-Darwinian thought patterns, often seen in the form of intelligent design or deus ex machina thinking. This outdated framework extends far beyond theistic religion, influencing everything from economic systems to societal structures. Fascinating! offers an intellectually stimulating and often humorous exploration of ideas. If you're ready to see the world through fresh eyes, tune in for conversations that provoke, inform, and enlighten.

Publisher

Rik

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Sept 2021

Latest episode

3 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

4 of 100 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   3 Oct 2026

   Somatic Awareness

   Senior contributing editor Prego de Nada explores how cannabis can systematically enhance somatic awareness in golf, offering insights for improved practice.

2. 

   4 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Aristophanes, Where Are You?

   Host [Host Name] explores the enduring relevance of Aristophanes' "The Birds" and its impact on modern language, offering new perspectives on ancient wisdom.

3. 

   14 Jul 2026

   Social Security in Crisis?

   Send us Fan Mail The trust fund held by America's Social Security Administration is projected to be depleted sometime in 2032. People are speaking of this as if it is a crisis which requires immediate action if we wish to prevent a catastrophe. The truth is that there is not now, and there never has been from the beginning, a genuine reserve fund which the SSA can dip into to continue paying benefits when outlays exceed inflows, as has been the case since 2010. In the past, there ...

Inside a recent episode

Aristophanes, Where Are You?

Published 4 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Pesatris is usually translated something like persuader of companions. He is the dominant personality, clever, calculating, rhetorically gifted, and extraordinarily ambitious. Uelpides means roughly full of hope. He is the more naive and good-natured of the two. Our protagonists are not fleeing poverty or persecution. Their complaint is that life in Athens has become intolerable because of its bureaucracy, its endless litigation, its politics, and all of the fellow citizens with an endless appetite for meddling. They have had enough of a society in which everyone is constantly suing, arguing, imposing more and more rules, and butting into other people's business. […]

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

4.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 25 / 100

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

Quality

26

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

60

Contact Fascinating!

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Fascinating!