The Integral Edge
Emerging perspectives on politics, science, and culture.
Upcoming Talks & Interviews
Live talks are every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month.
10 am PT, 1 pm ET.
Episodes can be streamed live here
July 09: Redefining the Masculine (Without Losing the Man)
Aug 13: Why We Needed Trump
The Narcissist Who is Shattering a Narcissistic System
What if Donald Trump didn’t break America—but revealed where it was already broken?
In this bold and challenging conversation, I sit down with Bert Parlee (an Integral leadership coach and educator), who makes a shocking claim: that Trump, for all his chaos and narcissism, was necessary. Not as a savior, not as a hero—but as a disruptor. A hammer to the glasshouse of collective narcissism that had taken root across legacy media, academia, education, and Big Tech.
According to Bert, the institutional left had become increasingly self-righteous, censorious, and morally inflated. The result? A culture more concerned with being “right” than being honest. In this frame, Trump wasn’t the disease—he was the fever breaking.
Bert Parlee, Ph.D., is a seasoned clinical psychologist and executive coach who blends Integral Theory, deep shadow work, and systems thinking to help leaders and teams evolve.
Most Recent
The End of America? How the Founders' Genius Is Breaking Down (And What We Can Do About It)
Watch or Listen on Integral Life
In the summer of 1787, 55 delegates locked themselves in a Philadelphia room with nailed-shut windows, no press, and one goal: save a collapsing nation. What emerged was the U.S. Constitution—perhaps the most radical political document in history.
The genius wasn’t idealism—it was design. The founders assumed people would act selfishly, and they built a system to channel that selfishness into public good. Their concept, “enlightened self-interest,” created guardrails that turned power-hungry individuals into rule-following citizens and eventually into thoughtful participants in democracy.
Fast forward to 2025, and that machine is faltering. The forces now driving the system—corporate lobbying, algorithmic manipulation, and media that thrives on outrage—are ones the founders couldn’t have foreseen. When Lyndon Johnson created Medicare, the bill was 29 pages. Today’s legislation stretches thousands, packed with industry carve-outs that serve profit, not people.
Still, there’s a historical pattern: real reform often follows disaster. The FAA came after fatal crashes. The SEC followed the 1929 collapse, led by a former market manipulator—FDR’s “thief to catch a thief.” These institutions proved that regulation can align profit with public good.
Now we face a meta-crisis: AI without brakes, ecological breakdown, and tribalism fed by social media. Our 18th-century operating system needs a serious upgrade—likely including a constitutional amendment to get money out of politics, and a shift beyond narrow rationalism to think systemically. It won’t be easy. But if a single lifetime saw America go from segregation to a Black president, we shouldn’t bet against our capacity to evolve—especially when we must.
Becoming Whole in a Divided World
Watch or Listen on Integral Life
In today’s polarized world, is the aspiration for “wholeness” still realistic—or even desirable? In this episode of Integral Edge, Keith Martin-Smith sits down with executive coach David Arrell to explore how we might move toward wholeness amid political division, social fragmentation, and global uncertainty.
They begin with a provocative truth: humans have always created “us vs. them” divisions—sometimes over absurd differences, as Jonathan Swift satirized with kingdoms warring over how to crack an egg. But there’s a survival logic behind it: early tribes needed to protect themselves from threats, and large civilizations relied on shared myths and identities to cohere. “Othering” has deep evolutionary roots.
But are we stuck there forever? David introduces “fictive kinship”—our ability to bond through shared stories—and how it enabled cooperation across vast societies. From a developmental lens, though, this instinct can backfire: when stressed, even highly evolved individuals can regress to more reactive, tribal mindsets. Political polarization is a modern example, especially around figures like Donald Trump.
Past Episodes
How We Lost the Art of Connection
Watch or Listen on Integral Life
In this insightful episode of Integral Edge, Keith Martin-Smith sits down with Michael Porcelli, founder of MetaRelating, to explore the nuanced dynamics of human communication in relationships, organizations, and across cultures. They delve into why conversations so often go off the rails, the hidden cultural dimensions that shape our communication styles, and how to cultivate shared reality even amid intense conflict.
Michael shares powerful insights on the importance of recognizing the “relationship itself” as a third entity—a living dynamic that must be understood, respected, and intentionally nurtured. They discuss the pitfalls of therapeutic “over-processing,” critique popular communication methods like nonviolent communication and radical honesty, and highlight the value of productive tension and relational polarity.
From intimate relationships to corporate cultures, this conversation offers practical strategies and profound perspectives on how we can better understand each other, navigate miscommunications skillfully, and deepen our capacity for true relational intelligence.
The Cyles of Time: Mapping Evolution at the Edge of History
Watch or listen on Integral Life.
Keith Martin-Smith is joined by Terri O’Fallon — co-founder of STAGES International and one of the most insightful developmental theorists alive today — to explore the hidden cycles shaping both personal growth and global history. As the world faces a convergence of meta-crises—from late-stage capitalism to climate collapse and runaway technology—Terri reveals how these upheavals mirror a deeper, evolutionary recursion within human consciousness itself.
Together, they trace the arc from timelessness (at birth) to the construction of linear and relative time, culminating in the boundless timelessness required at higher developmental stages. Alongside this journey, they chart the rapid acceleration of cultural evolution — from 50,000-year transitions to changes now unfolding within decades — and discuss the critical role of shadow, leadership, parenting, narcissism, and spiritual practice in navigating this evolutionary quickening.
Is capitalism the end of the story, or just another stage? Can AI ever touch the depths of timeless awareness? And what kind of leaders are needed to shepherd us into a post-crisis future? This wide-ranging dialogue blends rigor and heart, offering both a sobering look at our civilizational crossroads and a grounded faith in our capacity to grow through it.
How Can DEI Survive (and should it)?
The Shadow of Trump
Watch or listen on Integral Life.
Trump isn’t just a political figure — he’s a psychic Rorschach test. Loved or loathed, he reflects back the disowned parts of our collective shadow: rage, bravado, grievance, defiance.
This isn’t about Trump the man — it’s about what he evokes. He brings to the surface the denied aspects of our own psyche: the parts that crave power, resent weakness, and rebel against elite moralism.
Integral theory invites us to meet the moment not by collapsing into tribal outrage, but by integrating what we’ve repressed. Trump shows us what modernity excludes, what postmodernism condemns, and what tradition refuses to let die.
If we can’t metabolize the shadow, we’ll be ruled by it. The task isn’t to destroy Trump — it’s to confront the parts of us that created him.
Watch or listen on Integral Life.
DEI didn’t begin as ideology — it began as a moral correction. Its roots were in fairness, not theory; in redressing injustice, not enforcing orthodoxy.
What started as a movement of empathy has hardened into a culture of compliance — one that punishes dissent and narrows diversity to demographics alone.
True inclusion means making space for ideological, cultural, and developmental difference — not just race, gender, or orientation. It must be large enough to include the rural, the religious, the neurodivergent, and the politically heterodox.
When DEI demands agreement over understanding, it becomes identity absolutism — an ideology unable to see its own frame. Inclusion that excludes is no longer inclusion.
The most powerful DEI is built on empathy, not ideology. Empathy doesn’t silence difference — it strengthens systems to hold it.
About The Integral Edge
Welcome to a world on the edge.
AI is rewriting the rules. Politics are more polarized than ever, with the far right and left in an endless clash. The metacrisis looms, late-stage capitalism is unraveling, DEI is evolving, and strongmen are rising once more.
But that’s just the beginning.
This podcast takes an integral look at the forces shaping our reality—from cutting-edge neuroscience and biohacking to cryptocurrency, global economics, and the ancient wisdom of awakening, mindfulness, and embodiment.
Keith Martin-Smith brings a deep, multi-perspective lens to the chaos, cutting through the noise to find what actually matters.
This isn’t just another commentary on the world. It’s a guide to seeing—and living—beyond the divide.
Keith Martin-Smith is an author, executive coach, and lifelong explorer of human potential.