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Erik Fogg

ReConsider

A Philosophy , Society & Culture and History podcast

#110 in Philosophy · 🇿🇦 #114 in Philosophy · 🇲🇽
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About the show

A podcast to examine your life, because the unexamined life is not worth living. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Newest episodes

[2.15] What If It's All Just In Your Head?

56 min

Those who seem to be "enlightened," seem to have a different model of the world and their place in it. Embedded in their way of being in the world, they sense that they have no ego, that they have no hard boundary with the world around them, and that their consciousness is part of a greater consciousness. Most of us don't have that model. The claim is that we are asleep, and they have woken up. But how can we decide whose model is right? Bibliography Taylor, J. B. (2008). My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. Viking (earlier edition 2006). Taylor, J. B. TED talk, "My stroke of insight" (2008). Nielsen, J. A., Zielinski, B. A., Ferguson, M. A., Lainhart, J. E., & Anderson, J. S. (2013). PLOS ONE 8(8): e71275. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071275. Simner, J., et al. (2006). "Synaesthesia: The prevalence of atypical cross-modal experiences." Perception 35(8): 1024–1033. Lafer-Sousa, R., Hermann, K. L., & Conway, B. R. (2015). "Striking individual differences in color perception uncovered by 'the dress' photograph." Current Biology 25(13): R545–R546. Seth, A. (2021). Being You. Dutton. TED talk "Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality." Deane, G., Miller, M., & Wilkinson, S. (2020). "Losing ourselves: Active inference, depersonalization, and meditation." Frontiers in Psychology 11: 539726. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.539726. Dennett (1991) Consciousness Explained Thich Nhat Hanh, flower teaching: Plum Village talks (UCSB, Sept 6, 1997; "The Flower Contains Everything," UBC, 2011)Watts (1966) The Book, Pantheon. Garfield (2022) Losing Ourselves, Princeton UP.Harris, S. (2022, June 28). "#286 The Paradox of Psychedelics." Making Sense podcast. Yaden, D. B., et al. (2017). "The noetic quality: A multimethod exploratory study." Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, pp. 54–62. Griffiths, R. R., et al. (2006). Psychopharmacology 187: 268–283 [R].Lindahl, J. R., Fisher, N. E., Cooper, D. J., Rosen, R. K., & Britton, W. B. (2017). Yade...

[2.14] Freedom from Ego

34 min

It has long been said that the ego is the source of your pain and suffering, and that it is an illusion. In this episode we work through that the Perennial Philosophy / One Wisdom has to say about the nature of ego, the nature of the illusion, and the spark that leads to waking up from it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.13] Consciousness and the Sense of Self

1 hr 29 min

400 years ago, Galileo and Descartes split the known world into things "out there" and things "in here" -- our experience of things: color, the sound of the cello, a thought, a conviction, an image. In the second half of the 20th century, the scientific community of the west began the momentous attempt to bring those two worlds together. They have not quite succeeded, but they have discovered that we are not remotely who we think we are. Bibliography Thomas Nagel, "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?", The Philosophical Review 83:4 (1974)David Chalmers, "Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness," Journal of Consciousness Studies 2:3 (1995)David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (Oxford, 1996)Joseph Levine, "Materialism and Qualia: The Explanatory Gap," Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 64 (1983)Ned Block, "On a Confusion About a Function of Consciousness," Behavioral and Brain Sciences 18 (1995)Philip Goff, Galileo's Error (Pantheon, 2019)René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641); The Passions of the Soul (1649)Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained (Little, Brown, 1991)Daniel Dennett, "The Self as a Center of Narrative Gravity" (1992)Daniel Dennett, "Are We Explaining Consciousness Yet?", Cognition 79 (2001)Keith Frankish, "Illusionism as a Theory of Consciousness," JCS 23:11–12 (2016)David Chalmers, "The Meta-Problem of Consciousness," JCS 25:9–10 (2018)Robert Wright, Why Buddhism Is True (Simon & Schuster, 2017)Alan Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1966)Alan Watts, Nature, Man and Woman (1958); The Wisdom of Insecurity (1951)Sam Harris, Waking Up (Simon & Schuster, 2014)Colin McGinn, "Can We Solve the Mind-Body Problem?", Mind 98:391 (1989)Colin McGinn, The Mysterious Flame (Basic, 1999)Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Matter (1927)Arthur Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World (1928)Galen Strawson, "Realistic Monism: Why Physicalism Entails Panpsychism," JCS 13:10–11 (2006)Philip Goff, Consciousness and Fundamental Reality (Oxfor...

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The newest 50 of 203 episodes

[2.15] What If It's All Just In Your Head?

56 min

Those who seem to be "enlightened," seem to have a different model of the world and their place in it. Embedded in their way of being in the world, they sense that they have no ego, that they have no hard boundary with the world around them, and that their consciousness is part of a greater consciousness. Most of us don't have that model. The claim is that we are asleep, and they have woken up. But how can we decide whose model is right? Bibliography Taylor, J. B. (2008). My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. Viking (earlier edition 2006). Taylor, J. B. TED talk, "My stroke of insight" (2008). Nielsen, J. A., Zielinski, B. A., Ferguson, M. A., Lainhart, J. E., & Anderson, J. S. (2013). PLOS ONE 8(8): e71275. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071275. Simner, J., et al. (2006). "Synaesthesia: The prevalence of atypical cross-modal experiences." Perception 35(8): 1024–1033. Lafer-Sousa, R., Hermann, K. L., & Conway, B. R. (2015). "Striking individual differences in color perception uncovered by 'the dress' photograph." Current Biology 25(13): R545–R546. Seth, A. (2021). Being You. Dutton. TED talk "Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality." Deane, G., Miller, M., & Wilkinson, S. (2020). "Losing ourselves: Active inference, depersonalization, and meditation." Frontiers in Psychology 11: 539726. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.539726. Dennett (1991) Consciousness Explained Thich Nhat Hanh, flower teaching: Plum Village talks (UCSB, Sept 6, 1997; "The Flower Contains Everything," UBC, 2011)Watts (1966) The Book, Pantheon. Garfield (2022) Losing Ourselves, Princeton UP.Harris, S. (2022, June 28). "#286 The Paradox of Psychedelics." Making Sense podcast. Yaden, D. B., et al. (2017). "The noetic quality: A multimethod exploratory study." Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, pp. 54–62. Griffiths, R. R., et al. (2006). Psychopharmacology 187: 268–283 [R].Lindahl, J. R., Fisher, N. E., Cooper, D. J., Rosen, R. K., & Britton, W. B. (2017). Yade...

[2.14] Freedom from Ego

34 min

It has long been said that the ego is the source of your pain and suffering, and that it is an illusion. In this episode we work through that the Perennial Philosophy / One Wisdom has to say about the nature of ego, the nature of the illusion, and the spark that leads to waking up from it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.13] Consciousness and the Sense of Self

1 hr 29 min

400 years ago, Galileo and Descartes split the known world into things "out there" and things "in here" -- our experience of things: color, the sound of the cello, a thought, a conviction, an image. In the second half of the 20th century, the scientific community of the west began the momentous attempt to bring those two worlds together. They have not quite succeeded, but they have discovered that we are not remotely who we think we are. Bibliography Thomas Nagel, "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?", The Philosophical Review 83:4 (1974)David Chalmers, "Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness," Journal of Consciousness Studies 2:3 (1995)David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (Oxford, 1996)Joseph Levine, "Materialism and Qualia: The Explanatory Gap," Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 64 (1983)Ned Block, "On a Confusion About a Function of Consciousness," Behavioral and Brain Sciences 18 (1995)Philip Goff, Galileo's Error (Pantheon, 2019)René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641); The Passions of the Soul (1649)Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained (Little, Brown, 1991)Daniel Dennett, "The Self as a Center of Narrative Gravity" (1992)Daniel Dennett, "Are We Explaining Consciousness Yet?", Cognition 79 (2001)Keith Frankish, "Illusionism as a Theory of Consciousness," JCS 23:11–12 (2016)David Chalmers, "The Meta-Problem of Consciousness," JCS 25:9–10 (2018)Robert Wright, Why Buddhism Is True (Simon & Schuster, 2017)Alan Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1966)Alan Watts, Nature, Man and Woman (1958); The Wisdom of Insecurity (1951)Sam Harris, Waking Up (Simon & Schuster, 2014)Colin McGinn, "Can We Solve the Mind-Body Problem?", Mind 98:391 (1989)Colin McGinn, The Mysterious Flame (Basic, 1999)Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Matter (1927)Arthur Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World (1928)Galen Strawson, "Realistic Monism: Why Physicalism Entails Panpsychism," JCS 13:10–11 (2006)Philip Goff, Consciousness and Fundamental Reality (Oxfor...

[2.12c] The Hero's Journey In Your Life

1 hr 17 min

We see throughout myth and fable that the hero does not just wake up and decide to leave everything behind. They are thrust into things. Gandalf shows up with a bunch of dwarves to wrest Bilbo from his dinner. Now may or may not be the time for your Hero’s Journey to start. But you may already hear the call to adventure. Whenever your time comes, I hope this episode helps you recognize it’s happening, and participate fully in it. Bibliography: Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand FacesJoseph Campbell with Bill Moyers, The Power of MythStephen Larsen and Robin Larsen, A Fire in the Mind: The Life of Joseph CampbellCJ Jung, Collected Works (translated by RFC Hull)Robert A Johnson Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal GrowthRobert A Johnson, Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the PsycheMarie-Louise von Franz, Projection and Re-Collection in Jungian Psychology: Reflections of the SoulEdward Edinger, Ego and ArchetypeJames Hollis, The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in MidlifeJames Hollis, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of LifeMurray Stein, In Midlife: A Jungian PerspectiveConnie Zweig, Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human NatureIain McGhilchrist, The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western WorldThe Matrix Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.12b] The Hero's Journey in Film

1 hr 30 min

Modern cinema is chock full of Hero's Journeys. Today I cover 3 of my favorites, each more interesting and sophisticated than the last. We will actually see three variants on the Hero's Journey, with different details that we can relate to. This episode is not evidence that the Hero's Journey is bubbling up without the conscious attention of the screenwriters or directors, but instead my hope is that you will be able to engage with story and myth in a new, more powerful way. Movies include: The Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes IV, V, VI) Mad Max: Fury Road Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.12a] The Hero's Journey

42 min

When you realize something is very wrong, that life is not all it was cracked up to be, that the meaning has been drained from the world, then you have heard the call to adventure. If you answer it, you begin the Hero's Journey. Joseph Campbell shows us how the Hero's Journey has been told in myth and legend across all cultures and times, as a roadmap to our very enlightenment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.11] The Dark Night of the Soul

39 min

In Silicon Eden, the loss of the immortality project means a collapse of meaning and a gaping hole where a value system used to be. Right now, the only good news is that you will be far from the first to go through this problem. Sources Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land. 1922.Eliot, Valerie, ed. The Waste Land: A Facsimile and Transcript of the Original Drafts. 1971.ietzsche, Friedrich. The Gay Science. 1882Kierkegaard, Søren The Sickness Unto Death. 1849.Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. 1942.Jung, Carl. "The Stages of Life," in The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche (Collected Works, Vol. 8).Jaques, Elliott. "Death and the Mid-life Crisis." International Journal of Psychoanalysis 46 (1965): 502–514.Hollis, James. The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife. Inner City Books, 1993.Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. 1973.Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.10b] Welcome to Silicon Eden: Pt 2, The Wasteland

48 min

Everything you want is right at your fingertips. There is no struggle, nothing to accomplish. Can humans figure out how to just enjoy life as the pets of a superintelligence? Sources Plato. Republic, Book VII  Sukhumāla Sutta Russell, Bertrand. "In Praise of Idleness." 1932.  Keynes, John Maynard. "Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren." 1930.  Susskind, Daniel. A World Without Work. Metropolitan Books, 2020.  Robinson, Terry E., and Kent C. Berridge. "The neural basis of drug craving: an incentive-sensitization theory of addiction." Brain Research Reviews 18(3), 1993, 247–291.  Robinson, Terry E., and Kent C. Berridge. "The Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction 30 Years On." Annual Review of Psychology 76, 2025, 29–58. Berridge, Kent C., and Terry E. Robinson. "Liking, wanting, and the incentive-sensitization theory of addiction." American Psychologist 71, 2016, 670–679.  "A reward and incentive-sensitization perspective on compulsive use of social networking sites — Wanting but not liking predicts checking frequency and problematic use behavior." Addictive Behaviors 116, 2021, article 106808 Bostrom, Nicholas. "Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World." Ideapress Publishing, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.10a] Welcome to Silicon Eden: Pt 1, The Last Man

50 min

Many people believe that in a the robo-communist future of superintelligent AI, humans will flourish: artists, scholars -- perhaps Burning Man 24/7. Human nature suggests a very different picture. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke ZarathustraBecker, Ernest. The Denial of Death.Bostrom, Nick. Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World. Ideapress, 2024Kosmyna, Nataliya, et al. "Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task." arXiv:2506.08872, 2025. MIT Media Lab.Stanković, Miloš, et al. "Comment on: Your Brain on ChatGPT." arXiv:2601.00856, 2026. Lee, Hao-Ping (Hank), Advait Sarkar, Lev Tankelevitch, Ian Drosos, Sean Rintel, Richard Banks, and Nicholas Wilson. "The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking." Proceedings of CHI 2025, Yokohama.Aguiar, Mark, Erik Hurst, and Loukas Karabarbounis. "Time Use during the Great Recession." American Economic Review 103(5), 2013, 1664–1696. Sleep and TV absorb the largest share of foregone work hours.Aguiar, Mark, and Erik Hurst. "Measuring Trends in Leisure: The Allocation of Time over Five Decades." Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2007. Leisure up roughly 4–8 hrs/week, 1965–2003. Cowen, Tyler. "Human Life in a Post-AGI World." Talk at Google DeepMind, July 8, 2026. tylercowen.com. - Note Cowen disagrees significantly with me!National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2024 results. 12th-grade reading lowest ever reported, 10 points below 1992; 4th and 8th grade at early-1990s levels. Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), 2023 cycle, released Dec 2024 (NCES). Bone et al. "Reading for pleasure" trends from the American Time Use Survey, 2003–2023. iScience, August 2025.Aguiar, Mark, Mark Bils, Kerwin Kofi Charles, and Erik Hurst. "Leisure Luxuries and the Labor Supply of Young Men." Journal of Political Economy 129(2), 2021, 337–382.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.9b] Solving the Fermi Paradox (Bonus)

30 min

In this episode we walk through some potential solutions to the fermi paradox, and then apply the now-likely reality that our own Von Neumann probes are probably only a few million years away from seeing most of the galaxy. What is out there waiting for them? What does our pending success mean for the likelihood of different fermi paradox hypotheses? Eric Jones, Los Alamos memo reconstructing Fermi's 1950 lunch remark (1985) Frank Drake, the Drake Equation (1961) Michael Hart, "An Explanation for the Absence of Extraterrestrials on Earth" (1975) Ian Crawford, Scientific American (July 2000) Frank Tipler, "Extraterrestrial Intelligent Beings Do Not Exist" (1980) Robin Hanson, "The Great Filter — Are We Almost Past It?" (1996) Vernor Vinge, "The Coming Technological Singularity" (1993) Robin Hanson, Daniel Martin, Calvin McCarter, Jonathan Paulson, "If Loud Aliens Explain Human Earliness, Quiet Aliens Are Also Rare" (2021) Peter Behroozi & Molly Peeples, MNRAS (2015) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.9] Building Silicon Eden

54 min

The world is barreling towards disaster on many fronts. Crises include: climate change, depopulation, government debt, sagging welfare states, housing affordability, healthcare affordability, political polarization, government paralysis. By 2050 they will all be irrelevant, as will the structures trying to grapple with them. SOURCES: Kokotajlo, Daniel, et al. AI 2027. ai-2027.com.Kokotajlo, Daniel. "What 2026 Looks Like." 2021.Amodei, Dario. "Machines of Loving Grace." 2024.TechTimes. "OpenAI GPT-5 Biological Risk Classification." July 27, 2026.Axios. "The AI Titans' Biggest Private Fear." July 24, 2026.Center for a New American Security (CNAS). "AI and the Evolution of Biological National Security Risks." August 2024.AI Incident Reporting Act. 2026.AI Kill Switch Act. 2026.Schneier, Bruce. "AI Surveillance Is Being Supercharged." Schneier on Security, July 2026.DeepMind. "AlphaFold: Five Years of Impact." 2024.Bostrom, Nick. "The Superintelligent Will: Motivation and Instrumental Rationality in Advanced Artificial Agents." Minds and Machines, 2012.Bostrom, Nick. "Astronomical Waste: The Opportunity Cost of Delayed Technological Development." Utilitas, 2003.Vinge, Vernor. A Fire Upon the Deep. Tor Books, 1992.Freitas, Robert A., Jr. "A Self-Reproducing Interstellar Probe." Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol. 33 (1980): 251–264.Wikipedia. "Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894."Oxford Academic. Book chapter on William Crookes and the wheat-supply crisis (1898 address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science).Jevons, William Stanley. The Coal Question: An Inquiry Concerning the Progress of the Nation, and the Probable Exhaustion of Our Coal-Mines. Macmillan, 1865.Ricardo, David. "On Machinery." Chapter 31, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, 3rd ed. John Murray, 1821.United Kingdom. Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration. 1904.Vinge, Vernor. "The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survi...

[2.8] You Are Food for The Machine

1 hr 11 min

The Matrix looks more and more like the perfect allegory for the modern age. States, corporations, social systems, and even ideas have a mind of their own, and they are hungry. By participating blindly and uncritically in these systems, we feed them, and they take over more and more of our lives. Sources: •     Dawkins, The Selfish Gene (1976) •     Earth.org / Environment+Energy Leader fast-fashion waste roundups (2025–26) •     Reed Hastings, Netflix earnings call / Summit LA17 remarks (2017) •     Tristan Harris, Senate testimony (2017) •     Dale & Krueger, NBER working paper (1999) / QJE (2002); follow-up NBER (2011) / Journal of Human Resources (2014)  •     ProPublica & *The Chronicle of Higher Education*, “The Newest College Admissions Ploy: Paying to Make Your Teen a 'Peer-Reviewed' Author,” May 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.7] A Primate Contemplates Superintelligence

51 min

Over time, we have been able to cognize in totally novel ways. We have been able to teach these novel cognitions to our fellow humans. We can teach some of them to other great apes. We can teach dogs some language and concepts. We can't teach anything to rats. Today, your favorite podcasting primate contemplates what superintelligent AI could look like or mean. How can we relate to something that is 2x, 5x, 100x smarter than we are? How will it relate to us? SOURCES: Leslie, Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends on It (2014)Terrace, Nim Chimpsky research (Columbia, 1970s)McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary (2009) Jaspers, The Origin and Goal of History (1949) Luria, Cognitive Development: Its Cultural and Social Foundations (Harvard University Press, 1976)Flynn & Weiss (2007) McGinn, "Can We Solve the Mind-Body Problem?", Mind 98 (1989) Nagel, "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" (1974)Good, "Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine," Advances in Computers vol. 6 (1965) Vinge, "The Coming Technological Singularity" (1993) Bostrom, Superintelligence (2014) Urban, "The AI Revolution" (Wait But Why, 2015) Vinge, A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.6] The One Wisdom

1 hr 10 min

[AUDIO FIXED!] Today we explore wisdom. Not the "don't put tomatoes in a fruit salad" kind. Serious business wisdom. It turns out, the wise tend to converge on understanding the world in a similar way. In the 20th century, philosophical titans saw this convergence. They look back to the original seers of wisdom and see in them parallels that run so deep, that upon deep contemplation of these philosophies, they found a "highest common factor," including among: Epicteus, Marcus Aurelius, and the StoicsPlato, and various Neoplatonists such as PlotinusSpinoza, SchopenhauerPossibly Hegel, Wittgenstein, though they are famously difficult to interpretJiddu KrishnamurtiLao Tzu, who authored the Tao Te ChingALso Chuang Tzu and Lieh TzuJewish philosophers such as Philo of AlexandriaSufi mystics of Islam, most famously Jalal al-Din RumiJesus of NazarethSt. PaulMeister Eckhart, the mystic Christian St. Jon of the CrossHinduism:The Sages of the UpanishadsAdi Shankara’s The Crest-Jewel of WisdomThe Bhagavad GitaThe BuddhaParticularly Zen masters who followedVarious SutrasThe Bardo Thodol It is the Perennial Philosophy. I call it the One Wisdom. Huxley called it the “Highest Common Factor” of universal truth. SOURCES Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. 1942. Huxley, Aldous. The Perennial Philosophy. Harper & Row, 1945. John of the Cross, St. Dark Night of the Soul (La noche oscura del alma). Jung, C. G. Letters, Volume 1: 1906–1950. Princeton University Press. Kahan, Dan. Identity-protective cognition research (cross-referenced, this project). Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Liuzu Tan Jing). Polanyi, Michael. Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. University of Chicago Press, 1958. Polanyi, Michael. The Tacit Dimension. Doubleday, 1966. Tolle, Eckhart. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. Dutton, 2005. Tao Te Ching (Laozi). Watts, Alan. Become What You Are. Shambhala, 1995 (essays, 1930s–1950s). Watts, Alan. The Wisdom of Insecurity. Pantheon, 1...

[2.5] The End of Education

54 min

We explore the state of education just before the rise of AI, compare it to today, and extrapolate into the future. Sources Tyler Jagt, "My Students Can't Read," Chronicle of Higher Education, 2026. NAEP Long-Term Trend AssessmentPew Research, "Reading for fun has become less common," 2021.James S. Coleman et al., Equality of Educational Opportunity ("The Coleman Report"), US Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1966Kathryn Borman & Monique Dowling, Teachers College Record, 2010.Dan Goldhaber, "The Mystery of Good Teaching," Education Next, 2002 Steven Rivkin, Eric Hanushek & John Kain, teacher-effects study, Econometrica, 2005. Xitao Fan & Michael Chen, parental-involvement meta-analysis, Educational Psychology Review, 2001 World Bank, "Vietnam's Human Capital: Education Success and Future Challenges," 2020 (PISA science outperformance on low per-pupil spend). OECD, "Does Money Buy Strong Performance in PISA?", PISA in Focus No. 13, 2012 (no score/spending relationship above ~$35k cumulative per-student spend). NCES, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 236.55 (US per-pupil spending, $6,873 → $17,495 real dollars, 1970-71 to 2020-21)Boston Globe, 2001 coverage of Harvard grading ("laughing stock of the Ivy League"; 91% of seniors graduating with honors). Harvard Crimson, Oct. 5, 2023 (~79-80% of 2020-21 grades in the A range)Anemona Hartocollis, "Harvard Students Skip Class and Still Get High Grades, Faculty Say," New York Times, Oct. 6, 2025. Gallup, confidence-in-higher-education tracking, July 2023 and July 2024 releases (57% in 2015 → 36% in 2023/24; Republican confidence ~56%→~19-20%, Democratic decline much smaller)Pew Research, Aug. 2019 (share saying colleges have a negative effect on the country, 26%→38%, 2012-2019, driven almost entirely by Republicans/leaners)Challenge Success (Stanford, Denise Pope), Fall 2018 surveyMark Galloway, cheating in advantaged-community schools, Ethics & Behavior, 2012Stacy Dale & Alan Krueger, "Estimating the Payof...

[2.4] You Sit Upon a Throne of Lies

1 hr 6 min

It's amazing how useful illusion is for surviving in a cave, and staggering how destructive it is to our lives. The Buddha saw this 2500 years ago. Modern science sees it more clearly than ever. In this episode I did not even get into the Fundamental Attribution Error or the vast suite of cognitive biases and logical fallacies to which we are prone. But we are not doomed to live like this! SOURCES Yes, I read these! Brickman, Coates & Janoff-Bulman (1978), J. Personality & Social Psychology 36. Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness (2006)  Gazzaniga & LeDoux, The Integrated Mind (1978). Kurzban, Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind (2010) Wright, Why Buddhism Is True (2017)  Fadiman & Gruber, Your Symphony of Selves (2020)  Hunt, Marx, Lipson & Young (2018), J. Social & Clinical Psychology 37. Allcott, Braghieri, Eichmeyer & Gentzkow (2020), American Economic Review 110(3). Scitovsky, The Joyless Economy (1976). Wrigley & Schofield, The Population History of England 1541–1871 (1981) Killingsworth & Gilbert (2010), Science 330. Kasser, The High Price of Materialism (2002). Einstein–Born correspondence (1926); Bohr–Einstein debate. McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary (2009); McGilchrist Substack, Apr 2026 (Kastner 2024 paper). Mercier & Sperber, "Why Do Humans Reason?" (2011), Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Haidt, The Righteous Mind (2012)  Trivers, The Folly of Fools (2011) Kahan, "Ideology, Motivated Reasoning, and Cognitive Reflection" (2012) Dunbar, Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language (1996); Dunbar, Duncan & Marriott (1997). Hardin & Higgins (1996); Higgins & Rholes (1978); Echterhoff, Higgins & Levine (2009), Perspectives on Psychological Science Kopietz et al. (2010), Social Cognition Festinger, When Prophecy Fails (1956). Plato, Apology 38a5–6; Republic Book VII (514a–520a) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[2.3] Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

40 min

As AI's capability grows, what once-human tasks will it be able to do, by when? What will those displaced humans do? We look to the automation revolutions of the past to see what the historical pattern has been, and explore in what ways AI is different that could change the pattern. The pattern will change. The implications are immense. Sources Brynjolfsson & McAfee, "Will Humans Go the Way of Horses?", Foreign Affairs (2015): https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/will-humans-go-way-horses U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Software Developers (SOC 15-1252): https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes151252.htm · https://www.bls.gov/oes/2022/may/oes151252.htm · https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes151252.htm · Occupational Outlook Handbook: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm · Katja Grace et al., "Thousands of AI Authors on the Future of AI": https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.02843 · https://aiimpacts.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Thousands_of_AI_authors_on_the_future_of_AI.pdf Metaculus: "first general AI system" https://www.metaculus.com/questions/5121/ · "An AI Job Apocalypse?", Goldman Sachs Research, June 25, 2026: https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/top-of-mind/an-ai-job-apocalypse ( Tyna Eloundou, Sam Manning, Pamela Mishkin, Daniel Rock, "GPTs are GPTs," Science 384 (2024): https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj0998 · Stanford Digital Economy Lab, "Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of AI" (Nov 2025): https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/app/uploads/2025/11/CanariesintheCoalMine_Nov25.pdf Maxim Massenkoff & Peter McCrory, "Labor Market Impacts of AI: A New Measure and Early Evidence," Anthropic (Mar 5, 2026): https://www.anthropic.com/research/labor-market-impacts ERRATA: Tom Brady did NOT win a ring after retirement; he had all 7 before he retiredI said Camus said there is "one true psychological problem;" he said "one true *phi...

[2.2] Obliviscere Mori

45 min

How much of your life -- and everyone's -- is a compulsive, futile effort to deny your own death? What happens when you see what's really happening? Sources Leontief’s horse. Wassily Leontief, 1983, National Academy of Engineering symposium Humans and Horses. Brynjolfsson & McAfee, “Will Humans Go the Way of Horses?”, Foreign Affairs (2015): https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/will-humans-go-way-horses Software developer pay. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Software Developers (SOC 15-1252): https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes151252.htm · https://www.bls.gov/oes/2022/may/oes151252.htm · https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes151252.htm · Occupational Outlook Handbook: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm Total-comp figure: Levels.fyi (2026). AI timelines (experts). Katja Grace et al., “Thousands of AI Authors on the Future of AI” (2023 survey, 2,778 researchers): https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.02843 · https://aiimpacts.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Thousands_of_AI_authors_on_the_future_of_AI.pdf Goldman Sachs. “An AI Job Apocalypse?”, Goldman Sachs Research, June 25, 2026: https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/top-of-mind/an-ai-job-apocalypse (Goldman’s own view is that the disruption is temporary.) Occupational exposure. Tyna Eloundou, Sam Manning, Pamela Mishkin, Daniel Rock, “GPTs are GPTs,” *Science* 384 (2024): https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj0998 · working paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130 Stanford Digital Economy Lab, “Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of AI” (Nov 2025): https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/app/uploads/2025/11/CanariesintheCoalMine_Nov25.pdf Current labor data. Maxim Massenkoff & Peter McCrory, “Labor Market Impacts of AI: A New Measure and Early Evidence,” Anthropic (Mar 5, 2026): https://www.anthropic.com/research/labor-market-impacts  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

[2.1] Exponential Growth is a SOB

41 min

Look over the growth if AI's capability in the past 3 years, and the past year. What is it going to look like in 3 years, and what are the implications for all of us? Some visions of the future of AI by some researchers on the cutting edge: https://ai-2027.com/ Dario Amodei, Machines of Loving Grace (October 2024) Leopold Aschenbrenner, Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead (June 2024) Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies (2025) Nick Bostrom, Deep Utopia (2024) The skeptics: Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, AI as Normal Technology (2025) ERRATA: Veo3 came out in May 2025 (I saw it in late 2025)Galileo had house arrest, not prison Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine XI: Asymmetric Momentum

37 min

There’s something really interesting happening in Ukraine. The few and far between Russian victories seem to be making them weaker. Yes, you read that right. Russian victories are draining the life out of their soldiers, making it harder to win the battles that come next. On the other hand, Ukrainian victories have been swift, dramatic, and devastating - with each win seemingly making them stronger. The big question is, why is it that Ukrainians gain momentum with every win, but Russia can’t seem to build on their victories? Well, it all comes down to asymmetric momentum. And there are 6 major reasons for this.  Tune in to hear what these 6 reasons are and how the recent Ukrainian victories mark a critical juncture that will determine the course of the war. Topics Covered Include:00:00 Introduction 02:40 What is asymmetric momentum? 04:49 Ukrain’s positional warfare 06:55 Understanding Ukraine’s offensive and defensive strategies 08:16 Russia’s unintelligent retreat 10:37 How Russian political interests are affecting their progress 14:54 The poor discipline and lack of drive in Russian forces 16:42 Is the Russian army competent enough to win this war? 18:00 How Russia’s desire for a quick war is slowing their progress 20:40 Ukrainian motivation and their willingness to die for the right reasons 24:58 The impatient side of Russians uncovered 28:30 Many Russian conscripts will die due to lack of training and morale 29:36 The psychology behind Putin’s destructive Soviet-style leadership 32:04 Ukraine is playing the patient game 34:07 Summary 35:36 Parting thoughts  Ukrainian victories on the ground have been swift, dramatic, and devastating. And each win seems to make them stronger. Russian victories (back when they happened), seemed to be slow and grinding, and wear the Rusisans down, making them weaker. Why is it that Russians lose momentum with each victory, but Ukrainians gain it? Why such asymmetric momentum? I see 6 (or 7, depending) major reasons: 1. Russian Po...

Reconsidering Russia 2: Russia's Interest & What to Expect with Prof. Mitchell Orenstein

1 hr 9 min

Mitchell Orenstein is a professor of Central and East European Politics in the Slavic department at the University of Pennsylvania and an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian studies at Harvard. His research focuses on the political economy and international affairs of Central and Eastern Europe. This episode is the latest installment to the four-part series on Reconsidering Russia, where we try to dig into Russia's historical and geopolitical context to help you better understand some of their moves today and what's going on in their country today. Tune in to hear Eric, Xander, and Professor Orenstein dive deep into Russia's real objective in Ukraine, Eastern Vs. Western-leaning periods of Russian leadership, why Russia really needs to diversify its economy, and so much more. 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Why Geopolitics is not about reforms or democracy 03:49 What does Russia really want? 05:49 Understanding Russia's national interests and foreign policy preferences 12:59 Eastern Vs. Western-leaning periods of Russian leadership 16:33 Comparing Russian perceptions to the American interpretation 20:10 What does the 'Near Abroad' mean? 20:54 The democratization of Russia's 'Near Abroad' 24:12 Consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union 28:10 The strategic and fundamental importance of Ukraine 32:14 Russian interests in Finland 34:57 The Nature of Germany's relationship with Russia 39:01 Caucasus as a region of strategic importance to Russia 44:15 Chinese and Russian interests in South-East Asia 47:15 China-Russia relations: Eternal rivals or emerging alliance  50:41 Russia's views on China's growth in power and influence  52:38 Russia-Japan dispute over Kuril Islands  54:50 Thoughts on Russia's domestic politics and foreign policy 58:35 Why Russia really needs to diversify its economy 01:01:58 What to expect from Russia in the next 5 to 10 years 01:05:18 Russia - a gas station with nuclear weapons 01:08:03 Parting thoughts  Links and Resources: Rec...

Ukraine X: The Absolutely Dazzling Counter-Blitzkrieg

36 min

Time in Kyiv: 9am, Tues, Sep 13th. Kharkiv Oblast is free. Zelenksy announced about 6 weeks ago that a major counter-offensive in the South would take place. After a month of attacking bridges, rail depots, ammunition depots, C&C, bases, etc etc etc, the offensive started in earnest. 2 weeks in, they haven’t gotten a ton of territory back. But, as all of us paying attention know, the Southern offensive may have been the greatest diversion in warfare since WWII itself.  Over the last week, Ukraine launched the most dazzling counter-blitzkrieg I can think of. We’re going to go over all of that in its glorious detail here.  There’s so, so, so much we don’t know. Lots of opsec, lots intentionally hidden from the public. What I can say with certainty is there will be many a movie made about this in Hollywood -- this is one of the great moments in military and geopolitical history, period. It is very, very likely the tide of the war has turned, and for good. David is now on top of Goliath, pummeling him. Please excuse the sound. I wasn’t planning to record while on break here but I just couldn't help it. I don’t have my mic! Connect with Mark Russian History on Facebook  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ReConsidering Russia: The Complex History of Russia

1 hr 19 min

Mark Schauss is the host of Russian Rulers History and Battle Ground History. Known for being heavily well-versed with the history of Russia, Mark Schauss joins us in today’s episode to talk about the Russian history in its most authentic form. Mark shares everything from Russia’s first invasion to how all these historic events reflect on how Russia moves socio-politically in today’s world.   Join the ReConsider Patreon Topics Covered What made mark start his podcast and how it’s currently going. The history of the first invasion and the second invasion of Russia. The geography of Russia and why it’s easy to invade Russia but why it’s difficult to stay. How Russia was able to balance European powers and how they were able to to set up alliances to protect their borders. Mark shares all about the Napolean and Crimean war.The casualties of the Russian Civil War. The transition period between 1917 to the World War 2. How Russia came back from the 2nd World War as a superpower country.  Connect with Mark Russian History on Facebook  Resources Mentioned Russian Rulers Podcast Russian Rulers History Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine IX: Oh Hi, MARS

32 min

Hot Updates Severodonetsk fell slowly as expected, but then Lysychansk fell quickly because Russian troops surrounded it, and Ukrainian troops had to retreat rather than be destroyed. It’s possible the Ukrainians were out-gamed by Russian mid-level commanders.So far, Russians have not been able to break out of Donetsk city -- that part of the original Feb 24 defense line is holdingRussia appears to have deployed nearly 100% of its conventional combat capabilities to Ukraine, and is still getting clobbered.https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/25/ukraine-russia-balance-of-forces/ Russia is trying to recruit “volunteer” regiments to deploy in Ukraine to relieve Russian troops -- they will be low quality, and so their use would be to hang tight in certain areas and try to pin down Ukrainian units. Not useless, but not super useful. Once again we have returned to slow movement along the front lines now that Severodonetsk and Lysychansk fell. Ukrainians fell back to the 2nd of 3 highly defensible urban areas in Donetsk oblast, with Siversk and Bakhmut the big towns there. Bakhmut is under a lot of pressure; Russians are trying to surround it, but so far to no avail.Russians attempting to attack directly on those two towns, but also continuing to try the end-around from Izium toward Sloviansk to try to create a pocket that can be cut off. So far it’s really not working. It looks like Russia might be deprioritizing that angle as of July 31.WHAT IS HIMARS? WHY DOES IT MATTER? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times, Part 2

34 min

Lots of ways we can split this. Much has been discussed about decoupling of wages from productivity.  Also note we are absolutely not going to get into 2022. But it’s clear the price increases since the pandemic (due to supply shortages, super aggressive monetary policy, gasoline ,and other drivers of inflation) are really eating into real wages. See the full show notes at ReconsiderMedia.com Join the ReConsider Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

31 min

OR, a tale of ups and downs Lots of things seem to be getting worse, at least if you read the internet ever This is not an episode to say, “nothing is getting worse,” but that what you hear about is probably not very correlated with what’s going on. I’m leaving abortion out of this because honestly I can’t even deal with this shit right now.  Major problem with talking about trends: how long are we talking here? A lot of stuff goes up and down. If you just look at this year and extrapolate, then the stock market trends down, which it obviously doesn’t. So we’ll do our best, I’m focusing on the current adult generation (Millennials/GenX), but keep all that in mind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine VIII: Bold Strategies and High Stakes

37 min

Updates Situation in SeverodonetskHUGE numbers of troops from both sidesArtillery war“Road of life” from Bakhmut to Severodonetsk has 1km clearance from Popansa salient and has been a huge fight -- if it goes down, UKR at risk of losing >10k troops in that pocketAmmo situationUkraine out of Soviet ammo; now fully on NATO100% dependent on Western shipments Would have literally run out of ammo without that support -- possible insight into why Russia thought it could win DonbassUKR National Guard troops who are basically there to eat shells and prevent a breakout are losing moraleRussia has blown up the bridge between Severdonetsk and Lysychansk -- this is a major problem for the troops in Severodonetsk, but they could in theory make a river crossing“US General says Elon Musk’s Starlink has totally destroyed Russia’s information campaign” UKR seriously needs more heavy guns -- especially artillery. Losing 100-200 troops/day (to death; likely 500/day to wounds), mostly to artillery OVERALL: Game’s far from over, as it turns out. Ukraine could totally win, Russia could totally win. My past assessments didn’t take ammo into account. Turns out the Russians just have a ton of old ammo they’re willing to use indiscriminately. Ukrainians are low on it. Ukraine has the will and skill and people to win if it’s supplied. The crazy situation and bold strategy in East Donbass Zelensky correctly called that Russia was so obsessed with getting a symbolic victory in completing the “liberation” of the Luhansk oblast, that it would pour everything into urban warfare to pull it off. Putin has his own obsessions, but also has to demonstrate progress on the current stated aims of the war -- liberation of those two provinces. So they’re throwing everything they can at Severodonetsk. Russia is not good at urban warfare. Most assaults, everywhere, are getting repelled (and when that happens, it means Russia lost a lot of troops, stuff).  BUT -- and big BUT here -- Ukraine is out of Soviet a...

Russia Invades Ukraine VII: Possible Aftermath

33 min

First, war update: Mariupol fell after 2.5 months of truly insane holding out. Gosh dang. 1900 surrendered and there is a POW complication that I”m not going to get intoUkraine has mostly booted Russia out of Kharkiv, though there is still some fighting and the Russians have not given it up entirely the way they did Kyiv/Sumy/etc, so there’s no obvious way to free up those troops for UkraineRussians trying really hard to cross the Siversky Donets river by pontoon, in order to encircle Ukraine’s core defense force in the Donbass (largely around a city called Severodonetsk and one called Lysychansk). It seems at least twice the Ukrainians knocked out entire BTGs trying to make that crossing, which is incredible.https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1528116469619367940Apparently Russia is generally short of pontoon type equipment…but Russia has a breakout of sorts, actually right in the northern part of the original Donbass battle lines, through a town called Popansa. TONS of troops moving through thereIt’s both a breakout……and a salient, which means significant risk for them. Somewhat exposed.Ukrainians are pretty good at mobile defenseJust not at all clear if they are running in open space (and just taking time to stage properly) or if they are running against really significant resistance at this pointThe original breakthrough at Izium seems to have stalled entirelyRussian troops also massed on the western side of the Siversky Donets (the northern part) to prevent the Ukrainian counter-attack there from threatening the supply lines and etc to Izium -- if that happened it’d be a total disaster(Ukrainians had temporarily broken across the river but had to withdraw)Russian tactics seem to be: just unload with artillery for days and days, then attempt an assaultUsually failBut rinse, lather, repeat, and you get some breakthroughsRussians seem to be planning to do this in the south, north of KhersonRussia may be running out of dronesWill hurt reconDomestic manufactu...

Russia Invades Ukraine VI: We've Always Been at War With Eurasia

40 min

What happens when you start really believing your own b******t? What happens when you’ve created a yes-man bubble where everyone only tells you what you want to hear? First a war update: Russia’s focus on the east and Donbass, which started a month ago, has made a bit of progress in a few places, but is now pretty stalledThey do seem to be regrouping from Mariupol, but they’ve also been going into a meat-grinderUkraine has made marginal advances towards Kherson and away from KharkivSOMEHOW, Mariupol’s troops still stand in the Azovstal steel plant despite months of constant bombings and stormings -- there’s really nothing like it in modern military history (Alamo has absolutely nothing on it, not even a tiny bit close)It REALLY seems like the vast majority of Russian attempts to advance are getting repelled, and that is going to grind them down and make them combat-ineffective…and now Ukraine is getting tons of heavy weapons:TanksBig, advanced howitzersRadar systems to aim at Russian artilleryRocket artilleryDronesThis is going to help them dislodge low-morale Russian troops and drive offensives Visit ReConsiderMedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia Invades Ukraine V: All Wild on the Eastern Front

36 min

The Russians are hoping to encircle Ukraine's defensive lines in the Donbass. If they do, they might be able to declare victory. The Ukrainians are racing east, not only to defend their territory, but might just also be able to counter-attack. Let's break it down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia Invades Ukraine IV: My Kingdom for a Plane

42 min

So much has changed over the past month -- Ukraine is on the offensive. Kyiv is safe. The war moves east. Air superiority actually matters more than ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Civil Wars of the Past and the Gilded Age with Lindsay Graham of History Daily

47 min

On this episode, Erik interviews Lindsay Graham of American History Tellers and History Daily. They talk about the similarities and differences between today's political and economic climate and that of the Civil War and the Gilded Age. Support ReConsider on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine III: What's Wrong with Russia?

1 hr 3 min

The war should have been short and decisive. And as it drags out, Russia looks ever-more inept. What's wrong with its military? What's wrong with its chain of command? Will its economy collapse? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia Invades Ukraine II: What if Ukraine Wins?

57 min

While this war is far from over... well, it's far from over! And nobody expected that. In this episode we talk about why Ukraine is winning, what it could mean for Russia and the world if they do win, and how warfare is changing as we watch it unfold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia Invades Ukraine

57 min

Erik explains why Russia is invading Ukraine, what their war aims are, what the West is doing, how geopolitics plays into all of this, and a little bit of what might happen next. Get a little sanity of clarity amidst the livestream chaos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Optimates

48 min

"Another cause which kept the plebeians in as state of poverty was the unjust distribution of the public land (ager publicus) which had been acquired in war..." William C. Morey, Outline of Roman History The Optimates: Represented the Elites in the run-up to, and the middle of, the Roman Civil Wars Believe the mob wasn’t really fit to rule, wanted to rule for them Also represented special interests who benefited personally from a lot of laws that led to unsustainable economic conditions -- such as the (not) Lex Agraria (Lex Agraria: redistribution due to the landlessness of soldiers during the Punic Wars) Who are the Optimates Today? We might think they’re just the rich, or megacorporations (or sometimes, lobbyists). Those are certainly Optimates, but we forget that those with Special Interests are everywhere. See the full show notes at ReConsider Media Support the show by becoming a Patron Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Fall of AntiWork, Or: The ‘Anti-’Problem

30 min

Antiwork had a really bad day Source Article “Laziness is a virtue in this society” - r/antiwork moderator https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement “Supporters of the anti-work movement believe people should self-organise and labour only as much as needed, rather than working longer hours to create excess capital or goods.” USA is a tough crowd for this kind of pitch. See: bad branding. What does Antiwork stand for? Many people tried to give Erik the answer… and many were different -Worker’s rights / labor unions -Economic inequality -Surplus Value -Same standard of living for fewer hours -4-day week -Abolishing capitalism -etc Antiwork freaks out https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se7b86/how_do_you_fuck_up_this_bad/ https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se59eu/can_be_overworked_to_exhaustion_if_you_sleep_on/  https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se4gfp/based_af/  https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se418m/i_didnt_think_this_sub_was_literally_antiwork/  https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se4nf9/mods_are_trash/  https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se5cit/im_glad_the_21_year_old_mod_has_the_funds_to_be/  https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se3v15/does_anyone_think_we_would_better_off_with_a/  An interesting conversation with my friend Austin You have to stand for something if you want a movement… not just against See: Civil Rights See: Gay Marriage See: Women’s Suffrage Other problems: Tea party rise-and-fallOccupy Wall StreetBLM This applies to our Revolutions episode, too -- being against something is only a short-term uniter. Join the ReConsider Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Antiwork

35 min

Today we talk about something I've reconsidered lately: Antiwork Leave Erik a Tip to Support the Show Join the ReConsider Patreon Erik’s initial take -labor organization and rights are a great thing -Not putting up with crappy work conditions, and forcing companies to compete, is a great thing (and this is my opinion as an employer) -saying “I want stuff - someone has to make it- and I don't want to work in exchange” seems crazy -”Ending work,” part of the motto, is very explicitly about not working, even though antiworkers will sometimes say they're not actually about that. At the very least it’s terrible marketing. What do they say the’re about? "A lot of people mistake antiwork for being lazy, and like nothing has to ever get done," one moderator of the subreddit, who goes by u/rockcellist, told Business Insider.  "But the truth of the matter about antiwork — and everything surrounding it — is that obviously things have to get done, but the current structure in which things get done and the way that capital flows as they get done is unfair and should be nonexistent."  Many posts are about pushing back against, or at least calling out, what seem like unfair or ridiculous practices by companies/management… ..but others get really weird.  #3 post all time is a disgruntled employee, telling one side of the job, who went and deleted thousands of hours of work they did (they happened to still have access). Erik sees… Again among some stuff about labor organization, work standards, sharing some amazingly awful stuff that employers and managers have done, sharing pay rates, tips to negotiate, other stuff that actually seems pretty good: The sense that money isn’t earned - it’s just this ritual/token task you have to do to be allowed to live/surviveThe sense that suckering a company to get paid to do nothing is good40 hours is way too much work So this doesn’t fit with my own model or experience or biases. Read the full show notes at ReConsiderMedia.com Get the show note...

Revolutions

36 min

Two kinds of revolutions: Throwing off an external oppressorOften violent, sometimes notForcing regime change in your own country through extra-political or violent meansLargely violentLargely nonviolent The outcomes tend to be very different. (Focusing on outcomes where they win -- turns out most revolutions fail militarily) Those throwing off an outsider tend to work out pretty well! US revolutionSpanish-American independenceHaitian slave revolt (note unlike many slave revolts, the Haitians were the natives)Indian revolution (mostly)Greek & Balkan revolutions, generally the revolutions of Nationalism of the 19th centuryGenerally the anticolonial revolutions Those forcing internal change through violence tend to lead to brutal dictatorships Russian revolutionFrench revolutionChinese revolutionEnglish revolutionCuban revolutionIranian revolutionRoman Republic revolutions / civil wars GENERALLY: -Kicking people out works out pretty well -Civil wars don’t: they lead to dictatorships OK why? -Kicking people out: you use tribalism to your advantage Your people are united against an outsider Once it’s over, the outsiders can generally leave -Regime change: tribalism works against you Your people are divided because you’re using violence to create winners and losers Once it’s over, the defeated folks stick around (see: the Iraq war and the Baath party) But there’s a second bit:  When you have an internal revolution, you’re using violence not just against the current system, but at the very idea of legitimacy of any given system. You set a precedent: if I don’t like it, I can use violence to change it. Any regime, or system of government, relies on legitimacy. Building that legitimacy is hard. Lots of people study this. It usually relies on traditions, taught and shared belief systems, propaganda, and enough of a track record that people feel they have some means of getting their needs met through the system some reasonable amount of the time. So you end up reverting to u...

Meta-Trans: Gender, Ethnicity/Race, and Transitioning between Them

38 min

Become a Patreon and Support ReConsider! This is probably going to get me a lot of flak but I realized that I’d be shying away from a commitment to challenge how we think about stuff if I didn’t talk about this out of fear. Disclaimer: I actually have a very underdeveloped political position on transgenderism and generally just stay out of it, the way I do about abortiton (but for different reasons--with abortion I am just morally conflicted), and I tend to default to, “you do you” and thus away from restrictions on what people can do with their genderI have a number of delightful friends who are trans and my emotional position is that I feel very supportive and loving of them and their transition seems to “make sense” to my gut in some deep way that being transracial doesn’t really seem to make quite so much sense… but I couldn’t explain to a martian why I think this.The way we argue about trans stuff is totally unproductive and drives me batty Confession: I cannot for the life of me understand why being transgender is totally a real thing that is 100% cool and being transracial or transethnic is totally not a real thing and is 0% cool.  I have honestly put years of thought into this and talked with a ton of people about it (both people who feel like they have a good answer to the difference and those that don’t) and I have gotten NOWHERE. But I want to do better than just throwing up my hands, I want to provide my own framework of thought here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Social Shaming

28 min

I think a lot of the societal breakdown we are seeing is a matter of human psychology -- designed for pre-historical humans by evolution -- running up against technology that it can’t handle and goes kindof crazy trying to confront. -This is probably why social media is so harmful for teenagers -- social dynamics on steroids that you can’t ever really win -Also talked about this a lot with bubbling behavior and learning things from people who look like me rather than people who seem smart -I think one form - social shaming - is leading to an unintended acceleration of radicalization  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Fascism Almost Came to America

31 min

In the 1930s, Fascism was surprisingly popular in the US. Then a World War made the word anathema, but wanting a strongman to make everything better for us is getting more popular. Believe in our liberal institutions is in decline. Are we getting more tolerant of totalitarianism? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Did It Come to This? Part 4, the rise of niche media platforms

1 hr 0 min

Social market dynamics are driving the ever-greater fracturing of public discourse. Can it be pulled back together? In this episode Erik finishes his series with the MIT Enterprise Forum on media technology and political polarization. Check out the show notes for the original slide deck at http://www.reconsidermedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Did It Come to This? Part 3, the role of media technology in political polarization

1 hr 5 min

In this episode, Erik expands substantially on work from Wedged, talking about how media technology, now and in the past, contributes to (or doesn't contribute to) political polarization. Check out the show notes at http://www.reconsidermedia.com for the slide deck! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Volume Bias

41 min

In the words of the legendary Terry Pratchett, in the Discworld novel The Truth: “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth has had a chance to get its boots on.” Or from one of my favorite bands, The Protomen in their song, “The Hounds”: “When I say he was a monster When I set fire to his name It does not matter where you hear it from Whether truth or lies, it gets said all the same Become a ReConsider Patron … Whatever’s on the table plays!” Volume bias I’ve been on a kick recently about a propensity for us to misunderstand or misrepresent people who aren’t in our tribe. And how BS gets amplified. In “How to casually radicalize a citizen,” we talked about how people with less-than-awesome intent can easily (and do) create a stream of the worst of the opposition. You can see this and then get a bit radicalized yourself, as we see. But this is happening passively, too. I call it VOLUME BIAS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Selective Forgiveness

29 min

What are you willing to forgive in the heroes of your story? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How I Learned to Start Worrying and Loathe the Bomb

43 min

Agenda: Weren’t nukes good for global stability? The idea of Mutually Assured DestructionGame Theory and the First Strike problem of most nuclear weaponsThe Dr. Strangelove scenarioWere there close calls? Yes, here are all of themAlso, the broken arrow problemCan you actually get rid of nukes? Probably not…....but can you get rid of the first strike problem? Probably!The magic of stealth boomer submarinesFmr. SecDef William J Perry’s modest proposalHow would you get this done? Who do you lobby? https://www.wjperryproject.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patron Q&A! #1

57 min

I finally managed to get a bunch of patrons to send me questions. Many who are eligible have still sent none, so I’m going to be doing another soon! Some GREAT questions came in this time! Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Competing Frames

49 min

Do you ever feel like your political opposition is talking right past you? As if you are having two entirely different conversations? You might be working with COMPETING FRAMES. Come learn how those work - and how to win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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