Episode 2 / April 3, 2022 / 16 min
The Most Horrible Story
“We are all going to die and we all know it. This can be both a burden and a blessing.”
The Story Beneath The Story
Story
A pulp sci-fi story published 1952
"The Most Horrible Story" by John W. Jakes, originally published in Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy, becomes a way into a larger question: what exactly do we fear when we fear death?
Project Gutenberg · United States, 1952
Memory
My first visit to Shamsana
The episode moves between fiction and reflection, using the story as a lens on the ultimate unknown and the private forms of dread and meaning that gather around it.
Parallel
Why we fear death
The best way to have a good death is to live a good life.
From Your Journal
"What is the thing you have always known but only recently begun to say out loud?"
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Episode 1 / 14 min
My Lord Bag of Rice
A mythical Japanese account tells of a warrior facing a terrible creature to gain passage to a new life. This story connects with common anxieties about achievement and the pervasive fear of failure. The episode ultimately discusses how to face one's inherent limitations to achieve positive goals.
Episode 1 / 13 min
The Still Small Voice
The episode examines the inevitability of profound personal and professional change, and the necessity of adapting one's attitude while navigating life's unknown phases. Using the pulp sci-fi story "The Still Small Voice," Anoop reflects on his own shift from a stable career to becoming a podcast host.