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Jim Rutt was a working class kid from the suburbs of Washington DC who somehow ended up at MIT, spent years hitchhiking around the country, stumbled into the world's first consumer online service, and eventually became CEO of Network Solutions and chairman of the Santa Fe Institute. He was a relentless reader — 100 books a year since age 10 — and one of the most genuinely curious people Vance ever sat down with. He died recently after a period of illness, and this episode is a tribute. What you'll find here is a compilation of the conversations Vance and Jim had together over the years, including sessions recorded in virtual reality — because of course Jim was one of the first people to order a VR headset and try a podcast in it. They covered everything: the origins of the Internet, complexity science and the Cambrian explosion, Game B and how humans organized before hierarchy existed, the risks of artificial superintelligence, machine consciousness, and what it feels like to watch something you built learn on its own. Jim knew he was dying. Vance had the chance to sit with him for a Legacy Interview — a full recording of his life story — and to talk with him right up until the end. This episode is a small window into what made Jim so remarkable: the sheer breadth of his mind, his refusal to accept conventional wisdom, and his joy in being out on the edge of what's known. He was one of a kind.Articulate.Ventures/IBCLegacyInterviews.com
When AI gets the right answer, how do we know it got there the right way? Why do we assume that fluent language means intelligence? What do infants and chatbots have in common? What do AI’s mistakes teach us about our own minds? And what does any of this have to do with Frankenstein’s creature, why some people wear a stop sign on their T-shirt, or smiling monkeys? Join Eagleman today with computer scientist Melanie Mitchell, a professor at the Santa Fe Institute who’s working to bridge AI and cognitive science.
Knowledge Project: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- Bill Gurley spent years on Wall Street, built his career as a partner at Benchmark, worked through Uber's hypergrowth era, and now serves on the board of the Santa Fe Institute, where he studies complexity and systems thinking. In this episode, Bill shares the mental models he returns to most, including systems thinking, second- and third-order effects, and the importance of understanding both the bedrock of your field and the bleeding edge. He explains what separates great founders, why storytelling and product instincts matter, how he uses AI across different models, and what he sees coming in open source, China, stablecoins, tokenization, payments, and venture capital. ------ Timestamps: (00:00) Key Mental Models (02:02) Investing Journey and Key Players (05:21) Knowing the Bedrock of the Industry (08:50) Obsessive Learning in Founders (10:04) The Silent Edge (11:44) Surprising AI Use (13:13) The Future of AI Models (14:17) Global AI Regulation (18:12) Impacts of AI on Investing (19:53) Are There Limitations on Training AI Models? (23:04) Would You Sit in the Back Seat While Your Tesla Drives? (24:15) Non-Consensus Opinions (24:53) Are We Overfunding this Buildout? (29:40) The Role of Retail Investors and Tokenization (34:26) What is a Stablecoin? (37:58) Competitive Mode: Visa and Mastercard (39:55) AI and Debt Analysis (45:05) The Craft of Storytelling and Writing (48:07) Founder Advantage: Product Instinct (50:12) Real World Lessons from Working With Uber (52:10) Inside Benchmark's Success (59:42) What is Success for You? ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it's completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: https://x.com/shaneparrish Insta: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/ Follow Bill Gurley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billgurley/ X: https://x.com/bgurley?lang=en Check out Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love ------ Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: +CoinShares: Delivering Reason to Digital Asset Investing. https://coinshares.com/ +Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://www.granola.ai/shane Check out the Granola Notes +HeyGen is a message-first AI video platform that helps people and AI agents turn ideas into professional video in minutes. Try for free at https://www.heygen.com/ +LMNT: My go-to zero sugar electrolytes — get a free LMNT Sample Pack here: DrinkLMNT.com/TKP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bill Gurley spent years on Wall Street, built his career as a partner at Benchmark, worked through Uber's hypergrowth era, and now serves on the board of the Santa Fe Institute, where he studies complexity and systems thinking. In this episode, Bill shares the mental models he returns to most, including systems thinking, second- and third-order effects, and the importance of understanding both the bedrock of your field and the bleeding edge. He explains what separates great founders, why storytelling and product instincts matter, how he uses AI across different models, and what he sees coming in open source, China, stablecoins, tokenization, payments, and venture capital. ------ Timestamps: (00:00) Key Mental Models (02:02) Investing Journey and Key Players (05:21) Knowing the Bedrock of the Industry (08:50) Obsessive Learning in Founders (10:04) The Silent Edge (11:44) Surprising AI Use (13:13) The Future of AI Models (14:17) Global AI Regulation (18:12) Impacts of AI on Investing (19:53) Are There Limitations on Training AI Models? (23:04) Would You Sit in the Back Seat While Your Tesla Drives? (24:15) Non-Consensus Opinions (24:53) Are We Overfunding this Buildout? (29:40) The Role of Retail Investors and Tokenization (34:26) What is a Stablecoin? (37:58) Competitive Mode: Visa and Mastercard (39:55) AI and Debt Analysis (45:05) The Craft of Storytelling and Writing (48:07) Founder Advantage: Product Instinct (50:12) Real World Lessons from Working With Uber (52:10) Inside Benchmark's Success (59:42) What is Success for You? ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it's completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: https://x.com/shaneparrish Insta: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/ Follow Bill Gurley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billgurley/ X: https://x.com/bgurley?lang=en Check out Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love ------ Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: +CoinShares: Delivering Reason to Digital Asset Investing. https://coinshares.com/ +Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://www.granola.ai/shane Check out the Granola Notes +HeyGen is a message-first AI video platform that helps people and AI agents turn ideas into professional video in minutes. Try for free at https://www.heygen.com/ +LMNT: My go-to zero sugar electrolytes — get a free LMNT Sample Pack here: DrinkLMNT.com/TKP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
All ideas have a history, no matter how inevitable and well-entrenched they may seem to us today. The later Enlightenment was a heady time when people were exploring new conceptions of nature, humanity, and the self. Andrea Wulf is a writer of narrative histories, examining the origins of ideas through the lives of the people who explored them. In this episode we discuss three of her books: The Invention of Nature, about Alexander von Humboldt and environmentalism; Magnificent Rebels, about the Jena circle of Romantics including Goethe, Schiller, Schlegel, and others; and most recently The Traveller, about George Forster, an early naturalist, ethnographer, and champion of human equality. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/06/08/356-andrea-wulf-on-enlightenment-nature-romanticism-and-modernity/ Support Mindscape on Patreon. Andrea Wulf was born in India, raised in Germany, and studied design history at the Royal College of Art, London. She is the author of seven books. She is a Miller Scholar at the Santa Fe Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. The Invention of Nature won multiple prizes, including the Royal Society science book prize and the LA Times book prize. Web site Amazon author page Wikipedia
New Mexico's Epstein Truth Commission has approved subpoenas for 14 entities as it digs into alleged sex trafficking, abuse, and institutional failures connected to Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch outside Santa Fe. The entities reportedly include the FBI, the DOJ, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the New Mexico Department of Justice, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and the Santa Fe Institute. Lawmakers say the goal is to build a documented public record of what happened in New Mexico, who knew what, and whether federal, state, financial, or institutional actors failed to act while Epstein maintained the ranch for decades.The renewed scrutiny follows years of unanswered questions about why Epstein's New Mexico property was never fully searched during earlier federal investigations, despite survivor allegations and later claims tied to newly released files. Testimony before the commission included alleged victim Rachel Benavidez, who said Epstein abused her after she was hired as a massage therapist at the ranch, along with relatives of survivors. The commission's work is now positioned as both a fact-finding effort and a possible precursor to civil litigation, with New Mexico officials framing the inquiry as a survivor-centered attempt to finally examine the ranch, the money trail, and the institutional blind spots that allowed Epstein's operation to remain largely untouched there for so long.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:FBI, DOJ Among Agencies Facing Scrutiny as New Mexico Reopens Questions Around Epstein Ranch
New Mexico's Epstein Truth Commission has approved subpoenas for 14 entities as it digs into alleged sex trafficking, abuse, and institutional failures connected to Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch outside Santa Fe. The entities reportedly include the FBI, the DOJ, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the New Mexico Department of Justice, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and the Santa Fe Institute. Lawmakers say the goal is to build a documented public record of what happened in New Mexico, who knew what, and whether federal, state, financial, or institutional actors failed to act while Epstein maintained the ranch for decades.The renewed scrutiny follows years of unanswered questions about why Epstein's New Mexico property was never fully searched during earlier federal investigations, despite survivor allegations and later claims tied to newly released files. Testimony before the commission included alleged victim Rachel Benavidez, who said Epstein abused her after she was hired as a massage therapist at the ranch, along with relatives of survivors. The commission's work is now positioned as both a fact-finding effort and a possible precursor to civil litigation, with New Mexico officials framing the inquiry as a survivor-centered attempt to finally examine the ranch, the money trail, and the institutional blind spots that allowed Epstein's operation to remain largely untouched there for so long.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:FBI, DOJ Among Agencies Facing Scrutiny as New Mexico Reopens Questions Around Epstein RanchBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
New Mexico's Epstein Truth Commission has approved subpoenas for 14 entities as it digs into alleged sex trafficking, abuse, and institutional failures connected to Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch outside Santa Fe. The entities reportedly include the FBI, the DOJ, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the New Mexico Department of Justice, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and the Santa Fe Institute. Lawmakers say the goal is to build a documented public record of what happened in New Mexico, who knew what, and whether federal, state, financial, or institutional actors failed to act while Epstein maintained the ranch for decades.The renewed scrutiny follows years of unanswered questions about why Epstein's New Mexico property was never fully searched during earlier federal investigations, despite survivor allegations and later claims tied to newly released files. Testimony before the commission included alleged victim Rachel Benavidez, who said Epstein abused her after she was hired as a massage therapist at the ranch, along with relatives of survivors. The commission's work is now positioned as both a fact-finding effort and a possible precursor to civil litigation, with New Mexico officials framing the inquiry as a survivor-centered attempt to finally examine the ranch, the money trail, and the institutional blind spots that allowed Epstein's operation to remain largely untouched there for so long.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:FBI, DOJ Among Agencies Facing Scrutiny as New Mexico Reopens Questions Around Epstein RanchBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
New Mexico's Epstein Survivors Truth Commission has issued its first major round of subpoenas as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch, the sprawling property outside Santa Fe that has long been tied to allegations of abuse, trafficking, and institutional failure. The commission, created by New Mexico lawmakers in early 2026, is seeking records from more than a dozen entities, including federal agencies, state officials, law enforcement bodies, Deutsche Bank, the FBI, the governor's office, and the Santa Fe Institute. The goal is to determine what happened at the ranch, who knew about it, what institutions enabled Epstein's presence in New Mexico for decades, and why the property was never subjected to the same level of federal scrutiny as Epstein's Manhattan mansion or his island in the Virgin Islands.The subpoenas mark a significant escalation because the New Mexico inquiry is not simply looking at Epstein as an isolated predator, but at the broader network around him: financial institutions, scientific circles, government offices, law enforcement agencies, and any public or private actors who may have helped create the conditions that allowed him to operate. The commission has heard testimony from survivors and relatives of victims, including testimony connected to Virginia Giuffre, and it is encouraging additional victims to come forward. The investigation also follows renewed searches of Zorro Ranch by New Mexico authorities earlier this year, using tools such as drones and cadaver dogs, after previously released Epstein records revived questions about possible crimes and overlooked allegations connected to the property. In plain terms: New Mexico is now trying to do what federal authorities never fully did—put Zorro Ranch under a microscope.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:New Mexico ‘Truth Commission' begins investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch, will issue subpoenas | CNN Politics
New Mexico's Epstein Survivors Truth Commission has issued its first major round of subpoenas as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch, the sprawling property outside Santa Fe that has long been tied to allegations of abuse, trafficking, and institutional failure. The commission, created by New Mexico lawmakers in early 2026, is seeking records from more than a dozen entities, including federal agencies, state officials, law enforcement bodies, Deutsche Bank, the FBI, the governor's office, and the Santa Fe Institute. The goal is to determine what happened at the ranch, who knew about it, what institutions enabled Epstein's presence in New Mexico for decades, and why the property was never subjected to the same level of federal scrutiny as Epstein's Manhattan mansion or his island in the Virgin Islands.The subpoenas mark a significant escalation because the New Mexico inquiry is not simply looking at Epstein as an isolated predator, but at the broader network around him: financial institutions, scientific circles, government offices, law enforcement agencies, and any public or private actors who may have helped create the conditions that allowed him to operate. The commission has heard testimony from survivors and relatives of victims, including testimony connected to Virginia Giuffre, and it is encouraging additional victims to come forward. The investigation also follows renewed searches of Zorro Ranch by New Mexico authorities earlier this year, using tools such as drones and cadaver dogs, after previously released Epstein records revived questions about possible crimes and overlooked allegations connected to the property. In plain terms: New Mexico is now trying to do what federal authorities never fully did—put Zorro Ranch under a microscope.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:New Mexico ‘Truth Commission' begins investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch, will issue subpoenas | CNN PoliticsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
New Mexico's Epstein Survivors Truth Commission has issued its first major round of subpoenas as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch, the sprawling property outside Santa Fe that has long been tied to allegations of abuse, trafficking, and institutional failure. The commission, created by New Mexico lawmakers in early 2026, is seeking records from more than a dozen entities, including federal agencies, state officials, law enforcement bodies, Deutsche Bank, the FBI, the governor's office, and the Santa Fe Institute. The goal is to determine what happened at the ranch, who knew about it, what institutions enabled Epstein's presence in New Mexico for decades, and why the property was never subjected to the same level of federal scrutiny as Epstein's Manhattan mansion or his island in the Virgin Islands.The subpoenas mark a significant escalation because the New Mexico inquiry is not simply looking at Epstein as an isolated predator, but at the broader network around him: financial institutions, scientific circles, government offices, law enforcement agencies, and any public or private actors who may have helped create the conditions that allowed him to operate. The commission has heard testimony from survivors and relatives of victims, including testimony connected to Virginia Giuffre, and it is encouraging additional victims to come forward. The investigation also follows renewed searches of Zorro Ranch by New Mexico authorities earlier this year, using tools such as drones and cadaver dogs, after previously released Epstein records revived questions about possible crimes and overlooked allegations connected to the property. In plain terms: New Mexico is now trying to do what federal authorities never fully did—put Zorro Ranch under a microscope.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:New Mexico ‘Truth Commission' begins investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch, will issue subpoenas | CNN PoliticsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
Matthew O. Jackson is perhaps the world's most renowned scholar of the economics of networks; as a 2005-06 CASBS fellow, he wrote most of his still-influential book Social and Economic Networks. In this wide-ranging conversation with 2025-26 CASBS fellow Rajiv Sethi, Jackson discusses his foundational work on strategic modeling of networks, empirical applications on the role of economic connectedness in influencing people's life trajectories in the U.S., related multi-disciplinary and cross-national work he is undertaking at the Santa Fe Institute, and recent cutting-edge work using large language models to gain insights into human motivations and behaviors. Matthew O. Jackson: Stanford faculty page | Personal website | CASBS page | Wikipedia page | Google Scholar page | National Academy of Sciences bio | Stanford profile | SFI page | NBER working papers | Jackson CV | Rajiv Sethi: Barnard faculty page | Columbia page | CASBS page | Google Scholar page | SFI page | Rajiv's Substack newsletter, Imperfect Information | Matt Jackson works referenced in this episode: Matthew Jackson and Asher Wolinsky, "A Strategic Model of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory (1996) Matthew Jackson and Alison Watts, "The Evolution of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory (2002) Raj Chetty, Matthew Jackson, et al., "Social Capital I: Measurement and Associations with Economic Mobiliity," Nature (2022) Raj Chetty, Matthew Jackson, et al., "Social Capital II: Determinants of Economic Connectedness," Nature (2022) Chetty, Jackson, et al., Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas (website)Dynamics of Wealth Inequality project (Santa Fe Institute) Matthew Jackson, Social and Economic Networks, Princeton University Press (2008) Matthew Jackson, The Human Network, Penguin Random House (2020) Mei, Yuan, and Jackson, "A Turing Test of Whether AI Chatbots are Behaviorally Similar to Humans," PNAS (2024) Xie, Mei, Yuan, and Jackson, "Using Large Language Models to Categorize Strategic Situations and Decipher Motivations Behind Human Behaviors," PNAS (2025) --- Rajiv Sethi's latest op-ed is "Polymarket Anonymity Must End," Financial Times (May 7, 2026) Subscribe to Rajiv's Substack newsletter, Imperfect Information Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplore CASBS: website | Bluesky | X | YouTube |LinkedIn | podcast |latest newsletter | signup | outreachHuman CenteredProducer: Mike Gaetani | Audio engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel |
A poet and a science writer walk into a podcast—and laugh, tease, joke, uplift, and ask each other tough questions about creative process. In this episode of Emerging Form, the hosts Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and Christie Aschwanden ask each other some of the questions they like to ask their guests. It's a raucous, fun episode in which they rib each other as only best friends can do, taking turns being in the hot seat to talk about ambition, how getting older has affected creative practice, sincerity, empathy, curiosity and, of course, wine.Christie Aschwanden is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Good to Go, What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery. She's also host and producer of Uncertain, a podcast from Scientific American. She's the former lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight and was previously a health columnist for The Washington Post. Her work has appeared in dozens of publications, including New York Times, Wired, Smithsonian, Slate, Popular Science, Discover, Science and Nature, and she's received fellowships from the Santa Fe Institute, the Carter Center, and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting. She lives on a small farm in western Colorado.Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer is a poet, teacher, speaker, and writing facilitator. Her daily audio series, The Poetic Path, is on the Ritual app. Her poems have appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, PBS NewsHour, O Magazine, Washington Post Book Club, and Carnegie Hall Stage. Her recent collections are All the Honey and The Unfolding. In 2024, she became Poet Laureate for Evermore, helping others explore grief and love through poetry. Since 2006, she's written a poem a day, sharing them on her blog, A Hundred Falling Veils. Her one-word mantra is adjust. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe
Als Robert Habeck sein Heizungsgesetz vorstellt, rebellieren Teile der Republik. Katrin Schmelz überrascht das nicht. Die Verhaltensökonomin erforscht die Akzeptanz von Klimaschutz. Das Ergebnis: Mit falsch gemachtem Klimaschutz verliert die Politik selbst die Leute, die ihn eigentlich unterstützen. Menschen möchten sich nicht vorschreiben lassen, wie sie heizen oder kochen sollen. "Fühlen sich Menschen in ihrer Freiheit eingeschränkt? Das ist der entscheidende Aspekt", sagt Schmelz im Podcast. "Eine Vorgabe zur Regulierung der Wohnraumtemperatur oder des Fleischkonsums würde mehr Widerstand hervorrufen als die Corona-Impfpflicht." Außerdem im Podcast: - Wie ist das Leben als überzeugte Radfahrerin in Santa Fe? - Warum wurde Katrin Schmelz von der "amerikanischen Freundlichkeit" überrascht? - Wo hat Norwegen Klimaschutz fast perfekt umgesetzt? - Warum würden die Menschen Tempolimit und Flugverbote akzeptieren, nicht aber Vorgaben zum Fleischkonsum? Gast: Dr. Katrin Schmelz, Verhaltensökonomin und Psychologin. Sie erforscht am Santa Fe Institute im US-Bundesstaat New Mexiko und bald an der Technischen Universität Dänemark (DTU) die Akzeptanz von Nachhaltigem Verhalten. Moderation: Clara Pfeffer und Christian Herrmann Wir freuen uns über Feedback und Zuschriften: klimalabor@ntv.de Ihr möchtet uns unterstützen? Dann bewertet das "Klima-Labor" bei Apple Podcasts oder Spotify Das Interview als Text? Einfach hier klicken. Dieser Podcast wird vermarktet von Julep Media: sales@julep.de Wir verarbeiten im Zusammenhang mit dem Angebot unserer Podcasts Daten. Wenn Sie der automatischen Übermittlung der Daten widersprechen wollen, melden Sie sich hier: datenschutz@julep.de
Welcome back to Scaling Theory. In this episode, I speak with Matthew O. Jackson, the William D. Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University and an external faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute. Matthew is one of the founders of the modern economics of networks and the author of The Human Network and Social and Economic Networks.We talk about the friendship paradox, why homophily slows how fast a society learns the truth but helps niche ideas catch fire, and the gossip study where villagers in southern India proved remarkably good at naming the most central spreaders in their community. We then turn to AI agents as a different species: Turing tests on LLMs, the steerability of agent personas through system prompts, and what to make of Moltbook, the social network for AI agents.By the end, you will know why telling students how much their peers actually drink reduces binge drinking more than warning them about the dangers of alcohol, why the same network can spread a virus quickly and a belief slowly, and why AI agents change their behavior when asked to explain it.Papers and works referenced in the conversationBooksThe Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, and Behaviors — Matthew O. Jackson (Pantheon, 2019). https://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/books.htmlSocial and Economic Networks — Matthew O. Jackson (Princeton University Press, 2008). https://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/books.htmlPart I — The scaling of human networks"Diffusion and Contagion in Networks with Heterogeneous Agents and Homophily" — Matthew O. Jackson and Dunia López-Pintado, Network Science 1(1), 2013. https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.0073"How Homophily Affects the Speed of Learning and Best-Response Dynamics" — Benjamin Golub and Matthew O. Jackson, Quarterly Journal of Economics 127(3), 2012. https://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/homophily.pdf"Using Gossips to Spread Information: Theory and Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials" — Abhijit Banerjee, Arun G. Chandrasekhar, Esther Duflo, and Matthew O. Jackson, Review of Economic Studies 86(6), 2019. https://academic.oup.com/restud/article/86/6/2453/5345571"Empathy and Well-Being Correlate with Centrality in Different Social Networks" — Sylvia A. Morelli, Desmond C. Ong, Rucha Makati, Matthew O. Jackson, and Jamil Zaki, PNAS 114(37), 2017. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1702155114Part II — The scaling of AI agents"Inequality's Economic and Social Roots: The Role of Social Networks and Homophily" — Matthew O. Jackson, in Advances in Economics and Econometrics: Twelfth World Congress of the Econometric Society (Cambridge University Press, 2025). https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.13016"AI Behavioral Science" — Jackson, Mei, Wang, Xie, Yuan, Benzell, Brynjolfsson, Camerer, Evans, Jabarian, Kleinberg, Meng, Mullainathan, Ozdaglar, Pfeiffer, Tennenholtz, Willer, Yang, and Ye, arXiv 2509.13323, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13323"A Turing Test of Whether AI Chatbots Are Behaviorally Similar to Humans" — Qiaozhu Mei, Yutong Xie, Walter Yuan, and Matthew O. Jackson, PNAS 121(9), 2024. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2313925121
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:EFTA02780835.pdf
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:EFTA02780835.pdf
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
Jim talks with John Krakauer—professor of neurology and neuroscience, director of the Center for Study of Motor Learning and Brain Repair at Johns Hopkins, and external faculty at SFI—about his 2017 paper "Neuroscience Needs Behavior: Correcting a Reductionist Bias." They discuss defining behavior as ecologically valid goal-directed action within an animal's umwelt, behavioral decomposition being epistemically prior to neural investigation, bipedal running and Sherrington's spinalized cat experiments as illustrations of that decomposition, what a satisfying neural explanation should actually look like, emergence and neuroscientists' resistance to it, the concept of explanatory autonomy and the "wings don't fly, birds do" framing, downward causality and the traffic jam analogy, Sherrington's own epistemic humility about understanding thought, whether consciousness will eventually be explained the way life was or remain permanently fuzzy, the three traditions of studying the nervous system and their persistent tensions, the problem of double-dipping with coarse-grained behavioral language in neural data, "filler verbs" like "involves" and "underlies" that add surplus meaning to a correlation without doing extra explanatory work, everyday pseudo-explanations like dopamine for unhappiness and oxytocin for love, the identity fallacy, LLMs as scientific sparring partners and critical reviewers, Krakauer's vertigo at the current moment and the possibility of retiring if AI generates better intuitions, interpretable AI as a new subject for neuroscience and psychology, Jim's own artificial consciousness project building a rudimentary white-tailed deer, distinguishing consciousness from cognition and sentience, separating the machinery of consciousness from its contents, Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" and echolocation as conscious content, multiple realizability and its being pervasive and fatal to naive reductionism, the mereological fallacy and mirror neurons as ground zero for multiple fallacies, Marr's three levels and the direction of the scientific project from behavioral goal to algorithm to neural implementation, the bradykinesia paper finding that Parkinson's patients move slowly because they want to move more slowly, the C. elegans connectome and the limits of that knowledge, the Jonas and Kording microprocessor paper, and much more. Episode Transcript "Neuroscience Needs Behavior: Correcting a Reductionist Bias", by John Krakauer "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?", by Thomas Nagel "Why Don't We Move Faster?", by Pietro Mazzoni, Anna Hristova, and John Krakauer "Could a Neuroscientist Understand a Microprocessor?", by Eric Jonas and Konrad Kording John Krakauer is currently John C. Malone Professor, Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Director of the Brain, Learning, Animation, and Movement Lab at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and Director of the Centre for Restorative Neurotechnology at The Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown. His areas of research interest include experimental and computational studies of motor control and motor learning, long-term skill learning and its relation to higher cognitive processes, prediction and mechanisms of motor recovery after stroke, new neuro-rehabilitation approaches including immersive XR gaming with generative AI, robotics and invasive CNS stimulation, and philosophy of mind. He is slowly working on a new book on the mind, intelligence, and AI for Princeton University Press.
Shame is one of the most powerful and misunderstood forces shaping our lives. In this deeply insightful conversation, I sit down with author, counselor, and teacher David Bedrick to explore what it truly means to “unshame” ourselves. Rather than seeing our struggles as problems to fix, David invites us to view them as doorways into deeper self-awareness, compassion, and connection.We talk about how shame forms in childhood, why traditional self-improvement approaches often reinforce it, and how embodied awareness can help us transform suffering into meaningful growth. David shares his personal journey, the philosophy behind his work at the Santa Fe Institute for Shame-based Studies, and practical reflections on how we can begin to relate differently to our inner critic, our pain, and the parts of ourselves we've learned to hide.This episode is a gentle but powerful reminder that healing doesn't come from becoming someone new. It comes from learning to meet ourselves — exactly as we are — with curiosity, dignity, and care.Connect with David:Order The Unshaming Way: https://a.co/d/dYTwNa7Website: https://www.davidbedrick.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.bedrick/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DBedrickPsychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/contributors/david-bedrick-jd-dipl-pwWORK WITH ME 1:1:❥Softening into self- 3 month 1:1 with Whats App Support:https://marina-yt.mykajabi.com/offers/PAWQhZHu❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewformDOWNLOAD FOR FREE:Stay or Go: 5 Clarity Questions to Reconnect with Your Inner Knowing: https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go-guideAttatchment Practice: Discover the actual blocks beneath the surface so you can actually have the deep intimacy you crave: https://marinayt.com/attachment-practice Connect & Ground: 10 Incredible Somatic Practices for Nervous System Regulation: https://marinayt.com/connect-and-groundAlive & Aligned: 7 Embodiment Practices For Self Connection: https://marinayt.com/alive-and-alignedTrigger to Rooted: A step by step process of working with your triggers: https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted VIEW MY COURSES & RESOURCES:https://marinayt.com/resources CONNECT WITH ME:Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/marina.y.t Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“Shame is not just an emotion — it's an entire way we've been taught to relate to ourselves.”“Unshaming is not about getting rid of pain. It's about learning how to listen to what it is trying to show you.”“When we stop treating our struggles as defects, they become invitations to insight and soul.”“Real healing begins when we meet the parts of ourselves we were taught to reject.”“There is a profound beauty in the places we once believed were broken.”shame healing, somatic healing, trauma healing, self compassion, emotional healing, nervous system regulation, david bedrick, unshaming, inner critic work, embodied awareness, trauma recovery, healing shame, personal growth, self connection, depth psychology, emotional resilience
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023).
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/technology
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin's time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays out compelling empirical evidence for separating novelty from innovation, showing that novelty involves the emergence of unique characteristics, while innovation concerns the success of those characteristics over time. Erwin develops a unifying conceptual framework for these powerful dynamics, demonstrating how they have shaped everything from the evolution of avian feathers and flight to the creation of human language and the breathtaking advances in digital computing we're witnessing today.A landmark work that redefines our understanding of the changes happening all around us, The Origins of the New reveals how the forces of novelty and innovation are the same across nature and culture, continually producing new forms and refashioning the world as we know it. Our guest is doctor Doug Erwin, who is an independent researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, after retiring as Senior Scientist and Curator of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jim talks with Philip Rosedale, founder and CEO of Linden Lab and creator of the game Second Life, about the nature of self, society, and the design of virtual worlds. They discuss the phenomenology of waking up and coalescing into a self, the polycrisis and whether to work on AI or on software that helps people get along better, Philip's role-based sense of identity, his messianic feeling during Second Life's early days versus a more Zen perspective now, humanity's place in the cosmic timeline, resistance to the techie utopian view that humans are merely a stepping stone to AI, the duty to "think local" and align at the scale of immediate community, Doug Rushkoff's "team human" concept, shared objective reality as social glue, the danger that technology has reduced the coherence of our collective worldview, Jim's "minimum viable metaphysics" and the reality assumption as operationally necessary, overapplying quantum mechanics to produce anti-realist worldviews, Philip's founding vision for Second Life as an emergent system contrasted with Old Testament god-game design, Craig Reynolds' Boids flocking rules and the tattoo encoding cohesion, separation, and alignment, emergent currency as a feature rather than a bug, the demand for beautiful avatars and identity expression as the first break from the simulation dream, why low-fidelity text platforms became massive while Second Life became big but not huge, the uncanny valley problem and its origins, AI video generation as a potential breakthrough for real-time believable face animation in virtual worlds, the whites of human eyes as a social signaling adaptation, the topology of connectivity producing different social emergence, Second Life's local topology versus Twitter's power-law scale-free network, the Game B concept of the membrane and voluntary strong-sauce agreements within small groups, Facebook groups as an early moment of rightness before the bleaching phenomenon took hold, crypto's attraction of bad actors and Vitalik Buterin's recent admission that Ethereum didn't serve humanity as intended, anonymity as generally harmful and the need for identity through group belonging, the trillion-dollar opportunity of a personal agent as a defensive membrane, the mid-nineties fork in the road on micropayments versus free, neutral infrastructure decisions having massive emergent cultural effects, what Jim learned from the Santa Fe Institute about the limits of confident long-range prediction, Karl Friston's work on consciousness and the membrane around something alive, world-model building as fundamental to selfhood, consciousness as discovering the self inside the world model, lucid dreams as a visceral analogy for the strange loop, and much more. Episode Transcript Free, by Chris Anderson Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas Hofstadter "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?", by Thomas Nagel Awakening the Angels", by Philip Rosedale Team Human, by Douglas Rushkoff Philip Rosedale is the founder of Second Life, where he served as CEO for a decade and recently rejoined as CTO. He previously created FreeVue, an early videoconferencing app acquired by RealNetworks, where he became CTO and led the creation of RealVideo. He later co-founded High Fidelity, an open-source VR platform that pivoted to spatial audio. His current projects include FairShare, a group-based digital currency aimed at reducing wealth inequality, and the California Institute of Machine Consciousness, a research initiative exploring consciousness in machines.
Welcome back to scaling theory. My guest today is Scott E. Page, Distinguished University Professor of Complexity, Social Science, and Management at the University of Michigan, and an external faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship. His books include The Difference, Diversity and Complexity, The Diversity Bonus, and The Model Thinker.In this episode of Scaling Theory, Scott walks us through what complexity actually is. He unpacks the difference between complicated and genuinely complex systems, explains why cognitively diverse teams systematically outperform homogeneous ones on complex tasks, and what that means for how organizations scale. We also take up path dependence, the spillover effects of overlapping games across platform ecosystems, and where complexity tools have changed real decisions in practice. We close on the single open problem whose resolution would most reshape our understanding of social systems. As you will hear, Scott's thinking is exceptionally clear. It is always a pleasure to talk with him and to listen to his insights. I hope you enjoy our discussion.You can follow me on X (@ProfSchrepel) and BlueSky (@ProfSchrepel).**BooksPage, S.E. (2007). The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. Princeton University Press.Page, S.E. (2011). Diversity and Complexity. Princeton University Press (Primers in Complex Systems).Page, S.E. (2018). The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You. Basic Books.Miller, J.H. and Page, S.E. (2007). Complex Adaptive Social Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life. Princeton University Press.Peer-reviewed articlesHong, L. and Page, S.E. (2004). "Groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(46): 16385–16389.Page, S.E. (2006). "Path Dependence." Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 1(1): 87–115.Page, S.E. (2007). "Type Interactions and the Rule of Six." Economic Theory, 30(2): 223–241.Bednar, J. and Page, S.E. (2007). "Can Game(s) Theory Explain Culture? The Emergence of Cultural Behavior Within Multiple Games." Rationality and Society, 19(1): 65–97.Bednar, J., Bramson, A., Jones-Rooy, A. and Page, S.E. (2010). "Emergent Cultural Signatures and Persistent Diversity: A Model of Conformity and Consistency." Rationality and Society, 22(4): 407–444.
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
Intelligence is a many splendored thing, especially when it comes to comparisons between species. Chimpanzees are better than humans at some numerical tasks, but less good at understanding what numbers actually mean. One window on the ways that species differ is how they play amongst themselves. I talk with anthropologist and cognitive scientist Erica Cartmill about modes of play and other social behaviors among various species, and what they reveal about the ways we all think. Upgrade your denim game with Rag & Bone! Get 20% off sitewide with code MINDSCAPE at www.rag-bone.com. #ragandbonepod Get twenty percent off your first purchase at Fast Growing Trees when using the code MINDSCAPE at checkout. Henson Shaving is offering 100 blades free with the purchase of a razor — just head to hensonshaving.com/MINDSCAPE and or use code MINDSCAPE at checkout. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/03/09/346-erica-cartmill-on-how-human-and-animal-minds-think-and-play/ Support Mindscape on Patreon. Erica Cartmill received her Ph.D. in psychology and neuroscience from the University of St. Andrews. She is Professor of Cognitive Science, Anthropology, Animal Behavior, Psychology, and Informatics at Indiana University, Bloomington and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. She is the co-chair of the EVOLANG conferences and the co-director of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute. She is co-director of the Possible Minds lab at IU, and also manages the Observing Animals project, which asks for public input on how animals interact with each other. Web site Indiana University we page Google Scholar publications
If you wanted a petri dish for understanding metaphors—how they emerge and evolve and jostle with each other—it would be hard to do better than the world of AI. We talk about AI systems variously as coaches or co-pilots, little genies or alien intelligences. Some researchers claim that AIs "grow," that they're entering their phase of "adolescence." Critics deride AI products as slop and dismiss LLMs as a kind of autocomplete on steroids. What's behind these different characterizations? Which ones are accurate and which are unfair? And are our metaphors mostly colorful rhetoric or do they matter? Are they shaping how we understand, adopt, and ultimately regulate these new technologies? My guest today is Dr. Melanie Mitchell. Melanie is a computer scientist and Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. She is the author of the book, AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans, and she writes a Substack by the same name. This episode is a bit of companion to our recent episode with Steve Flusberg. In that episode, Steve and I attempted a kind of crash course on metaphor and the human mind. Here, Melanie and I sit down for more of an extended case study: how metaphors are guiding, galvanizing, and maybe deceiving us in the contested realm of AI discourse. We unpack seven of the most widely used metaphors in this space. We consider how these metaphors are shaping not only our everyday understandings of AI, but also law and policy. We also talk about the metaphor and analogy capabilities of AI itself. Can these system reason abstractly in the way that humans can? Along the way, Melanie and I touch on: AI-generated poetry, anthropomorphism, the original sin of AI research, the myth of Narcissus, psychometric testing and its pitfalls, metaphors for AI that are a bit hard to spot, and the question of whether an AI has ever come up with a decent analogy for itself. Longtime fans of the show will know that we've had Melanie on the show once before. We invited her back, not only because she's thought about metaphor and analogy in AI discourse for decades, but because she's a voice of calm insight in an area that's increasingly awash in hype and polemic. Longtime fans of the show may also note that we are now celebrating our 6th birthday at Many Minds. That's right, the show launched in February 2020. If you'd like to support us as we recognize this milestone, you can leave us a rating or a review, recommend us to a friend, or give us a shout out on social media. Your support is always appreciated. Without further ado, on to my conversation with Dr. Melanie Mitchell. Enjoy! Notes 3:30 – For an overview of Douglas Hofstadter's work on analogy, see here. 8:00 – Much of our discussion in this interview draws on Dr. Mitchell's piece on the metaphors for AI in Science magazine. 13:30 – For earlier discussions of anthropomorphism on the show, see our earlier episodes here and here. 16:00 – See here for the original discussion of LLMs as "stochastic parrots." 17:00 – See here for the original discussion of ChatGPT as a "blurry jpeg." 18:30 – See here for the original discussion of LLMs as role players. 22:00 – See here for one use of the "LLMs as crowds" metaphor. See also a discussion of this metaphor (and other metaphors for AI) here. 25:00 – For one discussion of AI as a "cultural technology" by Alison Gopnik and colleagues, see here. For a more recent discussion of the same metaphor by Henry Farrell, Alison Gopnik and others, see here. 27:00 – For the podcast series on intelligence that Dr. Mitchell co-hosted for the Santa Fe Institute, see here. 28:00 – See here for an influential formulations of the idea that AI is an "alien intelligence." 29:00 – For philosopher Shannon Vallor's book about AI as "mirror," see here. 31:00 – For the recent study on users' metaphors for AI systems, see here. 33:00 – For more on the rise of social AI, see our earlier episode here. 38:00 – For more on what AI researchers might learn from developmental and comparative psychologists, see Dr. Mitchell's recent post (summarizing here keynote at NeurIPs). 42:00 – For more on the ARC (Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus) and the research that Dr. Mitchell and colleagues have been doing with it, see here and here. 48:30 – For the study on humans' preference for AI-generated poetry, see here. 50:30 – For Brigitte Nerlich's documentation and discussion of various metaphors for AI (including AI's metaphors for itself), see here. Recommendations The AI Mirror, by Shannon Vallor 'Role play with large language models,' by Murray Shanahan (former guest!) et al. 'Large AI models are cultural and social technologies,' by Henry Farrell et al. Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to Indiana University. The show is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here! We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com. For updates about the show, visit our website or follow us on Bluesky (@manymindspod.bsky.social).
DR. VN Alexander is a philosopher of science known for her work on Vladimir Nabokov's theory of insect mimicry evolution. She is a member of the Third Way of Evolution research group & currently works in the field of Biosemiotics. She earned her Ph.D. in 2002 in English at the Graduate Center, City University New York & did her dissertation research in teleology, evolutionary theory & self-organization at the Santa Fe Institute. She is a Rockefeller Foundation Residency alum, a former NY Council for the Humanities scholar & a 2020 Fulbright scholar in Russia. Books include The Biologist's Mistress: Rethinking Self-Organization in Art, Literature and Nature & several literary fiction and political science novels.VN ALEXANDER, PhD (aka Tori):Website: https://vnalexander.com/Website: https://directdemocracyus.org/IG: https://www.instagram.com/rednaxelairot/X: https://x.com/torialexander72LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/vnalexanderSubstack: posthumousstyle.substack.comNEW novel The Girlie Playhouse: https://heresy-press.com/product/the-girlie-playhouse-by-v-n-alexander/THE RIPPLE EFFECT PODCAST:WEBSITE: http://TheRippleEffectPodcast.comWebsite Host & Video Distributor: https://ContentSafe.co/SUPPORT:PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/TheRippleEffectPodcastPayPal: https://www.PayPal.com/paypalme/RvTheory6VENMO: https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3625073915201071418&created=1663262894MERCH: Store: http://www.TheRippleEffectPodcastMerch.comTHEORY 6 MUSIC: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1w91xRlB4b2MJYyXXhJcyFSPONSORS:OPUS A.I. Clip Creator: https://www.opus.pro/?via=RickyVarandasScott Horton Academy: https://scotthortonacademy.com/rippleeffectUniversity of Reason-Autonomy: https://www.universityofreason.com/a/2147825829/ouiRXFoLWATCH:OFFICIAL YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRippleEffectPodcastOFFICIALYOUTUBE CLIPS CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@RickyVarandasLISTEN:SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4lpFhHI6CqdZKW0QDyOicJiTUNES: http://apple.co/1xjWmlFTHE UNION OF THE UNWANTED: https://linktr.ee/TheUnionOfTheUnwanted
Geoffrey West didn't set out to explain work. He was a physicist trying to understand why living things grow, age, and die. But when his questions expanded into biology, cities, and organizations, they offered a way to think about why growth changes how organizations behave and why success often brings new constraints. In this episode, Dart and Geoffrey discuss why work feels different as organizations scale, why cities keep renewing themselves while companies tend to burn out, and what these hidden constraints mean for the people doing the work.Geoffrey West is a British theoretical physicist and Distinguished Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He is a former president of the Institute and the author of Scale, which explores how size shapes growth, innovation, and lifespan across living and social systems.In this episode, Dart and Geoffrey discuss:- Why work changes as organizations grow- How simple scaling laws shape complex systems- Why larger animals live longer- Why companies die younger than cities- How scale speeds up innovation- Why bureaucracy grows with success- How innovation gets crowded out over time- Why cities tolerate difference better than firms- What keeps work alive inside organizations- And other topics…Geoffrey West is a British theoretical physicist and Distinguished Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, where he previously served as president. Earlier in his career, he led the high-energy physics group at Los Alamos National Laboratory and held faculty positions at Stanford University. His research focuses on universal scaling laws in biology, cities, and social systems, examining how size shapes growth, innovation, and lifespan. He is the author of Scale.Resources Mentioned:Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies, by Geoffrey West: https://www.amazon.com/Scale-Universal-Innovation-Sustainability-Organisms/dp/014311090XConnect with Geoffrey:Official website: https://www.geoffreywest.com/Work with Dart:Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what's most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.
******Support the channel******Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenterPayPal: paypal.me/thedissenterPayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuyPayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9lPayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpzPayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9mPayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ******Follow me on******Website: https://www.thedissenter.net/The Dissenter Goodreads list: https://shorturl.at/7BMoBFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/Twitter: https://x.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Marina Dubova is an Omidyar postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. Her research aims to reveal and inform the cognitive mechanisms of discovery. She develops formal (e.g., computational models) and empirical methods (e.g., cognitive experiments with scientists) to put the foundations of scientific method to rigorous tests. She uses insights from cognitive science to learn how theories and data can be integrated and lead to better understandings of the world. In this episode, we first talk about the cognitive mechanisms of discovery. We discuss the cognitive foundations of the scientific method. We talk about experimentation, and how it can be randomized. We discuss concept-laden evidence, and the importance of cultural and cognitive diversity in science. Finally, we talk about parsimony and complexity.--A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, HEDIN BRØNNER, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, VALENTIN STEINMANN, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, MAURO JÚNIOR, 航 豊川, TONY BARRETT, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, TED FARRIS, HUGO B., JAMES, JORDAN MANSFIELD, CHARLOTTE ALLEN, PETER STOYKO, DAVID TONNER, LEE BECK, PATRICK DALTON-HOLMES, NICK KRASNEY, RACHEL ZAK, DENNIS XAVIER, CHINMAYA BHAT, AND RHYS!A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, NICK GOLDEN, CHRISTINE GLASS, IGOR NIKIFOROVSKI, AND PER KRAULIS!AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER,SERGIU CODREANU, AND GREGORY HASTINGS!
There's no denying that technology plays — and will continue to play — a critical role in addressing the climate crisis. But could super-intelligent AI actually solve the problem for us, as several tech billionaires claim? Or is this over-reliance on speculative technology simply a way to distract us from tackling big, real-world problems. Manjula Selvarajah sits down with astrophysicist and author Adam Becker to separate the hype from reality. Featured in this episode: Adam Becker is an astrophysicist, journalist and the author of More Everything Forever, a book that examines the futuristic ideologies of Silicon Valley's tech titans. He is a former science journalism fellow at the Santa Fe Institute and was also a science communicator in residence at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley.Marcius Extavour is a scientist, creative technologist and communicator who develops solutions for climate change and clean energy. As a partner at Ode, a technology and creative design firm specializing in geospatial AI. He previously built the energy, climate and carbon removal practice at XPRIZE.Further reading: Silicon Valley is at an inflection pointTech oligarchs are gambling our future on a fantasy Travelling to Mars and beating death: The futurist creed of tech's apostles More Everything Forever Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Infinity quest.” Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America's largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT PODCAST:Website: http://TheRippleEffectPodcast.comSupport: https://rickyvarandas.com/support/IPAK-EDU (Empower Yourself Through Knowledge)Website: https://IPAK-EDU.org/ (use RIPPLE for 10% off)VN Alexander, PhD (aka Tori)Website: https://vnalexander.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/rednaxelairot/AI & Transhumanism Essay: posthumousstyle.substack.comBio: Philosopher of science known for her work on Vladimir Nabokov's theory of insect mimicry evolution. She is a member of the Third Way of Evolution research group and currently works in the field of Biosemiotics. She earned her Ph.D. in 2002 in English at the Graduate Center, City University New York and did her dissertation research in teleology, evolutionary theory, and self-organization at the Santa Fe Institute. She is a Rockefeller Foundation Residency alum, a former NY Council for the Humanities scholar, and a 2020 Fulbright scholar in Russia. Books include The Biologist's Mistress: Rethinking Self-Organization in Art, Literature and Nature and several literary fiction and political science novels.Xavier A. Figueroa, Ph.D (aka Dr. X)X: https://x.com/DrXFig0708Bio: The principal scientist for EMulate Therapeutics overseeing pre-clinical research and the application of EMulate Therapeutics technology in multiple disease areas. He has more than 20 years of experience in basic and neurological clinical research, including Alzheimer's research, neuron biology, cancer research, bioengineering and biophysics. Dr. Figeuroa received his doctoral degree in Neurobiology & Behavior from the University of Washington. His doctoral training was followed by two post-doctoral fellowships within the University of Washington's Department of Bioengineering. He is currently an affiliate assistant professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington. Specialties include, Molecular Biology, Toxicology, Apoptosis Signaling and Regulation, Neuroscience and Neurodegenerative Expertise.Dr. James Lyons-Weiler (aka Dr. Jack)Website: https://jameslyonsweiler.com/Substack: https://popularrationalism.substack.com/Earned his PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology. He has held research positions at esteemed institutions, including the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Pittsburgh (Dept Pathology & Dept. of Biomedical Informatics). Dr. Lyons-Weiler has an extensive portfolio of peer-reviewed articles covering various scientific disciplines such as genetics, evolution, and public health. Notably, he has conducted research on the safety of aluminum adjuvants in vaccines, focusing on their dosing and potential health implications, especially in pediatric populations. His work on “pathogenic priming” and its potential relevance to COVID-19 has also been significant. Lyons-Weiler founded the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge (IPAK), a research organization. He also founded IPAK-EDU, an educational platform that has educated over 1,400 students in advanced courses across a wide variety of subjects. You can find more information about these courses on their official website.
This is an interview with Stuart Kauffman, one of the founders of complexity theory. He invented random Boolean networks at only 23 years old and helped establish the Santa Fe Institute. Now 86, he makes a striking claim: there is no theory of everything. Kauffman argues that biological evolution creates genuinely new possibilities that cannot be deduced from prior states—paralleling the ancient Chinese Tao more than Plato's Logos. He also believes he's found something new in quantum gravity (and, in his words, "genuinely huge"). He unveils it here for the first time. As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe SUPPORT: - Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e LINKS MENTIONED: - Investigations [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/B00W0DHAH6?tag=toe08-20 - Stuart Kauffman's Books [Amazon]: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APT8XK - A Third Transition In Science? [Article]: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsfs/article/13/3/20220063/89381/A-third-transition-in-science-A-third-transition - Genetic Regulatory Mechanisms In Protein Synthesis [Paper]: https://www.gs.washington.edu/academics/courses/braun/55106/readings/jacob_and_monod.pdf - Is Mind In Spacetime? [Paper]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38969235/ - The World Is Not A Theorem [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2101.00284 - Origins Of Order [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0195079515?tag=toe08-20 - The Universal Constructor [Article]: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.157.3785.180.a - Metabolic Stability And Epigenesis In Random Genetic Nets [Paper]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022519369900150 - Antichaos And Adaptation [Article]: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24938683 - The Selfish Gene [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0199291152?tag=toe08-20 - Biological Organization As Closure Of Constraints [Paper]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022519315001009 - Physics And Philosophy [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0061209198?tag=toe08-20 - Combinatorial Chemistry: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/combinatorial-chemistry - Connections [Series]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.484e32c5-60bd-4493-a800-e44fd0940312 - Gonen Ashkenasy's Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7kP7Fi4AAAAJ - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s - Anna Ciaunica & Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2aLhkm6QUgA - Plato's Cave [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PurNlwnxwfY - "Is God A Taoist?" [TOE]: https://youtu.be/P-jh6tRh3Jw - Chiara Marletto [TOE]: https://youtu.be/40CB12cj_aM - John Donoghue [TOE]: https://youtu.be/dG_uKJx6Lpg - Yang-Hui He [TOE]: https://youtu.be/wbP0KjWm0pw - Tim Palmer [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vlklA6jsS8A - Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss - Lee Smolin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/uOKOodQXjhc - Carlo Rovelli [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hF4SAketEHY - Geoffrey Hinton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/b_DUft-BdIE - Richard Dawkins's Lecture: https://youtu.be/nfZMyJq6BBM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Francesca Samsel is crafting a new language for our world. That is, she crosses art, science, and visualization to open new ways of understanding and engaging with the natural world, not just visually but across the sensorial spectrum. She recognizes the inextricably social element to this, too, and her work raises our capacity to collaborate, and in the process, alters our sense of what scientific inquiry is and can (and perhaps needs to) be. Her work as her life are teachers we need for the world we are walking into. Origins Podcast WebsiteFlourishing Commons NewsletterShow Notes:vulnerability (11:30)problem with the 'follow your passion' path (14:20)Ganymede (15:00)what she tells her students (15:50)art-science collaboration (16:00)Santa Fe Institute (21:20)James (Jim) Ahrens (24:00)Craig Tweedie (25:20)visual structure to see the complexity in data (29:00)Isaac Asimov 'that's funny' (30:20)the need for scientific breakthrough (31:20)Lia Halloran - your hand will physically guide you the way to breakthrough (31:30)the only mark that you determine as an artist is the first one (33:00)delivery-oriented society (34:30)"Stewardship of Global Collective Behavior" by Joseph Bak-Coleman et al. (40:00)visual vocabulary work (42:00)Art-Sci-Vis Lab at UT Austin (43:20)flourishing (47:00)Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (51:45)lightning round (48:00)Artist: Jon McCormick (work called "Fifty Sisters")Passion: geoscience and the complexity you find when you walk out of the doorHeart sing: fused glass, ice, and rockScrewed up: obliviousness to colleaguesFind Francesca online:Website UT AustinLogo artwork by Cristina GonzalezMusic by swelo on all streaming platforms or @swelomusic on social media
In the inaugural episode of a new series, Jim talks with David Krakauer about his intellectual formation and worldview. They discuss what woke up as David this morning, his commitments to chance and pattern seeking, his epiphany about the idea of the idea at age 12 or 13, his perverse attraction to the arcane and difficult, evolution as integral to intelligence, the risk-averse character of scholars and the sociology of science, the Santa Fe Institute's attempt to maintain revolutionary science, the Ouroboros concept challenging foundationalism in epistemology, the standard model of physics as foundational versus the view that you can establish foundations anywhere, string theory as a slowly dying pseudoscience, whether beauty is a useful guide in science, emergence and broken symmetries, Phil Anderson's "More is Different" paper, the Wigner reversal and the shift from law to initial conditions, rejecting both weak and strong emergence, effective theories and causally justified concepts, downward causality, micrograining versus coarse graining, the distinction between abiotic and biotic systems, games and puzzles as model systems for complexity, combinatorial solution spaces, heuristics as dimensional reducers and potentially the golden road to AGI, Isaiah Berlin's influence on David's worldview, negative versus positive liberties, value pluralism and historicity, the Fermi paradox and the possibility of alien life, the rational versus the irrational in human life, and much more. Episode Transcript JRS EP 192 - David Krakauer on Science, Complexity and AI JRS EP10 - David Krakauer: Complexity Science "A Minimum Viable Metaphysics," by Jim Rutt "More Is Different," by P.W. Anderson The Emergence of Everything, by Harold Morowitz David Krakauer's research explores the evolution of intelligence and stupidity on Earth. This includes studying the evolution of genetic, neural, linguistic, social, and cultural mechanisms supporting memory and information processing, and exploring their shared properties. President of the Santa Fe Institute since 2015, he served previously as the founding director of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, the co-director of the Center for Complexity and Collective Computation, and professor of mathematical genetics, all at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Building SimCity explores the history of computer simulation by chronicling one of the most influential simulation games ever made: SimCity. As author Chaim Gingold explains, Will Wright, the visionary designer behind the urban planning game, created SimCity in part to learn about cities, appropriating ideas from traditions in which computers are used as tools for modeling and thinking about the world as a complex system. As such, SimCity is a microcosm of the histories and cultures of computer simulation that engages with questions, themes, and representational techniques that reach back to the earliest computer simulations. Gingold uses SimCity to explore a web of interrelated topics in the history of technology, software, and simulation, taking us far and wide—from the dawn of programmable computers to miniature cities made of construction paper and role-play. An unprecedented history of Maxis, the company founded to bring SimCity to market, the book reveals Maxis's complex relations with venture capitalists, Nintendo, and the Santa Fe Institute, which shaped the evolution of Will Wright's career; Maxis's failure to back The Sims to completion; and the company's sale to Electronic Arts. Building SimCity boasts a treasure trove of visual matter to help bring its wide-ranging subjects to life, including painstakingly crafted diagrams that explain SimCity's operation, the Kodachrome photographs taken by Charles Eames of schoolchildren making model cities, and Nintendo's manga-style “Dr. Wright” character design, just to name a few. Rudolf Thomas Inderst (*1978) enjoys video games since 1985. He received a master's degree in political science, American cultural studies as well as contemporary and recent history from Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich and holds two PhDs in game studies (LMU & University of Passau). Currently, he's teaching as a professor for game design and game studies at the HNU University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm, Germany, has submitted his third dissertation at the University of Vechta, holds the position as lead editor at the online journal TITEL kulturmagazin for the game section, hosts the German local radio show Replay Value and is editor of the weekly game research newsletter Game Studies Watchlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was far more than a secluded estate—it was a fortress of influence, shielded by political connections, legal loopholes, and geographic isolation. Acquired in the early 1990s through ties to the powerful King family, the sprawling property benefited from a sex offender registry loophole that allowed Epstein to avoid public monitoring after his 2008 conviction. With friends like former Governor Bill Richardson, proximity to the elite Santa Fe Institute, and state trust land leases that expanded his buffer of privacy, Epstein found in New Mexico a jurisdiction uniquely suited to let him operate unchecked.Despite credible victim accounts placing abuse at the ranch, New Mexico authorities never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to hand the matter over to federal prosecutors. This “punting” avoided the political fallout that might have come from probing Epstein's local connections and land deals, but it also ensured that years of potential evidence went uncollected. By the time the federal case took center stage in 2019, Zorro Ranch was little more than a missed opportunity for justice—proof that in New Mexico, as elsewhere, the powerful can secure safe harbor when the right people look the other way.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
Welcome back to the Homeward podcast. I am honored to share today's conversation with the incredibly wise + paradigm-shifting David Bedrick. David Bedrick, JD, Dipl. PW, is a teacher, counselor, and attorney. He grew up in a family marked by violence. While his father's brutality was physical and verbal, his mother's denial and gaslighting had its own covert power. This formative context introduced David early to the etiology of shame and instilled an urge to unshame. Professionally, he was on the faculty for the University of Phoenix and the Process Work Institute in the U.S. and Poland and is the founder of the Santa Fe Institute for Shame-based Studies where he trains therapists, coaches and healers and offers workshops for individuals to further their own personal development. David writes for Psychology Today and is the author of three books: Talking Back to Dr. Phil: Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology and Revisioning Activism: Bringing Depth, Dialogue, and Diversity to Individual and Social Change. His new book is You Can't Judge a Body by Its Cover: 17 Women's Stories of Hunger, Body Shame and Redemption. Today's conversation serves as its own masterclass in unshaming. You'll hear David help me tease out my own inner critic and walk us through the unshaming process to find the flower (the gift) in our pain. I can't wait for you to listen. Links Mentioned: Order The Unshaming Way: https://a.co/d/dYTwNa7 Learn more on David's website: https://www.davidbedrick.com/ Follow him over on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.bedrick/ Tag me in your big shifts + takeaways: @amberlilyestrom Did you hear something you loved here today?! Leave a Review + Subscribe via iTunes
What if the relentless drive to maximize personal gain isn't human nature, but just a flawed model we built? In this Back-to-Basics episode, behavioral economist Samuel Bowles helps us lay homo economicus—the myth of the perfectly rational, self-interested actor—six feet under. He shows how this caricature not only misrepresents human behavior, but underpins an economic system that ignores cooperation, community, and ethics. If we're hoping to reclaim our society from greed-driven oligarchs and neoliberal policy, we need a better model—which starts with recognizing that humans are more than economic robots. Samuel Bowles is an economist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, currently serving as Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences Program at the Santa Fe Institute. He is also the author of The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens. This episode originally aired May 7, 2019. Further reading: The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social TikTok: @pitchfork_econ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: The Pitch
What is life? What is intelligence? What is… complexity? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O'Reilly learn how complexity science, chaos theory, and emergence help us understand our place in the universe with David Krakauer, president of the Santa Fe Institute.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here:https://startalkmedia.com/show/emergence-explained-with-david-krakauer/Thanks to our Patrons teonie, Dixie Gamoning, Greg Meyer, Mike Bilodeau, Mitchell Keesler, john hutt, Karen Buss, The Merry Widow, Casandra Martin, Swaraj Jaiswal, Hoang Nguyen, Knooble Gooble, Panainte Victor, Peter Jensen, Rajesh Bhaidasna, Victor Pomales, George Mulder, Life Space and the Lot, RandomBrian423, blitzgrub, Travis Bridges, Sreya Kumpatla, Erik Scheirer, Natalie Tabor, SwaZam!, KILOCREAMYY, Lisa Peldiak, Tosin Awofeso, Joe Buzz, daevon pearson, Amie Christy, Simone Adair, Philippe, Logan Davis, Ted Parsons, Macs Ton, Ben, Quentin Ferguson, Ash De Zylva, Evalena Marie, Nancy Bijok, Jacob Garcia, The Preschool Doctor, Amber Shaw, Erin, ilya, Kevin Nguyen, Austin Weets, and Alan G for supporting us this week. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of StarTalk Radio ad-free and a whole week early.Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
Our universe started out looking very simple: hot, dense, smooth, rapidly expanding. According to our best current model, it will end up looking simple once again: cold, dark, empty. It's in between -- now, roughly speaking -- that things look complex. I have been working to understand the stages by which complexity comes into existence, thrives, and eventually disappears. Without going into technical details, in this solo episode I give an overview of the general picture and the clues we are looking at to better understand the process of complexogenesis.Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/06/30/320-solo-complexity-and-the-universe/Support Mindscape on Patreon.The Santa Fe Institute has recently published a four-volume set of classic papers on complexity. David Krakauer provided a comprehensive introduction that has been published as a standalone book.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.