We live in an age of extraordinary comfort. Food is within arm's reach, technology answers before we finish asking, and modern life offers a level of convenience previous generations could hardly have imagined. And yet so many people today feel exhausted, distracted, and somehow hollow inside. So are we, in fact, looking for happiness in the right place? For the third episode of the second season of Talks 21, I invited Darin Olien – author of the books SuperLife and Fatal Con

Something is changing. And most of us can feel it, even if we can't quite name it. Capitalism, which has shaped our world for centuries, is beginning to hit its own limits. The technologies that were meant to give us freedom and space to grow could just as easily become instruments of control. And nature is reminding us even more loudly that the bill for how we've treated it over decades will eventually come due. And we will have to pay it.

We live in an era that offers us incredible opportunities and technologies to care for ourselves and create extraordinary things. Yet we still see deep traces of the past and tensions around us that unnecessarily divide us. Each of us carries the stories of our ancestors – and sometimes a weight we don’t even realise is there. At the same time, the world today offers a unique opportunity to heal these old patterns and transform them into a new wave of understanding and freedo

This episode is exceptional for me in a few ways. Not only because of the topics it touches on, but also because of who I recorded it with. My guest is Lilia Khousnoutdinova, a historian and political scientist, a guide in rites of passage, and the founder of the Propolis 33 foundation fund. She is also my wife and someone who has long been opening up conversations about subjects that are often barely discussed, if at all.

At an altitude of eight thousand metres, everything suddenly changes.You stop thinking about emails, missed calls, or dozens of notifications. Instead, you think about whether you have enough food, whether you’ll sleep at all, and whether you’ll even be able to crawl out of the tent the next day. Things we take for granted in everyday life become luxuries up there.

We often associate Christmas with calm, silence, and slowing down. Reality, however, is often quite different. Instead of peace, we deal with gifts, cleaning, family visits, and the pressure to meet everyone’s expectations. We focus more on what should be than on what we actually need in that moment.

Today's society leads us to hide rather than express ourselves. To judge rather than listen. To control rather than experience. And that is why our voice is more important today than ever before. It is a quiet but extremely powerful tool for authenticity, connection, and inner freedom, which we sometimes lose in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Technological progress keeps giving us new possibilities, yet it also reveals how easily space can lose its humanity—and with it, our ability to feel at home. That’s why architecture remains one of the quietest, yet most powerful tools we have.

We live in a time when the world is connecting faster than we can perceive. Technology shortens distances but, at the same time, often separates us from the natural rhythm of life.

We live in a time when technology shapes our world faster than we can keep up. Artificial intelligence promises comfort, efficiency, and progress—yet it opens questions that touch the very essence of being human. Where is the line between what serves us and what begins to control us?

We live in a time when our society is divided, full of conflict, and it isn't easy to have a genuine dialogue. Much of this stems from unresolved trauma — both personal and collective. That's precisely what I discussed with my guest on the Talks 21 podcast, Zdeněk Weber — Director of the Institute for Healing and Prevention of Trauma and founder of the projects Síla duše and Mužský kruh.

Everything is connected. That line can sound like a cliché—until it’s said by someone who has devoted more than 30 years to studying the fundamental nature of the universe. Nassim Haramein— a theoretical physicist, visionary, and founder of the International Space Federation—offers a perspective that links quantum physics, gravity, and consciousness.

Zajímá vás pohled člověka, který systematicky zpochybňuje zaběhlé pořádky a nabízí odvážné alternativy fungování společnosti? Právě takový přináší můj třetí host podcastu Talks 21 – Urza. Autor první české knihy o anarchokapitalismu, zakladatel a tvář Svobodného přístavu, učitel ve svobodné škole Ježek bez klece, publicista a výrazný propagátor myšlenky, že skutečná svoboda začíná u respektu k vlastnickým právům a sebevlastnictví.

"Let love for people be your highest standard." These words of Confucius are also the guiding principles of our guest today, Jakub Zeman - a Japanologist, writer, translator, but above all, a man who has adopted traditional samurai values into his life.

"My calling is to be happy, and my mission is to inspire others to be happy." These words of Josef "Joska" Šálek may sound like a cliché. But when spoken by a man who has overcome addictions, fears, health issues, a stint in prison and a nine-hour plank, they sound very different.