Sensible Systems

I chat to regular guest Mick Waters about how we try to stay grounded in a noisy world. Slow pace on this one.

Three men converse their way through humanity’s most unanswerable questions with the misplaced confidence of people who read half a philosophy book once.Dan Choi, a grid connection manager who compulsively detonates intellectual hand grenades, Mick Waters, an overcaffeinated project manager with a story for every occasion, and me, the intermittently coherent third wheel, stagger through conversations about moral realism, Katy Perry’s inevitable conquest of outer space, the civilizing power of women’s disdain, control theory, cult leadership ambitions, and the petty tragedies that make up existence.It’s a sloppy collision of half-remembered history lessons, basement-bar philosophizing, and the grim realization that none of us will ever be as interesting as we think we are. If you’ve ever wanted to hear three chronically verbose man-children wrestle with meaning in between sips of cheap alcohol, congratulations: you’ve arrived.It’s part philosophy salon, part therapy session, part late-night pub rant—held together by the thin hope that somewhere in the chaos, we might find a speck of insight.

Richard speaks with Data Engineer Edward Crupi about the current state of artificial intelligence - what it can do for us, where it might lead in the next few years, the dangers it might pose and should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the future.

In this episode Mick and I discuss the impacts of Trumps tariffs on the Australian election, and how Aussie politicians have responded to them. We discuss likely economic impacts from the tariffs on the economies of the USA, China and Australia. We also get into how polling is looking 3 weeks out from the election.

Richard and Mick talk about voter demographics and trends, and why people vote against their self interest. Other topics include: voter regret, persistent myths relating to political parties, the difficulty of choosing who to vote for, why people vote the way they do. Encountered some audio issues/rustling noise which is annoying, but good conversation if you can get past that.

Two months out from the upcoming Australian Federal election, Mick and Richard discuss the current state of play - who needs to win how many seats, and what the different parties are selling. Other topics include: cultural shifts, how elections are won, money and influence in elections, politicians trying to manage their image, and more.

Richard and Mick chat about the lead up to the Ukraine war, and the current state of affairs between Ukraine and the West. This was recorded just before the disastrous meeting between Trump/Vance and Zelensky, where Zelensky was ambushed with Russian talking points. But the conversation remains valid.

Richard and Mick walk through the DOGE website and some media commentary on Musk's recent work as it relates to the department.

In this episode Richard speaks with Jordan, who has recently completed a course in disability support and started working in the industry. topics covered include: ways the system is abused, the need for change, the disadvantages people with disabilities face, the quandary of how to allocate funding and some politics as well.

Mick and Richard grapple with trying to understand inflation

In this introductory episode, Richard Hatcher and Mick Waters have a rollicking and wide ranging discussion on topics such as: AI impacts on society, money, power, Trumps behaviour and impact on culture, foie gras geese, the information landscape, the nature of humanity, left/right politics, growth, the internet and just about everything else. https://rss.com/podcasts/let-the-sense-commence/