Episode

Propagandananda? – Ian Alexander

Podcast
Ancient Futures
Published
Apr 22, 2026
Duration seconds
3608
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://ancientfutures.substack.com/p/yoga-wikipedia
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https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193464548/2a1247e61b8c1ace1100bdef24317c06.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/ancient-futures-6182152/episodes/propagandananda-ian-alexander
Markdown
/podcast/ancient-futures-6182152/propagandananda-ian-alexander.md

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Summary

How reliable are articles on yoga by contributors to Wikipedia? 🤷‍♂️ More than they used to be, thanks to the input of Ian Alexander , who’s personally edited between a third and half of them. Many meet the criteria for what the free encyclopaedia calls a “ good article ” – combining clear and neutral writing with verifiable sourcing and broad coverage. For the 25 years since Wikipedia launched , it’s been dependent on the work of volunteers. In an age of hallucinating chatbots, this human commitment is all the more striking. Our conversation explores how it works, why Ian got involved and where the yoga WikiProject might go from here. We also talk about other things – from pages on the writings of Tolkien to Swami Propagandananda, a nickname for Sivananda that Ian included in one of his edits. He’s a longstanding yoga practitioner, as well as writing books about nature and software engineering. For more on Wikipedia, and the principles of trust it depends on, see this book by founder Jimmy Wales – thanks to Dominik Wujastyk for the recommendation . -- 🤿 For an immersive perspective on yogic traditions, join The Path of Knowledge 🙏 Your support makes this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or make a donation ... It's greatly appreciated! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe