Episode 205: A Better Human Story with Andrew Schmookler

The last decade has given us much to think about in terms of the trajectory of our societies, and how it figures into the context of the broader history of humankind. We are very lucky to have Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler on the show today, to talk about his work questioning and investigating the evolution of civilization and to share some of his thoughts on why the world is the way it is right now.

Dr. Schmookler is an author, a former Democrat candidate for Congress, a former talk show host, and a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University. He has written columns for many newspapers and platforms and his ideas and reflections are particularly relevant to many of the dynamics we talk about on the podcast.

In our chat today we discuss escaping division and war, the systemic issues we currently see in the US and how we might transcend these, fixing the almost inherent brokenness, and much more. It is such an honor to have someone as invested and insightful on the show to share their wisdom, please listen in and enjoy!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Andrew illuminates his journey towards questioning the world around him more deeply. 
• Unpacking the societal evolution that humankind embarked on and the implications of this.  
• The hopefulness that permeates a lot of Andrew's work.  
• Charting the societal rise of what Andrew calls the 'spirit of the warlord'.  
• The ordering of civilization; debating the root causes of recent conflicts. 
• Bringing hope back into the conversation in light of the competing forces in the world. 
• The deficiencies of the secular culture of the modern, Western world. 
• Individual actions in the broader context and getting away from the idea of being right. 
• The divisiveness of social media, and how this has steadily infiltrated our lives. 
• Some of the struggles and failures that Andrew has faced in the course of his career.   

Transcript: Here

Links Mentioned:

Tet Offensive: https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive

Martin Luther King: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/

Eugene McCarthy: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eugene-McCarthy 

The Beatles: https://www.thebeatles.com/

Findhorn: https://www.findhorn.org/

Sharon Spano:

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