The Initiation

#25 Sheldon Solomon: How the Fear of Death Shapes the World

What if one of the most powerful forces shaping human behaviour is something we rarely talk about - our fear of death? Sheldon Solomon is a social psychologist and one o

#24 Sarah Wilson: How to Live Fully in a Collapsing World

What if the collapse we fear isn’t the end of humanity — but the end of a system that no longer serves us? Sarah Wilson is a bestselling author, journalist and activist.

#23 Luke Kemp: Why Civilizations Collapse - and How We Might Avoid the Next One

In this episode of The Initiation, I speak with Luke Kemp, researcher at Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and author of Goliath’s Curse: The History a

#22 Corey Bradshaw: Extinction, Overpopulation, and the Future We Can Still Shape

In this episode of The Initiation, I speak with Corey Bradshaw, ecologist, modeler, and global change scientist, about the uncomfortable realities of the ecological crisi

#21 Jeff Booth: Bitcoin, AI, and the End of the Zero-Sum Game

In this episode, I’m joined by Jeff Booth — entrepreneur, investor, author, and co-founder of Ego Death Capital — for a wide-ranging conversation on Bitcoin, money, AI, a

#20 Jeremy Lent: Eco-Civilization and the Possibility of a Life-Affirming Future

Jeremy Lent is an author, philosopher, and systems thinker whose work explores the deep roots of our civilizational crisis - and the possibility of a life-affirming futur

#19 Energy, Ecology, and the Limits of Industrial Civilization - with Richard Heinberg

Richard Heinberg joins The Initiation. Richard is a human ecologist, journalist, and Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute, and the author of fourteen books on energ

The Iran War and the Dollar Endgame: Inside the Next Phase of Global Breakdown - with Roberto Rios

Roberto Rios returns to The Initiation. Formerly known as Peruvian Bull, Roberto is a macro analyst and author of The Dollar Endgame, known for his deep work on global li

The Myth of Infinite Growth - with Bill Rees

In this episode of The Initiation, Sebastian speaks with Bill E. Rees, ecologist, systems thinker, and co-originator of the ecological footprint - one of the most influen

Ecological Awakening and the Return of Soul - with Brian Stafford

In this episode of The Initiation, Sebastian speaks with Brian Stafford, a former psychiatrist who left a successful career after an unmistakable inner call - and went on

Myth, Initiation, and the Art of Reweaving a World in Collapse - with Michael Maede

In this episode of The Initiation, Sebastian is joined by mythologist and storyteller Michael Meade for a deep exploration of myth, initiation, and the meaning of collaps

Becoming True Human in the Age of the Polycrisis – with Samantha Sweetwater

In this episode of The Initiation, I sit down with Samantha Sweetwater for a wide-ranging and deeply human conversation about the moment our world is moving through. We

The Dao of Bitcoin: Money, Energy & the Future of Human Systems - with Scott Dedels

In this episode of The Initiation, I sit down with Scott Dedels, author of The Dao of Bitcoin: Towards a Cosmology of Energy Money, to explore Bitcoin not just as technol

Inside the Dollar Endgame: Why the Global Monetary System Is Reaching Its Limits - with Roberto Rios

In this episode of The Initiation, I’m joined by Roberto Rios also known as Peruvian Bull — monetary researcher, economist, and author of The Dollar Endgame — for a deep

Economics of Happiness: Localization, Culture & a Future Worth Living - with Helena Norberg-Hodge

In this episode, I sit down with Helena Norberg-Hodge — writer, filmmaker, linguist, and pioneering voice in the localization and new economy movements. Helena is the fou

Building a Village for a New Way of Being - with Vincent Daranyi

Welcome to Season 2 of The Initiation. We’re beginning this new season with a conversation that is both deeply grounded and quietly radical – a look at what it truly take

The Initiation Trailer

Humanity stands at a threshold. Old systems are breaking down; new patterns of life are emerging. The Initiation invites listeners into the deeper story beneath this turb

Episode 9  – The Evolution of Consciousness: Awakening Through the Metamorphosis

In this final episode of The Initiation, I turn inward—to what may be the most profound dimension of humanity’s transformation: the evolution of consciousness itself. We

Episode 8 – System Change: Money, Energy, and Governance Reimagined

In this episode of The Initiation, I continue our exploration of breakthrough trends—not through technology alone, but through the transformation of systems: how we coord

Episode 7 – Foundational Technologies: The Intelligence That’s Emerging

In this episode of The Initiation, we cross the threshold from breakdown to breakthrough—and begin exploring the seeds of transformation already stirring within our disso