Podcasts about humans

Metal is amazing. It can be super strong like a steel beam. Or super flexible, like a copper wire. Humans have been obsessed with metals of all kinds for a very long time. This is part one a three-part look at how humans have used metal throughout history. Molly and co-host Ava are joined by Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura, to look at how Earth got metal in the first place, how humans first found and used this stuff, and when we started making primitive tools with it. Plus, Marc and Sanden have some problems unpacking the new Brains On library. All that and a Mystery Sound! Guest: Dylan Thuras, co-author of The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide to Inventing the World. Want to support the show? Join Smarty Pass to listen to ad-free episodes or donate! Click here or a transcript of this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Sunlight Tax Podcast, I'm sharing my excitement about launching my book, Taxes for Humans.  I wrote this book to make taxes simple and empowering, especially for freelancers, creatives, and historically underrepresented communities. We dive into why understanding taxes isn't just about saving money, it's about knowing how our taxes fund essential services, support our communities, and strengthen democracy. I also break down practical tax tips for self-employed individuals and creatives so you can grow your business, maximize benefits, and make a positive impact. Also mentioned in this episode: 01:25 Taxes for Humans 03:54 The Mission Behind Taxes for Humans 06:42 Understanding Taxes as a Societal Agreement 09:52 The Benefits of Taxes for Individuals and Businesses 12:46 Empowering Creatives and Entrepreneurs 15:32 Celebrating Community and Upcoming Events   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and share it! Every review makes a difference by telling Apple or Spotify to show the Sunlight Tax podcast to new audiences.   Links: Link to Order my book, Taxes for Humans: Simplify Your Taxes and Change the World When You're Self-Employed. Link to pre-order my workbook, Taxes for Humans: The Workbook Get your SUPERBRIGHT Bonuses Check my in-person events. You're invited to my book launch party in Asheville.  

Guest: Taha Yasseri, Director of the Joint Centre for Sociology of Humans and Machines at Trinity College Dublin

IBM was instrumental to the entire 20th century of computing — but it's a lot harder for most of us to see what it's been up to during this century. That's because it's fully an enterprise company, and CEO Arvind Krishna says that business is booming. But there's a huge change coming to that business as well, as Watson-style deep learning has given way to LLMs and generative AI. Sure, Arvind says IBM got there a little too early. But he doesn't seem concerned that IBM would be stuck on the sidelines.  Links:  Computer wins on ‘Jeopardy!': Trivial, it's not | New York Times (2011) What Ever Happened to IBM's Watson? | New York Times (2021) America Forgot About IBM Watson. Is ChatGPT Next? | The Atlantic IBM acquires Red Hat | The Verge IBM and Groq Partner to Accelerate Enterprise AI Deployment | IBM IBM's Jerry Chow on the future of quantum computing | Decoder IBM: quantum computing partnership with AMD is bearing fruit | The Verge Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let's be honest: taxes feel like that thing you're supposed to understand but somehow never learned, and now you're too embarrassed to ask. Joe Saul-Sehy, OG, and Neighbor Doug welcome Hannah Cole—artist-turned-tax-pro and author of the brand-new book Taxes for Humans—to finally explain taxes in language that doesn't require a CPA license to understand. Hannah's built her career translating tax code for freelancers, side hustlers, and small business owners who just want to know what they can deduct, what'll get them audited, and how to stop drowning in shoebox receipts. She breaks down the real difference between a legitimate business expense and wishful thinking, how to track startup costs without losing your mind, and why the bookkeeping system that works is the one you'll actually use (spoiler: it doesn't have to be fancy). Whether you're launching a side gig, running a creative business, or just trying to keep the IRS from ruining your holiday season, Hannah's got the roadmap. Then Joe and OG shift gears to tackle the "AI bubble" conversation everyone's having—is this tech hype justified, or are we watching 1999 all over again? They break down how to think about market froth without panicking, why smart investors don't build their strategy around TikTok prophets predicting doom, and how to prepare your portfolio for volatility without making fear-based moves. Plus: Doug delivers trivia about Richard Pryor's Blazing Saddles days, because even tax talk deserves a palate cleanser. What You'll Walk Away With: • Tax basics explained in actual human language (finally)—what counts as a deduction and what's just wishful thinking • How to set up simple, sustainable bookkeeping systems for side gigs or small businesses that you'll actually maintain • The smartest way to track startup expenses without drowning in receipts or spreadsheets • Why the IRS isn't as scary as you think when you've got your basics covered • How to think about AI market hype without getting swept up in either the euphoria or the panic • Smart strategies for preparing your portfolio for volatility without making emotion-driven decisions • Why the right tax and investing systems buy you back time, creativity, and peace of mind This Episode Is For You If: • You've been winging it on taxes and know you're probably missing deductions (or making mistakes) • You run a side hustle but have no idea what you can actually write off • Tax season makes you anxious because you're never sure if you're doing it right • You're hearing AI bubble talk everywhere and wondering if you should be worried about your investments • You want systems that are simple enough to actually follow, not perfect enough to abandon by February Before You Hit Play, Think About This: What's the tax mistake you wish you could warn your younger self about? Drop it in the comments—we're all learning here, and sometimes the best lessons come from what we got wrong the first time. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/tax-basics-for-side-hustlers-ai-market-tips/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We discuss our recent solo queue learnings, the toxic plateau cycle, and whether Grok 5 can beat a team of 5 pros.BOOTCAMP : https://wtl.bootcampJoin an academy for coaching and guides: https://wtl.lol/278Join our free community with courses: https://wtl.lol/skool

Pastor Seth Troutt kicks off the new sermon series, "Jesus Stories," with an insightful exploration of the parables from the Gospel of Luke.In this first installment, Pastor Seth shares his personal story of experiencing unexpected generosity, drawing parallels with the parable of the great banquet, where Jesus illustrates the kingdom of God as a feast open to all.Through this message, viewers are invited to reflect on the profound generosity of God and our role in extending hospitality to others.Join us as we delve into the transformative stories Jesus told and discover how they invite us to live out radical generosity and grace in our daily lives.00:00 - Introduction05:00 - Big Idea: Jesus wants his house full of all kinds of people.10:50 - Hospitality doesn't expect short-term returns.15:54 - Humans are “good excuse”  factories.22:16 - Jesus doesn't ask us to do what he hasn't already done himself.27:34 - You must say “Yes” to the invitation to taste the feast.32:18 - Christmas at Ironwood**HOW TO FIND US*** SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YouTube CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@IronwoodChurchAZFACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/ironwoodchurchaz/ INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/ironwood.church/WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/

My guest this week is Sarah Sheridan - Co‑Founder and Deputy CEO of Clothing The Gaps, the powerful Aboriginal-led social enterprise using fashion to drive social change. Sarah has helped build a business where every t-shirt tells a story, and carries a message. Through her work, she's redefining how brands can be platforms for policy, justice, and community. In this conversation, we explore how Sarah blends activism and entrepreneurship, why inclusion matters so deeply to her, and how she uses design and strategy to amplify First Nations voices. Recorded live amidst the energy and buzz of Convene 2025, please note there's a little background noise, but the conversation is well worth it! This episode is part of our Short Takes on Purpose series (in partnership with Social Traders), where we spotlight bold thinkers reshaping business for good.

(04:00) Brought to you by UnleashUnleash is a private, flexible, and scalable feature flag system that lets teams decouple deployments from releases. It reduces the risk of shipping new features and gives organizations real-time control over what reaches production. And as AI accelerates development, Unleash helps engineering teams move fast and stay stable with safe rollouts and instant kill switches. Start a free trial of Unleash at ⁠getunleash.io/pricing⁠.Why do so many software projects still fail despite modern tools? The answer often lies in the psychology of the team, not the technology stack.Software development is often viewed purely as a technical challenge, yet many projects fail due to human factors and cognitive bottlenecks. In this episode, Adam Tornhill, CTO and Founder of CodeScene, shares his unique journey combining software engineering with psychology to solve these persistent industry problems. He explains the concept of “Your Code as a Crime Scene,” a method for using behavioral analysis to identify high-risk areas in a codebase that static analysis tools often miss.Adam covers the tangible business impact of code health, specifically how it drives predictability and development speed. He explains why 1-2% of our codebase accounts for up to 70% of our development work, and how focusing on these hotspots can make our team 2x faster and 10x more predictable. Adam also provides a critical reality check on the rise of AI in coding, exploring whether it will help reduce technical debt or accelerate it, and offers strategies for maintaining quality in an AI-assisted future.Key topics discussed:Combining psychology and software engineeringWhy predictability matters more than speedTreating your codebase as a crime sceneBehavioral analysis vs. static analysisThe hidden danger of the “Bus Factor”Will AI help or hurt code quality?Why healthy code helps both humans and AIEssential guardrails for AI-generated codeTimestamps:(00:00) Trailer & Intro(01:29) Career Turning Point: From Developer to Psychologist(02:36) Combining Psychology and Software Engineering(04:00) Why Engineering Leaders Need Psychology Knowledge(05:46) The Root Cause of Failing Software Projects(07:43) Why Code Abstractness Makes Quality Hard to Measure(09:29) Aligning Code Quality with Business Outcomes(11:37) Code Health: 2x Speed, 10x Predictability(12:58) Why Predictability is Undervalued in Software(19:53) Introducing “Your Code as a Crime Scene”(21:57) Behavioral Code Analysis: Hotspot Analysis vs Static Code Analysis(24:06) Behavioral Code Analysis: Understanding Change Coupling(26:30) Dealing with God Classes(29:40) Behavioral Code Analysis: The Social Side of Code(31:33) Why Developers Aren't Interchangeable(33:14) Introduction to CodeScene(36:48) Will AI Help or Hurt Code Quality?(39:14) Essential Guardrails for AI-Generated Code(42:06) Using CodeScene to Maintain Quality in the AI Era(43:06) How AI Accelerates Technical Debt at Scale(45:54) Why AI-Friendly Code is Human-Friendly Code(48:32) Documentation: Capturing the “Why” for Humans and AI(50:42) The Reality Check: Future of Software Development with AI(52:41) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom_____Adam Tornhill's BioAdam Tornhill is the founder and CTO of CodeScene and the best-selling author of Your Code as a Crime Scene. Combining degrees in engineering and psychology, Adam helps companies optimize software quality using AI-driven methodologies. He is an international keynote speaker and researcher who enjoys retro computing and martial arts in his spare time.Follow Adam:LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/adam-tornhill-71759b48CodeScene – codescene.com Your Code as a Crime Scene – pragprog.com/titles/atcrime2/your-code-as-a-crime-scene-second-editionLike this episode?Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/241.Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.Buy me a coffee or become a patron.

Welcome to the ninety-fifth episode of Through A Glass Darkly Radio with Sean Patrick Hazlett! For this episode, we will ask whether an advanced civilization existed before humans on Earth as we explore the Silurian hypothesis. Do not miss this amazing episode! Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/5421755367... Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Sean Patrick Hazlett's Books -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weird World War III: https://amzn.to/3rnGUI2 Weird World War IV: https://amzn.to/3rp9bhA Weird World War: China: https://amzn.to/44xMdWa Hellhold and Other Stories: https://amzn.to/42rU49c Necromancer and Other Stories: https://amzn.to/4mQXfON Hell's Well: https://amzn.to/3rAlyqS Alien Abattoir and Other Stories: https://amzn.to/3rKtoi5 Alien Abattoir and Other Stories (Audio): https://amzn.to/3Jbr89g The Post-Apocalyptic Tourist's Guide to the Mojave Desert: https://amzn.to/3ryK8bS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Video Equipment & YouTube Analytics Software -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bose SoundLink Around Ear Wireless Headphones II: https://amzn.to/377r1hk Elgato Green Screen: https://amzn.to/3hJhE9v Blue Yeticaster Professional Broadcast Bundle with Yeti USB Microphone, Radius III Shockmount, and Compass Boom Arm, Blue VO!CE effects, Headphone Output, Plug and Play: https://amzn.to/3hF0rOF Neewer 700W Professional Photography 24x24 inches/60x60 Centimeters Softbox with E27 Socket Light Lighting Kit: https://amzn.to/3hKo748 Sony ZV-1 Digital Camera: https://amzn.to/3Cggs70 Mudder Mic Cover Foam Microphone Windscreen, Condenser Microphone: https://amzn.to/35Ww6Is Aokeo Professional Microphone Pop Filter Mask Shield For Blue Yeti and Any Other Microphone: https://amzn.to/3sMAYsO ULANZI Creative ZV-1 Wide Angle/Macro Additional Lens 52mm Diameter Compatible with Sony ZV-1 Camera: https://amzn.to/3tzlGXB GoPro HERO10 Black: https://amzn.to/3xHApBX UBeesize 10" Selfie Ring Light with 50" Extendable Tripod Stand & Flexible Phone Holder for Live Stream/Makeup/YouTube Video: https://amzn.to/3OxUnpr 2.4GHz Wireless Lavalier Microphone System, Saramonic Blink500 B2 Dual-Channel Mic Two Transmitters for DSLR Camera, Mirrorless, and Smartphone for YouTube Facebook Live Vlogging: https://amzn.to/3Ov9srH TubeBuddy: https://www.tubebuddy.com/ThroughAGla... Guesto: https://app.guestio.com/?ref=4921 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intro: "Mark of the Doomslayer" by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio Copyright © 2025 Through a Glass Darkly Radio with Sean Patrick Hazlett. All rights reserved.

Partly inspired by Pluribus and its philosophical questions, but mostly by the shared experience of living in Malaysia, tonight's episode attempts to understand whether humans are - at our psychological base - more inclined towards an individualistic way of life, or in the compromise required to live collectively. Is there something inherently ‘Western' or ‘Asian' in this way of thinking? Can we change? Eugene Tee joins us to try to unpack it all. Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What changes when you stop looking at someone for what they've done—and start asking who they are?Marc sits down with Diane Kahn, founder of Humans of San Quentin, who has interviewed more than 3,000 incarcerated individuals around the world. Diane shares how a single question—“How are you?”—can break open years of silence, shame, and survival.Together, they explore the unseen stories behind incarceration, why nearly everyone she meets inside was a victim first, how media narratives distort our understanding of “criminals,” and what it truly means to approach another human being with compassion. This episode challenges assumptions, expands empathy, and reveals the healing power of being seen.Timestamps:00:00 — “Who are you?”01:00 — From teacher to prison educator04:00 — The moment her perception of “prison” shattered05:45 — Who we're really locking up07:00 — Why the media is feeding us the wrong story10:00 — The power of asking: “How are you?”15:00 — Building trust inside a hyper-surveilled environment17:00 — Planting seeds of change18:00 — Lives saved through storytelling20:00 — Teaching empathy to the next generation22:00 — The big lesson: We are all kinder than we think28:00 — Holding space for thousands: Diane's mental fitness practices35:00 — The final message: vulnerability and second chances****Get your copy of Personal Socrates: Better Questions, Better Life Connect with Marc >>> Website | LinkedIn | Instagram |*A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas.

Join host Martin Quibell (Marv) and a panel of industry experts as they dive deep into the impact of artificial intelligence on podcasting. From ethical debates to hands-on tools, discover how AI is shaping the future of audio and video content creation.  Guests:  ● Benjamin Field (Deep Fusion Films)  ● William Corbin (Inception Point AI)  ● John McDermott & Mark Francis (Caloroga Shark Media)   Timestamps  00:00 – Introduction  00:42 – Meet the Guests  01:45 – The State of AI in Podcasting  03:45 – Transparency, Ethics & the EU AI Act  06:00 – Nuance: How AI Is Used (Descript, Shorten Word Gaps, Remove Retakes)  08:45 – AI & Niche Content: Economic Realities  12:00 – Human Craft vs. AI Automation  15:00 – Job Evolution: Prompt Authors & QC  18:00 – Quality Control & Remastering  21:00 – Volume, Scale, and Audience  24:00 – AI Co-Hosts & Experiments (Virtually Parkinson, AI Voices)  27:00 – AI in Video & Visuals (HeyGen, Weaver)  30:00 – Responsibility & Transparency  33:00 – The Future of AI in Media  46:59 – Guest Contact Info & Closing   Tools & Platforms Mentioned  ● Descript: Shorten word gaps, remove retakes, AI voice, scriptwriting, editing  ● HeyGen: AI video avatars for podcast visuals  ● Weaver (Deep Fusion Films): AI-driven video editing and archive integration  ● Verbal: AI transcription and translation  ● AI Voices: For narration, co-hosting, and accessibility  ● Other references: Spotify, Amazon, Wikipedia, TikTok, Apple Podcasts, Google  Programmatic Ads  Contact the Guests:  - William Corbin: william@inceptionpoint.ai | LinkedIn - John McDermott: john@caloroga.com | LinkedIn - Benjamin Field: benjamin.field@deepfusionfilms.com | LinkedIn - Mark Francis: mark@caloroga.com | LinkedIn | caloroga.com  - Marv: themarvzone.org   Like, comment, and subscribe for more deep dives into the future of podcasting and media!  #Podcasting #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Descript #HeyGen #PodcastTools #Ethics #MediaInnovation

Humans are natural meaning-makers, always trying to make sense of the world around us. In this sermon, we'll look at God's purpose in creating humanity and the beautiful, fulfilling work He invites us into.From Genesis to the life of Jesus, we'll uncover what our true purpose is and consider how each of us can uniquely live that out as we grow and mature in Christ.

Google say they've finally cracked their AirDrop headache. Seems a lot of their users have been clamoring for a way to share outside of Google and into the Apple walled garden. Their prayers may have been finally answered.PayStack is finally let go of their controversial co-founder and CTO, Ezra Olubi, after a series of old tweets resurfaced alongside recent allegations from an aggrieved ex. This won't be the last we hear of this, as Ezra has shared that his legal team will be looking into the termination.Apple in their annual holiday tradition have dropped a new ad promoting indie creation with filmmakers and puppeteers making a film with the iPhone 17 Pro. This ad is a stark departure away from what other large tech companies are doing with doubling down on AI replacing artists, or even Coca Cola's recent attempt at AI mega slop.Abductions of children in Nigeria seems to have stuck around after all these years. This has plagued the country and it has recently gotten some deserved global attention. We question what happens to the kidnappers after the children are rescued, and if there's enough government effort in bringing this to an end.Donald Trump in the news again this week like he always is, had decided to halt immigration from some third world countries. This came after the shooting of National Guard members, and an Afghan national was named suspect.Google's AI chips seem to be the talk of the town, and Meta and OpenAI want some of that action. How is NVIDIA reacting to this, in a world where they've been the poster boys for more AI, more compute?On theme with Google, their recent announcements of Gemini 3 and Nano Banana Pro have been turning heads, and rightfully so. They just need to figure out how to market their products as well as the competition to stay top of mind.Paystack fires co-founder Ezra Olubi amid sexual misconduct controversy - Techpoint.AfricaAndroid and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10 family - Google BlogThe Making of The Apple Holiday Film - Greg Joswiak's TwitterTwenty-four Nigerian schoolgirls released over a week after abduction - BBCTrump pauses immigration from ‘Third World' countries: What that means - Al JazeeraHow Google Finally Leapfrogged Rivals With New Gemini Rollout - The Wall Street JournalNvidia plays down Google chip threat concerns - BBCConnect with us:@backyardconversations @iGbenga @TemiDavis @dpencilpusher

Humans are the only ones in the whole animal kingdom known to shed emotional tears.

Synopsis: God has provided everything man and woman need to obey his command to be fruitful and multiply. Humans have the spiritual capacity, moral agency, and mutual assistance, by God's design, to obey and prosper in Covenant with Him. Sermon Text: Genesis 2:4-25

Humans like a good challenge – especially when it comes to sports and physical competition. Triathlons, ultra marathons. One of the most grueling events in sports is the cycling road race, the Tour de France. What motives contestants to compete in such undertakings; to push themselves to both the physical and mental brink of what man is capable of? Is it self-perseverance? An intrinsic desire to see exactly what we are able to do when we dedicate ourselves? What if your life depended on it, or better yet, the lives of hundreds of others depended on your competing in and completing a race like the Tour de France? On today's episode, we travel the meandering roads of France, wind our way through mountainous terrain, on a story of personal drive not just to compete, but to defeat evil and save the lives of innocent men, women, and children in the process. A story that has a little bit of everything, brought to you by a podcast that you've come to expect the unexpected from… The Missing Chapter.Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Missing Chapter Podcast website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information, previous episodes, and professional development opportunities!

Brrrrr.  That's cold! Its upon us.  The rain has turned white and remains on the ground. Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland discuss how humans navigate winter on this episode of The Growing Season.  Matt discusses his love of The Weather Network and snow days.   Lynne delivers the bad news about this winter's forecast. Brine, road salt and the methods used to de-ice roads are highlighted.  "Beet-brine" is the last tech on the scene.  You read that correctly. The McFarland Query System returns to insult The McFarlands.  How to properly apply de-icer to your walkways becomes a discussion point. Jack tells a story about breaking his shoulder on a walk around the block. Snow ploughs and heart attacks...  There's a correlation. "Humans have lost the basic survival skills necessary to get them through the winter..." - Jack McFarland. Do you remember the show "Survivor Man?" A spruce tree can provide some warmth in the winter.  The McFarlands explain how. Waterproof matches and where to get them are discussed. If you fall through pond ice, Jack outlines the steps needed to survive. Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

In this solo episode, I'm sharing 10 science-backed, practical ways to foster gratitude and prevent entitlement in kids. As the season of giving approaches, it's the perfect time to reflect on how we can help our children appreciate what they have while staying grounded. I'll cover everything from modeling gratitude in everyday moments to teaching kids the value of chores, delayed gratification, and empathy.I WROTE MY FIRST BOOK! Order your copy of The Five Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans Here: https://bit.ly/3rMLMsLSubscribe to my free newsletter for parenting tips delivered straight to your inbox: https://dralizapressman.substack.com/Follow me on Instagram for more:@raisinggoodhumanspodcast Sponsors:Kendra Scott: Visit kendrascott.com/gifts and use code RGH20 at checkout for 20% off ONE full-priced jewelry itemSuvie: Check out Suvie's Black Friday Sale for extra savings while it lasts. Go to Suvie.com/Humans to get $150 off plus 16 free meals when you order during their saleMonarch: That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code HUMANSSaks: Head to saks.comSkims: Shop SKIMS Fits Everybody collection at SKIMS.comLaundry Sauce: Get Up to 40% Off Your entire order at https://laundrysauce.com/HUMANS Don't miss their Biggest Sale of the Year! #laundrysaucepodTia: -bit.ly/asktia-humansPlease note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.Produced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1:47 - Coaching and Dating advice4:47 - Getting into Podcast5:29 - Shows on dating7:30 - Moving to Corporate World9:36 - Early Influence as a Podcast Host13:12 - Preparation for a show15:00 - Pandemic Episode18:33 - Conspiracy Theory19:29 - Prediction and Future Trends23:11 - Russell Brand Show24:10 - #1 Guest26:53 - Star Struck27:50 - Pope Killing Episode29:56 - North Korea Episode33:14 - Favorite Episode34:12 - Great Piece of advice to new podcasters37:32 - Quick tp for Adam38:51 - Greatest Piece of Advice40:47 - Jordan's North Star 

Chapters: Rafeh Qazi (Co-founder, Poppy.AI) joins us to share what he's learned during is journey from a struggling immigrant to building a $50M AI startup. After a car accident left his mother injured and his family with no money to pay for surgery, Rafeh channeled his frustration into a relentless drive to succeed. In this episode, Rafeh breaks down his rise to fame teaching millions to code, and his pivoted from service-based businesses to building Poppy.AI, the insights he gained from Alex Hormozi, and why he believes software is the ultimate asset for building wealth. Join us to discover the strategies behind scaling an AI business, why "product-founder fit" matters more than market fit, and how to turn massive failures into an 8-figure valuation. Chapters: 0:00 - Intro  02:50 - Motivation and The Car Accident That Changed Rafeh's Life  05:26 - Learning to Code to Survive 07:04 - Dropping Out of College to Teach  13:05 - Launching Courses that Made of $150K 22:49 - The Lawsuit, Losing Everything, and Meeting Alex Hormozi 31:28 - Why He Built Poppy.AI (SaaS vs. Services)  37:07 - Using Poppy.AI to Generate THOUSANDS for Our Clients 48:00 - AI Copywriting vs Humans 53:04 - Scaling with Affiliates and Hitting $500k Per Month 59:43 - Valuation and Raising Capital 1:05:35 - Talent Vs Money (Which Bottleneck is a Harder Problem?)

Podcast guests 1609 are Evan and Steven Strong, Father and son who are founders of our alien ancestry, and forgotten origins and Lea Kapiteli , author, psychic and ET Contactee.Steve and Evan's Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@ForgottenoriginThe Awakening Conferencehttps://events.humanitix.com/awakening-byron2025CONTACT:Email: jeff@jeffmarapodcast.comAmazon Wish Listhttps://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1ATD4VIQTWYAN?ref_=wl_shareTo donate crypto:Bitcoin - bc1qk30j4n8xuusfcchyut5nef4wj3c263j4nw5wydDigibyte - DMsrBPRJqMaVG8CdKWZtSnqRzCU7t92khEShiba - 0x0ffE1bdA5B6E3e6e5DA6490eaafB7a6E97DF7dEeDoge - D8ZgwmXgCBs9MX9DAxshzNDXPzkUmxEfAVEth. - 0x0ffE1bdA5B6E3e6e5DA6490eaafB7a6E97DF7dEeXRP - rM6dp31r9HuCBDtjR4xB79U5KgnavCuwenWEBSITEwww.jeffmarapodcast.comNewsletterhttps://jeffmara2002.substack.com/?r=19wpqa&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklistSOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffmarapodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffmarapodcast/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jeffmaraP/The opinions of the guests may or may not reflect the opinions of the host.

Welcome to Episode #169 of Everything Under the Sun! This week the naturally talented Leon Perrie gives all the information about how seeds are made!

Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and to the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. I think we’ve got a lot of new listeners now and new subscribers. And since you haven’t been with us from the beginning, I’d like to review the Gnostic cosmology. A basic premise of Gnosticism is that we are all born with gnosis inherent within us. We already have the answers. We already are our perfect Selves. But because of the nature of the never-ending war that we find ourselves in here in this material cosmos, we forget our inherent nature. And we begin to engage in the war through what the Tripartite Tractate of the Nag Hammadi calls the law of mutual combat. That being, since we are attacked, we attack back. And then we engage in that back and forth enough that we completely forget our mission and our goal and who we are. So today, I want to run through what I call the illustrated Gnostic cosmology. And I’m putting the illustration into the transcript so that if you are listening to this as an audio podcast, you really would do well to go to GnosticInsights.com or to my Substack location, the Gnostic Reformation, under the name of Cyd Ropp, so that you can see the illustration that we’re talking about. Now, when you first look at this Gnostic cosmology, it’s very strange looking, and it’s probably incomprehensible. But by the time I talk you through this, you’ll be able to follow the steps. There are 15 steps in this Gnostic cosmology. And once you recognize these stations, then you will literally understand Gnosis. You will remember your Gnosis, and you’ll understand what all of the various versions of Gnosticism have been trying to say. One reason is that this is a pictorial presentation. It’s not just words, because I’ve noticed when reading the various books of the Nag Hammadi, for example, some of which are Valentinian Gnosticism, some of which are Sethian Gnosticism, some are straight-out Greek philosophy by Plato. They use different words, but the concepts are the same. So what I always attempt to do is to level up to a meta-level, above the words, and envision and then picture it so that you can describe it with the words you prefer. So let’s get started. The background image of this entire Gnostic cosmology key I picture as pure inky blackness, like the sky with no stars or moons. That is the ground state of consciousness. And that is the Father’s mind. Now the Father is another one of these words where many people would like to disagree with saying Father. They want to say Source, or, for example, as it is called in the Secret Book of John, the One, the Parent, the Invisible Spirit. However, in the Tripartite Tractate of the Nag Hammadi, which is the book that I mainly use as a reference, that initial, illimitable consciousness is called the Father. Now, that’s the ground state. That’s the first principle. Consciousness is not a byproduct of the little gray cells. Consciousness predates everything. Consciousness is part of the existence of God, and it is the very first thing before anything that follows. Step number two is the emergence of the Son. It is the emergence of consciousness from the illimitable, infinite consciousness of the Father into a singularity, into a monad, as it’s called. It’s like the bucket dipped into the sea. It contains all of the characteristics and quality of the Father, but it’s contained as an individual. The Son doesn’t separate from the Father. It stays plugged into the Father. The Tripartite Tractate says that as soon as the Son was formed, what are called the Totalities of the All were formed. That’s step number three. And the Totalities of the All are all of the variabilities that make up the Son. So, the Totalities and the Son are coexistent, but it is all of the characteristics broken out and enumerated that form what are called the Totalities of the All. The Totalities of the All do not recognize themselves as individuals. They are only spokes on the wheel. They have no personal identity. They know that they are part of the Son, and they glorify the Son, and they glorify the Father. So, they are glorifying upstream, as we like to say. And it is through this giving of glory that each of the Totalities comes to self-awareness. Now, instead of one singular unit that is coexistent entirely with the Son, they blossom into self-identities, and they arrange themselves in a hierarchy. So, step four is the Totalities of the All migrating from a burst of sunshine that’s sitting within the Son into a pyramidal shape, because the pyramid is the essential shape of a hierarchy. There’s more at the bottom than there is at the top. Everything keeps leveling up, following a basic Gnostic rule of the higher the fewer, until you eventually arrive at a capstone at the very top, just like our physical pyramids look. And this entity, at number five, is called the hierarchy of the Aeons of the Fullness. And in Gnosticism, we usually identify the word aeon with consciousness, with an individual. It’s an entity. It’s not a unit of time. It’s a unit of consciousness. And so the Aeons of the hierarchy of the Fullness of God are infinite in number. There aren’t only eight or 64 or 365. Those may be ones that are named in other books of Gnosticism, but conceptually, you see, they’d have to be innumerable, because they are part of the illimitable consciousness of the Father, via the Son. And the job of the hierarchies of the Fullness, well, they’ve each got a position, a place, a duty, and a name. And basically what they do is sing songs of glory upstream to the Father and the Son, just like the Totalities did. And in this combination of the Aeons in the Fullness of God, they dream. They dream of Paradise. They dream of the intelligent design of this cosmos that we live in. And so all of us down here, we’re prefigured in the minds of the Fullness of God. And that Fullness of God is generally what we humans imagine as Heaven or Paradise. Humans in cultures all over the world have a dream of Paradise. And the reason why we all have this exact same dream of Paradise is because that’s where we come from. We are the fruit of the Aeons of the Fullness, and we instantiate their dream of Paradise. Now, according to the Tripartite Tractate, the object that in my drawings looks like a starburst re-sorted themselves into this hierarchy of the Fullness of God. The last Aeon that was produced through a combination of all of the Aeons of the Fullness of God, giving glory to the Father and the Son. In the Tripartite Tractate, that Aeon, that final Aeon, the capstone to the pyramid, sitting right up there on top, is called Logos. And Logos means reasoning. It means logic. The next step in the story is when that final Aeon that’s sitting on top of the Fullness of God wants to re-insert itself into the Father—the original source of consciousness—wants to plug into the Father the way that the Son remains plugged into the Father. It tries to take that position, and it can’t do it. And it is repelled by the Father, and that is the Fall. The Father repelled that Aeon from being able to plug into itself. I wouldn’t say that Logos was trying to become God. That’s kind of an insulting way to put it. I would say that that final Aeon was simply trying to reunite with the Father. But it couldn’t. It was repelled because no one can come to the illimitable. It’s too powerful. The Tripartite Tractate says they would be annihilated because the Father’s power is too great. It would just burn it up. And so instead of plugging into the Father, Logos fell. And that, according to Gnosticism, is the Fall. And it was the Fall that created our material cosmos. Now, you could say that that was Sophia that fell and her child Yaldabaoth. I prefer to keep it simple and just to say that it’s Logos that fell. Logos was a very special Aeon that contained within its one unity, fractal representations of all of the other Aeons of the Fullness. So Logos was perfect and complete, representing the Son of God. However, he was a fractal level down. Logos crowned the top of the Fullness with fractals of all the other Aeons. He didn’t have the power, didn’t have the greatness of the original Son in step two. But he had the pattern. He had the blueprint. He thought he was complete and could build Paradise, the Paradise that all of the Aeons dreamed up together in step five. He thought he could do that because he contained the Fullness of God in a smaller fractal form. But he was mistaken and he crashed out of the ethereal plane, boom, broke apart, and his pleroma lost its hierarchical arrangement. It became random and chaotic. That is step eight. I generally depict that random chaos as quantum foam. It’s just boiling in and out of existence. Nothing can stick. Nothing can stay. Nothing can level up. It’s chaotic. Logos tried his best to bring it all back in order, tried to put his pleroma back together into a proper hierarchy, but it would not cooperate. And he was aghast, it says. He was very upset, very disturbed by the disturbance that had come out of him. He meant to bring perfection and instead he brought chaos. And he was now separated from the Fullness of God. Well, the Fullnesses prayed to help Logos return, and the best part of Logos, it says in the Tripartite Tractate, step 10, the best part of Logos returned to the Fullness of God, but it abandoned the chaos below. So what is that chaos? I’ve identified that chaotic disturbance that came out of Logos as not only quantum foam, but the Fallen ego of Logos. You see, all of the Aeons have an ego. They’ve got their perfect One Self that is a fractal copy of the Son, but they’ve also got positions, places, names, duties, which is to say they have an ego. And an ego is just their designation. It’s just their address and their name, rank, and serial number. That’s their ego. It’s not self-centered. It’s just a name. But when Logos falls and abandons his ego down below, then it is an ego that came into being that is separated from the One Self of the Son. It’s outside of the direct flow of consciousness and life and love of the Father and the Son and the God. So it is the beginning of ego running amok. Ego came to its own realization, woke up, so to speak, found itself in this weird, dark, chaotic space, and he thought he was God because he didn’t remember where he came from. He didn’t realize he was the fallen ego of Logos. He had all of the blueprints for Paradise because they were in the mind of Logos when he fell. And he also had the ambitious overreaching that Logos was doing when he fell. Step 11 in the diagram shows the chaos and this disordered pleroma of the ego of Logos down here, no longer looking like a pyramid but just random bubbles. But there’s a border around it now because the Father put up a border around the fallen bits in order to contain them, in order to protect the Fullness of God from the disaster that was occurring, we would say, down below. Logos, now reunited with the Fullness, prays for his fallen ego, prays for this mess that he left behind. Demiurge came to awareness down there at step 11. So the ego of Logos, abandoned down below, becomes what Gnostics call the Demiurge. And the Demiurge, thinking it was God, having all the blueprints for Paradise, thought it could build Paradise now down here inside of this border. And this border, by the way, could be likened to the expanding bubble around our universe. The Big Bang would have been the splat in step 8 when Logos crashed apart and began emitting these particles. So Fullness and Logos prayed for help to come to what is called now the Deficiency. Our cosmos is known as the Deficiency or the imitation because it’s a knock-off of Paradise. And what they want is to rescue the Demiurge. They’re not trying to condemn the Demiurge to hell. They’re trying to rescue the Demiurge and bring him back up to the Fullness to reunite with Logos and plug back in with them because that’s where it belongs. So in step 12, we have the fruit of the Aeons of the Fullness being sent down into this material cosmos. The Demiurge has been working on the material cosmos in step 11. He can’t get it to come to life because he doesn’t contain the consciousness and life of the Fullness and the Father. He’s a flat version, like a mirror image or like a projection on a movie screen. He doesn’t have the true depth of consciousness. Archons lack consciousness, they are not self-aware the way the Aeons are. They are tightly restrained and very strictly ordered by very strict laws of physics and chemistry and whatnot by the mind of the Demiurge only. They are projections of the Demiurge. They are shadows of the Aeons. They’re like the inversions of the beauty of that Aeonic Golden Pyramid, but they are lacking consciousness, life, and love. So the Aeons send down what are called the Second Order of Powers. The First Order of Powers were the Aeons and the Fullness of God. The Second Order of Powers is all of the life and consciousness and love of the Father flowing down from the Fullness of God down into this fallen cosmos. That is all living creatures. Everything that’s alive from the bacteria and the cells and the organs that make up our bodies and all of the critters and birds and fish, all of the insects and mammals, all living creatures, the grasses and the trees, the moss and the slime molds, everything that’s alive is a fruit of the Fullness of God. Fruits of the Aeons pre-designed in the Fullness of God and sent down here to instantiate life, love, and consciousness into this otherwise dead disaster of a cosmos. And we come down with a mission. We Second Order Powers were supposed to come down here to remind the Demiurge of the Father above; to remind the Demiurge of Logos, his better half; to remind the Demiurge of love and consciousness and that he is not God and he needs to return home. Come home, Demiurge, come home. We are supposed to be calling to the Demiurge to return home to the Fullness of God. Well, we got caught in a never-ending war instead with the material world. See, at conception, we are all bonded to the molecular level. So when a creature has the spark of life come into it from the Fullness down here, when it bonds to that material level, that molecule that then begins reproducing, reproducing, reproducing according to the pattern from above that that creature brought into the cosmos with it. We all carry the Fullness of God within every part of our living bodies, every one of our cells, every one of our organs. We are full of the Fullness of God. We have consciousness. It’s self-evident. We love. That is also self-evident. We operate according to the Simple Golden Rule of reaching out to others to help build things that we can’t do on our own. We make families and work together. We make villages and work together. We make small communities and build things that we can all enjoy together. But we forget our job. We forget about bringing love and remembrance to the Demiurge because of the never-ending war of spirit against material, the never-ending war of right and left, the never-ending war between us and the archons, the never-ending war. It’s a constant battle here between life and death. And so the Fullnesses realized that that plan wasn’t working. We forgot to do our jobs. They prayed upstream to the Father, to the Son, to the Totalities, and they prayed for true salvation to come now and rescue the Second Order Powers, just like we were supposed to rescue the Demiurge. Now it takes a superpower, the most superpower, to come into our cosmos, rescue all of the Second Order Powers by reminding us of God’s love and what our true mission is of sharing love. We can’t do it on our own. We already proved that we lost the battle in step 13. So step 14 is sending down the Savior, sending down the most powerful entity of the ethereal plane, that being what is called the Christ. And Christ is the Son of God. Christ is the Fullnesses all praying together. Christ is the Totalities all singing the song together. Christ has the most power of any entity ever, more than enough power to bring remembrance, love, salvation, peace, comfort, joy to all of us down here who have forgotten. That’s the job of the Christ. That’s step 14. And step 15 is once the Christ succeeds in bringing remembrance to everyone, then we can move into what will be called the Third Economy. We’re in the Second Economy now. That’s the economy or the system of the material world. The First Economy was the Fullness of God, where the First Order of Powers live. The Second Economy is this cosmos that we live in, where the Second Order of Powers live. And the Third Economy is after this material cosmos passes away, dissolves like snow, gets all rolled up and wrapped up, and we all return to the Fullness of God. The Third Economy is the dream of Paradise the cosmos will instantiate after this Second Economy dissolves at the end of time. We all return to the new Third Economy ruled by the Third Order of Powers, and that’s the pleroma of Christ. Christ is the Third Order of Powers, and there is an individual Third Order Power for every one of us Second Order Powers. We can’t do it on our own. We cannot love to the extent needed to demonstrate to the Demiurge love. We get caught in wars. We kill each other. We fight with each other. We quarrel. We quibble. We blow each other up and chop off heads. Bad, very bad. The Christ and the Third Order Powers comes to each of us as an individual, comes to you, comes to me, comes to our neighbors, comes to all of the critters and all of the plants, but I don’t think they’re quite as fallen as we are. I think they’re doing a pretty good job of living their lives according to what is required down here in the Second Economy. But true salvation, true redemption from this world comes by accepting the assistance of the Christ. Okay, I think we’ll stop there today. That’s the end of this Gnostic Cosmology. Next week, we’ll talk about the yeah, so what? to all of this. What good will that do me? What good will that do the world? Tune back in next week and we’ll talk about it. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. Make some comments. I look forward to reading them. God bless and onward and upward. 15 steps in Gnostic Cosmology

Humans bring gender biases to their interactions with Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to new research from Trinity College Dublin and Ludwig-Maximilians Universität (LMU) Munich. The study involving 402 participants found that people exploited female-labelled AI and distrusted male-labelled AI to a comparable extent as they do human partners bearing the same gender labels. Notably, in the case of female-labelled AI, the study found that exploitation in the Human-AI setting was even more prevalent than in the case of human partners with the same gender labels. This is the first study to examine the role of machine gender in human-AI collaboration using a systematic, empirical approach. The findings show that gendered expectations from human-human settings extend to human-AI cooperation. This has significant implications for how organisations design, deploy, and regulate interactive AI systems, according to the authors. The study, led by sociologists in Trinity's School of Social Sciences and Philosophy, has just been published in the journal iScience. Key findings: Patterns of exploitation and distrust toward AI agents mirrored those seen with human partners carrying the same gender labels. Participants were more likely to exploit AI agents labelled female and more likely to distrust AI agents labelled male. Assigning gender to AI agents can shape cooperation, trust, and misuse implications for product design, workplace deployment, and governance. Sepideh Bazazi, first author of the study and Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Trinity, explained: "As AI becomes part of everyday life our findings that gendered expectations spill into human-AI cooperation underscore the importance of carefully considering gender representation in AI design, for example, to maximise people's engagement and build trust in their interactions with automated systems. "Designers of interactive AI agents should recognise and mitigate biases in human interactions to prevent reinforcing harmful gender discrimination and to create trustworthy, fair, and socially responsible AI systems." Taha Yasseri, co-author of the study and Director of the Centre for Sociology of Humans and Machines (SOHAM) at Trinity, said: "Our results show that simply assigning a gender label to an AI can change how people treat it. If organisations give AI agents human-like cues, including gender, they should anticipate downstream effects on trust and cooperation." Jurgis Karpus, co-author of the study and Postdoctoral Researcher at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, added: "This study raises an important dilemma. Giving AI agents human-like features can foster cooperation between people and AI, but it also risks transferring and reinforcing unwelcome existing gender biases from people's interactions with fellow humans." The article, 'AI's assigned gender affects human-AI cooperation' by Sepideh Bazazi (TCD); Jurgis Karpus (LMU); Taha Yasseri (TCD, TU Dublin) can be read on the journal iScience website. More about the study: In this experimental study, participants played repeated rounds of the social science experiment Prisoner's Dilemma - a classic experiment in behavioural game theory and economics to study human cooperation and defection. Partners were labelled human or AI. Each partner was further labelled male, female, non-binary, or gender-neutral. The team analysed motives for cooperation and defection, distinguishing exploitation (taking advantage of a cooperative partner) from distrust (defecting pre-emptively). Findings show that gender labelling can reproduce gendered patterns of cooperation with AI. The participants were recruited in the UK, and the experiment was conducted online. The sample size was 402 participants. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscrib...

Happy Fun Fact Friday! Enjoy your dose of knowledge for the weekend!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Thanksgiving! At the ABA, we're thankful for birders - their passion, their deep knowledge base, and the willingness of some to come on the American Birding Podcast to discuss recent bird science and news. This month we welcome Stephanie Beilke, Tim Healy, and Ryan Mandelbaum to talk corvid mimicry, gator loving grebes, and the best birds to assign to all those other holidays.  Links to articles discussed in this episode: Humans outperform Merlin Sound ID in field-based point-count surveys Vocal mimicry in Corvids Coordinated movements of multiple pied-billed grebes in association with an American alligator  Wintering closer to breeding grounds comes at a cost in an Arctic-specialized songbird, Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it!

So many creators think they're 'out of ideas,' but the truth is: when you know who you're speaking to, you will never run out of words. In this episode, we're giving a sneak peek of Chapter 3 of Shine Bright: connecting to your humans—the people you're here to serve, help, uplift, and resonate with on a deep level.I'll share how to stop overthinking your content, how to speak directly to the heart of the person you help, and how to create posts, videos, and stories that make your audience feel truly seen. If you've ever wanted your content to feel more authentic, more aligned, or more emotionally connected… this is going to shift everything. Once you learn how to connect to your humans, you'll never be at a loss for what to say again.

Thanksgiving can easily become about food, schedules, and chaos—but at its core, this holiday is about presence and gratitude. In today's short but powerful episode, we slow down together, take a breath, and reconnect to what this day truly means.You'll be guided through a grounding reflection to help you honor your body, your relationships, and the small joys that might otherwise go unnoticed.Happy Thanksgiving—I'm grateful you're here. Support the show

In this conversation, Will Smith discusses his experiences in therapy, focusing on the lessons learned about human imperfection and the impact of parental decisions on personal growth. He emphasizes the importance of understanding that parents are human and make choices based on their circumstances.

Food is just one of those things that brings people (and animals) together. There's something special about sharing a meal with loved ones. We hope that no matter what you might be celebrating this year, that there's a good meal to go along with it! Bon appétit!Podcast Link: https://sho-dependent.captivate.fm/listenSocials!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shodependentpod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shodependentpod

"As jobs disappear, so will identity," says AI futurist Akram Awad, outlining the three types of people that will emerge as AI continues to replace the workforce. He introduces the blueprint for a society built not on wealth and job titles but on societal contributions, offering a framework to reimagine who you are — and a way for society to avoid a collective identity crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia is joined by artist and candlelight devotee Roxy Jamin for an illuminating episode examining The Big Light. Together, the girlies explore how modern LED lighting and the death of neon have slowly divorced us from nature, mystery, and the romance of the hearth, while keeping us trapped in a world of endless noon. Digressions include the shame of using an Instagram Reel as a flashlight, the false promise of a pink drill, and the occasional need to admire the Amish. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and edited by Livi Burdette. To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today. You can pre-order Roxy's manifesto AND purchase her stickers here: https://spiralingpress.com/ Roxy's Website: https://rjamin.net/ SOURCES A Brief History of Lighting ATTENTION AND DISTRACTION IN THE LIGHTING OF WORK-PLACES Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind Fading glory: the fight to save Hong Kong's beloved neon signs Home lighting: In defense of "The Big Light." Humans perceive flicker artifacts at 500 Hz Last Call for Neon in New York City Life before artificial light | Life and style | The Guardian Lighting - IEA Psychological processes influencing lighting quality  Psychology of Light: How Light Influences the Health and Psyche The Difference Between Halogen and LED Lights in Surgical Rooms The History of Fluorescent Lights The Social History of Lighting Thousands of drivers sign petition calling for ban on 'blinding' vehicle headlights. The potential influence of LED lighting on mental illness Where Did All the Hong Kong Neon Go? - The New York Times

Men are better at women's sports and humans can't lay eggs. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al & C-Lo: That pervert Justin Tucker, fat little girlfriends, the Super Bowl shuffle, the world's strongest woman is a man, can humans lay eggs and Cool Games. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The holidays are here, the season of joy, family gatherings, food comas, and pretending everything isn't silently driving you insane. It's also the time when people keep offering you alcohol even after you've said your not drinking. In this episode of That Sober Guy Podcast, we dive into one of the biggest challenges for men in recovery: staying sober, calm, and grounded during holiday stress and social pressure. If you're navigating family triggers, office parties, travel chaos, loneliness, or just trying not to slap Uncle Larry with a cold turkey leg, this episode is for you. Inside this episode, we break down: How to stay sober during the holidays How to handle family stress, triggers, and awkward drinking pressure How to create boundaries without feeling guilty How to keep your mindset strong and your sobriety solid How to survive holiday gatherings alcohol-free, and still have a good time Simple tools to stay calm, centered, and connected Shane shares real stories, practical tips, and a humorous take on navigating holiday chaos while staying sober. You'll walk away with a plan, confidence, and a few laughs along the way. Check out Shanes New Book, Sober Guy How Do I - https://a.co/d/81ZIgtE Join “The Victory Circle”, our FREE Sober Guy Mens Community at https://www.thatsoberguy.com/offers/SvjjuEQ2/checkout AMPLIFY Sober Voices Event - https://amplify.soberliferocks.com/ Tired of Drinking? Try Our 30 Day Quit Drinking Dude Challenge! - https://www.thatsoberguy.com/quit-drinking-alcohol-for-30-days Work with Shane 1 on 1 Coaching - https://www.thatsoberguy.com/coaching Invite Shane to Speak - https://www.thatsoberguy.com/speaking For More Resources go to http://www.ThatSoberGuy.com Follow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-ramer-7534bb257/ Follow us on Instagram @ThatSoberGuyPodcast Follow us on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/thatsoberguypodcast  Follow us on X @ThatSoberGuyPod Music - Going Late courtesy of Humans & Haven Sounds Inc. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This Week’s Big Questions! You’ve been sending in your brilliantly curious questions, and this week…

How is God going to work out his plans if humans are so disloyal to Him even though they have the Holy Spirit?  I saw this question recently: It doesn't seem as if God's plans are working out too well. Humans are loyal to him; only Jesus has been. The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be making much of a difference. So how is God going to have loyal human partners and work out his plans?  But this question misunderstands the entire storyline of the Bible. It fails to understand that "In hope we are saved" (Romans 8:24).     Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener's Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, X, via email.

Stupid News 11-26-2025 8am …Just when you thought humans could not sink and lower, here comes these two scumbags …Dine and Dash enough in NYC you will end up in Rikers …So, how did he get that mug all the up there?

Recorded 8/13/25Vincent co-founder Slava Rubin and Sacra's Jan-Erik Asplund discuss the design startup Figma's recent IPO, its competitive landscape, financial metrics, and the impact of AI on the design software market. They explore Figma's core products, growth potential, and the risks associated with its valuation. The conversation also touches on the broader implications of AI in the design space and the future projections for Figma as a public company.

This week, we're diving into a topic every self-employed creative needs to understand—but that most of us avoid: taxes. And trust me, this conversation is anything but dry.I'm joined by Hannah Cole, tax expert, longtime working artist, founder of Sunlight Tax, and author of the brand-new book Taxes for Humans: Simplify Your Taxes and Change the World When You're Self-Employed. Hannah has helped tens of thousands of creatives build confidence around money through her clear, compassionate, jargon-free approach. She believes that financial clarity is a foundation for better, more meaningful creative work.Whether you're early in your business or leveling up, this conversation will leave you feeling empowered, informed, and equipped to make smarter financial decisions—so you can focus on your best creative work.Grab Hannah's book Taxes for Humans, and get ready to rethink what's possible with your money and your creativity.Show notes:Writers Tax Deduction GuideLearn more about Hannah:The Sunlight Tax PodcastWebsiteLinkedInInstagramTikTokYoutubeBook recommendation:Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson MandelaFollow me on:Instagram @stacyennisFacebook @stacyenniscreativeLinkedInYouTube @stacyennisauthorTo submit a question, email hello@stacyennis.com or visit stacyennis.com/contact and fill out the form on the page.

Rewatching Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1, Episode 7 — “The Andorian Incident.” Directed by Roxann Dawson, this tense bottle episode introduces Shran (the great Jeffrey Combs) and repositions the Andorians as more than blue-skinned bruisers. We dig into the Vulcan monastery of P'Jem, the hidden sensor array twist, T'Pol's loyalty test, Archer getting absolutely walloped, and why this hour is often cited as the moment Enterprise “found its voice.”We also riff on transporter anxiety, Andorian antennae, “pink-skins,” and how this early Human-Vulcan-Andorian friction foreshadows the United Federation of Planets.

Why Were Humans Created In The Image of God? w/ Jordan Peterson Once a year, every year, we give you our best deal of the year. And it's happening right now. DailyWire+ memberships are 50% off. https://getdwplus.com/blackfridayBENYT - - - Click here to join the member-exclusive portion of my show: https://bit.ly/3WDjgHE - - - Facts Don't Care About Your Feelings - - - Today's Sponsors: Birch Gold - Text BEN to 989898 for your free information kit. Grand Canyon University - Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University. Visit https://gcu.edu/myoffer to see the scholarships you may qualify for! Policygenius - Head to https://policygenius.com/SHAPIRO to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save. Lean (Brickhouse Nutrition) - Visit https://brickhousesale.com to save 30% on Black Friday deals. Daily Wire Shop - Go to https://dailywire.com/shop today. - - - DailyWire+: Once a year, every year, we give you our best deal of the year. And it's happening right now. DailyWire+ memberships are 50% off. https://dailywire.com/blackfriday Finally, Friendly Fire is here! No moderator, no safe words. Now available at https://www.dailywire.com/show/friendly-fire Get your Ben Shapiro merch here: https://bit.ly/3TAu2cw - - - Socials: Follow on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3cXUn53  Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3QtuibJ  Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3TTirqd  Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3RPyBiB - - - Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI Assisted Coding: Swimming in AI - Managing Tech Debt in the Age of AI-Assisted Coding In this special episode, Lou Franco, veteran software engineer and author of "Swimming in Tech Debt," shares his practical approach to AI-assisted coding that produces the same amount of tech debt as traditional development—by reading every line of code. He explains the critical difference between vibecoding and AI-assisted coding, why commit-by-commit thinking matters, and how to reinvest productivity gains into code quality. Vibecoding vs. AI-Assisted Coding: Reading Code Matters "I read all the code that it outputs, so I need smaller steps of changes."   Lou draws a clear distinction between vibecoding and his approach to AI-assisted coding. Vibecoding, in his definition, means not reading the code at all—just prompting, checking outputs, and prompting again. His method is fundamentally different: he reads every line of generated code before committing it. This isn't just about catching bugs; it's about maintaining architectural control and accountability. As Lou emphasizes, "A computer can't be held accountable, so a computer can never make decisions. A human always has to make decisions." This philosophy shapes his entire workflow—AI generates code quickly, but humans make the final call on what enters the repository. The distinction matters because it determines whether you're managing tech debt proactively or discovering it later when changes become difficult. The Moment of Shift: Staying in the Zone "It kept me in the zone. It saved so much time! Never having to look up what a function's arguments were... it just saved so much time."   Lou's AI coding journey began in late 2022 with GitHub Copilot's free trial. He bought a subscription immediately after the trial ended because of one transformative benefit: staying in the flow state. The autocomplete functionality eliminated constant context switching to documentation, Stack Overflow searches, and function signature lookups. This wasn't about replacing thinking—it was about removing friction from implementation. Lou could maintain focus on the problem he was solving rather than getting derailed by syntax details. This experience shaped his understanding that AI's value lies in removing obstacles to productivity, not in replacing the developer's judgment about architecture and design. Thinking in Commits: The Right Size for AI Work "I think of prompts commit-by-commit. That's the size of the work I'm trying to do in a prompt."   Lou's workflow centers on a simple principle: size your prompts to match what should be a single commit. This constraint provides multiple benefits. First, it keeps changes small enough to review thoroughly—if a commit is too big to review properly, the prompt was too ambitious. Second, it creates a clear commit history that tells a story about how the code evolved. Third, it enables easy rollback if something goes wrong. This commit-sized thinking mirrors good development practices that existed long before AI—small, focused changes that each accomplish one clear purpose. Lou uses inline prompting in Cursor (Command-K) for these localized changes because it keeps context tight: "Right here, don't go look at the rest of my files... Everything you need is right here. The context is right here... And it's fast." The Tech Debt Question: Same Code, Same Debt "Based on the way I've defined how I did it, it's exactly the same amount of tech debt that I would have done on my own... I'm faster and can make more code, but I invest some of that savings back into cleaning things up."   As the author of "Swimming in Tech Debt," Lou brings unique perspective to whether AI coding creates more technical debt. His answer: not if you're reading and reviewing everything. When you maintain the same quality standards—code review, architectural oversight, refactoring—you generate the same amount of debt as manual coding. The difference is speed. Lou gets productivity gains from AI, and he consciously reinvests a portion of those gains back into code quality through refactoring. This creates a virtuous cycle: faster development enables more time for cleanup, which maintains a codebase that's easier for both humans and AI to work with. The key insight is that tech debt isn't caused by AI—it's caused by skipping quality practices regardless of how code is generated. When Vibecoding Creates Debt: AI Resistance as a Symptom "When you start asking the AI to do things, and it can't do them, or it undoes other things while it's doing them... you're experiencing the tech debt a different way. You're trying to make changes that are on your roadmap, and you're getting resistance from making those changes."   Lou identifies a fascinating pattern: tech debt from vibecoding (without code review) manifests as "AI resistance"—difficulty getting AI to make the changes you want. Instead of compile errors or brittle tests signaling problems, you experience AI struggling to understand your codebase, undoing changes while making new ones, or producing code with repetition and tight coupling. These are classic tech debt symptoms, just detected differently. The debt accumulates through architecture violations, lack of separation of concerns, and code that's hard to modify. Lou's point is profound: whether you notice debt through test failures or through AI confusion, the underlying problem is the same—code that's difficult to change. The solution remains consistent: maintain quality practices including code review, even when AI makes generation fast. Can AI Fix Tech Debt? Yes, With Guidance "You should have some acceptance criteria on the code... guide the LLM as to the level of code quality you want."   Lou is optimistic but realistic about AI's ability to address existing tech debt. AI can definitely help with refactoring and adding tests—but only with human guidance on quality standards. You must specify what "good code" looks like: acceptance criteria, architectural patterns, quality thresholds. Sometimes copy/paste is faster than having AI regenerate code. Very convoluted codebases challenge both humans and AI, so some remediation should happen before bringing AI into the picture. The key is recognizing that AI amplifies your approach—if you have strong quality standards and communicate them clearly, AI accelerates improvement. If you lack quality standards, AI will generate code just as problematic as what already exists. Reinvesting Productivity Gains in Quality "I'm getting so much productivity out of it, that investing a little bit of that productivity back into refactoring is extremely good for another kind of productivity."   Lou describes a critical strategy: don't consume all productivity gains as increased feature velocity. Reinvest some acceleration back into code quality through refactoring. This mirrors the refactor step in test-driven development—after getting code working, clean it up before moving on. AI makes this more attractive because the productivity gains are substantial. If AI makes you 30% faster at implementation, using 10% of that gain on refactoring still leaves you 20% ahead while maintaining quality. Lou explicitly budgets this reinvestment, treating quality maintenance as a first-class activity rather than something that happens "when there's time." This discipline prevents the debt accumulation that makes future work progressively harder. The 100x Code Concern: Accountability Remains Human "Directionally, I think you're probably right... this thing is moving fast, we don't know. But I'm gonna always want to read it and approve it."   When discussing concerns about AI generating 100x more code (and potentially 100x more tech debt), Lou acknowledges the risk while maintaining his position: he'll always read and approve code before it enters the repository. This isn't about slowing down unnecessarily—it's about maintaining accountability. Humans must make the decisions because only humans can be held accountable for those decisions. Lou sees potential for AI to improve by training on repository evolution rather than just end-state code, learning from commit history how codebases develop. But regardless of AI improvements, the human review step remains essential. The goal isn't to eliminate human involvement; it's to shift human focus from typing to thinking, reviewing, and making architectural decisions. Practical Workflow: Inline Prompting and Small Changes "Right here, don't go look at the rest of my files... Everything you need is right here. The context is right here... And it's fast."   Lou's preferred tool is Cursor with inline prompting (Command-K), which allows him to work on specific code sections with tight context. This approach is fast because it limits what AI considers, reducing both latency and irrelevant changes. The workflow resembles pair programming: Lou knows what he wants, points AI at the specific location, AI generates the implementation, and Lou reviews before accepting. He also uses Claude Code for full codebase awareness when needed, but the inline approach dominates his daily work. The key principle is matching tool choice to context needs—use inline prompting for localized changes, full codebase tools when you need broader understanding. This thoughtful tool selection keeps development efficient while maintaining control. Resources and Community Lou recommends Steve Yegge's upcoming book on vibecoding. His website, LouFranco.com, provides additional resources.    About Lou Franco   Lou Franco is a veteran software engineer and author of Swimming in Tech Debt. With decades of experience at startups, as well as Trello, and Atlassian, he's seen both sides of debt—as coder and leader. Today, he advises teams on engineering practices, helping them turn messy codebases into momentum.   You can link with Lou Franco on LinkedIn and visit his website at LouFranco.com.

In this episode, we take a clear-eyed look at how parents can protect their kids in a fast-moving digital world. After a recent conversation about AI left many listeners worried, I wanted to offer practical guidance—not panic. I'm joined by Hari Ravichandran, founder of a leading digital safety platform Aura, to talk about what kids are actually doing on their devices, how AI chatbots are being used, and why so much of it happens out of parents' view. We break down simple, transparent ways to keep young people safe online without spying, how to set expectations when introducing a device, and what to watch for as kids navigate phones, apps, and AI. This is a grounded, actionable conversation for any parent trying to stay ahead of a rapidly changing digital landscape.Visit Aura.com/Humans to receive a 2-week free trial and 60%. off your first yearSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How can you write science-based fiction without info-dumping your research? How can you use AI tools in a creative way, while still focusing on a human-first approach? Why is adapting to the fast pace of change so difficult and how can we make the most of this time? Jamie Metzl talks about Superconvergence and more. In the intro, How to avoid author scams [Written Word Media]; Spotify vs Audible audiobook strategy [The New Publishing Standard]; Thoughts on Author Nation and why constraints are important in your author life [Self-Publishing with ALLi]; Alchemical History And Beautiful Architecture: Prague with Lisa M Lilly on my Books and Travel Podcast. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jamie Metzl is a technology futurist, professional speaker, entrepreneur, and the author of sci-fi thrillers and futurist nonfiction books, including the revised and updated edition of Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How personal history shaped Jamie's fiction writing Writing science-based fiction without info-dumping The super convergence of three revolutions (genetics, biotech, AI) and why we need to understand them holistically Using fiction to explore the human side of genetic engineering, life extension, and robotics Collaborating with GPT-5 as a named co-author How to be a first-rate human rather than a second-rate machine You can find Jamie at JamieMetzl.com. Transcript of interview with Jamie Metzl Jo: Jamie Metzl is a technology futurist, professional speaker, entrepreneur, and the author of sci-fi thrillers and futurist nonfiction books, including the revised and updated edition of Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World. So welcome, Jamie. Jamie: Thank you so much, Jo. Very happy to be here with you. Jo: There is so much we could talk about, but let's start with you telling us a bit more about you and how you got into writing. From History PhD to First Novel Jamie: Well, I think like a lot of writers, I didn't know I was a writer. I was just a kid who loved writing. Actually, just last week I was going through a bunch of boxes from my parents' house and I found my autobiography, which I wrote when I was nine years old. So I've been writing my whole life and loving it. It was always something that was very important to me. When I finished my DPhil, my PhD at Oxford, and my dissertation came out, it just got scooped up by Macmillan in like two minutes. And I thought, “God, that was easy.” That got me started thinking about writing books. I wanted to write a novel based on the same historical period – my PhD was in Southeast Asian history – and I wanted to write a historical novel set in the same period as my dissertation, because I felt like the dissertation had missed the human element of the story I was telling, which was related to the Cambodian genocide and its aftermath. So I wrote what became my first novel, and I thought, “Wow, now I'm a writer.” I thought, “All right, I've already published one book. I'm gonna get this other book out into the world.” And then I ran into the brick wall of: it's really hard to be a writer. It's almost easier to write something than to get it published. I had to learn a ton, and it took nine years from when I started writing that first novel, The Depths of the Sea, to when it finally came out. But it was such a positive experience, especially to have something so personal to me as that story. I'd lived in Cambodia for two years, I'd worked on the Thai-Cambodian border, and I'm the child of a Holocaust survivor. So there was a whole lot that was very emotional for me. That set a pattern for the rest of my life as a writer, at least where, in my nonfiction books, I'm thinking about whatever the issues are that are most important to me. Whether it was that historical book, which was my first book, or Hacking Darwin on the future of human genetic engineering, which was my last book, or Superconvergence, which, as you mentioned in the intro, is my current book. But in every one of those stories, the human element is so deep and so profound. You can get at some of that in nonfiction, but I've also loved exploring those issues in deeper ways in my fiction. So in my more recent novels, Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata, I've looked at the human side of the story of genetic engineering and human life extension. And now my agent has just submitted my new novel, Virtuoso, about the intersection of AI, robotics, and classical music. With all of this, who knows what's the real difference between fiction and nonfiction? We're all humans trying to figure things out on many different levels. Shifting from History to Future Tech Jo: I knew that you were a polymath, someone who's interested in so many things, but the music angle with robotics and AI is fascinating. I do just want to ask you, because I was also at Oxford – what college were you at? Jamie: I was in St. Antony's. Jo: I was at Mansfield, so we were in that slightly smaller, less famous college group, if people don't know. Jamie: You know, but we're small but proud. Jo: Exactly. That's fantastic. You mentioned that you were on the historical side of things at the beginning and now you've moved into technology and also science, because this book Superconvergence has a lot of science. So how did you go from history and the past into science and the future? Biology and Seeing the Future Coming Jamie: It's a great question. I'll start at the end and then back up. A few years ago I was speaking at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is one of the big scientific labs here in the United States. I was a guest of the director and I was speaking to their 300 top scientists. I said to them, “I'm here to speak with you about the future of biology at the invitation of your director, and I'm really excited. But if you hear something wrong, please raise your hand and let me know, because I'm entirely self-taught. The last biology course I took was in 11th grade of high school in Kansas City.” Of course I wouldn't say that if I didn't have a lot of confidence in my process. But in many ways I'm self-taught in the sciences. As you know, Jo, and as all of your listeners know, the foundation of everything is curiosity and then a disciplined process for learning. Even our greatest super-specialists in the world now – whatever their background – the world is changing so fast that if anyone says, “Oh, I have a PhD in physics/chemistry/biology from 30 years ago,” the exact topic they learned 30 years ago is less significant than their process for continuous learning. More specifically, in the 1990s I was working on the National Security Council for President Clinton, which is the president's foreign policy staff. My then boss and now close friend, Richard Clarke – who became famous as the guy who had tragically predicted 9/11 – used to say that the key to efficacy in Washington and in life is to try to solve problems that other people can't see. For me, almost 30 years ago, I felt to my bones that this intersection of what we now call AI and the nascent genetics revolution and the nascent biotechnology revolution was going to have profound implications for humanity. So I just started obsessively educating myself. When I was ready, I started writing obscure national security articles. Those got a decent amount of attention, so I was invited to testify before the United States Congress. I was speaking out a lot, saying, “Hey, this is a really important story. A lot of people are missing it. Here are the things we should be thinking about for the future.” I wasn't getting the kind of traction that I wanted. I mentioned before that my first book had been this dry Oxford PhD dissertation, and that had led to my first novel. So I thought, why don't I try the same approach again – writing novels to tell this story about the genetics, biotech, and what later became known popularly as the AI revolution? That led to my two near-term sci-fi novels, Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata. On my book tours for those novels, when I explained the underlying science to people in my way, as someone who taught myself, I could see in their eyes that they were recognizing not just that something big was happening, but that they could understand it and feel like they were part of that story. That's what led me to write Hacking Darwin, as I mentioned. That book really unlocked a lot of things. I had essentially predicted the CRISPR babies that were born in China before it happened – down to the specific gene I thought would be targeted, which in fact was the case. After that book was published, Dr. Tedros, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, invited me to join the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing, which I did. It was a really great experience and got me thinking a lot about the upside of this revolution and the downside. The Birth of Superconvergence Jamie: I get a lot of wonderful invitations to speak, and I have two basic rules for speaking: Never use notes. Never ever. Never stand behind a podium. Never ever. Because of that, when I speak, my talks tend to migrate. I'd be speaking with people about the genetics revolution as it applied to humans, and I'd say, “Well, this is just a little piece of a much bigger story.” The bigger story is that after nearly four billion years of life on Earth, our one species has the increasing ability to engineer novel intelligence and re-engineer life. The big question for us, and frankly for the world, is whether we're going to be able to use that almost godlike superpower wisely. As that idea got bigger and bigger, it became this inevitable force. You write so many books, Jo, that I think it's second nature for you. Every time I finish a book, I think, “Wow, that was really hard. I'm never doing that again.” And then the books creep up on you. They call to you. At some point you say, “All right, now I'm going to do it.” So that was my current book, Superconvergence. Like everything, every journey you take a step, and that step inspires another step and another. That's why writing and living creatively is such a wonderfully exciting thing – there's always more to learn and always great opportunities to push ourselves in new ways. Balancing Deep Research with Good Storytelling Jo: Yeah, absolutely. I love that you've followed your curiosity and then done this disciplined process for learning. I completely understand that. But one of the big issues with people like us who love the research – and having read your Superconvergence, I know how deeply you go into this and how deeply you care that it's correct – is that with fiction, one of the big problems with too much research is the danger of brain-dumping. Readers go to fiction for escapism. They want the interesting side of it, but they want a story first. What are your tips for authors who might feel like, “Where's the line between putting in my research so that it's interesting for readers, but not going too far and turning it into a textbook?” How do you find that balance? Jamie: It's such a great question. I live in New York now, but I used to live in Washington when I was working for the U.S. government, and there were a number of people I served with who later wrote novels. Some of those novels felt like policy memos with a few sex scenes – and that's not what to do. To write something that's informed by science or really by anything, everything needs to be subservient to the story and the characters. The question is: what is the essential piece of information that can convey something that's both important to your story and your character development, and is also an accurate representation of the world as you want it to be? I certainly write novels that are set in the future – although some of them were a future that's now already happened because I wrote them a long time ago. You can make stuff up, but as an author you have to decide what your connection to existing science and existing technology and the existing world is going to be. I come at it from two angles. One: I read a huge number of scientific papers and think, “What does this mean for now, and if you extrapolate into the future, where might that go?” Two: I think about how to condense things. We've all read books where you're humming along because people read fiction for story and emotional connection, and then you hit a bit like: “I sat down in front of the president, and the president said, ‘Tell me what I need to know about the nuclear threat.'” And then it's like: insert memo. That's a deal-killer. It's like all things – how do you have a meaningful relationship with another person? It's not by just telling them your story. Even when you're telling them something about you, you need to be imagining yourself sitting in their shoes, hearing you. These are very different disciplines, fiction and nonfiction. But for the speculative nonfiction I write – “here's where things are now, and here's where the world is heading” – there's a lot of imagination that goes into that too. It feels in many ways like we're living in a sci-fi world because the rate of technological change has been accelerating continuously, certainly for the last 12,000 years since the dawn of agriculture. It's a balance. For me, I feel like I'm a better fiction writer because I write nonfiction, and I'm a better nonfiction writer because I write fiction. When I'm writing nonfiction, I don't want it to be boring either – I want people to feel like there's a story and characters and that they can feel themselves inside that story. Jo: Yeah, definitely. I think having some distance helps as well. If you're really deep into your topics, as you are, you have to leave that manuscript a little bit so you can go back with the eyes of the reader as opposed to your eyes as the expert. Then you can get their experience, which is great. Looking Beyond Author-Focused AI Fears Jo: I want to come to your technical knowledge, because AI is a big thing in the author and creative community, like everywhere else. One of the issues is that creators are focusing on just this tiny part of the impact of AI, and there's a much bigger picture. For example, in 2024, Demis Hassabis from Google DeepMind and his collaborative partner John Jumper won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with AlphaFold. It feels to me like there's this massive world of what's happening with AI in health, climate, and other areas, and yet we are so focused on a lot of the negative stuff. Maybe you could give us a couple of things about what there is to be excited and optimistic about in terms of AI-powered science? Jamie: Sure. I'm so excited about all of the new opportunities that AI creates. But I also think there's a reason why evolution has preserved this very human feeling of anxiety: because there are real dangers. Anybody who's Pollyanna-ish and says, “Oh, the AI story is inevitably positive,” I'd be distrustful. And anyone who says, “We're absolutely doomed, this is the end of humanity,” I'd also be distrustful. So let me tell you the positives and the negatives, and maybe some thoughts about how we navigate toward the former and away from the latter. AI as the New Electricity Jamie: When people think of AI right now, they're thinking very narrowly about these AI tools and ChatGPT. But we don't think of electricity that way. Nobody says, “I know electricity – electricity is what happens at the power station.” We've internalised the idea that electricity is woven into not just our communication systems or our houses, but into our clothes, our glasses – it's woven into everything and has super-empowered almost everything in our modern lives. That's what AI is. In Superconvergence, the majority of the book is about positive opportunities: In healthcare, moving from generalised healthcare based on population averages to personalised or precision healthcare based on a molecular understanding of each person's individual biology. As we build these massive datasets like the UK Biobank, we can take a next jump toward predictive and preventive healthcare, where we're able to address health issues far earlier in the process, when interventions can be far more benign. I'm really excited about that, not to mention the incredible new kinds of treatments – gene therapies, or pharmaceuticals based on genetics and systems-biology analyses of patients. Then there's agriculture. Over the last hundred years, because of the technologies of the Green Revolution and synthetic fertilisers, we've had an incredible increase in agricultural productivity. That's what's allowed us to quadruple the global population. But if we just continue agriculture as it is, as we get towards ten billion wealthier, more empowered people wanting to eat like we eat, we're going to have to wipe out all the wild spaces on Earth to feed them. These technologies help provide different paths toward increasing agricultural productivity with fewer inputs of land, water, fertiliser, insecticides, and pesticides. That's really positive. I could go on and on about these positives – and I do – but there are very real negatives. I was a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing after the first CRISPR babies were very unethically created in China. I'm extremely aware that these same capabilities have potentially incredible upsides and very real downsides. That's the same as every technology in the past, but this is happening so quickly that it's triggering a lot of anxieties. Governance, Responsibility, and Why Everyone Has a Role Jamie: The question now is: how do we optimise the benefits and minimise the harms? The short, unsexy word for that is governance. Governance is not just what governments do; it's what all of us do. That's why I try to write books, both fiction and nonfiction, to bring people into this story. If people “other” this story – if they say, “There's a technology revolution, it has nothing to do with me, I'm going to keep my head down” – I think that's dangerous. The way we're going to handle this as responsibly as possible is if everybody says, “I have some role. Maybe it's small, maybe it's big. The first step is I need to educate myself. Then I need to have conversations with people around me. I need to express my desires, wishes, and thoughts – with political leaders, organisations I'm part of, businesses.” That has to happen at every level. You're in the UK – you know the anti-slavery movement started with a handful of people in Cambridge and grew into a global movement. I really believe in the power of ideas, but ideas don't spread on their own. These are very human networks, and that's why writing, speaking, communicating – probably for every single person listening to this podcast – is so important. Jo: Mm, yeah. Fiction Like AI 2041 and Thinking Through the Issues Jo: Have you read AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan? Jamie: No. I heard a bunch of their interviews when the book came out, but I haven't read it. Jo: I think that's another good one because it's fiction – a whole load of short stories. It came out a few years ago now, but the issues they cover in the stories, about different people in different countries – I remember one about deepfakes – make you think more about the topics and help you figure out where you stand. I think that's the issue right now: it's so complex, there are so many things. I'm generally positive about AI, but of course I don't want autonomous drone weapons, you know? The Messy Reality of “Bad” Technologies Jamie: Can I ask you about that? Because this is why it's so complicated. Like you, I think nobody wants autonomous killer drones anywhere in the world. But if you right now were the defence minister of Ukraine, and your children are being kidnapped, your country is being destroyed, you're fighting for your survival, you're getting attacked every night – and you're getting attacked by the Russians, who are investing more and more in autonomous killer robots – you kind of have two choices. You can say, “I'm going to surrender,” or, “I'm going to use what technology I have available to defend myself, and hopefully fight to either victory or some kind of stand-off.” That's what our societies did with nuclear weapons. Maybe not every American recognises that Churchill gave Britain's nuclear secrets to America as a way of greasing the wheels of the Anglo-American alliance during the Second World War – but that was our programme: we couldn't afford to lose that war, and we couldn't afford to let the Nazis get nuclear weapons before we did. So there's the abstract feeling of, “I'm against all war in the abstract. I'm against autonomous killer robots in the abstract.” But if I were the defence minister of Ukraine, I would say, “What will it take for us to build the weapons we can use to defend ourselves?” That's why all this stuff gets so complicated. And frankly, it's why the relationship between fiction and nonfiction is so important. If every novel had a situation where every character said, “Oh, I know exactly the right answer,” and then they just did the right answer and it was obviously right, it wouldn't make for great fiction. We're dealing with really complex humans. We have conflicting impulses. We're not perfect. Maybe there are no perfect answers – but how do we strive toward better rather than worse? That's the question. Jo: Absolutely. I don't want to get too political on things. How AI Is Changing the Writing Life Jo: Let's come back to authors. In terms of the creative process, the writing process, the research process, and the business of being an author – what are some of the ways that you already use AI tools, and some of the ways, given your futurist brain, that you think things are going to change for us? Jamie: Great question. I'll start with a little middle piece. I found you, Jo, through GPT-5. I asked ChatGPT, “I'm coming out with this book and I want to connect with podcasters who are a little different from the ones I've done in the past. I've been a guest on Joe Rogan twice and some of the bigger podcasts. Make me a list of really interesting people I can have great conversations with.” That's how I found you. So this is one reward of that process. Let me say that in the last year I've worked on three books, and I'll explain how my relationship with AI has changed over those books. Cleaning Up Citations (and Getting Burned) Jamie: First is the highly revised paperback edition of Superconvergence. When the hardback came out, I had – I don't normally work with research assistants because I like to dig into everything myself – but the one thing I do use a research assistant for is that I can't be bothered, when I'm writing something, to do the full Chicago-style footnote if I'm already referencing an academic paper. So I'd just put the URL as the footnote and then hire a research assistant and say, “Go to this URL and change it into a Chicago-style citation. That's it.” Unfortunately, my research assistant on the hardback used early-days ChatGPT for that work. He did the whole thing, came back, everything looked perfect. I said, “Wow, amazing job.” It was only later, as I was going through them, that I realised something like 50% of them were invented footnotes. It was very painful to go back and fix, and it took ten times more time. With the paperback edition, I didn't use AI that much, but I did say things like, “Here's all the information – generate a Chicago-style citation.” That was better. I noticed there were a few things where I stopped using the thesaurus function on Microsoft Word because I'd just put the whole paragraph into the AI and say, “Give me ten other options for this one word,” and it would be like a contextual thesaurus. That was pretty good. Talking to a Robot Pianist Character Jamie: Then, for my new novel Virtuoso, I was writing a character who is a futurist robot that plays the piano very beautifully – not just humanly, but almost finding new things in the music we've written and composing music that resonates with us. I described the actions of that robot in the novel, but I didn't describe the inner workings of the robot's mind. In thinking about that character, I realised I was the first science-fiction writer in history who could interrogate a machine about what it was “thinking” in a particular context. I had the most beautiful conversations with ChatGPT, where I would give scenarios and ask, “What are you thinking? What are you feeling in this context?” It was all background for that character, but it was truly profound. Co-Authoring The AI Ten Commandments with GPT-5 Jamie: Third, I have another book coming out in May in the United States. I gave a talk this summer at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York about AI and spirituality. I talked about the history of our human relationship with our technology, about how all our religious and spiritual traditions have deep technological underpinnings – certainly our Abrahamic religions are deeply connected to farming, and Protestantism to the printing press. Then I had a section about the role of AI in generating moral codes that would resonate with humans. Everybody went nuts for this talk, and I thought, “I think I'm going to write a book.” I decided to write it differently, with GPT-5 as my named co-author. The first thing I did was outline the entire book based on the talk, which I'd already spent a huge amount of time thinking about and organising. Then I did a full outline of the arguments and structures. Then I trained GPT-5 on my writing style. The way I did it – which I fully describe in the introduction to the book – was that I'd handle all the framing: the full introduction, the argument, the structure. But if there was a section where, for a few paragraphs, I was summarising a huge field of data, even something I knew well, I'd give GPT-5 the intro sentence and say, “In my writing style, prepare four paragraphs on this.” For example, I might write: “AI has the potential to see us humans like we humans see ant colonies.” Then I'd say, “Give me four paragraphs on the relationship between the individual and the collective in ant colonies.” I could have written those four paragraphs myself, but it would've taken a month to read the life's work of E.O. Wilson and then write them. GPT-5 wrote them in seconds or minutes, in its thinking mode. I'd then say, “It's not quite right – change this, change that,” and we'd go back and forth three or four times. Then I'd edit the whole thing and put it into the text. So this book that I could have written on my own in a year, I wrote a first draft of with GPT-5 as my named co-author in two days. The whole project will take about six months from start to finish, and I'm having massive human editing – multiple edits from me, plus a professional editor. It's not a magic AI button. But I feel strongly about listing GPT-5 as a co-author because I've written it differently than previous books. I'm a huge believer in the old-fashioned lone author struggling and suffering – that's in my novels, and in Virtuoso I explore that. But other forms are going to emerge, just like video games are a creative, artistic form deeply connected to technology. The novel hasn't been around forever – the current format is only a few centuries old – and forms are always changing. There are real opportunities for authors, and there will be so much crap flooding the market because everybody can write something and put it up on Amazon. But I think there will be a very special place for thoughtful human authors who have an idea of what humans do at our best, and who translate that into content other humans can enjoy. Traditional vs Indie: Why This Book Will Be Self-Published Jo: I'm interested – you mentioned that it's your named co-author. Is this book going through a traditional publisher, and what do they think about that? Or are you going to publish it yourself? Jamie: It's such a smart question. What I found quickly is that when you get to be an author later in your career, you have all the infrastructure – a track record, a fantastic agent, all of that. But there were two things that were really important to me here: I wanted to get this book out really fast – six months instead of a year and a half. It was essential to me to have GPT-5 listed as my co-author, because if it were just my name, I feel like it would be dishonest. Readers who are used to reading my books – I didn't want to present something different than what it was. I spoke with my agent, who I absolutely love, and she said that for this particular project it was going to be really hard in traditional publishing. So I did a huge amount of research, because I'd never done anything in the self-publishing world before. I looked at different models. There was one hybrid model that's basically the same as traditional, but you pay for the things the publisher would normally pay for. I ended up not doing that. Instead, I decided on a self-publishing route where I disaggregated the publishing process. I found three teams: one for producing the book, one for getting the book out into the world, and a smaller one for the audiobook. I still believe in traditional publishing – there's a lot of wonderful human value-add. But some works just don't lend themselves to traditional publishing. For this book, which is called The AI Ten Commandments, that's the path I've chosen. Jo: And when's that out? I think people will be interested. Jamie: April 26th. Those of us used to traditional publishing think, “I've finished the book, sold the proposal, it'll be out any day now,” and then it can be a year and a half. It's frustrating. With this, the process can be much faster because it's possible to control more of the variables. But the key – as I was saying – is to make sure it's as good a book as everything else you've written. It's great to speed up, but you don't want to compromise on quality. The Coming Flood of Excellent AI-Generated Work Jo: Yeah, absolutely. We're almost out of time, but I want to come back to your “flood of crap” and the “AI slop” idea that's going around. Because you are working with GPT-5 – and I do as well, and I work with Claude and Gemini – and right now there are still issues. Like you said about referencing, there are still hallucinations, though fewer. But fast-forward two, five years: it's not a flood of crap. It's a flood of excellent. It's a flood of stuff that's better than us. Jamie: We're humans. It's better than us in certain ways. If you have farm machinery, it's better than us at certain aspects of farming. I'm a true humanist. I think there will be lots of things machines do better than us, but there will be tons of things we do better than them. There's a reason humans still care about chess, even though machines can beat humans at chess. Some people are saying things I fully disagree with, like this concept of AGI – artificial general intelligence – where machines do everything better than humans. I've summarised my position in seven letters: “AGI is BS.” The only way you can believe in AGI in that sense is if your concept of what a human is and what a human mind is is so narrow that you think it's just a narrow range of analytical skills. We are so much more than that. Humans represent almost four billion years of embodied evolution. There's so much about ourselves that we don't know. As incredible as these machines are and will become, there will always be wonderful things humans can do that are different from machines. What I always tell people is: whatever you're doing, don't be a second-rate machine. Be a first-rate human. If you're doing something and a machine is doing that thing much better than you, then shift to something where your unique capacities as a human give you the opportunity to do something better. So yes, I totally agree that the quality of AI-generated stuff will get better. But I think the most creative and successful humans will be the ones who say, “I recognise that this is creating new opportunities, and I'm going to insert my core humanity to do something magical and new.” People are “othering” these technologies, but the technologies themselves are magnificent human-generated artefacts. They're not alien UFOs that landed here. It's a scary moment for creatives, no doubt, because there are things all of us did in the past that machines can now do really well. But this is the moment where the most creative people ask themselves, “What does it mean for me to be a great human?” The pat answers won't apply. In my Virtuoso novel I explore that a lot. The idea that “machines don't do creativity” – they will do incredible creativity; it just won't be exactly human creativity. We will be potentially huge beneficiaries of these capabilities, but we really have to believe in and invest in the magic of our core humanity. Where to Find Jamie and His Books Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and your books online? Jamie: Thank you so much for asking. My website is jamiemetzl.com – and my books are available everywhere. Jo: Fantastic. Thanks so much for your time, Jamie. That was great. Jamie: Thank you, Joanna.The post Writing The Future, And Being More Human In An Age of AI With Jamie Metzl first appeared on The Creative Penn.

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