No franchise has left such a large impact on my life as has Pokemon. From the time I was 10 years old, throughout high school and even in university, Pokemon continued to have a dominating presence. Even now I still get nostalgic about the older video games that accompanied my youth; for example, Littleroot Town and Ecruteak’s theme song still make me drift back to my childhood. Whether it’s arguing with friends about the pronunciation of Groundon or my parents finally buy me a $20 Pokemon deck only for it to be stolen a few months later, this franchise has added so much colour to my life and imagination. During high school, I even played Pokemon competitively, which meant abiding by certain rules and regulations imposed by a larger community. For example, one-hit knock out moves such as Sheer Cold were banned and you couldn’t put more than one Pokemon to sleep on the opposing team. But I am not the only one in my friendship group with such a nostalgic love for this franchise, one autumn night in Sydney, 2023. Lance, Nathan and I gathered to record a round of the Pokemon Draft Game, this time we went and drafted four different generations for your viewing pleasure. And with that out of the way, let’s get to the rules. 1)     You must select 6 Pokemon. 2)     You can only select Pokemon that originated from that region. Therefore, you can only pick Gyarados in the first region even if you can catch it in almost every game. 3)     You can only pick one starter from that region. 4)     Once a Pokemon is picked, their entire evolutionary chain is disqualified. For example, picking Magikarp disqualifies Gyarados. 5)     No legendaries or pseudo-legendaries. Legendaries are pretty obvious, but pseudo-legendaries  such as Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross and Heatran are just too powerful and made the game less interesting. 6)     One cute Pokemon is mandatory. They must be able to ride on your shoulder or be carried. 7)     After the round is complete, everyone votes for their favourite team. They cannot pick their own team. Make sure you tell us which team is the best and make sure to catch them all.

No franchise has left such a large impact on my life as has Pokemon. From the time I was 10 years old, throughout high school and even in university, Pokemon continued to have a dominating presence. Even now I still get nostalgic about the older video games that accompanied my youth; for example, Littleroot Town and Ecruteak’s theme song still make me drift back to my childhood. Whether it’s arguing with friends about the pronunciation of Groundon or my parents finally buy me a $20 Pokemon deck only for it to be stolen a few months later, this franchise has added so much colour to my life and imagination. During high school, I even played Pokemon competitively, which meant abiding by certain rules and regulations imposed by a larger community. For example, one-hit knock out moves such as Sheer Cold were banned and you couldn’t put more than one Pokemon to sleep on the opposing team. But I am not the only one in my friendship group with such a nostalgic love for this franchise, one autumn night in Sydney, 2023. Lance, Nathan and I gathered to record a round of the Pokemon Draft Game, this time we went and drafted four different generations for your viewing pleasure. And with that out of the way, let’s get to the rules. 1)     You must select 6 Pokemon. 2)     You can only select Pokemon that originated from that region. Therefore, you can only pick Gyarados in the first region even if you can catch it in almost every game. 3)     You can only pick one starter from that region. 4)     Once a Pokemon is picked, their entire evolutionary chain is disqualified. For example, picking Magikarp disqualifies Gyarados. 5)     No legendaries or pseudo-legendaries. Legendaries are pretty obvious, but pseudo-legendaries  such as Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross and Heatran are just too powerful and made the game less interesting. 6)     One cute Pokemon is mandatory. They must be able to ride on your shoulder or be carried. 7)     After the round is complete, everyone votes for their favourite team. They cannot pick their own team. Make sure you tell us which team is the best and make sure to catch them all.

(5:20) - Jordan Peterson & Frogs (9:30) - Compassion in Schools (14:15) - Plato's Cave and Teaching Dreams (18:30) - Yoga & Appearance (22:40) - Learning Languages & Korean (31:05) - Learning Thai & Muay Thai (38:25) - Music & Hip Hop (56:45) - Passions and Writing my Book (1:00:00) - Giving Feedback about my Book Cover (1:09:15) - AJ's Passions

What we consider normal seems so obvious that sometimes the possibility of change seems impossible and unlikely. Every society that has ever existed has clearly preferred thinner bodies, right? That’s just an unchanging law of nature, right? Wrong. Sometimes, when we’re trying to understand society, it’s important to step away from what learnt cultural assumptions that seem so obvious. Instead, view society in the same way that an alien would view it, with eyes unclouded by cultural biases. Well, in that case, I think it’s safe to say that humans spend an absurd amount of time on beauty, whether it’s picking out the right suit for a formal, getting a manicure, selecting the shiniest diamond for a wedding ring, spending an unhealthy amount of time deciding if you should change your hairstyle. The truth is, for a vast majority of people on this earth, we are all hopelessly vain and this desire to be beautiful is the cause for a lot of our pain. Companies exploit this insecurity, media elevates those who fit our beauty standards, and even worse, we assign labels of morality like goodness and honesty to people whom we find beauty. In this episode, I bring on Charlotte, a good friend whom I’ve discussed many of these topics with before, but finally deciding to record and broadcast our words in the hopes that you’ll learn something from this. So, have a think about beauty, beyond the shallow conception of what looks good and bad, such labels are subjective and are slaves to our environment. Instead, think of beauty as an unrestrained force that beats at the very core of society. An unrestrained force that governs every action we take in our lives. TIME STAMP: (6:35) - Wearing make up in year 8 (11:40) - A man-eating auntie (16:35) - Obsession with pale skin (24:10) - Is beauty objective or subjective? (32:00) - Beauty is political and economical (48:25) - Moralising beauty (56:25) - Media representation (59:20) - Sacrificing a generation to change one's values (1:04:05) - Asian fox eye trend (1:10:50) - Dealing with one's own insecurities

North Korea (NK) is a nation that everyone has an opinion on, but no one has any experience. Throughout my entire life, this rogue state has been painted with the worst portrays possible, linked with human rights violation, poverty, a closed-off political system that no foreigner can seem to understand, and perhaps most damning a loose trigger finger with nuclear weapons. So, just imagine my surprise when I found a Westerner who hasn’t just entered NK, she’s done it multiple times and now she works for a travel agency in North Korea. This means, I finally have access to a place that previously seemed impenetrable. Does NK only allow a certain number of haircuts? Are blue jeans really banned? What are the poverty levels like? Will Koreans that speak English really be kidnapped and forced to teach English? So many questions, so little time. After listening this podcast, I realise that some people might feel that I didn’t talk about the political situation enough, that I was too lenient with Zoe, by not pushing her harder to discuss the actions of the NK government. And while I think those criticisms are fair, when I first contacted Zoe, she stated that she generally tries to avoid the most politically sensitive parts of the country. This is probably because of her employment but also because she doesn’t have an interest in those fields. And while I didn’t push these topics, I don’t think I shied away from it either, I do ask questions about the DMZ, how NK sees the South, and what are some things that you can and can’t do or say in the country. Ultimately, I think Zoe’s goal is to humanise the citizens of NK, not as political pawns in a geopolitical struggle with Western democrat and capitalist countries, but people like us. I hope you enjoy this podcast. A lot of my preconceptions about NK were broken and some of my older exceptions were reinforced. But how often do you get a chance to peer behind the curtain? Enjoy. Zoe's Instagram: @zoediscoversnk Zoe's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZoeDiscovers TIMESTAMP: (6:05) - Media Exaggeration (8:50) - Telling your parents about visiting NK (11:30) - Why the interest in NK? (19:10) - How do people react to your job? (23:40) - The reality of NK (29:55) - South Koreans in NK (40:00) - Poverty in NK (50:50) - Political repression and the DMZ (57:55) - Marriage proposals in NK (1:04:15) - Crash Landing on You (1:12:35) - True or False about NK

I think men are terrified and obsessed with women because we inherently understand that a beautiful woman can basically level us with a single glance. That’s probably why men have tried and still try to regulate women sexuality (Sharia Law or abortion). Subconsciously, it might be a defence mechanism. On the other hand, I also think that the opposite is true, and that women are both terrified and captivated by masculine strength and vigour. I think the fable of Beauty and the Beast is one of the best representations of the split in the feminine psyche. The awareness that men are dangerous; yet still, the desire to tame this aggression into something more productive and stable. Okay, well now I’ve recounted the basis of Jungian psychoanalysis to you, let’s use that as a launching point for today’s podcast with returning superstar Giorgio (lead singer of Pyramid Mission, check them out on Spotify and Instagram). Why is Andrew Tate so popular? Why have words like incels and sigma males entered our vocabulary, and why do so many young men consistently feel drawn to these dark and edgy anti-heroes that seem repulsed by society? I’m thinking about Joker, Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, any modern version of Batman, Shinji from Evangelion Neon Genesis, Patrick Bateman from American Psycho and fittingly, the nameless protagonist from Drive. Some might say that these references are just ironic jokes meant to signal and scare, but let me ask you, how many times do you have to repeat an action before it stops becoming ironic? Incels and sigma males are difficult words to understand on the internet, mainly because any mention of them seem to create such polarised response. Some detest them and see them as the last vestiges of toxic masculinity, while others find comfort in these labels as the final barrier against an uncaring feminised world. So, let’s define them before we start. Incels is short for involuntary celibate, which anyone who is unable to find a romantic partner despite wanting a relationship. Sigma males are different, as they are not really incapable of romantic love, but rather see women as agents who will lead them astray. A biblical example of this could be the tale of Adam and Eve, later in the podcast, Giorgio and I return to the Bible to discuss what might be the first incel/sigma male character in Abrahamic religions. Regardless, there’s are two fundament similarities between both groups: A deep disgust for the standard gender relationships in a world where feminist ideas are relatively accepted in mainstream circles, and a mistrust for the traditional roles of masculinity. So, what does this mean for the modern man? Are we just damaged and jaded beyond repair? Or will masculinity be able to realign with a view that sees itself as a pillar of society? TIMESTAMP: (6:40) – A photograph of incel heroes (8:50) – What is an archetype? (13:00) – Similarities between modern incel archetypes (14:50) – Art can’t be separated from context (17:10) – Male characters with failed relationships (21:15) – Is masculinity necessary in the 21st century? (25:15) – Has Tinder ruined dating? (30:15) – The Freudian Madonna/Whore complex (33:00) – Sacred violence against evil (39:20) – School shootings & traditional masculinity (42:05) – Are incels/sigmas just sexually frustrated? (44:30) – #BLM, The American Dream & incels (48:15) – 4Chan, r9k and the necessity of intimacy (52:50) – Glorifying the ‘everyday man’ (57:00) – The original biblical incel/sigma (1:02:45) – The moral failure of incels

This is the second episode of a two-part series about China in the modern world. In the previous podcast, I was joined by Mr Mitchell History, a fantastic YouTube channel about history, to answer the million-dollar question. What political system does China actually have? For this episode, we are thinking more global with our focus turned away from the domestic to the international. As the American Empire or Pax Americana in Latin fades with the ascension of China, how will nations near and far adjust to the rise of another aspiring empire? So, in the age of ‘living dangerously’, as coined by Australia’s former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, how will China behave? And perhaps more importantly, how will other nations and states react to this reshuffling of geopolitical power? Will China get increasingly defensive and hostile as the United States attempts to prevent its economic rise, or will China turn to diplomacy to establish itself as the centre of a new system? With possibility of nuclear war looming over flash points in Asia and Europe, such as Taiwan, India and Pakistan and now Russia and Ukraine, I think it’s high time that we all try to be a little more informed so we can better decipher the madness of the 21st century. From nuclear holocaust to building new alliances, and everything in between, I along with Mr Mitchell History will try to predict the twists and turns in the game of empire that await us this century. TIME STAMP: (2:45) - Will the American Empire fade? (7:55) - Taiwan's fate (14:05) - How a politician's ego affects history (15:30) - The American Chinese Trade War (19:05) - China and Russia's relationship (21:30) - China, South Korea and Japan (26:30) - China, the Middle East and oil (28:55) - Will the European Union continue doing trade with China? (32:10) - China and India (33:55) - Will China befriend South-America (38:05) - A possible Chinese and African union? (42:30) - Will Australia choose between the USA and China? (48:10) - Will Trump run for president in 2024?

I recently had a discussion that made me realise how opaque the Chinese government is. I was reclining on my friend’s sofa when he turned his head and asked, “China is a communist country, right?” Right? I mean the central political body CPC does have ‘communist’ in its name; yet, North Korea also refers to itself as the Democratic Republic of Korea, and it is neither democratic or a republic. How about the fact that China has huge state-lead companies, some of which are household names like Huawei and Alibaba; yet it when it comes to income inequality, the antagonist of any socialist or communist government, China ranks slightly higher than America. Or how about the fact that the Chinese government will politically talk about socialism and the necessity of wealth distribution, yet Shanghai contains one of the most important stock exchanges in the world. So, what type of government does China have? Is it authoritarian? Is it socialist? Is it nationalist? Is it democratic? Is communist? Is it populist? What other words ending with “ist” can we throw into this list? In this podcast, Mr Mitchell History, one of the best YouTube channels for those wanting to understand Chinese or Australian history, and I will try to decipher the vagueness of the Chinese state. As tensions between both of the world’s superpowers heat up, it is imperative that both sides learn about each other. And one of Mr Mitchell History’s response struck me as incredibly thoughtful, if, and touch wood, a conflict breaks out between China and America, there is a high chance that you the listener, yes you, will be drafted or expected to fight in a conflict abroad. So, before we commit ourselves down a path of a potential nuclear winter, keep in mind, one of the potential outcomes includes cities like Beijing, California, and Kyoto being glassed while radiation fallout spreads across the globe. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we try to understand the other side, and only through diplomacy and cooperation can the world slowly return to the state of peace found before Trump’s presidency of 2016. This is the first of two podcasts, the next one will try to predict how China’s relationships with other countries and regions will change and evolve over the next few decades. TIME STAMP: (8:50) - What is 'political realism'? (14:55) - Is China a communist nation? (27:50) - What type of government does China have? (32:40) - American or Chinese dream (39:50) - Politics for the domestic audience Mr Mitchell History's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MrMitchellHistory

Alain de Botton said “The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life.” I think this is a perfect summary of high school. The fact you see the same people everyday means you build really strong connections, but simultaneously, the fact that you are always surrounded by the same faces means that you’re trapped by the judgement and expectations of your peers. So, do I regret attending a private high school? I think I do; however, I am also aware that as the years have passed, my feelings towards my high school have increasingly soured, something that I didn’t feel when I was on the verge of graduating. So, why did this happen? What were the events and people that changed my mindset? To discuss this topic, I’m reuniting with Nathan; host of the podcast Pod Position, one of my best friends, a fellow student, and someone who has had to endure me for more than a decade. TIMESTAMP:   (5:55) - Nathan's engagement (10:35) - Would I send my child to a private school?   (12:30) - Fear of girls & house parties   (16:50) - Benefits of co-ed education   (19:40) - School formals & showing off   (23:05) - Racism in high school   (27:15) - Representation in media   (32:05) - A personal story of self-hate   (36:50) - My mum confronted me about my insecurities   (42:10) - Nathan gate crashing a party (50:25) - Social anxiety (54:35) - My social clout (59:35) - Would I redo high school? (1:03:45) - Writing a letter to yourself

On 14/9/2022, Japan announced that it would fully reopen to tourists after more than two years of closed borders. To celebrate this event, along with humanity slowly learning to live with this new pandemic, I decided to record, edit and release a 90-minute podcast with two of my best friends and travelling companions to tell you “What you should and shouldn’t do in the land of the rising sun.” This should spark the obvious counter-question in my intelligent and sceptical audience, “Why should I listen to you?”, to which I’ll answer “All three of us have travelled to Japan twice with each stay lasting over a month, and during that time, we’ve zipped up and down the nation by shinkansen, car, ferry, and bus. Whether it is Kobe, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, Sendai, Hiroshima, Sapporo. Yokohama, Nara… If you can name a city, we’ve been there. So, for all my travelling enthusiasts who want to know what stores we highly recommend, what events you should miss, what are the most beautiful castles in Japan, what is the most affordable way to travel the country, random Japanese facts, and tips, and much more… Stay tuned for a podcast full of tips and laughter! TIME STAMPS: (6:36) - Fuji-Q Adrenaline Park (14:45) - Robot Cafe Tokyo (17:00) - How long should you stay in a city? (19:35) - Amori & Hakodate (21:50) - Snowboarding in Niseko (25:00) - Sapporo (26:25) - Sendai (30:45) - The best shoes for the snow (36:40) - Should you go to the owl cafe in Tokyo? (40:45) - Thrift stores in Japan (42:00) - Yokohama (44:00) - Akihabara: Anime Capital (47:45) - Eating the hottest level of curry (50:00) - Ueno Park in Tokyo (53:20) - Airbnb Tours (56:30) - How to travel around Japan (59:00) - Osaka (1:03:15) - Spas and onsens (1:05:20) - Mount Koya near Osaka (1:08:35) - Japanese food (1:13:50) - Kyoto (1:17:35) - Airbnb Tours (1:21:50) - Kobe, Himeji & Awaji Island (1:31:10) - Team Labs in Tokyo (1:34:20) - A summary of key advice