Former tech executive and political writer Mike Brock joins me for one of the most urgent and explosive conversations we've had on the channel — covering Trump's accelerating authoritarianism, the GOP civil war, Silicon Valley's Christian turn, Epstein revelations, and the structural collapse of American democracy in real time.

In this new episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I speak with writer and former tech executive Mike Brock, whose recent Substack essays have gone viral for their sharp, insider-level analysis of the American political meltdown. We explore the dizzying speed at which Trump's second-term movement is consolidating power, the internal rebellion within the conservative legal world, the unraveling of the Republican establishment, and why state-level GOP leaders may finally be defecting. Mike dissects the incentives, psychology, and ideology driving both Trumpworld and the Democratic establishment — from "ultra-processed speech" to the death throes of the old party structure.

We also dive into Silicon Valley's new fascination with Christian nationalism, Peter Thiel's metaphysics, the collapsing "simulation" of technocratic liberalism, the moral vacuum in American media, and the corrupt machinery behind ICE raids, billionaire protection networks, and the post-democratic executive branch.

🔹 Guest Bio: Mike Brock is a former Silicon Valley executive (most recently on the leadership team at Block) and a writer whose Substack Notes from the Circus explores the breakdown of democratic institutions, Big Tech's cultural influence, and the meaning of power in the digital age.

🔗Mike Brock on Substack: https://substack.com/@mikebrock

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Can ancient plant medicines and indigenous traditions help heal our fractured civilization? Daniel Pinchbeck speaks with Roman Hanis—author of Beyond Ayahuasca and co-founder of the Paititi Institute—about his two decades apprenticing with Amazonian elders, bridging Tibetan Buddhism, Jungian psychology, and ecological preservation.

In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I speak with Roman Hanis, author of "Beyond Ayahuasca" and co-founder of the Paititi Institute for the Preservation of Ecology and Indigenous Culture. For over twenty years, Roman has lived and apprenticed among Andean and Amazonian elders, integrating traditional plant-medicine lineages with Tibetan Vajrayana, Jungian psychology, and Daoist internal alchemy. We explore the deeper meaning of "sacred reciprocity," the illness of forgetfulness that afflicts modern civilization, and what it means to reconnect with the original wisdom of the heart. Roman shares his own healing journey from chronic illness to remission in the rainforest, the founding of his eco-spiritual community, and his vision for uniting ancestral wisdom with modern science through rites of passage, education, and intercultural healing.

🌿 Roman Hanis — https://paititi-institute.org

📘 "Beyond Ayahuasca" - https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Ayahuasca-Unlocking-Evolutionary-Indigenous/dp/1401979599

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Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter!

https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck

Please buy my books!

https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv

Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE:

www.liminal.news

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@danielpinchbeck

Official Website:

www.pinchbeck.io/

#LiminalNews #RomanHanis #BeyondAyahuasca #Ayahuasca #PaititiInstitute #PlantMedicine #IndigenousWisdom #DanielPinchbeck #Consciousness #Ecology #Psychedelics #SpiritualHealing #AmazonRainforest #TibetanBuddhism #JungianPsychology

This is an audio version of my recent video essay based on my recent Substack post, "Toxic Empathy: The Supreme Court and the Death of Christian Compassion." I explore how right-wing Christian nationalism has inverted the moral teachings of Jesus—transforming empathy into sin and cruelty into virtue. Drawing on Herbert Marcuse, Joy DeGruy, and the Gospels, I unpack how repression, self-denial, and hierarchy have been sanctified as "tough love."

Read the original essay here: https://danielpinchbeck.substack.com/...

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uudg-3tORj0

📚 References & Mentions Eros and Civilization — Herbert Marcuse Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome — Joy DeGruy Toxic Empathy — Allie Beth Stuckey The Sermon on the Mount, Gospel of Matthew Liberation Theology — Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff Meister Eckhart, Christian Mysticism

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Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter!

https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck

Please buy my books!

https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv

Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE:

www.liminal.news

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@danielpinchbeck

Official Website:

www.pinchbeck.io/

#ToxicEmpathy #ChristianNationalism #DanielPinchbeck #LiminalNews #ErosAndCivilization #JoyDeGruy #LiberationTheology #PostTraumaticSlaveSyndrome #MeisterEckhart #Theology #Philosophy #Psychoanalysis #ReligionAndPolitics #CulturalCritique #VideoEssay #evangelism #christiannationalism #christofascism #christianity