Can Radical Hope Save Us from Despair in a Fractured World? with Jamie Wheal

The One You Feed

Eric Zimmer, The One You Feed

Buddhism, Education, Self-improvement, Religion & Spirituality, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.6 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Jamie Wheal explores the question of “Can radical hope save us from despair in a fractured world?” He argues that most of the feel-good positivity we are sold is useless when facing real crises, from climate collapse to meaninglessness. But there is a kind of hope that survives contact with brutal reality. Get Weekly Bites of Wisdom delivered to your inbox. Every Wednesday, you’ll receive a short, practical email that distills the big ideas from different episodes on topics like mental health, relationships, anxiety, and purpose – into bite-sized practices you can use right away. It’s free, takes about a minute to read. You’ll also receive a Weekend Podcast playlist every Friday to ensure you don’t miss an episode! Join now at oneyoufeed.net/newsletter. Key Takeaways: The internal and cultural struggle between hope and despair in the context of global crises. The concept of “radical hope” as a resilient form of hope amidst harsh realities. The inadequacy of typical positivity in addressing complex real-world problems. The need for a new “rational mysticism” suitable for the 21st century. The dangers of failing to establish a stable, shared sense of meaning in society. The critique of hyper-individualistic and consumer-driven culture in relation to existential risks. The historical evolution of existential risk narratives and their implications for modern society. The importance of community and connection in fostering healing and growth. The challenges of creating secular communities that provide meaningful structure and belonging. The potential for a revived Western rational mysticism to address contemporary spiritual needs and crises. If you enjoyed this conversation with Jamie Wheal, check out these other episodes: How to Overcome Cynicism and Embrace Hope with Jamil Zaki Human Nature and Hope with Rutger Bregman For full show notes, click here! Connect with the show: Follow us on YouTube: @TheOneYouFeedPod Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Follow us on Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Either we create a rational mysticism for the 21st century, or we end up with national mysticism,
0:05.5	and that's the Nazis, the Third Reich, right? That's Jews will not replace us, Charlottesville.
0:12.0	That is a lot of hate-filled ethno-nationalism. So the bottom line is in that meaning crisis,
0:17.2	if you don't create a rock in the middle of that ocean, everyone just goes whooshing past the moderate middle.
0:23.6	And the first place they find community, the first place they get seen is in increasingly fundamentalist and extreme versions.
0:34.6	Welcome to the one you feed. Throughout time, great thinkers have recognized the importance of the thoughts we have.
0:45.0	Quotes like, garbage in, garbage out, or you are what you think, ring true.
0:50.5	And yet, for many of us, our thoughts don't strengthen or empower us.
0:54.9	We tend toward negativity, self-pity, jealousy, or fear.
0:59.6	We see what we don't have instead of what we do.
1:02.5	We think things that hold us back and dampen our spirit.
1:05.8	But it's not just about thinking.
1:07.9	Our actions matter.
1:09.0	It takes conscious, consistent, and creative effort to make a
1:12.6	life worth living. This podcast is about how other people keep themselves moving in the right
1:17.6	direction, how they feed their good wolf. Today on the one you feed, we're naming the wolves,
1:26.2	the ones fighting inside us, and in our culture at
1:29.7	large. Hope versus despair. Jamie Wheel argues that most of the feel-good positivity were sold
1:37.3	is useless when facing real crises, from climate collapse to meaninglessness. But there is a kind of hope that survives contact with brutal reality.
1:49.0	We talk about his book Recapture the Rapture, the loss of shared stories, and what it would
1:54.8	mean to build a new, rational mysticism for our time.
1:59.3	If you felt the tension between giving up and giving
	...

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