After Skool

How your Brain Hallucinates your Conscious Reality - Anil Seth

1/09/2026

Anil Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, and Co-Director of the CIFAR Program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness. His mission is to advance the science of consciousness and put its insights to work for society, technology, and medicine. Seth is one of the most prominent public voices in consciousness research. His 2021 book Being You: A New Science of Consciousness became a Sunday Times top-10 bestseller and was named a Book of the Year by The Economist, The Guardian, the Financial Times, New Statesman, and others. He was founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness (2014–2024) and has been a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (top 0.1% by citation impact) from 2019 through 2025. Seth’s research and writing explore how the brain constructs the experience of being a self in a world—why perception is a kind of controlled hallucination, how consciousness arises from the brain’s predictive activity, and what that means for AI, medicine, and our understanding of what it is to be you. Learn more at https://www.anilseth.com/ If you want to support After Skool and help fund more animation projects https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool To order After Skool art https://shop.afterskool.net/ Get in touch or hire After Skool to create a custom animation https://www.afterskool.net/ Thank you. Much love.

Something Amazing Happens When You Stop Trusting Your Thoughts

11/08/2026

This video was made in collaboration with Pursuit of Wonder - A channel dedicated to fostering reflection through powerful ideas and stories. If you like the message in this video check out the book, "The Terrible Paradox of Self-Awareness: How Awareness Is the Beginning and End of Suffering" by Robert Pantano, the creator of Pursuit of Wonder. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FCDCCNJR Wonder is the feeling of curiosity and appreciation inspired by something beautiful, inexplicable, or unfamiliar. Pursuit of Wonder creates work with the aim of producing that feeling. Through video essays, short stories, guided experiences, books, and more, Pursuit of Wonder explores a wide range of topics related to philosophy, psychology, science, literature, well-being, and more. Please subscribe to the Pursuit of Wonder channel - https://www.youtube.com/pursuitofwonder In this episode of After Skool, we explore the paradox of thinking about thoughts. We examine the philosophies of Carl Jung, Alan Watts and Lao Tzu to discover a refreshing way to approach our attachment to thoughts. If you want to support After Skool and help fund more animation projects https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool To order After Skool art https://shop.afterskool.net/ Get in touch or hire After Skool to create a custom animation https://www.afterskool.net/ Thank you. Much love.

10 Years of Wisdom in 10 Minutes

28/07/2026

After Skool was created on July 24, 2016. It was born out of an artist's deep desire to share a creative fire and an unquenchable curiosity. It's amazing where those 2 forces can take you. After a decade of releasing one educational animation every 2 weeks, these are the best lessons learned along the way. I hope After Skool has inspired you or encouraged you in some positive way. It is so humbling getting messages from you. I love reading emails from people who say a certain animation helped them turn their life around for the better. We're all fighting our own individual battles, but we're all on this journey together. From neuroscience, to bio-hacks, to spirituality to philosophy and psychology - these are the most valuable, life enhancing insights of the last 10 years. If you want to support After Skool and help fund more animation projects https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool To order After Skool art https://shop.afterskool.net/ Get in touch or hire After Skool to create a custom animation https://www.afterskool.net/ Thank you. Much love.

Everything Happening Now Has Happened Before (NOT AI)

14/07/2026

This is a collaboration with Medieval Mindset. Check out his Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCwS7tk2pxX_PZQ5NtmnHgTA In this episode, we examine some of the modern day narratives and compare them to similar events in the past. It can be both terrifying and comforting to know that this has all happened before. From birth rate declines to job disruption to doomsday alarmists, history has a funny way of rhyming. Please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. Thank you! https://www.patreon.com/AfterSkool Get in touch at https://www.afterskool.net/

AI Surveillance Is Creating Two Classes of Humans

23/06/2026

Empower your critical thinking and get the full picture on every story. Subscribe through my link https://ground.news/afterskool to get 40% off unlimited access this month with their Vantage Plan. In this episode of After Skool we examine the emergence of AI surveillance. We are rapidly approaching technological capability to harvest data on everyone at all times. These AI systems will know us better than our closest loved ones, and they will be able to predict behavior patters and control outcomes. This episode uses the ancient Greek philosophy of Socrates to illustrate what it means to be free. What is the value to private thought and self examination? There is another story from Ancient Greece that helps to explain our current moment. The word panopticon comes from the Greek myth of Panoptes, the all-seeing, giant watchman with a hundred eyes. He only ever closed two of them at a time to sleep, making him an excellent guard for the goddess Hera. Two thousand years later, in the 18th-century, English philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham took inspiration from the myth of Panoptes in his design for a prison that would be more effective at controlling inmates’ behavior. The panopticon is a circular prison with a watchtower at its center. Prisoners could always be seen by the guards, but a screen on the watchtower meant the prisoners themselves could never know for certain if the guards were observing them. The idea was that they would behave better because they had to assume they were always under observation. The core idea of the panopticon is based on one group of people having a great deal more awareness and knowledge than another. In this case, the guards can see everything the prisoners are up to, while the prisoners only know that there’s a chance that they are being watched at any given moment. Because the prisoners don’t know what parts of their experience are being observed, the expectation was that they would self-regulate their behavior, leading them to be reformed through what is, effectively, psychological control. Now we are creating a virtual panopticon by default. There's still time do decide what kind of future we want. Please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. Thank you! https://www.patreon.com/AfterSkool

Wabi Sabi - The Japanese Art of Perfect Imperfection

2/06/2026

Wabi-sabi (侘寂) is a Japanese aesthetic and philosophical concept centered on finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness. It combines two ideas: wabi (subdued, rustic simplicity) and sabi (the natural patina and beauty that comes with age). This episode of After Skool was written and narrated by Einzelgänger, a channel dedicated to exploring various topics and ideas. To learn more, visit the Einzelgänger YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCybBViio_TH_uiFFDJuz5tg Please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. Thank you! https://www.patreon.com/AfterSkool Background music: State of Zen by Mandala Dreams

Genius Solution to Transform Barren Land into Fertile Garden

28/04/2026

Want to restore the planet’s ecosystems and see your impact in monthly videos? Join Planet Wild and try the first month for free: https://planetwild.com/r/afterskool/join If you want to get to know them better first, check out their mission in Tanzania: https://planetwild.com/r/afterskool/m33 This episode features two simple solutions to transform degraded, deforested land into lush, fertile habitats. Across Africa, people are coming up with innovative, simple techniques to stimulate the ecosystem, reverse a vicious cycle of devastation and restore biodiversity. The first method is called Bunds, also known as "Earth Smiles", which are a simple, low-cost rainwater harvesting technique used for landscape restoration in arid and semi-arid regions. They consist of semi-circular (half-moon shaped) pits dug into the ground, with the excavated soil piled up to form a small embankment. The open side faces uphill, and the curved "smile" side faces downhill to catch and hold runoff water. The second method is called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), which has managed to bring back an estimated 200 million to 240 million trees across Africa — without planting a single tree. How? By utilizing the underground forests that already exists. When a tree grows, its main shoot releases a hormone called auxin that suppresses the growth of other shoots and buds - to focus energy into one single strong trunk to create a tree. But when the tree is cut to a stump, it stops producing auxin even though the roots stay alive underground. As a result, dozens of shoots sprout at once, competing for resources making it look like a bush. Essentially this simple technique is about choosing one or two strong shoots and pruning away the rest so the chosen sprout can quickly become a tree again. This growth happens much quicker than planting a tree because the root system is already established. Big thanks to Planet Wild for collaborating on this video. It's an honor to contribute to an organization that is actually doing good...not just saying they're doing good. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter https://www.afterskool.net/ Support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AfterSkool to help us pick video topics and get early access to videos.

The Easiest Way to Change Who You Are - Dr Joe Dispenza

14/04/2026

This is a clip from the Modern Wisdom podcast with Dr Joe Dispenza and Chris Williamson. Full podcast can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rQ4mzz6Hgs&t=7481s Dr Joe Dispenza is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, researcher, and educator, Dr Joe Dispenza specializes in teaching people to rewire their brains and recondition their bodies to make lasting changes. His focus is the intersection of neuroscience, epigenetics, and quantum physics, and is driven by the conviction that each of us has the potential for greatness. Learn more at https://drjoedispenza.com/ Dr Joe's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/drjoedispenza Dr Joe's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drjoedispenza Subscribe to our monthly newsletter https://www.afterskool.net/ Support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AfterSkool to help us pick video topics and get early access to videos.

Evidence of Plant Intelligence - The Bizarre Polarity of Plants - Rupert Sheldrake

31/03/2026

It has long been thought that plants do not have the capacity to think because they don't have a brain or a central nervous system. But little is known about plant consciousness, let alone our own consciousness. In this episode, Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, presents the curious phenomenon of polarity in plants. There is a natural, inherent polarity in plants that is expressed in roots and shoots, but the polarity is present all the way down to the cellular level. Rupert Sheldrake demonstrates a number of experiments that detail just how bizarre this polarity is. His experiments focus on Auxin, the principal growth hormone in plants, and reveal that polarity has nothing to do with gravity, cell division or age. There is a mysterious influence that acts within plants that pushes auxin in one direction, from the shoots towards the roots. This directionality is even maintained when the plant is grown upside down. Rupert Sheldrake is a British biologist, author, and researcher born on June 28, 1942 (age 83). He is best known for proposing the groundbreaking theory of morphic resonance (also called morphic fields). He is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and 9 books, and the co-author of 6 books. His books have been published in 28 languages. Learn more about Rupert Sheldrake at https://www.sheldrake.org/ or https://rupertsheldrake.substack.com/ Thank you for watching! Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/ Hire After Skool to create a custom animation - https://www.afterskool.net/

How Ai Slop will Spark the Next Human Renaissance

17/03/2026

Head to http://squarespace.com/afterskool to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code afterskool. This episode of After Skool focuses on the hidden tradeoffs of adopting new technology. Each time we gain something with a new invention, we also lose something, and what we lose is often hard to see until much later. We can all sense that Ai will be the single biggest driver of change in the next decade and may very well be our last invention. There’s no denying that it’s a tremendously powerful tool with limitless potential, but what are we losing as we adopt it into our everyday lives? What are we losing by letting Ai make our decisions, do our critical thinking and create our art? For many this could erase our reason to exist. There is a growing fear that Ai will replace us all. As Ai proves to do everything faster and cheaper than humans can, the unavoidable question is what will humans do? What are we good for? What purpose will we serve? Since the industrial revolution, we have treated people like cogs in a machine to do monotonous, repetitive tasks in factories and offices in assembly lines under fluorescent lights. We’ve pretended that copying numbers from one spread sheet and pasting them in another is important work. All of a sudden Ai comes along and floods the market with agents that do repetitive tasks quicker and cheaper than any human worker can. It’s dissolved the value of generic work. It’s ended the need for humans to do dehumanizing labor. “the Ai flood will make un-simulated humanity the ultimate luxury good. So many of us are worried that Ai will replace us, but very soon there will inevitably be a grand realization that Ai can only replace the drudgery. We’ll be left with the work that requires a soul and some real critical thinking. It’s going to be a movement from an economy of quantity to an economy of quality, where we shift our focus to doing the things that the machine cannot.” - Medieval Mindset The Renaissance (French for “rebirth”) was a transformative cultural, intellectual, and artistic movement that began in Italy in the 14th century and spread across Europe through the 17th century, marking the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era. Sparked by a renewed interest in the classical learning, literature, philosophy, and art of ancient Greece and Rome, it celebrated humanism—the idea that human potential, reason, and individual achievement could flourish beyond the constraints of medieval religious dogma. This era produced an explosion of creativity in painting, sculpture, architecture, science, and literature, with towering figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Shakespeare redefining beauty, anatomy, perspective, and human emotion. Economically fueled by wealthy patrons and the printing press, the Renaissance not only revived forgotten knowledge but also laid the groundwork for the Scientific Revolution, global exploration, and the very notion of progress that still shapes Western civilization today. We could be accelerating out of a dark age into a renaissance - The dawning of a new age where we shake off the fog in our minds and rediscover why we are here. The beginning is near. Thank you for watching! Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/ Hire After Skool to create a custom animation - https://www.afterskool.net/ Check out Medieval Mindset, a wonderful source of inspiration for this episode - https://www.youtube.com/@UCwS7tk2pxX_PZQ5NtmnHgTA

The Myth That Keeps You Trapped - Alan Watts

24/02/2026

Head to http://squarespace.com/afterskool to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code afterskool. Speech extract from "What is Life About?" by Alan Watts, courtesy of https://alanwatts.org And also "The Nature of Consciousness part 1" by Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a well-known British philosopher, writer and speaker, best known for his interpretation of Eastern philosophy for Western audiences. He left behind more than 25 books and an audio library of nearly 400 talks, which are still in great demand. In this episode we examine the myth that people have been conditioned to believe - that they are trapped inside their skin. They are the drop, not the ocean. The reality is, you are not separate from anyone or anything. You are the big bang. Follow the Alan Watts Organization: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3wxPA1Sph--HxKGdOGVjrg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alanwattsofficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alanwattsorg/ Full lectures found at: https://www.alanwatts.com/ Speech licensed from: https://mindsetdrm.com/

Why Inbreeding is Terrible AND Amazing - Bret Weinstein

10/02/2026

Empower your critical thinking and get the full picture on every story. Subscribe through my link https://ground.news/afterskool to get 40% off unlimited access this month with their Vantage Plan. This is a clip from the Before Skool Podcast. Full episode here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijW2Shd_TLA Dr. Bret Weinstein has spent two decades advancing the field of evolutionary biology, earning his PhD at the University of Michigan, before teaching at The Evergreen State College for 14 years, from which he resigned his tenured position in 2017. He has developed a new Darwinian framework based on design trade-offs, and made important discoveries regarding the evolution of cancer, senescence and the adaptive significance of moral self-sacrifice. He is currently working to uncover the evolutionary meaning of large scale patterns in human history, and seeking a game theoretically stable path forward for humanity. With his wife, Heather Heying, he co-wrote A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, and is the host of the DarkHorse Podcast. Learn more about Bret at https://www.bretweinstein.net/ Or check out his podcast https://www.youtube.com/@UCi5N_uAqApEUIlg32QzkPlg

How Early Separation from Mom Causes Permanent Personality Changes - Erica Komisar

27/01/2026

Erica Komisar is an American clinical social worker (LCSW), psychoanalyst, parent coach, author, and parenting expert based in New York City. With over 30 years of experience in private practice, she specializes in psychotherapy for issues like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and compulsive behaviors, while also focusing on parent guidance, attachment theory, and early childhood emotional development. Erica Komisar's most prominent book is "Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters" (2017, Penguin), which argues—drawing from attachment science, neuroscience, and her clinical experience—that a mother's emotional and physical presence during a child's first three years is crucial for building secure attachment, emotional resilience, and long-term mental health. It emphasizes the impacts of early separation (e.g., via full-time daycare or work demands) on stress hormones, bonding, and personality development. She followed up with "Chicken Little The Sky Isn’t Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety" (2021), addressing teen mental health in a high-pressure culture. She's a contributing editor at the Institute for Family Studies and writes on Substack ("The Lost Instinct") about motherhood, parenting science, culture, and politics. Komisar frequently appears in media (e.g., CBS, ABC, FOX, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post) and podcasts (including high-view episodes like Diary of a CEO with Steve Bartlett, which went viral discussing early motherhood, attachment, daycare effects, gender differences in parenting roles, and boys' challenges in modern education). Learn more about Erica Komisar at https://www.ericakomisar.com/ Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/

A Brilliant Response to Atheism - John Lennox vs Christopher Hitchens

13/01/2026

Head to http://squarespace.com/afterskool to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code afterskool. John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University (emeritus), is an internationally renowned speaker on the interface of science, philosophy and religion. He regularly teaches at many academic institutions, is Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum and has written a series of books exploring the relationship between science and Christianity. He is President of OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. Known as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism (along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett), he gained prominence as a columnist and speaker. His epistemological razor, which states that "what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence", is still of mark in philosophy and law. The audio in this video is a 15 minute clip of a 90 minute debate between Christopher Hitchens and John Lennox (recorded on March 3, 2009, at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama). The topic of the debate was "Is God Great?". Christopher Hitchens, being an atheist, argued that God is not great, belief in God is obsolete and God does not exist at all. John Lennox, being a mathematician but also a devout Christian, brilliantly argues that science and God are complimentary explanation of the universe. Lennox explores morality and intelligent design and refutes the claim the religion poisons everything. Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/

How to Destroy Your Enemy - Sun Tzu

16/12/2025

to today’s sponsor https://www.Strawberry.me/afterskool to connect with a career coach today! Sun Tzu ( 孫子) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, a Classical Chinese text on military strategy from the Warring States period, though the earliest parts of the work probably date to at least a century after him. Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and East Asian culture as a legendary historical and military figure; however, his historical existence is uncertain. The Han dynasty historian Sima Qian and other traditional Chinese historians placed him as a minister to King Helü of Wu and dated his lifetime to 544–496 BC. The name Sun Tzu—by which he is more popularly known—is an honorific which means "Master Sun". His birth name was said to be Sun Wu (traditional Chinese: 孫武; simplified Chinese: 孙武) and he is posthumously known by his courtesy name Changqing (Chinese: 長卿). Traditional accounts state that the general's descendant Sun Bin wrote a treatise on military tactics, also titled The Art of War. Since both Sun Wu and Sun Bin were referred to as "Sun Tzu" in classical Chinese texts, some historians thought them identical, prior to the rediscovery of Sun Bin's treatise in 1972. This script was written by After Skool and Trenton Bouie. To learn more about Trenton - @trenton_bouie in IG or get in touch at TheWriterTrenton@gmail.com Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/ Background music by Mandala Dreams

Are We Waking Up a New God? - Agrippa's Diary

2/12/2025

Here's another incredible collaboration with Agrippa's Diary - a captivating gateway to philosophy, alchemy, esotericism, and the enigmatic history of ancient secret societies and mysteries. Check out more of their offerings on their youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@agrippasdiary For millennia, our god-like ambition was channeled in two directions: one inward, to perfect and become the god, and one outward, to create the god. The first path is the path of the Overman. It is the idea that humanity itself is the raw material for a higher being. The second path is the path of the Golem. It is the ambition to build an external servant, an artificial being molded from the clay of our own knowledge. This dream has always haunted our folklore, a story of creation tinged with fear. It is the warning that what we make, we may not control. In this episode, we examine the question about our Ai race: Are we creating a gateway to ultimate liberation OR are we decorating a cage for ourselves? Background music - Left Alone - Dark Haunting Atmospheric Music by CO.AG Music Discover more of their music on their youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/

How to Instantly Connect with Anyone - Charles Duhigg

18/11/2025

Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What’s this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?), and social (Who are we?). If you don’t know what kind of conversation you’re having, you’re unlikely to connect. The good news is that communication is a science, and, with the right guidance, anyone can learn to master the skills needed to connect. This video is based on the research from Charles Duhigg’s latest book, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection – a fascinating guide to what makes conversations work and how we can all learn to be supercommunicators at work and in life. Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of Supercommunicators, The Power of Habit, and Smarter Faster Better. A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale University, he is a winner of the National Academies of Sciences, National Journalism, and George Polk awards. He writes for The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine, and was the founding host of the Slate podcast How To! with Charles Duhigg. You can connect with Charles on: His website: charlesduhigg.com His newsletter: Charlesduhigg.substack.com His Instagram: @charlesduhigg And YouTube: @penguinrandomhouse Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/

A Caveman's Journey into the Prison of Dopamine

4/11/2025

In this Episode of After Skool, we collaborate with Tj Power to illustrate a sci-fi story about a caveman who encounters a ship from an alien world. The caveman enters the ship and discovers that the inside is filled with treats beyond his wildest imagination. He is delighted, but his dream gradually turns into a nightmare. This episode features four primary chemicals that affect our mood - Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins. Tj Power is a neuroscientist, bestselling author, and founder of the DOSE® Lab. He teaches simple habits that restore healthy brain chemistry and has delivered the DOSE® psychological intervention to over 80,000 people around the world. Take your free DOSE brain test here: https://testing.thedoselab.com/mybrain Tj’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjpower/ Tj’s Bestselling DOSE Book: https://geni.us/doseeffect Buy After Skool art and calendars! https://shop.afterskool.net/ Music by Caleb Winters. Discover more at www.calebwinters.ca

How did History's Greatest Civilization Collapse? The FALL of Rome - Gregory Aldrete

14/10/2025

Two of the most famous and widely debated questions in all of history are: “When did the Roman Empire fall?” and “Why did the Roman Empire fall?” Over the centuries, dozens of thinkers have proposed hundreds of different answers to these questions, and even today historians do not agree on the answers to either question. Since the influence of Roman civilization still remains hugely important to the modern world in many fundamental areas such as language, law, architecture, government, and religion, it’s worth taking a look at some of the most popular dates and causes that have been proposed for the fall of the Roman Empire and see what merits each has. According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus on the banks of the Tiber River. It began as a small monarchy of Latin tribes but became a republic in 509 BC, governed by elected senators. Over the next centuries, the Roman Republic expanded through Italy and the Mediterranean, defeating rivals like Carthage in the Punic Wars. By the 1st century BC, internal conflict and power struggles, including those of Julius Caesar, ended the Republic. In 27 BC, Caesar’s heir Octavian (Augustus) became the first emperor, marking the rise of the Roman Empire. Under emperors like Trajan and Hadrian, Rome reached its greatest extent, stretching from Britain to the Middle East. In the 3rd century AD, the empire weakened from invasions, plagues, and civil wars. Emperor Diocletian divided it into East and West in 285 AD, and by 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire fell when Germanic forces deposed its last emperor. The Eastern Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, endured for nearly a thousand more years, preserving Roman law, art, and culture, until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD, marking the final end of the Roman world. The topic of WHY the great Roman civilization declined is one of contentious debate. In this episode we dispel some of the glorified myths surrounding Rome's collapse and investigate some of the lesser known causes. In the end, perhaps a better and more important question to ask than when or why Rome fell, would be to inquire, "How did it manage to last so very, very long?" Gregory S. Aldrete is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. He earned his PhD in Ancient History from the University of Michigan. He has been honored with numerous awards for his research and teaching and has received five fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is also a prolific scholar whose books include Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome, Daily Life in the Roman City, and The Long Shadow of Antiquity: What Have the Greeks and Romans Done for Us? Gregory's Books: https://amzn.to/3z6NiKC Gregory's Great Courses Plus: https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/gregory-s-aldrete Gregory's Audible: https://adbl.co/4e72oP0 Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/

The Cobra Effect: How Good Intentions Lead to Bad Outcomes

23/09/2025

Empower your critical thinking and get the full picture on every story. Subscribe through my link https://ground.news/afterskool to get 40% off unlimited access this month with their Vantage Plan. “Cobra Effect” refers to a situation where good intentions lead to bad outcomes through misguided incentives. The term originated in n the early 1900’s, when British colonizers tried to solve a cobra problem in Delhi, India. British authorities announced that there would be a reward for every cobra they received. The Indian locals raced out into the streets, tracking down cobras and turning in their bodies. The plan worked…until it didn’t. It wasn't long until cobras were seen as a valuable item. Locals began breeding cobras, just to claim the reward for turning them in. Cobra breeding became a profitable business. The British government was confused because the amount of snakes kept rising. After a few years, they caught on to what was happening, and stopped offering the reward. Suddenly cobras were worth nothing, so breeders set them free. It is even said that the problem was worse than before the government intervened in the first place. This video explores numerous examples of how good intentions lead to bad outcomes and what we can do to improve incentive structures. This video was written by Chris Meyer and After Skool. Check out more of Chris Meyer's brilliant writing here https://themindcollection.com/ If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Order After Skool prints and shirts https://shop.afterskool.net/ Sign up for our monthly newsletter at https://www.afterskool.net/

Carl Jung - Love the Enemy Within (Read by Alan Watts)

9/09/2025

Carl Gustav Jung (26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of over twenty books, illustrator, and correspondent, Jung was a complex and profound academic, best known for his concept of archetypes and the shadow. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies and is widely regarded as one of the most influential psychologists in history. Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British and American writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience. In this episode, Alan Watts reads a passage from a lecture by Carl Jung. The focus of this passage is on how to truly help someone - by accepting them as they are. If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Order After Skool prints and shirts https://shop.afterskool.net/ Sign up for our monthly newsletter at https://www.afterskool.net/

Neuroscience Hacks to Manifest Your Dream Life - Dr. Tara Swart

26/08/2025

Go to today’s sponsor https://www.Strawberry.me/afterskool to connect with a career coach today! Dr. Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, medical doctor, and leadership advisor known for her work at the intersection of brain science, business, and personal development. Dr. Tara Swart applies brain science to personal growth and leadership coaching, bridging hard science with more holistic and practical approaches to success. She trained as a medical doctor (psychiatrist) in the UK. Later transitioned into neuroscience research and applied brain science to leadership and performance. She is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches about neuroscience in business, leadership, and decision-making. She is also the author of, "The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain" (2019), which became a bestseller. The book explores how to harness neuroplasticity, visualization, and mindset shifts to achieve goals. This animation comes from a clip in the MindBodyGreen Podcast. Check out the full conversation with Tara Swart on their channel https://www.youtube.com/@mindbodygreen If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Order After Skool prints and shirts https://shop.afterskool.net/ Sign up for our monthly newsletter at https://www.afterskool.net/ 0:00 - 4 Stages of Manifesting 4:37 - Cognitive Science vs. Law of Attraction 5:16 - The Power of Visualization 8:08 - Switching the Mind into Attraction Mode 11:20 - Strategies for Manifesting

How To Reclaim Your Attention (and your life) - Dr. K

12/08/2025

This is a clip from the Know Thyself Podcast by André Duqum and Dr. K. Full podcast can be heard here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj40FT631P4&t=7999s Alok M. Kanojia, popularly known as Dr. K, is an American psychiatrist, co-founder of the mental health coaching platform Healthy Gamer, and a prominent Twitch streamer and YouTuber focusing on mental well-being—especially within gaming and creator communities. He holds an M.D. and M.P.H. from Tufts University and completed his psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Driven by his own history with video game addiction, Dr. K turned his lived experience into a mission: to provide accessible mental health support tailored to gamers and creators. This led to the creation of Healthy Gamer, which includes coaching, content, and educational programs. Why is Everything Boring Now? Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter. This one Trick will Fix Your Attention Span. Use this trick to reclaim your attention - Trataka meditation is a yogic concentration practice where you focus your gaze steadily on a single point — often a candle flame — without blinking, to still the mind and sharpen attention. If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Order After Skool prints and shirts https://shop.afterskool.net/ Sign up for our monthly newsletter at https://www.afterskool.net/ Thank you!

These Moments Mean Everything

29/07/2025

This beautiful poem illustrates the small little moments that mean everything. The little hand in yours, the bedtime stories, the mess...it all matters more than you know. C.S. Lewis said, “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when we look back everything is different.” We often take our daily routine for granted, it becomes habitual or even frustrating, but when look back, we realize how much things have changed. There are things you have in your life right now, that one day, you'd give anything to have again. This poem is a reminder to not take those things for granted. Enjoy the journey, because it goes by in the blink of an eye. This poem was written by Parental Path. To learn more about their work, visit https://www.instagram.com/parentalpath?hl=en or If you enjoyed this poem, please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Order After Skool prints and shirts https://shop.afterskool.net/ Sign up for our monthly newsletter at https://www.afterskool.net/ Narrated by Jenni Elliott Music: For All I Know by Anna Landstorm

Beware of Unearned Treasure - Lessons from 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho

15/07/2025

In this episode, we explore 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho, which is a book packed with pearls of timeless wisdom. One of the key lessons in the book is, "The reward for our work is not what we get, but who we become." The Alchemist embodies that idea, because the boy in the story must embark on a long dangerous journey to find treasure, but in the end, the journey was not about treasure at all. This video also features the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) which is akin to the story in 'The Alchemist'. When we take a reward that we did not earn, it can destabilize and ruin our life. But this downfall will ultimately lead to a dissolving of the ego and a humbling process. Carl Jung said, "Be careful of unearned wisdom" which is knowledge that arrives without the inner work, discipline, or maturity needed to hold it. Anything taken must be earned. A reward becomes a punishment if it is not properly earned. The final story in this presentations comes from Dr. Anna Lembke's book, Dopamine Nation. To further illustrate the point, Anna Lembke tells the story of a young man who stopped lying and faced the consequences of his actions, which ultimately caused him to become the person he was meant to be. If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting After Skool on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Order After Skool prints and shirts https://shop.afterskool.net/ Sign up for our monthly newsletter at https://www.afterskool.net/ Empower your critical thinking and get the full picture on every story. Subscribe through my link https://ground.news/afterskool to get 40% off unlimited access this month with their Vantage Plan. Thank you!

Is AI Apocalypse Inevitable? - Tristan Harris

17/06/2025

In this episode, Tristan Harris explores the 2 most probable paths that AI will follow, one leading to chaos and the other to dystopia. He explains how we can pursue a narrow path between these 2 undesirable outcomes. Tristan Harris is a prominent technology ethicist known for his influential critique of the attention economy and persuasive design in tech. Tristan is Co-Founder of the Center for Humane Technology (CHT), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to align technology with humanity’s best interests. He regularly briefs heads of state, technology CEOs, and US Congress members, in addition to mobilizing millions of people around the world through mainstream media. Tristan has explored the influences that hijack human attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs, from his childhood as a magician to his coursework in Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab to his leadership as a Design Ethicist at Google. Today, he studies how major technology platforms wield dangerous power over our ability to make sense of the world and leads the call for systemic change. In 2020, Tristan was featured in the two-time Emmy-winning Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma. The film unveiled how social media is dangerously reprogramming our brains and human civilization. It reached over 100 million people in 190 countries across 30 languages. As a co-host of the top-rated technology podcast, Your Undivided Attention, he explores the drivers behind social media’s race for attention, its destabilization of society, and potential solutions. Learn more about Tristan's research at https://www.humanetech.com/

The Buddhabrot - The Fractal That Unlocks Carl Jung’s Deepest Theory

3/06/2025

A few months ago, a groundbreaking study was published that linked fractal geometry to Carl Jung's theories. I contacted Dr Harry Shirley, the author of the study, to record a podcast about his findings. The discovery has changed the way I see everything - art, myth, culture, emotions, people - it's all fractals. Numbers are the key to this riddle. Before Carl Jung died, he hypothesized the number was the link between mind and matter, because it is both quantitative to the material world AND symbolic to the psychological realm. Several decades after Carl Jung's death, mathematicians stumbled upon the Buddhabrot set, a beautiful fractal pattern. The shape formed is entirely numerical iteration, derived from a simple mathematical formula , but the image produced looks like a spirit being. Dr Harry Shirley has made an incredible connection, linking the Buddhabrot to Carl Jung's concepts of archetypes and depth psychology. We can see hints of this connection is meaningful art, alchemical images, ancient monuments and religious architecture. I have even been unknowingly summoning the Buddhabrot in my own artwork. To view the study here https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/6te7w_v1 Publication here - https://brill.com/view/journals/ijjs/aop/article-10.1163-19409060-bja10049/article-10.1163-19409060-bja10049.xml Carl Jung (1875–1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. He’s one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, especially when it comes to understanding the human mind, myth, spirituality, and the unconscious. The Buddhabrot is a mathematical fractal—a stunning visual pattern generated by iterating a simple formula in the complex number plane. It’s related to the famous Mandelbrot set, but rendered in a way that produces an image that eerily resembles a glowing spiritual figure, like a seated Buddha, hence the name. Dr Harry Shirley has a PhD in organic chemistry and research experience at University of Oxford. Now working as a consultant, he holds a personal passion for Jungian psychology and the interplay of psyche and matter. Get in touch with Dr Harry Shirley on X - @HarryS1964455 Or email - thebuddhabrot@gmail.com Support Dr Harry Shirley on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/DrHarryShirley Background music: Eternity by Stellardrone Support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Join the After Skool Newsletter https://www.afterskool.net/ Order After Skool shirts and prints https://shop.afterskool.net/

What Was Daily Life in Ancient Rome Really Like? - Gregory Aldrete

20/05/2025

In this video, Gregory Aldrete explains what life was really like in Ancient Rome. We are often given images on Ancient Rome as a glorious, romantic, prestigious civilization, but there is a dark side to Rome that often gets overlooked. The truth is, Ancient Rome was a filthy, dangerous, disease-ridden environment, which was constantly at battling floods, fires and plagues. Gregory S. Aldrete is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. He earned his PhD in Ancient History from the University of Michigan. He has been honored with numerous awards for his research and teaching and has received five fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is also a prolific scholar whose books include Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome, Daily Life in the Roman City, and The Long Shadow of Antiquity: What Have the Greeks and Romans Done for Us? Gregory's Books: https://amzn.to/3z6NiKC Gregory's Great Courses Plus: https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/gregory-s-aldrete Gregory's Audible: https://adbl.co/4e72oP0 Please support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/AfterSkool Or check our After Skool merch https://shop.afterskool.net/

You Can't Give Away What You Don't Have - Wayne Dyer

7/05/2025

Use code afterskool at https://incogni.com/afterskool to get an exclusive 60% off. Wayne W. Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an internationally renowned author and speaker in the fields of self-development and spiritual growth. Over the four decades of his career, he wrote more than 40 books, including 21 New York Times bestsellers. He created many audio and video programs, and appeared on thousands of television and radio shows. He starred in 10 National Public Television specials—featuring his books Manifest Your Destiny, Wisdom of the Ages, There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, and the New York Times bestsellers 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, The Power of Intention, Inspiration, Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life, Excuses Begone!, Wishes Fulfilled, and I Can See Clearly Now Subscribe to our monthly newsletter https://www.afterskool.net/ Support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AfterSkool to help us pick video topics and get early access to videos To purchase After Skool art on shirts and prints visit. https://shop.afterskool.net/

Miyamoto Musashi - How to Master Your Emotions

24/04/2025

Miyamoto Musashi 宮本武蔵 (1584 – 13 June 1645) was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a kensei (sword saint) of Japan. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū (or Nito Ichi-ryū) style of swordsmanship, and in his final years authored A Book of Five Rings (五輪の書, Go Rin No Sho) and Dokkōdō (獨行道, The Path of Aloneness). This video explores how to master your emotions through the wisdom of ancient Japanese Samurai Philosophy. Miyamoto Musashi led a life of extreme discipline, focus and mental fortitude. Although we live in a very different world than the one Musashi did, his teachings are more relevant than ever. This script was written by After Skool and Trenton Bouie. To learn more about Trenton - https://www.instagram.com/trenton_bouie/ or get in touch at TheWriterTrenton@gmail.com Narrated by After Skool. Background Music: State of Zen by Mandala Dreams Entangled Emotions by Isaku Kageyama Aiko - Calm Shores Subscribe to our monthly newsletter https://www.afterskool.net/ Support After Skool on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AfterSkool to help us pick video topics and get early access to videos To purchase After Skool art on shirts and prints visit. https://shop.afterskool.net/