Podcast appearances and mentions of Neal Stephenson

Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, David Ginsburg, Jim Rea, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, and Web Bixby discuss the black market for stolen iPhones, focusing on how even locked devices are shipped overseas and dismantled for parts—a revelation that challenges assumptions about smartphone security. The conversation then turns to Neal Stephenson's thought-provoking ideas on coexisting with artificial intelligence, drawing parallels between AI and our relationships with animals. The panel reflects on how AI understands human intention and how we communicate with it. Also on the docket: the surprising $6 billion collaboration between Jony Ive and Sam Altman, raising questions about the future of AI hardware. This edition of MacVoices is supported by Notion, the best AI tool for work. Check it out at notion.com/macvoices. Show Notes: Chapters: 00:10 Stolen iPhones and Chop Shops 01:34 Living with AI 07:48 Coexisting with Non-Human Intelligences 18:43 Johnny Ive and Sam Altman Collaboration 19:31 The Future of AI Devices 35:14 Microsoft Advertising and Competition Links: How stolen and locked iPhones are being broken down in China for profit https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/05/21/how-stolen-and-locked-iphones-are-being-broken-down-in-china-for-profit From Animals to AI: Neal Stephenson on Coexisting with Non-Human Intelligences https://tidbits.com/2025/05/20/from-animals-to-ai-neal-stephenson-on-coexisting-with-non-human-intelligences/ Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle https://www.macrumors.com/2025/05/22/ming-chi-kuo-on-openai-device-design/ Sam and Jony and skepticism https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/05/sam-and-jony-and-skepticism/ Microsoft blames Apple for blocking Xbox mobile store, as it supports Epic https://9to5mac.com/2025/05/21/microsoft-blames-apple-for-blocking-xbox-mobile-store-as-it-supports-epic/ Leaked Google database reveals its secret privacy and security failures https://www.engadget.com/leaked-google-database-reveals-its-secret-privacy-and-security-failures-183232983.html Microsoft ad uses an older MacBook Air for comparison: “We're faster than a Mac” https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/05/15/microsoft-ad-copilot-plus-windows-pc-macbook-air-comparison-cpu-speed-ai-performance/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, David Ginsburg, Jim Rea, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, and Web Bixby discuss the black market for stolen iPhones, focusing on how even locked devices are shipped overseas and dismantled for parts—a revelation that challenges assumptions about smartphone security. The conversation then turns to Neal Stephenson's thought-provoking ideas on coexisting with artificial intelligence, drawing parallels between AI and our relationships with animals. The panel reflects on how AI understands human intention and how we communicate with it. Also on the docket: the surprising $6 billion collaboration between Jony Ive and Sam Altman, raising questions about the future of AI hardware. This edition of MacVoices is supported by Notion, the best AI tool for work. Check it out at notion.com/macvoices. Show Notes: Chapters: 00:10 Stolen iPhones and Chop Shops 01:34 Living with AI 07:48 Coexisting with Non-Human Intelligences 18:43 Johnny Ive and Sam Altman Collaboration 19:31 The Future of AI Devices 35:14 Microsoft Advertising and Competition Links: How stolen and locked iPhones are being broken down in China for profit https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/05/21/how-stolen-and-locked-iphones-are-being-broken-down-in-china-for-profit From Animals to AI: Neal Stephenson on Coexisting with Non-Human Intelligences https://tidbits.com/2025/05/20/from-animals-to-ai-neal-stephenson-on-coexisting-with-non-human-intelligences/ Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle https://www.macrumors.com/2025/05/22/ming-chi-kuo-on-openai-device-design/ Sam and Jony and skepticism https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/05/sam-and-jony-and-skepticism/ Microsoft blames Apple for blocking Xbox mobile store, as it supports Epic https://9to5mac.com/2025/05/21/microsoft-blames-apple-for-blocking-xbox-mobile-store-as-it-supports-epic/ Leaked Google database reveals its secret privacy and security failures https://www.engadget.com/leaked-google-database-reveals-its-secret-privacy-and-security-failures-183232983.html Microsoft ad uses an older MacBook Air for comparison: “We're faster than a Mac” https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/05/15/microsoft-ad-copilot-plus-windows-pc-macbook-air-comparison-cpu-speed-ai-performance/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

In Shakespeare's time, the actresses were boys—and for the most celebrated of them, fame came early but could end abruptly with a voice change. In this episode, author Nicole Galland joins us to talk about the world of boy players, young apprentices who performed women's roles onstage in England before 1660. Galland's novel, Boy, follows one of these real-life members of Shakespeare's company, Alexander “Sander Cooke,” and his fictional best friend, Joan, a fiercely curious young woman who disguises herself as a boy to pursue knowledge. Drawing inspiration from Shakespeare's cross-dressing heroines, Galland explores the freedoms and risks of reinventing gender roles in Elizabethan England. Figures like Francis Bacon appear in the novel as part of the broader web of power and political intrigue that shapes Joan and Sander's world. Through these connections, Galland brings Shakespeare's theatrical world to life and the people navigating its stage. Nicole Galland is the author of the historical novels I, Iago; Godiva; Crossed; Revenge of the Rose; and The Fool's Tale; as well as the contemporary romantic comedies On the Same Page and Stepdog, and the New York Times bestselling near-future thriller The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (with Neal Stephenson). From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published June 3, 2025. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

What unfolds when those who imagine the future sit across from those building it?In this special SPC panel, worlds converge. Sci-fi legends Neal Stephenson and Ken Liu join visionary investor Cyan Banister and researcher Joscha Bach to explore how narratives shape reality, how fiction becomes a roadmap, and how builders and dreamers influence each other across time.Connect with us here: 1. Neal Stephenson- https://x.com/nealstephenson2. Ken Liu- https://x.com/kyliu993. Cyan Banister- https://x.com/cyantist4. Joscha Bach- https://x.com/Plinz5. Cristian Cibils Bernardes- https://x.com/life_of_ccb6. Jonathan Brebner- https://x.com/JPBrebner7. South Park Commons- https://x.com/southpkcommons00:00 Trailer01:03 Introduction04:25 AI and nuclear tech parallel10:26 Progress. Disappointing? Significant?13:31 The present and the future17:04 Wrong specifics, right methodology25:13 Satire and reality33:14 World building40:19 Parallels and perpendiculars44:19 Artificial general intelligence54:02 Searching for something not forward-looking57:20 Understanding consciousness1:04:08 Lightning round1:14:13 Outro

Join us for the Lair of Secrets' annual summer reading list! We run down a few of the books on our respective lists, but we're always looking for more! Featured in this episode are: Red Sonja Consumed by Gail Simone When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente Infinite Archive (The Midsolar Murders #3) by Mur Lafferty Vicious by V.E. Schwab As well as side quests to talk about Iain Banks' The Culture series, Terry Prachett's Discworld, and Neal Stephenson's Seveneves. Suggest your own book ideas in the comments! Chapters 0:00 Intro & Rocket Misfires0:40 Red Sonja: Sword & Sorcery Revival1:45 Moon Cheese Madness: Scalzi's Absurd Apocalypse3:10 Seveneves vs. Moon Made of Cheese4:20 Ghosts in Cryo: Cold Eternity Breakdown5:35 Space Opera and the Glam-paign Idea6:50 Infinite Archive: Murder, She Wrote in Space8:00 Vicious by V.E. Schwab: Superpowered Rivalry9:10 The Overflowing To-Read Pile10:20 Pratchett's Final Discworld Reflections11:20 Saying Goodbye to The Culture Series12:00 More Books, More Time: Summer Reading Goals13:10 Share Your Book Picks!14:00 Outro & Call to Action Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Summer Reading List 2025 (S4E24) on YouTube. Show Notes Red Sonja Consumed by Gail Simone (Ken) - I got this as a Christmas present, and I'm looking forward to Gail's take on Red Sonja in novel form (I already read the comic book series she wrote; it was great). From the book blurb: The gutsy, wild, tortured free spirit, forged in pain yet unafraid of life or death, Red Sonja, the famous, fiery She-Devil and barbarian of Hyrkania has never concerned herself with the consequences of her actions. She's taken what she wanted, from treasure to drink to the companionship of bedfellows. She's fought who deserved it (and sometimes those who didn't). And she's never looked back. But when rumors start bubbling up from her homeland—rumors of unknown horrors emerging from the ground and pulling their unsuspecting victims to their deaths—and a strange voice begins whispering to her in her sleep, she realizes she may have to return to the country that abandoned her. And finally do the only thing that has ever scared her: confront her past. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (David) - I've been a fan of most of Scalzi's books. This is one of his more humorous books like Starter Villain and Kaiju Preservation Society. I'm looking forward to it. It's also going to hold me over until the next Old Man's War book comes out. The moon has turned into cheese. Now humanity has to deal with it. For some it's an opportunity. For others it's a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible. Astronauts and billionaires, comedians and bank executives, professors and presidents, teenagers and terminal patients at the end of their lives -- over the length of an entire lunar cycle, each get their moment in the moonlight. To panic, to plan, to wonder and to pray, to laugh and to grieve. All in a kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you'd expect, and then to so many places you wouldn't. It's a wild moonage daydream. Ride this rocket. Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes (Ken) – Barnes' third sci-fi/horror/ghost story novel is out. I loved the creepy atmosphere of the first two, which makes this one an easy pick. Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth's most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago… The cryo program,

Join us for the Lair of Secrets' annual summer reading list! We run down a few of the books on our respective lists, but we're always looking for more! Featured in this episode are: Red Sonja Consumed by Gail Simone When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente Infinite Archive (The Midsolar Murders #3) by Mur Lafferty Vicious by V.E. Schwab As well as side quests to talk about Iain Banks' The Culture series, Terry Prachett's Discworld, and Neal Stephenson's Seveneves. Suggest your own book ideas in the comments! Chapters 0:00 Intro & Rocket Misfires0:40 Red Sonja: Sword & Sorcery Revival1:45 Moon Cheese Madness: Scalzi's Absurd Apocalypse3:10 Seveneves vs. Moon Made of Cheese4:20 Ghosts in Cryo: Cold Eternity Breakdown5:35 Space Opera and the Glam-paign Idea6:50 Infinite Archive: Murder, She Wrote in Space8:00 Vicious by V.E. Schwab: Superpowered Rivalry9:10 The Overflowing To-Read Pile10:20 Pratchett's Final Discworld Reflections11:20 Saying Goodbye to The Culture Series12:00 More Books, More Time: Summer Reading Goals13:10 Share Your Book Picks!14:00 Outro & Call to Action Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Summer Reading List 2025 (S4E24) on YouTube. Show Notes Red Sonja Consumed by Gail Simone (Ken) - I got this as a Christmas present, and I'm looking forward to Gail's take on Red Sonja in novel form (I already read the comic book series she wrote; it was great). From the book blurb: The gutsy, wild, tortured free spirit, forged in pain yet unafraid of life or death, Red Sonja, the famous, fiery She-Devil and barbarian of Hyrkania has never concerned herself with the consequences of her actions. She's taken what she wanted, from treasure to drink to the companionship of bedfellows. She's fought who deserved it (and sometimes those who didn't). And she's never looked back. But when rumors start bubbling up from her homeland—rumors of unknown horrors emerging from the ground and pulling their unsuspecting victims to their deaths—and a strange voice begins whispering to her in her sleep, she realizes she may have to return to the country that abandoned her. And finally do the only thing that has ever scared her: confront her past. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (David) - I've been a fan of most of Scalzi's books. This is one of his more humorous books like Starter Villain and Kaiju Preservation Society. I'm looking forward to it. It's also going to hold me over until the next Old Man's War book comes out. The moon has turned into cheese. Now humanity has to deal with it. For some it's an opportunity. For others it's a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible. Astronauts and billionaires, comedians and bank executives, professors and presidents, teenagers and terminal patients at the end of their lives -- over the length of an entire lunar cycle, each get their moment in the moonlight. To panic, to plan, to wonder and to pray, to laugh and to grieve. All in a kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you'd expect, and then to so many places you wouldn't. It's a wild moonage daydream. Ride this rocket. Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes (Ken) – Barnes' third sci-fi/horror/ghost story novel is out. I loved the creepy atmosphere of the first two, which makes this one an easy pick. Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth's most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago… The cryo program,

This is a Seth’s Picks episode, the very highly regarded, though not much honored at the time Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. It’s like Ready Player One, but without all the references or terrible writing. (It’s not really like RPO at all, and that’s a very good thing.) This is one of my shorter episodes, … Continue reading "Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, with guest Leah Borden"

Frank, Ash, and Brandon begin an endless and inescapable descent into our listener-submitted Question Hole, and in the process learn to run an inn, make Ash crack up at Metafore ReFantazio again, and mention the same four guys that get mentioned every episode. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. Watch episodes with full video on YouTube Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums SHOW NOTES: The Price is Right Press Your Luck Ep. 385 - David Uncage 1: What are your all-time favorite single performances on a game soundtrack? (02:52) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Faith No More Wu-Tang Clan Mega Ran Simple and Clean Kingdom Hearts Quake Nine Inch Nails Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Crazy Taxi Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors Debbie Harry Nick Cave Snake Eater Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 2: Whywhy asks, what is the Megalopolis (2024) of video games? (04:40) Megalopolis (2024) Death Stranding The Last of Us Part II Shenmue III 3: Spencer asks, what are the trademarks of your favorite game designer's styles? (05:33) Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish FoxyLand DEcapAttack Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibōken David Cage Hidetaki Miyazaki 4: Seth asks, how would you develop a game that portrays publishers negatively? (06:30) 404 Game RE: SET -Error Game Reset- Sega Yoko Taro Nintendo Sony Neil Druckman Konami Castlevania series Bomberman series Devolver Digital ActivisionBlizzard Bobby Kotick Duty Calls Bulletstorm 5: Fruinblacksberk asks, if you could bring one person in the video game industry back to life who died a premature death, who would it be? (08:49) Gunpei Yokoi Yuji Naka Satoru Iwata 6: Chopemon asks, what game should get a remaster with a good/dumb name? (09:40) Red Faction: Guerrilla - Re-Mars-tered Lollipop Chainsaw: RePop Darksiders: Warmastered Edition Final Fantasy series Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Frank Sinatra Blaster Master Blaster 7: Riley asks, who is the tallest character in video games? (10:37) Bayonetta series Jubileus the Creator God King of All Cosmos Katamari Damacy 8: Gaagaagiins asks, have we already seen the service game with the shortest lifespan, and the service game with the longest lifespan? (11:32) Concord New Game Announces Release Date And Also Shutdown Date In Same Tweet EverQuest Ultima Online World of WarCraft RuneScape MUD 9: LeFish asks, which video games are most likely or best suited to a Broadway musical adaptation? (12:48) Yakuza series 10: BreadyToDie asks, has a video game ever affected your real life ideological bent? (13:18) BioShock Infinite Ken Levine 11: Is Officer Zuffle from Ooblets copaganda? (14:14) Ooblets Officer Zuffle 12: XCT asks, what are some of the panel's favorite video game sequels in a different genre? (14:44) Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Wild Arms XF R-Type Tactics series James Pond series Persona 5 Strikers Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light 13: Cheapy asks, who drives the coolest motorcycle in video games? (16:59) Wario Moo Moo Cloud Strife Shadow the Hedgehog 14: Gaagaagiins asks, what are some of the best games you can play for $0? (17:46) Doom Sega Genesis NoIntro Fullset Ep. 224 - Video Game History Pope Snake 15: Anatoliu asks, what game would you send to all of Nintendo Power's 1990 subscribers? (19:01) Dragon Quest Nintendo Power Bonk's Revenge TurboGrafx-16 16: connorr asks, who is the PS3 of human beings? (20:17) PlayStation 3 Giant Enemy Crabs Peter Molyneux Hideo Kojima Populous 17: Kiko B asks, what aspect of game design is most commonly misunderstood? (21:55) Yellow Paint Is Once Again Breaking People's Brains Green Lantern South of Midnight 18: Suda 68.999 asks, what two or more games would best compliment each other if stitched together with mods? (24:27) Crusader Kings III Mount & Blade Mario Sonic Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series Super Mario Bros. Kid Icarus Melty Blood Touhou Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Sonic & Knuckles 19: Kyle asks, how would you implement skateboarding in modern games? (26:03) Spyro: Year of the Dragon Metroid Prime Yakuza series Dead2y Premonition: A Blessing in Disguise Metaphor: ReFantazio 20: Cole asks, which video game sounds could also serve as great text message tones? (27:42) Metal Gear Solid “!“ Panzer Dragoon Sonic the Hedgehog Super Mario World David Hayter 21: SpencerGifs asks, if a game has multiple versions, how do you decide which to play? (29:14) Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age 22: Classic Anonymous asks, who is the William Randolph Hearst of video games? (30:09) William Randolph Hearst Citizen Kane (1941) 23: Dark Saikan asks, do you know what Neal Stephenson's blockchain thing is? (31:24) Neal Stephenson Blockchain 24: Rice9 asks, do good critics make good designers? (32:16) 25: Camillo asks, what is the cane from Citizen Kane of video games? (34:21) Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Jeff Gerstmann 26: Propellher asks, what is the most dad game of all time? (34:52) God of War The Last of Us Dr. Mario Octodad Star Wars games 27: What's the most daddy game of all time? (36:38) Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator 28: Chopemon asks, what is your Gamer forum signature? (36:53) Gackt Malice Mizer Dovahkin 29: SpencerGifs asks, what should a Nintendo baby play to grow out of Nintendo babydom? (38:16) NieR: Automata Knuckles' Chaotix Russian roulette 30: Yeso asks, what is the tucking in your shirt of video games? (39:18) 31: LeFish asks, who is the Sister Rosetta Tharpe of video games? (41:04) Sister Rosetta Tharpe Lara Croft Grace Walker Deborah Wilson Coleco Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle Lawrence Schick Baldur's Gate III Sega Genesis 32: Bebedor asks, what steps are you taking to get John Carpenter on the show? (44:34) John Carpenter The Thing (1982) John Carter of Mars Fantastic Four Ghosts of Mars (2001) 33: Yuji asks, what video game will still be played 5,000 years from now? (45:35) Backgammon Nintendo Entertainment System Pong Can You Pet The Dog? 34: SpencerGifs asks, how do the video game generations break down if you go by design innovation? (47:08) Atari Xbox 360 G4 35: ASmallRabbite asks, what is the most finally making it to an inn with 1hp and no potions moment in your real life? (48:32) Honda Prelude Pontiac Tempest 36: Nemoid asks, how can public institutions like libraries foster positive relationships with game enthusiasts? (51:38) Half-Price Books Wii PlayStation Classic Sega Genesis Mini TurboGrafx-16 Mini Nintendo Classic Mini Rock Band 37: Spencer asks, why did so many companies throw their hat in the console ring in the fifth generation? (55:07) Game console generations, according to Wikipedia 3DO CD-i Sega Saturn PlayStation PlayStation 2 Dreamcast Portland Retro Gaming Expo Funk Soul Brother PC-FX Steam Box VCR 38: Gaagaagiins asks, what is the best and worst default jump button? (58:44) The Godfather the Game God of War III 39: Anonymous asks, what is the Ween of video games? (01:01:31) Ween League of Legends 40: Gruntin' Gary asks, in what ways have video games become more and less accessible over the years? (01:02:56) 41: RepelHer asks, does the panel just generally never cry, or is there something about video games specifically? (01:04:24) Mother 3 Demonschool Annie Lee's Blue Monday New Order's Blue Monday Annie Lee's Sixty Pounds 42: Spencer asks, is video game marketing different from other marketing? (01:08:20) Call of Duty series Ep. 384 - Keighleyme Pie, with Mike Drucker Golden Sun Commercial The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 43: SecretBilly asks, what niche types of game player would historical figures have been? (01:12:13) Issac Newton Half-Life 2 Wolfgang Mozart Leonardo da Vinci Tetris: the Grand Master The Talos Principle Oscar Wilde Harry Houdini Teddy Roosevelt Dragon Age: Inquisition Iron Bull Marie Curie Overcooked! F. Scott Fitzgerald Martin Luther King Jr. Mafia III Recommendations and Outro (01:14:33): Brandon: Speed Racer (2008), The Golden Buddha (1966) or From Beijing with Love (1994), Flying Saucer Video Frank: watch two things with an actor at the same time Ash: The Boondocks, send Ash recommendations for Chinese historical harem dramas This week's Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

Frank, Ash, and Brandon begin an endless and inescapable descent into our listener-submitted Question Hole, and in the process learn to run an inn, make Ash crack up at Metafore ReFantazio again, and mention the same four guys that get mentioned every episode. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. Watch episodes with full video on YouTube Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums SHOW NOTES: The Price is Right Press Your Luck Ep. 385 - David Uncage 1: What are your all-time favorite single performances on a game soundtrack? (02:52) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Faith No More Wu-Tang Clan Mega Ran Simple and Clean Kingdom Hearts Quake Nine Inch Nails Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Crazy Taxi Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors Debbie Harry Nick Cave Snake Eater Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 2: Whywhy asks, what is the Megalopolis (2024) of video games? (04:40) Megalopolis (2024) Death Stranding The Last of Us Part II Shenmue III 3: Spencer asks, what are the trademarks of your favorite game designer's styles? (05:33) Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish FoxyLand DEcapAttack Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibōken David Cage Hidetaki Miyazaki 4: Seth asks, how would you develop a game that portrays publishers negatively? (06:30) 404 Game RE: SET -Error Game Reset- Sega Yoko Taro Nintendo Sony Neil Druckman Konami Castlevania series Bomberman series Devolver Digital ActivisionBlizzard Bobby Kotick Duty Calls Bulletstorm 5: Fruinblacksberk asks, if you could bring one person in the video game industry back to life who died a premature death, who would it be? (08:49) Gunpei Yokoi Yuji Naka Satoru Iwata 6: Chopemon asks, what game should get a remaster with a good/dumb name? (09:40) Red Faction: Guerrilla - Re-Mars-tered Lollipop Chainsaw: RePop Darksiders: Warmastered Edition Final Fantasy series Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Frank Sinatra Blaster Master Blaster 7: Riley asks, who is the tallest character in video games? (10:37) Bayonetta series Jubileus the Creator God King of All Cosmos Katamari Damacy 8: Gaagaagiins asks, have we already seen the service game with the shortest lifespan, and the service game with the longest lifespan? (11:32) Concord New Game Announces Release Date And Also Shutdown Date In Same Tweet EverQuest Ultima Online World of WarCraft RuneScape MUD 9: LeFish asks, which video games are most likely or best suited to a Broadway musical adaptation? (12:48) Yakuza series 10: BreadyToDie asks, has a video game ever affected your real life ideological bent? (13:18) BioShock Infinite Ken Levine 11: Is Officer Zuffle from Ooblets copaganda? (14:14) Ooblets Officer Zuffle 12: XCT asks, what are some of the panel's favorite video game sequels in a different genre? (14:44) Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Wild Arms XF R-Type Tactics series James Pond series Persona 5 Strikers Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light 13: Cheapy asks, who drives the coolest motorcycle in video games? (16:59) Wario Moo Moo Cloud Strife Shadow the Hedgehog 14: Gaagaagiins asks, what are some of the best games you can play for $0? (17:46) Doom Sega Genesis NoIntro Fullset Ep. 224 - Video Game History Pope Snake 15: Anatoliu asks, what game would you send to all of Nintendo Power's 1990 subscribers? (19:01) Dragon Quest Nintendo Power Bonk's Revenge TurboGrafx-16 16: connorr asks, who is the PS3 of human beings? (20:17) PlayStation 3 Giant Enemy Crabs Peter Molyneux Hideo Kojima Populous 17: Kiko B asks, what aspect of game design is most commonly misunderstood? (21:55) Yellow Paint Is Once Again Breaking People's Brains Green Lantern South of Midnight 18: Suda 68.999 asks, what two or more games would best compliment each other if stitched together with mods? (24:27) Crusader Kings III Mount & Blade Mario Sonic Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series Super Mario Bros. Kid Icarus Melty Blood Touhou Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Sonic & Knuckles 19: Kyle asks, how would you implement skateboarding in modern games? (26:03) Spyro: Year of the Dragon Metroid Prime Yakuza series Dead2y Premonition: A Blessing in Disguise Metaphor: ReFantazio 20: Cole asks, which video game sounds could also serve as great text message tones? (27:42) Metal Gear Solid “!“ Panzer Dragoon Sonic the Hedgehog Super Mario World David Hayter 21: SpencerGifs asks, if a game has multiple versions, how do you decide which to play? (29:14) Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age 22: Classic Anonymous asks, who is the William Randolph Hearst of video games? (30:09) William Randolph Hearst Citizen Kane (1941) 23: Dark Saikan asks, do you know what Neal Stephenson's blockchain thing is? (31:24) Neal Stephenson Blockchain 24: Rice9 asks, do good critics make good designers? (32:16) 25: Camillo asks, what is the cane from Citizen Kane of video games? (34:21) Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Jeff Gerstmann 26: Propellher asks, what is the most dad game of all time? (34:52) God of War The Last of Us Dr. Mario Octodad Star Wars games 27: What's the most daddy game of all time? (36:38) Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator 28: Chopemon asks, what is your Gamer forum signature? (36:53) Gackt Malice Mizer Dovahkin 29: SpencerGifs asks, what should a Nintendo baby play to grow out of Nintendo babydom? (38:16) NieR: Automata Knuckles' Chaotix Russian roulette 30: Yeso asks, what is the tucking in your shirt of video games? (39:18) 31: LeFish asks, who is the Sister Rosetta Tharpe of video games? (41:04) Sister Rosetta Tharpe Lara Croft Grace Walker Deborah Wilson Coleco Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle Lawrence Schick Baldur's Gate III Sega Genesis 32: Bebedor asks, what steps are you taking to get John Carpenter on the show? (44:34) John Carpenter The Thing (1982) John Carter of Mars Fantastic Four Ghosts of Mars (2001) 33: Yuji asks, what video game will still be played 5,000 years from now? (45:35) Backgammon Nintendo Entertainment System Pong Can You Pet The Dog? 34: SpencerGifs asks, how do the video game generations break down if you go by design innovation? (47:08) Atari Xbox 360 G4 35: ASmallRabbite asks, what is the most finally making it to an inn with 1hp and no potions moment in your real life? (48:32) Honda Prelude Pontiac Tempest 36: Nemoid asks, how can public institutions like libraries foster positive relationships with game enthusiasts? (51:38) Half-Price Books Wii PlayStation Classic Sega Genesis Mini TurboGrafx-16 Mini Nintendo Classic Mini Rock Band 37: Spencer asks, why did so many companies throw their hat in the console ring in the fifth generation? (55:07) Game console generations, according to Wikipedia 3DO CD-i Sega Saturn PlayStation PlayStation 2 Dreamcast Portland Retro Gaming Expo Funk Soul Brother PC-FX Steam Box VCR 38: Gaagaagiins asks, what is the best and worst default jump button? (58:44) The Godfather the Game God of War III 39: Anonymous asks, what is the Ween of video games? (01:01:31) Ween League of Legends 40: Gruntin' Gary asks, in what ways have video games become more and less accessible over the years? (01:02:56) 41: RepelHer asks, does the panel just generally never cry, or is there something about video games specifically? (01:04:24) Mother 3 Demonschool Annie Lee's Blue Monday New Order's Blue Monday Annie Lee's Sixty Pounds 42: Spencer asks, is video game marketing different from other marketing? (01:08:20) Call of Duty series Ep. 384 - Keighleyme Pie, with Mike Drucker Golden Sun Commercial The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 43: SecretBilly asks, what niche types of game player would historical figures have been? (01:12:13) Issac Newton Half-Life 2 Wolfgang Mozart Leonardo da Vinci Tetris: the Grand Master The Talos Principle Oscar Wilde Harry Houdini Teddy Roosevelt Dragon Age: Inquisition Iron Bull Marie Curie Overcooked! F. Scott Fitzgerald Martin Luther King Jr. Mafia III Recommendations and Outro (01:14:33): Brandon: Speed Racer (2008), The Golden Buddha (1966) or From Beijing with Love (1994), Flying Saucer Video Frank: watch two things with an actor at the same time Ash: The Boondocks, send Ash recommendations for Chinese historical harem dramas This week's Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

There's a worst case scenario looming here, isn't there? Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Curtis Yarvin, Freedom Cities, "Anarcho-Capitalism", and the Neofeudal Order Still to Come Special thanks to my Patrons Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for exclusive author's notes, deleted material, and other goodies Blog version: https://literatemachine.com/2025/04/13/our-coming-cyberpunk-dictatorship-snow-crash Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2025/04/13/our-coming-cyberpunk-dictatorship-snow-crash#bibliography Music: "What Shall We Do Now?" written by Roger Waters, performed by me Lossless audio version now up on Patreon

"Ich liebe jede Farbe, Hauptsache sie ist schwarz.""Pop will eat itself!""Wer vergisst, tötet auch ein zweites Mal!"Sprüche wie diese, in ihren unterschiedlichen Graden von Nihilismus, standen in meiner Teenagerzeit an unseren Wänden. Ganz normaler Gruftistuff. Weder wir Wandmaler noch das angestrebte Publikum - Kumpels, Eltern, Funktionäre - nahmen den Quatsch sonderlich ernst. Wenn man es sehr hoch hängen will, war es eine Form der Rebellion, ein Auflehnen gegen eine Gesellschaft (die DDR), mit deren Zielen man vielleicht noch halbwegs übereinstimmte - Sozialismus, warum nicht? - deren Methoden man aber ablehnte, speziell so Sachen, wie Leute ohne Rechtsgrundlage wegzusperren und s**t.Gerade weil die Kluft zwischen der postulierten und der gelebten Moral so tief war, fühlten wir weniger das Bedürfnis, gegen "das System" zu kämpfen; wir machten unser Ding parallel zu ihm, im Zweifel in leichter Opposition, aus der tiefen Überzeugung heraus, dass das alles eh nicht mehr so lange geht; zu bankrott, zu ausgehöhlt, zu bigott war die Gesellschaft.Was seinerzeit an Wänden stand, strahlt Dir heute auf Insta, TikTok oder, gottbehüte, X, the everything app, durch die Rezeptoren direkt ins Brain. Das ändert an der Tatsache nichts, dass das angestrahlte Publikum - Kumpels, Eltern, Funktionäre - den Quatsch auch heute nicht sonderlich ernst nehmen. Dabei steht im Unterschied zum plakativen Spruch damals, in den Posts heute, je nach Bubble, manchmal Fundamentales, klug Analysiertes gar. Aber da das gefährlich sein kann für die aktuellen Machthaber, benutzen diese die Kraft des Algorithmus, die Nachrichtenzone mit "Scheiße zu fluten". Damit sich das nur milde politisch interessierte Publikum nicht durch intelligente Kritik radikalisiert, werden Videos priorisiert, möglichst harmlose - Affen, Kinder, Katzen - und nur zu Wahlkampfzeiten pusht man vielleicht mal die eine oder andere Greueltat der aktuell größten Feinde des Establishments. Das alles ist gut untersucht und in Kurz- und Langform dokumentiert.Wenn man das Ganze als Wettstreit von Ideen betrachtet, von mir aus sogar "Ideologien" oder "Wertesystemen", kann man dieses Game durchaus interessiert finden, auch wenn die Protagonisten mit dem eigenen Leben spielen. Schon immer gab es den Wettstreit um die richtige Idee, den richtigen Weg zu leben und bei aller Verzweiflung ob des aktuellen Niveaus des Diskurses bringen 3 Millionen Posts immer noch weniger Menschen um, als 3 Millionen Kugeln. Früher wurde der Battle auf dem Schlachtfeld der Ideen als ein Kampf zwischen Progressiven und Konservativen betrachtet und als wertvoll angesehen, denn eine Gesellschaft, die zu schnell voranschreitet, lässt zu viele der Langsameren auf der Strecke; verharrt jedoch die Gesellschaft in Angst vor der Zukunft, droht sie zu explodieren, weil die Klugen und Wilden keinen Bock auf Langeweile und zähe Muffigkeit haben.Aber entspricht die Beschreibung "Vorwärts gegen Rückwärts" noch der Realität? Kämpfen hier zwei Moralitäten gegeneinander und die eine, aktuell die Konservative, liegt gerade vorn, weil den meisten Leuten der S**t um sie herum zu schnell geht, sie nicht mehr mitkommen?Wenn wir lesen (müssen), was der angeblich reichste F****r auf dem Planeten so sagt, ist man eher verwirrt:Für Nicht-Nerds: Wir Menschen sind nur die Starthilfe für eine digitale Superintelligenz, meint die menschliche Superintelligenz Elon Musk. Nun muss eine Meinung weder fundiert, durchdacht oder auch nur klug sein, um sich zu verbreiten, siehe "Coronaschutzimpfung machen 5G", siehe "Ausländer sind Schmarotzer" und ähnlicher Dünnschiss, den man im Erzgebirgsvorland so glaubt.Die Idee einer Singularität, einer Superintelligenz, in der wir Menschen bestenfalls aufgehen, wenn wir nicht einfach nur ihr Treibstoff sind, weil, zu dumm, stammt in etwa aus der Zeit, als ich die eingangs erwähnten Sprüche mit schwarzem Filzer an die Rauhfasertapete über meinem Bett malte. Dachte William Gibson Ende der Achtziger Jahre aus heutiger Sicht noch "konventionell" (Stecker in den Kopf), beschreibt 1995 Neal Stephenson in "Diamond Age" einen Almanach für Kinder, der dem ChatGPT-Abo, mit dem Schüler heute ihre Lehrer bescheißen, verdammt ähnlich ist. 1998 schrieb Ray Kurzweil dann den Urtext "The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence", und legte dar, wie wir uns alle zusammenschalten und inmitten von Computern leben werden. Nur ein Jahr später vollendeten die Wachowski-Geschwister den Weg von Gibsons "Computer für alle" zu "Alle für den Computer" mit der Matrix-Trilogie und ihrer Vision für die Biobatterie Mensch. Alles hübsche Geschichten über Superintelligenzen und Singularitäten, je nach persönlichem Geschmack hoffnungsvoll oder schreckensnihilistisch - aber auf keinen Fall real.Musks Spruch aber, dass wir Biopeople nur der Samen für eine digitale Intelligenz seien, ist, so dumm er ist, ernst gemeint und der Menschenfeind hat die Mittel und den Einfluss auf den mit Abstand dümmsten Präsidenten der Welt (Honni war ein Einstein dagegen), wenn schon nicht dieses Ziel zu erreichen, auf dem Weg dahin aber ordentlich Geschirr zu zerbrechen, die Weltwirtschaft z.B. oder den mehr schlecht als recht haltenden Weltfrieden. Irgendwie macht da die eigene Neigung zum zynischen Spruch, den manchmal nur ich lustig finde oder die provokante Spielerei mit dem Nihilismus, zu der ich auch 40 Jahre später noch neige, nicht mehr den allergrößten Spaß. Milliardäre machen einem aber auch alles kaputt. Duh.Aber so schnell lasse ich mich nicht aus der Rolle der milden Opposition drängen und praktiziere nunmehr Antinihilismus. Nicht oft, es fällt mir nicht zu, zu lange trage ich schwarz, bin zu introvertiert, zu fremd ist mir der Mensch, aber wenn es gegen Elon Musk geht, reiße ich mich zusammen. Zu pessimistisch sind die meisten Menschen um mich herum, da spielt es kaum eine Rolle, ob ihr Tribe bei Wahlen gerade verloren hat oder gewonnen. Denn so ansteckend wie ausländerfeindlicher AfD-Scheiß, Anti-Woke-Quatsch und AI-Slop sind, muss man wissen: alles, was beim Menschen durch irgendeine Körperöffnung rein geht und dann im Kopf ankommt, kann anstecken - sogar Freundlichkeit! Ich habe es jahrzehntelang nicht geglaubt. Jetzt ist es fast die letzte Hoffnung. Also mach ich das jetzt! Ich geh rein! Ich f*****g lächle Menschen an. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lobundverriss.substack.com

Welcome to Mona Lisa Overpod, the show that asks the question "What is cyberpunk?" On each episode, hosts Ka1iban and author Lyda Morehouse dive into the genre that helped define sci-fi fiction in '80s and they break down its themes which remain relevant to our lives in the 21st century. Pull on your mirrorshades, jack into the matrix, and start your run with us today!Was Snow Crash the annunciation of a new era of the cyberpunk genre or its epitaph? Upon its release in 1992, Neal Stephenson's third novel entered a literary world that had grown tired of the pessimistic speculations of tech noir fiction. The public was ready for tales of a future that promised hope and adventure, a little "high life" to go with the "high tech". Snow Crash has been lauded by contemporary critics (and tech CEOs) as a visionary, biting satire of consumerism and cyberpunk tropes in equal measure. But is Stephenson's tale of pizza-delivering hackers a postcyberpunk, postmodernist masterpiece, or is it just a bunch of babble? In this episode, we discuss the environment into which Snow Crash was born, its comic origins, the contiguity of cyberpunk and satire, Stephenson's evolving career, postcyberpunk, the book's eerie prescience, civilization as a virus, the book's influence on our current world, and a "culture medium for a medium culture." We also talk about the Seattle of the Midwest, missing the "meme", baby luaus, doing your own research, repeating bad information, A Irony, Ed Meece bucks, commentainment, status symbol books, boomer hackers and zoomer slackers, hipster sword fights, loving a crapsack world, subverting the "punk", notes of libertarianism, "Sushi K, Tran, and the Rat Things: The Spinoff", AskJeeves+, Wikipedia OMEGA, "skipping the memo", and only reading the second part of Snow Crash?!I love Y.T.! uh...like a little sister...The new edition of Lyda's book, Ressurection Code, is out now!https://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/books-by-lyda-morehouse/resurrection-code/Join Kaliban on Twitch weekdays at 12pm for the Cyber Lunch Hour!http://twitch.tv/justenoughtropePut Just Enough Trope merch on your body!http://justenoughtrope.threadless.comMLOP is a part of the Just Enough Trope podcast network. Check out our other shows about your favorite pop culture topics and join our Discord!http://www.twitter.com/monalisaoverpodhttp://www.justenoughtrope.comhttp://www.instagram.com/monalisaoverpodhttps://discord.gg/7E6wUayqBuy us a coffee on Ko-Fi!https://ko-fi.com/justenoughtrope

Three translations of a classic, high brow literary fiction, a great book from a friend of and mine then a whole lot of pulp. Also something that might be the beginnings of a book by Neal Stephenson.

Avec David Peyron, PandovStrochnis, Zelda de Doctriz et Saul PandelakisAnimation : Kath Bolchegeek D'un point de vue somme toute assez éloigné du roman drolatique de Neal Stephenson, à qui ce panel doit son titre, l''universitaire Irène Langlet exprimait, dans un article paru en 2012 dans la revue Res Futurae, combien la science-fiction a longtemps été très discrète dans le monde de la recherche ; particulièrement en France, où le genre s'est popularisé tout en se constituant comme “littérature de genre”, “sub-culture” ou “de niche” dans le paysage culturel et littéraire. Et même si le temps n'est plus au mépris vis-à-vis de la science-fiction et de l'imaginaire, nous avons affaire à un domaine récent, dont nos invité·e·s à cette table-ronde, dans des disciplines différentes, ont fait l'objet de leurs recherches. Pourquoi faire de la recherche sur la science-fiction, et sur quoi porte-elle donc ? Par ailleurs, l'université semble depuis quelques années mise à rude épreuve : réformes néolibérales prétendant garantir “l'autonomie” des universités mais renforçant la concurrence entre établissements, sélection de plus en plus précoce et drastique des étudiant·es, précarisation des doctorant·es, sans compter les attaques idéologiques réactionnaires visant tout particulièrement les sciences humaines et sociales. A cet égard, nos invité·e·s considèrent-iels leur champ d'étude, la science-fiction, comme menacé ? Quels dangers guettent l'université, l'indépendance de la recherche scientifique et de ses acteur·ice·s ? Quel avenir envisagent-iels pour leurs travaux et quels types d'organisation leur sembleraient éventuellement plus propices ? Dans le cadre de la 11e édition du festival Les Intergalactiques le dimanche 16 avril 2023. Site internet du festival :https://intergalactiques.net

Die Zeiten ändern sich, manchmal schnell. Noch am 8. August 2024, also vor einem halben Jahr, warb ich hier für den Abbruch, das nicht zu Ende Lesen von Büchern, am Beispiel von dreien solcher. Zu schön war der Sommer und zu deprimierend, zu anstrengend, zu weltfremd oder einfach nur zu lang waren die Werke. Seitdem haben wir lange vergessene Habitus (← Mehrzahl, sagt Google!) wiedererlernen müssen, das Anziehen von Anoraks zum Beispiel oder dass es erst früh um 10 hell wird, so ein bisschen und 15:00 Uhr wieder düster. Stockfinster wurde es tageszeitübergreifend dann plötzlich am 5. November 2024. Nachdem seit diesem verhängnisvollen Tag die, wie wir mittlerweile sicher sein können, faschistische Machtübernahme in den USA läuft und ähnliches hierzulande dräut, haben wir also alle das Doomscrolling wiedererlernt, man will keine Nachricht, keine Schweinetat, keine Unmenschlichkeit verpassen, um dann altklug und rechthaberisch den Kopf zu schütteln. Irgendwann jedoch schmerzt das Genick und man denkt wieder drüber nach, in Fantasiewelten zu fliehen, fühlt sich aber auch ein bisschen schuldig, im Angesicht der Diktatur des Bösen, komplett abzuschalten.Da erinnert man sich plötzlich, da war doch jemand, damals im August, als es noch hell war, dem es damals schon so schlecht mit der Welt ging, vielleicht weiß der ja Rat. Wie hieß er noch, es war der tollste Name der Welt, genau, Shalom Auslander, dem ging es so schlecht in "Feh", dass ich mir davon nicht die Laune verderben lassen wollte und das Buch weglegte. Geschrieben hatte er es vor der Pandemie von 2020 (man sollte sich langsam angewöhnen, die Dinger zu spezifizieren), also in einer Zeit voller fun in the sun für uns - nicht so für Shalom. Fünf Jahre später lebt man selbst in dunklen Zeiten und wir alle gehören jetzt zur Zielgruppe des Buches. Also habe ich "Feh" tatsächlich zu Ende gelesen. Die Stories darin waren schon damals gut, das war nicht mein Problem und die Verzweiflung an der Welt, damals, im August noch als übertrieben empfunden, ist nun auch die meine. Woran Auslander vor allem leidet ist, dass die Menschen so unachtsam oder einfach "not nice" sind. Ja, ich sehe das jetzt auch so. Bisher war meine Meinung: "Ja, wir alle sind das mal", aber ich war sicher, alle Leserinnen von "Lob und Verriss", so als Querschnitt durch die Gesellschaft, geben sich Mühe das so selten wie möglich zu sein. Was sich seitdem verändert hat, in die Welt gekommen zu sein scheint oder einfach nur an die Oberfläche gespült wurde, ist eine systemische Brutalität. Nicht nur die übliche Gedankenlosigkeit, der Alltagsrassismus, -klassismus, -antifeminismus, whathaveyou, nein, das Pendel schwingt zurück. Brutal. Und Shalom Auslander hatte das schon im Blick, damals, prepandemisch. Also konnte er es damals schon analysieren und, na klar, nichts lässt sich auf ein Problem, ein System, ein Gift zurückführen, aber Auslander meint sich konzentrieren zu müssen auf die Hauptursacher der ganzen Kacke: die "Religion", genauer, die des Alten Testaments. Und tatsächlich, da wird aktuell zum Beispiel von einem Möchtegernintelektuellen, der sich in die luftigen Höhen des Vizepräsidialamtes der US of A hochgebumst hat, die olle Schwarte und ihre Interpretatoren zu scheinheiligen Argumentationen herangezogen, nämlich, dass es eine "Reihenfolge der Barmherzigkeit" gäbe, no s**t, das stehe schon in der Bibel. Nun, da steht alles Mögliche drin und so nimmt er halt dieses Mal das Prinzip "ordo amoris" (don't google it) und macht daraus "Ausländer raus". Der F****r. Wie kann man die Bibel so falsch lesen, fragt man sich, wenn man den Spruch gegoogelt hat (ich sagte "Don't google it"!). "Duh!", sagte Auslander, wie wir jetzt wissen, wo wir das Buch zu Ende gelesen haben, "It's a feature, not a bug". Die Bibel als Lehrbuch der Barmherzigkeit? "Geh mir weg!", argumentiert Shalom im Buch. Wo in der f*****g Bibel kommt Gott als "barmherzig" davon? Die Sintflut, bei der im Grunde nur Noah übrig blieb? Sodom und Gomorra, wo Gott direkt zwei komplette Städte ausradierte, weil, falsch gefickt? Wenn man sich diesen kleingeistigen Shithead zum Vorbild nimmt, kommt ziemlich exakt das raus, was man in den USA gerade an realer Politik sieht und was sich die CDU/CSU, als arschkriechende Nachahmer, interessiert sabbernd anschauen.Leider ist das Buch noch nicht übersetzt, aber seine kleinen moralischen Gleichnisse und Geschichten sind in leicht verdaulichem Englisch verfasst und man erfährt nebenbei noch ein bisschen Hollywood-Gossip. Es gibt herzzerreißende Stories von seinem Freund Philip Seymour Hoffman und einen sehr geheimnisvollen Beef mit Paul Rudd. Und am Ende einen Hauch Hoffnung. Irre.Schon lange unter dem Titel "Corvus" auf Deutsch erschienen war das zweite im August weggelegte Buch. Im Original hieß es "Fall; or, Dodge in Hell", geschrieben von Neal Stephenson und natürlich ist auch das Ding jetzt wieder ganz oben auf der Leseliste gelandet, schließlich verbraten im Buch Tech-Bros absurde Mengen an Ressourcen um für die Mehrheit der Menschen unnützen Scheiß zu machen - wo haben wir das schon mal gehört? Für den theoretischen Überbau dieser inhumanen Kacke, sprich, des sich Konzentrieren auf die Probleme einer fernen Zukunft, statt der realen Schwierigkeiten im Hier und Jetzt, habe ich letztens schon diesen Vortrag empfohlen, der mir erst bei Wiederaufnahme der Lektüre wieder einfiel, beschreibt er doch sehr verständlich die absurden aber tatsächlichen, realen Gedanken der aktuell unser aller Leben bestimmenden Multimilliardäre. In der Fiktion von Stephenson gibt es diese F****r auch, auch diese wollen eine Erde ohne Menschen, wenn auch irgendwie "positiver", vielleicht auch nur (vom Autor) unreflektierter. Aus irgendeinem Grund muss das Buch ja für Neal Stephenson Verhältnisse gefloppt sein. Aber da die real existierenden Arschlöcher, die Musks, Horowitzs, Thiels nicht genug bekommen können von Science Fiction und Fantasy und völlig ungeniert ihre Milliardenbuden nach absolut negativ konnotierten Fantasyobjekten wie z.B. Palantir, benennen, ist es fast Pflichtlektüre, die aktuellen Vorlagen mal nicht nur unter dem Unterhaltungsaspekt zu konsumieren sondern als Forschung, um zu erkennen, was in den kranken Köpfen der Superreichen aktuell so an Plänen für uns Biomasse heranreifen könnte. Also bin ich jetzt doch wieder dran am Werk und nebenbei ist Stephenson natürlich immer noch ein brillanter Schriftsteller und "Fall"/"Corvus", wenn auch viermal zu lang, super zu lesen, wenn man sich die Zeit nimmt und nicht erwartet einem gefühlt 4000-Seiten-Roman (ok, 1153 im deutschen) zu 100% folgen zu können.Und was ist aus dem dritten Buch in der Reihe der Nicht-zu-Ende gelesenen geworden? Taffy Brodesser-Akners "Long Island Compromise"? Ja, das habe ich auch zu Ende gelesen und es hat sich als das beste der drei herausgestellt und als ein wichtiges zudem. Das war nicht wirklich abzusehen und da es am 10. März 2025 unter dem Titel "Die Fletchers von Long Island" auf deutsch erscheint, bekommt es aus diesem Anlass eine eigene Rezension. Sie wird überschrieben sein mit "Wir müssen über den Holocaust sprechen" - also wie gewohnt ein Brüller vom Herrn Falschgold.Bis dahin, genauer bis zum 16. März 2025, verbleibt Derselbige.P.S. Als konkrete Lebenshilfe für Winterdeprimierte empfehle ich aktuell das Hören (!) des "Zauberberg 2" von Heinz Strunk. Die Jahreszeit passt und wer nicht spontan in hysterisches Lachen ausbricht, wenn der Heinz von der Therapiegruppe im Sanatorium erzählt und schief singt:The river she's flowing, Flowing and growing, The river she's flowing, Back to the sea.Mother Earth carrying me, Your child I will always be, Mother Earth carrying me, Back to the sea.dem geht's nicht schlecht genug. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lobundverriss.substack.com

History and geopolitical intrigue meet fiction under the masterful skill of #1 New York Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson. He joins us with a new tale: Polostan, a vividly imagined historical epic that traces the enigmatic life of protagonist Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Her life criss-crosses some of the 20th century's pivotal scenes, from Leningrad to the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organisation that later becomes the KGB. An expert at merging thrilling fiction with meticulous detail grounded in real historical events, Neal draws back the curtains of his new epic foretelling the dawn of the Atomic Age and marking the beginning of his new series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Late last year we started interviewing folk in the business of solar radiation management (SRM) - aka one flavour of “geoengineering”. It's a taboo subject. It's sci-fi gold. It's also something we're going to be talking about. Particularly after famed climate scientist James Hansen and a platoon of other climate scientists published a new paper declaring not just the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5C to be in the rear-view mirror, but - as Damian Carrington in the Guardian summed it up: “The new analysis said global heating is likely to reach 2C by 2045, unless solar geoengineering is deployed.”The reason for a lot of this acceleration in global heating, say Hansen and colleagues, is (perversely) the result of successful efforts to reduce pollution. Specifically, removing sulfur from maritime fuel. That sulfur has been causing potentially millions of deaths a year due to respiratory diseases. So it's being phased out. Only one problem - the sulfur was having the under-appreciated consequence of reflecting quite a lot of sunlight back into space. How much? More than the entire energy output of humanity in a given year. And now that it's been removed, enough to - according to the paper - drive half the acceleration in global heating over the past 5 years or so.Hansen is hardly fringe for picking this up, though people don't all agree on the significance. Zeke Hausfather, who was not involved in the research, is among climate scientist who has acknowledge this “aerosol forcing” problem. Some data of his turned up in Nat Bullard's superb annual climate deck:Wicked Problems is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.On the call releasing their findings, Hansen et al discussed SRM. Which (even more perversely) often involves ideas for putting sulfur dioxide back into the atmosphere. But on purpose. To cool things off. To buy time.So here is part one of a series of conversations about SRM, featuring Kelly Wanser - the head of Silver Lining, one of the leading non-batshit-crazy outfits trying to do research on technologies that might make it possible. We'll put out part two very soon.00:00 Introduction to the Climate Crisis00:28 The Doomsday Clock and Climate Realities01:57 Hansen's Climate Predictions02:55 Aerosol Forcing and Global Warming05:10 Purposeful Global Cooling08:04 Interview with Kelly Wanser11:07 Silver Linings' Mission and Climate Interventions23:19 Challenges and Ethical Questions31:32 Introduction to Luke Eisman and Make Sunsets31:50 Neal Stephenson's Influence and Geoengineering Concept32:45 Luke Eisman's DIY Approach to Geoengineering34:05 Critique of Non-Expert Interventions35:10 Challenges in Atmospheric Science37:51 Responsible Research and Global Perspectives40:10 The Importance of Atmospheric Monitoring47:56 Global South and Climate Risk Research 52:55 The Montreal Protocol and Climate Agreements54:54 Final Thoughts and Recommendations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

February/March 2025 | Hosts Holly Browning and Dylan Posa talk about the one-one-one genealogy program, and recommend: 'Spare' by Prince Harry 'Polostan' by Neal Stephenson 'The Midnight Feast' by Lucy Foley and 'The Map Thief' by Michael Blanding.

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   Vernor Vinge (1944-2024) Vernor Vinge (1944-2024), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded in the KPFA studios, May 7, 1992 while on tour for his novel, “Fire Upon the Deep,” which would be a co-winner of the Huge Award for Best Novel at the 1993 World Science Fiction Convention. ​​​​​Vernor Vinge, who died on March 20th, 2024 at the age of 79 was one of the masters of late twentieth century and early 21st century science fiction. He won five Hugo Awards, three for Best Novel and two for best novella, and is credited as the first science fiction writer to offer a fictional cyberspace, a few years before William Gibson and Neal Stephenson. Over all, Vernor Vinge wrote eight novels and had five published collections of his writings. His final novel, The Children of the Sky, was published in 2011. A prequel to Fire Upon the Deep titled A Deepness in the Sky, was published in 1999, and a sequel, The Children of the Sky, his last novel, was published in 2011. To date, none of his stories have been adapted for either television or film. Vernor Vince retired from teaching in 2000 to become a full-time writer. In this interview, he goes into detail about what are now the early days of life on the internet, and discusses his early writing about cyberspace, and about singularities. There are also comments about what the future holds, a future we now are experiencing. This interview has not aired in over thirty years, and was digitized, remastered and edited in January 2025 by Richard Wolinsky. Complete Interview.   Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood 2013. Photo: Jean Malek Margaret Atwood, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios June 10, 2003 while on tour for the novel “Oryx and Crake.” One of the most distinguished authors writing today, Margaret Atwood is best known for her novel “The Handmaid's Tale,” and well as several other novels, short stories, poems, essays and political commentary. In this interview from 2003, she discusses her science fiction novel “Oryx and Crake,” first of what later became a trilogy including ‘Year of the Flood” and “Maddadam,” along with her work on a collection of speeches and essays, “Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing.” This is the fifth of eight interviews with Margaret Atwood conducted between the years 1989 and 2013. Complete Interview   Review of the national touring company production of “Some Like It Hot” at BroadwaySF Orpheum Theatre   Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. See website for specific days and times, and for staged readings at LaVal's Subterranean Theater. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions. American Conservatory Theatre Nobody Loves You, a musical, Feb. 28 – March 30, Toni Rembe Theatre. Aurora Theatre  The Heart-Sellers by Lloyd Suh, February 9 – March 9, 2025. Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. The Thing About Jellyfish, based on the novel by Ali Benjamin, adapted by Keith Bunin, January 31 – March 9, World Premiere, Roda Theatre. Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Conor McPherson, February 14 – March 23, Peets Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company. See website for upcoming shows. Supergalza: A Shakespeare Cabaret, spring 2025. Boxcar Theatre. Magic Man, Jan 3 – June 2, Palace Theatre. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Some Like It Hot, January 7-26, Orpheum. Annie, Feb. 6-9, Orpheum, Back to the Future: The Musical, Feb 12 – March 9. Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  The Cher Show. March 18 – 23. Center Rep: Froggy, Feb. 9 – March 7. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  Push/Pull by Harry Davis, March 1 – 30, 2025. Cinnabar Theatre. Gutenberg! The Musical, January 17 – 26, 2025, Warren Theatre, Sonoma State University. Club Fugazi. SF Sketchfest, Jan. 16 – Feb. 2. Dear San Francisco resumes Feb. 7.. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fairview by Jackie Sibblies Drury. February 1 – 16, 2025. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  AZAD (The Rabbit and the Wolf) by Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with Jared Mezzocchi, April 11 – May 3. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Daisy by Sean Devine, January 23 – February  9. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. See website for upcoming productions. Los Altos Stage Company. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Jan. 23 – Feb. 16. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. the boiling by Sunui Chang  April 3 -20, 2025. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: Josh-A-Palooza with Josh Kornbluth, January 16 -19 Marin Theatre  Waste by Harley Granville-Barker,  Feb. 6 – March 2, 2025. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Francis Grey and the Case of His Dead Boyfriend by Nathan Tylutkis, February 6-16. Wild with Happy by Colman Domingo, March 7 – April 6. Oakland Theater Project.  See website for upcoming schedule. Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for one day/night events. Pear Theater. The Gods of Comedy by Ken Ludwig,  Feb. 21 – March 16. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. See website for upcoming productions and events. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein's at the Nikko and upcoming productions.. San Francisco Playhouse. Waitress, November 21, 2024 – January 18, 2025. Exotic Deadly, or the MSG Play by Keiko Green, January 30 – March 8. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. San Jose Stage Company: An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, Feb. 5 – March 2.. Shotgun Players.  Heart Wrench, Feb 14 – 15. Art by Yazmina Reza, starts March 8. South Bay Musical Theatre: Urinetown,  January 15 – February 15, 2025. Saratoga Civic Theater. Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  See website for upcoming productions. Theatre Rhino  Doodler, conceived and directed by John Fisher, February 8- March 2. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Rachmaninoff and the Czar with Hershey Felder and Jonathan Silvestri, Jan. 8 – Feb. 9, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   . The post January 16, 2025: Vernor Vinge – Margaret Atwood appeared first on KPFA.

Vernor Vinge (1944-2024), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded in the KPFA studios, May 7, 1992 while on tour for his novel, “Fire Upon the Deep,” which would be a co-winner of the Huge Award for Best Novel at the 1993 World Science Fiction Convention. ​​​​​Vernor Vinge, who died on March 20th, 2024 at the age of 79 was one of the masters of late twentieth century and early 21st century science fiction. He won five Hugo Awards, three for Best Novel and two for best novella, and is credited as the first science fiction writer to offer a fictional cyberspace, a few years before William Gibson and Neal Stephenson. Over all, Vernor Vinge wrote eight novels and had five published collections of his writings. His final novel, The Children of the Sky, was published in 2011. A prequel to Fire Upon the Deep titled A Deepness in the Sky, was published in 1999, and a sequel, The Children of the Sky, his last novel, was published in 2011. To date, none of his stories have been adapted for either television or film. Vernor Vince retired from teaching in 2000 to become a full-time writer. In this interview, he discusses university-level mathematics, and goes into detail about what are now the early days of life on the internet, and ways in which communications are shared using minimal bytes, and discusses his early writing about cyberspace, and about singularities. There are also comments about what the future holds, a future we now are experiencing. This interview has not aired in over thirty years, and was digitized, remastered and edited in January 2025 by Richard Wolinsky. The post Vernor Vinge (1944-2024), Science Fiction Master, 1992 appeared first on KPFA.

The Drunk Guys try to send all the beer into space this week when the read Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. Their “hard” rain consists of: Save the Robots by Radiant Pig as well as Morticia and Crowning Achievement by Barrier Brewing Company. Join the Drunk Guys next Tuesday for The

Brendan talks about the books he read in Quarter 3 of 2024. Join us, won't you?Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (2007)Echopraxia (Firefall #2) by Peter Watts, Adam J. Rough (Narrator) (2014)Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Naomi Alderman et al (2022)Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, Mary Robinette Kowal (Narrator), Will Damron (Narrator) (2015)Edge of the Wire by Scott Kenemore (2024)Dwellings (Dwellings #1-3) by Jay Stephens (2024)Death of a Maid (Hamish MacBeth #22) by M.C. Beaton (2007)This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (2019)JAWS by Peter Benchley (1974)What did you read in Q3 of 2024? Share your reading over on Boardgamegeek in Guild #3269.

An airhacks.fm conversation with Ladislav Thon (@ladicek) about: Didaktik Gama to Red Hat, early programming experiences with Basic and Karel, learning Pascal and C in school, working with Java in university and early career, joining Red Hat as a quality engineer for JBoss Enterprise Application Platform, testing clustering and load balancing with SmartFrog, transitioning to WildFly Swarm / Thorntail development, becoming Thorntail project lead, moving to quarkus development, involvement in CDI specification improvements, discussion about portable extensions in CDI, interest in science fiction literature, mention of favorite authors and books including Neal Stephenson's Anathem and The Expanse series Ladislav Thon on github: @ladicek

Jeph Wilkinson, host of Big Campaign Podcast, loves table top role playing games (AKA TTRPGs) and joined Leah to talk about how he found Dungeons & Dragon, the joy of running TTRPGs campaigns with friends, and storytelling. Jeph is an independent podcaster! Follow Jeph online The World of Big Campaign Stories: https://www.bigcampaign.com/ Big Campaign Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/big_campaign_stories Big Campaign Podcast on X: https://x.com/BigCampaignPod Big Campaign Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/big_campaign_podcast Show Notes Upper Middlebrow: https://uppermiddlebrow.com/ Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson: https://bookshop.org/p/books/snow-crash-neal-stephenson/7327954?ean=9780553380958 Dungeons & Dragons: https://dndstore.wizards.com/ Dune by Frank Herbert: https://bookshop.org/p/books/dune-frank-herbert/7502701?ean=9780441172719 Vampire: the Masquerade: https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/world-of-darkness/discover-world-of-darkness/vampire-the-masquerade The Golden Bachelorette: https://abc.com/show/4175a1c6-1594-4c90-9895-02008e6f0550 Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka: https://zubrowka-vodka.com/ Epic Level Handbook: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Level_Handbook Finding Favorites "Chris Bagg loves Table Top Roleplaying Games": https://findingfavorites.podbean.com/e/chris-bagg-dnd-ttrpg/ Newcomers: https://headgum.com/newcomers Pathfinder: https://paizo.com/pathfinder Wizards of the Coast: https://company.wizards.com/ High and Mighty: https://headgum.com/high-and-mighty Magic: The Gathering: https://magic.wizards.com/ Clash of Krits: https://linktr.ee/clashofkrits Rainbow Dice Club: https://linktr.ee/rainbowdiceclub How Did This Get Made?: https://www.earwolf.com/show/how-did-this-get-made/ Doughboys: https://headgum.com/doughboys Armchair Expert: https://armchairexpertpod.com/ Finding Favorites is edited and mixed by Rob Abrazado. Follow Finding Favorites on Instagram at @FindingFavsPod and leave a 5 star rating on Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or Spotify. Got a question or want to suggest a guest? email Leah at FindingFavoritesPodcast@gmail.com Support Finding Favorites by shopping for books by guests or recommended by guests on Bookshop.

Neal Stephenson: mezcal margarita (2 ounces mezcal, 1 ounce Cointreau, lime juice) Neal identifies the two greatest threats to the future of humanity, the most compelling inflection points for alternative history, his process for writing his novels (and shares that he writes by hand), the best sci fi book ever written, the best sci fi movie ever made, and discusses a new philosophy he's started to practice that could save the world.

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, CDR Paul Grostad discusses the emerging threat of cognitive warfare, emphasizing the importance of information in modern societies and the potential for it to be weaponized. Until recently, Paul led Cognitive Warfare concept development for the NATO strategic warfare development command, HQ SACT, in Norfolk Virginia. NATO defines cognitive warfare as: the deliberate, synchronized military and non-military activities throughout the continuum of competition designed to shape the information environments and affect audience, attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors to gain, maintain, and protect cognitive superiority. Recording Date: 29 Nov 2024 Research Question: Paul Groestad suggests an interested student or researcher examine:  How can we ethically gain situational awareness and monitor the Information Environment without negatively impacting values like freedom of speech and freedom of the press? How can we effectively deter against non-attributable hostile acts in the Grey Zone, or below the threshold of armed conflict? AI powered influence is on the rise, what are different ways to utilize AI to defend, counter or respond? Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #33 August Cole on FICINT and the Cognitive Warfighting Domain #180 Tanna Krewson on Cognitive Warfare Cognitive Warfare Products on the NATO Innovation Hub Cognitive warfare: a conceptual analysis of the NATO ACT cognitive warfare exploratory concept by Christoph Deppe and Gary S Schaal. (FYI: This report is an analysis of an earlier draft version of The Cognitive Warfare EXPLORATORY Concept, which was shared with nations for comments in April 2023. Significant review, analysis and experimentation has gone into the document since then.) Allied Command Transformation develops the Cognitive Warfare Concept to Combat Disinformation and Defend Against “Cognitive Warfare” “Data is the new oil” Clive Humby On Geopolitics: New Cold Wars by David Sanger (2024) On the changing character of warfare: The Dragons and the Snakes by David Kilcullen (2020) New Rules of War by Sean McFate The Weaponisation of Everything by Mark Galeotti (2022) On Russian Strategic Culture and Information Warfare: The Russian Understanding of War by Oscar Jonsson (2019) Unmasking Maskirovka by Daniel Bagge (2019) The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes (2022) On Technology: Our Next Reality by Alvin Graylin and Louis Rosenberg (2024) The Battle for your Brain by Nita Farahany (2023) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992) Daemon by Daniel Suarez (2009) Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio:  CDR Paul Groestad is a Norwegian naval officer with 30+ years experience in Signals, C4ISR, Cyber Operations and Information Warfare at all levels of the Norwegian Armed Forces and the NATO Command Structure. His current position is with the Norwegian Ministry of Defense at the Department for Security Policy and Operations where he is desk officer for Hybrid threats and Malign Influence.  In his previous position at NATOs Warfare Development Command, HQ SACT in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, he was the Deputy Branch Head for Concept Development and led the project for NATOs Cognitive Warfare Concept. He is a graduate of the Norwegian Naval Academy and Joint Command and Staff College, holds a Masters degree in Military Art and Science from the Norwegian Defence University College and a Bachelor's degree in Information Science from the University of Bergen.  His 2017 Master's thesis was on the topic of Russian Influence Operations. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Humanity needs a group project. From the cave paintings at Lascaux, and the pyramids of Giza, to the national parks of today, there is something beautiful about human beings working on something they will never see fully realized. I am by no means the first person to make this point, two millennia ago Cicero wrote about it, by quoting the poet Statius: “He plants his trees to serve a race to come,” Nowhere is this more apparent than in the dozens of Cathedrals I have visited during my numerous trips criss-crossing Europe.Given their intimidating size, one would be forgiven for being tempted to dismiss a cathedral as merely a tool intended to project church power. As a friend of mine is so fond of remarking on cathedrals, and their pipe organs in particular, “We got the biggest pile of rocks, and the loudest thing.” But to view these structures as only a church-led enterprise, one that common folk participated in as a last resort in the hope of getting a scrap of food, is to miss the evidence right before your eyes at many a cathedral.More than once I have stared up at a menagerie of fantastical gargoyles on the side of a gothic pile and seen something far more familiar. Doubtless you can bring an image of a traditional waterspout creature to mind, a stone dragon or lion with a gaping maw which vomits water during heavy rain. Now picture, instead of the pipe emerging from the jaws of a beast, it comes spouting fourth from the spread buttocks of a human figure. This image is rendered all the more amusing in its posture; clinging to the side of the cathedral in pose more reminiscent of a horny teenager's depiction of spiderman than anything one would associate with sanctity. Elsewhere I have seen Adam and Eve rendered with larger than usual breasts, genitals, and buttocks, a nursing baby Jesus with an all-too-knowing grin, and of course countless improbably shredded Christs. This last group often looks more like something from a recent Marvel film, than anything you'd plan on encountering at church.Please understand, I am not drawing your attention to all of this bawdy stonemasonry for mere jocularity, but rather to make a point. Cathedrals were such large enterprises, and took so long to complete that many details were either beneath the notice or beyond the care of their supervisors. I like to joke about this by remarking: “Remove the butt gargoyle? What do you want me to do? Climb up there and take out the flying buttress support?” But it is more than that, I believe some of these things were permitted in order to allow everyone to feel invested. These things were giant community art projects.Cathedrals often brought prosperity and tourism to the towns where they were constructed, especially if you could throw a relic or two in there to encourage pilgrimage. The downside was that they were usually being built in whatever time could be spared from the important tasks of day to day life. It often took decades, if not centuries, to build a cathedral. You could work your entire life on one of these structures and not live to see it have a roof. They were truly investments in the lives of hypothetical future people you would never see.It is my personal hope that the colonization of space could be our modern cathedral. I owe this comparison to none other than Ray Bradbury who noted that both enterprises are a “vast, ambitious, multigenerational undertaking, a shared vision to work toward together as a culture.” This sentiment obviously fills the pre-2006 installments of the popular Star Trek franchise, but has been seen more in more recent works. Take for instance Neal Stephenson's 2015 doorstop of a tome SevenEves. This book depicts millions of people working to launch a precious few into space, before a disastrous event wipes out all life on earth.But these are pie-in-the-literal-sky science fiction musings! Perhaps we should be focusing on more earthly problems? Sure you could make that argument. But I find it interesting to look at what an intelligent young person could hope for if they studied hard in the fifties and sixties. They could work at NASA, they could be involved with sending people to the moon! In the middle of the last century intelligent people were drawn to the promise of space travel, and they congregated in the United States to help realize that dream. Out of the ashes of the Second World War, a new space age would dawn. For a moment it seemed that it would, but now? If you work hard in science and math you could one day go work for Amazon, Google, or Tesla; enriching a billionaire! Wow! What Fun! The only reason those giant technology companies exist is because previous generations were sold the promise of outer space, only to find themselves chained to desks solving earthly supply chain and video streaming problems. It's no wonder the world seems to be descending into chaos, we're making our finest minds do drudge work.We seem to have lost sight of the potential we possess, we have stopped looking up. We have once again become obsessed with our problems down here on our pale blue dot. I am sympathetic to those who insist that earthly poverty is a huge issue, that climate change threatens us all, that there is no “Planet B.” But I think if we only look down we risk falling into petty in-fighting and sectarian conflict. We need to strive for the stars for the exact same reason people living in tiny mud huts poured so much of themselves into their cathedrals. Because they make us look upward at something greater than we could ever hope to achieve alone. I find that when I'm looking up, it is easy to overlook my differences with the person next to me. To stand side-by-side and wonder. So, let's go build a cathedral.

Guest Thomas Karagianes | Jonathan Romano Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode, host Richard Littauer discusses the journey and impact of Eterna with developers Jonathan Romano and Thomas Karagianes. The conversation revolves around Eterna's role in RNA research through user-contributed puzzle solutions, emphasizing community engagement and educational outreach. Topics include the integration of hybrid intelligence, where human intuition complements AI in scientific discovery, and the significance of explainable AI in motivating player participation. The episode also touches on the ethical considerations in collaborating with for-profit entities, the development of accessible COVID vaccines, and low-cost tuberculosis diagnostics. Hit download now to hear more! [00:01:24] Jonathan describes Eterna, a platform where players solve puzzles to contribute to RNA research. [00:02:12] Thomas explains that Eterna focuses on RNA complexity and its importance in modern science, like mRNA vaccines and how Eterna engages players in folding RNA sequences and testing them in labs. [00:04:36] Richard asks if the project is open source and Jonathan says its partially open source and explains the technical limitations that prevent full openness. [00:05:26] We learn about Eterna's community with around 100,000 total players, and a core group of about 30-40 who regularly engage in scientific challenges. [00:07:31] Thomas discusses ongoing efforts to make the game more accessible and increase community engagement through educational outreach and simplifying the tutorial system, and Eterna is used in classrooms as a teaching tool. [00:09:47] Jonathan explains how some Eterna players become code contributors, staff members, and even lead authors on academic papers. [00:13:32] We hear about the funding of the community. [00:15:56] Thomas discusses how Eterna integrates AI to assist players but stresses the importance of human intuition in tackling unique challenges and Jonathan explains how Eterna uses hybrid intelligence, combining AI and human input for better research outcomes. He highlights how Eterna's community has contributed to important research, including COVID-19 vaccine development and tuberculosis diagnostics. [00:22:29] Thomas shares that Eterna attracts players who enjoy breaking the model or exploring boundaries, making the game engaging and motivating for them. [00:27:48] Jonathan and Thomas discuss the ethical considerations of partnerships, especially with for-profit companies, and the need to engage the community in decision-making processes. [00:31:41] Jonathan shares how you can contribute to Eterna and how to join the developer community on GitHub. Quotes [00:10:10] “Minimally, whenever there is a scientific publication that comes out of Eterna from players contributions, there is a consortium author on the paper. That will include everyone who has submitted a solution.” [00:14:21] “There's definitely this pattern - and you can even see it in the code- where open source code passes from grad student to grad student.” [00:19:14] “Hybrid intelligence is an underused buzzword.” Spotlight [00:33:16] Richard's spotlight is The Internet Archive. [00:34:23] Jonathan's spotlight is txircd, a modular IRC daemon written in Python. [00:35:32] Thomas's spotlight is Bioconda. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) richard@sustainoss.org (mailto:richard@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) SustainOSS LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sustainoss/?trk=public_profile_volunteering-position_profile-section-card_full-click&originalSubdomain=in) Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) (https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Socials (https://www.burntfen.com/2023-05-30/socials) Thomas Karagianes LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaskaragianes/) Jonathan Romano Website (https://luxaritas.com/) Jonathan Romano LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/luxaritas/) Eterna (https://eternagame.org/) Eterna Project Information (https://eternagame.org/about) Eterna OpenVaccine (https://eternagame.org/challenges/10845741) Eterna OpenTB (https://eternagame.org/challenges/10845742) Eterna OpenKnot (https://eternagame.org/challenges/11843006) Eternagame-GitHub (https://github.com/eternagame) Foldit (https://fold.it/) RNA (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA) Hybrid Intelligence (Springer Link article) (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12599-019-00595-2) Mapping Citizen Science through the Lens of Human-Centered AI (Human Computation article) (https://hcjournal.org/index.php/jhc/article/view/133) Practical recommendations from a multi-perspective needs and challenges assessment of citizen science games (PLOS ONE article) (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285367) Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountains_Beyond_Mountains) Internet Archive (https://archive.org/) txircd (https://github.com/elementalalchemist/txircd) Bioconda (https://bioconda.github.io/) Reamde by Neal Stephenson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reamde) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guests: Jonathan Romano and Thomas Karagianes.

Thanks to our awesome Patrons, we're proud to present another episode of Mediasplode! Running Time: 00:58:08 This month, Josh Flanagan and Conor Kilpatrick are joined by their original Pick of the Week co-host Ron Richards to discuss… What We've Been Enjoying: 00:02:02 – Josh watched The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox. 00:12:46 – Conor was consumed by postseason baseball, and enjoyed the latest seasons of Only Murders in the Building and The Old Man. 00:18:21 – Ron went on a documentary binge and watched Mr. McMahon, Anatomy of Lies, and This is the Zodiac Speaking. Mail Bag: 00:25:19 – Isaac P. wants to celebrate the new Neal Stephenson book by tier listing his oeuvre. 00:33:28 – Andrew from Michigan asks about all-time favorite TV theme songs. 00:39:57 – Mark B. wants to know why the iFanboys have never talked about Daisy Jones and The Six. 00:43:12 – Greg F. from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania misses Josh's impressions. 00:45:06 – Kenneth J. asks which TV shows deserve a six-episode miniseries to wrap up properly. 00:49:18 – Matt M. from East Northport, New York wants to know which classic movies the iFanboys appreciated more after finally seeing them on the silver screen. 00:54:20 – Adam from Orlando, Florida was listening to an old episode of Pick of the Week and asks about the Mack Weldon ads. SPOILERS ABOVE! What's a Mediasplode? It's a monthly special edition show in which we talk about what we are enjoying in media outside of the realm of comic books. It's like our All Media Year End Round-Up but in a shorter, monthly format. Note: Time codes are subject to change depending on dynamic ad insertion by the distributor. Music: “Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now” (Theme from Perfect Strangers) David Pomeranz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neal Stephenson, visionary speculative fiction author and long-time friend of Long Now, joined us for a conversation with journalist Charles C. Mann on the research behind his new novel Polostan, the dawn of the Atomic Age, and the craft of historical storytelling. Polostan is the first installment in a monumental new series called Bomb Light - an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age. Set against the turbulent decades of the early twentieth century, Polostan is an inventive, richly detailed, and deeply entertaining historical epic from Stephenson, whose prior books include Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle

Neal Stephenson's ability to illuminate complex, future-focused ideas in ways that both provoke thought and spark wonder has established him as one of the most innovative thinkers in literature today. Yet his new novel, Polostan, revisits the Soviet era with a twist, shifting his focus from the speculative technologies of tomorrow to the historical currents of the 1930s. In Neal's second appearance, Tyler asks him why he sometimes shifts from envisioning the future to illustrating the past, the rise of history autodidacts, the implications of leaked secrets from the atomic age to today's AI, the logistics of faking one's death, why he still drafts novels in longhand, Soviet idealism among Western intellectuals, which Soviet achievements he admires, the lag in AR development, how LLMs might boost AR, whether social media is increasingly giving way to private group chats, his continuing influence on technologists, why AI-generated art might struggle to connect with readers, the primer from The Diamond Age in light of today's LLMs, the prospect of AGI becoming an unnoticed background tool, what Neal believes the world really needs more of, what lies ahead in Polostan and the broader “Bomb Light” series, and more Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded October 9th, 2024. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Neal on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

This week we talk about the Double Reduction Policy, gaokao, and Chegg.We also discuss GPTs, cheating, and disruption.Recommended Book: Autocracy, Inc by Anne ApplebaumTranscriptIn July of 2021, the Chinese government implemented a new education rule called the Double Reduction Policy.This Policy was meant, among other things, to reduce the stress students in the country felt related to their educational attainment, while also imposing sterner regulations on businesses operating in education and education-adjacent industries.Chinese students spend a lot of time studying—nearly 10 hours per day for kids ages 12-14—and the average weekly study time for students is tallied at 55 hours, which is substantially higher than in most other countries, and quite a lot higher than the international average of 45 hours per week.This fixation on education is partly cultural, but it's also partly the result of China's education system, which has long served to train children to take very high-stakes tests, those tests then determining what sorts of educational and, ultimately, employment futures they can expect. These tests are the pathway to a better life, essentially, so the kids face a whole lot of pressure from society and their families to do well, because if they don't, they've sentenced themselves to low-paying jobs and concomitantly low-status lives; it's a fairly brutal setup, looked at from elsewhere around the world, but it's something that's kind of taken for granted in modern China.On top of all that in-class schoolwork, there's abundant homework, and that's led to a thriving private tutoring industry. Families invest heavily in ensuring their kids have a leg-up over everyone else, and that often means paying people to prepare them for those tests, even beyond school hours and well into the weekend.Because of all this, kids in China suffer abnormally high levels of physical and mental health issues, many of them directly linked to stress, including a chronic lack of sleep, high levels of anxiety, rampant obesity and everything that comes with that, and high levels of suicide, as well; suicide is actually the most common cause of death amongst Chinese teenagers, and the majority of these suicides occur in the lead-up to the gaokao, or National College Entrance Exam, which is the biggest of big important exams that determine how teens will be economically and socially sorted basically for the rest of their lives.This recent Double Reduction Policy, then, was intended to help temper some of those negative, education-related consequences, reducing the volume of homework kids had to tackle each week, freeing up time for sleep and relaxation, while also putting a cap on the ability of private tutoring companies to influence parents into paying for a bunch of tutoring services; something they'd long done via finger-wagging marketing messages, shaming parents who failed to invest heavily in their child's educational future, making them feel like they aren't being good parents because they're not spending enough on these offerings.This policy pursued these ends, first, by putting a cap on how much homework could be sent home with students, limiting it to 60 minutes for youngsters, and 90 minutes for middle schoolers.It also provided resources and rules for non-homework-related after-school services, did away with bad rankings due to poor test performance that might stigmatize students in the future, and killed off some of those fear-inducing, ever-so-important exams altogether.It also provided some new resources and frameworks for pilot programs that could help their school system evolve in the future, allowing them to try some new things, which could, in theory, then be disseminated to the nation's larger network of schools if these experiments go well.And then on the tutoring front, they went nuclear on those private tutoring businesses that were shaming parents into paying large sums of money to train their children beyond school hours.The government instituted a new system of regulators for this industry, ceased offering new business licenses for tutoring companies, and forced all existing for-profit businesses in this space to become non-profits.This market was worth about $100 billion when this new policy came into effect, which is a simply staggering sum, but the government basically said you're not businesses anymore, you can't operate if you try to make a profit.This is just one of many industries the current Chinese leadership has clamped-down on over the past handful of years, often on cultural grounds, as was the case with limiting the amount of time children can play video games each day. But like that video game ban, which has apparently shown mixed results, the tutoring ban seems to have led to the creation of a flourishing black market for tutoring services, forcing these sorts of business dealings underground, and thus increasing the fee parents pay for them each month.In late-October of 2024, the Chinese government, while not formally acknowledging any change to this policy, eased pressure on private tutoring services—the regulators in charge of keeping them operating in accordance with nonprofit structures apparently giving them a nudge and a wink, telling them surreptitiously that they're allowed to expand again—possibly because China has been suffering a wave of economic issues over the past several years, and the truncation of the tutoring industry led to a lot of mass-firings, tens of thousands of people suddenly without jobs, and a substantial drop in tax revenue, as well, as the country's stock market lost billions of dollars worth of value basically overnight.It's also worth noting here that China's youth unemployment rate recently hit 18.8%, which is a bogglingly high number, and something that's not great for stability, in the sense that a lot of young people, even very well educated young people, can't find a job, which means they have to occupy themselves with other, perhaps less productive things.But high youth unemployment is also not great for the country's economic future, as that means these are people who aren't attaining new skills and experience—and they can't do that because the companies that might otherwise hire them can't afford to pay more employees because folks aren't spending enough on their offerings.So while it was determined that this industry was hurting children and their families who had to pay these near-compulsory tutoring fees, they also seemed to realize that lacking this industry, their unemployment and broader economic woes would be further inflamed—and allowing for this gray area in the rules seems to be an attempt to have the best of both worlds, though it may leave them burdened with the worst of both worlds, as well.What I'd like to talk about today is another facet of the global tutoring industry, and how new technologies seem to be flooding into this zone even more rapidly than in other spaces, killing off some of the biggest players and potentially portending the sort of collapse we might also see in other industries in the coming years.—Chegg, spelled c-h-e-g-g, is a US-based, education-focused tech company that has provided all sorts of learning-related services to customers since 2006.It went public on the NYSE in 2013, and in 2021 it was called the “most valuable edtech company in America” by Forbes, due in part to the boom in long-distance education services in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic; like Peloton and Zoom, Chegg was considered to be a great investment for a future in which more stuff is done remotely, as seemed likely to be the case for a good long while, considering all the distancing and shut-downs we were doing at the time.In early 2020, before that boom, the company was already reporting that it had 2.9 million subscribers to its Chegg Services offering, which gave users access to all sorts of school-related benefits, including help with homework, access to Q&As with experts, and a huge database of solutions for tests and assignments.The company then released a sort of social-publishing platform called Uversity in mid-2021, giving educators a place to share their own content, and they acquired a language-learning software company called Busuu, which is a bit like Duolingo, that same year for $436 million.In May of 2023, though, the company's CEO said, on an earnings call, that ChatGPT—the incredibly popular, basically overnight-popular large-language-model-powered AI chatbot created by OpenAI—might hinder Chegg's near-future growth.The day after that call, Chegg's stock price dropped by about 48%, cutting the company's market value nearly in half, and though later that same month he announced that Chegg would partner with OpenAI to launch its own AI platform called Cheggmate, which was launched as a beta in June, by early November the following year, 2024, the company had lost about 99% of its market valuation, dropping from a 2021 high of nearly $100 per share, down to less than $2 per share as of early November.This isn't a unique story: LLM-based AI tools, those made by OpenAI but also its competitors, including big tech companies like Google and Microsoft, which have really leaned into this seeming transition, have been messing with market valuations left and right, as this collection of tools and technologies have been evolving really fast—a recent five-year plan for Chegg indicated they didn't believe something like ChatGPT would exist until 2025 at the earliest, for instance, which turned out to be way off—but they've also been killing off high-flying company valuations because these sorts of tools are by definition multi-purpose, and a lot of the low-hanging fruit in any industry is basically just providing information that's already available somewhere in a more intuitive and accessible fashion; which is something a multi-purpose, bot-interfaced software tool is pretty good at doing, as it turns out.Chegg's services were optimized to provide school-related stuff to students—including test and homework answers those students could quickly reference if they wanted to study or cheat—and serving up these resources in a simple manner is what allowed them to pay the bills.ChatGPT and similar AI tools, though, can do the same, and for practically or literally—for the end-user, at least—free. And it can sometimes do so in a manner that's even more intuitive than the Cheggs of the world, even if these AI offerings are sometimes jumbled along the way; the risk-reward math is still favorable to a lot of people, because of just how valuable this kind of information provided in this way can be.Other companies and entire industries are finding themselves in the same general circumstances, also all of a sudden, because their unique value proposition has been offering some kind of information intuitively, or in some cases they've provided human interfaces that would do various things for customers: they would look up deals on a particular model of car, they would write marketing copy, they would commentate on sporting events.Some of these entities are trying to get ahead of the game, like Chegg did, by basically plugging their existing services into AI versions of the same, replacing their human commentators with bots that can manage a fair approximation of those now-unemployed humans, but at a fraction of the cost. Others are facing a huge number of new competitors, as smaller businesses or just individuals are realizing they can pay a little money for AI tokens and credits, plug an API into a website, which allows that AI to populate content on their site automatically, and they can then run the same sort of service with little or no effort, and vitally, little or no overhead.This creates a race-to-the-bottom situation in many such cases, and often the bots are nowhere near as good as the humans they're replacing, but especially in situations where human jobs have been optimized so that one human can be replaced with another human relatively simply, it has proven to be fairly easy to fire people and then replace them with non-humans that seem human-enough most of the time.So blog-writing and video-making and inventory-organizing and, yes, school-tutoring and similar services are increasingly being automated in this way, and while, sure, you could pay a premium to stick with Chegg and access these AI tools via their portal for $20 a month, the bet many investors are making is that folks will probably prefer to get what amounts to the same thing cheaper, or even free, directly from the source, or via one of those other lower-end intermediaries with fewer overhead costs.Chegg has lost about $14.5 billion in market value since early 2021, and the company is now expected to collapse under the weight of its debts sometime in the near-future; the shift in fortunes brought about by the deployment of generally capable, if not perfectly capable, chat-interface accessible AI tools has been that sudden.None of which means this is a permanent thing, as entities in industries currently being challenged by AI equivalent or near-equivalent tools might push back with their own, difficult to replicate offerings, and there's a chance that the small but burgeoning wave of vehemently non-AI tools—those that wave their human-made-ness, their non-AI-ness like a flag, or like an organic, cruelty-free label—might carve out their own sustainable, growable niche. That becomes their unique value proposition in place of what these AI-focused companies stole from them.But this kind of disruption sometimes leads to an extinction-level event for the majority of operators in a formerly flourishing space.Chegg, for their part, decided to revamp their AI offering, moving away from the Cheggmate name and working with Scale AI instead of OpenAI, to build a few dozen AI systems optimized for different academic focuses; which could prove to be a valuable differentiator for them, but it could also fall flat in the face of OpenAI's own re-skinned versions of ChatGPT, called GPTs, which allow users to do basically the same thing, coming up with their own field focused experts and personalities, rather than using the vanilla model of the bot.There's a chance this will also help Chegg deal with another AI-related issue—specifically, that ChatGPT was providing better answers to some students' questions than Chegg's human-derived offerings; they're trying to out-bot OpenAI, essentially, doing the homework-AI thing better than ChatGPT, and there's a chance that offering a demonstrably higher quality of answers might also serve as a survival-enabling differentiator; though their ability to consistently provide better answers in this way is anything but certain.It's also worth noting that what we're talking about here, so far, isn't the sci-fi dream of a perfect digital tutor—something like the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer from Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age, which is something like an AI-powered storybook that adapts its content to the reader, and which then teaches said reader everything they need to know to flourish in life, day by day. Chegg and ChatGPT serve up tools that help students cheat on tests and homework, while also helping them look up information a lot easier when they decide not to cheat, and to practice various sorts of assignments and exams beforehand.So this is a far easier space to compete in than something more complex and actually tutor-like. It may be, then, that moving in that direction, toward tools that focus more on replacing teachers and tutors, rather than helping students navigate schoolwork, might be the killer app that allows some of these existing tutoring-ish tools to survive and thrive; though it may be that something else comes along in the meantime which fulfills that promise better—maybe ChatGPT, or maybe some new, more focused version of the same general collection of tools.It'll probably be a few years before we see how this and similar bets that're being made by at-risk companies facing the AI barbarians at the gate turn out, and at that point these tools will likely be even more powerful, offering even more capabilities and thus disrupting, or threatening to disrupt, even more companies in even more industries, as a consequence.Show Noteshttps://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/how-chatgpt-brought-down-an-online-education-giant-200b4ff2https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpts/https://ai.wharton.upenn.edu/focus-areas/human-technology-interaction/2024-ai-adoption-report/https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/07/ai-tutor-china-teaching-gaps/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Reduction_Policyhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20965311241265123https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0738059324000117https://archive.ph/VKkrLhttps://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/22/asia-pacific/china-private-tutoring/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/chinas-youth-unemployment-hits-fresh-high-economic-slowdown-restrictiv-rcna172183 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

On this week's episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss both AI witchhunts and Blumhouse's decision to partner Meta with filmmakers in an effort to bring AI into the filmmaking fold. (You can watch the video/ad by Aneesh Chaganty we discussed here.) Then, in a slight departure for the podcast, we discuss a book: Neal Stephenson's Polostan, the first entry in his forthcoming Bomb Light Cycle. Historical fiction examining the cultural and scientific revolutions of the first half of the 20th century by one of our greatest novelists? We were very much into it. Make sure to stick around for Friday's bonus episode, in which we discuss scary books just in time for Halloween. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

The leaves are falling, and that's a sure sign of the book fair rolling into your schools. And if you're lucky, a local bookstore is giving you a taste of the book fair you remember fondly from your youth, but making it fun for your adult self. This week we're reminiscing about the book fair, talking facts about the beginning of the Scholastic Book Fair, and of course sharing all about our upcoming public school book fairs and our adult Boozy Book Fair! We've got bookseller Bailey on the podcast to talk about everything she has prepped and it's a fun one full of nostalgia.  Note: In the episode Amanda begins discussing the story of the Minotaur, Ariadne, and who unalives who... You can read about the myth here.    Ellyn's Currently Reading | The Last Murder At the End of the World by Stuart Turton & Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs by Luis Elizondo Amanda's Currently Reading |  What I Ate In One Year by Stanley Tucci & Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson Bailey's Currently Reading | Lady Audley's Secret by M.E. Braddon  Books coming out this week: Hot Mess: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, Patriot by Alexei Navalny, & Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret: A Festive Mystery by Benjamin Stevenson Don't miss author Neal Stephenson at Dog-Eared Books on Sunday, October 27, at 6 PM. Get your tickets HERE. ______________________________________________________________________ Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends. Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE. Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE. Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

Neal Stephenson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels including Termination Shock, Seveneves, Cryptonomicon, and Snow Crash. His works blend science fiction, historical fiction, and cyberpunk, exploring mathematics, cryptography, philosophy, and scientific history. Born in Fort Meade to a family of scientists, he holds a degree in geography and physics from Boston University. As noted by The Atlantic, his prescient works anticipated the metaverse, cryptocurrency, and AI revolution. His latest novel is Polostan, the first installment in his Bomb Light cycle. Shermer and Stephenson discuss: professional and speculative fiction writing, the interplay of genetics and fate, historical contingency (particularly regarding Hitler and nuclear weapons), atomic bomb development and ethics, game theory in nuclear deterrence, cryptocurrency, AI advancement and mind uploading, human evolution, Mars colonization politics, and philosophical concepts like Peirce's Fallibilism and Platonic realism.

In this episode, we get excited about two books: Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures by Wally & Amanda Koval and Polostan by Neal Stephenson. Then Wally and Amanda from Accidentally Wes Anderson recommend a silly-fun music hotline.  Links Accidentally Wes Anderson website and Instagram Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures by Wally and Amanda Koval Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally and Amanda Koval Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures audiobook narrated by Jeff Goldblum Radio Prague on the Red Arrow train Polostan by Neal Stephenson Video: Neal Stephenson at the Long Now Foundation NPR on Callin' Oates Video: She's Gone Video: Sarah Smile Transcript of this episode. The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com Join our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel. Do you enjoy our show? Do you want to make friends with other (lovely) listeners? Please support our work on Patreon. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace As always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Substack Patreon Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode: Marsh will appear magically for some headlines ... Neal Stephenson fans love that Snow Crash allusion ... And Anna Bosnick will join us to remind us that the Christians have the worst version of everything. --- To make a per episode donation at Patreon.com, click here: http://www.patreon.com/ScathingAtheist To buy our book, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Outbreak-Crisis-Religion-Ruined-Pandemic/dp/B08L2HSVS8/ If you see a news story you think we might be interested in, you can send it here: scathingnews@gmail.com To check out our sister show, The Skepticrat, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/the-skepticrat To check out our sister show's hot friend, God Awful Movies, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/god-awful-movies To check out our half-sister show, Citation Needed, click here: http://citationpod.com/ To check out our sister show's sister show, D and D minus, click here: https://danddminus.libsyn.com/ To hear more from our intrepid audio engineer Morgan Clarke, click here: https://www.morganclarkemusic.com/ Help support the show by checking out our sponsor: https://factormeals.com/scathing50 (code: scathing50) --- Headlines: Glenn Beck appears on Tucker Carlson's Twitter show to say he quit Fox News for Jesus: https://www.christianpost.com/news/glenn-beck-torches-fox-news-as-source-of-spiritual-evil.html?utm_source=ICYMI&utm_campaign=ICYMI&utm_medium=newsletter Public Comment Notice Regarding Reaccreditation of the Naturopathic Doctoral (ND) Program offered by Bastyr University: https://cnme.org/ Pastor claims he miraculously cured a man hospitalized due to voting for Democrats: https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pastor-claims-he-miraculously-cured NBA player explains why he abruptly retired at 21: 'I gave up basketball to follow Jesus': https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nba-player-aj-griffin-explains-why-he-abruptly-retired-21-i-gave-up-basketball-follow-jesus https://people.com/former-first-round-pick-says-hes-leaving-nba-to-become-minister-8720385

We'll tell you now, you're going to want to grab the tissues for this episode. Recently we shared some sad news about our incredible shop dog Lovie getting a cancer diagnosis. While we're confident in the lovely medical team at Iowa State University's Vet Med. But with a tough diagnosis comes tough conversations. Today we are joined by picture book author Derick Wilder. His story "The Longest Letsgoboy," will bring tears to your eyes but offer comfort to the difficult moments in life that are eventual with family and pets. We're honored to have Derick with us on today's episode and we hope that his story might find you when the time comes.  What we're drinking | Definitely bubbles Ellyn's Currently Reading | The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston Amanda's Currently Reading |  What I Ate In One Year by Stanley Tucci Books coming out this week: Poloston by Neal Stephenson & What I Ate In One Year by Stanley Tucci Don't miss author Neal Stephenson at Dog-Eared Books on Sunday, October 27, at 6 PM. Get your tickets HERE. ______________________________________________________________________ Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends. Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE. Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE. Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

The beginning of the end for Wordpress; open source, or not; police Cybertrucks; Apple Intelligence rolling out; dystopian AI text summaries; X sends money to the wrong bank, argues that Twitter ceased to exist; Internet Archive attacked; Instagram, Threads moderation out of control; the Penguin; Beetlejuice; Salem's Lot; Joker; Kaos cancelled; Bitcoin doc; Green Day demastered; Roblox; Megalopolis; Tesla's Cybercab; is Elon a modern PT Barnum, or worse; ham radios, HamFests, TRS-80, cameras, Disneyland and chasing the nostalgia dragon.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.1Password Extended Access Management - Check it out at 1Password.com/grumpyoldgeeks. Secure every sign-in for every app on every device.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/669FOLLOW UPJason's Threads PostMatt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me'Why WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has gone 'nuclear' against tech investing giant Silver LakeWPEngine, Matt, Automattic & Wordpress.org megathreadWordpress.org/Matt vs WPEngine megathread, Part 2Automattic is doing open source dirtyThe Pettiest Drama in the Tech World Is Taking Place at … WordPress?DirectusCalifornia Cops Show Off Absurd New Cybertruck With Music From Terminator MoviesTeslas "nearly unusable" for police workIN THE NEWSThe first Apple Intelligence features are expected to arrive on October 28Man learns he's being dumped via “dystopian” AI summary of textsX reportedly paid its Brazil fines to the wrong bank, causing further delay in reinstatement caseX lost a court battle after trying to claim ‘Twitter ceased to exist'The Internet Archive taken down by DDoS attacksInstagram and Threads moderation is out of control - The VergeChina Joins SpaceX in Ruining Astronomy for EverybodyMEDIA CANDYThe PenguinBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceSalem's LotSalem's Lot 1979Joker: Folie à Deux Bombed—What Went Wrong?Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan in Talks for Guy Ritchie's ‘Ray Donovan' Offshoot ‘The Donovans''Kaos' Canceled: Jeff Goldblum Netflix Comedy Series Won't Get Second SeasonReacher Gets Early Season 4 Renewal At Prime VideoControversial HBO Documentary Concludes Peter Todd Invented BitcoinGreen Day's Dookie has been demastered into Game Boy carts, a toothbrush and other weird formatsAmazon Seeks to Dismiss Prime Video Ad Tier LawsuitAPPS & DOODADSRoblox Is Playing Dumb About the Bots and Predators on Its Platform, Hindenburg Research SaysMeta is working to fix Threads' engagement bait problemAT THE LIBRARYConstituent Service - A Third District Story by John Scalzi and narrated by Amber BensonEarn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers by Steve PrattPolostan: A thrilling historical epic from #1 New Yortk Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson, perfect for fans of historical fiction and espionage thrillers. (Bomb Light) Kindle Edition by Neal StephensonMists of Time: Echoes of Extinction: Book 3 by D. Ward CornellTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingEnable iPhone orientation lock for specific appsA Look Inside Apple's $130 USB-C CableMegalopolisTesla's Cybercab Is HereI am seriously considering getting my ham radio license. I want this, but I do not need this - stuff vs. experiencesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cyberpunk is a cool genre we have never covered exclusively on a Quackcast before. But what IS cyberpunk? It's a subset of SciFi, it's usually near future, involves body modifications, grittiness, street level computer use, techno body modification, and hacking. At least that's the way it started. Formative influences on the cyberpunk genre were the first Tron movie, Bladerunner, and Escape from New York. Tron showed us what cyberspace was, while Bladerunner and Escape from New York gave us gritty near future dystopias with cool tech, modified humans, and most importantly the punk aesthetic which was the gritty street youth fashion of the late 70s and early 80s. Punks plus computers signalled a more universal use of the new technology of computers in the near future world especially as imagined by Willian Gibson with his novel Neuromancer. There were other influential cyberpunk writers like Neal Stephenson with SnowCrash and many more. My fave was Manga creator Masamune Shirow with his books like Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed and more which tackle subjects like trans-humanisim as humans evolve with technology and then INTO technology itself. In the late 80s and early 90s cyberpunk was very influential in anime with the likes of the Ghost in the Shell movie, Bubblegum crisis, AD police, and the amazing milestone that is Akira! A very formative game in the world of cyberpunk was the RPG Shadowrun, which was near future urban fantasy plus cyberpunk in all its pure glory. These days we have the computer game Cyberpunk 2020, but it's an extremely derivative and pale shadow of what had gone before it, it functions as a sort of a retro “greatest hits” of the genre, but it's a good intro into it and that goes for the Netflix anime of the same name. There were various unrelated genres inspired by cyberpunk- Steampunk, Dieselpunk, and the later dubious genres raypunk and atompunk which are just rebranded early standard SciFi. What is your fave example of cyberpunk? Do you know what cyberpunk is? When did you first come to cyberpunk? This week Gunwallace gave us a theme inspired by The Return of Jake Sunrise - A desolate red dirt desert, a wind whistles through and carries with it a torrent of sound and energy, flooding in like a sudden rainstorm, bringing with it life, colour, and revitalisation! The desert blooms. Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: The Books of Avo - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2024/oct/01/featured-comic-the-books-of-avo/ Featured music: The Return of Jake Sunrise - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_Return_of_Jake_Sunrise/ - by Picture_Books, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

OpenAI training data, dynamic pricing & digital IDs; Elon's good week; dockworkers strike over robots averted, for now; more AI models; some AI training techniques make AI better at deceiving humans; weaponizing DMCA takedowns; Cruise fined for omitting details; Cybertruck gets FSD; EV Jeeps catching fire; Neumann back doing workspaces; COVID-19 affected the moon; the Diplomat; Wolfs; The Traitors Canada; The Rings of Power; more Prime Video ads; Juicebox quits the US; facial recognition & smart glasses; iPhone 16; cable testing; AI in education.Sponsors:1Password Extended Access Management - Check it out at 1Password.com/grumpyoldgeeks. Secure every sign-in for every app on every device.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordDeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.Show notes at https://gog.show/668FOLLOW UPGOG Swag StoreOpenAI Training Data to Be Inspected in Authors' Copyright CasesOasis opts out of Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing, calling it 'an unacceptable experience for fans'Don't ever hand your phone to the copsElon Musk claims victory after judge blocks Calif. deepfake lawElon Musk celebrates winning lawsuit over Tesla self-driving claims with embarrassing defenseIN THE NEWSU.S. Dockworkers Go on Strike Over Robots and WagesCalifornia Governor Vetoes AI Bill Aimed at Preventing Catastrophic HarmsOpenAI raises $6.6B and is now valued at $157BApple backs out of backing OpenAI, report claimsOpenAI Stamps Feet, Says Investors Aren't Allowed to Back Its RivalsMIT spinoff Liquid debuts non-transformer AI models and they're already state-of-the-artHuman Feedback Makes AI Better at Deceiving Humans, Study ShowsFamous AI Artist Says He's Losing Millions of Dollars From People Stealing His WorkGoogle Wins Lawsuit Against Scammers Who ‘Weaponized' DMCA TakedownsGM's Cruise fined $1.5 million for omitting details about its gruesome 2023 crashCybertruck Finally Gets Full Self-Driving (Supervised)A Stalled Waymo Blocked Kamala Harris's Motorcade in San FranciscoJeep recalls 194,000 plug-in hybrids due to fire risksAdam Neumann's Latest Project Is a WeWork CompetitorCOVID-19 Pandemic Affected the Moon, Scientists ClaimMEDIA CANDYCalifornia's new law forces digital stores to admit you're just licensing content, not buying itThe DiplomatWolfsThe Traitors Canada Season 2The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2Amazon will “ramp up” Prime Video ads in 2025Apple's acclaimed drama “Sugar” lands season two renewalShrinking Season 2APPS & DOODADSGoogle introduces new way to search by filming videoThe company that owns Juicebox is quitting the US market and removing all its apps and software updates.Covid Testing Lab Owner Pleads Guilty to Giving Fake Test ResultsMeta confirms it may train its AI on any image you ask Ray-Ban Meta AI to analyzeSomeone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta's Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox StrangersWalk the DistanceAT THE LIBRARYConstituent Service - A Third District Story by John Scalzi and narrated by Amber BensonEarn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers by Steve PrattPolostan: A thrilling historical epic from #1 New Yortk Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson, perfect for fans of historical fiction and espionage thrillers. (Bomb Light) Kindle Edition by Neal StephensonTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingC2C caberQU - USB C cable testerBLE caberQU: a digital USB-C to USB-C cable testerEthical use of AI in higher educationEthical AI for Teaching and LearningENAI Recommendations on the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in Education - International Journal for Educational IntegrityCLOSING SHOUT-OUTSTributes paid to 'true legend' Dame Maggie Smith‘Beverly Hills Cop' actor John Ashton dead at 76 after battle with cancer‘American Pickers' star Frank Fritz dead at 60See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Diamonds are only occasionally brought to the surface. But because carbon is plentiful, science fiction, such as Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age, has sometimes imagined a world where scientists find an easy way to make lots of diamond artificially.

“We need positive visions of how all this technology gets deployed, because what we visualize is what we build.” –Jane Metcalfe In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jane talk about the pioneering work she did with Wired during the dawn of the “digital revolution” (3:00); how and why Jane’s professional focus shifted away from digital issues and into food and health issues in the ’00s (15:00); how science is trying to bring in diverse new data points and communication models to improve holistic health worldwide (28:30); how the health of the world’s humans is not separate from the health of the world’s animals, plants, and microorganisms, and how a bio-economy seeks to harness rather than extract the resources of nature (41:00); how regional and cultural differences affect how we perceive health, nutrition, and technology, and the importance of ethics in making scientific decisions (51:00). Jane Metcalfe (@janemetcalfe) is the co-founder of Wired Magazine, and the chair of the Human Immunome Project, a global non-profit working to decode the immune system in order to transform how we prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Notable Links: Notes from a peripatetic salon across northern Thailand (Deviate episode) Hotwired (first commercial online magazine) HotBot (early web search engine) Louis Rossetto (writer, editor, and entrepreneur) Neuromancer, by William Gibson (science fiction novel) Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson (science fiction novel) Cyberpunk (subgenre of science fiction) Electric Word (technology magazine) Digital Revolution (shift from mechanical to electronic technologies) Ethernet (computer networking technology) proto.life (newsletter covering the neobiological revolution) Neo.Life: 25 Visions for the Future of Our Species, by Jane Metcalfe (book) The Non-GMO Project (non-profit organization) David Eagleman (neuroscientist) Human genome (complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans) Immunome (code set for proteins that constitute the immune system) Single-cell sequencing (context-driven technique for studying cells) Microbiome (community of microorganisms in a habitat) One Health (interdisciplinary approach to ecological health) Zoonotic disease (disease than can jump from non-humans to humans) Bioeconomy (use of biotechnology in the production of goods) CRISPR gene editing (technique to modify genomes of living organisms) Bioengineering (application of biology to create products) Interbeing (philosophical concept in Zen Buddhism) iGEM (worldwide synthetic biology competition) Gene drive (technology of genetic engineering) CRISPRcon (gene editing technology conference) Kevin Kelly (author and futurist) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneIf you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters:Films/TV: Primer (2004; dir. Shane Carruth); Motherless Brooklyn (dir. Edward Norton, Jr.)Music: Tiny Desk Unit - Live At the 9:30 Club 1980; Bad Brains - Bad BrainsBooks: The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, Neuromancer by William Gibson, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson; Motherless Brooklyn by Johnathan Lethem; The Power Broker by Robert Caro; Amerikastudien: “Bright Days for the Black Market”: Color-Coded Crises in Contemporary U.S. Fiction and the Works of Thomas PynchonAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: ⁠mappingthezonepod@gmail.com⁠Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/

Hey there fellow nerds! We're talking about the 2022 smash movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once while drinking a smoked, maple bourbon peach smash -- kinda an everything all-at-once cocktail. Listen in if you've already watched it, and if not, grab your favorite chapstick, head to Netflix, and give it a watch.   For those mixologists out there, here's my recipe and process for our beverage: 1 oz bourbon (we used Elijah Craig) 1 oz maple syrup 0.5 oz lemon juice 1/2 a peach Directions:  Slice your peach into 1/4 and place them in your smoking cloche (or other cocktail smoker) Smoke the peaches for at least 5 minutes as you mix the rest of the cocktail. We used hickory wood for this. Muddle the peaches in the bottom of your cocktail shaker, then fill it with ice. Smoke the drinking glasses, making sure to leave the smoke there for a minute. Put the liquid ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake until frost forms on your shaker. Remove the glass from your smoking device, or vise-versa and pour the cocktail. Rim the glass with the unsmoked peach, and leave on glass for garnish.   If you want to catch up with our next read, it's the groundbreaking Neuromancer by Neal Stephenson. Genre-defining, compound-adjective-forming, this one is sure to give us a lot to talk about. Until then, stay nerdy!  

Inappropriate portal behavior; RTO drives away top talent; Apple may add OpenAI to iOS; garbage in, garbage out; AI continues to promise more than it can deliver; Twitter redirecting to X; entire Supercharger staff fired; enshittification of the Web speeds up; Google AI search will kill what's left of the old internet; Uber announces new, worse bus; Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare; the Rings of Power returns; Dune: Prophecy; MoviePass, Ashley Madison docs; bundling & a return to cable; no MTV Movie Awards this year; ToDoIst; Sonos app; PPSSPP; META Quest on a plane; the Far Reaches & Forward Collections; Erik Larson; Neal Stephenson; Star Wars Oreos; Chuck E. Cheese Band, Jasper T. Jowls in the wild; Fabio and the Goose; Thelma.Show notes at https://gog.show/648Sponsors:Mood - For 20% off your order and a FREE THCa pre-roll, go to hellomood.com and use promo code GOG.DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.Factor - Head to Factor and use code grumpy50 to get 50% off. That's code grumpy50 at Factor to get 50% off!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordPrivate Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!FOLLOW UPPortal Between New York And Dublin Closed After A Week Due To "Inappropriate Behavior"The OnlyFans Model Who Ruined the Portal Previously Went Viral for Licking a ToiletApple, SpaceX, Microsoft return-to-office mandates drove senior talent away | Ars TechnicaIs the Internet bad for you? Huge study reveals surprise effect on well-beingIN THE NEWSApple Reportedly Close To Deal With OpenAI To Add AI Features To iPhoneOpenAI inks deal to train AI on Reddit dataGoogle Project Astra hands-on: Full of potential, but it's going to be a whileFor self-driving cars, the free ride is over - The VergeElon Musk's X can't invent its own copyright law, judge saysHere's the inside story of why Elon Musk fired the entire Tesla Supercharger staff - AutoblogEnshittificationAs Google AI search rolls out to more people, websites brace for carnage - The Washington PostGoogle is overhauling its search results page with AI overviews and Gemini organization - The VergeGoogle Search adds a “web” filter, because it is no longer focused on web resultsGoogle I/O 2024: Here's everything Google just announced | TechCrunchLearn how to use ChatGPT for SEOChatGPT likes to fight. For military AI researchers, that's a problemUber announces its new, worse version of a busMEDIA CANDYThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly WarfareThe Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power - Official Teaser TrailerThe Stars of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Promise Things Will Actually Happen This SeasonMax Releases First Dune: Prophecy Teaser: WatchDune: Prophecy | Official Teaser | Max - YouTubeHBO's upcoming MoviePass documentary is a must-watch for fans of tech trainwrecksAshley Madison - Sex, Lies & Scandal'The Boys' Renewed for Season 5Jimmy Kimmel Unleashed at Disney Upfronts: See His Best JokesA ‘vastly reduced' Netflix, Peacock and Apple TV+ bundle is coming this monthThe MTV Movie & TV Awards Scrapped for 2024, Returning Next YearSony Music Warns Companies to Stop Training AI on Its Artists' ContentAPPS & DOODADSToDoIstURL CleanerIs Sonos' New App a Podcast Killer? : r/sonosApple brings eye-tracking to recent iPhones and iPadsPPSSPP game emulator now available on the iOS App StoreWipeout PureMeta encourages you to disregard your seat mates and use VR headsets on a planeAT THE LIBRARYThe Far Reaches collectionThe Forward Collection, curated by Blake CrouchThe Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik LarsonPolostan: Volume One of Bomb Light by Neal StephensonTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEThe CyberWireDave BittnerHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOreo's Special Edition Star Wars Cookies Are Here to Feed Your Inner WookieeThe Chuck E. Cheese Animatronic Band Is Breaking UpFabio and the GooseThelma - Official Trailer | June Squibb, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Fred HechingerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's time for the Comic Talk Headlines with Generally Nerdy! Neal Stephenson's book, The Diamond Age, is coming to life.Nintendo's Wii-U has a workaround for the lack of proper online support.Marvel is trying to capitalize on Wolverine's name again.And so much more...Plus, don't forget to subscribe for more fresh content.    

If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films/TV: We Live In Public (2009; dir. Ondi Timoner)Music: Satan Is Real by The Louvin BrothersBooks: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World by Haruki Murakami“Postmodern Syllabus” (mentioned in My Dinner With Will and Kate): https://tildes.net/~books/rf7/if_you_had_to_teach_a_class_on_literature_what_books_would_you_put_on_your_syllabusAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: ⁠mappingthezonepod@gmail.com⁠Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D

In this Sponsored episode of the Edge of NFT Live at the VIP: Venice Innovator Party during NFT LA Community Week, step into the cutting-edge world of blockchain and metaverse innovation with Casey Halter, director of content community at Lamina1. Delve into the founding vision of Neal Stephenson and Peter Vessenes and the unique features that set them apart from other layer-1 blockchains. Discover the potential impact of digital storytelling, decentralized content creation, and immersive online experiences.