Progress Through Fear

1969

A talk on the impact of science and technology on man's role in the natural world.

Lecture
Added 3 days ago
39:09 5,620 3

Reawakening our Connection to the Gaian Mind

1993

Presented at the fifth annual Seeds of Change conference, titled The Bioneers.

Lecture
Added 3 weeks ago
26:27 3,548 9

Why Socialism?

1949

An essay written for the first issue of Monthly Review. In it, Einstein addresses problems with capitalism, predatory economic competition, and growing wealth inequality. He highlights control of mass media by private capitalists making it difficult for citizens to arrive at objective conclusions, and political parties being influenced by wealthy financial backers resulting in an "oligarchy of private capital". Einstein concludes that these problems can only be corrected with planned economies to maintain a strong democracy and protect the rights of individuals.

Essay
Added 4 weeks ago
2,654

The Grand Option

1939

Published in Cahiers Du Monde Nouveau in 1945.

Essay
Added 5 weeks ago
7,893 9

I Have Had An Experience

2021

Immediately after landing on Earth, actor William Shatner recounts his experience seeing our planet from space for the first time during his trip on Blue Origin's NS-18 suborbital flight.

Speech
Added 6 weeks ago
10:37 1,135 1

The Psychedelic Explosion

Alan talks about the upcoming revolution in which Western society will have to come to grips with the existence of the psychedelic/mystical experience, and how to integrate it into our culture in a productive, fulfilling, and responsible manner. Included are personal recollections of DMT and LSD trips experienced by Watts himself, why the utilization of psychedelic drugs should be seen as a tool, his vision of a psychedelic campus for guided mystical experiences, and why prohibition is doomed to failure.

Lecture
Added 11 weeks ago
03:51:11 27,706 25

The Essence of the Democratic Idea

1949

“A biological approach to the problem.” Written in response to a questionnaire from UNESCO and later published in The Future of Man.

Essay
Added 12 weeks ago
1,686 2

Studio 2 Interview

1995

Discussion
Added 12 weeks ago
16:23 2,295 6

The Position of Man in Nature and the Significance of Human Socialization

1947

Is there in the universe a main axis of evolution? (An attempt to see clearly)

Essay
Added 12 weeks ago
4,175 10

Pursuit of Pleasure

Where does pleasure come from? What are we trying to achieve in our frantic day-to-day activities? Why are we in such a hurry? And why do all of our efforts to pin the universe down and bring it under our control dial up the misery?

Lecture
Added 13 weeks ago
03:26:23 22,887 32

Tao Te Ching

506 B.C.E.

Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Te Ching is one of the true classics of spiritual literature. It is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the Tao, or the “Way”: harmony with the life force of the universe. (This version was translated/interpreted by Stephen Mitchell in 1988.)

Classic Literature
6,523 1 69

Mr. X

1969

Written under the pseudonym Mr. X to avoid the heavy social stigma associated with marijuana consumption at the time, Carl Sagan documented his personal experiences with cannabis in this essay in order to dispel common misconceptions about the drug. It was later published in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered by Lester Grinspoon. Sagan enjoyed cannabis on a regular basis for the rest of his life, but never spoke of it publicly.

Essay
2,946 6 29

Out Of Your Mind 02: The Nature of Consciousness (Part 2)

1969

Lecture
01:03:55 8,270 15 15

Out Of Your Mind 03: The Web Of Life (Part 1)

Lecture
56:16 6,308 6 13

The Power of Myth, Part 1: The Hero’s Adventure

1988

Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell begin their groundbreaking and timeless conversation with an exploration of the classic hero cycle, including consistent and enduring hero patterns in literature, real life, and even the Star Wars films. Campbell also encourages the audience to view parts of their own lives as heroic journeys.

Television Episode
54:38 7,461 13 13

The Joker

One of Alan’s most popular seminars, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.

Lecture
03:08:18 20,436 14 12

Arcology: The City In The Image Of Man

1969

In what is considered his literary magnum opus, visionary architect Paolo Soleri challenges us to think of cities as biological entities, and introduces us to a philosophy for a new kind of urban living: the arcology, a city-sized organism designed to exist in harmony with nature. Split into two sections, the book first explains the moral and economic necessity for humanity’s transition to arcological urban landscapes, and proposes that the general purpose of life is aesthetogenesis: the universe progressively complexifying and interconnecting, consciously reshaping itself into compassionate structures. In the second section, Soleri showcases 30 potential arcologies (including one space habitat) through the use of incredibly detailed diagrams, and explains how each was carefully designed to integrate itself economically and ecologically into the world.

Book
42,122 15 10

A Weekend with Terence McKenna

1993

The session for true McKenna enthusiasts: twelve hours with the bard himself, in which he touches upon practically all of his trademark topics. Recorded at the Esalen Institute in California.

Workshop
12:09:02 86,239 36 10

Out Of Your Mind 12: The World as Emptiness (Part 2)

Lecture
01:05:01 7,094 2 9

Cosmos 01: The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean

1980

Carl Sagan opens the program with a description of the cosmos and a "Spaceship of the Imagination" (shaped like a dandelion seed). The ship journeys through the universe's hundred billion galaxies, the Local Group, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way, the Orion Nebula, our Solar System, and finally the planet Earth. Eratosthenes' successful calculation of the circumference of Earth leads to a description of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Finally, the "Ages of Science" are described, before pulling back to the full span of the Cosmic Calendar.

Television Episode
01:00:24 5,603 10 9