In spite of my recent lull in output over the holidays, my input remained quite active.
It’s a seven hour drive to my little slice of home nestled in the rolling foothills of the Sonoran Desert. Normally Albert and I will hear some tunes and mix in a podcast or two as we travel. Driving out for our holiday visit, however, we only had enough time for one podcast!
In a seven hour discussion, Lex Fridman and Balaji Srinivasan talk about potential solutions to various problems we are currently facing. I am always keen on intelligent people openly discussing solutions, so I was more than ready for the long haul.
Lex Fridman Podcast | #331 - Balaji Srinivasan: How to Fix Government, Twitter, Science, and the FDA
This was a lengthy podcast, yet it flew by. In fact, I was disappointed when it ended and would be down for a second discussion as Lex admitted they barely covered half of the topics they’d intended.
Ultimately, what is discussed is a plan for building new systems of organization. Srinivasan, formerly CTO of Coinbase, is both a philosopher and a scientist who thinks deeply about the world. His book, The Network State: How To Start A New Country, explores various approaches to organizing and governance; it is meant to serve as a rough guide from which many unique systems can take form. The idea is to implement what makes sense; to use the guide as a loose structure to build whatever serves your needs. It is a handyman’s reference guide to building a new country, one (or many) that can transcend geography.
What struck me was how plausible and obtainable a new form of governance could be.
To some extent, this plays into using the tools now available to us thanks to glorious technology and many brilliant minds. This optimistic scenario of course involves the ever mocked and often demonized world labelled merely as “crypto”. As with anything, this technology can be used in many ways, often in contradictory ways. If we cast aside our unease associated with digital investments or social credit systems, we might better be able to focus on the other benefits we can unearth. Privacy, voting, creating more efficient systems to manage things like supply chains as well as dealing with identity, trust, and transparency are all aspects of the crypto world which carry real world utility.
We find ourselves in a position where the fundamental building blocks of a rational and thoughtful society have been eroded. The primary lesson I learned was that fixing the current system isn’t a valid option and neither is destroying it. The solution lies in building an alternative that people slowly begin to join. This is decentralized crypto. This is “if we build it, they will come.”
We can build it and it’s up to us when and how we begin using it. Many are already getting started in lieu of waiting for everything to fail or be highjacked. Because the current system is so fractured and untrustworthy, waiting for it to save us or guide us will never produce a better, more efficient society. The end game is simply creating the ability for conducting business, trading or interacting more efficiently and with fewer cooks in the kitchen, so to speak. It is possible to circumvent myriad corruptible, greedy third parties and still get the job done.
I really enjoyed this discussion and recommend it even if you break it into chunks. Lex always denotes chapters in his podcasts (on YouTube) so it is easy to catch them section by section.
Our trip was filled with a few other podcasts and a couple stood out. Below are podcasts that are shorter, but by no means less inspiring.
The Tulsi Gabbard Show | Tucker Carlson: life, death, power, the CIA & the end of journalism
I am afraid I’ve been guilty of forming an opinion based upon my assumptions. Long ago, I identified as a liberal (I have no idea what that means now, although my beliefs are still based on the same principles) and scoffed at the propaganda flowing on Fox news. Now I scoff at Fox and MSNBC and CNN, pretty much any corporate media. They are impossible to trust. I figure all the hosts are captured; they just spew the party line. It is their job to do so, regardless of how they feel about it. That’s why I felt compelled to hear Tulsi Gabbard, whom I respect, speak with Tucker Carlson. I know that she often appears on Carlson’s show and was curious to discover why.
After shedding my own political label, I have found it increasingly easy to look beyond the labels assigned to others. I am more interested in a person’s philosophy than I am in their label, which is often inaccurate anyhow. The podcast was certainly an eye opener; I can see why Gabbard relates to Carlson.
I found Carlson to be surprisingly coherent and rational. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly, but it wasn’t that. After years of seeing him slammed by more left leaning individuals, I was reminded of how important it is to make my own decisions rather than allowing myself to be manipulated by out of context clips and editorials.
I was reminded that it takes a consistent effort to remain open minded.
Carlson has some theories with thought provoking implications, such as his belief that congress is being manipulated by the intelligence community, which is composed of individuals who were not elected. He wonders where the democracy lies in that arrangement? Whose interests are being represented?
When many of the decisions made by our government seem to make little sense, I always try and uncover potential motives. Perhaps things have gotten so convoluted that we have missed completely that our government no longer has our best interests at heart. In reality, not in the narrative, the propaganda or the spin, but based on the reality of the actions alone, can we identify motives? Does our government begin to make better sense if we look into the motives of the intelligence community?
Carlson also described a possible explanation for some of the insanity we’ve been witnessing around us with a relatable scenario. He notes that as a parent, you have control of your child when he’s five. If at fifteen you catch him smoking pot, you face a choice. Fight your child or accept that you no longer have control over him. This equates to the current power grab on display in every glowing box across the world; we are witnessing a system having a temper tantrum, refusing to relinquish power. This clever little illustration rang especially relevant on the heels of the Srinivasan podcast which was clearly focused on an impending paradigm change.
Lex Fridman Podcast | #348 - Nathalie Cabrol: Search for Alien Life
Nathalie Cabrol studies alien life. Before you get too excited, I should mention that in her case alien life isn’t actually the study of little green men. Cabrol primarily studies bacteria. She approaches her interest in life on Mars and the origins of life itself quite practically. She considers the environment that might exist on Mars, or perhaps one that existed on this planet long, long ago, and then imagines what life would look like there. Because she is living on this planet, she looks for places such as these here on Earth. She essentially finds what she calls time machines on Earth, such as one found in the high peaks of a volcanic mountain lake, and looks for life there.
The exploration of these time machines has taken her on many adventures. Never intending to break records, she did just that in the name of science, in the name of seeking answers to those gnawing questions she had. Cabrol holds the women’s world record for diving at altitude, both scuba and free diving. She is currently the Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute. Had you met her as a teenager, you’d never expect to see the woman she’s become. From the darkest places she has risen to shed light on one of humankind’s most nagging questions: how did life begin?
She’s survived some close calls and experienced profound beauty as she’s searched for answers.
I fell under the spell that Cabrol unknowingly casts. She has led an amazing life and she is brilliant at sharing it. She speaks with the wisdom of experience and the warmth of childlike wonder. Her stories are told so well, both informative and entertaining. Listening to this conversation was enthralling; it gave me such a pleasant feeling and that feeling lingered for days. It would not be inaccurate to say that I found the conversation and Cabrol herself to be both inspiring and up-lifting.
Through all of her challenges and seeking, she still holds the hope that the universe is powered by love. Perhaps our time on Earth is a way to ensure we appreciate love because it is not all that there is in the universe.
These podcasts all share one common thread. They feature guests (and hosts) who have an unending love for and appreciation of this crazy world we all live in. They want to learn everything they can about it and to protect it for future generations. They serve as a reminder that it is immensely important to listen. To listen to people we might not think we’ll agree with, to listen to people who inspire us to do more and to be better.
I listen to a lot of podcasts, but these stood out because they made me feel good. They invigorated me, and most importantly, they all added their flame to the spark of hope I keep safely hidden inside.
I hope you find some time to check one or more of these podcasts out. If you do, please let me know what you thought. What stood out for you? What did you learn? Was anything surprising or enlightening?
Loved this: "We find ourselves in a position where the fundamental building blocks of a rational and thoughtful society have been eroded. The primary lesson I learned was that fixing the current system isn’t a valid option and neither is destroying it. The solution lies in building an alternative that people slowly begin to join." This is where I'm at as well. As many ways as possible I believe we need to become independent: alternative forms of energy, grow our own food, use natural medicines, etc. Based on Americans' purchasing habits the last few years it seems many of us are on the same page.