Tomás Pueyo, the French-Spanish engineer and writer behind the successful "Uncharted Territories" Substack, joins me to dismantle the invisible forces that shape our history and future.
This conversation covers everything from why humans are horrible at understanding exponential change, the arbitrage opportunities in the podcast market, why the US has the best geography in the world ("the hardware") while its governance ("the software") lags behind. We also discuss why the Luddites might have been right, the "social media politician" of the future, why education is mostly signaling, and how air conditioning and mosquito eradication could change the destiny of nations.
I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack - https://newsletter.osv.llc/.
Important Links:
- Tomas's Website - https://tomaspueyo.com/
- X / Twitter - https://x.com/tomaspueyo
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomaspueyo/
- Substack: Uncharted Territories - https://unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com/
- YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@tomas_pueyo
- TEDx Talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/tomas_pueyo_why_stories_captivate
Show Notes:
0:00:00 Intro
0:00:26 Guest Introduction
0:01:35 Why Exponentials Baffle Humans
0:06:24 The Podcasting Arbitrage
0:09:46 Tomas's Experience of Virality
0:13:50 Why Democracies Don't Work
0:29:03 War, and The Innovations It Spawns
0:38:04 The Case Against Traditional Degrees
0:50:45 Why does Geography matter?
1:12:09 How Social Media Shapes Politicians
1:39:15 Tomas As World Emperor
Books Mentioned:
- Guns, Germs, and Steel; by Jared Diamond
- The Case Against Education; by Bryan Caplan
- One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson
