PODCAST

The Metagame

Daniel Kazandjian

Practical philosophy for playing with life. themetagame.substack.com

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

84:06

#41 - Michael Stroe | Solving Happiness, Oneshotting...

The Metagame ·

2025/10/24

Michael Stroe (@Plus3Happiness) is a phenomenologist and “happiness concierge.” Through a combination of the Buddhist Fetters & somatic practices, he’s allegedly reduced his suffering by ~90%. He claims to consistently live at 9/10 life satisfaction and has skillfully guided others into similar transformations. Today we demystify his journey and discuss concrete practices for oneshotting procrastination, reducing reactivity and permanently raising the floor of your happiness (seriously).Watch on

87:55

#40 - Alex Zhu | Rational Spirituality, AI Alignment...

The Metagame ·

2025/10/17

Alex Zhu is a math olympian and researcher exploring the convergence of analytical rationality and religion. He’s also the co-founder of AlphaSheets. He’s currently working on a rigorous framework for bridging AI alignment and mysticism. In this conversation we explore about how he got into spirituality without sacrificing his rigorous epistemics.Resources* Alex’s Twitter and Substack* C. Langan – An Introduction to the Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe (2002) YouTube: This is a public

113:37

#39 - Justin Skycack | Math Academy & The Science of...

The Metagame ·

2025/10/10

Justin is the Chief Quant & Director of Analytics at MathAcademy.com (the best way to learn math). He optimizes learning efficiency in students’ brains with cutting edge cognitive psychology. He’s written extensively and passionately about “serious upskilling” and how to increase agency to benefit yourself and the world.Resources:* Justin’s Twitter and Website* That Paul Graham article on Identity* www.mathacademy.com* The Romeo Stevens conversationYouTube: This is a public episode. If you would

65:42

#38 - Jeff Lieberman | Rites of Passage, Emotional...

The Metagame ·

2025/09/04

Ever met someone whose presence is so clean and luminous it changes the energy of the room? That’s today’s guest.Jeff Lieberman is an artist, musician, MIT-trained scientist, and former host of Time Warp on Discovery Channel. His current work is on how human beings can find genuine freedom through emotional fluidity, consciousness, and connection. He co-founded Sleepawake, a transformational program that helps people break out of isolation by cultivating authentic, heart-centered

70:56

#37 - Johnny Miller | Releasing Trauma with Your Breath

The Metagame ·

2025/07/16

This is the first in person Metagame episode! Be sure to check out the video.Jonny Miller is a writer, nervous system coach and podcaster. We met at Edge Esmerelda where he facilitated a surprisingly psychoactive breathwork session. This episode is about the practicalities of feeling your feelings and unlatching patterns that have been governing your personality since childhood.Resources:* www.jonnymiller.co* www.nsmastery.com* “Secure attachment with reality”* Mike Johnson’s Latch TheoryYouTube:

59:10

#36 - Chris Barber | How to Regulate Emotions with Words

The Metagame ·

2025/05/28

Chris Barber is an entrepreneur/researcher. He co-founded an executive coaching marketplace for startups, and a place for engineers to discover good startups to join. His primary focus is AI preparation & emotional regulation. He’s the inventor of a simple but highly effective method for processing emotions called Resonance. It’s a way of speaking that helps others regulate their emotions and feel better. In this episode he teaches us how to do it.Resources:* Chris Barber’s twitter (DMs

54:59

#35 - Tucker Peck | A Pragmatic Approach to Dharma...

The Metagame ·

2025/05/01

Dr. Tucker Peck is a meditation teacher, clinical psychologist, and bestselling author. He studied meditation with Sharon Salzberg and Upasaka Culadasa (John Yates). Tucker’s first book, Sanity and Sainthood, debuted as a #1 bestseller in 2025. A former professor, he is the founding director of the scholarship fund Open Dharma Foundation, and co-host of the podcast Teaching Meditation. He lives in Alameda, California, an island in the San Francisco Bay. You can read more about Tucker

70:45

#34 - Daniel Thorson | Spirituality is Secure...

The Metagame ·

2025/04/09

Daniel Thorson spent 5 years in residential training at The Monastic Academy with 2 years in cumulative silent retreat. He has decades of deep engagement with contemplative practice, systems theory, and transformative work. He’s also the beloved host of The Emerge Podcast and writes at The Intimate Mirror, where he’s exploring how people can develop a secure attachment with reality.Resources:* Spirituality is Secure Attachment with Reality* AI for Emotional Unfolding* Steve March on Self-Improvement

84:28

#33 - Richard Bartlett | Training Disagreeableness...

The Metagame ·

2025/02/12

Rich Bartlett helps people grow high-trust communities & decentralized organizations. He’s the co-founder the community building network Microsolidarity, and non-hierarchical management consultancy The Hum. He also co-runs Fight Wise an online course about developing courage in your relationships, standing up for yourself, skillfully navigating conflicts, and asking for what you want.Resources:* Improvise for Real* Keith Jarret* Fight Wise: Find Your Backbone* People mentioned: Guy (RivalVoices),

117:07

#32 - Brooke Bowman | Cultivating Agency, Building...

The Metagame ·

2025/02/03

Brooke Bowman is the founder of Vibecamp. She also runs events to help foster connection and social cohesion such as Ms. Bowman's School for the Socially Inept, and The Network Society Camp. For nearly a decade before that, she was in an affair with heroin. Her mental and physical health declined slowly at first, then plummeted, leaving her sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles for two and a half years. Then came a series of insights that led her to essentially rewire her own brain. Resources:*

87:55

#31 - Romeo Stevens | Reducing Neuroticism,...

The Metagame ·

2025/01/15

Romeo Stevens is one of co-founders of the Qualia Research Institute and the founder of Mealsquares. He writes extensively about buddhism, pedagogy, skill development and psychotherapeutic modalities. You can find his work on his blog, Lesswrong and Twitter.Resources:* Romeo’s Twitter* Neurotic Gradient Descent (Romeo’s blog)* Math Academy * Practiceopedia (out of print music practice book)YouTube link 👇 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get

91:40

#30 - Douglas Tataryn | How to Process Emotions and...

The Metagame ·

2024/11/20

Dr. Tataryn is a long-time meditator (47+ years) and founder of the Bio-Emotive Framework. He conducts seminars in integral theory, sports psychology, and the integration of psychology and spirituality. He also hosts emotional clearing workshops intensives around North America. His is presently working with advanced meditators and spiritual teachers on balancing life after enlightenment, using his own version of the Four Facets (integral) Model of Human Transformation.Resources:* The Bio-emotive

65:29

#29 - Stephen Zerfas | Jhanas and Hacking Agency

The Metagame ·

2024/11/08

Stephen Zerfas is the CEO and cofounder of Jhourney — a startup that targets specific meditative states known as jhanas using novel teaching methods and technology. Their first product is a week-long meditation retreat that’s won hyperbolic testimonials from tech executives and engineers (e.g. OpenAI, DeepMind). Most participants learn to enter states previously thought to require thousands of hours of practice in under 40 hours.Resources:* jhourney.io This is a public episode. If you would like to

104:29

#28 - Soryu Forall | Spiritual Awakening and A.I....

The Metagame ·

2024/10/02

Soryu Forall is an ordained Zen Buddhist monk and the guiding teacher at the Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth (MAPLE) in Vermont. With over two decades of intensive monastic training, Forall was ordained in 1998 by Zen Master Shodo Harada at Sogen Temple in Japan. He has since trained in monasteries across India, Tibet, and China, and draws on various spiritual traditions, including Buddhism, Native American practices, and Quaker teachings.Resources:* The Monk Who Thinks the

87:20

#27 - Andrés Goméz-Emilsson | Qualia Research, Neural...

The Metagame ·

2024/09/24

Andrés is the Co-founder and President of the Qualia Research Institute (QRI). He has a Master’s Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in computational models from Stanford and a professional background in graph theory, statistics, and affective science. His work at QRI ranges from algorithm design, to psychedelic theory, to neurotechnology development, to mapping and studying the computational properties of consciousness. Andrés blogs at qualiacomputing.com.Resources:* qri.org* Andrés on Twitter*

92:45

#26 - Michael Johnson | Jhanas, Awakening and...

The Metagame ·

2024/08/05

Michael Edward Johnson is a philosopher, neuroscientist and entrepreneur. He’s the author of Principia Qualia and the co-founder of the Qualia Research Institute. He’s done pioneering work at the intersection of mathematics and consciousness studies, seeking to systematically map and measure subjective experiences. He writes at opentheory.net.Resources:* Principles of Vasocomputation: A Unification of Buddhist Phenomenology, Active Inference, and Physical Reflex* Thread on Wittgenstein, Normies and

75:48

#25 - Marc Gafni | First Principles and First Values

The Metagame ·

2024/04/03

Dr. Marc Gafni has been described as a world philosopher, integrating wisdom from across multiple disciplines into what he has called a New Story of Value. He is the president of the Center for World Philosophy and Religion and has authored twelve books including Your Unique Self: The Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment. Today we talk about his latest book First Principles and First Values.Resources:* Amazon page for First Principles and First Values* Download Chapters 1-5 of First Principles

69:11

#24 - Michael Johnson | Qualia Formalism & The...

The Metagame ·

2024/02/06

Michael Edward Johnson is a philosopher, neuroscientist and entrepreneur. He’s the author of Principia Qualia and the co-founder of the Qualia Research Institute. He’s done pioneering work at the intersection of mathematics and consciousness studies, seeking to systematically map and measure subjective experiences.Resources:* Principles of Vasocomputation: A Unification of Buddhist Phenomenology, Active Inference, and Physical Reflex* Autism as a disorder of dimensionality* Qualia Formalism and a

70:07

#23 - Steve Schlafman | Life Transitions, Embodied...

The Metagame ·

2023/09/08

Steve Schlafman is a recovering venture capitalist and professional transition coach. In 2017 he made partner at a multi-billion dollar VC firm and then promptly walked away from it all. Now he helps high performers in midlife discover and manifest their next calling. He draws upon a range of disciplines and brings a very sensitive, compassionate approach to the question of how to live well. Steve is also a writer, podcaster and father.Resources* Where The Road Bends (Steve’s Substack)*

89:56

#22 - Malcolm Ocean | Undomesticated Productivity,...

The Metagame ·

2023/09/02

Malcolm Ocean is a multitude-containing, wildman systems design expert who founded the productivity app Intend.do. It’s a tool that prioritizes intentionality over task management and provides a compelling counterpoint to David Allen’s Getting Things Done method. Malcolm also writes extensively about goal crafting, trust dynamics and group coordination. He’s great at combining big picture galaxy-brain thinking with uncompromising practicality.You can learn more about Malcolm on his website or follow

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