PODCAST · news
ReConsider
by Erik Fogg
Politics without pushing perspectives. We challenge you to reconsider your views by providing context. But we don't do the thinking for you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/reconsiderpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
-
[2.12b] The Hero's Journey in Film
Modern cinema is chock full of Hero's Journeys. Today I cover 3 of my favorites, each more interesting and sophisticated than the last. We will actually see three variants on the Hero's Journey, with different details that we can relate to. This episode is not evidence that the Hero's Journey is...
-
[2.12a] The Hero's Journey
When you realize something is very wrong, that life is not all it was cracked up to be, that the meaning has been drained from the world, then you have heard the call to adventure. If you answer it, you begin the Hero's Journey. Joseph Campbell shows us how the Hero's Journey has been told in…
more -
[2.11] The Dark Night of the Soul
In Silicon Eden, the loss of the immortality project means a collapse of meaning and a gaping hole where a value system used to be. Right now, the only good news is that you will be far from the first to go through this problem. Sources Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land. 1922. Eliot, Valerie, ed. The...
-
[2.10b] Welcome to Silicon Eden: Pt 2, The Wasteland
Everything you want is right at your fingertips. There is no struggle, nothing to accomplish. Can humans figure out how to just enjoy life as the pets of a superintelligence? Sources Plato. Republic, Book VII Sukhumāla Sutta Russell, Bertrand. "In Praise of Idleness." 1932. Keynes, John Maynard....
-
[2.10a] Welcome to Silicon Eden: Pt 1, The Last Man
Many people believe that in a the robo-communist future of superintelligent AI, humans will flourish: artists, scholars -- perhaps Burning Man 24/7. Human nature suggests a very different picture. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. Bostrom, Nick.…
more -
[2.9b] Solving the Fermi Paradox (Bonus)
In this episode we walk through some potential solutions to the fermi paradox, and then apply the now-likely reality that our own Von Neumann probes are probably only a few million years away from seeing most of the galaxy. What is out there waiting for them? What does our pending success mean…
more -
[2.9] Building Silicon Eden
The world is barreling towards disaster on many fronts. Crises include: climate change, depopulation, government debt, sagging welfare states, housing affordability, healthcare affordability, political polarization, government paralysis. By 2050 they will all be irrelevant, as will the structures...
-
[2.8] You Are Food for The Machine
The Matrix looks more and more like the perfect allegory for the modern age. States, corporations, social systems, and even ideas have a mind of their own, and they are hungry. By participating blindly and uncritically in these systems, we feed them, and they take over more and more of our lives....
-
[2.7] A Primate Contemplates Superintelligence
Over time, we have been able to cognize in totally novel ways. We have been able to teach these novel cognitions to our fellow humans. We can teach some of them to other great apes. We can teach dogs some language and concepts. We can't teach anything to rats. Today, your favorite podcasting...
-
[2.6] The One Wisdom
[AUDIO FIXED!] Today we explore wisdom. Not the "don't put tomatoes in a fruit salad" kind. Serious business wisdom. It turns out, the wise tend to converge on understanding the world in a similar way. In the 20th century, philosophical titans saw this convergence. They look back to the original...
-
[2.5] The End of Education
We explore the state of education just before the rise of AI, compare it to today, and extrapolate into the future. Sources Tyler Jagt, "My Students Can't Read," Chronicle of Higher Education, 2026. NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Pew Research, "Reading for fun has become less common," 2021.…
more -
[2.4] You Sit Upon a Throne of Lies
It's amazing how useful illusion is for surviving in a cave, and staggering how destructive it is to our lives. The Buddha saw this 2500 years ago. Modern science sees it more clearly than ever. In this episode I did not even get into the Fundamental Attribution Error or the vast suite of…
more -
[2.3] Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
As AI's capability grows, what once-human tasks will it be able to do, by when? What will those displaced humans do? We look to the automation revolutions of the past to see what the historical pattern has been, and explore in what ways AI is different that could change the pattern. The pattern...
-
[2.2] Obliviscere Mori
How much of your life -- and everyone's -- is a compulsive, futile effort to deny your own death? What happens when you see what's really happening? Sources Leontief’s horse. Wassily Leontief, 1983, National Academy of Engineering symposium Humans and Horses. Brynjolfsson & McAfee, “Will Humans…
more -
[2.1] Exponential Growth is a SOB
Look over the growth if AI's capability in the past 3 years, and the past year. What is it going to look like in 3 years, and what are the implications for all of us? Some visions of the future of AI by some researchers on the cutting edge: https://ai-2027.com/ Dario Amodei, Machines of Loving...
-
[2.0] An Introduction to ReConsider 2.0
A brief guide on how to get the most out of ReConsider 2.0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Ukraine XI: Asymmetric Momentum
There’s something really interesting happening in Ukraine. The few and far between Russian victories seem to be making them weaker. Yes, you read that right. Russian victories are draining the life out of their soldiers, making it harder to win the battles that come next. On the other hand,...
-
Reconsidering Russia 2: Russia's Interest & What to Expect with Prof. Mitchell Orenstein
Mitchell Orenstein is a professor of Central and East European Politics in the Slavic department at the University of Pennsylvania and an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian studies at Harvard. His research focuses on the political economy and international affairs of Central…
more -
Ukraine X: The Absolutely Dazzling Counter-Blitzkrieg
Time in Kyiv: 9am, Tues, Sep 13th. Kharkiv Oblast is free. Zelenksy announced about 6 weeks ago that a major counter-offensive in the South would take place. After a month of attacking bridges, rail depots, ammunition depots, C&C, bases, etc etc etc, the offensive started in earnest. 2 weeks in,...
-
ReConsidering Russia: The Complex History of Russia
Mark Schauss is the host of Russian Rulers History and Battle Ground History. Known for being heavily well-versed with the history of Russia, Mark Schauss joins us in today’s episode to talk about the Russian history in its most authentic form. Mark shares everything from Russia’s first invasion…
more -
Ukraine IX: Oh Hi, MARS
Hot Updates Severodonetsk fell slowly as expected, but then Lysychansk fell quickly because Russian troops surrounded it, and Ukrainian troops had to retreat rather than be destroyed. It’s possible the Ukrainians were out-gamed by Russian mid-level commanders. So far, Russians have not been able…
more -
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times, Part 2
Lots of ways we can split this. Much has been discussed about decoupling of wages from productivity. Also note we are absolutely not going to get into 2022. But it’s clear the price increases since the pandemic (due to supply shortages, super aggressive monetary policy, gasoline ,and other…
more -
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times
OR, a tale of ups and downs Lots of things seem to be getting worse, at least if you read the internet ever This is not an episode to say, “nothing is getting worse,” but that what you hear about is probably not very correlated with what’s going on. I’m leaving abortion out of this because…
more -
Ukraine VIII: Bold Strategies and High Stakes
Updates Situation in Severodonetsk HUGE numbers of troops from both sides Artillery war “Road of life” from Bakhmut to Severodonetsk has 1km clearance from Popansa salient and has been a huge fight -- if it goes down, UKR at risk of losing >10k troops in that pocket Ammo situation Ukraine out of...
-
Russia Invades Ukraine VII: Possible Aftermath
First, war update: Mariupol fell after 2.5 months of truly insane holding out. Gosh dang. 1900 surrendered and there is a POW complication that I”m not going to get into Ukraine has mostly booted Russia out of Kharkiv, though there is still some fighting and the Russians have not given it up...
-
Russia Invades Ukraine VI: We've Always Been at War With Eurasia
What happens when you start really believing your own bullshit? What happens when you’ve created a yes-man bubble where everyone only tells you what you want to hear? First a war update: Russia’s focus on the east and Donbass, which started a month ago, has made a bit of progress in a few places,...
-
Russia Invades Ukraine V: All Wild on the Eastern Front
The Russians are hoping to encircle Ukraine's defensive lines in the Donbass. If they do, they might be able to declare victory. The Ukrainians are racing east, not only to defend their territory, but might just also be able to counter-attack. Let's break it down. Hosted on Acast. See...
-
Russia Invades Ukraine IV: My Kingdom for a Plane
So much has changed over the past month -- Ukraine is on the offensive. Kyiv is safe. The war moves east. Air superiority actually matters more than ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Civil Wars of the Past and the Gilded Age with Lindsay Graham of History Daily
On this episode, Erik interviews Lindsay Graham of American History Tellers and History Daily. They talk about the similarities and differences between today's political and economic climate and that of the Civil War and the Gilded Age. Support ReConsider on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See...
-
Ukraine III: What's Wrong with Russia?
The war should have been short and decisive. And as it drags out, Russia looks ever-more inept. What's wrong with its military? What's wrong with its chain of command? Will its economy collapse? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Russia Invades Ukraine II: What if Ukraine Wins?
While this war is far from over... well, it's far from over! And nobody expected that. In this episode we talk about why Ukraine is winning, what it could mean for Russia and the world if they do win, and how warfare is changing as we watch it unfold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for…
more -
Russia Invades Ukraine
Erik explains why Russia is invading Ukraine, what their war aims are, what the West is doing, how geopolitics plays into all of this, and a little bit of what might happen next. Get a little sanity of clarity amidst the livestream chaos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Optimates
"Another cause which kept the plebeians in as state of poverty was the unjust distribution of the public land (ager publicus) which had been acquired in war..." William C. Morey, Outline of Roman History The Optimates: Represented the Elites in the run-up to, and the middle of, the Roman Civil…
more -
The Fall of AntiWork, Or: The ‘Anti-’Problem
Antiwork had a really bad day Source Article “Laziness is a virtue in this society” - r/antiwork moderator https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement “Supporters of the anti-work movement believe people should self-organise and labour only as much as needed,...
-
ReConsider Needs Your Support
Help Keep ReConsider Independent by joining our Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Antiwork
Today we talk about something I've reconsidered lately: Antiwork Leave Erik a Tip to Support the Show Join the ReConsider Patreon Erik’s initial take -labor organization and rights are a great thing -Not putting up with crappy work conditions, and forcing companies to compete, is a great thing…
more -
Revolutions
Two kinds of revolutions: Throwing off an external oppressor Often violent, sometimes not Forcing regime change in your own country through extra-political or violent means Largely violent Largely nonviolent The outcomes tend to be very different. (Focusing on outcomes where they win -- turns out...
-
Meta-Trans: Gender, Ethnicity/Race, and Transitioning between Them
Become a Patreon and Support ReConsider! This is probably going to get me a lot of flak but I realized that I’d be shying away from a commitment to challenge how we think about stuff if I didn’t talk about this out of fear. Disclaimer: I actually have a very underdeveloped political position on...
-
Social Shaming
I think a lot of the societal breakdown we are seeing is a matter of human psychology -- designed for pre-historical humans by evolution -- running up against technology that it can’t handle and goes kindof crazy trying to confront. -This is probably why social media is so harmful for teenagers…
more -
When Fascism Almost Came to America
In the 1930s, Fascism was surprisingly popular in the US. Then a World War made the word anathema, but wanting a strongman to make everything better for us is getting more popular. Believe in our liberal institutions is in decline. Are we getting more tolerant of totalitarianism? Hosted on Acast....
-
How Did It Come to This? Part 4, the rise of niche media platforms
Social market dynamics are driving the ever-greater fracturing of public discourse. Can it be pulled back together? In this episode Erik finishes his series with the MIT Enterprise Forum on media technology and political polarization. Check out the show notes for the original slide deck at...
-
How Did It Come to This? Part 3, the role of media technology in political polarization
In this episode, Erik expands substantially on work from Wedged, talking about how media technology, now and in the past, contributes to (or doesn't contribute to) political polarization. Check out the show notes at http://www.reconsidermedia.com for the slide deck! Hosted on Acast. See...
-
Volume Bias
In the words of the legendary Terry Pratchett, in the Discworld novel The Truth: “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth has had a chance to get its boots on.” Or from one of my favorite bands, The Protomen in their song, “The Hounds”: “When I say he was a monster When I set fire...
-
Selective Forgiveness
What are you willing to forgive in the heroes of your story? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How I Learned to Start Worrying and Loathe the Bomb
Agenda: Weren’t nukes good for global stability? The idea of Mutually Assured Destruction Game Theory and the First Strike problem of most nuclear weapons The Dr. Strangelove scenario Were there close calls? Yes, here are all of them Also, the broken arrow problem Can you actually get rid of…
more -
Patron Q&A! #1
I finally managed to get a bunch of patrons to send me questions. Many who are eligible have still sent none, so I’m going to be doing another soon! Some GREAT questions came in this time! Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Competing Frames
Do you ever feel like your political opposition is talking right past you? As if you are having two entirely different conversations? You might be working with COMPETING FRAMES. Come learn how those work - and how to win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Escape
How does the United States escape spiraling political polarization? Waiting for a hero may not work. The cause of polarization is structural; the solution must be, too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Insurrection
In an age of sensationalism and hyperbole for political points, words like 'insurrection' and 'coup' might make us numb. but let's dig deeper. Was the Jan 6th Capitol Riot an "Insurrection?" (Note: this episode long delayed due to potential threats to the hosts' welfare, but we're finally…
more -
False Premises
If Trump had just decided to stay in power (and managed it), if Democracy had failed, might you have stormed the capitol? What does belief drives us to do? Do we, too, operate on false premises? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Politics without pushing perspectives. We challenge you to reconsider your views by providing context. But we don't do the thinking for you.
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/reconsiderpodcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Erik Fogg
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does ReConsider have?
ReConsider currently has 184 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is ReConsider about?
Politics without pushing perspectives. We challenge you to reconsider your views by providing context. But we don't do the thinking for you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/reconsiderpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How often does ReConsider release new episodes?
ReConsider publishes regularly with 184 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to ReConsider?
You can listen to ReConsider on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts ReConsider?
ReConsider is created and hosted by Erik Fogg.
URL copied to clipboard!