James Poulos is a Tocqueville scholar who wrote The Art of Being Free (2017) and Human Forever (2021). He was a co-founder of The American Mind and his latest project is a magazine called Return. We discuss humanism and post-humanism, the merging of Big Tech and Woke Capital into an atheist cyborg theocracy, why James rejects accelerationism, the importance of human memory, Bitcoin, Urbit, and much more. ✦ Human Forever ✦ Return Magazine ✦ James on Twitter Other Life ✦ Subscribe to the coolest f...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 179
Riva Tez wants to fund epistemological anarchy in science. Former VC, Former Director at Intel, former store owner, Riva does whatever she wants. We talked about how Riva built a unique career doing whatever she wants, what she's learned from the philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend, why the brain might be an antenna, why she moved away from Transhumanism, why Rationalism is cringe, how she thinks Urbit will win, and how she's planning to introduce epistemological anarchism to contemporary sci...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 178
If you like the podcast, you'll love the newsletter: otherlife.co ✦ The Improvement Illusion: otherlife.co/improvement ✦ On the NYRB: otherlife.co/signs78 ✦ Join the new Other Life community: imperceptible.country ✦ If you're working on independent intellectual work you should join the next cohort of IndieThinkers.org...
Apr 09, 2022•29 min•Ep. 177
I'll be in NYC for a few days around May 20. I'm down to give talks, do your podcast, etc. Just hit reply to an Other Life newsletter and tell me what's up. ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life newsletter (free) at OtherLife.Co ✦ Get your own Urbit planet (free) at imperceptible.computer ✦ If you're a writer, enroll in the next cohort of IndieThinkers.org...
Apr 02, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 176
Dr. Jonathan Paprocki is a specialist in topological quantum compiling and an Urbit engineer interested in swarm intelligence, Internet of Things, and anarcho-communist governance structures. ✦ Jonathan on Urbit: ~datnut-pollen ✦ Get your own Urbit planet at imperceptible.computer ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life newsletter at OtherLife.Co
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 175
Anthony Arroyo runs The Combine, a startup incubator for startups building on Urbit. We discuss how Urbit governance really works, debunking the many myths, i.e. the meme that Urbit has a "feudal" or even "fascist" governance structure. We also discuss how Urbit competes with Ethereum, what kinds of businesses are starting to appear on Urbit, and many other interesting topics. ✦ Anthony on Urbit: ~poldec-tonteg ✦ Get your own Urbit planet at imperceptible.computer ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life n...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 174
Sam Frank has written for Harper's and The New Yorker, but he was also an early buyer of Ethereum because Vitalik "looked like an alien." Sam explains his heuristics for judging technological and cultural projects, how he first met Curtis Yarvin, what he sees in Urbit, and how he eventually became one of 256 senators in Urbit's galactic senate. ✦ Sam on Urbit: ~todset-partug ✦ Get your own Urbit planet at imperceptible.computer ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life newsletter at OtherLife.Co...
Mar 13, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 173
A short lecture on "Review of CCRU's Digital Hyperstition" in the book Writings 1997-2003. We analyze how the CCRU foresaw many aspects of the crypto economy from first principles in the early 1990s. See more below. ✦ Get a free Urbit planet at https://imperceptible.computer ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life newsletter at https://otherlife.co
Mar 12, 2022•57 min•Ep. 172
Ted Blackman is a senior engineer at Tlon and one of the most advanced Urbit engineers in the world. We discuss how Urbit will get faster, how it will scale to billions of users, and how Urbit fits into the blockchain ecosystem. In some ways Urbit is like a blockchain, in other ways Urbit is the categorical dual of the blockchain, soon there will be a blockchain built on top of Urbit, and more. ✦ Ted on Urbit: ~rovnys-ricfer ✦ Get your own Urbit planet at imperceptible.computer ✦ Subscribe to th...
Mar 08, 2022•58 min•Ep. 171
Philip Monk co-authored the Urbit whitepaper with Curtis Yarvin in 2016. He's now one of the lead engineers working on Urbit, and a thoughtful writer as well. We discuss how to find frontiers, the philosophy of "correctness at all costs," how the current internet is captured by gradient descent, and how Urbit will achieve mass adoption. ✦ Philip on Urbit: ~wicdev-wisryt ✦ Philip's blog: pcmonk.me ✦ Get your own Urbit planet at imperceptible.computer ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life newsletter at Ot...
Feb 21, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 169
Nico Arqueros is the CEO of dcSpark, a startup that's recently launched two products built on Urbit. We discuss their unique thesis that the future of Urbit apps is outside of Urbit, with Urbit ID as the universal identity layer for the multi-chain future. ✦ Nico on Urbit: ~dovnec-bonder ✦ UrbitVisor is a Chrome plugin that uses your Urbit ID to interact with websites. https://urbitvisor.com/ ✦ UrbitDashboard lets you explore your ship's activity in a browser-based dashboard. https://urbitdashbo...
Feb 14, 2022•54 min•Ep. 168
Honor Levy and Walter Pearce host the podcast Wet Brain. We discuss cataclysmic events about to happen, Starseed Theory, demons, fashion, God, the CIA, the problem with Millennials, how they got into Urbit, and more. The Wet Brain podcast: https://www.patreon.com/wetbrain ✦ Get your own Urbit planet at https://imperceptible.computer ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life newsletter at https://otherlife.co
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 167
Galen Wolfe-Pauly is the CEO of Tlon. We discuss why Urbit is led by designers rather than engineers, the theories of Christopher Alexander, the longest-running company in the world (Kongo Gumi), and much more. Galen on Urbit: ~ravmel-ropdyl ✦ I can give you an Urbit planet at imperceptible.computer ✦ Learn more about this episode's sponsor at dalten.org
Feb 01, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 166
The Tirrel corporation is a startup building payment rails for Urbit. We discuss capitalism on Urbit, Deleuze, Christianity, and the impossibility of human dignity on the current internet. Tirrel Corporation: https://tirrel.io/ Christian on Urbit: ~pindet-timmut Logan on Urbit: ~tacryt-socryp ✦ I can give you an Urbit planet at https://imperceptible.computer/ ✦ Learn more about this episode's sponsor at https://dalten.org...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 165
Édouard Urcades is a designer at Tlon. He thinks computers are like flowers; his goal is to design the most beautiful computer. Édouard on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fiowerstructure Édouard on Urbit: ~fabled-faster ✦ I can give you an Urbit planet at https://imperceptible.computer/ ✦ Learn more about this episode's sponsor at https://dalten.org...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 164
The Chivalry Guild is a Twitter account about the theory, history, and aesthetics of chivalry. We're joined by Parker, the creator and author, who explains how chivalry is a theory of Christian vitalism. "Christian men don't have to be bugmen," he explains. We also discuss the strategy and tactics behind launching and building "theory brands" on the internet; how Parker grew the account over its first year; how much writing is necessary to grow a theory account (less than you think), and more. T...
Jan 11, 2022•55 min•Ep. 163
On the surface, Numerai is a crowdsourced and tokenized hedge fund. Below the surface, it's a decentralized truth machine pointing the way to general Artificial Intelligence. They recently released performance metrics for the first time, showing that Numerai outperforms other market neutral hedge funds by 29%. I talk with Numerai founder Richard Craib about finance and truth, the regulation of crypto, how to raise money for crazy ideas, how to persist on crazy ideas, the future of artificial int...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 162
From a private seminar hosted in the Other Life community. To learn more and follow community events, subscribe to the free newsletter at https://OtherLife.co
Dec 10, 2021•23 min•Ep. 161
A lecture on Albert Hirschman's classic book from 1970. More info below. ✦ Read the lecture notes at https://OtherLife.co ✦ Subscribe to the Other Life podcast https://plnk.to/otherlife
Nov 29, 2021•43 min•Ep. 160
Paul Town is an author and all-around star of the internet underground. He has a wild life story involving psychosis, alleged arson, and a ton of writing: In 2019 he wrote 3 books of more than 400 pages each. All of his books are self-published and quite underrated. We talked mostly about writing on the internet, indie publishing, and the internet-insanity nexus. This conversation was quite funny, interesting, and had some real insight around mindset, attitude, and how to live a creative life in...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 159
Gritcult is a Twitter anon who's built a small business empire exclusively through Twitter. We talk about getting jacked, how he built his business on Twitter, and how he thinks about content, crypto, cults, and much more. ✦ Gritcult on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GRITCULT ✦ Gritcult's crypto fashion marketplace: https://tri.bs Other Life ✦ Join 5,500 academics, creators, and investors who read the Other Life newsletter: https://OtherLife.co IndieThinkers.org ✦ If you're working on long-term in...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 158
Mark Beylin is a co-founder of Myco, a platform for Web3 social businesses. Mark is also a writer and he has interesting ideas about the intersection of business, social media, and crypto. Mark Beylin and Myco ✦ Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkBeylin ✦ Myco: https://myco.space/ ✦ How Myco works: https://m.mirror.xyz/6UxMOPMAnCZr8XSkhIM2Xx47bZ7X5rColwpnwIDbx5s Other Life ✦ Join 5,500 academics, creators, and investors who read the Other Life newsletter: https://OtherLife.co IndieThinkers...
Nov 05, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 157
Josh Rosenthal is a former academic historian and a specialist in the European Renaissance and Wars of Religion. He's now a serial founder and crypto investor. We discuss parallels between the crypto revolution today and the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Wars of Religion. If you listened to Josh's recent appearance on the Bankless podcast, this is like a Part 2. Josh Rosenthal Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuarosenthal 6th Event, a crypto-first founder's fund: https://www.go6ixthevent....
Oct 25, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 156
Eric Jacobus is a professional stuntman, motion designer, and independent philosopher. He is writing a book called the Art of Violence, about how mirror neurons and mimetic rivalry affect perceptions of violence. We talked about film, how to theorize cinematic violence, René Girard, how social crises change cinematic norms around violence, why mainstream cinema has degenerated so badly, and much more. Eric Jacobus The Art of Violence: https://ericjacobus.com/the-art-of-violence/ Eric's Youtube: ...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 155
Indian Bronson is a pseudonymous writer and an early employee at Swype. Swype is building pseudonymous payment infrastructure on crypto rails. Swype: https://getswype.io/ Indian Bronson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lndian_bronson Indian's matchmaking service: https://www.keeper.dating Other Life ✦ Join 5,500 academics, creators, and investors who read the Other Life newsletter: https://OtherLife.co IndieThinkers.org ✦ If you're working on long-term intellectual work outside of institutions, r...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 154
Gabby Dizon is the founder of Yield Guild Games ($YGG), a decentralized autonomous organization that lends video-game assets to professional gamers for profit. Like a "World of Warcraft guild with a balance sheet." Their serious gamers earn around $1,000/month on average, sometimes much more. Remittances from the game Axie Infinity to the Philippines are greater than remittances from Hong Kong. Gabby Dizon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabusch Yield Guild Games: https://yieldguild.io/ Other Li...
Oct 04, 2021•55 min•Ep. 153
Path started trading crypto when he was 15 and made a ton of money. He's famous for calling the Bitcoin top in 2017 but less known is that he's an OG of the 2015 Meme War and an Urbit bull. We talked about how meme culture informs his trading strategies; how artists and intellectuals should think about developing crypto projects; what he's bullish on right now, and what he thinks will stand the test of time amid all the hype bubbles rising and falling in recent years. Not financial advice, of co...
Sep 17, 2021•54 min•Ep. 152
Signs of Life is my weekly newsletter about philosophy and science on the frontiers of internet culture. Subscribe at https://OtherLife.co . This podcast is based on Signs #63: Reality Splitters. We explore... How to find frontiers Mónica Belevan's theory of Covidian Aesthetics How to listen to podcasts A light for the most midnightly men, according to Nietzsche How microdosing works News and events coming up (Based Mansion, Austin!) Links ✦ ȘȈǤƝȘ 63, Reality Splitters: https://www.otherlife.co/...
Sep 14, 2021•23 min•Ep. 151
Mónica Belevan is a Peruvian theorist and crypto entrepreneur. She's the author of a newsletter called Covidian Aesthetics and co-founder of a Web3 production studio called Accursed Share. Her current focus is an NFT project called The Curse, which you can search for on Open Sea. We talk about Georges Bataille and the meaning of energy expenditure in the cryptoeconomy; Spengler, Wittgenstein, and Duchamp; the aesthetics of covid, the sentimentality of markets; the affective drama of Wallstreet B...
Sep 09, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 150
Discord for this project: https://discord.gg/W43KSNgWct The Point DAO group on Urbit: ~winlud-dirnet/point-dao If you need an Urbit planet, I can give you one at cost of gas fees: https://exit.otherlife.co James of Zora.co ✦ James on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/new_username_22 Kenny Rowe ✦ Kenny Rowe on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sicdev_pilnup Justin Murphy ✦ I write a free newsletter to more than 6,000 academics, creators, founders, and investors: https://OtherLife.co ✦ If you're wor...
Sep 02, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 149
