Today’s Train of Thought invites you to consider a surprisingly profound question — one you’ve probably encountered right after your second coffee and just before your patience gave out: Are escalators a sign we’ve quietly surrendered to modern life?
This episode takes on one of the most ordinary machines in the urban ecosystem and asks: What does it mean that we now expect to rise… without climbing?
We blend humor, philosophy, and public transportation angst into a meditation on effort, expectation, and the soft tyranny of convenience. You’ll hear about the strange social contract of standing still while moving upward, the ethics of choosing ease over exertion, and how escalators — once marvels of futuristic design — have quietly become symbols of passive momentum.
There’s a nod to Camus, of course. Because what’s a reflection on struggle without The Myth of Sisyphus? But instead of a boulder, we have tired commuters, inbox anxiety, and the hum of metal stairs doing the work for us.
Is it laziness? Self-preservation? Technological determinism? Or just the practical response of people too emotionally exhausted to climb one more metaphorical hill?
No matter where you land (or stand), this episode offers a fresh, funny lens on how we navigate effort in the modern world — and what it might mean when we stop asking if the struggle is worth it.
Listen now and take a moment to ask yourself: Am I climbing… or am I coasting?
Train of Thought — the podcast that walks up the down escalator, just to see what happens.
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