Narratives: Recent Episodes
Will Jarvis
Narratives is a project exploring the ways in which the world is better than it has been, the ways that it is worse, and the paths toward making a better, more definite future.
Narratives is hosted by Will Jarvis and Dr.David Jarvis. For more content, transcripts, and show notes, check out narrativespodcast.com
Podcast Title
"Navigating Complex Systems: From Software Engineering to Real Estate"
Summary
In this episode of Narratives, host William Jarvis is joined by co-host Lars Doucet and special guest Patrick McKenzie. Patrick shares his journey from moving to Japan due to a misleading Wall Street Journal article to becoming a notable figure in the software engineering world, eventually working at Stripe and now advising and writing about financial infrastructure.
The conversation delves into the state of the software engineering job market, the impact of large language models, and why Patrick believes the market is healthier than many think. Patrick discusses his method for arriving at contrarian viewpoints and the importance of revisiting past predictions to learn from them.
Patrick also shares fascinating insights into how his father, a real estate acquisition specialist, taught him to "read the street" and understand the factors influencing business locations, particularly for companies like Walgreens. This leads to a broader discussion on the complexities of regulatory environments and how to navigate them, especially in highly regulated industries like property tax assessment and healthcare.
The episode wraps up with advice for startups working in regulated industries, emphasizing the need to balance understanding the regulatory landscape while maintaining the drive to create value. Patrick's experience with the vaccinateCA initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic showcases how quickly adding state capacity can lead to significant improvements in public services.
Podcast Notes
Introduction:
- Host: William Jarvis
- Co-host: Lars Doucet
- Guest: Patrick McKenzie
Key Topics Covered:
1. Patrick’s Background:
- Moving to Japan based on a Wall Street Journal article.
- Professional journey: Japanese salaryman, startup experience, joining Stripe, and current advisory and newsletter work.
- State of the Software Engineering Market:
- Misconceptions from the past and present.
- Impact of large language models on the job market.
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The ongoing need for skilled engineers despite technological advancements.
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Methodology for Arriving at Contrarian Views:
- Importance of reviewing past predictions.
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Learning from mistakes and maintaining an evidence-based approach.
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Real Estate Insights from Patrick’s Father:
- Understanding why certain locations are chosen for businesses.
- The difference between destination and non-destination locations.
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Sociological and logistical factors influencing real estate decisions.
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Navigating Regulatory Environments:
- Balancing empathy and effectiveness in highly regulated industries.
- Avoiding regulatory capture while striving for positive change.
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Lessons from working at Stripe and the vaccinateCA initiative.
-
Advice for Startups in Regulated Industries:
- Understanding the incentive structures and constraints of participants.
- Maintaining focus on creating value.
- The importance of adding state capacity and being adaptable.
Conclusion:
- Patrick’s contact information and where to find his work.
Sponsor Acknowledgment:
- Special thanks to Bismarck Analysis for their support.
- Mention of the Bismarck Brief newsletter.
This episode provides valuable insights into the software engineering market, real estate dynamics, and practical advice for navigating regulatory environments, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in these fields.
In this episode, we're joined by Molly Mielke to talk about agency. How to cultivate it, curate it and nurture it.
Images
Malcolm’s background. (0:05)
The problem of population collapse. (2:00)
Demographics is destiny and gender equality. (8:17)
How far along are we with artificial wombs? (11:25)
The stock market is a safe place to store your assets. (16:05)
Fertility rates and their impact on asset prices. (18:56)
The collapse of fertility in China. (23:26)
Cultural thriving in the future. (26:02)
Where’s the white pill on this? (31:03)
The collapse of the Roman Empire. (34:03)
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Brent’s background. 0:01
- Introduction to assessment matters podcast.
- Brent's bio and big ideas for the future.
-
How is the digitization of land records in the Us? 1:44
-
In the United States, the 1850 system has been digitized.
- The challenge of standardizing the process.
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Lack of standards across state to state. 3:21
-
Lack of standards across state to state and within states.
- Value structures using the cost method.
-
What is the state of property rights in cadastral systems? 5:20
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The state of cadastral systems across the world.
- The downsides of having a title insurance.
-
What is the big barrier to land rights? 7:55
-
Securing land rights in the british colonies.
- Adoption of technology is key.
-
Mapping the farc in Colombia. 9:52
-
The farc colombia peace treaty and repatriation of 15 million properties.
- Fit for purpose mapping.
-
Where are the low hanging fruit? 11:23
-
The low-hanging fruit of real estate taxes.
- Taxation and real estate tax.
-
Why people don’t like property taxes? 13:09
-
Why Brent thinks property taxes are underrated.
- How Brent originally got into cadastral work.
-
What are you most excited about in the next 20 years? 15:23
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Excited about the next 20 years for cadastre.
- Building a cadastral system in developing countries.
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Where to learn more about Cadastral. 17:30
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Where to learn more about Brent's work and Cadastral.
- Where to find more information about cadastral
narratives - nathan finalSummary* Nathan’s background. 0:05
+ Introduction to the podcast and the guest.
+ Nathan's bio and his interest in urbanism.
+ Stumbling into the discourse of urbanism.
+ How he first got interested in the topic.
-
Nathan’s marketing background. 4:02
- Nathan talks about marketing and movement.
- Nathan shares his take on marketing.
-
How to best navigate social media discourse? 6:15
-
Observing various forms of discourse on social media.
- Cars vs other forms of transportation.
- The 15 minutes cities conspiracy theory going viral.
- How to win people over.
-
Nathan’s first instinct when he first heard about this. 11:42
-
The psychology of conspiracy theories and how they form.
- Nathan shares his thoughts on current EMP messaging and how to improve it.
- The challenge of explaining urbanism to the left.
- Dark money and deregulatory talk.
-
Is there a conspiracy on twitter? 17:36
-
Skepticism toward power, paranoia and lack of ability to work around it.
- Twitter is toxic.
-
Lessons learned from twitter. 20:31
-
Lessons learned from tiktok and how he manages his communications.
- Tiktock is a health sign.
- The benefits of being a youtuber on Twitter and tiktok.
- Making a statement for yourself.
-
Contrarian rebelling on social media. 25:20
-
Being an anti-group from a young age.
- The internet is full of people like you.
- The intellectual dark web and social media.
- How social media is like the urbanist movement.
- Emv vs urbanest in their bio.
- Freddy de boer, critical of vmb.
-
The aesthetics and vibes of a movement. 31:55
-
Reservations about joining a group, aesthetics, vibes and who's in the room.
- Deep blue texas.
- Defining the differences between left and right.
- How humans work, and why it matters.
-
How do we interpret our political leanings? 36:19
-
No party is free of guilt.
- Tribalism is any kind of group thing.
- AOC is a lightning rod of discourse.
- AOC and the left-right divide.
-
Practical examples of the problem with framing and framing. 42:05
-
The difference between a conservative and a conservative.
- Practical examples in activism.
- Single-family zoning and how it is framed.
- How conservatives react to single- family zoning.
-
How to get people to care. 47:03
-
Why most people don't care about politics.
- How to choose the right messaging.
- Reframing politics around culture and policy engagement.
- Taking a step back regularly to recalibrate.
-
Advice to the young people. 52:28
-
Ten good-faith, thoughtful arguments vs one or two bad-faith responses.
- Online friends vs real-life friends.
- Advice for a budding movement trying to change the world.
- Follow their passions.
-
Where are your strengths? 56:59
-
Everyone is passionate about something, even if it's something stupid.
- Not everybody can be joe rogan.
- The anti-podcaster meme, and why it's a bad thing.
- Bismarck analysis newsletter.
narratives - nathan finalSummary - Nathan’s background. 0:05
* Introduction to the podcast and the guest. * Nathan's bio and his interest in urbanism. * Stumbling into the discourse of urbanism. * How he first got interested in the topic. - Nathan’s marketing background. 4:02 * Nathan talks about marketing and movement. * Nathan shares his take on marketing. - How to best navigate social media discourse? 6:15 * Observing various forms of discourse on social media. * Cars vs other forms of transportation. * The 15 minutes cities conspiracy theory going viral. * How to win people over. - Nathan’s first instinct when he first heard about this. 11:42 * The psychology of conspiracy theories and how they form. * Nathan shares his thoughts on current EMP messaging and how to improve it. * The challenge of explaining urbanism to the left. * Dark money and deregulatory talk. - Is there a conspiracy on twitter? 17:36 * Skepticism toward power, paranoia and lack of ability to work around it. * Twitter is toxic. - Lessons learned from twitter. 20:31 * Lessons learned from tiktok and how he manages his communications. * Tiktock is a health sign. * The benefits of being a youtuber on Twitter and tiktok. * Making a statement for yourself. - Contrarian rebelling on social media. 25:20 * Being an anti-group from a young age. * The internet is full of people like you. * The intellectual dark web and social media. * How social media is like the urbanist movement. * Emv vs urbanest in their bio. * Freddy de boer, critical of vmb. - The aesthetics and vibes of a movement. 31:55 * Reservations about joining a group, aesthetics, vibes and who's in the room. * Deep blue texas. * Defining the differences between left and right. * How humans work, and why it matters. - How do we interpret our political leanings? 36:19 * No party is free of guilt. * Tribalism is any kind of group thing. * AOC is a lightning rod of discourse. * AOC and the left-right divide. - Practical examples of the problem with framing and framing. 42:05 * The difference between a conservative and a conservative. * Practical examples in activism. * Single-family zoning and how it is framed. * How conservatives react to single- family zoning. - How to get people to care. 47:03 * Why most people don't care about politics. * How to choose the right messaging. * Reframing politics around culture and policy engagement. * Taking a step back regularly to recalibrate. - Advice to the young people. 52:28 * Ten good-faith, thoughtful arguments vs one or two bad-faith responses. * Online friends vs real-life friends. * Advice for a budding movement trying to change the world. * Follow their passions. - Where are your strengths? 56:59 * Everyone is passionate about something, even if it's something stupid. * Not everybody can be joe rogan. * The anti-podcaster meme, and why it's a bad thing. * Bismarck analysis newsletter.
narratives - nathan final
Summary* Nathan’s background. 0:05
+ Introduction to the podcast and the guest.
+ Nathan's bio and his interest in urbanism.
+ Stumbling into the discourse of urbanism.
+ How he first got interested in the topic.
-
Nathan’s marketing background. 4:02
- Nathan talks about marketing and movement.
- Nathan shares his take on marketing.
-
How to best navigate social media discourse? 6:15
-
Observing various forms of discourse on social media.
- Cars vs other forms of transportation.
- The 15 minutes cities conspiracy theory going viral.
- How to win people over.
-
Nathan’s first instinct when he first heard about this. 11:42
-
The psychology of conspiracy theories and how they form.
- Nathan shares his thoughts on current EMP messaging and how to improve it.
- The challenge of explaining urbanism to the left.
- Dark money and deregulatory talk.
-
Is there a conspiracy on twitter? 17:36
-
Skepticism toward power, paranoia and lack of ability to work around it.
- Twitter is toxic.
-
Lessons learned from twitter. 20:31
-
Lessons learned from tiktok and how he manages his communications.
- Tiktock is a health sign.
- The benefits of being a youtuber on Twitter and tiktok.
- Making a statement for yourself.
-
Contrarian rebelling on social media. 25:20
-
Being an anti-group from a young age.
- The internet is full of people like you.
- The intellectual dark web and social media.
- How social media is like the urbanist movement.
- Emv vs urbanest in their bio.
- Freddy de boer, critical of vmb.
-
The aesthetics and vibes of a movement. 31:55
-
Reservations about joining a group, aesthetics, vibes and who's in the room.
- Deep blue texas.
- Defining the differences between left and right.
- How humans work, and why it matters.
-
How do we interpret our political leanings? 36:19
-
No party is free of guilt.
- Tribalism is any kind of group thing.
- AOC is a lightning rod of discourse.
- AOC and the left-right divide.
-
Practical examples of the problem with framing and framing. 42:05
-
The difference between a conservative and a conservative.
- Practical examples in activism.
- Single-family zoning and how it is framed.
- How conservatives react to single- family zoning.
-
How to get people to care. 47:03
-
Why most people don't care about politics.
- How to choose the right messaging.
- Reframing politics around culture and policy engagement.
- Taking a step back regularly to recalibrate.
-
Advice to the young people. 52:28
-
Ten good-faith, thoughtful arguments vs one or two bad-faith responses.
- Online friends vs real-life friends.
- Advice for a budding movement trying to change the world.
- Follow their passions.
-
Where are your strengths? 56:59
-
Everyone is passionate about something, even if it's something stupid.
- Not everybody can be joe rogan.
- The anti-podcaster meme, and why it's a bad thing.
- Bismarck analysis newsletter.
narratives - nathan finalSummary - Nathan’s background. 0:05
* Introduction to the podcast and the guest. * Nathan's bio and his interest in urbanism. * Stumbling into the discourse of urbanism. * How he first got interested in the topic. - Nathan’s marketing background. 4:02 * Nathan talks about marketing and movement. * Nathan shares his take on marketing. - How to best navigate social media discourse? 6:15 * Observing various forms of discourse on social media. * Cars vs other forms of transportation. * The 15 minutes cities conspiracy theory going viral. * How to win people over. - Nathan’s first instinct when he first heard about this. 11:42 * The psychology of conspiracy theories and how they form. * Nathan shares his thoughts on current EMP messaging and how to improve it. * The challenge of explaining urbanism to the left. * Dark money and deregulatory talk. - Is there a conspiracy on twitter? 17:36 * Skepticism toward power, paranoia and lack of ability to work around it. * Twitter is toxic. - Lessons learned from twitter. 20:31 * Lessons learned from tiktok and how he manages his communications. * Tiktock is a health sign. * The benefits of being a youtuber on Twitter and tiktok. * Making a statement for yourself. - Contrarian rebelling on social media. 25:20 * Being an anti-group from a young age. * The internet is full of people like you. * The intellectual dark web and social media. * How social media is like the urbanist movement. * Emv vs urbanest in their bio. * Freddy de boer, critical of vmb. - The aesthetics and vibes of a movement. 31:55 * Reservations about joining a group, aesthetics, vibes and who's in the room. * Deep blue texas. * Defining the differences between left and right. * How humans work, and why it matters. - How do we interpret our political leanings? 36:19 * No party is free of guilt. * Tribalism is any kind of group thing. * AOC is a lightning rod of discourse. * AOC and the left-right divide. - Practical examples of the problem with framing and framing. 42:05 * The difference between a conservative and a conservative. * Practical examples in activism. * Single-family zoning and how it is framed. * How conservatives react to single- family zoning. - How to get people to care. 47:03 * Why most people don't care about politics. * How to choose the right messaging. * Reframing politics around culture and policy engagement. * Taking a step back regularly to recalibrate. - Advice to the young people. 52:28 * Ten good-faith, thoughtful arguments vs one or two bad-faith responses. * Online friends vs real-life friends. * Advice for a budding movement trying to change the world. * Follow their passions. - Where are your strengths? 56:59 * Everyone is passionate about something, even if it's something stupid. * Not everybody can be joe rogan. * The anti-podcaster meme, and why it's a bad thing. * Bismarck analysis newsletter.
Dan Katz - ESG and Asset Management.
Dan’s background. (0:05) How well do you rate the performance of the federal government? (4:14) What was the impact of the pandemic on the Us? (8:17) The problem with Esg and how Esg has changed. (14:53) Active vs passive investing. (18:48) The shift from active investing to indexing. (25:35) The problem with Esg. (29:27) The Usa etf and how it works. (34:17) The importance of supply chain and geopolitical risk. (38:29) Geopolitical risks and opportunities. (43:26) Industrial policy and nearshoring. (48:10)
Christopher England received his Ph.D. from Georgetown in 2015. His research and teaching focus on U.S. social movements, economic thought, and communications. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Loyola University Maryland, and Stanford University. His forthcoming book, Land and Liberty: Henry George and the Crafting of Modern Liberalism, is scheduled to be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in February 2023. Land and Liberty traces the influence of the journalist Henry George, who argued that rising rents were the primary cause of economic inequality. England has been interviewed about his research for the upcoming PBS documentary The Monopolistsand for articles in De Correspondentand *Reason.
We discuss his book, Land and Liberty. Lars Doucet joins as a cohost for this episode.*
In this episode, I'm joined by Neil Chilson to talk about:
Impact of imposed legibility.4:48 The problem with platform monopolies and network effects.10:51Content moderation on social media.17:02What challenges will Elon face when taking twitter private?21:44The truth about government policy and how individuals can help.27:19The power of the wave and the beach analogy.32:29 Has the federal government gotten worse over time?
In this episode we're joined by UC Boulder philosophy professor Alex Priou, and Russ Green to discuss Technology, Progress and History.
In this episode we're joined by writer Ed West to discuss the decline of the UK, the future of Europe, and where we go from here. This episode was cohosted by Lars Doucet.
In this episode, we're joined by Cameron Murray, an Australian economist to discuss corruption, property, and the economics of Australia.
We cover:
David’s background.0:05 What’s the right kind of partnership?2:44 The trade-off between speed of building infrastructure and the negative externalities.8:44 Inefficiencies in the environmental process.10:16 Public engagement through digital channels and digital channels.15:11 Broadband gaps in the Us.17:54 When will autonomous vehicles replace human drivers?23:46 Autonomy as a wind problem.29:19 Policy policy and policy politics.32:51 What is a virtual power plant?
In this episode, we're joined by Jerimiah Johnson, the creator of the Neoliberal movement.
In this episode, we're joined by Dartmouth student Jeremy Hadfield to talk about x-risks, Nietzsche, Degrowth, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we're joined by Stand Together CTO Mark Johnson. We discuss: Mark’s background, the problem with tech transfers from basic research, the cultural differences between Silicon Valley and San Francisco, how can we encourage a bottom up approach to philanthropy, how to manage well, and a whole lot more.
In this episode we discuss: When to throw in the towel and when not to, the commonalities between the best and worst founders, the bottleneck to innovation in tech, dealing with pressure to grow bigger funds, venture as an access game and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we're joined by Eli Dourado to discuss his recent article Heretical thoughts on AI. How LLMs will interact with the culture war, how alignment can make the great stagnation worse, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we're joined by previous guest Ben Reinhardt to discuss his newest venture, Speculative Technologies. https://www.spec.tech/library/introducing-speculative-technologiesWe also discuss the ins and outs of starting a new organization, how to bootstrap legitimacy, the second order effects of technology, large language models, and the future of robotics and its current challenges.
In this episode, we're joined by On Deck cofounder Julian Weisser to discuss the right framework for finding new ideas, lessons for founders to draw from the past, aligning on values before aligning on ideas, founding pairs that work well, the role of defensibility, the role of no code, distributed ownership vs. concentrated ownership, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we're joined by Misha Saul to discuss geographic determinism and inevitability, how Misha thinks about finding alpha. Retrofitted narratives and how they work, the domestication of men.The importance of symbolic ceremonial traditional things. The importance of knowing the jewish tradition, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we're joined by Garrett Langley of Flock Safety to discuss the nature of crime in our society. How to decrease crime, and how to build a hyper-growth startup outside of the major hubs.
In this episode, we're joined by Joey Politano to discuss the state of the global economy, what happened in 1971, his blog Aprictas Economics and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we're joined by Devon Zuegel to talk about Prospera, urban sprawl, James Scott's Against the Grain, Georgism and more.
In this episode, we're joined by Zach Caraces to talk about startup cities, what has gone wrong with American cities? What can we do to fix them? The lack of customer service culture in the cities industry. Platform vs. product cities, why Americans love to travel in Latin American cities. The overlap between what the AI field is learning and urban planning, how planned startups cities should be, Kannapolis NC, and a whole lot more.
In this episode I'm joined by Emily Harrawood. Emily is an early-childhood educator and founder with extensive knowledge of the childcare industry. We discuss the current problems with the industry, how it originally came about, how to improve it, and what the future of childcare looks like in the United States.
In this episode, we're joined by Jai Malik, GP of Countdown Capital to discuss how we can rebuild America's industrial base.
In this episode we are joined by John Manoocheri and Shawnee Foster to discuss the spatial web, the future of the metaverse, the state of architecture, the nature of art and a whole lot more. You can find John and Shawnee's work at https://treasury.space/
In this episode, we're joined by Cam Wiese to discuss his new World's Fair project https://worldsfair.co/. We also discuss how to change culture, break stagnation, and build a better future.
In this episode, I'm joined by my friend Jeff Huber to discuss just what comes after modernity. We also discuss the current moment, can we build a definite vision of the future, Peter Thiel, the role of Christianity, and a whole lot more. You can check out Jeff's work at https://twitter.com/jeffreyhuber
In this episode we're joined by Mr. Beat, a renowned teacher and educator who now runs the youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@iammrbeat
We discuss the best methods to teach someone anything, the state of youtube for content creators, Mr. Beat's recent interest in the economist Henry George and more.
This episode was cohosted by Lars Doucet.
In this episode, we're joined byReed Shafer-Ray to talk about moral entrepreneurship, his new effort called Mountaintop, how to reshape the culture of American elites and a whole lot more.
Reed is a Harvard grad who cofounded Lead for America.
In this episode, we're joined by Resident Contrarian to discuss being poor in America, the state of Christianity, social conservatism, and a whole lot more.
Resident blogs at: https://www.residentcontrarian.com/
In this episode, I'm joined by Zohar Atkins to discuss the future of Liberalism, hierarchy, AI, religion and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we are joined by Rohit Krishanan to talk about EA, the value of management consultants, the common traits of companies that last a long time, and where all of the Beethoven's went.
Rohit blogs at https://www.strangeloopcanon.com/
I recorded an episode with Marshall Kosloff about theories of change and progress, what outsiders get right and wrong about the American political system, why politicians should wear suits, and a whole lot more. This episode was cohosted by Lars Doucet.
You can find Marshall's podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-realignment/id1474687988
In this episode, I'm joined by Jeffrey Ladish to discuss AI alignment, the possibility of abundance and how information security matters for alignment. Jeffrey blogs at https://jeffreyladish.com/
In this episode, we're joined by Lars Doucet to discuss his new book, Land Is A Big Deal. You can buy it here: https://www.shacksimplepress.com/product-page/land-is-a-big-deal
In this episode, we're joined by urban economist Stephen Hoskins to discuss the relationship between zoning and land value. This episode was cohosted by Lars Doucet.
https://progressandpoverty.substack.com/p/land-and-the-liberty-to-build-on
In this episode we're joined by early stage investor Minn Kim to talk about Industrial Progress, Immigration and the American Dream. We also cover the future of frontier tech, and how to enable more successful hard tech companies through better policy.
In this episode we are joined by Trevor Klee. Trevor is the founder of Highway Pharmaceuticals is a biotech startup creating drugs for autoimmune diseases. Right now, they're running a pilot trial of our drug in feline stomatitis.
Feline stomatitis is a serious autoimmune disease that affects 1 million cats per year in the US. The only treatment for it currently is a $1k+ surgery. By the end of the trial, we expect to have evidence that our drug can safely and effectively suppress the feline immune system. This positions our drug to become the only alternative to an expensive and traumatizing surgery. Trevor is currently raising funds to cover the rest of the costs of the trial, as well as position us for our next milestones, which you can check out here: https://wefunder.com/highway.pharmaceuticals/
In this episode, I talk with Stuart about metascience, why the age of NIH grantees has risen so much, how to improve science, and how well our current funding organizations work.
Stuart runs the Good Science Project. https://goodscienceproject.org/
In this episode, we're joined by Emad Mostaque, founder and CEO of Stability.ai to talk about his recent release of Stable Diffusion (an open source transformer language model), AI ethics, AI alignment, and what large language models mean for the fuutre.
This episode was co-hosted by Lars Doucet.
In this episode we're joined by Nathan Baschez, cofounder of Every. We discuss business strategy, how win with content, and the art of writing well.
In this episode, we are joined by Sam Bowman to talk about the housing theory of everything, the slowdown in science and technology, the long term economic future of the UK, and a whole lot more.
In this episode we are joined by Founders Pledge CEO David Goldberg to discuss philanthropy, how best to do good, and how startup founders should think about prioritizing their charitable giving.
In this episode we're joined by Noah Smith to talk about Georgism, why we need abundant energy, housing, heathcare and dignity, and the success of the YIMBY movement. Noah Smith is an economist who blogs at https://noahpinion.substack.com/ This episode was co-hosted by Lars Doucet.
In this episode of Narratives, we're joined by Byrne Hobart to discuss finance, bubbles, reflexivity, George Soros, the EMH and a whole lot more.
Byrne blogs at the https://www.thediff.co/
In this episode, we are joined by the demographer Paul Morland to discuss his new book Tomorrow's People. We discuss the decline in infant mortality, the lack of population growth in the developed world and what has caused it, urbanization, fertility, population decline in the West, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we're joined by NYU professor Arpit Gupta to talk about transit, zoning, land value taxes and housing. We also discuss land value capture and public transit. This episode features my friend Lars Doucet as a co-host.
In this episode, we're joined by Matt Clifford to talk about the history of ambition, his work building Entrepreneur First, cofounder matching, talent investing, and how to direct more talented people into better career paths.
Jordan Blashek is the author of the book Union: A democrat, a republican, and the search for common ground. Jordan is also an impact Investor, and Military Veteran, focused on strengthening the U.S. strategic advantage. He is the cofounder of America’s Frontier Fund https://americasfrontier.org/
In this episode, we talk America's defense system, solving political polarization, and how we can win in a great power conflict with China.
In this episode, we are joined by Aaron Hamlin, the executive director of the nonprofit The Center for Election Science. Aaron has had great success implementing approval voting across the United States. This episode was cohosted by Lars Doucet.
In this episode, we're joined by Caleb Watney to talk about how he thinks about policy change, the current rate of progress, and how to make science go faster. Caleb is the co-founder of the Institute for Progress.
In this episode, we're joined by Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum to discuss governance, political economy, and crypto. We also discuss land value taxes, Georgism, optimal voting systems and public goods provisioning. This episode was co-hosted by Lars Doucet.
In this episode, I'm joined by co-host Lars Doucet, and the Chief Economist at Redfin, Daryl Fairweather.
We talk about land value taxes, zoning, housing affordability, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we’re joined by writer and neuroscientist Erik Hoel to talk about where all the geniuses went, the secrets of the publishing industry, and the current state of neuroscience. You can find Erik’s work at: https://erikhoel.substack.com/
In this episode, I'm joined by entrepreneur in residence William Eden to discuss biotech venture capital, parenting, longevity, American decadence and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we are joined by Russ Greene and Nicholas Eberstadt to discuss his book men without work, about the collapse of prime age working male employment.
In this episode, we talk with Delian Asparouhov, principal at Founders Fund, about Keynesian beauty contest, who should become a founder, removing bottlenecks to successful companies, how to encourage more agency and more.
In this bonus episode, we're joined by the author of Blitzed, Norman Ohler, to talk about drugs and their role in warfare.
In this episode, I talk with Richard Hanania about political polarization, what we could have done better in Afghanistan, how to manage great power conflict, and a whole lot more. You can find Richard's work at https://richardhanania.substack.com/
In this episode, I talk with Motionhall co-founder and CEO Rachael Craig to talk about biotech, the state of R+D, how drugs get commercialized, the rate of innovation int he life sciences, and a whole lot more. You can visit motionhall at https://motionhall.com/
In this episode, I'm joined by Craig Fratrik and Co-CEO of Open Philanthropy Holden Karnofsky to discuss AI, Philanthropy and the Future. We also discuss how the variance of future outcomes is much higher than people presume, and the consequences of that fact.
In this episode, we discuss Charles Murray's book Coming Apart, socio-cultural norms, social class and how they have changed in the US.
In this episode I'm joined by economist Paul Schmelzing to talk about the 800 year decline in interest rates and the history of banking crises https://www.pfschmelzing.me/
In this episode we talk with Jacob about rationality, dating, the hot hand fallacy and more. Jacob blogs at https://putanumonit.com/
In this episode, I'm joined by Josh Vincent to talk his work implementing land value taxes across the nation. Joshua is the President of the Center for the Study of Economics. Lars Doucet co-hosted this episode.
In this episode, I'm joined by Kai Micah Mills to talk about Cryonics, life extension and his experience dropping out of high school to build tech companies. Kai is currently building the cryonics startup Cryopets, which you can find at https://cryopets.com/
In this episode, I'm joined by Nolan Gray and my friend Lars Doucet to discuss zoning, city planning and land value taxes.
Nolan is the author of the upcoming book about Zoning, Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It.
In this episode, we're joined by Wanted author Luke Burgis to talk about the nature of desire, Rene Girard, and a whole lot more.
You can find Luke's work at https://lukeburgis.com/wanting/
In this episode I'm joined by Quinn Lewandowski to discuss the moral circle, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, I'm joined by Buck Shlegeris, CTO of Redwood Research, to talk about AI safety, effective altruism, building an effective career, and how to seek out criticism. You can find Buck's work at https://shlegeris.com/.
In this episode, we're joined by Fritjof Capra, to talk about the Tao of Physics, free will, and determinism, what happened in 1971, and a whole lot more. Fritjof Capra is an Austrian-born American physicist, systems theorist and deep ecologist.
This week I'm joined by Grant Dever to talk about Community, Nuclear, Bitcoin and so much more. Grant is a liberal localist, peacemonger, high energy optimist and tribe seeker who lives in Austin Texas.
In this episode, I'm joined by Thomas Hepner to talk about the data economy, Defi, and a whole lot more. You can find his work at https://thomashepner.net/
In this episode, I'm joined by Mark Yusko to talk about Bitcoin, crypto, investing, finding alpha, Anson Dorrance, and a whole lot more. Mark is the founder, chief investment officer and managing director of Morgan Creek Capital Management.
In this episode, we're joined by Alec Stapp to talk about his new think tank, The Institute for Progress. We talk about how policy actually gets made in Washington, how we can make better policy, and his goals for the institute.
In this episode, we are joined by Pratyush Buddiga, and Dr. David Jarvis to talk about how Pratyush came to Christianity, how to win in highly competitive environments, and how to make America better. Pratyush is an investor at Susa Ventures.
In this episode, I'm joined by Visa to talk about how to find meaning, what religion has to do with meaning, how to figure out what you want, and a whole lot more. You can find Visa at https://twitter.com/visakanv
In this episode, we talk about George Orwell, his book Down and Out in Paris and London, and what we can learn about what policy interventions seem to work for poverty. Additionally, we talk about the art of writing well, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, and David Foster Wallace. You can find Whimsi's blog at: https://substack.com/profile/25790234-whimsi
In this episode, I'm joined by Aaron Bergman. We talk about how to build a successful career, effective altruism, pharmacology, and a whole lot more. Aaron is a recent graduate of Georgetown. You can check out his substack at: https://aaronbergman.substack.com/
Today we're joined by Jeff Wilson, founder and CEO of Jupe to talk about why there has been so little housing innovation, what we can do to make housing more affordable, and what he's working to accomplish with his startup Jupe. You can check out Jupe at https://jupe.com/
In this episode we're joined by the sibling duo Slime Mold Time Mold to talk about the environmental causes of obesity. We also discuss why current theories about diet are insufficient, the benefits of working with people you trust, and a whole lot more. We're also joined by Faith Jarvis for this episode. You can check out Slime Mold Time Mold's blog at https://slimemoldtimemold.com/
In this episode, I'm joined by Abhay Venkatesh to discuss AI, software infrastructure, robotics, anthropology, philosophy, and startups.
Matt is a writer, researcher, and educator on the economics of innovation at Iowa State University, and a progress studies fellow at Emergent Ventures at the Mercatus Center. In this episode, we talk about innovation, remote work, and speeding up technological progress. You can check out Matt's current project, at https://www.newthingsunderthesun.com/
In this episode, I'm joined by James Sinka. James co-founded the On Deck Deep Tech Fellowship with Abhijeet Petra. We talk with James about how to build a Deep Tech venture, what makes a successful founder, how the macro environment influences what kind of startups you can build, and how to build deep tech startups in the real world. You an apply to On Deck Deep Tech at https://www.beondeck.com/deeptech
I'm joined by Long Now director of strategy, Nicholas Paul Brysiewicz, to discuss how to think about the very long term future, philosophy, and what the Long Now foundation is up to.
Carlos is the CEO and founder of Quaise. https://www.quaise.energy/ In this episode, we talk about how Geothermal and Nuclear are the only energy technologies that have the capability to meet humanity's energy needs, the challenges with ultradeep drilling, and how to create cheap and renewable energy to power humanity into the future.
In this episode, I'm joined by Trevor Klee. Trevor is a biology autodidact, who has started the biotech https://highwaypharm.com/. We discuss, the difficulties in building a small biotech company, what we know about learning and test prep, the unique immune systems of bats, and a whole lot more.
I'm joined by Philosophy Bear to discuss death, the prospect of bringing everyone back, the expanding moral circle, and religion. Philosophy Bear blogs at https://philosophybear.substack.com/
In this episode, we talk with Katherine Dee aka Default Friend about how the marketplace of ideas is seeded by internet communities.. Specifically, the example of Tumblr feeding attitudes towards social justice on college campuses. We also talk about social atomization and the future of the internet. Katherine blogs at https://defaultfriend.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
In this episode, we talk with Matt Feeney about his new book, Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competitive Age. We cover the insanity of competitive college admissions, Operation Varsity Blues, the atomization of modern American life, why the nuclear family is important, and what policies are essential for supporting families.
Show notes: Little Platoons by Matt Feeney.
Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett.
Increasingly Competitive College Admissions, much more than you wanted to know by Scott Alexander.
Operation Varsity Blues
Matt’s New Yorker Article Transcript and more.
In this episode, we're joined by Suspended reason, Quinn Lewandowski, and Crispy Chicken to discuss anti-inductivity, torque maneuvers, social interactions, inadequate equilibria, Pierre Bourdieu and a whole lot more.
You can find Suspended, and Crispy's work at https://theinexactsciences.github.io and https://pfeilstorch.substack.com/
Saloni Dattani is a PhD student in psychiatric genetics at King's College London. She has also created Works in Progress, an excellent online magazine. In this episode, we talk about Steven Pinker, technological progress, the state of science, and the genetics of mental health.
In this episode, we're joined by Lars Doucet. Lars created the video game Defenders Quest. Lars joins us to talk about Henry George, whose work he reviewed in the ACX Book Review contest (which he won!). Lars blogs at https://www.fortressofdoors.com/
More links:
Schalkenbach Foundation
https://schalkenbach.org
Henry George School of Social Science
https://www.hgsss.org
IAAO
International Association of Assessing Officers
https://www.iaao.org
Farouk Al-Kasim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farouk_Al-Kasim
Digital real estate article
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/digital-real-estate-and-the-digital-housing-crisis
In this episode, I'm joined by Quinn Lewandowski. We discuss existential risks, the current state of the world, and AI safety. Katja runs the nonprofit AI Impacts, and you can find her work at https://katjagrace.com/
In this episode, we're joined by my friend Craig Fratrik as well. Ben is the CTO at Wave, a fintech startup serving Africa. In this episode, we chat about effective altruism. being intentional about your life, the perils of graduate school, and how to be an effective manager. You can check out Ben's blog at: https://www.benkuhn.net/
What did Jesus really say about economics? What does Rene Girard's teachings mean for violence in Modernity? How do we create a united vision of the future for America?
What is the story of the industrial revolution? How has petroleum been important for the development of humanity? Brad produces the podcast Context, and How it Began. https://www.bradharris.com/
I got to talk with Sam Arbesman about The Overedge Catalog, Scientific Discovery, and Complexity. You can check out Sam's blog at: https://arbesman.net/
I got to talk with Quinn about what inadequate equilibria is, how the EMH is a poor proxy for thinking about the world in general, and how to think about low-hanging fruit.
Show notes, videos and more at: https://narrativespodcast.com/2021/08/02/53-inadequate-equilibria-with-quinn-lewandowski/
In this episode, I got to sit down with Adam Marblestone to talk about how to accelerate science, what most people don't understand about Neuroscience, and how to have an outsize impact.
In this episode, Will talks to Geoff Shullenberger about Girard, the premodern/modern/postmodern distinction, academia, christianity and a whole lot more. Link to show notes, video, transcript and more at
https://narrativespodcast.com/2021/07/12/50-girard-postmodernism-and-academia-with-geoff-shullenberger/
In this episode, we cover what has gone wrong with our universities, how she thinks about empowering young people, and a whole lot more. Danielle co-founded 1517 Fund.
We discuss the past present and future of conservatism, where it has gone wrong, and how politics has changed over time, with Ed West. Ed is the author of Small Men on the Wrong Side of History: The Decline, Fall and Unlikely Return of Conservatism. He is also the Senior Editor at Unherd.
In this episode I'm joined by Quinn Lewandowski to discuss the concept of hierarchy, how our approach to it has changed over time, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we talk with GMU Econ professor Pete Leeson about how groups can coordinate without governments, the pirate code, and a whole lot more.
In this episode of Narratives, we talk with Physics autodidact Lorenzo Evans. You can find Lorenzo on twitter at https://twitter.com/ketrenzo
In this episode, we talk with Jacy Reese Anthis about expanding the moral circle. Jacy is an animal rights activist and founder of the Sentience Institute.
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Reid Barbour about Francis Bacon, the study of history, and the English Civil War. Reid is the Roy C. Moose Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina=Chapel Hill.
In this episode, we talk with Geoff Anders of Leverage Research about research, knowledge, decay, and a whole lot more.
In this episode, we chat with Michael Gibson about problems with our governance, tech stagnation, and potential paths forward from here. Michael is a principal and co-founder at the Venture Capital firm 1517 Fund.
This week on the podcast, we talk to Anton Troynikov about The Academy, Technology, and Building The Future. Anton blogs at https://troynikov.io/
This week, we got to chat with Eli Dourado about stagnation, regulation and the Future. You can check out Eli's work at www.elidourado.com
In this wide-ranging conversation, we're joined by Zak Slayback to talk about America, the Urban/Rural Divide, and Rene Girard. Zak is a venture capital professional at 1517 fund, career coach, and occasional writer. You can find Zak's work at https://zakslayback.com/
Show Notes:
Zak’s book How to Get Ahead (Highly recommended!)
Nozick’s Anarchy State and Utopia.
Girard’s I See Satan Fall Like Lightning.
Caplan’s Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids
Caplan’s Case Against Education.
On this episode, I'm joined by Mike Green to discuss some potential downsides of index investing, the coming conflict with China, and more. Mike is a partner at Logica Capital Advisors.
Today on the podcast, I'm joined by Quinn Lewandowski to explore common ideas of how history is progressing. We also discuss cost disease, scientific freedom, and why there is a dearth of new, really good art.
This week, Will talks to Ben Landau-Taylor about why only America seems to be able to innovate, why state capacity has declined in the US, and how to think about industrial policy in the modern world. Ben is a Senior Analyst at Bismark Analytics.
In this episode, we talk with Kelly Starrett about health, mobility, and training. Dr. Kelly Starrett is a coach, physical therapist, two-time New York Times & Wall Street Journal bestselling author, speaker, and co-founder of The Ready State,
In this episode, we talk with José Luis Ricón about longevity, soviet economics, education research, metascience, and so much more. José blogs at nintil.com.
We talk with Freddie deBoer about America's education system-what's wrong with it, what's right with it, and how to make it better. We also discuss his new book, The Cult of Smart.
In this episode, we talk with Jason Crawford about progress. What it is, what it isn't, and how do we accelerate it? Jason is the author of The Roots of Progress, a website about the history of technology and industry, and the philosophy of progress.
In this episode, we discuss trade, war and China with Brendan Cooley. Brendan is a Senior Data Scientist at Big League Advance. He recently finished his Ph.D. in Politics at Princeton. In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover the different schools of international relations theory, building ideal trade policy, and just how likely a great power shooting war is in the 21st century. You can check out more of Brendan's work at http://brendancooley.com/.
Jon Guze is the Director of Legal Studies at John Locke. Jon is an expert on Karl Popper, the law, and governance. In this episode, we talk about Popper's theory of knowledge, civil asset forfeiture, and eugenics in North Carolina.
In this episode, we talk with Don Braben, PhD. Donald Braben is a scientist and author. From 1980 to 1990, he led British Petroleum’s Venture Research program, for which he developed a radical, low-cost approach to finding and funding researchers whose work might redefine their fields. Of the dozens of projects supported by the program, many led to transformative discoveries. I think Don's concept of Venture Research is essential to saving our stagnating society. Don recently republished his book Scientific Freedom, with Stripe Press, which I highly recommend.
A quick note, the conversation with Don starts about 21 minutes in. We give an intro before that.
In this episode, we discuss whether or not there are more, or fewer polymaths today than in the past, using the example of W. H. R. Rivers, an English anthropologist who also made contributions in neurology, and psychiatry.
Mark Lutter is the founder of the Charter Cities Institute. We find out just what Charter Cities are, why we should care about them, and how they can improve the lives of millions of humans across the globe.
In this episode, we talk with Ben Reinhardt about different innovation systems, how to create more sci-fi technology a reality, and why our research institutions are not as effective as they used to be. You can check out Ben's work at https://benjaminreinhardt.com/about/.
In this episode, we have Quinn Lewandowski on to discuss his favourite thinker Bertrand Russell, the simulacra levels concept, and how our norms around each level have changed over time. We also discuss why people today have less belief in their ability to solve difficult and complex problems, and what we can do to change that.
This week on the podcast, we have David Smith. David Smith is a computer scientist who created the very first 3D interactive game, The Colony. He has also worked with Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, and James Cameron, and helped found Red Storm Entertainment. He is currently the CEO at Croquet, where he is building the future of collaboration on the internet.
In this episode, we are joined by Zvi Mowshowitz. We discuss simulacra levels, moral mazes, and our civilizational response to COVID-19. Zvi writes the blog Don't Worry About the Vase.
In this episode, we talk about AI safety, machine learning, meaning, the economist Elinor Ostrom, and more with my good friend Cooper Williams. Cooper is a machine learning engineer based in the RTP region of North Carolina.
In this short episode, we discuss how good-faith policymakers can sometimes make things worse when trying to improve outcomes in many domains. We talk about price gouging, fairness norms, and monopolies.
This week on the podcast, we have David Friedman. David holds a PhD in physics from the University of Chicago, he is chiefly known for his scholarly contributions to economics and law. He is the author of five books of non‐fiction as well as three novels. We discuss the future, legal systems very different from our own, how technology drives progress, and what the future might look like.
Sometimes, pharmaceutical companies mess up. More rarely, the FDA catches them. They write warning letters detailing the problems and post them on the internet for anyone to read.
On this episode, we are joined by the author of the new blog, Warning Letters. Warning Letters focuses on quality control in the pharmaceutical industry. We learn how FDA keeps our drugs safe, what the process looks like for supplements, and whether or not it's worth it to shell out for name brand vs generic drugs. Check out Warning Letters at warningletters.wordpress.com.
Today on the podcast, we have Russ Greene. Russ is the former director of government relations and research at CrossFit, a former games athlete, an Arabic linguist, and is currently an associate director at Stand Together, a nonprofit in the DC area. We discuss the current state of American wealth, governance, and fitness.
The views and opinions expressed on Narratives are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of employers, past or present.
This week on the podcast we discuss Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer. Albion's Seed details the folkways of four groups of people who moved from distinct regions of Great Britain to the United States and form the foundations of modern American culture.
What is artificial intelligence? What does it mean for the future of humanity? What is the state of the art today? Will and his brother Glenn cover out two competing visions of how general artificial intelligence will be designed and develop over the coming century.
This week on the podcast, we review a working paper entitled "The Rate of Return on Everything." We answer the question, which assets tend to have the highest rates of return over time? What is secular stagnation? Why is economic growth important for a large democracy like the United States, and what we can do to improve growth in a decadent society? Are there tradeoffs between growth and inequality? We also talk about Jack Bogle, modern index investing, and how investing in equities contrasts with investing in real estate.
Why does your dog act like a dog and not your cat? Why does your cat not act like your dog? If cats are better hunters than dogs (hint: they are), why do we hunt with dogs instead of cats? Why do we ride horses rather than cows? Why are cows primarily a food source and not horses? We sit down with Faith Jarvis this week to learn about the domestication of the animals that are our pets and the ones that become our dinner.
What do Machine Learning, the French Horn, Championship Scrabble, the Lotus Evora, cryptocurrency mining and startups have in common? Eric Smith. Eric joins Will in this week's episode for an exploration of startup life.
Bobby O'Neal Talton is a 90-year-old award-winning violin maker with a lifetime of experience in the art of creation. As a boy he built wooden airplanes to fly around the hills of southwest Virginia; as a young married man, he built a house because his family needed a place to live in Springfield. Virginia; as a middle-aged man he moved to banjos, dulcimers. violins, violas and cellos. Join us as we explore the imagination and creativity of an award-winning nonagenarian artisan.
What's on your mind?
This week Will and I review the work of Julian Jaynes and his exploration of how the human mind may have developed and evolved over the last several thousand years. Is mental illness an illness at all or merely an expression of brain function that would have been common in the past? What are some of the different ways our minds may operate to successfully navigate human interactions? What is bicameralism and how does it work? How about the role of consciousness?
This week on the podcast, I am joined by my two siblings, Faith and Glenn Jarvis. We talk about some of the problems we see in modern science, our experience with elite overproduction, and how we experience competition. Faith is a biochemist, and Glenn is a Mechanical Engineering major at North Carolina State University.
Here we are, in the dog days of a COVID summer, we thought we would bring you all a show about something a bit more positive-Christmas trees! We have a good friend of mine, Avery Barr, on the show to talk about how Christmas trees go from seed to your living room. We also what CRISPR means for Christmas trees, how to successfully coach high school students, and just what an "air raid" offense is. Avery is a thrid generation Christmas tree farmer, high school football coach, and avid skier. Enjoy!
This week’s episode takes us from the Opium Wars in the mid 1800’s to the American tech companies of today and from the Holodomor, to the current Uyghur persecution in China. Join us for a historical perspective of how the modern world must come to grips with attempts to erase entire cultures and peoples.
We are a father and son duo interested in narratives. Stories form the basis of our identity, stories compel action, and narratives are civilization.
In this podcast, we talk about our love of stories, a trip to Oxford, stories about progress, and what we learned about narratives from UNC-Chapel Hill Professor Christopher Armitage, a man who himself was taught by Tolkein and Lewis.