The Bahala Podcast

What happens when math becomes a measuring stick for intelligence rather than a tool for understanding the world? In this episode, we sit down ahead of a screening of the documentary Counted Out to dig into our own complicated relationships with math: from childhood dreams derailed by algebra anxiety, to placement tests that pigeonhole kids on their very first day of school. We explore how Cold War politics literally shaped what gets taught in math classrooms (yes, trig was designed for missile trajectories), why percentages in a headline can short-circuit critical thinking rather than sharpen it, and how the AP-to-college-admissions pipeline may be doing more harm than good. The conversation winds toward something hopeful: a vision of education where the artificial wall between humanities and STEM comes down, critical thinking is taught as a skill from kindergarten, and curiosity counts for more than the one right answer. If you've ever felt "counted out" by math or wondered why that feeling is so common, this one's for you.

Can AI be your therapist, your creative twin, and your kid's homework buddy — all at once? This week, Deb, Jess and I recap the AI Community Dialogue we had on February 9th. We gauge the feelings and intents from the meeting, dig into the unresolved emotions we're still carrying from the social media era, lament the lack of education around our "information diets", and much more. Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Bahala Podcast. I'm Carlo Cabanilla, and the following recording captures our first Monday Night meetup, held on February 2nd, 2026, where I lead a dialogue about artificial intelligence with our community. I presented what the current state of AI is, how it works, and what it means for our lives. We covered large language models, reasoning systems, and AI agents. More importantly, we used a framework called "Could, Should, Might, Don't" to think through AI's potential futures together. Our community brought incredible questions and perspectives—from education and creativity to privacy and control. You'll hear concerns about critical thinking, excitement about medical breakthroughs, and honest discussion about what we want to preserve as technology advances. This conversation is part of our ongoing work to build shared community values around AI. Thanks for listening.

Hi, welcome to the very first episode of the Bahala podcast. I’m Carlo Cabanilla, one of the founders of Bahala, a Santa Monica nonprofit building the third spaces we’ve always wanted in. Today, I along with Deb, Bahala’s executive director, chat with our resident blogger and podcast host, Jess, about Bahala, our complementary partnership, our philosophy on bridging the digital and analog worlds, and what to expect from our new Monday night meeting format.