The Glass

Jeffrey Gold & Stephen Van Doren

A modern salon featuring Dr. Jeffrey Gold and Stephen Van Doren discussing topics deep, wide, and in-between, from Villains and Heroes (in fiction and reality) to living on a paycheck that comes from an evil company. Come spend an hour or so as we discuss what's in our glass each week.

Episodes

  1. 8h ago

    The Glass: Episode 4, Surveillance & Capitalism

    Join Dr Gold and Steve as they meander through the panopticon, as they gaze through the all-seeing eye into the fields of data collection, analysis, algorithms, and large language models--all seemingly oriented to either part a person from their money or lock them up the moment it becomes politically convenient. From the techno-optimism of the 90s and early oughts through to the depressing Philip K. Dick reality we find ourselves in today. Of the two apparent options available to us, should we trust the private corporate tyrannies run by our oligarchs or our feckless, democratically-elected leaders to protect us from the precise, targeted attacks we endure through a thousand tiny cuts every day. We're getting too used to paying more and more for less and less. Can laws written during our (late?) stage of capitalism even have the teeth to regulate this anymore? Or have we already lost? Where did our pro-humanity future go?

  2. Aug 9

    The Glass: Episode 3, Consciousness

    Beginning with how consciousness may have begun (the theories of science and religion), Dr Gold and Steve discuss the various concepts related to consciousness including intelligence (including its evolution), morality, sense mechanisms, sentience, sapience, the nature of physics, the human gestation period and its relation to anxiety(!), and as much in between as they can pin down! It's a slippery concept, nailed down into language but entirely lacking any physical sense.

  3. Aug 2

    The Glass: Episode 2, The Adult in the Room

    Dr Gold & Steve sit down to discuss adulthood, from the loss of childhood through the assignment of responsibility that comes along with it and all the way to the ultimate adult being the one who can mitigate the most suffering without understanding it implicitly--the pure pater famlias. Come along and share in the salon on adulthood.

  4. Jul 26

    The Glass: Episode 1, Hello World!

    Join us as we discover what it is to say hello to each other, to you, and to everyone else we encounter every day. We talk about how we say hello, what we do when we do it, and, crucially, WHY we might be doing it. Hello world!

  • 4 Episodes

About

A modern salon featuring Dr. Jeffrey Gold and Stephen Van Doren discussing topics deep, wide, and in-between, from Villains and Heroes (in fiction and reality) to living on a paycheck that comes from an evil company. Come spend an hour or so as we discuss what's in our glass each week.

Information

  • Creator
    Jeffrey Gold & Stephen Van Doren
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    The Glass