Podcast
Wild Grass
Hosted by KishA · ZH
English version of 野草进化论
Wild Grass
In this hyper-optimized, hyper-competitive urban thicket, we grow like wild grass—taking root and thriving in the margins. While we possess rational minds and the capacity for independent survival, we often find ourselves navigating the solitude, uncertainty, and the crushing weight of "perfect" life blueprints imposed by modern society.
This podcast is a dedicated space for self-scrutiny and evolution.
We are committed to deconstructing the predicaments of modern living. We dissect everything: from the intricate sociology of the workplace and the navigation of personal boundaries, to our pathological obsession with material order and the erosion of subjectivity within intimate relationships.
The vitality of wild grass is never a gift of cultivation; it is born from the wisdom of thriving through the harshest soil—finding the strength to claim its own patch of green.
Let's embark on a journey of self-evolution within this concrete jungle.
Update Frequency: 1–2 episodes per week.
Note:
The world is filled with flowers, trees, and many other forms of life. But here, we start by listening to the voice of the grass.
Wild Grass
In this hyper-optimized, hyper-competitive urban thicket, we grow like wild grass—taking root and thriving in the margins. While we possess rational minds and the capacity for independent survival, we often find ourselves navigating the solitude, uncertainty, and the crushing weight of "perfect" life blueprints imposed by modern society.
This podcast is a dedicated space for self-scrutiny and evolution.
We are committed to deconstructing the predicaments of modern living. We dissect everything: from the intricate sociology of the workplace and the navigation of personal boundaries, to our pathological obsession with material order and the erosion of subjectivity within intimate relationships.
The vitality of wild grass is never a gift of cultivation; it is born from the wisdom of thriving through the harshest soil—finding the strength to claim its own patch of green.
Let's embark on a journey of self-evolution within this concrete jungle.
Update Frequency: 1–2 episodes per week.
Note:
The world is filled with flowers, trees, and many other forms of life. But here, we start by listening to the voice of the grass.
3episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why Is It So Hard to Think for Yourself?
2w ago00:07:59Tap to summarizeI want to start with a question.Have you ever faced a big decision, spent hours researching it, asked friends for advice, watched videos, read articles, compared different opinions—and somehow ended up feeling even less certain than when you started?A lot of us describe that feeling by saying:“Maybe I just don’t have strong opinions.”But lately, I’ve started to wonder if that’s really true.Maybe the problem isn’t that we lack opinions.Maybe we’ve simply never learned how to trust our own judgment.Because from the time we’re children, most of us are rewarded for finding the right answer.School teaches us that there is a correct answer.Work teaches us that there is a correct process.And society often suggests there is a correct timeline for life itself.Go to the right school.Get the right job.Meet the right person.Buy the right house.After years of living in systems like that, something subtle happens.Whenever we’re uncertain, we instinctively look outward before we look inward.What do my parents think?What do experts think?What does my manager think?What does the internet think?And somewhere along the way, we forget to ask a much simpler question:What do I think?Interestingly, there’s a psychological reason for this.Our brains are constantly looking for shortcuts.Thinking for yourself sounds simple, but it actually takes work.It requires attention, effort, and sometimes the willingness to sit with uncertainty.It’s often much easier to borrow someone else’s conclusion than build your own from scratch.Psychologists have studied this tendency for decades.We naturally look to authority figures and social consensus when we’re unsure.And honestly, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.Most of the time, learning from other people’s experience is efficient.It’s practical.It helps us avoid unnecessary mistakes.The problem begins when outsourcing our judgment becomes a habit.Because once that happens, something strange starts to occur.We gain access to more information than ever before.Yet making decisions somehow becomes harder.Not easier.And I think that’s because information and judgment are not the same thing.Having more information doesn’t automatically tell you what matters.It just gives you more things to pay attention to.That reminds me of a concept from communication research called agenda-setting.The idea is surprisingly simple.The media may not tell you what to think.But it can strongly influence what you think about.Think about how often a new career path, industry, or lifestyle suddenly seems to be everywhere.One month nobody is talking about it.The next month it’s on every podcast, every social platform, every news feed.Everyone seems interested.Everyone seems excited.And before long, you start wondering whether you should be paying attention too.Eventually, it starts to feel important simply because everyone else is talking about it.So people follow the conversation.Then they follow the trend.And sometimes, without realizing it, they follow the decision itself.A few years later, they look back and ask themselves:Did I actually want this?Or did I just absorb the priorities of everyone around me?The more I think about it, the more I believe that many moments we describe as “having no opinion” aren’t really about a lack of intelligence or critical thinking.They’re about being surrounded by so many voices that it’s difficult to hear our own.There’s a real-world example that comes to mind.The investor Charlie Munger often spoke about a habit he used when making important decisions.Instead of looking for evidence that confirmed his beliefs, he deliberately searched for ways he might be wrong.He would force himself to examine the opposite side of the argument.Not because he enjoyed changing his mind.But because he knew how easy it is to become trapped inside your own assumptions.Many investors and business leaders later adopted similar practices.Some even started keeping detailed records of their decisions.Because they noticed something fascinating.People are remarkably good at rewriting history.When a decision works out, we tend to believe we knew it all along.When it doesn’t, we quietly adjust our memory of what we originally thought.That’s one reason researchers often talk about something called a decision journal.The idea is simple.Whenever you’re making an important decision, write down your reasoning.Not the outcome you’re hoping for.Not what eventually happens.Just your thinking at that moment.Why do you believe this is the right choice?What assumptions are you making?What could prove you wrong?Then revisit those notes months later.You may discover that some of your best decisions came from clear reasoning.And some of your worst decisions came from emotion, social pressure, fear of missing out, or simply following the crowd.What I like about this practice is that it doesn’t make you smarter overnight.It makes you more aware.It allows you to see patterns in your own thinking.And once you can see those patterns, you can start improving them.The older I get, the more I think that having a mind of your own isn’t a personality trait.It’s a skill.A skill that gets developed through practice.And perhaps the most surprising part is that real judgment doesn’t look like stubbornness.In fact, it often looks like the opposite.People with strong judgment are usually willing to change their minds.They’re open to new information.They listen to opposing viewpoints.They accept that they might be wrong.But they also understand something important:Being open-minded doesn’t mean handing your decisions over to someone else.That’s the difference.Stubborn people refuse to change.People with judgment are willing to change—but they still take responsibility for deciding.So before we wrap up, I’d like to leave you with a question.Think about the last major decision that changed the direction of your life.Do you remember why you made it?Not what happened afterward.Not whether it worked out.But why you chose it in the first place.Was that decision based on your own judgment?Or was it based on someone else’s expectations?
Transcribe →
When I Said the Wrong Thing at Work
2w ago00:06:36Tap to summarizeI Said the Wrong Thing at Work — And It Made Me Realize How Burned Out I WasHave you ever had one of those days where nothing actually goes wrong…but you still feel like you’re quietly falling apart?Not because of a crisis.Not because of a fight.Just… because you’ve been running on empty for too long.And one small moment finally makes it obvious.That was me recently.I work in a multinational company in Shanghai.Right now, I’m deep in year-end review season.So my days look like this:Updating numbers.Reworking slides.Rewriting the story of a PowerPoint deck that’s already on version 17.It’s not hard work in the traditional sense.But it’s the kind of work that slowly drains you.Not dramatically.Just… quietly.At the same time, I’ve been dealing with a cross-team project that’s been surprisingly exhausting.Not because anyone is difficult in a personal way.In fact, the other person isn’t a bad colleague at all.But every interaction feels like dragging something heavy through mud.You move a little forward… then you get stuck again.Everything needs clarification.Everything needs follow-up.Everything needs to be explained twice.And you can’t really stop.So you just keep going.And from the outside, it doesn’t even look like much.You’re just sitting there.Answering emails.Answering messages.Jumping between meetings.But internally… it’s a different story.Your energy is gone long before the day ends.And I felt it spill over a little.Nothing dramatic.No argument.No breakdown.Just a small moment where my frustration showed in the open office space.Enough for people to notice.And immediately, I thought:“Am I becoming the kind of colleague I used to dislike?”You know the type.The person who sighs too loudly.Who brings the whole room’s energy down.Who feels… heavy to be around.I used to really judge that.Now I get it.Most people aren’t like that because they want to be.They’re just tired.More tired than they know how to hide.The part I actually regret happened later.A senior leader checked in on me.Just a casual “how are things going?”She was being kind.Supportive, even.I started explaining some of the issues.Probably too much.Because I was already tired, I kept going deeper than I should’ve.More detail.More context.More emotion than I planned to show.Then she said something very reasonable:“Maybe these are things to align with your line manager first.”And without thinking, I said:“I have raised some of these before, but I don’t feel they’ve really been resolved.”The second I said it, I felt it.That drop in my stomach.Because I knew how it could sound.Like I was going over my manager’s head.Like I was complaining.And that wasn’t my intention at all.My direct manager is actually great.This wasn’t about her.It was just… me being exhausted.But here’s the thing about exhaustion:It doesn’t always stay inside.Sometimes it comes out through your words before you can stop it.That night, I kept replaying the conversation.Overthinking it.Rewriting it in my head.Wondering if I had messed something up at work.At one point, I even thought:“Maybe they should just fire me.”Not because I meant it.But because tired brains don’t think in balance.They think in extremes.Later, I called my family.And that made me feel something else.Not better.Just… aware.Aware of how far I’ve drifted into handling everything alone.Work stress.Emotional stress.Daily frustration.All processed internally.No real outlet.Just… contained.Over time, that kind of life makes you numb.Not broken.Just less responsive to your own feelings.The next day, after I calmed down, I started seeing it differently.The real question wasn’t:“Did I say the wrong thing?”It was:“How long have I actually been this tired?”For a long time, I thought emotional stability was just a personality trait.Some people are naturally calm.Some people aren’t.But I don’t think it works like that anymore.Emotional stability is often a condition.Not a personality.It depends on rest.On support.On whether you’re carrying everything alone or not.Someone who is well-supported can look incredibly stable.Someone who is quietly overloaded can look fine…until one small moment breaks the surface.I learned a few things from this.When you’re emotionally overloaded, don’t try to process it in public spaces.Step outside.Walk for ten minutes.Let your system reset a little.And don’t have serious conversations with leadership when you’re already drained.Because when you’re tired, you don’t just speak clearly.You speak emotionally.And those two aren’t always the same thing.But honestly, the biggest takeaway isn’t about what I said.It’s what it revealed.I was more burned out than I realized.And I think that’s the quiet danger for a lot of adults.Not collapse.Not breakdown.But functioning too well for too long.Until one small moment finally shows:You’ve been running on empty for a while.
Transcribe →
Why Does AI Understand Us Better
2w ago00:09:30Tap to summarizeWhy Does AI Sometimes Understand Us Better Than Our Friends?What Happens When We Start Confiding in MachinesHello everyone, welcome to my channel.Today, I want to explore a question that sounds a little provocative (/prəˈvɒkətɪv/):Why does AI sometimes seem to understand us better than our friends do?Now, before anyone panics, this is not an episode about replacing human relationships with technology.AI is not conscious (/ˈkɒnʃəs/).It doesn't feel empathy (/ˈempəθi/).It doesn't care about us in the way another human being can.And yet, many people have had a surprisingly familiar experience:They share something personal with an AI, receive a response, and think,*"Wait... how did it know that?"*Not because the AI revealed some hidden truth.But because it pointed out something they hadn't noticed about themselves.And that raises a fascinating question:What does it actually mean to be understood?---A Simple Conversation That Became Something ElseRecently, I came across an interesting exchange.Someone was reflecting on a recurring (/rɪˈkɜːrɪŋ/) pattern in their relationships.Nothing dramatic.Nothing extraordinary (/ɪkˈstrɔːrdəneri/).Just a familiar human experience.They described feeling drawn to certain types of connections.They noticed themselves becoming emotionally invested quickly.They wondered why they kept finding themselves in similar situations, even when previous experiences hadn't ended particularly well.At first, it sounded like a conversation about relationships.But then something unexpected happened.Instead of asking for advice, they asked the AI:*"How did you arrive at that conclusion?"*In other words, the conversation shifted.It was no longer about the relationship.It became a conversation about interpretation (/ɪnˌtɜːrprɪˈteɪʃən/) itself.How do we make sense of ourselves?And how does an AI make sense of us?---We Think We're Telling Stories. We're Actually Revealing Patterns.Carl Jung (/jʊŋ/) famously wrote:*"Until you make the unconscious (/ʌnˈkɒnʃəs/) conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."*It's one of those quotes that sounds profound (/prəˈfaʊnd/) but can feel abstract.Until you notice how often it happens.Some people repeatedly enter similar relationships.Some find themselves attracted to emotionally unavailable partners.Some repeatedly become caretakers.Others continuously seek validation (/ˌvælɪˈdeɪʃən/) from people who struggle to give it.When these patterns repeat, we often describe them as bad luck.Or timing.Or coincidence (/kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/).Psychologists tend to see something different.They see patterns.John Bowlby's Attachment Theory (/əˈtætʃmənt ˈθɪəri/) suggested that many of our adult relationship behaviors are shaped by emotional templates (/ˈtempleɪts/) established early in life.In other words:What feels familiar often feels compelling (/kəmˈpelɪŋ/).Even when it isn't necessarily good for us.And this is where AI can sometimes offer a unique perspective (/pərˈspektɪv/).Unlike us, it isn't emotionally invested in the storyline.It isn't fascinated by the characters.It isn't wondering what happens next.It notices repetition.And repetition is often where self-knowledge begins.---Why Online Connections Can Feel So IntenseTo understand this further, let's turn to communication theory.In the 1990s, communication scholar Joseph Walther proposed something called the Hyperpersonal (/ˌhaɪpərˈpɜːrsənəl/) Model of Communication.His research explored a curious phenomenon (/fəˈnɒmɪnən/):Why do online relationships often develop so quickly?The answer is surprisingly simple.Online, we control our self-presentation (/ˌself ˌprezənˈteɪʃən/).We choose what to reveal.What to hide.What to emphasize (/ˈemfəsaɪz/).Meanwhile, the person receiving that information fills in the blanks.Imagine someone who responds thoughtfully.Listens carefully.Seems warm and attentive (/əˈtentɪv/).Over time, our minds naturally begin constructing a fuller image of who they are.The challenge is that much of that image comes from us.Communication researchers call this idealization (/aɪˌdiːəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/).We project (/prəˈdʒekt/) qualities onto people when information is limited.And sometimes, we don't fall in love with a person.We fall in love with a possibility.Or with a story.Or with a version of them that exists partly in our imagination (/ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃən/).---Why Feeling Understood Is So PowerfulOne of the most famous studies in modern psychology (/saɪˈkɒlədʒi/) came from researcher Arthur Aron.You may know it as *The 36 Questions That Lead to Love.*The experiment wasn't actually about creating romance.It was about creating closeness.Participants (/pɑːrˈtɪsɪpənts/) were asked increasingly personal questions.Questions about memories.Fears.Dreams.Regrets.The result?Many participants reported feeling unusually connected to one another in a remarkably (/rɪˈmɑːrkəbli/) short period of time.Why?Because intimacy (/ˈɪntɪməsi/) isn't always a product of time.Often, it's a product of self-disclosure (/ˌself dɪsˈkləʊʒər/).When someone genuinely (/ˈdʒenjuɪnli/) listens to our inner world, something important happens.We feel seen.And for many adults, being truly seen is surprisingly rare.Which means that sometimes what attracts us isn't another person.It's the experience of recognition (/ˌrekəɡˈnɪʃən/).The feeling that someone understands us.---Why AI Can Sometimes Feel Surprisingly InsightfulSo let's return to the original question.Why does AI occasionally (/əˈkeɪʒənəli/) seem more insightful (/ɪnˈsaɪtfəl/) than our friends?One reason is that friends naturally enter the story.They take sides.They worry about us.They offer advice.They focus on the people involved.AI doesn't do that.At least not in the same way.It stands outside the narrative (/ˈnærətɪv/).It examines structure instead of characters.When I asked an AI how it interpreted someone's story, its answer was surprisingly straightforward (/ˌstreɪtˈfɔːrwərd/).It said:First, identify the facts.Then identify the emotions.Then look for recurring patterns.Finally, infer (/ɪnˈfɜːr/) the underlying (/ˌʌndərˈlaɪɪŋ/) needs that might connect those patterns.What struck me was that this resembles (/rɪˈzembəlz/) something many therapists, coaches, and skilled interviewers do.Not because they have magical insight (/ˈɪnsaɪt/).But because they pay attention to repetition.They listen for themes.They notice what keeps returning.---A New Tool for Self-ReflectionFor centuries (/ˈsentʃəriz/), human beings have relied on different tools to understand themselves.Journals.Books.Conversations.Philosophy (/fəˈlɒsəfi/).Therapy.Friendship.Today, we may be witnessing (/ˈwɪtnəsɪŋ/) the emergence (/ɪˈmɜːrdʒəns/) of another tool.Not a replacement (/rɪˈpleɪsmənt/) for human connection.But a new mirror.AI doesn't know who we are.But sometimes it reflects our words back in a way that reveals patterns we couldn't see while living inside them.And perhaps that's its most interesting contribution (/ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃən/).Not providing answers.But helping us ask better questions.---So, why does AI sometimes feel like it understands us better than our friends?Maybe it doesn't.Maybe our friends understand our emotions better.Maybe they understand our history better.Maybe they understand our humanity (/hjuːˈmænəti/) better.But AI occasionally has one advantage.It isn't distracted by the story.It can focus on the structure beneath it.And sometimes, the patterns shaping our lives become visible only when someone—or something—steps outside the narrative.Because in the end, self-understanding rarely begins with finding the right answer.It begins with noticing what keeps repeating.And once we see the pattern, we can finally decide whether we want to keep living it.Thank you for listening.And I'll see you next time.
Transcribe →