How can we tackle the fentanyl crisis? Investigative journalist Ben Westhoff argues that the US government should invest in medication-assisted treatment. "We have these great drugs... But most people don't have access to them."
Investigative journalist Ben Westhoff on how to understand poverty: “the wealthy people and the poor people just live apart and never the twain shall meet...if you're really putting yourself in these situations, really seeing how the other half lives, then you can understand what's really needed there.”
"hip-hop has been... part of the problem." Here's investigative journalist Ben Westhoff on hip-hop's role in the fentanyl crisis...
Our guest, Ben Westhoff, explains how, in recent years, there has been an explosion of extremely dangerous, synthetic alternatives to plant-based drugs.
Ben Westhoff is a best-selling investigative journalist focusing on culture, drugs, and poverty. Ben’s book Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Created the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic was the culmination of a four-year investigation into the worst drug crisis in American history, an investigation that included Ben making an…
"one of the core cravings of the human soul is... infinite connection." ~ Roon
"I think the world works better when everyone has a feeling of abundance." -- Roon
"We need technological progress. It's a necessity. It's the only thing that makes our civilization prosper in the long run, or even in the short run. It's the only thing that leads to stable growth and without it... all bets are off." -- Roon
Our guest, Roon, argues that, at the end of the day, "it's a wordcel world."
AI researcher, memelord extraordinaire, and techno-optimist Roon joins the show to discuss coming up with the shape rotator vs. wordcel meme, what an AGI world could become, and why Tenet is Christopher Nolan’s best movie. Important Links: - Roon’s Twitter - https://x.com/tszzl?s=20 - Roon’s Substack - https://roonscape.ai/ - AGI Futures…
"Nostalgia is a seductive liar." -- George Ball Here's Katherine Dee on the danger of falling into a "nostalgia trap..."
"If you want to tell people the truth, you’d better make them laugh or they’ll kill you.” - George Bernard Shaw Our guest, Katherine Dee, argues that, in the Attention Economy, entertainment reigns supreme...
“There's this disbelief that things can become organically popular online. People misunderstand the way power can help." "I think there's just a lot of misunderstanding of how... social capital works, how power works, how trends explode, how things grow." - Katherine Dee
“That's cyberspace in a nutshell. Certain forms of celebrity are more valuable than others. Twitter is very valuable if you have particular goals.” - Katherine Dee
Katherine Dee is a writer, journalist, and internet culture reporter. A contributor to publications such as UnHerd, Tablet, and Blaze Media, she is also the proprietor of the Default Wisdom Substack, where she writes about a wide range of topics, including internet history and culture, digital communities, millennial nostalgia, and…
Don't be AC/DC. Be David Bowie. Derk Sivers explains...
"What seems true is actually just one possible perspective, and it's probably not the best one. So force yourself to think of other perspectives.” -- Derek Sivers
"So, all of these things that I think I'm better than average in right now, I think it's just safe to assume that I'm not. In fact, I'm going to choose to counterbalance our human nature, and so, I will deliberately choose to assume that I'm below average." -- Derek…
"[Hollywood actors are] not a special breed. They're not a different type. They are just like you. They just took the chance and showed up to the gig... They did the thing instead of watching TV, and that's all the difference it took." -- Derek Sivers
"It is your commitment itself that can make any choice the right choice for you." -- Derek Sivers
The inimitable Derek Sivers returns for Part Two of our conversation. Important Links: - Part One - Website - https://sive.rs - Twitter - https://twitter.com/sivers?s=21&t=r5Rw1ujHLmOB6xEJqeaV6g - Still Too Soon to Tell & Other Songs - https://sive.rs/music - Tech Independence - https://sive.rs/ti Show Notes: 0:00:00 Video intro 0:00:45 Main podcast 0:02:29 Curiosity…
"Physical, observable things are true. Everything else is just a perspective that you can choose to take." -- Derek Sivers
Over the years, Derek Sivers has been a musician, circus performer, computer programmer, author, public speaker and entrepreneur. In the 2000s, he sold his business, CD Baby, for $22 million and gave the proceeds to charity. Derek has optimized his life “for creating and learning” and spends as much of…
"To just exist in digital is not going to be very interesting. To just exist in physical is not going to be very interesting... The masters of this next 20, 30 years [are] who can mix all of these things together in a really interesting way." -- John Fio