Best Dan Zax Podcasts (2025)

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The Self and the Machine: Stone, Steel and Sundials. The Alchemy of Empire 27:05

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1M ago27:05

27:05

Empire lives less in armies than in the quiet architectures of space and time. From temples and railways to clocks and networks, this episode explores how stone, steel, and schedules reshape not only our movements, but our very sense of self. And as the supermind begins to rise, we ask: what kind of empire is being built within us now?…

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The Self and the Machine: The Wheel of Progress 29:32

2M ago29:32

29:32

The wheel didn’t just move us forward — it changed how we imagined movement itself. From ancient chariots and imperial roads to railways, factories, and fiber optics, this episode traces the strange, spiraling legacy of the wheel. Once sacred, once strategic, now invisible — the wheel shaped not just how we travel, but how we think: about power, ti…

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The Self and the Machine: The First Spell — Writing the World into Being 23:59

2M ago23:59

23:59

Every civilization begins with two things: a weapon… and a word. In this episode, we follow the word. Not as tool or code, but as spell — a ritual act of binding, remembering, and conjuring meaning into form. From the temple scribes of ancient Sumer to the cartographers of Polynesia, we uncover a hidden lineage of writing and mapping: not instrumen…

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The Self and the Machine: Weapons of Separation 28:14

3M ago28:14

28:14

Before the sword, there was the wall. Before the warrior, the hoarder. This episode traces the ancient and enduring shift from tool to weapon, from relation to possession, from gesture to threat. Beginning in the early oasis-city of Jericho and moving through philosophy, metallurgy, and mythology, we explore how fear reshaped our tools — and with t…

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The Self and the Machine: Taming by the Tool 28:09

3M ago28:09

28:09

Before we built empires, we built rhythm. Before we named gods, we knelt at the fire. In this episode, we journey back to the earliest gestures that shaped the human soul — not through invention, but through repetition. We trace the slow choreography of domestication: fire that asked us to stay, tools that taught us to return, and seeds that requir…

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The Self and The Machine: Fire and Flint 20:12

4M ago20:12

20:12

The first time a human struck flint to make a blade, they were doing more than shaping stone — they were projecting mind into matter. In this opening episode of The Machine in the Mirror, we spiral back to the origins of tool use, fire, and reflection to ask: was artificial intelligence truly born in code… or was it set in motion millions of years …

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Introduction to Series One: The Self and The Machine 8:45

4M ago8:45

8:45

What does it mean to be human? In this introductory episode of The Machine in the Mirror, we set the tone for what’s to come. Host, Dan Zax, opens the central question that will echo through every episode of the podcast — not as something to answer, but to live with. This short reflection invites listeners into a space of curiosity, paradox, and po…

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Machine in the Mirror Trailer 2:24

4M ago2:24

2:24

This is the Trailer for the Machine in the Mirror Podcast. A solo podcast where the host guides the listeners through a range a topics, with Artificial Intelligence used as a research companion. It is one man's journey with a machine to understand the age old question, 'What does it mean to be Human?"…

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Episode 4 - Xuna's Story 41:45

2+ y ago41:45

41:45

Embark on a journey to restore what was lost in Xuna’s Story, Episode 4 of Moonbreaker: Tales from the Reaches. After a heist gone wrong, Xuna is on a mission to uncover a formidable power. With passionate determination, Xuna and her self-made drone team set out to break into a Cholek temple crypt. Of course, the best laid plans ... often go awry. …

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Episode 3 - Astra's Story 40:41

3y ago40:41

40:41

Dig deeper into the lore of the Reaches with Episode 3 of Moonbreaker: Tales from the Reaches – Astra’s Story. When a dangerous prisoner is brought to the Methedori Academy, Astra’s curiosity becomes a catalyst for an adventure that will alter her course and maybe her whole destiny. Starring Khaya Fraites, and featuring an outstanding cast of new a…

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Episode 2 - Zax's Story 27:59

3y ago27:59

27:59

The saga of the Reaches continues with Zax’s Story, Episode 2 of Moonbreaker: Tales from the Reaches. It’s all fun and games until you blow yourself up robbing a casino. But for Zax Ja’kar, death is merely the beginning of his story. Featuring the suave vocal talents of Matthew Mercer and a top tier supporting cast, Zax’s Story combines charm, wit,…

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Episode 1 - Extilior's Story 29:20

3y ago29:20

29:20

Death has arrived in Extilior’s Story, the first episode of Moonbreaker: Tales from the Reaches. When a group of raiders attack a moon in search of a powerful weapon, only Extilior, a reformed Methedori Death Bot with his own code of honor, stands in their way. Featuring an eclectic and diverse cast of characters led by legendary actor JB Blanc, Ex…

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Moonbreaker: Tales from the Reaches Trailer 2:02

3y ago2:02

2:02

Welcome to the Reaches, an extraordinary solar system filled with fascinating moons glowing with precious Cinder and animated with rich cultures! These are the stories of Moonbreaker, the new digital miniatures game from Unknown Worlds. Your adventure into the Reaches begins with Extilior's Story, launching on September 29, 2022 alongside Moonbreak…