The Hope Axis by Anna Gát

This week on The Hope Axis, Dylan O’Sullivan joins to talk about the classics and their second life online.We get into reading in the age of TikTok and AI, and whether people today can still take on long, difficult books, along with the experience of going back to books and seeing them differently over time. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fGdRmgt7ZO6MKGzd6sHUX15n3q5QBINl/view?usp=sharingImportant Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/DylanoA4?lang=en Essayful - https://substack.com/@essayful LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanoa4/ The Spectator - https://spectator.com/writer/dylan-osullivan/ Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction(02:33) The Right Age to Start Reading The Classics(07:53) The Feeling of Cultural Stagnation(12:22) How to Find Good Books(21:53) Finding What to Read and Where to Think(31:09) Dylan's Most Quoted Authors(39:03) Modern World of Self-publishing(41:38) What Do You Write About If You Don't Live First(48:19) What's up with Dostoevsky(56:14) Ulysses and End NotesBooks, Essays & References Mentioned:C.S. Lewis — The Abolition of ManC.S. Lewis — Mere ChristianityArthur Koestler — Darkness at NoonArthur Koestler — The Act of CreationLeo Tolstoy — War and PeaceLeo Tolstoy — Anna KareninaFyodor Dostoevsky — The Brothers KaramazovFyodor Dostoevsky — Notes from UndergroundFyodor Dostoevsky — White NightsJames Joyce — Ulysses

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m very happy to welcome Alastair Benn, deputy editor of Engelsberg Ideas. In this conversation, we talk about Scottish identity and language, the challenges of writing clearly in a “post-literate” age, and the editorial philosophy behind Engelsberg Ideas.We also discuss the idea of Bildung and Benn’s view of the editor as a mentor who helps writers turn strong ideas into clear, readable essays. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IZLw1IkUsu5Q5A-AbAf_mAJZKCUAkQjd/view?usp=drive_linkImportant Links: X (Twitter) –https://x.com/alastair_benn Engelsberg Ideas - https://engelsbergideas.com/author/alastair-benn/LinkedIn – https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alastair-benn-0327b578Bokforlaget Stolpe– https://bokforlagetstolpe.com/en/authors/alastair-benn/Show Notes: (0:00:00) Introduction(0:00:58) Misunderstanding the Scots(0:05:32) Linguistic Identity and Code-Switching(0:10:24) Scotland Compared to Scandinavia(0:13:02) Whisky, the Burning Bush, and Scottish Identity(0:22:26) Engelsberg Ideas(0:25:07) Plain Language, Complex Ideas(0:31:12) Why the Written Word Still Matters(0:37:25) Writing Essays like Montaigne(0:42:39) Gatekeepers of the World of the Ideas(0:48:35) Are We Becoming Post-Literate?(0:56:47) What Is Bildung(1:01:08) The Bildungsroman from Goethe to Thomas Mann(1:10:31) Innerlichkeit and the Cult of Inwardness(1:18:14) Hans Castorp and the Arid Cult of Productivity(1:24:38) The Biases of the Hyper-Literate Elite(1:27:10) Schopenhauer, Hegel, and the Problem of Jargon(1:30:03) The Editor as a Mentor(1:36:35) AI and Editing: What It Can and Cannot Do(1:43:19) Closing Remarks Books, Essays & References Mentioned:Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThomas Mann — The Magic MountainGreat Expectations — Charles DickensArthur SchopenhauerGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelRobert Louis StevensonMiguel de Cervantes — Don QuixoteVirgil — AeneidJohn Milton — Paradise Lost

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m very happy to welcome Alana Newhouse. Alana is a journalist, editor, and founder of Tablet Magazine, and the author of the influential 2021 essay “Everything Is Broken.” In this conversation, we revisit the idea of brokenism a few years later and talk about how people who are intelligent and well-read enough to despair all day might still find a small ray of hope. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HaBI_AINhbkwXo2aXaVfiUd1qvMTcc1J/view?usp=drive_linkImportant Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/alananewhouse Tablet Magazine – https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/alana-newhouse    LinkedIn –      / https://www.linkedin.com/in/alana-newhouse-25214716a The New York Times – https://www.nytimes.com/by/alana-newhouse Website - https://www.alananewhouse.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alana.newhouse/?hl=en Show Notes: (0:00:00) Introduction(0:02:01) "Everything Is Broken" - The Backstory(0:15:36) The Diagnosis and the Dinner that Changed Everything(0:28:01) What It Means to Be a Part of Community(0:35:19) The Internet Has Shrunk the World(0:38:09) Alana's Concept of Flatness(0:46:17) Long-form Content Exercises Your Brain(0:49:24) The Legibility Crisis(0:56:19) Critical Reception of Media and News(0:59:28) The Future of Journalism(1:08:12) Extremes, Media and Antisemitism(1:13:25) 2030 Predictions and End NotesBooks, Essays & References Mentioned:“Everything Is Broken” — Alana NewhouseJürgen HabermasTablet MagazineThe New York TimesBlueskyDonald TrumpCOVID-19 pandemicLegibility crisisPublic sphere fragmentation

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m happy to welcome back Eli Dourado. Eli has joined us before in Interintellect salons, and now he’s on the podcast to revisit some of the ideas we talked about in the past. He previously worked at the Abundance Institute and is now the Head of Strategic Investments at Astra. We talk about abundance, progress, and what it takes to help the world flourish a little bit more. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mO1maYYI0KzoR-lrjkhB9w9IZbT1XZFc/view?usp=sharingImportant Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/elidourado Astera –  https://astera.org/team/eli-dourado/ .   LinkedIn –    https://www.linkedin.com/in/elidourado Substack – https://www.elidourado.com/ Show Notes:(00:00) Guest Introduction(01:51) Why Joseph Tainter(09:45) The Great Stagnation(15:13) Imagining Someone in 1866(16:48) Hungary(22:24) The Fragility of Economic Growth(26:02) Complexity(29:56) Chernobyl as The Cause of USSR's Collapse(32:32) The Uneven Stagnation, Explaining Mismanagement(39:16) The Nature of The Elites(43:05) Staving off the Collapse, History and the Future(50:05) Diminishing Marginal Returns(55:24) How to Rebuild Faith in the SystemBooks, Essays & References Mentioned:  The Collapse of Complex Societies — Joseph Tainter The Great Stagnation — Tyler Cowen End Times — Peter Turchin Collapse — Jared Diamond Cliodynamics Total Factor Productivity The Roman Empire The Soviet Union Industrial Revolution Diminishing marginal returns Resource subsidies Technological progress Nihilism in stagnating societies Expansion into the solar system Complexity budget

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Natasha Joukovsky, Noah Smith, Musa al-Gharbi, Erica Robles Anderson, Santiago Ramos, Jacob Falkovich, and Gena Gorlin for a free-flowing conversation about AI, culture, creativity, and how people are actually living through all this change. We talk about what’s exciting, what’s worrying, what’s weird, and where a bit of hope still sneaks in. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BghQ...Important Links: Natasha Joukovsky — https://natashajoukovsky.com/homeNoah Smith — https://substack.com/@noahpinionMusa al-Gharbi — https://musaalgharbi.com/musa-al-ghar...Erica Robles Anderson — https://www.roblesanderson.org/Santiago Ramos — https://substack.com/@santiagoramosJacob Falkovich — https://substack.com/@yashkafGena Gorlin — https://genagorlin.com/Show Notes:(0:00:00)Warming Up Banter  (0:01:43) Introducing the Topic: Summarizing the Year Together  (0:05:03) Introducing the Guests  (0:21:58) Trump, Wars, and AI  (0:29:50) Nothing's Really New  (0:34:14) AI Pessimism vs Optimism  (0:51:23) Education  (0:57:24) The Dangers of Making Lives Too Easy  (1:01:44) Is Social Media For Old People?  (1:04:11) Favorite Movies, Books of the Year  (1:10:35) Sharing Good Things in Public  (1:14:13) The Future of Creativity  (1:22:07) Motivation & HopeBooks, Essays & References Mentioned:The Road to Wigan Pier — George OrwellThe Revolt of the Public — Martin GurriThe Mystic Fable — Michel de CerteauBecoming Supernatural — Joe DispenzaThe Name of the Rose — Umberto EcoNatasha JoukovskyNoah SmithMusa al-GharbiErica Robles AndersonJacob FalkovichAI and creative workEducation as a civic projectOver-optimizationRage baitMeaning and purpose

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Emmett Shear to talk about AI, hope, and how we should actually think about the future. Emmett is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitch, former interim CEO of OpenAI, and now the co-founder and CEO of Softmax. We discuss why AI inspires so much fear, what it really is capable of, and where hope still shows up. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/10qooWrDB9Nr_0MgKy_kkpd1XMo_2gMN0/view?usp=drive_linkImportant Links:  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/eshear?lang=en Wikipedia –  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Shear   Softmax – https://softmax.com/about LinkedIn –    https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmettshear Show Notes:(0:00:00) Introduction  (0:03:00) AI and The Humanities  (0:06:29) Reframing "The Essence", or "The Core" of Things  (0:13:01) Why People Want to Work on AI  (0:20:13) Kant As The Grandfather of AI  (0:23:57) Thomas Aquinas, Informing Onto The Boundary  (0:29:41) Back To Teleological Thinking  (0:31:44) Art As Imprinting One's Soul On An Object  (0:35:00) "Real" and "Fake" Interiority, AI's Nature Without Nurture(0:41:46) AI & Art  (0:54:40) A Village of AI  (1:01:58) The Risk of Human Extinction  (1:08:47) AI Slop, Human Experience & Taste  (1:12:22) The Beauty, The Good, and The True as Temporal Coarse-Grainings  (1:18:08) Collective Aliveness of The Biosphere  (1:24:05) Problems Too Big For Individuals, But Not Too Big For HumanityBooks, Essays & References Mentioned:If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Will Die — Eliezer YudkowskySuperintelligence — Nick BostromThomas Aquinas (informatio; origin of “information”)Gottfried Wilhelm LeibnizImmanuel KantTakens’ Embedding TheoremHomotopy / homotopic stabilityGroupoids (one-, two-, three-, infinity-groupoid)AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)Optimizers & goal-bindingTelos vs goalsTaste vs skillBeauty, Truth, and the GoodLearning systems & dynamic systemsThe biosphere / Gaia hypothesisCollective intelligenceSpeed as risk factor in AI systems

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Jasmine Sun for a conversation about AI, writing, creativity, and how writers are actually navigating all this change. Jasmine is a writer and leads writing communities, and until last year worked at Substack helping creators think through how new tools might affect their work. We talk about the questions writers ask most often, what feels exciting, what feels worrying, what feels strange, and where a bit of hope still shows up. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12cnSKpVbHv2qKuIRk4pCPFWpE2H8lhsf/view?usp=drive_linkImportant Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/jasminewsun Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@jasminewsun Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jasminewsun/?hl=en LinkedIn –   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminewsun Substack – https://jasmi.news/ Shownotes:(00:00) Working at Substack(05:49) Bridging the Divide Between Writers and Technologists(12:40) Working for Major Outlets(16:36) Why Mainstream Media Views Everything Through a Political Lens(21:43) Translating the Jargon and Breaking The Silos(28:47) Technology Being Developed Over People's Heads(30:36) Intelligence and Specialization(34:30) Applications and Limits of AI in Writing, Authenticity(42:19) The SF Writing Community(48:50) Working With Kevin Roose on His New Book About AGI(53:09) Closing RemarksBooks, Essays & References Mentioned:Superintelligence — Nick Bostrom The AGI Chronicles (forthcoming) — Kevin Roose “No Free Lunch” — Eric HoelAGI (Artificial General Intelligence) Large Language Models (LLMs) Jagged frontier of intelligence Human creativity vs automation Tech–culture translationAsterisk Magazine Substack

This week, Shadi Hamid joins me on The Hope Axis. Shadi is a political scientist and writer known for his sharp thinking on democracy, religion, and American power. We talk about the key ideas he’s exploring in his new book, The Case for American Power, and what they mean for the moment we’re living in. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iyaF...Important Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/shadihamid?lang=enThe Washington Post – https://www.washingtonpost.com/people...LinkedIn –    / shadi-hamid-542267a0  Georgetown University: https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s...Substack – https://substack.com/@shadihamidShow Notes:(0:00:00) Guest Introduction (0:01:22) Writing a Hopeful Book When The World Is Getting Darker (0:06:02) American Involvement in Gaza (0:12:06) Making The Case for American Power As an Arab Muslim (0:20:22) Being a Patriot Despite Gaza (0:23:41) Dignity, Liberty, and the Struggle for Freedom (0:28:30) Social Repercussions of Criticising Israel (0:32:25) Identity, Feeling Existentially Threatened (0:38:31) The Generational Shift, Oikophobia (0:47:11) American Aspirations, The Sense of Moral Purpose (0:59:03) 9/11 (1:03:49) The Audacity of Hope

Writer and thinker Cate Hall joins me to talk about the tightrope between radical optimism and deep pessimism — and what it actually takes to stay hopeful in a world that doesn’t always reward it. We dig into her widely loved “50 Secrets” post, the kind of people who end up walking that edge, and how she thinks about preserving agency and perspective when the culture around us feels increasingly discouraged. I also reflect on why I consider Cate one of the most hopeful voices of our time, and why these conversations feel especially urgent in 2025. Hope you enjoy!For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16X6L...  Important Links:X (Twitter) – https://x.com/catehall?lang=enAstera – https://astera.org/team/cate-hall/Website – https://www.catehall.com/LinkedIn –   / cate-hall-9a81a35  Substack – https://substack.com/@usefulfictionsShow Notes:(00:00) Guest Introduction (00:24) The Edge Between Rampant Optimism and Crushing Pessimism (03:34) Misguided Compromises & Imaginary Boundries (08:40) The "I Must Win" Mindset Is Short-term Thinking (11:24) Writing a List of Fears (13:40) Belief in God (23:27) Poker & Reading People (29:57) Distracting Ourselves From Uncomfortable Truths (33:54) Introspection Without Self-flagellation (37:05) Confronting Negative Thoughts (42:54) Aella, and Crossing The Boundaries (44:53) Seeking Rejection (49:24) Agency vs Addiction (54:38) Slow Change Instead of Breakthroughs (57:13) Luck

Psychologist and founder coach Dr. Gena Gorlin joins me to discuss The Founder’s Mindset — how to stay hopeful, resilient, and creative while building something from the ground up. We talk about the psychology of entrepreneurship, why losing can be a sign of progress, and how to keep optimism alive amid a culture that often feels discouraged. I also share what inspired me to start The Hope Axis while running Interintellect as a solo founder. Hope you enjoy!For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/fo...Important Links:Substack – https://substack.com/@psychofambitionWebsite – https://genagorlin.comUT Austin Faculty Page – https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psycho...LinkedIn –   / genagorlin  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/Gena_I_GorlinShow Notes:(00:00) Intro(00:49) Guest Introduction(03:10) Getting Through Childbirth on “Let the River Run”(14:02) Meeting Her Husband at an Ayn Rand Conference(20:19) What People Get Wrong About Ambition(22:37) Fake Arguments for Fun(24:46) Giving Birth to an American Child as an Immigrant(32:37)“Death Is the Default” — Facing Mortality with Clarity(36:38) Accountability in Therapy and Finding Her Niche(48:49) Founders: The Nervous Wrecks Building Amazing Things(53:52) Why Credentials Don’t Matter in Tech(55:47) Psychotherapy for the True Outliers(01:01:32) The Cultural Lag in Mainstream Therapy — European vs. American Spirit(01:10:13) Intellectual Humility as a Cop-Out(01:15:18) Closing Remarks

The beloved Danielle Strachman, co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship and founder of 1517 Fund, joins The Hope Axis to discuss why hope is taboo in modern discourse, the power of positive naiveté in young founders, why community building requires faith over metrics, and how younger and younger people are reaching the frontiers of knowledge faster than ever before. Hope you enjoy!You can find the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:Danielle's LinkedInHer Substack1517 FundX ProfileThiel FellowshipShownotes:(00:00) Guest Introduction(00:24) Existential Hope and Resource-Unconstrained Futures(02:30) Why Hope Requires Intellectual Defense While Pessimism Gets a Free Pass(08:04) Tech-Optimism in the 1980s vs. Doom-and-Gloom in the '90s(11:01) Positive Naïveté as a Superpower for Young Founders(11:52) The Unexpected Evolution of Mentors(21:38) Why Community Building is a Faith-Based Activity(22:24) The $50 Bagels Story: Four Attendees Including Vitalik Buterin(25:54) Teen Camp and Playing the Long Game(28:32) The Burning Man Principle: You Get What You Give(34:12) All Children Are Gifted Until Systems Squash Them(44:27) Community as an Ambition Accelerator(46:41) Raising Humanity's Collective Hope Levels

My friend Roy Bahat joins The Hope Axis for a fun and sharp conversation about hope for the future of talent, timeless ideas vs hypes, resilience and outliers, why becoming an institution > running after trends, building family oriented technology, excellence and autocracy and much more. Hope you enjoy!You can read the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:Roy’s XRoy on MediumShow Notes:(00:00) Guest Introduction(03:39) An Era of Enormous Power for Builders(13:25) Helping Talent Realize Their Potential(17:06) Bloomberg Beta's Transparent Process(23:31) Different Eras for Different Talents(29:39) "Builders don't adhere to the language of the inevitable"(34:21) How Talent Blooms(40:56) Roy's Hope for the Next 20 Years(46:25) Roy's Fascination with Group Chats(51:52) Difference and Similarity are FractalBooks Mentioned:Negotiating with the Dead; by Margaret Atwood

The dearest Tyler Cowen joins The Hope Axis for a fun and wide ranging conversation. We talk about hope for insiders and outsiders, the competitive and the obsessed, immigrants and hard workers, talent and luck, why America is so special, whether Internet Utopia is over, GenZ and rebellion — and Jack Nicholson, John Stuart Mill, driving around Eastern Europe, the Enlightenment of AI, and why the courageous inherit the Earth. Hope you enjoy!A full transcript of our conversation can be found here.Important LinksTyler’s X: https://x.com/tylercowenMarginal Revolution: https://marginalrevolution.com/Conversations with Tyler: https://conversationswithtyler.com/Tyler's book 'GOAT' https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/10/goat-who-is-the-greatest-economist-of-all-time-and-why-does-it-matter.htmlTyler book with Daniel Gross 'Talent' https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Identify-Energizers-Creatives-Winners/dp/1250275814We also mention Josh Rosen's podcast with Tyler https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2025/08/my-biographical-podcast-with-joshua-rosen.html Show notes:(0:00:00) Guest Introduction(0:02:44) Is Tyler Inside or Outside?(0:06:41) How Big is Our World?(0:10:26) Eastern Europe's Perpetual Liminal Space(0:14:34) Toronto's Underrated Suburbs(0:22:00) America and Freedom(0:25:28) Who are Today's Insiders?(0:31:45) The Rise of Oral Culture(0:38:28) Envisioning the Future(0:45:50) You Can Always Move to New York(0:50:58) America Loves Well-Adjusted Weirdos(0:54:24) The Dance Between Competition and Obsession(1:01:23) Civilizationism(1:11:51) On Voting and Influence

The Times columnist James Marriott joins me to discuss the decline of reading comprehension, the risk-averse publishing industry, the addictive nature of digital media, a new Dark Age of literacy, and why ambitious young people should still pursue writing careers. Hope you enjoy!You can find the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:JM’s SubstackX ProfileJames Marriott at The TimesShow Notes:(00:00) Guest Introduction (01:18) Cultural Pessimism as a Source of Hope (05:53) The Death of Ambient Culture (11:59) The Proliferation of Junk Text (15:10) The Last Great Novelists (23:47) Risk-averse publishers remove allusions from Books(27:39) If Dickens Tried to Publish Today (30:44) Can Anyone Read Dickens Anymore? (39:32) The Attention Economy vs. Human Relationships (42:45) Humanities as the Cultural Capital (48:32) The Kafka/Larkin model: boring day jobs enable artistic risk-taking (51:29) Start now, don’t wait for permission (55:23) Pessimistic Optimism instead of a Relentlessly Upbeat Culture

The lovely Alice Gribbin joins me for a conversation about the mystery of inspiration, why intellectualizing art is a bad idea, the visceral encounter with the artwork, why the only realm where the gods are still active is art, US versus UK artists, our search for transcendence, and - as always - hope. Hope you enjoy!You can read the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:Notes of an Aesthete; Alice’s SubstackAlice’s X ProfileShow Notes:(0:00:00) Guest Introduction (0:04:06) Hope is Embedded in Every Act of Artistic Creation (0:07:23) The Cold War's Intense Artistic Energy (0:13:12) The Cultural Impact of Mad Men (0:20:36) An Artist's Form-Content Fit (0:24:38) Why We Need Hubris Back in the Humanities (0:29:40) The Gods Are Still Present—But Only in Art (0:40:21) The Decay of Gatekeepers (0:46:03) The Internet as Research Tool (0:51:06) Art is a Visceral Encounter, Not Instagram Content (1:20:23) Notions of Great Art and the CanonBooks, Essays & References Mentioned:Barnett Newman's essays on American paintingAgainst Interpretation; by Susan SontagMad Men (TV series created by Matt Weiner)T.S. Eliot on art and inspirationThe Pound Era; by Hugh KennerWolf Hall; by Hilary MantelAgnes Martin's paintingsAby Warburg and pathos formulaeDelacroix as proto-modernistJohn Singer Sargent exhibition at the MetInternet Archive as research resource"Good Politics Produce Bad Art" (Tablet essay)"We're a Niche. We just didn't know" (Interintellect founding essay)

The brilliant Kat Rosenfield joins me for a conversation about millennial women, victimhood narratives, the enduring appeal of rich husbands, why we're bad at aging gracefully, and much more. Hope you enjoy!You can read the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:Kat’s X ProfileKat’s SubstackKat’s column for The Free PressKat’s WebsiteShownotes:(0:00:00) Guest Introduction (0:02:16) The seductive appeal of victimhood narratives for Millennial women (0:06:01) Our current choice paralysis (0:09:47) "Survivor" as personal brand: trauma as social media content (0:17:21) The enduring appeal of rich husbands (even if we won't admit it) (0:23:35) What Pushkin's Tatyana knew about practical love choices (0:29:35) The mating crisis: where did all the couples go(0:36:21) A Midway Lifestyle as an antidote to Extremes (0:45:21) The "blow up your life" fantasy plaguing middle-aged women (0:49:04) Marriage, Fantasies, and Companionship (0:58:23) Living in a world without secrets or mystery (1:09:32) A Memoir as a sort of Revenge

The inimitable Sari Azout, founder of the new digital gardening platform Sublime, joins me for a wide-ranging discussion about ideas, digital minimalism, humane tech and building the future with care. Hope you enjoy!You can read the transcript of this conversation here.Important Links:Sublime’s SubstackSari on SublimeSari on XSari on LinkedInShow Notes:(0:01:17) The Philosophy of Ideas(0:04:42) Avoiding Brain Hijacking and Deepening Your Intentions(0:11:58) Making People Care(0:16:45) Observing Digital Shabbat(0:24:22) Succession as the Art of Giving Back(0:29:33) Are we all sentenced to Freedom? (0:37:59) Surprising Ways People Use Sublime (0:47:53) No AI Leader Gets Us Excited (0:55:02) Sari's Psychedelic Experience (1:01:49) Surfacing Ideas and Making StuffBooks / Resources Mentioned:The Disappearance of Rituals; by Byung-Chul HanAntimemetics; by Nadia AsparouhovaThe Essays of Venkatesh Rao

The very great Erik Hoel joins me for a conversation on AI, free will, emergence, creativity, neuroscience, consciousness and much more. Hope you enjoy!For the full transcript of our conversation, click here.Important Links:The Intrinsic PerspectiveErik on Twitter/XShow Notes:(0:00:00) Guest Introduction(0:05:12) Innovative Structures in Fiction(0:09:43) Gender Dynamics in Publishing(0:13:19) Erik Hoel's Origin Story(0:20:11) An Unorthodox Literary Trajectory(0:30:34) Consciousness and Information Theory(0:35:45) Science At the Edges(0:45:07) Is There a Bull Case for Neuroscience?(0:48:38) AI's Stunning Progress(0:51:05) AI as an Annoying Toddler(0:55:19) The Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Perspectives of Consciousness(1:00:59) Understanding Free Will(1:17:53) Closing RemarksBooks, Essays & Key People Mentioned:When the Map is Better than the Territory by Erik Hoel“How I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old” by Erik HoelThe Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownFoucault's Pendulum by Umberto EcoThe Revelations by Erik HoelUlysses by James JoyceEinstein's Dreams by Alan LightmanThe Novels of Italo CalvinoThe World Behind the World by Erik HoelGödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas HofstadterMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleRomeo and Juliet by ShakespeareHamlet by ShakespeareKing Lear by ShakespeareThe Magic Mountain by Thomas MannWar and Peace by TolstoyResearchers & ThinkersSøren KierkegaardFrancis CrickGiulio TononiKarl FristonRobert SapolskyJudea PearlGary MarcusJulian JaynesFrancis FukuyamaCarl SaganBoethius

Santiago Ramos of Wisdom of Crowds joins me to talk about hope in apocalyptic times. AI, public philosophy, journalism, the aesthetics of urgent honesty, the value of disagreement, dialectics leading one to religion, whether crowds really are wise... ENJOY!For the full transcript of our conversation, click here.Important Links:Wisdom of CrowdsAuthor Page at Plough MagazineAuthor Page at CommonwealSantiago’s Twitter/XShow Notes:(00:00) Intro(00:23) Guest Introduction(03:57) What gives Santiago Hope(06:44) What Does Human Flourishing Mean?(11:56) The Apocalyptic Aesthetic in Modern Discourse(21:47) The Personal Transformations of Anna and Santiago(32:11) The Next Great Synthesizers of our Tech Moment(40:42) Agreement is Nice, but Disagreement is Better(47:48) Apocalypse as Revelation(53:00) What's obvious to Santiago but not to Others

The very great Agnes Callard joins me to talk about her excellent new book Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life.Just two Hungarian girls discussing love and ethics, truth and ignorance, paradoxes and beliefs—and Kant, Aristotle, Mill, Nussbaum, William James—and of course Socrates. Hope you enjoy!For the full transcript of our conversation, ⁠click here⁠.Important Links:Agnes's UChicago ProfileAgnes's XShow Notes:(0:00:00) Guest introduction (0:02:52) Why do some people ask load-bearing questions?(0:08:20) You can't force Philosophy on People (0:10:45) Philosophy is a Dangerous Profession (0:13:26) What Broke Tolstoy? (0:20:09) Every Human Flaw Stems from Ignorance (0:26:40) The sociology of conversation (0:32:36) Social Contracts and Reciprocity (0:45:12) The Three Big Philosophical Schools (0:47:21) Shift from Utilitarian to Virtue Ethics (0:53:40) Socrates' Approach to Truth-Seeking (0:57:37) Jamesian Beliefs and Leap of Faith (1:10:07) The Power of Truth In Conflict

Author, builder and friend — Rohit Krishan joins me in a wide ranging conversation about Indian and American culture. We discuss the Get Shit Done mentality of Indian entrepreneurs, predictions for the Indian diaspora, Rohit’s experiences with LLMs, and the surprising ways his children use AI.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here.Important Links:Rohit’s Substack: Strange Loop CanonX / TwitterShow Notes:00:00 Guest introduction 02:36 How Are India and America Similar? 09:06 Live Players vs. Dead Players 10:34 How American Policy Experiments Echo 18th-century scientists' Wacky Ideas 12:03 What Shapes The Indian Mindset? 14:13 Hyphenated Identities and Assimilation 18:00 The Business Culture of India: Get Shit Done 23:39 The Indian Diaspora in 2040… 28:20 What Most Surprised Rohit? 36:03 Technology Isn’t Magic…Yet 41:35 Dealing with LLMs: A Story of ‘Fuck Around and Find Out’ 43:55 What is Vibe Coding? 49:11 Will A.I. Prompting Make Us Sharper? 53:08 How Rohit’s Kids Use AI 57:17 What Rohit is Hopeful AboutAssorted Links:Samo Burja: Live versus Dead PlayersAlison GopnickDiana FleischmanDouglas Adams

The brilliant and always candid Haya Odeh - co-founder and design lead of Replit - and I talked about her company (and her husband and co-founder Amjad Masad), entrepreneurship, and hope — immigration, motherhood, resilience, being your best self, and the great power of not having a plan B.https://x.com/HayaOdehhttps://x.com/Replit

Max Meyer, founder and editor of Arena Magazine, and I sat down to talk about the Army and DOGE, Alex Karp and farming, Love Letters to America and Tocqueville, trust and publishing, fake news and social revolutions, academia and cities...And also the value of travelling around the US, the value of books, the value of people having a say in how their country is run.And establishing the first magazine on Mars!https://arenamag.com/https://x.com/mualphaxi

#satire #newsletters #DOGE #elonmusk #politics #liberalism #trolls #feminismThis was our 21st episode, and I celebrated its coming of drinking age by inviting my scandal hero mutual Richard Hanania. We talked about the art of satire (and a little trolling). Writing independently and without filter. Why Neoliberalism was, according to Richard, right. Why Liberals must make a comeback. Why women’s intuition should be taken seriously. Why romance is a pillar of social order. Why men and women - and generations, political sides - need to talk to each other. The social value of Classical Liberalism. Why Conservatism, according to Richard, is turning into a movement of the dunces. Why normie journalists are actually indispensable for a healthy democracy. Why Richard thinks I’m a too high level thinker. Why Tyler Cowen is the intellectual that gives him the most hope. And much more!Links: https://www.richardhanania.com/https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/book-review-the-origins-of-woke

The great Kyla Scanlon, economics creator and author of the book 'In This Economy?' (and host of some great Interintellect salons and series) and I talked about polarisation and economic stressors, the 3 types of GenZ, and housing, hope, fertility, DOGE, social fragmentation, bad vibes, the White House — and more!Links:https://kylascanlon.com/https://kyla.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@kylascan

Writer, literary critic, and the man behind the great The Common Reader (https://www.commonreader.co.uk) blog, Henry Oliver joined me to gossip about literature and then dive in and build our own Western Canon. Enjoy!We talked about good literature and bad literature, Tolstoy and Shakespeare, Woolf, Bloom… Romanticism, quests, Goethe, Tolkien... And most importantly we built a from-scratch Western Canon for visiting aliens...Henry's Canon:1) The King James Bible2) The Odyssey3) The Aeneid4) Dante's Inferno5) Petrarch's Canzoniere6) Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur7) The Canterbury Tales8) Tartuffe9) A Winter's Tale10) The Pilgrim's Progress11) Montaigne's Essays 12) The Gargantua-Pantagruel series13) Gulliver's Travels 14) The Sorrows of Young Werther15) Emma16) Fathers and Sons17) The Death of Ivan Ilyich18) Chekhov: The Seagull19) The Lord of the Rings20) The Last Samurai

Investor and writer Jim O'Shaughnessy came on The Hope Axis and shared his Theory of Life. We talked about…probably everything? The 80s on Wall Street, reputation and norms, patterns and emotions, financial markets and family, Shakespeare sonnets and journaling, Cold War and conformism, Girard and Jung, reality and instincts, 911 and altruism, the Internet and belief systems, books and obsessions, innovation and investment, culture and hope. And so much more…https://x.com/jposhaughnessyhttps://www.osv.llc/https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/https://www.infinitebooks.com/

The one and only Zena Hitz — Tutor at St. John's College and author of one of my favourite books 'Lost in Thought — joined me to talk about Plato and Christ, contemplation and service, wisdom and being lost, morality and dignity, end goals and anxieties — Agnes Callard and Irina Dumitrescu — Aquinas and Hildegard of Bingen, and happiness!Links:https://www.zenahitz.net/https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691178714/lost-in-thought

Medieval scholar Irina Dumitrescu and I talk about the medieval mindset, faith, doubt, sex, and suicide. And also Margery Kempe and fame, heretics and wives, Strauss and Glück, Girard and Hamlet, pilgrims, saints, madness, vegetarianism, secrets, the Inquisition, and much more. Oh and Monty Python, of course! Irina: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/authors/irina-dumitrescu https://x.com/irinibus https://irinadumitrescu.com/about-me/

Writer, podcaster, and activist Sarah Haider joined me to discuss New Atheism, neo-religion, spiritual journeys, Cultural Islam. We reminisced about the Four Horsemen era and explored vibe shifts, trads, fanatics, immigration, woke taboos, the lack of constructive dialogue. Can democracy function without religion? What do people do with their big feelings like love, hate, or fear in the age of secularism? Why do so many people return to faith these days — are their motivations valid? Follow Sarah: https://newsletter.sarahhaider.com/ Follow Anna: https://x.com/TheAnnaGat Follow The Hope Axis: https://x.com/thehopeaxis

Writer and community builder Paul Millerd joined me to discuss his two excellent self-published books The Pathless Path and Good Work, as well as: Scenes and tribes. The Intellectual Renaissance were living through. John Stuart Mill, Sartre, Havel. The end of the corporate default. Language, community, virtue. SF vs Austin, GenZ vs Millennials. Cold emailing and rejection. The implosions of the social and the parasocial. Starting a publishing house. And much more... https://pmillerd.com/

Co-founder and CEO of the GenZ media company Eternal, Reggie James joined me to talk about how technology could better serve people's spiritual - even religious - needs. We talked about his viral blogposts, his obsession with Marshall McLuhan, and why writing is the ultimate form of design.

The brilliant anonymous blogger Cartoons Hate Her joined me to explore dating and attraction, marriage and work, raising children and being in the media -- and cleared up a lot of misunderstandings around seduction, trads, fame, monogamy, domination and disappointments. https://www.cartoonshateher.com/

Novelist and essayist A. Natasha Joukovksy joined me to talk about status and attraction, mimesis and uniformity, Girard and Austen, Batuman and Kierkegaard, Tolstoy and main character energy, Natasha's first novel and her new one in the making, the positive side of the imitation game, and how individuals can live freely from it all.

Podcaster star Dwarkesh Patel on how his eponymous podcast started, how his niche interests empower him, what he learned about scene-building and getting one's "lucky break", and how he succeeded at landing Mark Zuckerberg, Tony Blair, or Tyler Cowen as interviewees.

Professional end-of-life doula Emma Acker joined me to discuss the mystery of dying -- and the forgotten art of being there with the dying. Her job is just this, and we talked about the various stages of departure, how the family might react, what administrative things one needs to take care of. But also about dying when young versus old, when in pain versus no pain, when religious versus atheist. There is no one like Emma!

Musa al-Gharbi, sociologist, journalism professor, author of the new book 'We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite' (Princeton University Press), and today's popular explorer of Pierre Bourdieu's ideas around symbolic elites and symbolic capitalism talked to me about being an outsider in academia, how symbolic elites buy their legitimacy, and why intellectuals living in fear of cancellation is such bad news for everyone.

Wesleyan University president Michael S. Roth joined me to talk about virtue and the arts, the campus and the political student of the future, and why he believes the humanities will save us.

Quillette founding editor Claire Lehmann joined me for this exceptional episode where we dive into all the conditions, ideals, and effort that ensure that a new magazine dedicated to democracy and free speech can achieve its goals.

Author, rationalist, finance expert Jacob Falkovich visited The Hope Axis. We talked about data and dating, rationality in love, fertility and polyamory, f*ckability as capital, what most people get wrong about love and family, and why people are not having kids (or even sex).

NYU professor Erica Robles-Anderson joins to discuss her theory of media generations, human suffering, ways of togetherness, what we can learn from megachurches, and the ways out of the loneliness epidemic (if that exists).

National Book Award winning Phil Klay, author of Redeployment and Missionaries, joined me for a conversation about humour and the absurd, humanity and violence, fatherhood and history, and what there remains to hope and work for.

The great Katherine Dee (Default Friend) joined me for this lively discussion (debate?): we talked about happiness, free speech, online creativity, subcultures, why the internet is a good thing, what the kids do on social media these days, 90s digital anthropology, Tumblr, wokes, and more!

Noah Smith and I kick off my new podcast series The Hope Axis. We talk about the future, the economy, India, China, and of course America. We look at ways to be excited about what's coming, and what to do about it as individuals.