What happens when we stop trying to get everything right and allow ourselves to be seen as we are?

In the first episode of The Bardo Podcast, I’m joined by award-winning comedian and actor Lara Ricote for a thoughtful conversation about uncertainty, play, and living without pre-approval in art, politics, and everyday life.

We explore clowning as a philosophy of life, the fear that shapes creativity and politics, and why joy and silliness are so often dismissed as naïve. Along the way, we talk about abundance, work, education, and what becomes possible when we stop trying to crush the mystery and learn to stay with it instead.

In this episode we explore:

• Play as a way of living, not just performing
• Clowning and the practice of “try, check, change”
• Fear, anger, and why joy rarely shows up in politics
• Abundance vs scarcity (and what hunter-gatherer societies can teach us)
• Work, automation, and imagining life beyond constant optimisation
• Why being seen, and failing, might be essential to freedom

Guest

Lara Ricote is an award-winning Mexican-American comedian and actor. She has performed internationally and works across stand-up, sketch, and screen, with a growing interest in play, presence, and risk as creative practices.

🔗 Follow what Lara's up to here.

Reading mentioned in this episode

• Marshall Sahlins -The Original Affluent Society
• Peter Gray - Play as a Foundation for Hunter-Gatherer Social Existence
• Bob Black -The Abolition of Work
• David Graeber - Bullshit Jobs: A Theory

Support the show

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You can also support the show financially on Patreon:
👉 https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheBardoPodcast

The Bardo Podcast explores alternative ways of thinking, inner and outer change, and what happens in the space between.

Hosted by comedian Marc Salmon, the show features thoughtful conversations with comedians, philosophers, Buddhist thinkers, and other curious minds - not about certainty or expertise, but about questioning assumptions and sitting with ambiguity together.

New episodes explore comedy, philosophy, Buddhism, creativity, and alternative ways of living.

Find updates and more information at:
https://www.marcsalmoncomedy.com/

Music by Marc Salmon and Robert Fuller
Artwork by Zoe Brownstone

The Bardo Podcast is a podcast about alternative ways of thinking, inner and outer change, and what happens in the space between.

Hosted by comedian Marc Salmon, the show features thoughtful conversations with comedians, philosophers, Buddhist thinkers, and other curious minds. Episodes cover philosophy, Buddhism, counter-cultural ideas, and the messy, often funny business of being human. This is not about expertise or certainty, but about questioning assumptions, sitting with ambiguity, and thinking differently together.

New episodes launch in January.

If you are interested in philosophy, Buddhism, or conversations that explore ideas with curiosity, subscribe now so you do not miss the first episodes.

Find updates and more information at:
https://www.marcsalmoncomedy.com/