Fire on the Waves began as an attempt to understand why so much of contemporary life feels simultaneously dazzling and hollow, why we can be surrounded by unprecedented wealth and technology while experiencing unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and social fragmentation.The metaphor of fire on waves emerged from watching how political campaigns, advertisements, social media, and even our personal relationships often operate: creating beautiful, attention-grabbing surfaces that distract us from the deeper currents shaping our actual experience.