# E2: Welcome to the Algorithm; S7: Non-Alcoholic Libations (maybe just a little)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/danger-vicious-dog-7683978/e2-welcome-to-the-algorithm-s7-non-alcoholic-libations-maybe-just-a-little
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/danger-vicious-dog-7683978/e2-welcome-to-the-algorithm-s7-non-alcoholic-libations-maybe-just-a-little.md
Podcast: [Danger, Vicious Dog](https://stenobird.com/podcast/danger-vicious-dog-7683978)
Published: 2026-05-30T22:27:10+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/testtubebaby/episodes/E2-Welcome-to-the-Algorithm-S7-Non-Alcoholic-Libations-maybe-just-a-little-e3k39c6
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/10bfde498/podcast/play/120742726/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-30%2F425199525-44100-2-ce41731b8750e.m4a
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/danger-vicious-dog-7683978/episodes/e2-welcome-to-the-algorithm-s7-non-alcoholic-libations-maybe-just-a-little
Duration seconds: 3090

## Resource

One of the weirdest things about becoming visible online—even slightly visible—is discovering how quickly you start wanting reassurance from numbers. Not success. Not art. Not connection. Numbers. A graph moving upward. A little dashboard saying: “Good boy.” This episode started as something completely different. Then suddenly a few podcast episodes escaped containment and got hundreds of listens instead of seven. Which, for the record, is enough to completely reorganize your nervous system if you are used to living artistically in near-total obscurity. And what fascinated me wasn’t the “success.” It was how FAST my brain adapted. Immediately: Should I tighten things up? Should I edit more? Should I stop stammering? Should I become digestible? Should I optimize myself into a smooth consumer product? Should I become… spiritually aerodynamic? And that’s where this episode accidentally wandered into the territory of spiritual bypassing. A phrase many people have never heard before, but which is actually very simple. Spiritual bypassing is when people use “growth,” “healing,” “mindfulness,” “evolution,” “optimization,” “higher consciousness,” or pseudo-spiritual language to avoid reality instead of entering it more honestly. It’s when someone says: “I’m protecting my peace,” when what they mean is: “I refuse to tolerate discomfort.” Or: “I’m setting boundaries,” when what they mean is: “You are no longer providing dopamine correctly.” Or: “I’ve evolved past negativity,” when what they mean is: “I’ve become terrified of ambiguity.” Or: “Everything happens for a reason,” because the alternative—that existence may be partially random and horrifying—makes them want to throw up in a Whole Foods parking lot. And online culture is absolutely soaked in this now. Everyone is optimi…

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## Transcript

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