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Heart of the Matter

Heart of the Matter

By Bryan Davis & Jay Kannaiyan

Welcome to the Heart of the Matter, a series in which we share conversations with inspiring and interesting people and dive into the core issues or motivations behind their work, their lives, and their worldview. Coming to you from somewhere in the technosphere with your hosts Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan.
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10 | Kevin Kuruc on Effective Altruism, Veganism, and Economics

Heart of the MatterJul 11, 2020

00:00
01:16:03
Michael Iglesias on taxes, tax avoidance, capitalism, and protecting assets

Michael Iglesias on taxes, tax avoidance, capitalism, and protecting assets

In this episode, Michael and Bryan talk about Michael's company, Lightbeam Financial, and the problem his team is attempting to solve. The conversation covers trusts, ways of minimizing tax liability, and the role of taxation in society. 

Oct 05, 202101:02:04
Matthew Graves on Rationalism, LessWrong, and Analysis/Action

Matthew Graves on Rationalism, LessWrong, and Analysis/Action

Matthew Graves is a brilliant thinker who has been a member of the Rationalist movement for a long time. He is an admin at LessWrong, one the most popular Rationality blogs, a former staff writer at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), and has worked as an instructor at the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR), which hosts retreats and trainings. In this conversation, we talk about most of those things, and also the balance between being on the analytical sidelines of major issues versus being "in the trenches". 

Jul 21, 202101:20:20
Terrisa Bukovinac on Secular Anti-Abortion Activism

Terrisa Bukovinac on Secular Anti-Abortion Activism

Terrisa Bukovinac is a secular anti-abortion activist who has devoted her life to raising awareness about what she regards as an ongoing atrocity. In this conversation, we talk about the ethical underpinnings of her perspective, the story of how she got there, and the current landscape of the pro-life movement. 

Jun 08, 202153:04
14 | David Perkins on the hippie counterculture, intentional communities, and America's shadow

14 | David Perkins on the hippie counterculture, intentional communities, and America's shadow

In this episode Bryan chat's with David Perkins, a founder of the Libre commune, one of the oldest continually-inhabited intentional communities in the country. In the interview, Bryan and David dig into the context that motivated the hippie movement and America's journey since then. 

Mar 01, 202101:47:57
13 | Ben on Guantanamo Bay, justice, and judicial process

13 | Ben on Guantanamo Bay, justice, and judicial process

In this episode, recorded in May 2020, we talk with Ben Farley about his work as a lawyer defending a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, and the associated questions related to justice, human rights, and due process.

Mar 01, 202158:51
12 | MCK on Language, Communication, and Bounce

12 | MCK on Language, Communication, and Bounce

In this Episode, we talk to MKC (Michael C. Keefrider) about two projects, 3PW and Bounce, which are communication modalities aimed at giving people space to share stories and overcome challenges in their lives. We also chat about language learning, life as an expatriate, and MCK's path to honing in on communication as his life's calling. 

Connect with the guest: MCK

Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

Oct 25, 202001:07:19
11 | Mark Hiew on Multiculturalism and Migration

11 | Mark Hiew on Multiculturalism and Migration

In this episode, we share a fun conversation with Mark Hiew. Mark is a digital marketer who is passionate about understanding people, migration, and culture, which closely relates to his Malaysian, Chinese, Australian, and American upbringing.

Mark also hosts the podcast, How to Second Gen. Give it a listen!

Connect with the guest: Mark Hiew

Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

Oct 16, 202001:00:57
10 | Kevin Kuruc on Effective Altruism, Veganism, and Economics
Jul 11, 202001:16:03
09 | Buck Perley on Crypto, China, and the Constitution
Jul 01, 202001:31:38
08 | Alex McAnarney on Human Rights and Identity
Jun 23, 202001:13:41
07 | Brian Robertson on Holacracy and Social Technology

07 | Brian Robertson on Holacracy and Social Technology

This week we share a conversation with Brian Robertson, founder of Holacracy, a social technology for corporate governance. In this episode, we talk about Brian's childhood, path to founding Holacracy in 2007, how it was rolled out at Zappos and Brian's vision for the future of corporate governance.

Connect with the guest: Brian Robertson

Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan


Jun 14, 202001:20:42
06 | Happi Adams on Critical Pedagogy, Power, and White Privilege
Jun 06, 202001:23:13
05 | Scott McClure on Sexuality and Tantra
May 17, 202056:49
04 | Scott Van Camp on Counseling and Non-Judgement

04 | Scott Van Camp on Counseling and Non-Judgement

In this episode we talk to Scott Van Camp, from the Austin Center for Grief and Loss, about his career as a counselor and his colorful life from New York to LA to Austin. We talk about the practices of holding space, recognizing the boundaries between ourselves and others, and how to sit in a state of curious non-judgement.

Connect with the guest: Scott Van Camp

Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

May 09, 202001:08:46
03 | Amy Mosely on Southern Identity and Politics

03 | Amy Mosely on Southern Identity and Politics

In this episode, we talk to Amy Mosely, the founder of Influence Texas, an organization aimed at using public data to bring transparency to Texas politics. Our conversation covers wrestling with southern identify, corruption, the role of data in political decision-making, and engaging across political boundaries.

Connect with the guest: Amy Mosely

Connect with your hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

May 01, 202001:11:58
02 | Dylan Baddour on Journalism
Apr 19, 202001:19:57
01 | Kyle Zamcheck on Active Listening

01 | Kyle Zamcheck on Active Listening

In our first episode, we talk with Kyle Zamcheck, co-founder of Listenly.co, an online platform connecting trained listeners with users seeking to relieve stress and improve mental clarity with an active listening session. 

Kyle Zamcheck is a technology industry leader and an executive communication coach with the Speech Improvement Company. She is the former COO of Jackrabbit Mobile, where she led the team to become one of Inc’s 5000 fastest growing companies. She is currently working on healing the world through impactful communication. To this end, she is the co-founder of Listenly, a digital platform connecting and training people for empathy-based listening sessions. Her work focuses on the intersection of humans and technology. 

Connect with the hosts: Bryan Davis and Jay Kannaiyan

Apr 19, 202001:04:46