What does it mean to flourish in an age defined by AI, disruption, and uncertainty?
In this AfterShock episode, philosopher and writer Samuel Loncar explores the cultural forces and hidden assumptions that shape not just technology, but the way we lead. As founding editor of the Marginalia Review of Books and a consultant to scientists and institutions worldwide, Loncar reveals how narratives of progress, salvation, and transcendence quietly drive the boldest ambitions in Silicon Valley — and why they matter for every leader today.
From the “Manhattan Project” mindset in AI labs to the overlooked role of CEOs as meaning-makers, Loncar argues that leadership in this decade cannot rest on profit and strategy alone. It must also cultivate vision, purpose, and human flourishing.
If you want to find out how to thrive in this era, you’ll want to listen to this episode. It’s about the ideas and values steering the future of technology — and why engaging them may be the most essential leadership skill of our time.
Here’s what you’ll learn in our AfterShock conversation:
- Silicon Valley’s hidden belief system that drives AI.
- How tech leaders are chasing a kind of immortality.
- The “Manhattan Project” mindset — and its risks.
- Where capitalism, philosophy, and spirituality collide.
- Why CEOs must become meaning-makers, not just profit-makers.
- The marketing tricks steering AI as much as science.
- Why AI feels like an arms race — and what that means.
- The compassion gap between AI super-users and everyone else.
- What history’s most disruptive tech teaches us (and what we ignore).
- How to stay human amid the most radical transformation in history.
Listen to the full AfterShock episode — and see the tech world in a way you’ve never imagined.
About Samuel Loncar:
Samuel Loncar, PhD (Yale University), is helping heal the divide between mind and matter that has split wisdom and spirituality from science and technology. He practices an ancient art of philosophy, linked to the origins of science and Western spirituality, that promotes the perpetual evolution of human potential. Loncar has applied his practice as a speaker and consultant for clients like the United Nations, Oliver Wyman, and Red Bull Arts. He is the founder and CEO of Olurin Consulting and the editor-in-chief of the Marginalia Review of Books, where he directs the Meanings of Science Project. He brings his work to the public through the Becoming Human Project and through his scholarly and popular writing.
Learn more at www.samuelloncar.com