Afleveringen
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What happens when evolutionary biology collides with modern cultural narratives?
In this episode of Beyond 80%, Ryan sits down with geologist, researcher, and author Marc Defant to explore one of today's most controversial conversations: the relationship between biology, culture, feminism, and human behavior.
Drawing from evolutionary psychology, Marc argues that many of the differences between men and women have deep biological roots shaped by hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution. Together, Ryan and Marc examine topics including attraction, parenting, leadership, gender roles, the feminist movement, and the growing tension between biological explanations and social constructionist perspectives.
Rather than focusing on simple answers, the conversation explores a more nuanced question: how much of who we are comes from biology, how much comes from culture, and what happens when those explanations collide?
Throughout the discussion, Ryan challenges assumptions from multiple angles, exploring where evolutionary psychology offers insight, where culture shapes behavior, and whether modern conversations about gender may be creating more division than understanding.
This episode is an invitation to think critically, question deeply, and engage with difficult ideas without immediately choosing sides.
About Marc Defant
Dr. Marc Defant is a geologist, educator, researcher, and author whose work has expanded beyond earth sciences into evolutionary psychology, culture, and human behavior. After decades studying volcanoes and geology, Marc became fascinated by evolutionary psychology and the ways biology shapes human behavior, relationships, and social systems. His work explores the intersection of science, culture, and some of today's most debated social questions.
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What happens when curiosity becomes your way of moving through the world?
In this episode of Beyond 80%, Ryan sits down with filmmaker, science communicator, and adventurer Chris Baron. From living inside a cave for a week and rappelling into an active volcano to filming wildlife across Africa and producing documentaries for National Geographic, Disney+, PBS, and the BBC, Chris has spent his career chasing questions most people never think to ask.
But this conversation goes beyond filmmaking. Together, Ryan and Chris explore the relationship between curiosity and fear, how uncertainty shapes both our personal and professional lives, and why modern culture often pushes people toward judgment instead of understanding. Chris shares stories from some of the most extreme environments on Earth and reveals the mindset that allows him to stay calm when things don't go according to plan.
At its core, this episode is about perspective. It's about learning to sit with uncertainty, embracing the unknown, and remembering that some of life's most meaningful experiences happen when we stop trying to control everything and simply stay curious.
About Chris Baron
Chris Baron is a science filmmaker, director, and producer whose work has appeared on National Geographic, Disney+, PBS, BBC, and other major networks. With a background in molecular biology and microbiology, Chris combines scientific curiosity with visual storytelling to explore some of the most fascinating places, discoveries, and questions on Earth. His work has taken him from active volcanoes and remote cave systems to wildlife sanctuaries and scientific expeditions around the world.
Follow Chris Baron's Podcast here: https://www.noordinarymonday.com/
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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As the Waking Up season enters its final chapter, this short episode introduces the themes that connect the last four conversations: love, meaning, and the search for a bigger picture.
Throughout this season, we've explored the stories, assumptions, fears, and identities that shape how we experience reality. But once we begin questioning those patterns, a new question emerges: What are we waking up to?
In this episode, Ryan reflects on the common thread running through the final four guests and the ideas they bring to the table. From relationships and connection to purpose, curiosity, and perspective, these conversations invite listeners to look beyond individual beliefs and consider how meaning is created in everyday life.
This is an introduction to the final stage of the journey—one that asks not only how we see the world, but how we choose to engage with it.
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What happens when the story society tells no longer matches the reality people are living?
In this solo episode, Ryan reflects on three recent conversations with Damon Cassidy, Doug Cardell, and Diana Colleen, exploring the growing gap between cultural narratives and everyday experience.
From stagnant wages and rising housing costs to generational tension and the psychology of extreme wealth, this episode examines the emotional and psychological consequences of living inside systems people no longer fully trust.
Rather than framing these conversations as political debates, this episode asks a deeper question:
What happens to people when the promises they were raised on stop aligning with reality?
This episode explores:
The gap between societal narratives and lived experience How generations were shaped by entirely different economic realities Why understanding systems matters more than simply reacting to themSubscribe and follow Beyond 80% so you never miss an opportunity to think, question and evolve.
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, Ryan sits down with psychologist and creator of the Divine Intelligence Process, Dr. Jayne Gardner, to explore how childhood experiences, attachment patterns, and emotional memories shape the subconscious beliefs people carry into adulthood. Together, they unpack the neuroscience behind limiting beliefs, why emotions can override logic, how the body stores unresolved experiences, and what it actually means to “rewire” the brain. The conversation also includes a live coaching demonstration where Ryan works through uncovering and rewriting a core belief in real time. This episode challenges listeners to question whether their reactions, fears, and self-doubt are truly who they are, or simply old patterns their brain learned to survive.
If you are interested in Dr. Jayne’s Divine Intelligence worksheet, email: [email protected]
Learn more about Dr. Jayne Gardner:
Dr. Jayne Gardner Official WebsiteSubscribe and follow Beyond 80% so you never miss an opportunity to think, question and evolve.
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, host Ryan Olexson sits down with author Diana Colleen to explore the ideas behind her debut novel They Could Be Saviors — a near-future speculative fiction that asks: what if the only way to save the planet is to kidnap the billionaires destroying it? Diana shares the personal story behind the book, from growing up in poverty and eating out of dumpsters, to a suicidal period that led her to meditation, to quitting her job to write a book that came to her entirely through that practice. Together, Ryan and Diana unpack the psychology of extreme wealth, the scarcity mindset that keeps all of us — billionaires and everyday people alike — trapped, and what a genuine revolution of consciousness could actually look like.
Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/They-Could-Saviors-Billionaires-Psychedelics-ebook/dp/B0FP5X958N
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, host Ryan Olexson sits down with economist and author Doug Cardell to break down one of the most misunderstood and emotionally charged topics in modern political conversation: socialism. Doug, who earned a PhD in economics specifically to understand why socialism fails, walks Ryan through the actual definition of socialism, why it gets confused with the Nordic model, what true socialist countries look like today, and why centrally planned economies are not just politically problematic, but economically impossible. From North Korea to Venezuela to the Mayflower colony, the conversation traces the full history of what happens when governments try to control economies, and why capitalism, for all its imperfections, has done more to lift people out of poverty than any other system in human history.
Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Socialism-Struggles-Exposing-Undermine/dp/B0FMT74MJR
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, host Ryan Olexson sits down with 26-year-old content creator and YouTuber Damon Cassidy to explore one of the most overlooked forces shaping modern life: how work became the primary source of our identity—and what that's costing us. Damon shares the story of how a banking job, an 11-cent raise, and a front-row seat to financial collapse pushed him to quit and build a platform dedicated to telling the truth about work culture and society. Together, Ryan and Damon trace the arc from agrarian survival to industrial revolution, the post-WWII prosperity myth, and all the way to today's generational divide—unpacking how each generation has internalized, resisted, or been shaped by the systems they inherited.
Damon Cassidy's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DamonCassidy
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This season of Beyond 80% is about what it feels like to start waking up, slowly realizing who you are, questioning the systems you were handed, and noticing the quiet tension that something about the way we’re living doesn’t quite fit. This season moves through three core themes—identity, systems, and meaning—with space in between to slow down, reflect, and make sense of it all.
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We have more access to information, tools, and frameworks than ever before.
More ways to improve, fix, optimize, and understand ourselves.
And yet—most people still feel stuck.
In this first stretch of the season, the conversation wasn’t really about adding more. It was about noticing where we’ve been looking for answers in the first place—and how often we’ve been taught to look outward for things that can only be understood inwardly.
From the way you talk to yourself, to what your emotions are trying to tell you, to the role you play in shaping your reality—there’s a common thread running underneath all of it.
This episode slows things down, connects those ideas, and reframes what it actually means to start waking up.
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Most people move through life assuming their reality is something happening to them.
Something outside of them. Something to react to, manage, or control.
But what if your inner world plays a much bigger role than you’ve been taught?
In this conversation, Dylan Borland explores the idea that your thoughts, beliefs, and attention actively shape the reality you experience. Drawing from a range of spiritual and philosophical traditions, he breaks down the concept of conscious creation in a way that feels grounded and practical.
This episode challenges the idea that you’re just observing your life—and invites you to consider how much of it you might actually be creating.
Learn more about the Caden Academy: https://www.cadenacademy.com/
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Most of us were never taught how to understand what we feel.
Instead, we learned to push emotions down, ignore them, or try to get rid of them as quickly as possible. But what if that entire approach is backwards?
In this conversation, Dr. Jennifer Veilleux breaks down the idea that emotions aren’t problems—they’re messages. Signals from your mind and body pointing to what matters, what needs attention, and what you might be avoiding.
This episode explores what happens when you stop fighting your emotions and start listening to them—and how that shift can change the way you understand yourself entirely.
Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Open-Emotion-Acknowledging-Understanding-Regulating/dp/143384415X
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Most of us are living inside a voice we didn’t choose.
It’s the one that tells you you’re not ready, not good enough, or that something isn’t going to work—and for most people, it’s been running for so long they don’t even question it.
In this conversation, David Alan Brown shares how self-talk shapes the way we see ourselves, the decisions we make, and ultimately the lives we build. After years of doing everything “right” and still feeling disconnected, he began to realize that the most important conversation we have is the one happening internally.
This episode explores what it looks like to actually become aware of that voice—and what becomes possible when you start to change it.
Learn more about convergence by visiting David's website: https://convergence.davidalanbrown.com/home
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This season of Beyond 80% is about what it feels like to start waking up—slowly realizing who you are, questioning the systems you were handed, and noticing the quiet tension that something about the way we’re living doesn’t quite fit.
After last season’s exploration of near-death experiences and consciousness, this season brings the conversation closer to everyday life. Through conversations with scientists, therapists, economists, and spiritual teachers, one thread keeps showing up: People are trying to figure out who they are. People are questioning the systems they’ve been living inside. And people are looking for real connection.
This season moves through three core themes—identity, systems, and meaning—with space in between to slow down, reflect, and make sense of it all.
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We’ll be back with regular Beyond 80% episodes in April.
In the meantime, this final episode of the Beyond the Brain series steps back to reflect on the journey we’ve taken together.
Across eight episodes, we explored near-death experiences, neuroscience, philosophy, and firsthand accounts from people who have been to the edge of death. From scientific research to spiritual interpretations, the series examined multiple perspectives on one of humanity’s oldest questions: what happens to consciousness when we die?
Rather than offering a final answer, this episode asks a deeper question: What does thinking about death teach us about how to live?
Because whatever the truth may be about what comes next, one thing becomes clear—life itself is extraordinary, and how we live it might be the most important question of all.
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, host Ryan Olexson is joined by Gretchen Jones, a death doula who supports individuals and families through the final stages of life, and someone who has personally experienced profound shared death experiences. While much of this season has explored near-death experiences from the perspective of those who return, Gretchen offers a different lens: the experiences of those who remain and those who sit with the dying and sometimes cross the threshold alongside them. Gretchen shares what she has witnessed at the bedside, including common patterns in the dying process, moments of unexpected clarity, and the extraordinary phenomenon of shared death experiences, where loved ones or caregivers briefly experience non-ordinary states of consciousness during another person’s death. Through deeply personal stories, Gretchen invites us to reconsider our cultural relationship with death, and how embracing mortality can transform the way we live. This conversation explores death not as something to fear or avoid, but as a sacred transition, one that reveals connection, compassion, and a deeper understanding of consciousness itself.
Timestamps:
01:00 – Introducing Gretchen Jones and death work
02:15 – What is a death doula?
04:00 – How Western culture became disconnected from death
07:45 – Being present at the bedside and what it reveals
10:00 – Rituals that help families reconnect with dying
12:10 – Near-death experiences vs. shared death experiences
15:30 – Common features of shared death experiences
18:30 – Consciousness beyond the physical body
21:45 – A powerful shared death experience with Mr. Virgil
32:00 – What dying teaches us about love and acceptance
35:00 – Terminal lucidity and final moments of clarity
38:00 – How facing death changes how we live
41:30 – Letting go of fear and reframing death
44:00 – Final reflections on death as a doorwaySubscribe and follow Beyond 80% so you never miss an opportunity to think, question and evolve.
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, host Ryan Olexson explores the profound nature of consciousness with Dr. Susan Blackmore, a psychologist and philosopher renowned for her work on out-of-body experiences and the nature of the self. Dr. Blackmore recounts her own transformative experiences and discusses how neuroscience and zen practice converge in understanding consciousness. The conversation delves into the concept of the self as a dynamic process rather than a fixed entity, the brain's role in constructing reality, and the implications for how we live and face mortality. Listeners are invited to reconsider deeply entrenched notions of identity, free will, and the mystery of being conscious at all.
Timestamps00:00 Introduction: The Mystery of Consciousness00:36 Exploring Near Death Experiences00:56 Meet Dr. Susan Blackmore02:48 A Life-Changing Out-of-Body Experience06:52 Skepticism and Parapsychology11:26 The Self as a Process18:17 The Neuroscience of Consciousness25:42 Near Death Experiences and the Brain31:24 Altered States of Consciousness35:53 Living Without Free Will40:19 Conclusion and Next Episode PreviewSubscribe and follow Beyond 80% so you never miss an opportunity to think, question and evolve.
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, host Ryan Olexson speaks with Dr. Kevin Nelson, a neurologist and author of 'The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain,' about the neurological underpinnings of near-death experiences (NDEs). Dr. Nelson explains how extraordinary experiences during NDEs, such as tunnels of light and out-of-body sensations, can be traced back to brain physiology. He discusses the role of REM intrusion and the brain's intricate wiring in merging different states of consciousness. The conversation explores whether NDEs are supernatural or if they reveal the brain's profound ability to generate reality, even at its limits. Dr. Nelson also shares compelling anecdotes from his career and offers insights into the ongoing debate over whether consciousness can exist independent of the brain.
00:00 Introduction: The Extraordinary Claim of Consciousness Beyond the Brain01:02 Experiencers' Stories and the Skeptical View01:35 Introducing Dr. Kevin Nelson: The Neurologist's Perspective02:26 Dr. Nelson's Journey into Near-Death Experiences04:10 The Brain's Role in Near-Death Experiences05:13 REM Intrusion and Its Connection to NDEs07:22 The Spiritual and Mystical Aspects of NDEs10:13 Common Features of NDEs Explained by Neuroscience21:41 The Brain's Primitive Functions and Evolutionary Purpose22:34 The Debate: Consciousness Beyond the Brain27:19 The Importance of Understanding the Brain37:43 The Ongoing Mystery of Consciousness38:47 Conclusion: NDEs as Windows into the MindSubscribe and follow Beyond 80% so you never miss an opportunity to think, question and evolve.
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In part 2 of the Experiencers episode, host Ryan Olexson examines the challenging aftermath of near-death experiences (NDEs) through the personal stories of five individuals. The episode chronicles the painful and transformative journey of reentry into life, highlighting the physical, emotional, and spiritual adjustments each person undergoes. From medical recoveries to existential realizations, it delves into the messiness of living with the profound insights gained from near-death experiences.
00:00 Introduction and Disclaimer01:18 The Journey Back: Awakening in a Body02:21 Ash Perrow's Return: From Surgery to Suffering03:44 John Davis: From Marble Halls to Recovery Lights05:14 Christina Duffy: An Eight-Year-Old's Transition06:29 Kathy McDaniel: From Coma to Consciousness07:17 Rosemary's Miraculous Healing07:58 The Challenges of Reentry11:49 Personal Transformations and New Purposes21:38 Catholic Near-Death Experiences22:45 Skepticism from Friends and Family24:29 Life Review and Its Lessons28:46 Past Lifetimes Revealed32:43 Free Will and Negative Energy33:36 Healing Through Compassion34:47 Living with a New Compass44:40 The Brain's Role in Near-Death ExperiencesSubscribe and follow Beyond 80% so you never miss an opportunity to think, question and evolve.
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In this episode of Beyond 80%, host Ryan Olexson explores profound Near Death Experiences (NDEs) through the stories of five individuals: Ash Perrow, John J. Davis, Christina Duffy, Kathy McDaniel, and Rosemary Thornton. In part one of a two-part series, each recounts their unique journey beyond death, from tranquil voids and realms of light to darker, heart-wrenching experiences. These narratives provide compelling insights into the continuity of consciousness, the universal essence of love, life reviews, and the redefined meaning of self. The episode also traces the emotional and spiritual transformations faced upon returning to the physical world. Themes of fear, love, interconnectedness, and the purpose of life are examined, challenging conventional views on life and death.
Timestamps00:00 Awakening to the Afterlife01:46 Experiencer Stories Introduction03:27 Ash Perrow's Near-Death Experience05:50 John J. Davis' Journey Beyond08:20 Christina Duffy's Childhood Encounter09:16 Kathy McDaniel's Descent and Ascent10:39 Rosemary Thornton's Peaceful Void11:48 Lessons from the Other Side13:01 Life Reviews and Soul Lessons14:18 Messages from Beyond22:31 Returning with Purpose24:24 Living with Newfound Wisdom36:14 Conclusion and Next Episode PreviewSubscribe and follow Beyond 80% so you never miss an opportunity to think, question and evolve.
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