Archives of season 1

Episode 11 – The Appointment

In this episode, I’m speaking with three members of the Kabir Café or Neeraj Arya's Kabir Café. Described as a modern mystic band, they are influenced and inspired by a 15th century poet named Kabir. We discuss how the band came to be and what Kabir’s ideology means to them and fans. They also play a beautiful piece of music that encompasses the message of Kabir and carries a central theme that we have come to better understand during the pandemic. The fictional story is written by Jean Bernard and tells the story of Kabir, a traveling poet who finds a young boy to apprentice. The young boy adopts Kabir’s melodies and continues to share them long after they have both died.

Episode 10 – Namaste Station

In this episode, I’m speaking with three members of the Kabir Café or Neeraj Arya's Kabir Café. Described as a modern mystic band, they are influenced and inspired by a 15th century poet named Kabir. We discuss how the band came to be and what Kabir’s ideology means to them and fans. They also play a beautiful piece of music that encompasses the message of Kabir and carries a central theme that we have come to better understand during the pandemic. The fictional story is written by Jean Bernard and tells the story of Kabir, a traveling poet who finds a young boy to apprentice. The young boy adopts Kabir’s melodies and continues to share them long after they have both died.

Episode 9 – The Grape Farm Spectre

In this episode, I’m speaking with Rajeev Samant, CEO of Sula Vineyards and the man responsible for putting wine on the map of India. When asked about his success he simply says he was “the right guy in the right place with the right background.” His friends called him crazy when he quit his job and moved to a poverty stricken area in India to start a vineyard. But, he now has the last laugh having created one of the most visited vineyards in the world. Rajeev talks about the team he assembled to help him create Sula Vineyards, the bureaucratic obstacles he had to overcome in the beginning, and his top takeaways for entrepreneurs. Later in the episode, we hear a fictional story written by Gary Kristoph.

Episode 8 – First Stop

In this episode, I’m having a timely conversation with Dr. Barry Thomas Malin, a head and neck surgeon turned art gallerist (the Malin Gallery), about switching careers and following your passions. Now more than ever, people are reevaluating their careers and asking themselves the important question of, “am I satisfied in my work?” Dr. Malin reflected on this same question when he decided to leave his career as a sought-after free flap construction surgeon and opened his own art gallery.

Episode 7 – True Fiction Favorites: A Case Study on Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin

In this episode, I'm speaking with Diann Wingert, psychotherapist turned business mindset coach and the host of the Driven Woman Podcast. Why are people so fascinated by Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin, who bilked her way through the New York social scene? As a psychotherapist, Diann was particularly intrigued by her motivation – what drove this seemingly successful young woman to engage in such fraudulent behavior? Interestingly, much of Anna's motivation can be traced back to her childhood. She was always a bright and imaginative child, but she was also drawn to the finer things in life. This combination of factors likely contributed to her later sense of entitlement and her willingness to take whatever she felt she deserved – even if it meant breaking the law. Tune in as Diann Wingert explains where Anna's personality pathology starts to develop, personality of entrepreneurs vs signs of narcissism, and the real reason audiences like stories where humans are missing morals. Later in the episode, we hear a fictional story written by Parker James.

Episode 6 – White Terror

In this episode, I’m speaking with Steve Vines, who was a journalist based in Hong Kong for 35 years until he recently left for political reasons in 2021. Steve shares the rapid series of events that ultimately led to his departure from the country he called “home.” Steve sheds light on the current situation in Hong Kong by looking back at its history and the resilient spirit of Hong Kong, which he has studied in depth for his new book, Defying the Dragon: Hong Kong and the World's Largest Dictatorship. He discusses how there was once a high degree of liberty and low democracy in Hong Kong, but now both are non-existent. Later in the episode, we hear a fictional story about the oppression and propaganda that is prevalent in Hong Kong.
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