The Sunken Treasures

Is it moral for someone with no consequences to give advice? What if he stands to only gain and not lose? Is it foolish to receive such advice? Steadfast in his advice not to look at people's stock advice but their stock portfolio, Taleb explores these questions in 'Skin in the Game'. In this week's episode, we dive into the work of Taleb, famed for 'Black Swan', which many...

Is it moral for someone with no consequences to give advice? What if he stands to only gain and not lose? Is it foolish to receive such advice? Steadfast in his advice not to look at people's stock advice but their stock portfolio, Taleb explores these questions in 'Skin in the Game'. In this week's episode, we dive into the work of Taleb, famed for 'Black Swan', which many...

Is it moral for someone with no consequences to give advice? What if he stands to only gain and not lose? Is it foolish to receive such advice? Steadfast in his advice not to look at people's stock advice but their stock portfolio, Taleb explores these questions in 'Skin in the Game'. In this week's episode, we dive into the work of Nassim Taleb, famed for 'Black Swan', whi...

What do you find inside a Kinder Surprise Egg? In this documentary, it is philosopher Slavoj Zizek, squeezing the last drops of ideology from well-loved movies. From Taxi Driver to the Dark Knight to The Sound of Music he takes us through it all. In this week's episode, the crew shares its thoughts on Slavoj's ideas and our take on the very notion of ideology. Contact us at thesunkentreasu...

Does the devil bear fangs? Horns? Visible malice, perhaps? In the work explored this week we meet a seemingly angelic creature that bestows all that a man asks. Except what his heart truly needs and that he realises all too late. In this week's episode we talk about The Twilight Zone episode "A Nice Place To Visit". We explore the ideas of heaven, hell, and being careful what one wis...

With a background in martial arts and strength training, Ido Portal learnt that the common connection among his interests had been glaring him in the face the whole time. Movement. An online personality who is an expert in the domain of movement, Ido Portal sits with Andrew Huberman, the neuroscientist and podcaster, to discuss just that. In this week's episode, our crew discusses that convers...

An unfaithful wife finds herself a suspect in her lover's murder. An abandoned child reunites with his transgender father. A group of kids dabbles in the world of crime after a watch-party goes wrong. An unfaithful wife, an unrelenting godman, an estranged transgender father, and a foolish group of boys. God, love, and sexuality weave through their stories bringing them together for well or il...

Is it possible for a single entity, a great big government staffed by millions of highly intelligent members, to efficiently manufacture a typical pencil? Milton Friedman argues no. In Free to Choose, Milton attempts to express how complex systems, whether education, healthcare, or gadget production, are more efficiently managed and developed without any top-down coordination in an economy. In thi...

Is it possible for a single entity, a great big government staffed by millions of highly intelligent members, to efficiently manufacture a typical pencil? Milton Friedman argues no. In Free to Choose, Milton attempts to express how complex systems, whether education, healthcare, or gadget production, are more efficiently managed and developed without any top-down coordination in an economy. In thi...

Is religion a scripture? Is it a tolerance (or intolerance) mechanism? Or is it just a broad set of dietary rules? This week we dive into Nassim Taleb's article 'Religion, Violence, Tolerance & Progress: Nothing to do with Theology'. The 'Black Swan' and 'Anti-Fragile' author dives into the history and social consequences of religion beyond the mere scriptures. Spea...

Have you ever wondered why you believe what you believe? What about certain claims made you believe in them? Was it the evidence? Or perhaps the trust you had in the person who shared those ideas with you? Or what about the logic behind them? Today we explore the ideas embedded in Dr. Peter Marston's brilliant article:  "The Rhetoric of Extraordinary Claim" . Music by @fyahpundrums R...

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode. Young Frankenstein is Mel Brooks' take on a classic. The 1974 film that interprets the Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, 'Frankenstein', stars Gene Wilder in the titular role. This week, we discuss the influence of 'Frankenstein', the movie's interpretation of the original work, the homages it...

Young Frankenstein is Mel Brooks' take on a classic. The 1974 film that interprets the Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, 'Frankenstein', stars Gene Wilder in the titular role. This week, we discuss the influence of 'Frankenstein', the movie's interpretation of the original work, the homages it pays to other movies portraying it, and it's interesting brand of comedy. Music...

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode. What is a man's relationship with the world? Can one relate to the world beyond the discrete borders of one's being? Austrian philosopher Martin Buber explores. 'Ich and Du', translated as 'I and Thou', is this week's topic of discussion. Written by Martin Buber in 1923, it discusses a b...

What is a man's relationship with the world? Can one relate to the world beyond the discrete borders of one's being? Austrian philosopher Martin Buber explores. 'Ich and Du', translated as 'I and Thou', is this week's topic of discussion. Written by Martin Buber in 1923, it discusses a borderless way of viewing the world, of seeing a greater 'Thou' beyond a simp...

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode. In a moment of frustration against the industry that gave him his life, a little known chef sets upon writing a tell-all into the dark secrets of his industry. He talks about how ordering steak well-made is for suckers and informs the best days to visit restaurants. That insider article, and later book, shot that c...

In a moment of frustration against the industry that gave him his life, a little known chef sets upon writing a tell-all into the dark secrets of his industry. He talks about how ordering steak well-made is for suckers and informs the best days to visit restaurants. That insider article, and later book, shot that chef to stardom. This week we discuss Anthony Bourdain's 1999 New Yorker article, 'Do...

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode. The Great Debaters - Words As Weapons This week we discuss The Great Debaters, a 2007 film directed and starred in by Denzel Washington. We discuss race, the power of advocacy through debate, and the idea of civil disobedience.

In the Jim Crow south of the 1930s, an all black debate team finds an opportunity they could only dream of: debating a white college debate team. As they string together success after success, they bump into the greatest opportunity of all, debating Harvard. The journey towards this goal is filled with lessons about race, their place in the world, and the tools at their disposal to advocate for th...

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode. In Isaac Asimov's seminal short story "The Last Question", humanity, over several generations, continually asks a supercomputer—evolving in complexity from Multivac to AC—how the encroachment of entropy and the potential heat death of the universe can be averted. As civilizations rise and fall, and te...

Isaac Asimov's thought-provoking short story "The Last Question", which intertwines the fate of the universe with humanity's relentless pursuit of knowledge and technological progression. "Can entropy be reversed?" is the daunting question that humanity seeks to answer throughout time and space. So what happens when the most intelligent machine in the universe doesn't have "sufficient data for mea...

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode. Food, its availability, and its makeup have changed drastically over past millennia. Our body has not evolved to keep up. In the talk being discussed, Dr. Pradip Jamnadas advises about how we could eat and fast while respecting our body's evolution and needs. Discussing this 2019 talk, we dive into fasting, our...

Food, its availability, and its makeup have changed drastically over past millennia. Our body has not evolved to keep up. In the talk being discussed, Dr. Pradip Jamnadas advises about how we could eat and fast while respecting our body's evolution and needs. Discussing this 2019 talk, we dive into fasting, our experiences with it, and our society's obsession with sugar. Music by @fyahupon...

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode. Three people are stuck in a room together. One they find they can't leave. The realisation that they are dead and are awaiting judgement, and likely hell, soon follows. The petty annoyances of their fellow sufferers turn to personal suffering for each. A question dawns. Is hell just... other people? This week w...

Three people are stuck in a room together. One they find they can't leave. The realisation that they are dead and are awaiting judgement, and likely hell, soon follows. The petty annoyances of their fellow sufferers turn to personal suffering for each. A question dawns. Is hell just... other people? This week we discuss Sartre's existentialist work from 1944, 'No Exit'. We discuss hell, religion,...