2023: How Culture Evolved

Hey Folks, This week we’re looking at Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s new movie about Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein has been a favorite of mine since I happened upon a lecture he gave in the 70s charting the development of music from a single note to the full musical polyphony we have today, as well as the two polarities in nature that transform sound into art (The Greatest Five Minutes in Musical Education). Maestro tells the story of Bernstein in three distinct periods, each rendered with the perspective and language of the time, quite literally in the first segment which is filmed in 35mm black and white and spoken in the Mid-Atlantic accent. It’s one of the best attempts I’ve seen at resisting interpreting the past through contemporary sensibilities. As such we get a palpable transmission of the evolution of not only the artist himself but also the culture at large. This episode is edited from my live Fireside Chat, hosted by the Integral Life practice community. Nomali Perera, the founder of the community (and lover of Maestro), and several listeners weigh in too. I hope you can join us for the next Fireside Chat on Wednesday, February 21, at 1pm PT, 9pm GMT, where we look at culture and politics through an integral lens. I hope you enjoy the episode and check out Maestro on Netflix and in theaters. Jeff Salzman

This week I’m sharing a terrific conversation I had with Nomali Perera and Lee Mason reviewing 2023 from an integral perspective. Through a series of lightning-round questions — greatest surprise, greatest disappointment, etc — we tour the evolving culture, politics, art and the integral movement itself. I hope you enjoy it and best wishes for the New Year! – Jeff Salzman Lee Mason and Nomali Perera – Practical Integral 

A year away from the US Presidential election, Ankur Delight and I ponder the spectre of Donald Trump being the odds-on favorite to win. Our muse this week is Rick Wilson, the founder of the Lincoln Project, who sounds the “Never-Again Trump” alarm in his recent Substack article, Red Caesar and the Next Regime. As Wilson points out, “Red Caesar” is a term used by “the New Right, to mean a leader whose post-Constitutional rule will restore the strength of his people.” Ankur and I discuss an integral perspective, which would categorize Trump’s ruling philosophy as pre-Constitutional but no less “Red”. It looks like we are fated to live a very interesting next year. Enjoy the episode! — Jeff Salzman Ankur Delight: 10,000 Heroes Podcast

Is America really getting stupider? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt makes the case in his influential essay in The Atlantic Magazine titled “Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid”. I challenge his thesis from an integral perspective. Growing from a cultural conversation dominated by a modern worldview to one where many perspectives are online may feel like going backward (kind of like a sweet 12-year-old becoming a sour 13-year-old). But every new stage of development looks like a regression to the stage it is emerging out of. In this episode I make my case. Enjoy!

In this episode, I take another look at the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once in light of its popularity and controversy – including in the integral community. I also consider how taking one new perspective on the play, The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno, turned it from infuriating to infatuating. And more on the ongoing saga of pronouns. Enjoy the episode! From a Live Fireside Chat at Integral Life, this recording is from earlier in the summer of 2023.

On today’s Daily Evolver Live (every Thursday @ 10am PT on YouTube) Ankur and I discussed the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. He’s a fundamentalist Christian who supports Trump and the election deniers. He’s also for Covenant Marriage and against porn, two views that may be evolutionarily potent. Ankur and I tease apart what is good and what is retrograde in his views.

If a debate isn’t about facts and arguments, what is it about? In this episode I look to a high school debate Tournament of Champions for the answer. As you will hear this next generation is Green, they’re mean, and they are discovering new territories of being human that are essential for the coming Integral stage.

Ankur Delight and I talk about the major new deal the UAW struck with the Big Three automakers in the US. The three pillars of the deal are 1) a 25% wage increase, 2) equalized pay for the same job, and 3) the ability to strike in response to plant closings. All represent a further move into green postmodern culture. But, Ankur objects, did we need to be enemies to get here? That’s when the discussion gets really interesting.

Hey folks, In this episode, Ankur kicks off our discussion by asking: “What can we do for Israel and Palestine? What really helps?” We discussed a Kosmo-centric view and how it transcends (and includes) the world-centric view of green postmodernity. Also the evolution of empathy, the role of meditation, Sam Harris’s “presentism” error and more. Enjoy the episode! Jeff Salzman Jeff Salzman – The Daily Evolver Ankur Delight – 10,000 Heroes TWO WAYS TO JOIN ME LIVE: Fireside Chats with the Integral Life Practice Community First and Third Wednesdays of every month @ 1 PM Pacific / 8 PM GMT It’s a relaxed and free-flowing discussion of current events and cultural evolution. Zoom link to join Join other live events at Integral Life. The Daily Evolver Live, with Ankur Delight Thursdays @ 10 AM Pacific / 5 PM GMT Join here on YouTube Live For the last few Thursdays, my buddy Ankur Delight and I have been quietly showing up on YouTube Live to “talk integral” about what’s happening in the world. It’s been fun and fruitful, and we love for you to join us!

Transcending the dueling perspectives of history, politics, religion and race, the insights of cultural development offer a more integrated, evolutionary understanding of wicked geopolitical problems like the conflict in the Middle East. PART 1 of this podcast is my talk to the Developmental Alliance, a monthly Zoom group sponsored by the Institute for Cultural Evolution. PART 2 is a more personal chat with my weekly conversation partner Ankur Delight, host of the 10,000 Heroes podcast. Thanks for tuning in! – Jeff Salzman Join the ongoing conversations … The Developmental Alliance, every 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7pm ET. My chat with Ankur Delight is live every Thursday at 1pm ET on the Daily Evolver YouTube Channel. Live Fireside Chat with the Integral Life Practice Community, every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, 4pm ET. And follow me on Twitter/X!