Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchThe Gift That Demands Payment: How Abundance Enforces Conformity
Season 1 Episode 237
Gift economies seem generous—but they hide three ironclad obligations: you must give, you must receive, and you must reciprocate at greater value. Ma…
1 month, 4 weeks ago
The Unbundled Soul: When Religion Gets Sold Back to You Individually
Season 1 Episode 236
What happens when religion gets taken apart and sold back as separate products? Hosts explore the academic argument that spirituality hasn't disappea…
1 month, 4 weeks ago
When Winning Breaks the Game: The Metagame Curse
Season 1 Episode 235
Why does every dominant strategy eventually fail? From ancient wheat farmers to modern basketball, the pattern repeats: the tactics that win today ex…
1 month, 4 weeks ago
Renters, Not Owners: The Truth About Your Game Library
Season 1 Episode 234
Do you actually own your Steam library? A 17-minute dive into digital ownership—from the $1,500 average collection to the California law that forced …
1 month, 4 weeks ago
The Sweet Spot: When Damage Makes You Stronger
Season 1 Episode 233
Have you ever gotten stronger from something that should have damaged you? Today we explore the hormesis curve—the counterintuitive principle that th…
1 month, 4 weeks ago
The Abundance Paradox: Why Gift Economies Don't Break at Scale
Season 1 Episode 232
What if the problem wasn't that gift economies can't scale, but that we've been measuring scale wrong? The hosts unpack why abundance-based systems o…
2 months ago
The Art of Missing Well: Why Old Man Golf Wins
Season 1 Episode 231
What sounds like an insult might actually be the secret to mastering any sport. This week, we explore the "old manpower" philosophy: how playing it s…
2 months ago
The Truth Vaccine: How to Inoculate Your Brain Against Propaganda
Season 1 Episode 230
Why do false beliefs spread so easily? In this episode, we discover the psychological defense against propaganda: inoculation theory. William McGuire…
2 months ago
Permission Slips: The Philosophy of Authenticity
Season 1 Episode 229
What happens when a counterfeit is physically indistinguishable from the genuine? When superfakes are so perfect that luxury brands need X-ray machin…
2 months ago
When Your Boss's Bot Meets Your Union's Bot
Season 1 Episode 228
Ford's 1930s union-busting operation was pure brute force—but the job is still happening today, just automated. We trace the evolution from Harry Ben…
2 months ago