Ego Death, Buddhism, and the Vampire Problem: What's so scary about Pluribus?

S2E7 - Epilogue

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ggupodcast.substack.com [https://ggupodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] * Update on Tom’s puppy Willa * The Night Parade — Tom’s new podcast, announced * Long-form essayistic, 45–70 minutes, twice a month, with a target launch date of

Is Earth Alive? Gaia, Volcanoes, and the Will to Life

The Will to Life We’ve got a very special guest this week. You’re going to have to tune in to find out who it is. We’re covering a Ukrainian UFO video, Military-origin, recently declassified, filmed in May at 800 meters. It looks like an evil eye in a cloak. Mostly just an excuse to talked about how wrecked the whole UFO conversation is right now, like a force field of stink around a row of outhouses. Then on to happier things, like how volcanoes might be evidence of a planetary mechanism of homeostasis. Gaia? Sure. Anyway: * Surprise guest * A Ukrainian UFO video * “Filmed on a potato” quality * Why the UFO conversation is exhausting by design (here’s that essay [https://drheatherlynn.substack.com/p/tired-of-the-aliens-yet-thats-the], by Dr. Heather Lynn [https://substack.com/profile/103488709-dr-heather-lynn], about how the aliens-vs-demons question is a type of semantic warfare) * “Mr. Credibility weighs in” (re: JD Vance) * Peter Thiel and the evangelical framing apparatus * The porta potty force field * How the Joseph Smith story reminds Jordan of the current UFO conversation * The slough of despond * Whatever happened to quicksand? * Brother Richard [https://ggupodcast.substack.com/p/celtic-mysticism-and-the-courage], again, on every entity having something to teach you * The Debrief: a volcano with a built-in emergency brake [https://thedebrief.org/this-violent-volcanic-eruption-may-have-revealed-a-hidden-emergency-brake-for-climate-change/] * Why the Gaia hypothesis is useful * Homeostasis is the signature of life * Mars: dead. Venus: hellfire. Earth: alive! * “Don’t sh*t in the strawberry patch” * Strip mining the Appalachians * “Poverty is a societal choice. Food scarcity is a societal choice.” * Viktor Frankl And in the epilogue… [https://ggupodcast.substack.com/p/s2e7-epilogue] * What our special guest has been up to lately * Jordan’s insane commitment to 100 Essays in 100 Days [https://thedispatches.substack.com/p/you-can-just-say-things-again] * Advantages of the end times Successfully maintaining homeostasis,Jordan & Tom (& Mal) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ggupodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://ggupodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

God's Eye View - Quantum physics, daddy issues, and faith

Scientism to Scripture Trevor was deep in the trenches of science—cellular biology, bioinformatics, a PhD in aging research, chasing longevity and the promises of the Human Genome Project. He bought the materialist worldview hook, line, and sinker. Until he didn’t. What started as intellectual disappointment in grand theories of consciousness led him through quantum physics, information theory, and eventually back to the Gospels in the Bible he once dismissed. Along the way: father wounds that shaped atheism, the surprising consistency of the Christian story, and a growing sense that the universe is far more alive than he’d been taught. This week we’re doing a crossover episode with the host of the God’s Eye View podcast to talk about leaving dogmatic scientism, why so many prominent atheists share similar childhood scars, how ghosts are hard to categorize, and what, if anything, UFOs and non-human intelligences might have to do with scripture. They also explore discernment, sacredness versus inerrancy, and why “love your enemy” really is the most radical idea in history. Highlights: * A decade-long decline from scientism * “science will fix everything” * Physical therapist, bioinformatics PhD, professorship * Trevor’s growing disillusionment with materialist grand theories of consciousness * Quantum mechanics, information theory, and physicists trying really hard not to talk about God * Hoping the Gospels are true * The correlation between father wounds and atheism * Patriarchy, healthy authority, and the revelations of fatherhood (we both have an 8 year old and a 4 year old * What are ghosts? * Anti-reductionism * UFOs/aliens: semantic slipperiness and possible biblical framework (angels, Nephilim, sons of God, ascending/descending beings) * NHIs have been communicating with humans throughout history — what does this say about sacred texts? * The false dichotomy that undermined 20th Century Mormonism * You can’t get away from the need for personal discernment * Sacredness and inerrancy aren’t the same thing * That time Kelly Chase [https://substack.com/profile/94306612-kelly-chase] said “Love your enemy” is the most supernatural statement in history And in the epilogue… [https://ggupodcast.substack.com/p/s2e6-epilogue] * A summary of Mormon cosmology * The only right way to judge a person’s faith * Why theological debate is boring With skeptical hope,Jordan & Trevor (& Mal) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ggupodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://ggupodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

S2E5 - Epilogue

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ggupodcast.substack.com [https://ggupodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] * Lots of Jesuses * That time in middle school Mallory gave a friend a Book of Mormon * The Mormon alternative to hell:

Ego Death, Buddhism, and the Vampire Problem: What's so scary about Pluribus?

Losing Ourselves in Good TV Ever since we watched Pluribus, we’ve been wanting to talk about it on the pod. Both of us have been wrestling with the concept of ego-death and the ultimate merging of all consciousness, and the core conceit of this show seems to tackle those very same themes. So, really, how could we not talk about it? We get into the so-called vampire problem in philosophy, the idea of coercion vs surrender, and why that one ritual conversion scene with the little girl was so incredibly disturbing to us. Is losing your “self” really the whole point of spirituality? Or is is just the ego? But also what is the ego? Is it even real?! As always, don’t expect any solid answers, but if you want to take a stroll around the questions with us, come on down! Highlights: * Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, ex-X-Files) delivers another high-concept sci-fi masterpiece * The premise * The immune few * The Buddhist/Christian tension * Nirvana as “annihilation of the drop into the ocean” * The hive mind as a character * Ritual as theater * The Vampire Problem * Coerced vs. voluntary ego death * Communism, the Law of Consecration, and how to actually make them work * Obedience vs. compliance (Deirdre Green [https://www.facebook.com/faithmattersfoundation/videos/what-did-you-think-of-this-distinction-between-obedience-and-compliancelisten-to/1328525999174056/]) * AI parallels * A Pluribus plot theory about that, uh, virus * We must have a will in order to surrender it * The ego is already dying a thousand times a day * Acting, improv, and parenthood — all practices of sacrificing plans for presence * “Greater love hath no man than this…” And in the epilogue… [https://ggupodcast.substack.com/p/s2e5-epilogue] * Mallory in middle school * Our personal versions of hell * Happiness extraction at Disneyland Doggedly agentive,Jordan & Mal This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ggupodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://ggupodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]