About Waking Up Is Not Enough: Flourishing in the Human Space
Welcome to Waking Up Is Not Enough: Flourishing in the Human Space!
When you peek into the cosmic unity of existence and feel the love and inspiration of awakening, what happens next? Whether it’s through meditation, spiritual practice, Near-Death Experience (NDE), ingesting a mind-altering substance, or being born again, you don’t get a map for improving your messy life. In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath and Michael Berger draw on expertise in science, psychology, adult development, psychedelics, NDEs, dreams, and Buddhist practice in conversations about compassion, resilience, responsibility, kindness, and development after awakening. You will learn how to chart a new path for flourishing in the human space in which waking up is important, but not enough, and growing up is never finished.
Waking Up is Not Enough Episode 35 - The Myth of the Ethical Machine: Waking Up in the Age of AI” with B. Scot Rousse
As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, and calls grow louder for ethical guardrails on its development, whose ethics are we talking about? Polly Young-Eisendrath and Michael Berger join B. Scot Rousse to talk about how AI amplifies long-standing human vulnerabilities—our hunger for mastery, our blindness to our own defenses, and our willingness to be seduced by intelligence or authority that appears all-knowing. Together, we explore what we can do as individuals and communities to wake up and respond to what is happening. This episode challenges the complacency that we can leave these concerns to tech companies and corporations that embrace no moral or ethical commitments, inviting listeners to reconsider what genuine responsibility in the age of AI actually requires.
B. Scot Rousse is the Director of Research for Pluralistic Networks, Inc., an educational and professional development company based in Oakland, CA. He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University and a B.A. at Berkeley. His recent work has appeared in Continental Philosophy Review, European Journal of Philosophy, Communications of the ACM, The Cambridge Heidegger Lexicon, and a volume on Teaching and Learning in Adult Skill Acquisition.
19 Sept 2025
Waking Up is Not Enough Episode 34 - Why Protecting Free Speech Matters—and What’s Happening Now in Europe a Conversation w/ Diana Johnstone
In this timely and eye-opening episode, American journalist Diana Johnstone joins us to unpack recent restrictions on free speech in Germany and France. She connects these developments to broader global dynamics, including Israel, Ukraine, NATO, and the shifting role of the U.S. in Europe and the Middle East.
Diana also reflects on the transformation of the European political left over the past 25 years, offering context that is rarely heard in mainstream discussions. Mike and I press into what’s most ominous on the horizon for European and U.S. politics, and Diana’s insights are—as always—deeply informed and refreshingly candid.
Whether you’re familiar with Diana Johnstone’s work or encountering her voice for the first time, this is a must-listen conversation.
9 Jul 2025
Waking Up is Not Enough Episode 33 - Are You Coddling, Cancelling or Speaking Freely? A Conversation with Greg Lukianoff
If you want to learn more about how to speak freely and authentically without coddling or cancelling others, go to www.realdialogue.org and sign up for one of our online courses. Some of the courses carry APA-approved continuing education credits for mental health professionals and others are available just for self-study. Expand your skills and self-awareness in support of dialogue and mindfulness.
We are thrilled to be speaking with Greg Lukianoff in this wide-ranging and timely conversation. Greg Lukianoff is an attorney, a New York Times bestselling author, and the president and CEO of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Greg has been one of the leading voices defending free speech on college campuses and beyond. His work, including two co-authored books – with Jonathon Haidt, “The Coddling of the American Mind” and with Rikki Schlott, “The Cancelling of the American Mind” -- has sparked nationwide conversations about the future of open dialogue and civil liberties on college campuses.
Together we converse about how the erosion of free speech at universities and in media threatens not only democratic institutions but also personal development, intellectual resilience, and collective well-being. We highlight the psychological and educational costs of censorship, cancel culture, and ideological conformity, while offering a passionate defense of viewpoint diversity, open dialogue, and the messy but vital pursuit of truth. Learning how to disagree in healthy conflict, while speaking for yourself and listening accurately, is more urgent than ever.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 33 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
35
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
77
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