Portrait of Makai Lee Elías Calles

Makai Lee Elías Calles

Writer and builder, working where the brush meets the chisel.

Based
New York
I

About

Journalist, documentary filmmaker, and host at The Epoch Times. Most of my reading lives between classical philosophy and modern science, and my work is an attempt to let those two traditions sit in the same room long enough to talk.

Right now that means a documentary, Final Hours; a YouTube channel, The Upgrade; and my column — each asking, in its own way, what it means to live well.

Earlier byline Makai Allbert

Earlier work may appear under this name.

II

Work

Final Hours poster — An Epoch Original Documentary. A young man in a suede jacket looks back over his shoulder inside a luminous cosmic tunnel beneath the line “Is death really the end?”, framed by fourteen film festival laurels.
An Epoch Original Documentary

Final Hours

Is Death Really the End?

Why are we here — and where do we go when it ends? Thousands have crossed the line between life and death, and come back. Final Hours gathers their testimony: what they witnessed beyond, and what it asks of the living.

Watch on EpochTV

Festival Honours

Fourteen laurels from seven festivals, among them Best Documentary, Best Documentary Director, and Best Feature Documentary.

  • Accolade Global Film Competition
    • Award of Excellence
    • Award of Merit
    • Award of Merit (Special Mention)
  • Alpine International Film Festival 2026
    • Best Feature Documentary
    • Best Documentary Director
    • Best Documentary Editing
  • Oniros Film Awards, New York 2026
    • Best Documentary
    • Best Producer
    • Best Soundtrack
  • Triumph International Film Festival 2026
    • Best Documentary Feature
    • Best Documentary Director
  • The IndieFEST Film Awards 2026
    • Award of Merit
  • Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival
    • Excellence
  • SoCal Film Awards 2026
    • Honorable Mention
In the News
Makai on NTD's Tiffany Meier Tonight — Lessons About Life From Beyond
NTD · Feature
What Can Near-Death Experiences Teach Us About Life?
Epoch Reports podcast
Epoch Reports · Podcast
Exploring Near-Death Experiences: What Happens After We Die
Editorial illustration of a figure walking through a glowing doorway
The Epoch Times · Article
These People Visited the ‘Other Side,’ and Came Back Completely Changed
Editorial illustration of a luminous figure rising within a glowing orb
The Epoch Times · Article
I Interviewed People Who Came Back From Death. They All Had a Similar Message.
Makai Elías Calles on The Sue Henry Show, NewsRadio WILK
NewsRadio WILK · The Sue Henry Show
Makai Elías Calles with Sue Henry
Articles & Essays

Written Works

Explorations in classical philosophy, human health, and the search for meaning.

American Essence Cover

His Family Treated Emperors—Now He Wants To Transform Medicine

Read Article →

The Mystery of Intuition
The Mystery of Intuition: Where Gut Feelings Really Come From
How Kindness Can Enhance Your Life
How Kindness Can Enhance Your Life—and Your Genes
How Awe Boosts Your Immune System
How Awe Boosts Your Immune System

Language Learning
Language Learning As A Means To Eudaimonia
The Many Guises Of Wisdom
The Many Guises Of Wisdom
Redefining Heroism: Paris In The Iliad
Redefining Heroism: Paris In The Iliad
Full Epoch Times archive → Medium · @makailee →

Talking

Everything They Told You About Death is Wrong — a video conversation
Conversation · YouTube

Everything They Told You About Death is Wrong

A long-form conversation on death, near-death experiences, and what they reveal about being alive.

Watch the conversation →
Tech and Power podcast
Podcast · Tech & Power

Philosophical Reflection on AI and Humanity: What Makes Us Truly Human?

A conversation on the ethics and philosophy of artificial intelligence, and the old questions it asks anew.

Watch the episode →

Publications

2025

PhiloBERTA: A Transformer-Based Cross-Lingual Analysis of Greek and Latin Lexicons

A cross-lingual transformer study of philosophical vocabulary across Greek and Latin, bridging computational methods with classical philology.

Read on arXiv →
2025

Fragmentation to Wholeness: A Journey Through the Interplay of Opposites

An essay on coincidentia oppositorum: how opposites, held rightly, are the grammar of wholeness.

Read on ResearchGate →
Scholarly profiles ORCID 0000-0003-4756-0569 Google Scholar
III

Projects

Heart of Jade
Book · heartofjade.com

Heart of Jade

Editor

A fully illustrated tale of suffering, faith, and the beauty carved from devotion — every word, every illustration, meticulously crafted by hand.

Illustrated bookFall 2026
Visit heartofjade.com →
Aeterna Institute
Co-founded · aeterna-institute.org

Aeterna Institute

A home for enduring inquiry, where classical learning meets contemporary research.

Cross-disciplinary seminars, publications, and public scholarship on the perennial questions: the good, the true, the beautiful.

HumanitiesResearchSeminar
Visit aeterna-institute.org →
Students for Falun Gong
Co-founded · Non-profit

Students for Falun Gong

Executive Board Member · Oct 2019 – Present

Co-founded a non-profit. Presented at the International Religious Freedom Summit; organized international conferences.

Human rightsAdvocacyConferences
Visit studentsforfg.org →
IV

Experience

2024 — now
Writer & Assignment Editor
The Epoch Times
Full-time · Hybrid · New York

Assigning and writing feature stories. Previously: Feature Health Writer and Newsletter Editor (May–Dec 2024); Health Journalist, freelance (2022–2024).

JournalismEditingHealth
2025 — 2026
Management AI Training Expert
micro1
Part-time · Nov 2025 – Feb 2026
2025
AI Business Fellow
Perplexity
Feb – Aug 2025 · Remote
2024 — 2025
Adjunct Professor of Ethics & Humanities
Fei Tian College at Middletown
Dec 2024 – May 2025

Taught Academic Writing (3-cr) and Biomedical Ethics (2-cr) through utilitarian, deontological, virtue, and normative frameworks.

TeachingEthics

Education

Ralston College
Master of Arts, Humanities
Ralston College
Classics · Philosophy · Literature · Ancient Greek
Aug 2023 – May 2024
Animus Crescat
Harvard University Center for Hellenic Studies
Language Residency
Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University
Greek · Návplion, Peloponnese
Sep – Oct 2023
National Taiwan Normal University
Mandarin Training Center
National Taiwan Normal University
Intensive Mandarin Chinese
May – Aug 2023
Fei Tian College
Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Science
Fei Tian College Middletown
Magna Cum Laude
Aug 2019 – May 2023
  • Provost's Outstanding Students Award, 2020
  • Academic Excellence, Biomedical Science, Spring 2020
  • Academic Excellence, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Fall 2019
  • First Place, Hackathon 2020

Languages

A
English
Native · Professional
ñ
Español
Native
中
Mandarin Chinese
Advanced · NTNU trained
Ω
Greek
Ancient & Modern · Ralston, Harvard CHS

Certifications

Google Project Management Certificate
Google Project Management, Professional
Google · Aug 2025
Google Data Analytics Certificate
Google Data Analytics, Professional
Google · Jun 2022
Professional certifications across data, research, humanities, and ethics
V

Correspondence

For writing, research, teaching, or a good conversation.

LinkedIn X · @makaicalles