The Curious Introvert

Meredith Hackwith Edwards

A weekly podcast covering societal taboos & cultural blind spots. Join host Meredith Hackwith Edwards as she deep dives with curiosity & nuance into philosophy, society & culture with expert guests. Episodes frequently feature philosophers, researchers, historians & journalists.

  1. 6d ago

    Ep. 345: Is Premarital Sex Bad? [REMASTERED]

    What is it like to change your mind on something you wrote a best seller on?   Joshua Harris is the author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, a best-selling book in the late ’90s touting courtship as the superior way to find God’s perfect match for you & avoid the perils of sexual sin. It was a required read for many in the evangelical Christian community. In this episode, Josh shares how he changed his mind about the ideas in the book, how our sex lives & careers are connected, and the pros & cons of old-fashioned dating & sexism in the church.   If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 331: DISINTANGLING FAITH FROM RELIGIOUS TRAUMA [REMASTERED]  Guests: https://www.instagram.com/harrisjosh/ https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/clear-loud-with-josh-harris/id1612325690 https://joshharris.com/   Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/      00:00 — The purity culture starter pack 00:51 — Why changing your mind is terrifying 01:46 — When “cancel culture” becomes accountability 03:29 — The theology behind courtship culture 04:32 — The generation that tested the experiment 05:42 — When church certainty started collapsing 06:48 — Leaving the pastor role to question everything 07:46 — Seminary made him leave ministry? 09:33 — Does premarital sex actually help people choose better? 10:54 — Why most churches still reject sexual freedom 12:01 — “We got married quickly because we were horny” 13:00 — How purity culture rewires your relationship with sex 14:17 — The impossible expectations placed on women 15:20 — Marrying in high school to avoid sex 16:09 — Mourning the twenties purity culture stole 17:04 — “That regret is real” 18:11 — The heartbreak of choosing the wrong person 19:00 — Why Joshua wishes he’d traveled and dated more 19:53 — Learning to ask: “What do I actually want?” 20:41 — The divorced ex-evangelical support group 21:18 — Are any ideas from I Kissed Dating Goodbye still useful? 22:06 — Tinder burnout and the return of courtship thinking 23:01 — The real problem with modern dating 23:52 — Freedom vs shame-based control 24:43 — Women who thought tampons threatened purity 25:36 — The “formula” women were sold for happiness 26:41 — Parents trying to control teenage sexuality 28:04 — The 1800s obsession with female ignorance 29:15 — The history of prostitution and Christian morality 30:26 — Why Joshua’s sexual inexperience gave him authority 31:07 — Evangelicalism’s addiction to big movements 31:56 — Why twenty-somethings think they can fix the world 32:40 — How should we talk to kids about sex now? 33:03 — Removing shame from sexuality 33:54 — Sexual freedom also includes saying “that’s not for me” 34:52 — Living with one less regret 35:20 — Books and voices critiquing purity culture 36:22 — Joshua’s pivot into podcasting and business 36:34 — “We’re in the same club” 36:41 — The accidental ex-purity culture reunion club Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    37 min

  2. May 18 ·  Video

    Ep. 344: Lucid Dreams & OBEs: One Researches. The Other Explores it First Hand.

    Do dreams happen in our minds? What can lucid dreaming tell us about the nature of consciousness?    Dave Green is a London-based artist who creates drawings not FROM his dreams, but IN his dreams, which he re-creates upon waking. He’s the author of Doodles In the Dark: An Artist's Guide to Lucid Dreaming & has participated in lucid & precognitive dream research with my other guest, Damon Abraham, PhD, a parapsychologist & the principal research scientist for the consciousness mobile app Entangled.   In this episode, Dave shows us how he uses lucid dreaming to create art WHILE he’s dreaming & Dr. Abraham unpacks the science of the research behind it. You’ll hear about the layers of lucid dreaming, when it becomes an out of body experience & how this may be connected to precognition, the debate about where consciousness lives & why Dave is hesitant to label himself as anything other than a lucid dreaming artist.   If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 308: HOW TO THINK IMPOSSIBLY: PRECOGNITION, POLTERGEISTS & TIME  Guests: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEf56ussbNkUwXYOBjNQIqg  https://www.instagram.com/davegreen5000/  https://x.com/davegreen5000  https://www.linkedin.com/in/damon-abraham-phd/ https://entangled.org/   Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/      0:00 — Dreams as Art: Meet Dave Green & Dr. Damon Abraham 1:06 — Drawing Inside a Lucid Dream 3:02 — Waking Yourself Up On Purpose 3:26 — What Lucid Dreaming Actually Is 5:02 — Control vs. Awareness in the Dream State 7:04 — How Both Guests Discovered Lucid Dreaming 8:56 — Is a Nightmare Origin Story the Norm? 10:10 — Lucid Dreaming vs. Out-of-Body Experiences 12:08 — Why "OBE" Is a Loaded Label 15:03 — Do Dreams Happen Inside Your Head? 18:23 — Researcher Hat vs. Experiencer Hat 19:40 — Damon's OBE: The Bathroom Journal Story 22:26 — The Lottie Dream Portrait Walkthrough 28:22 — Precognition & Verifying What You See 29:41 — Did the Telepathy Tapes Help This Research? 32:14 — Lucid Dreaming Is More Common Than You Think 35:11 — Brainwaves During a Lucid Dream 36:20 — How Dave Navigates Dream Scenery 39:11 — Dave's Portrait Technique 41:23 — The Precognition Experiment Explained 45:18 — The Temptation to Avoid Uncomfortable Conclusions 48:50 — Is the Brain Generating or Receiving Consciousness? 51:21 — Has This Changed How You See Reality? 54:55 — The Real-World Utility of Lucid Dreaming 58:16 — Dave's Dream Yoga Practice 1:00:53 — Third Person Dreams & What They Mean 1:01:44 — Giving a Dream Character a Pen 1:04:57 — Why You Should Start a Dream Journal 1:06:12 — Dave's Book & Dream Portraits 1:07:33 — Damon's Entangled App Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    1h 12m

  3. May 11

    Ep. 343: Developing Psychic Abilities in a World on Fire (is this really that important?)

    Would you go to a psychic Olympics? Does psi have real-world benefits or is it just a way to make people feel like their special?   Hakim Isler served 4 years in the Army as a psi op specialist in special operations forces, is a 6th degree blackbelt in Ninjitsu, a trained remote viewer under Joe McMoneagle himself. He’s also the founder of the Psi Games, a family-friendly competition & conference where neuroscientists, consciousness researchers, & military trained remote viewers make up the lecture roster & psi practitioners ready to put their psychic skills to the test line up to compete.    In this episode we explore how developing your psi abilities may have deeply practical benefits, the ethics of psychic “powers,” preventing cult dynamics, when religion and psi clash & what to expect at the psi games 2026. Get 15% off your ticket to the Psi Games using code PG26INTROVERT15   If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 314: SCIENCE & THE SUPERNATURAL: PROJECT STARGATE, EXPERIMENTAL METAPHYSICS & QUANTUM PHYSICS  Guest: https://www.hakim-isler.com/ https://psigamesinternational.com/  https://www.instagram.com/hakimisler/  https://www.facebook.com/Boss.kr74/  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565002172093  https://www.youtube.com/@PsiGamesInternational    Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/    01:07 — What “PSI” actually means 03:36 — Is intuition a luxury or a lifeline? 05:44 — The hidden cost of feeling separate 07:50 — How PSI reduces fear 09:12 — Is “extra sensory” actually just sensory? 11:45 — Convenience vs human potential 14:32 — Are psychic abilities intentionally demonized? 15:16 — The ethics problem nobody talks about 17:57 — Psyops, manipulation & control structures 18:05 — PTSD after psychological operations training 18:44 — MK Ultra, Tuskegee & algorithmic manipulation 23:13 — The danger of hiding your gifts 26:19 — What actually happens at the PSI Games 34:22 — X-Men, Chronicle & psychic chaos 35:32 — Why outsiders are drawn to PSI communities 38:54 — Why openness may prevent cult dynamics 40:26 — “I want to be a steward, not a king” 44:12 — Beyond party tricks & bent spoons 46:02 — The martial arts student Hakeem never forgot 51:11 — Denominations, jargon & helping your neighbor 51:42 — How to attend the PSI Games Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    54 min

  4. May 4

    Ep. 342: The Cult That Sold Orgasms

    What is orgasmic meditation? Where is the line between cutting-edge wellness & cult behavior? Is the word “cult” too divisive to be helpful?   Ellen Huet is an award-winning investigative journalist who writes for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek. Gher investigative piece on OneTaste lead to the FBI investigation & eventually arrest of Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz. She also wrote EMPIRE OF ORGASM, chronicling how the sex self-help group twisted sexual abuse into personal growth.    In this episode we explore the new image of modern-day cults, the timeline of OneTaste & its leader & who is most vulnerable to cult recruitment.   If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 305: ARE POLITICAL PARTIES JUST CULTS?!   Guest: https://a.co/d/06drvW9D  https://www.ellenhuet.com/  https://www.ellenhuet.com/about  https://x.com/ellenhuet  https://www.instagram.com/ehuet/    Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/    00:00 — Sex, Cults & Startups 01:16 — Wrong Beat, Right Story 01:55 — The 15-Minute Practice 03:51 — Wellness Has a Price Tag 06:18 — Quit Your Job, Move In 08:00 — Consent Gets Complicated 13:01 — Bodies on the Line 15:48 — Victimhood Is Forbidden 17:51 — Free Meetup, Expensive Trap 21:22 — Searching for Something Deeper 23:09 — Gwyneth Approved It 26:00 — Break the Debt Seal 28:06 — Modern Cults Look Normal 31:03 — Chatbots and Spiral Thinking 33:32 — Red Flags to Watch 36:18 — Nicole's Complicated Childhood 41:54 — She Took the Practice 43:26 — San Francisco Let It Slide 45:29 — The Warehouse Experiment 47:44 — WiFi Password: NotACult 50:11 — The Woman Behind Nicole 51:45 — Selling Her Own Vision 53:33 — The Story Nobody Had Told 56:49 — Guilty, Then Sentenced 57:58 — Bored, Lonely, Missing It 01:02:07 — Seeking a Presidential Pardon 01:02:53 — Why People Believe Things Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    1h 7m

  5. Apr 27

    Ep. 341: Lost at Sea at 16: Killer Whales & Courage [REMASTERED]

    "We made an agreement with each other that we would not eat each other no matter how hungry we got." Douglas Robertson is the author of The Last Voyage of the Lucette. He was just a teenager when his family was lost at sea for 38 days.     In this episode he shares more than just a survival story. He shares his unique coming of age story & an opportunity to recalibrate what crisis is. You’ll also hear about killer whale attacks, eating sharks, drinking turtle blood, sea water enemas & adjusting to life on land after being rescued.   This episode originally aired December 11, 2023.   If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 189: SURVIVING A SERIAL KILLER: VICTIM TO FELON TO FLOURISHING   Guest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/survivethesavagesea/ https://a.co/d/4PIalGL http://www.survivethesavagesea.com/   Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/    00:00:00 — Worst Field Trip Ever 00:00:53 — Learning Sailing… Sailing 00:03:33 — Six People, One Boat 00:05:27 — Before It All Sank 00:08:34 — The Rejected Life Raft 00:09:07 — Whale Loves Boat 00:10:00 — Everyone Had a Bad Feeling 00:12:23 — Three Whales. One Hit. 00:14:01 — Sinking in Two Minutes 00:17:12 — Checking for Missing Legs 00:20:03 — Truth Over False Hope 00:22:45 — The First "No" to Dad 00:27:06 — What's for Dinner: Turtle 00:29:42 — Day 38: Don't Get Excited 00:33:43 — Coffee After 38 Days 00:36:05 — Fear Doesn't Hit the Same 00:37:58 — The Story That Won't Die Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    42 min

  6. Apr 20

    Ep. 340: Funerals in America: Status FOR SALE?

    What made the American funeral industry what it is today? Why do we embalm? How do societal status & funeral styles overlap?   Gary Laderman, PhD, is the Goodrich C. White Prof of Amer Religious History & Cultures at Emory University in Georgia, the author of multiple books & featured on The Mortician: an HBO documentary covering a 1980s funeral home who exploited grieving families.   In this episode, you’ll hear how funeral rituals went from DIY to the elaborate & long list of menu options today, how those options supported or detracted from family status, the spooky status of the death worker themselves, how embalming changed everything (hello capitalism!) & the growing resistance towards the commodification of death   If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 278: MORBID OR SACRED? LET’S TALK ABOUT DEATH (WITH A DEATH DOULA)   Guest: https://garyladerman.com/  https://www.instagram.com/garyladerman/    Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/    04:00 — Death for Sale 05:30 — When Death Was a Family Affair 09:20 — Strange Death Rituals in America 12:00 — A Patchwork of Beliefs 13:20 — The Birth of the Funeral Industry 15:30 — Respect, Race, and Funeral Culture 17:00 — Profit Meets Death 20:30 — Death Moves to the Hospital 27:00 — Animals, Intoxication, and Curiosity 29:00 — Religion or Escape? 30:30 — The Power of Ritual 32:00 — The Embalming Shift 32:30 — Lincoln’s Death Tour 36:30 — JFK and Public Mourning 39:30 — Exposing the Death Industry 40:45 — Our Obsession with Famous Deaths 42:30 — Bringing Death Back Home 45:30 — When Options Become Overwhelm 46:00 — Life After Religion 47:30 — Reclaiming Death Traditions 48:45 — Designing Your Own Goodbye Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    51 min

  7. Apr 13

    Ep. 339: Cannibalism – Communion to Placenta – Where Do We Draw the Line? [REMASTERED]

    Is the “ick” factor of cannibalism nature or nurture? What does history tell us (& how much of it is a lie)?   Bill Schutt, a PhD zoologist & author of Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History, answers these questions by sharing the history of human cannibalism. We discuss why accounts of historic cannibalism may have been exaggerated, cannibalism in Europe, eating placenta & taking holy communion.   This episode originally aired July 11, 2022.   If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 327: HE ATE HIS OWN FOOT?! GRIEF, FRIENDSHIP & FOOT TACOS [REMASTERED]   Guest: https://a.co/d/0aFrqU73  https://billschutt.com/ https://www.facebook.com/BillSchutt1/   Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/    03:27 — Europe’s hidden cannibal past 04:06 — Columbus’ narrative shift 05:23 — Cannibalism as a colonial weapon 06:22 — Undoing historical indoctrination 08:09 — “You weren’t dealing with humans” 09:16 — Eating enemies vs loved ones 09:37 — The Waray perspective flip 10:53 — Communion as cannibalism? 11:14 — The transubstantiation debate 12:05 — Flipping ideas on their head 12:50 — Europe’s “mummy medicine” 14:34 — Placenta as modern cannibalism 17:45 — Cooking and tasting placenta 20:04 — Is disgust learned? 21:55 — Curiosity over judgment Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    24 min

  8. Apr 6

    Ep. 338: COMMON GROUND: AI Grief Bots - Solving Grief or Distorting it?

    This is the first of a series of episodes that feature opposing sides of a hot topic. Today it’s the a tech entrepreneur who founded a grief bot service vs a cyberpsychologist specializing in the ethics of death & the digital.   We ask, is this healing or avoidance? Can the dead consent to this? What is the potential for harm?   John Kammer is the founder of Guardian A[I]ngels, a subscription service that sends you journal prompts in the voice of your deceased loved one.    Elaine Kasket, PhD, is cyberpsychologist & Visiting Professor at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath in the UK & the author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life& All the Ghosts in the Machine: The Digital Afterlife of Your Personal Data.   You’ll hear why John created the service while Elaine lays out potential for harm & how they ultimately find common ground.    If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 300: BIOFIELD THERAPY FOR ANXIETY & GRIEF: RECIPE FOR WELLNESS OR PURCHASED PLACEBO? Elaine Kasket, PhD: Reset book: https://a.co/d/081uhN8r  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-your-life-on-tech/id1666800931 https://www.elainekasket.com/  https://www.instagram.com/elainekasket/ https://www.facebook.com/elainekasketauthor   John Kammer: https://guardianaingels.ai/  https://www.instagram.com/guardian_aingels/  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575970961536    Sponsors:  https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/  https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/    01:35 — “This feels like Black Mirror” 02:21 — The biggest risks of AI grief tools 04:23 — Pain to purpose: the origin story 06:15 — Why “time heals all wounds” is a myth 09:10 — The moment AI made him finally cry 13:41 — The danger of “never letting go” 18:45 — Why it shouldn’t feel too real 20:05 — The 4 tasks of mourning explained 25:49 — What is “AI-associated psychosis”? 31:00 — Why reminders of death are essential 38:24 — Why this runs on ChatGPT (and why that matters) 41:00 — Guarding against manipulation loops 44:19 — What grieving people should actually know 52:08 — The ethics of reviving the dead 53:12 — Memory vs. identity: what’s being recreated? Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/   https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/  meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert

    1h 16m
See All (346)

4.8
out of 5
176 Ratings

About

A weekly podcast covering societal taboos & cultural blind spots. Join host Meredith Hackwith Edwards as she deep dives with curiosity & nuance into philosophy, society & culture with expert guests. Episodes frequently feature philosophers, researchers, historians & journalists.

Information

  • Creator
    Meredith Hackwith Edwards
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    346
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Curious Introvert
  • Show Website
    The Curious Introvert

You Might Also Like