Second Nature

In Brendan McCord's recent essay You Are Not a Function, he writes about the hollowed-out university that no longer prioritizes formation in young people. He cautions against blindly rejecting the institution without a worthy substitute, the kind of Bildung young generations so desperately need to avoid outsourcing their judgment and agency to LLMs. In my own pursuit to build cultural infrastructure with Flourish, I’ve been drawn to others doing the same. Zelda is one of them, a friend who is building a real, viable alternative that puts formation at the center.Zelda Poem is the founder of Nautilus, a three-month residential program in San Francisco where young artists, scientists, and technologists live and work together, fully funded by patrons. She also works at 1517, the VC firm that backs dropouts and renegade students.Zelda dropped out of high school in France at 15, and has spent the decade since building what she wished had existed.In this conversation, we discuss:* [00:01:11] The school psyop, dropping out in France* [00:14:51] Nautilus and the case for “leisure fellowships”* [00:26:11] Building bridges between artists and technologists* [00:35:58] Reviving the Medici patron model* [00:42:50] IRL is irreplaceable* [00:51:06] Education models we’re bullish on* [00:59:06] Why she stopped glorifying the grind This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit samvuong.com

It feels like so much of the conversation around AI focuses on extremes—either you’re a doomer or believe in acceleration at all costs. I don’t really identify with either. As someone who wants to embrace technology while building for better human experiences, I’m drawn to people who actually live in this nuance.Koshu Kunii is a General Partner at Lifetime Ventures, where he invests in human and planetary health solutions. He also writes the Substack Venture Humanist, where he explores what it means to live a deeply human, intentional life in a post-AI world.Koshu is a Substack friend I’ve been drawn to because of what he subverts: a VC who is optimizing less in his life, embracing technology while deliberately choosing to live a slower life in Okinawa. He’s an incredibly intentional, meditative person who has managed to find coherence across all these different facets of his life.In this conversation, we discuss:* [00:00:00] AI-defensible living in Okinawa* [00:12:20] “Yuntaku” conversations and creating better social infrastructure * [00:24:21] What activities pass the Infinity Test?* [00:32:35] Curating your information diet to find alpha This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit samvuong.com