Episodes 23
Avg. Duration 49m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.9 (13)
Since May 2021
Latest Episode May 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Quarterly
Format
Episodic
Hosting
rss.buzzsprout.com

About This Podcast

Welcome to Cosmic Intelligence (formerly Spiritual But Not Ridiculous), a podcast that explores philosophy (Western and Vedic), consciousness, cosmology, spirituality, and technologies in the broadest sense—technologies of the sacred, of transformation, and of the mundane. As we enter this age of artificial intelligence (AI), we focus in particular on AI and its implications for humanity, questions of consciousness, AI safety and alignment, and what it means to be human in the 21st century, as well as its impact on our shared worldview. Since worldviews create worlds we will always keep one eye on our shifting worldview, hoping to encourage it along from materialism to idealism.

In terms of consciousness and spirituality, we also explore spiritual practices and other ways to expand consciousness, the importance of feeling our feelings, how to cultivate compassion and empathy, find balance, and lean into fear as a practice. Sometimes we have guests. 

We approach all subjects from a grounded and discerning perspective.

Your host is Chad Jayadev Woodford, a philosopher, cosmologist, master yoga teacher, Vedic astrologer, lawyer, and technologist.

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Recent Episodes

S4E5 Is the Future of AI In Bhutan?

May 28, 2026 20m Transcript

I’m in Bhutan this week with a group of experienced, wise, and diverse innovators for a collaborative, week-long listening and brainstorming engagement with Bhutanese leadership to study and iterate…

S4E4 The Better AI Gets, the Further We Seem from AGI

Jan 22, 2026 24m Transcript

Let's take a grounded look at the state of the AI industry in early 2026 and ask whether we’re actually any closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) or superintelligence than we were a few…

S4E3 AI Empires and the Soul Sickness of Silicon Valley

Nov 12, 2025 32m Transcript

Why is Mark Zuckerberg so obsessed with the Roman Empire?Why is Peter Thiel so obsessed with the Antichrist?Why does Sam Altman want $7 trillion dollars for an uncharted course to an unknown…

S4E2 AI, Magical Thinking, and the Machine Metaphor with Matt Segall

Sep 29, 2025 1h 6m Transcript

In this conversation, philosopher Matt Segall and I address the role of philosophy in contemporary culture, emphasizing the need for discernment amidst ideological ferment. We critique transhumanist…

S4E1 Apollonian Intelligence: Why Do Tech Bros Have the Worst Ideas?

Sep 16, 2025 22m Transcript

Peter Thiel is speaking this month in San Francisco about the antichrist. Nicole Shanahan, ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin and former vice-presidential running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,…

S3E8 Will Artificial Intelligence Make Us More or Less Wise?

Feb 27, 2025 28m Transcript

In this episode I explore the complex relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and wisdom, particularly focusing on discernment. I argue that while AI can hinder discernment by perpetuating…

S3E7 Zombies, Transhumanists, and the Worldview Crisis

Oct 05, 2024 46m

Continuing our deep dive into what it means to be human in the age of AI, and inspired by the physicalist yet transcendent worldviews of the transhumanists, in this episode I start to explore the…

S3E6 What Psychedelic States of Consciousness Tell Us about AI

Aug 18, 2024 32m Transcript

The irony of the application of the word “hallucination” to LLMs making mistakes is that they are completely incapable of having psychedelic experiences. Why does that matter?In this mind-bending…

S3E5 Impediments to Creating Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

Jul 15, 2024 52m Transcript

Artificial general intelligence, or superintelligence, is not right around the corner like AI companies want you to believe, and that's because intelligence is really hard. Major AI companies like…

S3E4 Looking Through the AI Hype into a More Human Future

May 21, 2024 12m Transcript

Long time no talk! I just finished my masters in philosophy, cosmology and consciousness, which didn’t leave me much time for producing this podcast in the past nine months. But I’m back with a short…

S3E3 Hit of Happines: The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence with Brian Dubow

Aug 21, 2023 1h 7m Bonus Transcript

This week we're sharing an episode of a podcast called Hit of Happiness, where Chad spoke to Brian Dubow about artificial intelligence and consciousness, among many other things. This may have been…

S3E2 Unraveling the Mysteries of Quantum Consciousness and AI

Aug 11, 2023 21m Transcript

In this episode, Chad explores a scientific theory of consciousness first put forth by Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose and Dr. Stuart Hameroff in the 1990s called quantum consciousness. This unorthodox,…

S3E1 What It Means To Be Human In The Age of AI: A New Beginning

Jun 07, 2023 23m Transcript

Chad is relaunching his podcast with a new name and a broader focus! Starting this week on this same feed, the show will be called Cosmic Intelligence and explore fundamental questions about…

S2E2 Resting Deeply In the Divine with Hilary Jackendoff

Nov 17, 2022 1h 5m Transcript

This week I talk to Hilary Jackendoff, a yoga nidra and meditation teacher and trainer, and Human Design coach. She’s also a powerful, heart-centered woman. To me, Hilary is the ideal teacher: wise…

S2E1 How To Be Spiritual But Not Ridiculous

Sep 19, 2022 1h 7m Transcript

This week I discuss discernment: What it is, why it’s important, how it can prevent ridiculousness, why that matters, and how to increase our discernment. As part of this discussion, I explore the…

S1E9 Transforming Wellness with Kerri Kelly

May 17, 2022 1h 37m

This week I talked to Kerri Kelly, the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that is democratizing wellbeing for all. A descendant of generations of firemen and first responders, Kerri has dedicated her…

S1E7 Embodiment, Wildness & Magic with Schuyler Brown

Nov 28, 2021 1h 24m Transcript

In this episode I talk to Schuyler Brown, a futurist, facilitator, coach, teacher of embodiment and meditation, and a writer. You can find her at artofemergence.com and her essays/poems are on Medium…

S1E6 Sacred Plants & Yoga: A Love Story

Nov 06, 2021 49m Transcript

In this episode, we approach plant medicine from a yogic perspective. And we explore how yoga and sacred plant medicine are complementary practices with a long-standing symbiotic tradition; how yoga…

S1E5 Stop Playing It Safe with Adam Schomer

Sep 22, 2021 1h 15m Transcript

My guest this week is Adam Schomer, a documentary film and television director, writer, and producer, and the president of i2i Productions. Adam is probably most known for the Netflix documentary…

S1E4 On Becoming More Impactful With Spirituality

Aug 26, 2021 57m Transcript

Inspired by friends, family, and people like Daniel Pinchbeck, who have been so critical of spirituality, I mount a full-throated defense of spirituality, first acknowledging the pitfalls and…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Cosmic Intelligence have?

Cosmic Intelligence has published 23 episodes since May 2021, covering topics in Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality.

Is Cosmic Intelligence still active?

Cosmic Intelligence is currently highly active with new episodes quarterly. Average episode length is 49m.

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