El Podcast

Tenured sociology professor Mark Horowitz explains why falling preparedness, grade inflation, and perverse incentives are eroding college standards—and why “broke, woke, stroke” helps describe the pattern. GUEST BIO: Dr. Mark Horowitz is a sociology professor at Seton Hall University and co-author of a survey-based study of tenured faculty perceptions about academic standards, grade inflation, stu...

A wide-ranging conversation with economist and AI consultant Dr. Emmanuel Maggiori on why Modern Monetary Theory overpromises a “free lunch,” what really causes inflation, how Bitcoin and AI are misunderstood, and why seductive economic stories are so dangerous. GUEST BIO: Emmanuel Maggiori is an armchair economist, computer scientist, and AI consultant based in the UK. Originally from Argentina,...

Independent journalist James Corbett joins Jesse to trace how media, tech, and elite power have reshaped the information landscape—from Time’s 2006 “You” to today’s post-truth, AI-saturated world. GUEST BIO: James Corbett is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Japan. Since 2007 he’s run The Corbett Report, an open-source intelligence project covering geopolitics, media, fi...

Sociologist Dr. Jennie Bristow joins Jesse to dismantle “generation wars” rhetoric—especially Boomer-blaming—and re-center the real story: stalled economies, broken higher ed, housing dysfunction, and a culture that’s leaving young people anxious and unmoored. Guest bio: Dr. Jennie Bristow is a professor of sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK and a leading researcher on inte...

Investigative health journalist Julia Belluz breaks down what really drives obesity and chronic disease—metabolism myths, ultra-processed food, bad incentives, and why our entire food environment is quietly rigged against us. Guest bio:  Julia Belluz is a Paris-based health and science journalist and co-author of Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us , written with...

Tech economist Dr. Jeffrey Funk argues that today’s AI boom is the biggest bubble in history—far larger than dot-com or housing—because colossal infrastructure spending is chasing tiny, unprofitable revenues. Guest bio: Jeffrey Funk is a technology economist and author of Unicorns, Hype and Bubbles: A Guide to Spotting, Avoiding and Exploiting Investment Bubbles in Tech . A longtime researcher and...

Steven Ross Pomeroy, Chief Editor of RealClearScience, joins the podcast to discuss NASA’s abandoned nuclear propulsion programs, the future of AI and white-collar work, the rise of “scienceploitation,” and how information overload is reshaping human cognition. GUEST BIO: Steven Ross Pomeroy is a science writer and Chief Editor of RealClearScience. He writes frequently for Big Think, covering spac...

A wide-ranging conversation with Northeastern’s John Wihbey on how algorithms, laws, and business models shape speech online—and what smarter, lighter regulation could look like. Guest bio: John Wihbey is a professor of media & technology at Northeastern University and director of the AI Media Strategies Lab. Author of Governing Babel (MIT Press). He has advised foundations, governments, and tech...

Finance professor Spencer Barnes explains research showing postseason officiating systematically favors the Mahomes-era Chiefs—consistent with subconscious, financially driven “regulatory capture,” not explicit rigging. Guest bio: Dr. Spencer Barnes is a finance professor at UTEP. He co-authored “Under Financial Pressure” with Brandon Mendez (South Carolina) and Ted Dischman, using sports as a tra...

How human babies, big brains, and social life likely forced Homo sapiens to invent precise speech ~150–200k years ago—and what that means for learning, tech, and today’s kids. Guest Bio: Madeleine Beekman is a professor emerita of evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology at the University of Sydney and author of Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why . She studies social insects, c...

A candid conversation with psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer on why human judgment outperforms AI, the “stable world” limits of machine intelligence, and how surveillance capitalism reshapes society. Guest bio: Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer is a German psychologist, director emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, a leading scholar on decision-making and heuristics, and an intellectual interl...

How a tech insider who helped build billion-view machines explains the attention economy’s playbook—and how to guard your mind (and data) against it. Guest bio: Richard Ryan is a software developer, media executive, and tech entrepreneur with 20+ years in digital. He co-founded Black Rifle Coffee Company and helped take it public (~$1.7B valuation; $396M revenue in 2023). He’s built multiple apps...

Dr. Luke Kemp, an Existential Risk Researcher at the University of Cambridge shows how today’s plutocracy and tech-fueled surveillance imperil society—and what we can do to build resilience. Guest bio: Dr. Luke Kemp is an Existential Risk Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge and author of Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societa...

A deep dive with historian Dr. Fyodor Tertitskiy on how North Korea’s dynasty survives—through isolation, terror, and nukes—and why collapse or unification is far from inevitable. Guest bio: Fyodor Tertitskiy, PhD, is a Russian-born historian of North Korea and a senior research fellow at Kookmin University (Seoul). A naturalized South Korean based in Seoul, he is the author of Accidental Tyrant:...

Dr. Devon Price unpacks “the laziness lie,” how AI and “bullshit jobs” distort work and higher ed, and why centering human needs—not output—leads to saner lives. Guest bio : Devon Price, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology at Loyola University Chicago, a social psychologist, & writer. Prof Price is the author of Laziness Does Not Exist, Unmasking Autism, and Unlearning Shame, focu...

Dr. Joseph Crawford unpacks how AI is reshaping higher education - eroding student belonging, redefining assessment in a post-plagiarism era, and raising the stakes for soft skills. Guest bio Dr. Joseph “Joey” Crawford is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the University of Tasmania and ranks among the top 1% of most-cited researchers globally. His work centers on leadership, student belonging, an...

Author Eric Weiner argues that happiness depends less on wealth or location than on relationships, meaning, trust, and realistic expectations—while tech and social media often push the other way. Guest bio: Eric Weiner is a bestselling author and former NPR foreign correspondent whose books include The Geography of Bliss , The Geography of Genius , The Socrates Express , and Ben and Me . He writes...

A conversation with Stella Morabito on how the weaponization of loneliness —from Soviet propaganda to modern social media—threatens free speech, family, and community. 👤 Guest Bio Stella Morabito – Writer and former CIA intelligence analyst specializing in Soviet propaganda and media during the 1980s. She is the author of The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to...

Neuroscientist explains why school crushes creativity—and how to fix it—teaching “primal intelligence” and special-operations tactics you can use at work, at home, and in the classroom to think and innovate better. Guest Bio: Dr. Angus Fletcher is a neuroscientist and professor of Story Science at The Ohio State University. He studies how intuition, imagination, emotion, and common sense work in t...

Homeowner-advocate Shelly Marshall explains why many HOAs function like private governments—often stripping owners’ rights—and how to protect yourself (or avoid them entirely). Guest bio Shelly Marshall is a homeowner advocate and author of HOA Warrior . After battling abusive HOA boards in her own community, she’s spent 15+ years researching HOA law, advising homeowners, and pushing for reforms n...

A spirited debate between Chadwick Turner and Emmanuel Maggiori on whether AI is a transformative technology or overhyped disruption, exploring its impact on jobs, society, and the economy. 👥 Guest Bios Dr. Emmanuel Maggiori – London-based software engineer, writer, and speaker. Author of Smart Until It’s Dumb , Siliconned , and The AI Pocketbook . Has spent a decade building machine learning sys...

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Gary Rivlin discusses his book AI Valley , exploring Silicon Valley’s AI hype cycle, the dominance of tech giants, and the venture capital forces shaping the industry. Guest Bio Gary Rivlin is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter and author of eleven books, including AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Int...

Marketing lecturer & former Fortune 100 exec Melise Panetta discusses how AI is reshaping entry-level jobs, Gen Z’s career prospects, and the future of skills and education. GUEST BIO: Melise Panetta, a lecturer in marketing at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics and former Fortune 100 executive with over 20 years of global leadership experience, is the founder...

A deep dive with Dr. Jeffrey Funk on AI hype, startup bubbles, Gen Z’s job struggles, and the broken higher education system. Guest Bio Dr. Jeffrey Funk is a retired technology economist and former university professor in Japan and Singapore. He specializes in innovation, startup bubbles, and the economic effects of emerging technologies, and is the author of Unicorns, Hype, and Bubbles: A Guide t...

An in-depth discussion with legal scholar Jeffrey Seaman debunking popular myths about mass incarceration, examining crime clearance rates, sentencing trends, and exploring justice-focused reforms. Guest bio: Jeffrey Seaman is a Levy Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, researcher, and co-author of Confronting Failures of Justice . His work focuses on criminal justice policy, sent...