Unpacking Ideas Zach Stehura

In this episode we unpack the Inferno section of The Divine Comedy by Italian Poet Dante Alighieri.

This Books Explores...


The Structure of Dante's Hell
The Medieval stance on Suicide
Why Fraud is considered the worse sin

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (John Ciardi Translation)

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Phil Kobasov

Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Time Stamps

0:00:00 Introduction

In this episode we unpack "Common Sense" by English-American Political Activist Thomas Paine.

This Books Explores...


The Functions of Society and Government
The Evils of Monarchy
The Path Forward for the American Colonies

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Jared Shoup

Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠⁠⁠⁠

Time Stamps

0:00:00 Introduction

0:05:01 Historical Context of Common Sense

0:13:37 Thomas Paine’s Background 

0:20:48 The Differences Between Society and Government 

00:25:00 Government as a Necessary Evil

00:27:28 Anti-Monarchy Sentiments in The Old Testament 

0:30:11 Parallels Between The 12 Tribes of Israel and The 13 American Colonies 

0:32:01 The Origins of Kings

0:35:35 Paine’s Critiques of Hereditary Succession

00:37:35 Paine’s Critiques of Constitutional Monarchy  

0:42:13 The Disease of Monarchy 

0:44:19 Paine’s Ad Hominem Attacks

0:45:14 The Present State of American Affairs

0:46:26 Why Separation from England is Necessary

0:47:40 England as “The Mother Country”    

0:50:00 Why America Doesn’t Need England for Protection

0:51:16 Why America Doesn’t Need England for Trade

0:52:20 Logistical Nightmare of Communication with England

0:53:52 Why Now is the Time for Separation

0:54:58 The Paradoxical Correlation between a Nation’s Population and Military Size

0:58:00 “Relapse More Wretched Than the First”

0:59:56 Paine’s Ideas in What an American Government Should Look Like

1:04:06 America’s Naval Potential 

1:07:44 Paine’s Call to Unite America

1:10:35 The Impact of “Common Sense”

1:13:05 Wrapping Up/Outro

In this episode we unpack several essays from Swiss psychologist Carl Jung's Collected Works on Dreams.

These Essays Explore...


The Differences between Freudian and Jungian Dream Interpretation
Why Common Symbols and Themes Show up in our Dreams
The Benefits of Making Dream Material Conscious

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

Dreams (excepts from collected works) by Carl Jung

Memories, Dreams, and Reflections by Carl Jung

Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung

The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Aiden Moore ⁠*For one-on-one dream interpretation sessions with Aiden visit AidenMoore.com

Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠⁠⁠



Time Stamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:19 Differences Between Freudian & Jungian Dream Interpretation

00:05:09 Beginner's Mind

00:08:14 Assimilation vs. Accommodation

00:12:30 Taking up the Context of the Dream

00:19:45 The Dream as Repressed Wish-Fulfillment

00:24:11 The Language of the Unconscious

00:29:47 Causal vs. Final Explanations of Dreams

00:35:05 Compensatory Dreams

00:37:31 Prospective Dreams

00:41:39 Little Dreams vs. Big Dreams

00:44:07 Archetypes/The Collective Unconscious 

00:49:07 The Objective vs. Subjective Interpretation of Dreams

00:55:30 Practical Application to Dream Interpretation

00:56:56 The "Punny" Character of Dream Images

01:00:12 Resisting the "Correct" Interpretation of a Dream

01:03:43 Slowing Integrating Unconscious Material

01:06:03 Repressed Material Will Follow You Until You Face It

01:08:46 The Empathy & Tact needed to Interpret Dreams

01:10:26 Resisting the "Correct" Interpretation of a Dream

01:13:38 The Consequences of Ignoring Recurring Dreams

01:18:10 Wrapping Up/Outro

In this episode we unpack The Bhagavad Gita from The Mahabharata written circa 500-200 BCE.

This Book Explores...


Karma Yoga & Non-attachment
The Link Between Right Understanding and Right Action
The Interconnectedness of All Things

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

The Bhagavad Gita (Translation: Gita Press)

The Bhagavad Gita (Translation: Eknath Easwaran)

Bhagavad Gita Lecture Series by Gandhar Mandlik *youtube*

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Gandhar Mandlik YogaPoint.com Online/In-Person Yoga Courses and Teacher Training

Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠⁠



Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction

03:00 Gandhar’s Personal Relationship to the Gita

04:36 Background of the Gita Story

08:56 All Problems are Interconnected 

12:16 False Identification with the Physical Body

15:56 Cosmic Consciousness 

18:22 The Trap of Sensual Desires

25:43 Right Understanding & Right Action

27:36 The Two Paths to Self Realization (Monk & Householder)

29:20 Karma Yoga / Dharma

32:20 Nonattached Action

35:00 Contributing to the Ecology

40:37 Bhakti & Jnana Yoga

48:07 Nondualism /The Cosmic Form

57:05 Characteristics of the Self-Realized Person

59:49 Service to Others as a key for Fighting Depression

1:00:47 Wrapping Up/Outro

In this episode we unpack the Second essay in German Existentialist Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's classic work "The Genealogy of Morals" from 1887.

This Essay Explores...


The Origins of Punishment
The Psychology of Guilt
The Link Between Civilization and Bad Conscience

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

⁠On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche⁠

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Samuel Le Coutour

Theme Music: ⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠



Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

03:16 Questions Nietzsche is Trying to Answer

04:12 Origin of Punishment vs. Utility of Punishment

08:25 Punishment Hardens the Individual

10:24 The Etymology of the word “Guilt”

11:01 The Creditor/Debtor Relationship

12:32 Suffering as Compensation

13:48 Suffering as Entertainment Throughout History 

14:39 The Link between Sadism and Social Status

17:14 Grace as a Form of Domination

19:31 The Social Contract

22:52 Lack of Free Will in Early Punishment

24:20 Nietzsche’s Hypothesis on the Origin of Bad Conscience

24:30 The State of Nature Theory

27:10 Turing The Will to Power Against Oneself

32:30 Masochism 

33:34 Punishment as Entertainment for the Gods

34:47 Aristocrats Create Bad Conscience in Slaves

37:46 Ancestor Worship

40:22 Original Sin / The Psychology of Guilt

44:43 Debt Becoming Spiritual and Internal

46:19 Internalizing the Creditor/Debtor Dynamic within One’s own Conscience

48:59 Nietzsche’s Views on Bad Conscience / The Sovereign Individual

52:40 Wrapping up/ Outro

In this episode we unpack the first essay in German Existentialist Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's classic work "The Genealogy of Morals" from 1887.

This Essay Explores...


The Etymology of the words 'good', 'bad', and 'evil'
Nietzsche's Concepts of Master & Slave Morality
Which type of Morality is dominant in the Western world today

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche

The Vocation Lectures by Max Weber

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠

Guest: Samuel Le Coutour

Theme Music: ⁠⁠Polyenso



Time Stamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:35 Challenges in Discussing this piece

00:04:49 Nuances in Nietzsche’s terminology 

00:07:15 Questions Nietzsche is Trying Answers

00:09:36 “We are Unknown, we Knowers of Ourselves to ourselves”

00:11:11 Moral Prejudices of his time

00:13:54 Etymology of the words ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’

00:17:15 Language as an Expression of Power

00:21:20 The Function of The Priest in Society 

00:23:54 Using Morality to Justify Domination 

00:27:29 The Invention of Free Will

00:32:30 The Slave Revolt in Morality 

00:36:14 Ressentiment

00:41:07 Nietzsche’s fear of Slave Morality 

00:45:30 Nietzsche’s Criticism of Master Morality

00:47:43 Nietzsche’s Solution 

00:49:18 The Battle Between Master & Slave Morality on the psychological level

00:55:49 The Battle Between Master & Slave Morality on the societal level

1:00:15 Secular manifestations of Slave Morality 

1:02:09 Wrapping up/Outro