In this episode, Stewart Alsop speaks with Nico Sarian, Executive Director of the Eternity Foundation and PhD candidate in Religious Studies, about the strange currents that run through Armenian history, the fractured birth of early Christianity, and the survival of Gnostic and Hermetic traditions into the Renaissance. The conversation weaves through questions of empire and nation state, mysticism and metaphysics, the occult roots of modern science, and the unsettling horizon of accelerationism, drawing unexpected lines between the ancient world, the bureaucratic order critiqued by David Graeber, and our present entanglement with surveillance and identity. For more on Nico’s work, see The Eternity Foundation at
eternity.giving.
Check out this GPT we trained on the conversationTimestamps
00:00 Stewart Alsop introduces Nico Sarian and sets the stage with Armenian history and the legacy of empire.
05:00 The rise of early Christianity is traced, showing its fractures, Gnostic currents, and the persistence of esotericism.
10:00 Hermeticism enters the frame, connecting mystical knowledge with the scientific spirit of the Renaissance.
15:00 Empire versus nation state is explored, touching on bureaucracy, power, and identity.
20:00 Mysticism and metaphysics are tied to questions of apocalypse, renewal, and hidden traditions.
25:00 Nico brings in David Graeber, critiquing modern bureaucracy and how systems shape consciousness.
30:00 Accelerationism surfaces, framed as both danger and possibility in modernity.
35:00 Surveillance and identity are examined, echoing ancient struggles for meaning.
40:00 Esotericism and religious syncretism are reconsidered as resources for navigating technological upheaval.
45:00 The conversation closes with reflections on continuity, rupture, and the strange endurance of wisdom.
Key Insights