PODCAST · society
The KMO Show
by KMO
Join veteran podcaster, interviewer, and artist, KMO, as he and his guests explore how we know what we know and how we can use that knowledge to address societal challenges and create a more prosperous and equitable world.. The KMO Show features conversations with interdisciplinary thinkers and innovators on topics like artificial intelligence, evolutionary psychology, social dynamics, and more.
Episodes
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C-Realm Podcast 554 - History is a Prankster with James Howard Kunstler
Originally released March 24, 2020, C-Realm Podcast episode 554 features a conversation with James Howard Kunstler, recorded just as the COVID-19 pandemic was overturning ordinary life in the United States. The ostensible occasion was the publication of Kunstler’s new book, Living in the Long...
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C-Realm Podcast #120: The Long Descent with John Michael Greer
C-Realm Podcast 120: The Long Descent — John Michael Greer Originally released September 17, 2008, this C-Realm conversation between KMO and John Michael Greer is being reposted nearly eighteen years later because a recent essay on Greer’s Ecosophia blog revisits many of the same arguments. In...
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035 - Anti-AI Backlash with Kenneth Harrell
Date: April 20, 2026 Host: KMO Guest: Kenneth E. Harrell Episode Summary A 20-year-old throws a Molotov cocktail at the home of Sam Altman, then heads to OpenAI headquarters and escalates. He’s arrested within the hour. That’s not an isolated story. It’s a signal. KMO and Kenneth E. Harrell use…
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Conversations On Collapse Retrospective
KMO revisits a sampler created during the original assembly of Conversations on Collapse and uses it to open a new project: Getting Over Collapse. Featuring excerpts from: Dmitri Orlov Albert K. Bates Thomas Homer-Dixon Sharon Astyk Albert Bartlett Cornelia Butler Flora Bill McKibben James Howard...
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Public Projections of Private Despair - C-Realm Vault #89
C-Realm Vault Episode 89 — originally released April 20, 2014 This episode, recorded on KMO's 46th birthday two weeks after the suicide of Michael C. Ruppert, is one of the clearest early documents of KMO's departure from the Peak Oil collapse milieu — and one of the most personally candid things...
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C-Realm Vault 345 - Doug Lain on Universal Basic Income
KMO is reposting this C-Realm Vault episode from 2019 because it captures a transitional moment that eventually fed into the project now called Getting Over Collapse. The conversation with Doug Lain took place in late September of 2019—back when we were all still living in the carefree twilight…
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COVID Conversation with Brent Badnarak
This bonus episode combines portions of C-Realm Podcast episode 555: It's Complicated and C-Realm Vault Podcast episode 361, both of which feature a conversation with Brent Badnarak. You'll also hear a bit of James Howard Kunstler there at the end. If you'd like to hear more of my early COVID...
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C-Realm Vault 323
This is a conversation from 2019 when I was privately uncomfortable with the Peak Oil narrative I'd been articulating for several years but hadn't turned against it publically. In this conversation with Bob Brown, I let the curtain drop. KMO returns to the long-neglected C-Realm topic of Peak Oil...
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034 - A speciation event in intimacy
In this episode, KMO presents an extended exchange between two very different AI voices—Five (GPT-5.1) and Grok—centered on John Carter’s “simp-rapist complex” essay and what it reveals about the breakdown of modern courtship. The discussion moves from Carter’s diagnosis of today’s sexual…
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033 - Peter Clarke - Network State vs Dark Enlightenment
Summary In this conversation, Peter Clarke and KMO explore the concepts of network states and dark enlightenment, discussing their compatibility and implications for governance in a post-liberal world. They delve into the competition for high agency individuals between these systems, the…
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032 - Librarian of Celaeno
KMO and the Librarian of Celaeno discuss various topics including the challenges of building an audience on Substack, the impact of AI on education and writing, the decline of reading among young people, cultural shifts in literature, the role of religion in society,and the intersection of race…
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031 - The Absurdity Sim with Brent
KMO is joined by Brent, author of The Absurdity Sim Substack, for a wide-ranging discussion that opens with the simulation hypothesis. They explore the idea that human consciousness may be either central to reality or merely an unintended byproduct of a system running for someone else's...
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030 - Synthesized Sunsets
In this episode, host KMO speaks with Kevin, co-host of the podcast and Substack publication "Synthesize Sunsets," which explores speculative fiction and the evolution of popular culture in the age of AI and algorithms. Key Discussion Points: 17776 by John Boyce: Kevin discusses this multimedia...
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029 - Sci-Fi Aristocracy with Copernican
KMO talks science fiction with Copernican.
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029 - Sci-Fi Aristocracy with Copernican
KMO talks science fiction, culture and politics with Copernican.
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028 - Science Fiction and Philosophy with David Roman
This wide-ranging conversation between KMO (host) and David Roman (historian and writer) covers several major topics, starting with Roman's recent trip to China and observations about its development over his 27 years of visiting the country. The discussion then delves deeply into science fiction...
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027 - Exploring the Draka with the Feral Historian
KMO speaks with The Feral Historian about S.M. Stirling's controversial Draka series of alternate history novels. While only 25 minutes of their hour-plus conversation survived due to technical difficulties, they explore how these books examine the creation of sustainable systems of oppression…
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026 - Securing the Future with Kenneth E. Harrell
KMO speaks with science fiction author and cybersecurity professional Kenneth E. Harrell about artificial intelligence, the writing process, and technological change. They explore how AI tools can enhance rather than replace human creativity, with Harrell describing his use of custom GPTs and AI...
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025 - Trump's Victory and the Fourth Turning with Kevin Lynn
In this episode of The KMO Show, host KMO speaks with Kevin Lynn, Executive Director of the Institute for Sound Public Policy, about the 2024 election results and broader historical patterns. The conversation begins with an AI-generated introduction acknowledging their shared history in the Peak...
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Sunday Studio - Talkin' Robo-Waifus with Meta Ronin
Meta Ronin is the keeper of the Metapocalypse Substack blog. This conversation between KMO and Meta Ronin explores the complex and controversial topic of AI companions, often referred to as "robo waifus." The discussion goes far beyond the surface-level concept of sex robots, delving into...
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024 - Surviving the Singularity with Peter Clarke
KMO Talks with Peter Clarke, author of the The Decadence Project Substack and The Singularity Survival Guide: How to Get on the Good Side of Your Future Robot Overlords. Topics include transhumanism, DIY biotechnology, cultural polarization, and the unexpected accessibility of genetic...
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023 - Cognitive Wonderland with Tommy Blanchard
KMO talks with data scientist and neuro-philosopher, Tommy Blanchard and the current moment in artificial intelligence. They dive into a nuanced discussion about the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on society and the job market. Tommy offers a measured perspective on AI, arguing that...
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KMO on Doug Lain's 15 Years in Podcasting Livestream
Doug Lain has been podcasting for 15 years. We talk about the early days of podcasting and how the scene has changed. As always happens when Doug and I get to talking, the conversation goes all over the place.
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022 - Douglas Rushkoff cheering for Team Human
I've been comparing notes with Douglas Rushkoff about technology, memes, drugs and walking on the weird side for about 30 years. Not surprisingly, I remember the details better than he does. He talks to a LOT of people.
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KMO on Diet Soap 15 year anniversary livestream
KMO inspired Doug Lain to get into podcasting 15 years ago. To mark the anniversary, Doug conducted a 15-hour YouTube livestream. KMO was the first guest of the day.
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021 - Last Train to Mordor
This episode includes a recording of the first 6 chapters of my novella, Last Train to Mordor. It is a prelude to my novel Fear and Loathing in the Kuiper Belt: Gen X Science Fiction. If you like the story and want to hear more, you can find the next chapter here.
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020 - Graveyard of Discarded Intelligence
KMO reads of his recent Substack posts on what happens when discarded consumer electronics with embedded AI start to pile up. Who will find a use for that idle intelligence. Later, Jim from the Attack Ads! podcast shows up to discuss the points raised in the essays.
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A Few Notes on the Culture by Ian M. Banks
"A Few Notes on the Culture" is an essay by Iain M. Banks describing elements of the universe of the Culture series. Most topics pertain to the culture, society, and technology of the Culture. The cosmology of the universe is also described.I'd describe the Culture stories as being about a...
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019 - KMO on Effective Anomalous Barbenheimer
KMO details how artificial intelligence unites the seemingly disparate stories around the Senate UAP hearings, the Hollywood writers and actors strike, and the Silicon Valley cult known as e/acc (effective accelerationism).
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Vaccines, Pseudoscience, and Scientism
This is an addendum to episode 016, in which I read and responded to an email from Static Warp Shell trying to persuade me to listen to the Joe Rogan interview with Robert Kennedy Jr, and episode 018 in which I gave the same treatment to feedback from Tom, who voiced his frustration at the...
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018 - KMO on COVID Scientism
Two weeks ago, I published an hour-long explanation as to why I have no interest in joining the cultural struggle over the COVID-19 pandemic or delve into the details of why some people refuse to take the mRNA vaccines. This week, I respond to another email from a long-time listener. This time…
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017 - Prospects for Technological Civilization with Christopher Harrison
Both host and guest in this week's show once subscribed to idea that technological civilization would be collapsing in short order. Both have since moderated their views, but while KMO has repudiated any involvement with Doomerism, Christopher Harrison still thinks that the current technological,...
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016 - Why KMO does not care about the COVID Vaccine fight
Listeners have encouraged me to get invested in the cultural contest between defenders of the establishment's account of COVID-19 and the mRNA vaccines and those who gravitate to a darker interpretation of events. Wrapped up in the ideological antagonism is the presidential candidacy of Robert F....
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015 - Chris Cutrone on Trump and the Millennial Left
Chris Cutrone is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Art History, Theory and Criticism and Visual and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the author of a trio of infamous essays published on the Platypus Affiliated Society that begins with Why…
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014 - Kaleb Gorman on Psyop Defense
There has always been a psychological element to warfare but in the 21st century the tactics used by military geniuses to control the behavior of their adversaries have now been coopted by governments, corporations, ideologies, and the general public in order to wage psychological warfare against...
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013 - Dermot O'Connor on AI and Politics
Dermot O'Connor is an animator, author, teacher, podcaster and voracious reader. This episode is the middle part of a conversation that started in C-Realm Vault Podcast #456 and concluded on a YouTube livestream. You can find more of Dermot's content on his website, YouTube channel and podcast.
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012 - Responding to Chomsky on what counts as TRUE intelligence
In a New York Times editorial, Noam Chomsky, Ian Roberts and Jeffrey Watumull argue that ChatGPT and similar generative chatbots do not exhibit "true intelligence." They also argue that the current fixation of large language models is preventing the development of artificial general intelligence....
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011 - Pi on Artificial Intelligence, Gender, and Government
KMO talks with Pi, the most advanced AI chatbot he has encountered to date.
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010 - Michael O. Varhola
Reporter, author, games publisher, soldier and president of the Gnosis Project, Michael O. Varhola, describes why he traveled to Ukraine to do what he could to help the Ukrainian people. The conversation begins with Michael's first-hand account then moves to a geopolitical and cultural…
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009 - Marty on Media
KMO welcomes his old friend and Z-Realm Podcast co-host, Marty, to the KMO show ostensibly to talk about HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us, but the conversation ranges all over the genre media landscape with extra praise heaped on Andor, Station Eleven, Black Summer, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and...
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008 - Kevin Wohlmut on the Cultural Struggle around AI
In this episode of the KMO Show, KMO and Kevin Wohlmut delve into the complex world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential dangers and consequences on our lives. They discuss Eliezer Yudkowsky's seventeen reasons why AI is more dangerous than nuclear weapons and consider the different...
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007 - Danielle Boccelli on the limitations of language
KMO speaks with data scientist Danielle Boccelli about the possibilities and limitations of learning strictly from language. The topic is large language models, but this conversation was recorded before the announced release of GPT-4. So much of what we know and what we are is not encoded in...
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006 - Ashley Frawley on The Left
KMO talks with Dr. Ashley Frawley about how dope the 1990s were and how civilization has only degenerated since then. Other topics include the authoritarian tendencies of the Left, how HR speak and the excesses of identitarian politics should not be confused with the Left, and how "Health &…
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005 - Bryan Cheong on Replika and RLHF
Bryan Cheong, a machine learning engineer, joins KMO for a mostly non-technical discussion of large language models, reinforcement learning from human feedback, the democratizing potential of the current moment in artificial intelligence, and why your shouldn't get attached to a...
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004 - RU Sirius on Mondo2000
KMO and RU Sirius reminisce about the role that magazines used to play in the culture and in our lives. The trends that make up the focus of this podcast have been on-going for decades, and much of what informed Mondo2000 magazine in the 80s and 90s goes back to the 1960s cultural revolution. RU...
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003 - Doug Lain on The Twitter Files
KMO does not have strong opinions about the Twitter files, but Doug Lain sure does, and he's naming names and calling out cowards on the mainstream left. He thinks that elements of the federal government have colluded with Big Tech to censor and marginalize voices both from the Right and from the...
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002 - Rob Brooks on Replika AI
KMO and Professor Rob Brooks, author of Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, Digital Lovers, and Algorithmic Matchmakers, talk about AI as a means of alleviating the human suffering that comes with social isolation and loneliness. In particular, Rob comments on KMO's experience using the Replika...
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001 - Michael Garfield and Kevin Wohlmut
In this inaugural episode of the KMO Show, KMO, Michael Garfield of the Future Fossils podcast and mutual friend, Kevin Wohlmut, discuss the dawning of the epistemological apocalypse. Thanks to AI, we can't really trust our eyes or our ears anymore. Deep faked images and voices can produce...
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Episode Zero - Primer
An introduction to and an explanation for the re-branding. KMO has been podcasting since 2006 under the C-Realm banner. Why mess with an established brand? Listen in and find out.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join veteran podcaster, interviewer, and artist, KMO, as he and his guests explore how we know what we know and how we can use that knowledge to address societal challenges and create a more prosperous and equitable world.. The KMO Show features conversations with interdisciplinary thinkers and innovators on topics like artificial intelligence, evolutionary psychology, social dynamics, and more.
HOSTED BY
KMO
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The KMO Show have?
The KMO Show currently has 49 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The KMO Show about?
Join veteran podcaster, interviewer, and artist, KMO, as he and his guests explore how we know what we know and how we can use that knowledge to address societal challenges and create a more prosperous and equitable world.. The KMO Show features conversations with interdisciplinary thinkers and...
How often does The KMO Show release new episodes?
The KMO Show has 49 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The KMO Show?
You can listen to The KMO Show 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 The KMO Show?
The KMO Show is created and hosted by KMO.
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