Stephanie Kelton, professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University and Author of The Deficit Myth , Joins Tim and David to discuss her new book, globally rising unemployment rates, and the misconceptions of trade wars. These typically dry issues are explained with such elegance and passion that they feel imminently relevant and fascinating, which they truly are. This episode of Blind Insights is another look at Modern Monetary Theory - information the COVID-19 economic crisis i...
Aug 13, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 79
Plato's "The Republic" calls for rulers who are wise, intelligent, and humble in their lifestyle, where philosophers are kings. The question is, would you vote for us as Philosopher kings? Would we vote for us? Our society as advanced as it is, and for all the good we have by comparison to even recent history, is dissatisfactory to all of us in many ways. What would you do if you had the power to change it all? We take that thought seriously in this episode and discover some wonderful and fright...
Aug 06, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 78
The Adelaide Show is a fantastic podcast covering the fantastic culture, arts, food, and history of Adelaide, our home town! David's appearances on the podcast instigated Nigel and Steve's appearance on ours. So where should we house these kings of Adelaide Culture? Perhaps the best Cafe in Adelaide, Fare and Square , where nice food and amazing wines were had over our discussion, including offerings from Tim Smith , Rockford , and the lovely Hills Appeal. The two dynamic duos meet to form a Qui...
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 5
David and Tim have a beloved guest explaining her Quadrant Theory of choosing a life partner, that's right, Jess Freund is back! It is difficult to make a very hefty decision in today's world where we are given more choice, and more change is necessary over the course of our lives, perhaps life partners are the biggest commitments we make. Given the enormity of such a decision, our only guides can seem very clouded in clichés that don't connect with what love is to many people. What is truly imp...
Aug 01, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 77
David is an avid reader of the very active author of both fiction and non-fiction military books, Damien Lewis . His works have been hailed as some of the most important books in uncovering secrets and insights to the special forces throughout history. Damien has reported from many war and conflict zones prior to becoming an incredibly well-established author who has accessed some pretty incredible information over time. So who better for Tim and David to talk to about some of the incredible thi...
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 76
If you're making the effort to listen to this podcast, you're a learner, so reading and absorbing information should come naturally to you, right? Well, it doesn't for Tim and David, not conventionally, but David still reads a lot of books and Tim could stand to read a few more. In the 21st century books are dying out and maybe there's something lost in that, but what is a curious person to do with their time if they like learning? David makes a case for reading and convinces Tim to try a lot ha...
Jul 24, 2020•43 min•Ep. 75
Blind drunk is back! Available wherever you drink and pod. A short announcement to tell listeners that blind drunk is back on track and helping bring back the conviviality of drinking post-lockdown. https://omny.fm/shows/blind-insights/blind-drunk-marijuana-mahouts-and-motivation-with Support the show: https://auscast-network.myshopify.com/collections/blind-insights See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 22, 2020•25 sec
Drinking whatever was in the COVID cabinet, David and Tim are joined with honourary Blind ___ host Peter Thomson to discuss a variety of matters pertaining to the lockdown experience without actually addressing the Novel Corona Virus for at least an hour... This is kickstart back into the Blind Drunk tradition of intending to talk sh*t and ending up discussing very deep and meaningful things, such as the comparisons between the unconscious mind and real-world elephants. Join us for a drink and a...
Jul 15, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 4
Have you seen Blade Runner, Terminator, Altered Carbon, Gattaca, Robocop, or Ironman? These are fun movies but even better thought-experiments that delve into the dark world of transhumanism. Between uploading your consciousness to another body or computer, to altering your body to contain computers or robotics within it, the technological possibilities are putting into question what being human really means. With David's existentialism, Peter's Philosophical 'Geekiness', and Tim's introduction ...
Jul 15, 2020•49 min•Ep. 74
Money is an object we all use and yet is something many of us do not fully understand. Blind Insights has had many guests to explain the function of money in modern currency sovereign nations over the past year and this is fresh perspective that adds to the work of the many enlightened economists who have appeared on the show. David and Tim have some very general questions to ask Warren Mosler, a man who has pioneered part of the foundation of an economic understanding known as Modern Monetary T...
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 73
A recent episode of The Mikhaila Peterson Podcast has inspired David to discuss the human side of self-help and the dangers of devoting life learnings to one source. Peterson himself will admit that he is not the source of all knowledge, and in this case isn't qualified to prescribe drugs, so it comes as no surprise that during the chaos of his life that he was prescribed with a hell of a drug called a benzodiazepine. Though Peterson is not out of the woods, he is getting effective treatment for...
Jul 03, 2020•12 min
This episode of Blind Insights discusses the masterful book that touts being part biography and part political and economic commentary by Zach D. Carter , a reporter at the Huffington Post in the US. "The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes" is a fantastic read for anyone, no economics interest or understanding required. Though the book tells a riveting story about the life of Keynes, his ideas are more relevant than ever and make a great companion to anyone who...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 72
In this episode of Blind Insights, David and Tim are joined by James Nestor, author of Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and what the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves David has been fascinated by James Nestor's work in a part science, part anthropology, part philosophy, and utter genius book that is a fantastic social commentary and looks into the fascinating sport of freediving. The book draws on some topics that are directly related to David's blindness but also gives great imagery into very u...
Jun 18, 2020•43 min•Ep. 71
Inspired by Timothy Wilson's Social Science experiment involving a voluntary 15 minutes of boredom in a plain room or an electric shock, a 'shocking' amount of people, especially men, chose the pain option over sitting with their thoughts for a short time. With the many possible causes and implications of these findings, David and Tim just had to talk about it and consider the dangers of distraction and the reasons we want to be distracted. Winston Churchill on Speeches. If you have any thoughts...
Jun 13, 2020•45 min•Ep. 70
Civil-military relations can seem like daunting jargon to most civilians, but it refers to how the military engages with the public it defends. In the case of America, the largest military force in the world, it is very important what civil-military relations are like, and it is even more important when ex-military leaders talk about politics. For a traditionally taboo subject for military leaders, it is very uncommon for one, let alone two significant figures to speak out against an active pres...
Jun 04, 2020•9 min
While chaos plagues the streets of the US in the name of justice for George Floyd and for seriously disaffected black Americans we could be on the brink of serious change for America. This begs the question, what should we change in order to lift people out of disadvantage and suffering in a western democracy like Australia or the US where black populations experience radically different opportunities? As the Covid-19 have lifted in South Australia, Peter, Tim and David are reunited in the Ausca...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 69
Through following Penny Locaso's LinkedIn page David noticed some very admirable and interesting ideas about connecting people through the strange period of the COVID-19 crisis. We knew that we had to get Penny back on the podcast to discuss the merits of such an exercise. Penny, David, and Tim discuss how we as humans adapt to the unfamiliarity of the world we live in through restrictions and what a brave new paradigm might look like on the other side. If you have any thoughts, questions, or wa...
Jun 03, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 68
It's been 6 weeks and David is finally allowed outside after 6 weeks of isolation. The mental maps and habitual practices that go unconscious for normally abled folk are pivotally important for David as he navigates through familiar territory with the distant memory of the journey ahead. In this bonus episode, David tells us about his first experience in the new world of loosened restrictions with specific reference to his disciplined practices and an insight into the daily life of a blind perso...
May 25, 2020•15 min
Boys are growing up without fathers, getting addicted to drugs, doing worse in schools, getting incarcerated, and committing suicide. With all the inequality in the world, how do we tackle these issues? How are men meant to establish a sense of meaning while their traditions are being torn down from their patriarchal heritage? Warren Farrell and Philip Zimbardo have written some excellent literature on the problems that face men and boys and Peter helps unpack these ideas for a heavy discussion ...
May 22, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 67
Gabrielle Bond and Steven Hail of the Just Transition Action Group asked David to give a Q&A forum vis Zoom moderated by Tim. The central point of discussion was about the comparatively fluid and cohesive undertaking of advice surrounding the COVID-19 crisis as opposed to the societal attitudes towards Climate Action, especially in Australia. With a focus on what individuals and groups can do to change things, David gives a thorough explanation of why people have different attitudes towards ...
May 19, 2020•54 min•Ep. 65
The fourth estate is an indirect and significant form of influencing the democratic process, so who and what we listen to is incredibly significant. So our broad society is controlled by journalists, and more aptly, editors who dictate the conversations we have, so why isn't the media held accountable? Can the media be held accountable? What can we do as a grassroots podcast to change the media landscape and responsibilities of networks? To help tackle these questions we brought in our resident ...
May 16, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 66
Nations around the world are trying a variety of policy settings to cope with the unique set of economic circumstances that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused. In Australia we have guaranteed payments to a large portion of the population, and provided welfare to those affected at previously inconceivable levels. The neoliberal establishment is going to have a hard time returning to status quo after spending so much to keep the country afloat. David and Tim are joined by Dr Steven Hail from the Uni...
May 05, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 64
In this raw episode get an inside look at how to calculate the expenses of inaction on climate with a candid and minimally-produced conversation with Ecological Economist at the University of Adelaide, Phil Lawn. For context, this conversation was recorded in late 2019, so Tim and David met with Phil in the studio to gain a very insightful and descriptive basis for Phil's work. We often talk about the cost of climate action in financial terms or the impact it will have on our wellbeing or our ca...
Apr 17, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 63
Live from the quarantine bunkers (via the wonders of the internet) David and Tim explain what's worth worrying about and what we can do to calm the masses of very vulnerable and terrified people. Despite the complexity and bleakness of days ahead, there is a lot to feel opportunistic about, but fear has taken the driver's seat for most of us. Why? There's a lot of science and ancient ideas to back up the antidotes to fear, and we hope to share some helpful exercises and practices to keep relativ...
Apr 04, 2020•52 min•Ep. 62
COVID-19 has brought about a socially depraved new world, but the health crises have consequences in ways not all of us have considered, and not all of us are appropriately reacting to. Tim and David ruminate on the consequences socially and economically, then the security issues caused by COVID-19 and address some of the health scares and hysteria. We are not health professionals, please seek health advice from the appropriate source, one of which would be the WHO who we respect and listen to f...
Apr 03, 2020•39 min•Ep. 61
Fairly tumultuous times have occurred throughout history, but few compare to WWI, so why does David think it gave way to the golden age of human development? Australia and many other countries are facing crises that are likely to last for a long time and have consequences we haven't even thought about - but there's a lot to look forward to if that's the case. We're not being sadistic, Tim and David discuss why adversity can bring out the best in human nature (though it can also do the opposite),...
Apr 01, 2020•39 min•Ep. 60
As a shorter, more shareable update on the COVID19 pandemic, David has recorded an announcement from home to update listeners on best practice. We are not health professionals, but we have thoughtful and well-read responses to the threats that face our communities. We need to be thoughtful about our actions in the world and be considerate of those most at risk. If you have any thoughts, questions, or want to present your argument, contact us and send us an audio clip at timwhiffen@auscastnetwork...
Mar 16, 2020•5 min
How are we as a society dealing with #coronapocalypse? The toilet paper company stocks might suggest we aren't coping well at all. Between Australia's media, Government, and cultural practices the Novel Corona Virus has highlighted a lot of problems for us to deal with now and into the future. The world has a lot on its plate but the point is to be alert and not alarmed. Tim and David discuss what we can do at all levels to counteract the dangers posed to the world. If you have any thoughts, que...
Mar 14, 2020•40 min•Ep. 59
Dr Liz Elliott is an academic cartoonist & author concerned with sustainable economies. She has opposed treaties, Big Banks & centralization ideas, and supported localisation & Love for many years. Her book A New Way Now is a diagnosis for Australia and a progressive prescription for individuals and society to do and feel better. This podcast doesn't specifically tackle MMT, but instead, the vast opposition MMT has in being accepted. If you don't already understand MMT, listen to our...
Mar 04, 2020•9 min
In light of all that David and Tim learned at the 2020 sustainable prosperity conference, it seems like change is needed, but is it possible? There is a lot to like about the world we live in by comparison with even 50 years ago, but there's a lot we could do better, and yet it feels harder to make changes. What is the health of western democracy in 2020, and how did we get here? Is there another way? David has some thoughts about what we could do to make the system work and discusses them with ...
Mar 04, 2020•57 min•Ep. 58
