we often take resistance as a right—even a duty.
And yet: the moment you claim that right, you awaken something unpredictable. Fighting injustice may restore dignity—but it can also unleash darkness: terror, betrayal, even ecstasy.
In this series, we speak with those who resisted—and those the world tried to silence. Saints and revolutionaries, mystics and militants. Their words are sharp. Their choices: balanced on a knife’s edge.
You may not agree with them. But if you’ve ever clenched your fists in the face of injustice—then this is “your” conversation, too.
Last week, we interviewed Maximilien Robespierre, the architect of the Terror - a time of great struggle and uncertainty following the French Revolution. Under his rule, thousands were executed for not living up to his standards of virtue. His was a maximalist interpretation of when resistance was allowed to use violence. He would say: until virtue reigns supreme and humanity has been born anew.
Our first guest, Gandhi, took the other end of the spectrum. He said that violence was never okay, as it would unforgivably taint the soul of the one wielding it, which would only lead to injustice continuing to occur.
Our remaining rostrum of guests all fall somewhere on the spectrum created by these two opposites. So today, we’ll be talking to Rosa Luxemburg, a socialist resistance fighter who certainly was no fan of violence, but who didn’t completely rule it out, either.
0:00 Intro
2:51 Life description
4:24 Is violence ever justified in the pursuit of justice?
5:41 Freedom is always the freedom of the one who thinks differently
7:01 Resistance against Authoritarianism
8:01 Spontaneity
8:50 World War I
9:50 How prison shaped Rosa Luxemburg
12:54 The Spartacist Uprising
13:56 Violence may sometimes be necessary, but never virtuous
14:57 Love is central to revolution
16:02 Advice for would-be revolutionaries
Maximilien Robespierre used violence as a tool to achieve dignity, to heal the body politic of corruptions. Without virtue, the French Revolution would be a failure, and would only produce new systems of oppression.
To properly understand him, we’ll need some context.
France, 1789. A kingdom on the brink. The people are starving—bread prices skyrocket after years of failed harvests. The monarchy is bankrupt. And across Europe, kings watch nervously as revolution stirs.
In Paris, the Bastille falls. The king is dethroned, then executed. War breaks out on all borders. Civil war ignites at home. Amid the chaos, one man rises: Maximilien Robespierre. A lawyer from Arrahhs, incorruptible, driven by a vision of a virtuous Republic.
But as fear spreads and enemies multiply, Robespierre turns virtue into law—and law into terror. Thousands are executed in the name of liberty. Friends become traitors overnight. The guillotine becomes a tool of purification.
Then, in the summer of 1794, the Revolution devours its own. Robespierre is arrested, silenced, and executed—jaw shattered, words unspoken. He dies at the age of 36.
0:00 Intro
3:49 Robespierre’s life
5:34 From Defending the Poor to Becoming a Mass Murderer
7:02 How Virtue Ties it all Together
8:38 Did You Go Too Far?
9:49 Can Coercion be Reconciled with Liberty?
11:01 Was the Terror Indiscriminate?
11:43 Standing Alone and The Last Execution
12:43 Was it Worth it?
13:40 Robespierre’s Posthumous Verdict on The Terror
15:04 The Virtue Paradox
In this series, we speak with those who resisted—and those the world tried to silence. Saints and revolutionaries, mystics and militants. Their words are sharp. Their choices, costly.
You may not agree with them. But if you’ve ever clenched your fists in the face of injustice— then this is your conversation, too.
This is “Resist”.
For our first guest in this arc, we talk to Mahatma Gandhi, whose resistance changed an empire—not by the sword, but by the soul.
He is often remembered as a saint. But he was also a strategist, a provocateur, a tireless resister.
0:00 intro
3:07 Life overview
4:45 Resisting the British
7:00 Why embrace suffering?
7:21 Opposition from others in the independence movement
8:02 Final betrayal?
8:26 What is Satyagraha?
9:20 Why is purity important?
10:34 The spiritual dimension of satyagraha
12:05 Non-harming
15:10 Do we misunderstand resistance in modern times?
15:40 Love as strength
17:28 Final words
Julius Evola was an Italian philosopher, esotericist, and critic of modernity known for his radical traditionalism and metaphysical worldview. Active in the 20th century, he drew from Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, rejecting liberalism, materialism, and egalitarianism in favor of inner discipline, hierarchy, and transcendent order. Controversial and often misunderstood, Evola called for a spiritual elite to rise above the ruins of the modern world.
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Welcome to the Undead Sages Podcast, where we travel back in time to talk to long-dead wise men and women. Today is the second in a series of discussions about masculinity, in which we discuss what it means to be a man. In this interview, we’ll be talking to the provocative 20th-century French philosopher, Georges Bataille. His work explored transgression, eroticism, and the sacred, often blurring the line between mysticism and madness. He’s deeply relevant for his radical reimagining of male subjectivity—not as control or virtue, but as vulnerability, ecstasy, and inner rupture.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Ivan Illich was a radical social thinker, priest, and philosopher who challenged the foundations of modern institutions—schooling, medicine, transportation, and more. His work exposed how systems designed to serve often end up diminishing human agency. In a conversation on masculinity, Illich is essential: he helps us see how modern life has uprooted men from embodied presence, meaningful work, and deep community—and what it might take to return.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Our guest today is a literary icon whose name is etched into the bones of 20th-century writing. A war correspondent, Nobel Prize winner, adventurer, and deeply human voice — Ernest Hemingway gave the world stories of courage, loss, and grace under pressure. Today, we sit with the man behind the myth, and hear from him not just as a writer, but as a soul who lived it all.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
D.H. Lawrence was a novelist, poet, and fierce explorer of the human soul. Known for works like "Sons and Lovers" and "Lady Chatterley’s Lover", Lawrence challenged the mechanical grip of modernity with a vision rooted in instinct, sensuality, and spiritual wildness. He believed the body holds truths the mind forgets—and that to live fully, we must feel fiercely.
This conversation is the first in a series on masculinity in the modern age. Future guests will include Leo Tolstoy, Carl Jung, and others.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Bob Marley, born in Jamaica, was a musical visionary who brought reggae to the global stage. With his soulful voice and powerful lyrics, he became a symbol of peace, love, and resistance. Infusing his music with messages of unity and social justice, Marley’s legacy transcends generations, making him one of the most influential artists in history.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Soundscape by renatofarabeuf on Freesound
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Simone Weil was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist who lived—and thought—with fierce integrity. Born in 1909 and gone by 1943, her brief life burned with radical compassion, intellectual clarity, and spiritual longing. She worked in factories, refused comfort, and sought truth wherever it hurt.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Brother Roger of Taizé, born in Switzerland, founded the Taizé community in France during World War II. He established a haven for refugees and later created a monastic community focused on prayer, simplicity, and reconciliation. His vision of Christian unity drew thousands of young people to Taizé, fostering a global movement of spiritual renewal.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
🎙️ Debate Topic: The Potential and Pitfalls of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) 🕊️ Moderator: Lydia Carmichael 🎭 Participants: Diogenes the Cynic, Aldous Huxley, Friedrich Nietzsche
Good evening, esteemed guests, thinkers, and truth-seekers. I am Lydia Carmichael, your moderator for tonight’s dialogue, where we examine one of the most pressing—and divisive—developments of our age: Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI. Unlike narrow AI, which performs specific tasks, AGI aspires to emulate or even surpass the full range of human cognitive abilities—learning, reasoning, perception, and even emotion.
The promise of AGI tantalizes: a future of boundless productivity, erasure of ignorance, and perhaps even the end of suffering. Yet the specter it casts is equally formidable: loss of human agency, ethical opacity, and the possibility of intelligence divorced from empathy or conscience. Will AGI awaken human potential, or render it obsolete? Can a machine be wise—or only efficient? And what, if anything, anchors our dignity in a post-human world?
To help us grapple with these questions, I welcome three radically divergent minds:
* Diogenes of Sinope: Cynic philosopher and destroyer of pretense, who lived in a barrel and sneered at convention.
* Aldous Huxley: Visionary author of “Brave New World”, prophet of mass sedation and spiritual sterility in technological societies.
* Friedrich Nietzsche: Iconoclastic German philosopher, herald of the Übermensch and unsparing critic of herd morality.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Soundscape by FunWithSound on Freesound
Applause 1 by theplax on Freesound
Applause 2 by uair01 on Freesound
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Thomas Merton was a celebrated Trappist monk whose contemplative writings continue to inspire seekers of all faiths. Join us as we explore Merton's journey from worldly intellectual to spiritual guide, and discover how his teachings on solitude, compassion, and social justice remain powerfully relevant in our chaotic modern world.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Jack Kerouac was a pioneering American novelist and poet central to the Beat Generation. Known for his spontaneous prose style, Kerouac’s seminal work, On the Road captured the restless spirit of post-war America. His writing explored themes of travel, spirituality, and rebellion, influencing counterculture movements of the 1960s. A French-Canadian from Lowell, Massachusetts, Kerouac’s legacy endures as a symbol of artistic freedom and nonconformity. Join us as we delve into his life, work, and enduring impact on literature and culture.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Soundscape by kerouacsamerica on Freesound
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Born in 1894, Aldous Huxley was a renowned English novelist and philosopher. Best known for his dystopian novel Brave New World, Huxley's works span satire, philosophy, and non-fiction. His life was marked by intellectual pursuits and a fascination with mysticism, leaving a lasting impact on 20th-century literature.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Sri Ramakrishna, born in 1836 in Bengal, was a revered Hindu mystic. He emphasized the unity of all religions and the divinity within every being. His teachings, marked by simplicity and spiritual depth, inspired countless followers, including Swami Vivekananda, and continue to influence spirituality globally.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Soundscapes by George Thengummoottil and yalel on Soundcloud
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Friedrich Nietzsche was renowned for his radical ideas on morality, religion, and individualism. He famously declared "God is dead," critiquing traditional values and advocating for the creation of personal meaning. His influential works include Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil. Despite struggling with health issues, Nietzsche's thoughts on the "will to power" and the Übermensch continue to shape modern philosophy.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2024 Undead Sages Podcast
Lofty ideals… can fall into profound states of disrepair.
Especially when confronted with the dynamics of power, lofty ideals can begin to shift and shimmy until little of their original substance remains. Over its 2500 year history, Buddhism has not been immune to this phenomenon. While Buddhism strives to eradicate human suffering, at times it has contributed to the exact opposite. In this episode, we’ll take a look at the dynamics that contributed to Zen Buddhism’s support of Japanese aggression during World War 2.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Soundscape by rcrath on Freesound
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast
Live Philosopher Friend Arne Willee again joins podcast host Merijn de Haen in an actual graveyard for a free-ranging discussion.
Revisiting the last philosophers to have graced our show with their presence, we focus on how their philosophy can be of use to sensitive people in our modern lives, but we also have a nice flow going and just see where the discussion takes us.
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2024 Undead Sages Podcast
We first encountered Siddhartha Gautama some six weeks ago, and we’ve been quizzing him about the development of his practical philosophy to end suffering. Today, we’ve finally arrived in the present day, and will discuss the reception of Buddhist ideas and practices in the West. Next week, we’ll have one final episode with the Buddha, where the emphasis will lie on several historical examples of Buddhism going horribly wrong in practice.
Interview facilitated by ChatGPT
Voicing constructed with Elevenlabs
Soundscape by rcrath on Freesound
Concept, editing and production by Merijn de Haen
@ 2025 Undead Sages Podcast