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Nov 20
40m 20s

how we all became a little satanic

Mollie Adler
About this episode

The popular image of Satanism belongs to horror movies, pentagrams, and black candles, but the real influence sits in work culture and the chase for personal. A promotion. A streak of discipline that borders on obsession. A pressure to build a better version of yourself every month of the year. The figure of Lucifer becomes a shorthand for the belief that the Self should take priority above all else.

The episode follows this idea from Milton to Nietzsche to Rand, then into the way Silicon Valley talks about ambition. These ideas seep into coaching programs, lifestyle apps, and the endless push to enhance your mind and body.


What interests me is how familiar all of this feels. The grind you keep justifying. The pressure to optimize your entire life. The strange pride that builds when you hit a goal you didn’t even choose. The episode pays attention to what all of this takes from us and what it gives back.


You’ll hear how this unconsciously Satanic mindset nudges you toward constant improvement and how it dramatically narrows the definition of a good life.  What is the true cost of this drive? And what small freedoms so we sacrifice while we’re busy chasing the next level up?


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