Which Way Is North

Episode 4: When Knowledge Is Power But Information Is Poison

How do you get to the place where knowledge is power, when so much information is poison? Well, it starts with how you start your day. How quickly do you reach for your phone and start scrolling through the feeds? At which step from bed to bathroom to kitchen to stepping out in the world do you tune into the news?

Episode 3: The Artist/Wizard

I was at a gathering recently at the home of our next guest where someone said something so stimulating to my ears. They said, "a wizard knows the hidden paths." That was really interesting to me because this event itself was what could best be described as a 'gathering of wizards.'
 
Now, 'wizard' is a term that has been eclipsed in recent years by the term 'shaman.' When people are trying to describe a person of magic, they are talking about somebody that brings that magic and humanity to bear in service to their community and to the culture that they're a part of. Our guest for this conversation is a tremendous teacher of people like that...wizards.
 
What makes them a tremendous teacher is in the way they speak, the way they teach, the way they offer their knowledge. They share with a sense of childlike wonder, not with the cumbersome, burdened by the weight of authority sort of voice of a teacher that I think too many of us have grown accustomed to or have experienced in our paths through academia or our careers. No, this is somebody that exists in a state of awe and holds that awe for you. One who shares awe with you is a true teacher. That is the kind of teacher who can show you what an idea like 'hidden paths' really means.
 
An idea like 'hidden paths' is describing truths to life that don't have signposts, at least in the ways that we understand them. They're not drawn in the kinds of lines that you might see on a sign or on a screen or on a page. They're not so visible as much as they're...felt. By being in that place of awe, that place of wonder, a teacher of wizards is holding a bit of a compass for others to help them understand how it is that they feel and how they can behold the paths that might become apparent to them and guide them through their life. The way that I experience some of these hidden paths, is in the in-between of the perceiver and the perceived. It's a forgotten scent in a perfume as somebody walks past that brings you back to a core memory. It's a symbol, a color, a place, a breeze, something that evokes a deeper recognition of where is it that you come from and where is it that you're trying to go.
 
To the artist and wizard, these paths are out in the waking world. They are in the pages of books. They are in the master strokes that they see on paintings. This entire conversation that you're about to be a fly on the wall for is a teaching from one of the greatest wizards I know, sharing their awe about how they followed the hidden paths in their life, how they interact with the masters and the paint strokes that they have left behind for us to learn from. Through their sharing of their awe, they invite me and through me as you listen to this conversation, they invite you to be in that reverence of life with them.

Episode 2: The Madame

What you're about to hear is an intimate search for humanity. In particular, it's a lot of me trying to understand the feminine part of humanity. This conversation took place at the very end of my almost decade run playing my role in building Reddit into the business that we know today.
 
On my very last day, I had taken a trip to London to speak at an event in Soho, and my last words as an employee of the company were, "my name is Will Cady, I'm from Reddit, we remember the human." Then I walked off the stage and basically hopped on a train from London down to Paris where I met this woman.
 
We spent the next few days just falling into each other in the potential of the question mark of whatever it is that comes next. Paris is an astounding city to do that in. It is a living museum of humanity. It in particular has this profound feminine undercurrent of love, eros, for humanity has this nurturing and sensuous perspective on the human story. That love for you humanity is captured in stone. It's captured in monuments all over the city.
 
Between lavish meals, we were running, we were walking, we were skipping, we were dancing, an we were riding bicycles all around the city. I have this one incredible memory of the two of us together, navigating through the rain, hiding under one umbrella. We had walked down the Champs Elysees towards this obelisk that we saw in the distance and it led us to this Atlantean looking fountain and this woman, she stepped out from the umbrella, she started twirling in the rain and as she was twirling we saw down an avenue from that strange Atlantean looking fountain, this Greek temple building. It was the church for Mary Magdalene. We walked up the steps to this to get out of the rain, which was getting heavier. When we stepped inside, there was a string quartet that was performing Vivaldi's Four Seasons. So we sat in the pews, we listened to this incredible musicianship and just absorbed the power of the architecture and the way that those sounds resonated within it.
 
When it was done, we stepped out of those front doors and there was a massive rainbow right in front of us. It was a moment that felt like synchronicity and blessing for being human. It felt very Mary-esque (for those that are familiar with that archetype) not just the mother Mary, but the Magdalene Mary. There are so many esoteric secrets and journeys to go into the meaning of human archetypes like those and they're all there for you when you walk the streets of Paris.
 
After that we settled in, got a bottle of Margaux, and we had this conversation for this podcast. For me, this conversation was one of openness and discovery of the experience that I don't know about...how it is to be a woman in this world.
 
Give it a listen. Hope you enjoy.

Episode 1: About The Podcast

See the best in each other, get the best in each other. That's the simple principle at the core of the Which Way is North podcast. Join me and my guests in a search for our humanity as we do what humans do best...talk.
 
This episode shares an overview of the seven questions structure of the podcast along with some stories about the podcast's creation and intention. As you listen, think about how you yourself might answer these questions right here and right now:
 
What is in front of you?
What is behind you?
What do you rest upon?
What shines upon you?
What do you receive?
What do you give?
What is in your heart?

Episode 0: About The Book

Where does creativity come from? The answer is unique for each of us—our True North—and this book that inspired this podcast will help you find yours.
As artificial intelligence gains an increasing foothold in our work and our lives, the need to find and maintain our uniquely human creativity is growing more urgent. This guide will ensure that you stay on course as you navigate through the complexity of modern times. It will help you open new pathways to creativity and equip you with tools for your personal and professional journey to becoming a conscious participant in creation.
Through a combination of essays, meditations, and memoir, Which Way Is North offers an illuminating journey into the interior of the human heart and mind, revealing how your inner experience informs who you can be and what you express out in the world.