For ten years, Eric has cared for his vegetative state brother with no hope he’ll ever recover. A scientific breakthrough changes everything.

Something to consider when reading/listening:

Would you accept a blissful inner life if it meant no interaction with the outside world?

You might enjoy this episode if you like:

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman

Fiction that makes you think

Philosophical fiction

Speculative fiction

Shoes

Ventilators

Contemplating the meaning of life

Any form of philosophical enquiry

Thanks very much for listening! Don’t forget to follow/subscribe in your podcast app.

And you can join the mailing list here: meaninglessproblems.substack.com

Let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast as a whole at Craig @loveyourwork.uk (My real name is Craig Wilmann, Doe is a nickname I apparently gave myself when I was was two)

Websites:

Meaninglessproblems.com & Loveyourwork.uk

Credits:

Written and performed by Doe Wilmann

Thanks to Katie Empett for reading early versions of this episode and providing notes.

Artwork by Katie Empett

Music by Claude Debussy with permission from Pond5.

A license to use the media (Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Clair De Lune (Piano Cover) 229744340 Music ahawke99110 2023-03-02 Individual) was purchased under Pond5's Content License Agreement, a copy of which is available for review at https://www.pond5.com/legal/license. The Pond5 license authorizes the licensee to use the media in the licensee's own commercial or non-commercial production and to copy, broadcast, distribute, display, perform and monetize the production or work in any medium - including posting and monetization on YouTube - on the terms and conditions outlined therein.

Meaningless Problems with Doe Wilmann

(C) 2025