In this episode, Natalie discusses how death has become taboo in the West, leading to Silicon Valley’s anti-death movement. Death can be a positive guiding force in our lives – as a decision-making tool, emboldening us to become self-actualised and to express what’s truly on our hearts.
What’s on your bucket list? Skydiving, hiking Everest base camp? Falling in love? What actionable steps can you take to make that vision a reality?
Chapters
00.00: how death can be a positive guiding force
00.16: the West is arguably the most death-denying culture on earth
00.44: my meaning of my hand tattoos
01.53: THE GREATEST BOOK OF ALL TIME
03.27: death-positive movement
04.11: death cafes
04.55: personal anecdote & nihilism (me and the homies hate nihilism)
06.20: how mindfulness towards death can appease our anxieties
06.54: death as a decision-making tool
07.20: steve jobs’ 2005 stanford speech
08.16: silicon valley’s anti-death movement (cc: Bryan Johnson)
10.18: distinguishing between what we should want and what we truly want
11.19: speaking your truth
12.12: how death can help us in self-actualisation
12.59: facing our fear of death with courage
13.47: absurdism & finding your own meaning
14.29: bucket lists
15.10: CALL SOMEONE YOU LOVE & TELL THEM THAT YOU LOVE THEM
Cover art: Vanitas ou Allegory of human life, by Philippe de Champaigne (1646)
Recommended reading:
‘All about love’ by bell hooks
‘The worm at the core: on the role of death in life’ by Dr Sheldon Solomon
‘Make something wonderful’ by Steve Jobs
‘Homo deus’ by Yuval Noah Harari
Futurist Frequency is a tech & wellbeing podcast that helps you disconnect from technology to reconnect with yourself. With several years experience working within the technology industry, Natalie breaks down key tech trends that are shaping our societies, culture, and collective wellbeing, so that we can use technology more mindfully.
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