The Downward Facing Spiritual Spiral

Broken Bones, Care & The Feedback Loop of Freedom

After a month long hiatus from the podcast, I'm thrilled to be back as I welcome you to 2021. I broke my ankle on Xmas Day so much of my life has been put on hold as I recover from the injury. I've read four books from Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris, I finally watched Silicon Valley and I've also had a copious amount of time contemplating the meaning of life. Does everything happen for a reason or is life non stop chaos filled with one random act after another? I also spent the last month promoting my latest single, FREEDOM, and while I'm thrilled people are gravitating and connecting with the song, I can't help but notice how my brain has shifted and moved towards a less quiet place. I'm caught up in numbers, responses and what people think as I've entered the unhealthy world known as the feedback loop. Instagram and social media and these addictive platforms suck people's attention spans by getting people caught up in what other people think. That's a dangerous landscape to try and navigate so I try and wrap my head around the world of the feedback loop. I also play a clip from the Sam Harris podcast and I wonder what good the news media is doing for our culture. If you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can also visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. I also released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. You can find me on Substack by clicking HERE and as always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions. 

Joanne Gerstner

The NFL, the NBA, men and women's sports, Lebron James, sports journalism, depression, concussions and the effect of technology in the classroom. When you have a guest as talented as my next guest, then you have to be prepared to go on a conversational journey that can go in a myriad of directions. Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I am thrilled to welcome Joanne Gerstner to the show.  Joanne is an award-winning multi-platform sports journalist, author, researcher and thought leader. She is the co-leader of the Sports Journalism program at the School of Journalism at Michigan State where she teaches upper-level sports journalism classes. Her work appears in The New York Times, USA Today, ESPN, The Detroit News, U.S. Olympic Committee website, The Cincinnati Enquirer, PGA Magazine and other outlets. Gerstner's book, "Back in the Game: Why Concussion Doesn't Have to End Your Athletic Career", was honored with the national 2017 Clarion Award for best non-fiction. Joanne and I talk about gender equality in sports, the NFL, the NBA and I ask Joanne how the NFL is still able to operate during a pandemic. We talk tennis, soccer, the inflated salaries in the NBA and she shares first hand accounts of how technology is impacting students in her classroom. We end the show by talking about Joanne's book and what inspired her to write about concussions. We touch on Lebron James and also how depression affects pro athletes once they reach retirement. It's a fantastic conversation and be sure to find Joanne on Twitter @joannecgerstner and if you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can also visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. I also released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. You can find me on Substack by clicking HERE and as always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions. 

Rony Peters, Alone and The LA Ghost Town

Strip clubs are open in San Diego, The NFL season is in its 13th week, Hollywood productions are back in swing and yet the vast majority of working class Americans must stay home as restaurants and schools remain closed. Politicians telling us to stay home and yet they're out traveling and going to dinner parties. Big tech keeps growing while small businesses continue to shut down. Do you smell a little bit of hypocrisy? Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I talk about the hypocrisy emanating from our culture, the ghost town that is now Los Angeles, and how social media has corrupted people's ability to think clearly and for themselves. I play a clip from the first season of Alone where the winner shares some powerful reminders and I welcome my friend, Rony Peters, back to show. Be sure to check out Rony's company, Super Food Brownie on IG and if you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can also visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. I also released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. You can find me on Substack by clicking HERE and as always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions. 

Tamal Dodge (Visit #2)

"We are all souls transcendentally connected beyond our social, national, racial, political, and occupational circumstances." - Tamal Dodge. Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I am thrilled to welcome yoga teacher, studio owner, Jiu Jitsu instructor, movement coach and my friend Tamal Dodge to the podcast. This is Tamal's second visit to the show and with everything happening within our society, from the pandemic, the polarization, the cancel culture and the reshaping of yoga studios, the timing couldn't have been better to chat with Tamal. He always has a way of putting the complexity and nuances of life into perspective. We touch on a multitude of topics ranging from the hypocrisy swirling around in the yoga community, the dramatic rise in suicide and the toxicity that stems from living in a culture that is so quick to "cancel." We discuss the value of quiet time and meditation, timing, spirituality, the true meaning of the word "guru" and we wonder how technology and mask wearing may impact children. Tamal is opening a brand new online yoga studio called BODHI Live that will include online yoga, meditation and fitness and it's set to launch in January so be sure to check it out.  You can also find Tamal on IG by clicking HERE and if you enjoy today's episode and want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. On the music side, I just released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. It can also be streamed on Spotify and iTunes. As always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions. 

Rony Peters And Something Smells Fishy

I always believe in getting a second expert opinion especially when it comes to my health. Whether it was a meniscus tear or when I struggled with an auto-immune disease, I have always been a firm believer in homeopathic medicine, acupuncture and getting a second opinion. However, with Covid-19, expert opinions are often silenced or considered heresy or anecdotal if they go against the narrative being pushed by mainstream media. Why is that? Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I am excited to welcome my good friend Rony Peters to the show.  Rony is the owner and creator of Super Food Brownie. Super Food Brownie is probably the best snack I have ever tried. Seriously. It's a delicious chocolate brownie and it's organic,🔅Vegan 🌱 Sugar free▫️Dairy free 🐮 Gluten free and Handcrafted in Malibu. I met Rony almost 25 years ago while living in Malibu and he and I know first hand about the value of living a healthy lifestyle. Rony and I discuss the look of the dystopian world we're living in and why I believe we're living through a new kind of world war. We discuss the power of technology and how it's the greatest distractor of our lives. We talk about creativity and the huge mountain artist's face in grabbing an audience's attention. Because it's an abbreviated conversation, I also begin the show by sharing some personal stories about my history with the medical community and why I have a hard time trusting big pharmaceutical companies and the CDC. It feels like the world wants everyone to stay home, wear a mask, don't question the narrative and simply just take a vaccine and be quiet. Over 2,000 people died this past month in Japan from suicide. That's more than the total number of people who died in Japan this entire year from Covid. Can we honestly say the best answer is to lock the country down and tell people to stay home? Be sure to check out Super Food Brownie on IG and if you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can also visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. I also released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. You can find me on Substack by clicking HERE and as always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions. 

DING, An Apathetic World And "Freedom"

We live in a world filled with apathy so what does it take to get someone to care? Social media is creating more self-indulgence and myopic behavior and is there anything that can be done to stop it? Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I felt compelled to talk about the struggles I face as an artist when I'm about to release new music. Thanks to social media, artists have to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about promotion which often takes them away from the creative process. Artists are creators by nature, not self promoters so how does this new landscape impact creators and what does it take to keep someone's attention? I begin the episode by playing a clip from the Joe Rogan Show where Joe is speaking with Matthew McConaughey and their conversation keeps getting interrupted by a loud cell phone"DING." Hey Matt... Millions of people are listening. Why don't you try silencing your phone? I also end the show by playing the first single off my upcoming record entitled "Dystopian Days." If you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can also visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. I also released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. You can find me on Substack by clicking HERE and as always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions. 

Sarah Willen

In a world where so many of us are living in a state of reaction, how often do we take a moment for ourselves to pause, breathe and reflect before reacting? Will we ever fully grasp the cultural impact of living through a global pandemic? Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm excited to welcome Sarah Willen to the podcast. Sarah is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Research Program on Global Health and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut. She is also the author of the book, Fighting For Dignity: Migrant Lives at Israel's Margins and the co-founder of the Pandemic Journaling Project. This was one of my favorite conversations not only because I went to high school with Sarah and I haven't seen her for almost 30 years, but she and I talk about a cornucopia of timely topics that I find fascinating.  Sarah and I discuss Covid-19, the emotional toll it's having on our culture and Sarah explains what ultimately led to the creation of the Pandemic Journaling Project. We talk about the complexity of social media and why she doesn't allow cell phones in her classroom. We discuss the value of asking questions and promoting curiosity in a world that is so quick to judge. We chat about health literacy, the impact the media may be having on our decision-making and how challenging it is to create a sense of balance and equality in such a chaotic world. You can purchase Sarah's book by clicking HERE and be sure to go to the website or on Instagram @pandemicjournaling to take a look at The Pandemic Journaling Project which I'm 100% positive you'll find interesting and inspiring. If you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can also visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. I also released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. You can find me on Substack by clicking HERE and as always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions. 

Cameron Morgan

Does craft matter anymore? Does a musician have to spend more time on marketing, videos and PR than the craft of musicianship? Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm excited to welcome producer, guitarist and my friend, Cameron Morgan to the show. I met Cameron almost ten years ago when I was on tour up in Portland and he also played guitar on my third record. With the passing of Eddie Van Halen, I felt compelled to reach out to Cameron and talk about the meaning of Eddie Van Halen in his life. Cameron and I talk about the dwindling quality of musicianship, the impact of icons like Prince, Madonna and Chris Cornell and we discuss the impact of the pandemic on life as an artist. You can find Cameron on IG @cmosounds and if you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please consider sharing the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn where you can access full episodes and exclusive content only available to subscribers. You can also visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. I also released a brand new song on Bandcamp which you can purchase by clicking HERE. You can find me on Substack by clicking HERE and as always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on Twitter or IG @eddiecohn with any questions.