How Ancient Patterns Shape Modern Civilizations with Ricky Qi

What builds every great civilization? What tears them all down? For 40,000 years, a powerful force has built ancient empires, forged religions, and created great societies— but also destroyed them all: Stories.

It’s no surprise we’re living through one of the most profound transitions yet. Traditional narratives are losing their power while social media and AI creates entirely new forms of storytelling, globally and at unprecedented speed. But what exactly makes a story powerful enough to shape—or break—civilization?

Filmmaker, photographer, and cultural explorer Ricky Qi has traversed all seven continents and dove into worlds ancient and new hunting to find an answer. From remote traditional villages high up in the Himalaya and to nomad encampments on the Mongolian steppe to high-tech megacities along China’s coastline, he’s uncovered a hidden cycle: a pattern dating back to ancient times, and now repeating in our digital age. Join Ricky as he reveals this ancient pattern and why understanding it gives you the power to navigate our chaotic narrative moment… And perhaps shape what comes next.

Ricky Qi is a filmmaker and photographer whose work has appeared in National Geographic. A graduate of UC San Diego where he studied under renowned China scholar Paul G. Pickowicz, Ricky has spent his career exploring how stories shape civilizations across cultures and continents.

His documentary work spans from the grassy steppes of Central Asia to the snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya where he documented China’s last matriarchal society—earning him recognition as a National Geographic Explorer. Retracing the famed Tang dynasty poet Li Bai’s journey up the Yangtze, Ricky discovered how ancient narratives continue to influence modern societies, with his photographs published in National Geographic Magazine’s “In the Footsteps of Li Bai.”

Currently, Ricky is pursuing a project on the historic Silk Roads– a multi-year filming journey documenting profound changes in some of the world’s most overlooked yet increasingly vital regions.

This program was organized by Phoebe Piper #1244.