I was wrestling with whether I have an enduring identity one day. I wandered into Barnes & Noble and found a book on philosophical Taoism and Jay Garfield's book on mind—Losing Ourselves: Learning to Live Without a Self. I loved it, I told him so in an email, and he agreed to talk to me about his book, his career trajectory, and his ideas gleaned from Eastern and Western philosophy sources on the slipperiness of personal identity.
It was marvelous. I hope you like it too ...
8 Sept 2026
Episode 106: Brian Wheeler studies Alan Watts
I grew up hearing Alan Watts' voice on weekend mornings in Southern California in recorded lectures on KPFK. But it wasn't until, on a whim, I pulled one of Watts' books off the shelf and read it during breaks between classes during my undergrad that I was changed.
The book that did it was The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. I have since re-read it at least twice, read most of Watts' other books, followed Watts' pointing to Taoism and Buddhism, and currently listen to Watts' lectures at least weekly on walks. I have recommended the book to folks I know, and none of them liked it as much as I did and continue to.
This episode's guest, Brian Wheeler, also probably likes the book less than me, but he has spent many more years deeply studying and playing with ideas in Watts' corpus.
Brian and I discuss his entry point into Watts, Tao, Buddhism, transpersonal psychology (which Wheeler studied in graduate school), and paradox (which Wheeler has written on).
What are you, we wonder in our conversation. Are you a separate you, or a piece of the universe? How? In what ways?
Let's play ...
18 Aug 2026
BONUS! Episode 105: David Watts helps a tabletop games charity
Every tabletop gaming convention is dedicated to fun. But not every one of those wargame-miniature-moving, tabletop-RPG-playing, board-game-winning conventions is dedicated to an even bigger cause.
That’s why Meeple-A-Thon stands out, a 501(c)(3) charity gaming convention dedicated to supporting Kansas City’s at-risk and disenfranchised community members. And why it’s always a special pleasure to announce Meeple-A-Thon’s return as a sponsor for fellow tabletop gaming convention KantCon’s 2026 event July 16-19 at the Overland Park Convention Center.
David Watts is Meeple-A-Thon’s director of strategic operations, a bigger role after his work organizing a wargaming section back in 2024. It’s only gotten bigger, he says.
“Back when it started, it could all fit in the space of a few basketball courts,” Watts said. “Now, we’re to the point of attracting national vendors, more games, and we’ve moved to the Kansas City Convention Center.”
Listen to this episode to find out more Meeple-A-Thon's work, gaming in general, and the behind-the-scenes work of making an event like this happen ...
Further resources:
Meeple-A-Thon
KantCon
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