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
June 11: The End of America
How Understanding Our Past Might Yet Save Our Future
In this wide-ranging, historically grounded, and developmentally rich exploration, Keith Martin-Smith turns his attention to the unraveling of the American center—culturally, politically, and psychologically. Rather than framing this as a partisan failure or moral collapse, he makes the case that what we’re witnessing is the breakdown of a civilization trying to evolve past the limits of its current operating system.
Tracing the developmental arc of the United States—from its Enlightenment-era founding through waves of modern progress and into today’s regressive spiral—Keith unpacks how three powerful forces are pulling the country downward: the raw power impulse of Red, the absolutism and nostalgia of Amber, and the profit-driven optimism of naïve Orange. Each of these, he argues, once played a crucial role in the nation’s upward growth—but now, unintegrated and unexamined, they threaten its future.
Drawing on Integral theory and systems thinking, Keith offers a provocative yet hopeful view: that it may not take a leap to Teal to change our trajectory, but rather a reclamation of the healthiest forms of Red’s drive for more, Amber’s personal virtue and moral clarity, Orange’s rational effectiveness and efficiencies, and Green’s care and systems-awareness. He explores what it would mean to evolve forward by recovering what’s been left behind—and how a more integrated, resilient cultural container might still be possible.
Whether you see America as broken, becoming, or both, this conversation offers a developmental lens for understanding what’s ending, what’s emerging, and what might still be saved.
(past) May 27: The Silence Between Us
How We Lost the Art of Connection—and Why Listening Might Save Us*
* Traveling on the 28th
Join Keith and Michael Porcelli, the creator of MetaRelating. They will discuss how we live in the noisiest era in human history—and why we’ve never been worse at truly communicating.
Not just talking, but communicating: connecting, understanding, moving each other with clarity and intention.
Every culture has its own invisible grammar. In Japan, a pause may signal disagreement. In the U.S., silence often feels like failure. These rules quietly shape our interactions—until they don't. And right now, they’re unraveling across the globe.
Every conversation rides on hidden meta-rules: Who holds the power? Is this safe? Do I feel seen? These aren’t “soft skills”—they’re survival tools. And they’re eroding, right when we need them most.
Our institutions once helped us navigate these differences and find common ground. But those structures are fracturing. And now, the responsibility of meaningful communication falls on us—untrained, unprepared, and often overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, research continues to affirm what wisdom traditions have always known: that healthy, connected relationships are essential to our wellbeing.
Here’s the good news: this capacity can be reclaimed. Communication—real communication—is not about having the right words.
Join Keith and Michael to learn how.
Past Episodes
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.
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.