.png)
The Other Side of Potential
Over time, the conversations we choose to have begin to reflect what matters most.
If you’ve been part of this podcast, you’ve heard me speak about human development, systems thinking, and the ways we make meaning of our lives and work. That work continues—and remains at the core of my coaching and professional practice.
What has changed is the space where I am choosing to have a different kind of conversation.
After the death of my son, Michael, I felt called to create a more personal place—one that speaks directly to the experience of loss, and to the questions that emerge when life no longer looks the way it once did.
That space is now Beyond the Loss.
This podcast is for parents who have lost a child, and for those who support them. It is not about fixing grief or finding closure, but about understanding how we continue to live, to make meaning, and to become—after loss.
If you are looking for my current podcast,
you will now find me there.
I invite you to join me on Beyond the Loss.
You are welcome.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6wqQ8MwCty4eJAiZ8VroUV?si=0b4c5d3bab6a4b64
The Other Side of Potential
Episode 205: A Better Human Story with Andrew Schmookler
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The last decade has given us much to think about in terms of the trajectory of our societies, and how it figures into the context of the broader history of humankind. We are very lucky to have Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler on the show today, to talk about his work questioning and investigating the evolution of civilization and to share some of his thoughts on why the world is the way it is right now.
Dr. Schmookler is an author, a former Democrat candidate for Congress, a former talk show host, and a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University. He has written columns for many newspapers and platforms and his ideas and reflections are particularly relevant to many of the dynamics we talk about on the podcast.
In our chat today we discuss escaping division and war, the systemic issues we currently see in the US and how we might transcend these, fixing the almost inherent brokenness, and much more. It is such an honor to have someone as invested and insightful on the show to share their wisdom, please listen in and enjoy!
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Andrew illuminates his journey towards questioning the world around him more deeply.
- Unpacking the societal evolution that humankind embarked on and the implications of this.
- The hopefulness that permeates a lot of Andrew's work.
- Charting the societal rise of what Andrew calls the 'spirit of the warlord'.
- The ordering of civilization; debating the root causes of recent conflicts.
- Bringing hope back into the conversation in light of the competing forces in the world.
- The deficiencies of the secular culture of the modern, Western world.
- Individual actions in the broader context and getting away from the idea of being right.
- The divisiveness of social media, and how this has steadily infiltrated our lives.
- Some of the struggles and failures that Andrew has faced in the course of his career.
Transcript: Here
Links Mentioned:
Tet Offensive: https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive
Martin Luther King: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/
Eugene McCarthy: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eugene-McCarthy
The Beatles: https://www.thebeatles.com/
Findhorn: https://www.findhorn.org/
Sharon Spano:
Website: sharonspano.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SharonSpanoPHD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsharonspano/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonspano/
Book: thetimemoneybook.com
Events: https://sharonspanoworkshops.com/intensive
Contact: sharon@sharonspano.com
Twitter: twitter.com/SharonSpano
The Other Side of Potential Podcasts: https://www.sharonspano.com/podcast/
12-Week Toxic Relationship 1:1 Intensive: https://sharonspanoworkshops.com/intensive