MWRH - Man walks into a rabbit hole: Recent Episodes
Amitabh
I have finished almost all my life span, never getting over basic existential questions of purpose, meaning, ethics - what could "good" mean? I(We) chat with other common everyday people. The underline is on "common", we want to learn from the actors in the normal curve. Some pods are solo (usually short), some are long-form chats. In either journey, lets have a pleasant ride together. Write in at amitabh.mwrh@gmail.com Twitter @ManWalksRH Image by Yuval Zukerman Theme Music by Matt LeGroulX from freemusicarchive.org We dont have any copyright here (on this podcast), use, steal - do whatever. We are on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Deezer, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Gaana, JioSaavn.....Search for MWRH......
We often hear people say, that there is neither "good" or "bad". The rabbit hole is - if we dont know what good looks like, how do we execute on our next move?
We speak of Covid, of vaccines, of Novak, of liberty - all knowing we are just amateurs and not experts in anything....but yes thats what this podcast is about - figuring out the world as a lay person
We might disagree with someone, but de-platformining is never an option. I learnt this very late in life.
Some random moments of ego awareness. I am sure all of us sense that dissociation at times.
Was reading Luke Burgis' Wanting and this idea came into the foreground again. Essentially meditative thought is more unconscious based and hence is usually more creative, insightful.
Had an unusual philosophical chat with my daughter. On the things we measure, it usually indicates a strange broken relationship with that aspect of our life.
Based on a chat I had with a friend on a long drive. A long debate on what it means to find meaning in the present.
The buddhist were wise. We are living on projections of the future. Should we? Be rather than become.
A meditation on trauma and how it might affect us. This is not really a full unknown, but to some of us, it is. Like me (Amitabh), I don't know enough. So learning.
A conversation with a dear friend sparked this debate in my head. It's more a meditation than a debate. Do listen. Follow us on twitter @ManWalksRH
We speak about the rabbit hole and mystery surrounding all our eventuality. Death. And we speak about Arun Shourie's book Preparing For Death
Saswat, Deepthi and Amitabh - speaking about meaning and purpose. This chat was bootstrapped by Luke Burgis's book Wanting. By the very nature the chat is a bit digressive and long winded.
This episode is a bit of a ramble. Does not tie in neatly. I try and plug two ideas together, which I think are related, but don't think do a good job.
The slow allows us to assimilate more, be more mindful. Versus speed just kills the nuance and makes it another activity - replacing "joy" with activity.
Why in this rabid connected world, we might still be lonely souls with no intellectual harmony within our ecosystem?
My meditation (rabbit hole) on why formal education still matters. And why an MBA might no longer matter.
Freedom as we understand is a broad term. What might be on offer is just our simple everyday freedoms. And even that might not be simple or on offer.
How and why do we drift? Or fork? Or get estranged? Is it easy to solve? If yes why dont any of us ever do it. Ruminations of the day.
We spoke of tokenism, and why it does not make sense in the broader society...esp when against large corporates. But tokenism around large social issues might just make sense.
We reflect on what it is to approach our end with erudtion (or otherwise), with awareness (or otherwise)....and with simplicity (or otherwise)
Deepthi, Abhijit and I intensely debate how we might end up designing the justice system.
Entropy in an emotional situation just creeps in slowly. Always. And our hard bargains can almost make these Faustian.
What if you sometimes could see yourself as a different person? Almost dissociated and dissonant with the version of yourself. Is such a moment filled with insight? No its a bloody rabbit hole :-)
Are the best teachers adversarial? Some of us believe in that? But....the price we all pay for such follies is a string of broken relationships (or at least damaged ones).
We speak of how our fears, insecurities might limit us. Knowing this is simple, but resolving this is so difficult. I call these my bluebirds. Best kept bottled in, though they are also best set free. What a dichotomy..
My rabbit hole around this obsession to be "point driven". In defense of long form, in defense of slow, in defense of going nowhere.
An insightful chat with my mom. Examines the rabbit hole from #36. Related to that episode.
We all believe that we are someone. What if I am not that someone? What if that journey is a journey of deep introspection? What if there are still positives in such a conundrum?
Saswat, Deepthi and Amitabh speak about urban loneliness. It gets into our personal lives and stories at some point.
What causes us to fall in love? What causes us to crawl out of love? Does age matter in this business?
In hindi. One of my favorite poems, Mein Aur Meri Awargi by Javed Akthar from his book Tarkash
A play on words from the Clarice Lispector book. I am violent towards roaches and I confront my own failings in that aspect.
I accelerate time since I project my optimism for a better future into the future. Always...and that takes my present away.
Something in a Jagjit Singh song, reminded me of his mortality and hence my own. The song I am referring to is "Sarakati Jaye Hain Rukh se Naqab".....
Are we so fleetingly ephemeral? Does this question not bother others? Am I the only one in my existential rabbit hole?
Our 4th chat in this longform series. This is with an urban philosopher, who goes by the name of Sachin. We talk of urban anonymity, solitude, repression in modern urban societies, the tyranny of work, the ambiguous workplaces (disconnect between values and reality). We might sound like a rant, but this is not about others at all - this is about our own broken avatars. We are dealing with our own damages.
Karthik, my dear friend is an accomplished author & brand consultant. Why does story telling matter? Should one tell the story that sells or the story that is our own (sometimes these diverge)? Why commercial success in this business could matter? Also who discovered orwell and hemingway?
Does it make any sense to consume a barbaric human story? Or even a poignant but "depressing" human story?
We mirror the social judgements on us. Very hard to avoid those - no matter how hard we try. I have sometimes lost the battle, and know how it feels to be vanquished.
What a ball of a chat. We had absolute fun going over some of the esoteric aspects of music as a rabbit hole. This could be a 10 part series and well might as well be. Beethoven, Rick Allen (Def Leppard), Amy Winehouse, Doors and the whole 9 yards. Listen and do write in at amitabh.mwrh@gmail.com
Does a planned journey - associated with your faith - transform you? Put simply, does a pilgrimage transform you? Its the intent behind it - and the "planning" that could do it....possibly. Write in at amitabh.mwrh@gmail.com
I take it upon myself that others have to reaffirm their identity to me (or anyone). And that is our collective failing. We need to get better at accepting identity.
Deepthi talks for the first time solo. She is exploring her own rabbit holes. This time its about travel.
We discuss about how everything about law and justice is completely mired in slippery material. What does seem simple, when you explore the nuance becomes incredibly difficult. Write into us at amitabh.mwrh@gmail.com
We examine management trainings and why they might or might not work. Also why science or strategy based learning definitely works in an epistemological sense.
I revisit one rabbit hole on mortality and aging. And thats the nature of rabbit holes. We keep revisiting them, till we know more. And the more we know, the less we know.
We speak to Deepthi who is also an integral part of the podcast. She helps us understand the nature of her rabbit hole that is carnatic classic music - and any art in general. Hope you enjoy it. Do write into to us at amitabh.mwrh@gmail.com
We speak of how short term becomes our default mode, pareto at work, Goodhart's Law and how culture is such an abused word.
We speak about what hedonism (vs asceticism or monkism) might mean. Why does hedonism, at least in some strange ways, possibly contribute to our well being? This topic is indeed a rabbit hole. Write to us at amitabh.mwrh@gmail.com
Mortality is a favorite topic of ours. We shall come up at this culdesac again and again. Write to us at amitabh.mwrh@gmail.com
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon
