Episodes

  • 1.15 Slow your Roll & Upgrade your Mindset with Anthony Vizzone 🎲
    Sep 27 2022
    Show Notes

    Welcome back to ASCENDANT! Today I'm excited to present a conversation I had last year, with Anthony Vizzone, founder of Slow Your Roll, sometimes activist, and all-around entrepreneurial guy. In this conversation, he shares how he grew Slow your Roll from a purely online business to a full-fledged gaming lounge, as far as I know the first of its kind on the Big Island of Hawaii.

    From fighting for 1st Amendment rights to getting invited to the White House itself, Anthony is a great storyteller as well as businessman. Enjoy!

    Further research:

    • Rich Dad Poor Dad — financial abundance book we mention
    • That time I interviewed Harry Uhane Jim — the lomilomi massage practitioner I mentioned (also a kahuna who kahunas)
    • The "Lost" interview I conducted with Anthony
    • Another Student Stopped From Handing Out Constitutions: Q&A With Anthony Vizzone (The time FIRE interviewed Anthony)
    • Slow Your Roll's website
    • @slowyourrollgaming — Follow Slow Your Roll on Instagram!
    • Andrew's Daily TikTok travel updates — Enjoy my round-the-world adventures. (If you're reading this, I'm probably in Asia)

    Mahalo & Thank you for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast!

    Like this episode? Receive the companion aftershow on Patreon!

    For this week's Patreon supporter bonus, I'm providing an aftershow where Anthony shares his personal investment tips (from investing in art to precious metals) and what has worked for him. He has some insightful things to say, so you won't want to miss that.

    For just $5 a month, which is our starting tier, you get access to behind-the-scenes photos, all 3 audiobooks for Ten Thousand Hours in Paradise (a $60 value) and ALL of the ASCENDANT aftershows when you support the show on Patreon. And you can cancel anytime.

    Check out all of the bonuses available to you here →

    Every share helps so much. Namaste! 🌺

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    1 hr and 46 mins
  • 1.14 Live at Sparrenburg Castle: Artist Kiki Kalahari on Going Independent🎨
    Sep 13 2022
    Show Notes

    Today, I have a rather different episode to share with you, recorded with my mobile podcasting setup directly from Sparrenburg Castle!

    I get the chance to interview my friend Kiki about her cute shop (featuring recycled and up-cycled materials), her inspirations as an artist, and her journey to owning her own business. (Hint: it involves hating getting up in the morning.) We also drop some rocks down a 63-meter-deep well. (You'll have to listen to find out why. Ps. The sound quality improves as the interview goes on.) Enjoy!

    Further research:

    • Kiki Kalahari's gorgeous website — See Kiki's work and reach out
    • @kikikalahari — Follow Kiki and enjoy her work on Instagram!
    • Sparrenberg Castle — Learn more about the castle this was recorded at
    • Andrew's Daily TikTok travel updates for his round-the-world adventures!

    Mahalo & Thank you for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast!

    Like this podcast? Receive the companion aftershow to this conversation, and all the great aftershows, when you support the show on Patreon!

    Check out all of the bonuses available to you here →

    Every share helps so much. Namaste! 🌺

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    23 mins
  • 1.13 Live at ITER: A Sun in a Bottle & The Way to Our Fusion Future ⚛️
    Aug 23 2022
    Show Notes

    Today, I am truly honored to have Sabina Griffith, Communication Officer at ITER (formerly the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) on the show!

    In this special on-site interview, we explore the power and potential of ITER, perhaps the largest global scientific collaboration in history, poised to create technology that will allow an abundance of clean, renewable energy. Sabina brings us up to speed with how interest in fusion got started, why it stalled after the oil crisis, and why ITER is so important. Is fusion energy the key to our green, renewable future? Let's find out.

    Further research:

    • ITER website — ITER project's main website, where you can book a free tour
    • Geneva Summit — the meeting between Gorbachev and President Reagan that Sabina mentions, the origin of the ITER agreement
    • ITER podcast — enjoy some exclusive interviews and understand ITER on a deeper level with this podcast
    • Andrew's TikTok & Instagram — where he will be posting some ITER behind-the-scenes glimpses and other travels around France

    Mahalo & Thank you for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast. I hope this helped you imagine what it feels like to visit ITER. More in-person interviews are coming up!

    And this week's member-exclusive bonus is something a bit different: three separate 4K videos, aka. an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look from my tour of ITER!

    You receive that, and all of the other aftershows, when you support this podcast on Patreon. Check out all of the bonuses available to you here →

    Every share helps so much. Merci & Thank you! 🌺

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    45 mins
  • 1.12 Live at Stonehenge: A Near Death Experience & Meeting the Goddess Hel
    Aug 9 2022
    Show Notes

    Today, I have a VERY different episode to share with you, recorded with my mobile podcasting setup directly from STONEHENGE! That's right. The ancient stone circle in England. This involved packing a some gear into my backpack and walking around with some wires sticking out of my pocket, but it was worth it. In this episode, I have a spontaneous interview with a druid who tells a harrowing near death experience story! (I swear I attract NDE stories at this point.)

    Further research:

    • white_wolf_chain_jewellery — You can follow Mike the Polytheist on Instagram!
    • Norse Goddess named Hel — The Norse Goddess of death that Mike met in his NDE
    • Andrew's TikTok with the best of ASCENDANT and his travel adventures — I mention this in the outro and I'm having a lot of fun over there

    Mahalo & Thank you for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast! I hope this helped you imagine what it feels like to visit Stonehenge. More such experiences are coming up!

    And this week's member-exclusive bonus is something a bit different, a 4K video of where I went right after this interview, Avebury, the largest stone circle, by diameter, in Europe! It's quite haunting in the morning light.

    You receive that, and all of the other after shows when you support the show on Patreon. Check out all of the bonuses available to you here →

    Every share helps so much. Namaste!

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    20 mins
  • 1.11 Susan Roderick on Joy, Discipline, Meditation, & Soul Purpose 🧘
    Jul 26 2022
    Show Notes

    Today, I'm SO excited to invite Susan Roderick, photographer, filmmaker, podcaster, international retreat and tour guide, and much more, to the show!

    Our free-flowing conversation delves into how pain can inspire abundance, meditating in sensory deprivation tanks, and being raised with past lives in mind. Is "the formula" of capitalism the answer to happiness? What happens if we try to work that formula if it doesn't line up with our soul purpose? Does freedom require discipline? We explore these questions and much more in this delightfully unpredictable conversation!

    Further research:

    • @susanroderick — Susan's excellent and travel-tastic IG account
    • Becoming Nobody documentary that I keep mentioning, hah
    • Susan's website — where you can see her photos, films
    • Susan's retreat website — Also learn about her amazing retreats! I'm particularly excited about the one later this year in Bali!
    • Andrew's TikTok with the best of ASCENDANT and his travel adventures — I mention this in the outro, and we're having a lot of fun over there 😂

    Mahalo & Thank you for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast! And in the aftershow, Susan shares a possibly the WILDEST story yet for an aftershow, about an ET encounter when she was just 6 years old. I don't want to over-exaggerate, but that story is worth joining the Patreon in and of itself, IMHO. And then after, she shares a pretty trippy story about being with her father as he passed away, truly witnessing his soul drop that physical vehicle in a very palpable way. She describes it so beautifully.

    You receive that, and all of the other after shows when you support the show on Patreon. Check out all of the bonuses available to you here → (including entire Hawaii audiobooks, written and narrated by me) Mahalo 🌺

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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • 1.10 Rachel Michelle on Feminine Power, Shadow Work, & Witches 💃
    Jul 12 2022
    Show Notes

    Rachel has a fascinating story of growing up between Germany and America, consciously deciding to leave her religion, researching paganism, tapping back into her grandmother’s wisdom, and lots of personal growth. Trigger warning: if you don’t like witches or non-western religion, you may want to skip this one. Also: What IS a witch? We explore this, and much more, in this juicy, often hilarious, conversation. 😂 (This is also the first episode wherein me reading the Dictionary could get me in trouble. #WitchFish)

    We delve into beliefs being like software that run in the mind. Can you judge a belief system from the outside looking in? How to leave a scarce or narrow view? What does spiritual maturity mean? We explore that, and more, in this episode.

    Further research:

    • Ascendant 003: Jamie Catto Becomes Nobody and Invents Sanskrit
    • Moldavite
    • The Final Sacrifice film we mention
    • Defending Your Life, the Albert Brooks film I recommend
    • And what the hell, here’s a small cauldron
    • Follow Rachel on Instagram!
    • Get the entire aftershow, where Rachel shares a wild story about seeing something that normal human perception doesn’t usually let us see, over at my Patreon page for just $5. Your support makes this show possible! Mahalo 🌺

    Thank you again for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast. Check out all of the bonuses available to you here → (including entire Hawaii audiobooks, written and narrated by me, and ALL of aftershows that you receive, right when you join for $5.)

    Oh and here’s my new TikTok page that I mention →

    And until next time, eat your garlic… and be careful about moldavite. 😉

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • 1.9 Richad, Nessy, Pressley, et al. talk Culture, Schismogenesis, & Gorgosaurus 🌏
    Jun 28 2022
    Show Notes

    Episode 9 is a delightfully weird one, a group discussion with some personal-growth-oriented friends about global culture, dialects, schismogenesis, and even dinosaurs. I don’t expect everyone to agree with the views expressed here, and my questions don’t imply my endorsement of literally anything. But this was a playful conversation between friends, and I look at this episode as a celebration of the ABUNDANCE of cultures that humanity encompasses. We even learn a new curse word in Korean!

    This is the first episode recorded entirely with my AudioTechnica mic, my iPhone, and just an adapter between the two, thus why I refer to my mobile podcasting setup in this episode. This setup will return in the coming weeks! (#foreshadowing)

    Enjoy this unusual, unpredictable, and often hilarious episode 😝

    Further research:

    • Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point — Dinosaur Museum that Pressley loves and recommends
    • Nessy on the Go — Nessy’s music! Subscribe to her channel!
    • 1 Giant Leap — World music band that I mention

    Mahalo & Thank you for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast!

    Check out all of the bonuses available to you here → (including entire Hawaii audiobooks, written and narrated by me) This week we have some entrancing guitar music by Richad, for members only. Enjoy! 🌺

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    1 hr
  • 1.8 Caitlin Knudsen Part 2: Effective Communication to be More Secure 👫
    Jun 14 2022
    Show Notes

    Do you look outside of yourself to find safety? Or are you like a cork floating in the ocean screaming, I must control, I must control? How do we live with the knowledge that every relationship is imbued with impermanence? We address these and so much more in this episode, Part 2 of the Attachment Style Special! It's okay to ask Life to be gentler with you! Enjoy.

    Further research:

    • The book/audiobook I mention about the wild 10-day silent meditation retreat that changed my life is Ten Thousand Hours in Paradise Vol 2: Tribulations
    • measureonce_tastetwice — Caitlin's beautiful recipe account
    • Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment — a decent intro to attachment theory
    • Law of One Books — Philosophical book series about growth that I mention. You can read all of them here for free. They're also one of the philosophical foundations for my Sci-Fi series
    • Enjoy the exclusive 4K/HD travel video bonus this week at my Patreon!

    Mahalo & Thank you for supporting this one-of-a-kind podcast! To support the show, and check out all of the bonuses available to you, visit my Patreon page here → (including entire Hawaii audiobooks, written and narrated by me) Mahalo for your support, no matter the level 🌺

    This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

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    1 hr and 16 mins