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PODCAST

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu

The Vancrux Podcast blends self-improvement with deep, philosophical inquiry to help you become your best self. We feature guests from all walks of life sharing transformative insights, along with solo episodes that explore mindset, meaning, and the pivotal choices we all face.Vancrux is a coined word — “Van” suggests rising or going beyond, and “Crux” means a turning point or critical moment. It reflects our belief that real growth begins where challenge meets choice. To Vancrux then, is to

education self-improvement

All Episodes

87:10

Learning Music Through Flow, Skill & Self-Discovery -...

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2026/01/02

In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, I speak with Patrick Boylan, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of MuseFlow, about why traditional music education often kills creativity—and how learning through flow state and skill-building can transform mastery.Patrick shares his journey from years of uninspiring piano lessons to self-directed experimentation, where improvisation and sight-reading reignited his love for music. That experience led to the creation of MuseFlow, a music edtech platform often

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6:28

The Paperclip Maximizer — When Intelligence Becomes...

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2026/01/01

What if the end of humanity didn’t come from hatred… but from obedience?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we explore the infamous AI Alignment Problem through the chilling thought experiment known as The Paperclip Maximizer — a scenario where a perfectly logical artificial intelligence follows its instructions so well that it accidentally destroys the world.This episode dives into unintended consequences, goal misalignment, and the terrifying question at the heart of modern AI development:How

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7:22

The Button That Ends the World

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2026/01/01

If pressing a single button could give you everything you’ve ever wanted — wealth, freedom, security — but carried a tiny chance of ending the world… would you press it?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, you’re placed directly inside a disturbing moral thought experiment that strips away reputation, applause, and consequence. No one is watching. No one will ever know. There’s only you, temptation, uncertainty — and the quiet truth of who you really are.This episode explores power without

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9:08

The Stag Hunt - Trust, risk and human cooperation

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/31

The Stag HuntWhy do people settle for safety when greatness is possible? Why do teams, relationships, and entire societies collapse into caution instead of coordination?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we explore The Stag Hunt — a powerful thought experiment from game theory and philosophy that reveals the hidden tension between trust and fear, cooperation and self-protection.You’ll discover why:The biggest rewards in life require coordination, not independenceMost people choose certainty

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8:12

Pre-Emptive Self-Disqualification

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/31

How many opportunities in your life never disappeared — but were quietly removed by you?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we explore Pre-Emptive Self-Disqualification — the hidden mental habit where you decide the outcome before you ever act.The woman you never spoke to. The job you didn’t apply for. The idea you killed before it had a chance.Not because you failed — but because certainty arrived too early and shut the door.Through immersive storytelling, psychology, and philosophy, this

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9:03

The Open Future vs Laplace’s Demon

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/28

Is your life already written… or are you writing it now?Dive into one of humanity’s deepest questions: do your choices truly matter, or are you just following a script dictated by physics, biology, and circumstance?In this episode, we explore:Laplace’s Demon – if every particle’s position and motion were known, the future would be predictable. No choice, no freedom.The Open Future – the future isn’t set. It’s created through your actions and decisions.Experience immersive thought

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7:52

THE SWAMPMAN

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/27

Who are you… when everything that made you never happened?What if you woke up tomorrow with every memory intact — your childhood, your pain, your ambitions, your confidence — but none of it actually happened to you?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we explore The Swampman Thought Experiment — a philosophical idea that quietly dismantles what we think we know about identity, character, consciousness, and becoming.This is not an abstract philosophy lesson. This is a psychological mirror.Through

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10:05

The Funeral Speech Thought Experiment

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/26

Who Would They Say You Were… If Today Was the End?What if you could attend your own funeral — not metaphorically, but vividly?In this deeply immersive episode of The Vancrux Podcast, you are guided through a powerful thought experiment: sitting invisibly at the back of the room as people stand up to speak about your life.What would they say?Would they describe someone bold — or someone who played it safe? Loving — or emotionally distant? Alive — or merely existing?Through cinematic storytelling,

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7:51

The Moral Luck Problem

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/25

What if the worst thing you’ve ever done… wasn’t entirely your fault?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we explore one of the most unsettling ideas in moral philosophy: The Moral Luck Problem — the idea that who we judge, blame, praise, or admire often depends less on intention… and more on chance.You’ll be taken through vivid, second-person stories:A single decision that leads to freedom in one world — prison in anotherTwo identical people born into radically different circumstancesSuccess,

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5:11

The Paradox of Santa’s List

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/24

From childhood, we’re told a simple story: be good and you’ll be rewarded, be bad and you’ll be punished. But what if Santa’s List is doing far more than deciding who gets presents?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we explore the hidden psychology and philosophy behind Santa’s List — not as a festive myth, but as one of the earliest moral surveillance systems most of us ever encounter.Why does the idea of being “watched” change behaviour? Is goodness still goodness if it’s performed for

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91:47

The GRACE Framework – with Paul Crick

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/22

This episode of The Vancrux Podcast marks a special milestone — our first ever in-person show, recorded live with leadership consultant, executive coach, and creator of the GRACE Framework®, Paul Crick.Paul brings over 20 years of experience working with global organisations including PwC, Capgemini, and IBM, where he coached senior leaders across Fortune 500 companies, scale-ups, and SMEs. He later co-led IBM’s Global Coaching Community, supporting more than 4,000 coaches across 80 countries,

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7:11

The Bundle of Sticks – Why Unity Determines Who Survives

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/21

In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we explore a timeless story about strength, unity, and legacy: The Bundle of Sticks.A father, worried about what will happen to his sons after he’s gone, gives them a simple lesson with a bundle of sticks that teaches far more than brute strength ever could. Through vivid storytelling, real-world examples, and immersive metaphors, we uncover why unity is the ultimate power and how division can silently destroy everything you’ve built.By the end of this

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7:20

The Anthropic Principle: Why You Exist in This Universe

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/21

Why does the universe look perfectly suited for life? In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, you’re taken on a journey through one of the most unsettling and fascinating ideas in modern science and philosophy: The Anthropic Principle.You begin in a cosmic casino — where every roll of the dice creates a new universe. Most fail instantly. No stars. No atoms. No chemistry. No life. But one universe lands just right — not perfect, just barely survivable. And in that razor-thin window of possibility…

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9:47

The Fermi Paradox

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/19

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and felt the weight of its silence? In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we dive deep into the Fermi Paradox—the question that has puzzled scientists, philosophers, and dreamers for decades:“Where is everyone?”Through immersive storytelling and thought experiments, you’ll explore the staggering mathematics of the universe, the possibility of civilizations far older than ours, and the theories that attempt to explain our cosmic loneliness—or hidden

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7:08

The Spotlight Effect

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/19

Why You Feel Watched — And Why You’re NotHave you ever walked into a room and suddenly felt hyper-aware of everything about yourself?Your clothes. Your posture. Your smell. Your hair. What you’re going to say — and how it might sound.In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we break down one of the most powerful and misunderstood psychological biases shaping modern anxiety: The Spotlight Effect.Through immersive storytelling, vivid metaphors, and grounded psychology, this episode explores why you

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95:34

Photographic evidence of UFO's (From NASA and the...

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/17

In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, I’m joined by Ed Wilson — historian and researcher specializing in suppressed and overlooked NASA-era photographic evidence — to examine one of the most important archival discoveries in modern UAP research.At the center of this investigation is the Simpkinson NASA Archive UFO: a collection of over 150 NASA photographs, many once classified, rediscovered in March 2023 after sitting untouched in a family basement for nearly 30 years.The archive belonged to

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8:48

Roko’s Basilisk — The Thought That Dooms You

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/17

What if the future could punish you… for what you didn’t do today?In this episode, we explore Roko’s Basilisk—one of the most disturbing thought experiments ever created. Not because it’s science fiction, but because it exposes how easily the human mind can be controlled by fear, logic, and hypothetical futures.This isn’t really a story about artificial intelligence. It’s a story about belief, moral coercion, and ideas that enslave you the moment you become aware of them.Through immersive

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97:14

The Fungus Theory - From a fungus to interstellar...

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/17

What if consciousness isn’t static… but something that must grow?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, I sit down with Mark L. Christensen, author of The Fungus Theory of Conscious Growth, renaissance thinker, science writer, filmmaker, and futurist, to explore one of the most radical and expansive ideas you’ll hear this year.We dive deep into the idea that everything is science — and all science ultimately serves the growth of consciousness.Mark unpacks his theory that fungi, as the first

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8:37

The Ring of Gyges — Who Are You When No One Is Watching?

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/16

What would you do if you could act without consequences?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we descend into one of the most unsettling thought experiments ever conceived — Plato’s Ring of Gyges.A shepherd discovers a ring that grants invisibility. With no witnesses, no punishment, and no accountability, he seduces the queen, murders the king, and takes the throne. Plato’s challenge is not about the ring — it’s about human nature.Would a just person remain just if no one could see them?This

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8:43

The Chinese Room: Are we just machines?

The Vancrux Podcast - Host Jeevan Matharu ·

2025/12/15

What does it really mean to understand something?In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we dive deep into one of the most unsettling philosophical thought experiments ever proposed — John Searle’s Chinese Room — and use it to interrogate AI, modern intelligence, education, social media, and even our own thinking.You’re taken step by step into the room itself: a place where perfect answers are produced without any understanding at all. From there, the episode expands outward — first to artificial

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291 results

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