Affix
42 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingBrian and Chris always said that if they couldn't have a morning coffee together at work each day, they'd start a podcast to make sure they catch up regularly.This is the conversation they want to have and will range from finance and economics to philosophy and management theory
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Episodes
Episode 39: Everything is Average, Except Diablo II and Brian's titling skills
June 07, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 33.1 MBWe have a substack now!! If you click on no other link ever on the show notes except this one then you'll get all the show notes from now on in your email!! Please contact us we miss you! I think you can also just reply to this email if you’re on substack? You can also find us on discord or reddit The obligitory Big list of coffee bets This week we discuss the Age of Average by Alex Murell. We're sort of stumped by what to make of it, as it superficially makes some good points, but fal...
Episode 38: Bad Job Applications
May 03, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBWe have a substack now!! If you click on no other link ever on the show notes except this one then you'll get all the show notes from now on in your email!! Please contact us we miss you! I think you can also just reply to this email if you’re on substack? You can also find us on discord or reddit The obligitory Big list of coffee bets This week we discuss a list of job applications questions submitted by a user. List below! Which three books have influenced you the most? What do you...
Episode 37: Dying With Zero Trolley Problems
August 28, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 50.5 MBWe have a substack now!! If you click on no other link ever on the show notes except this one then you'll get all the show notes from now on in your email!! Please contact us we miss you! I think you can also just reply to this email if you’re on substack? You can also find us on discord or reddit The obligitory Big list of coffee bets This week we discuss an ok-ish book that proves to be a good kicking off point for a conversation Die with Zero by Bill Perkins. Brian skimmed some blogs...
Episode 36: Ok guys and stupendous gals
July 02, 2022 01:00 - 59 minutes - 40.9 MBPlease contact us we miss you! This week we discuss The Wife Drought by Annabel Crab. You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meaning is a jumper you have to knit yourself - it keeps you warm Ideas, Technology, and Economic Change: The Impact of the Printing Press Fortune 500 companies employ 17.5% of the total U.S. workforce
Episode 35: Cough-ee bets resolved
May 08, 2022 06:00 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MBPlease contact us we miss you! This week we once again discuss whether progress is over, or even if people still want progress! The lure of technocracy can be great or terrible You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pluto 1994 vs 2018 - PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK! I REALLY LIKE WHEN PEOPLE CLICK MY LINKS! Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue. A true ...
Episode 34: We're pretty rusty
February 27, 2022 07:00 - 43 minutes - 30.2 MBPlease contact us we miss you! Chris wants to get into micro-grids. If you know anything about them please tell me! Our main article is about jobs that pay in status instead of money. You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The year ahead - by the RBA. Chris got the gist, maybe you will too? Context is that which is scarce. Also apparently editors? I feel like that sentence could ...
Episode 33: Suffix
October 24, 2021 00:00 - 52 minutes - 36.2 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! This will be the last of our regularly scheduled episode. As our lives ramp up and we take on different responsibilities we have decided to take a break from our schedule. We may come back from time to time, so if you'll have us in your feed, we'd love to stay! This week we mostly talk about ways we could use more energy after Matt Yglesias convinced us that we should You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also...
Episode 32: A replication machine makes the rich richer
October 10, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 43 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! This week we discuss what's gone wrong with science and the replication crisis. We also discuss how inequality may improve life globally riffing off Scott Sumner. You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A plug for effective altruism - the statistical life you can save is still a life! Dominic Cummins has though...
Episode 31: Fat public servants
September 19, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 48.5 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! This week we discuss why the internet intelligentsia really do not like the Australian lockdowns (each word is a different link, that's how much they hate us). I try to explain to Brian why Slime Mold Time Mold thinks we're getting fat. Something to do with chemicals? Brian is launching his world famous youtube channel!!! You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. ---------------------------...
Episode 31: Fat public servants
September 19, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 48.5 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! This week we discuss why the internet intelligentsia really do not like the Australian lockdowns (each word is a different link, that's how much they hate us). I try to explain to Brian why Slime Mold Time Mold thinks we're getting fat. Something to do with chemicals? Brian is launching his world famous youtube channel!!! You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. ---------------------------...
Episode 30: Maybe we all need to chill?
September 05, 2021 00:00 - 53 minutes - 36.8 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! After opening this discussion saying we have no feedback or followup we spend half this podcast musing on questions raised about government power and growth. Our main topic this week is how politics isn't as bad as you think. You're allowed to not vote for someone because you don't like their tax policies, you don't have to paint them as an existensial threat to our entire way of life. If you know whether an Australian minister can fire a public ...
Episode 29: Wealth inequality followed by income inequality....all topics are equal
August 22, 2021 01:00 - 1 hour - 48.6 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! This week we once again revisit the topic of wealth and income inequality, first through the lens of cryptocurrency and then through the lens of if it matters at all (I mean....probably...at least a bit). You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. Digitization and the demand for physical books Nintendo sues a ROM website and wins.....not that much money compared to the size of Ninentdo If th...
Episode 28: We shouldn't have talked about tri-cam-eralism without Cam - SPECIAL GUEST
August 08, 2021 01:00 - 1 hour - 48.5 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! A discussion of aging and wisdom, more forms of government that we should try, and Chris exhorts you, yes you specifically, to become a billionaire. You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm just going to put a link to Marginal Revolution here. I feel like all we do is reference blogs we found there first. ...
Episode 27: The bleeps are Richards, not Copulation
July 25, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 44.6 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! Our major topic this week is on Tricameral Legislatures by slime-mold time-mold. What if instead of 2 branches of government we had 3? According to this article, something either very silly, or possibly a little profound. You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. Could a issue and project tracking system work outside of software? Using prediction markets to fund investigative journalism The...
Episode 25: We're moving backwards in time, one tangent at a time.
July 11, 2021 01:00 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! Our main topics this week are Brian pushing back to the tyranny of merit on the Jolly Swagman podcast. Brian actually recorded an entire rant on this, but has mellowed to the point where we're willing to share his musings with you. Chris found Noah Smith's interview with Marc Andreesen fascinating and used it to kick off 7 million tangents. You can also find us on discord or reddit Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. The Dutch ...
Episode 26: We *are* peak culture
June 27, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 41.4 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! We are moving the show to fortnightly. We still love you all, it's just a lot of work (mostly for Brian) This week we talk about total factor productivity growth, and whether higher wages (through worker power, alternatives like UBI or minimum wage laws) cause greater innovation. Chris forgets that the Dutch had colonies despite his Oma (grandmother) growing up in one, and we discuss peak culture, and whether the Affix Podcast actually *is* pe...
Episode 24: Live Episode with conversation with chat
June 20, 2021 01:00 - 1 hour - 49.1 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! If you can, this might be more fun to watch on Twitch or YouTube where you can read the chat and see our pretty faces. This week is our live show. Editing is light and trolls are unfortunately fed. We riff on "Conversations with Tyler" by doing over-rated vs under-rated. Let chat adjudicate our coffee bets and talk with chat. You can also find us on discord Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. ---------------------------------...
Episode 23: Previously known as Untitled
June 12, 2021 02:00 - 59 minutes - 41.1 MBOur live show is in one week on Brian's twitch stream!!!!! 13th of June 8pm AEST!!!! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! This week Chris and Brian discuss whether we should burn down Atlanta in the name of science (don't worry, we'd let all the people out first). Then, substacks actually change Chris' life (in a pretty minor way, but still!) You can also find us on discord Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. Sorry to anyone who downloaded this episode while it ...
Episode 22: Blood...patent pending
June 06, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 48.4 MBOur live show is in one week on Brian's twitch stream!!!!! 13th of June 8pm AEST!!!! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! Brian and Chris discuss markets in everything, particularly blood plasma and organs. We talk about patents, one of the first topics Chris liked to read about. We make bets on how Australia opens up it's borders and Chris pretends to be knowledgable about Diablo 2 You can also find us on discord Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. -------------...
Episode 21: Old tech, new tech, fin-tech, coup tech
May 28, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 42.5 MBOur live show is coming! 13th of June 8pm AEST!!!! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! This week Chris and Brian have a meandering discussion on military technology, stagnation, time horzions and "10 year syndrome". We also discuss the new technology of crypto-currency and the cults of personality that it inspires You can also find us on discord Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forc...
Episode 20: Solar Powered Innovators
May 23, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 46 MBOur live show is coming! 13th of June 8pm AEST!!!! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! You can also find us on discord Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. This week Brian and Chris stray from the script once more by discussing a number of different positions and sources on the topic of renewable power, particularly batteries and solar. We also discuss why nuclear power has been a flop, whether founders are superior to inheritors and all the (Straussian) news from...
Episode 19: Brian both thinks and therefore is, Chris does neither.
May 16, 2021 01:00 - 59 minutes - 41.1 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! You can also find us on discord Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This week the discussion centres around the new super-annuation scheme changes, and about defined contribution schemes in general. We also try to think about whether we have free will Chris' favourite Feynman story ever and an excellent autobiography Sam Harris has thoughts on free wil...
Episode 18: Elites and Experts (we definitely manage to be neither)
May 09, 2021 01:00 - 1 hour - 43 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! Our main topic today is Elites vs Experts by Robin Hanson. He's very smart, but not terribly likeable so we have to go back and forth defending him and attacking him. We talk about minimum wage, whether behavioural economics really replicates and why are there no aliens anyway? Big list of coffee bets - now also on Melange app. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The endless saga of "Is Dunkin Donuts in Austra...
Episode 17: Scout mindset (no not those scouts, it's not the best title for a book)
May 01, 2021 01:00 - 1 hour - 42.7 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! This episode our main topic is Julia Galef's new book. Julia is a much better podcaster than us, and also probably a better author. Her new book scout mindset is an exploration on how to seek the truth instead of just defend your pre-existing views. Brian pronounces rhetoric incorrectly a lot and Chris fails to make fun of him because he wasn't yet confident of his preferred pronunciation. Big list of coffee bets Jared Diamond - author of guns ...
Episode 16: Emails from Sapiens
April 25, 2021 01:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! Chris picks fights with MacroBioBoi (probably because he's jealous of Brian's new podcast best friend). We discuss another book on the entire history of the world with Sapiens. We muse on population ethics and whether we have an obligation to future populations. We discuss UBI and how having "enough" can change your career and consumption habits. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
Special Episode: Interview with Macrobioboi
April 18, 2021 01:00 - 46 minutes - 31.8 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! As Chris was travelling this week Brian got to host a very special episode interviewing MacroBioBoi, one of the top Diablo 2 streamers. They discuss what it's like to be a streamer, accents and how the Diablo content industry works. A very enjoyable interview even if you don't care about Diablo at all (and speaking as Chris, I don't!) Next week we'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming where we discuss whatever we talked about las...
Episode 15: Decadant feedback and society
April 11, 2021 01:00 - 1 hour - 49 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! This episode Chris has a book review on "The decadent society", hard to explain, but very impactful. We have further reflections on meritocracy, UBI, and womens happiness. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The main book by Ross Douthat - The decadent society: How we became victims of our own success Whatever Brian's weird reference was in the opening The paradox of declining womens happiness - By ma...
Episode 14: Listener Feedback and Coffee Bets Paid!
April 03, 2021 22:00 - 1 hour - 43.9 MBA very special Affix episode where Brian and Chris sit across the table in real life and try to avoid looking at each other in the eye. To commemorate this visit we did a listener feedback episode. We follow up on FI/RE, how to build media patronage, a mea culpa from Chris, significant discussion on wage growth and a long bet and discussion on the minimum wage. Please contact us or support us on Patreon! (¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯·.¸¸.·´¯·.¸¸.·´¯·.¸¸.·´¯) ( \ ...
Episode 13: The merits of meritocracy
March 28, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 43.7 MB(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯·.¸¸.·´¯·.¸¸.·´¯·.¸¸.·´¯) ( \ / ) ( \ ) ( / ) ( ) ( VOTE WITH US!!! ) ( ) ( / ) ( \ ) ( / \ ) (_.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`) Or contact us or support us on Patreon! This week we discuss meritocracy and psychopaths, we muse if the ...
Episode 12: A Flowing Financial Independence Xploration
March 21, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 48.7 MBDon't forget to reccommend us to your friends! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! BIG NEWS! Vote along with us on the list of coffee bets! Big list of coffee bets This week we discuss the topic that initial brought Brian and Chris together FI/RE. The idea that by living frugally and earning well you can retire much earlier than is typical, in your 30s or even 20s. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fifty years of Monetary Policy - wha...
Episode 11: Who reports on the reporters?
March 14, 2021 02:00 - 57 minutes - 39.9 MBDon't forget to reccommend us to your friends! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! In this episode Brian and Chris get dangerously close to having original ideas about the news and information distribution. Don't worry, we'll go back to just reading other people's opinions next week. We discuss interest rates and power, ponder Stoic philosophy and Brian has so much Diablo 2 news that he can't contain it to just this podcast! Big list of coffee bets -----------------------------...
Episode 10: I'll be moral, UBI
March 07, 2021 04:00 - 53 minutes - 36.8 MBIn this episode we have a listener suggested topic of UBI, how affordable it might be in Australia and if it would help or harm over-all. We talk about moral foundations, and find an actual disagreement between Brian and Chris (please tell us who you agree with). And of course we bring you all the news from D2 speedruns and another coffee bet! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! Big list of coffee bets --------------------------------------------------- Federalism in the UK - s...
Episode 9: Overwhelming show of force
February 28, 2021 03:00 - 51 minutes - 35.7 MBIn this episode Brian and Chris discuss pandemic preparedness and how Bill and Melinda Gates have(n't?) helped. We use our media empire to wage war on Facebook and the Australian media and have genuine Diablo II news rather than just more nonsense! Please contact us or support us on Patreon! Big list of coffee bets --------------------------------------------------- BBC TV Licence Why is pluto not a planet (dubious....) Belt vs Girdle Bill and Melinda gates annual letter Inside Bill...
Episode 8: Power, the great leveller and biting our tongues
February 21, 2021 01:00 - 54 minutes - 37.2 MBThis episode we discuss types of power from Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan. We muse over inequality and what it takes to stop it through the lens of Walther Scheidel's "The Great Leveller". We discuss politics and why we hate talking about politics (we like to think all our opinions on economics are just common sense and are in no way political). We bet on whether TSMC can ever be taken down from their dominant spot manufacturing chips and, of course, bring you new ways to play and break world rec...
Episode 7: Categorization and Inequality
February 14, 2021 02:00 - 53 minutes - 37 MBPlease contact us or support us on Patreon! In this episode Brian and Chris discuss shareholder value, important categorization problems such as whether a hotdog is a sandwich or ice is a rock. We talk about inequality in Australia and bet on whether movies will ever make a comeback (of course not, everyone just listens to podcasts now) The Friedman Doctrine holds that a corporations only purpose is to return value to shareholders Did Brian edit the Shareholder Value wikipedia page? Th...
Episode 6: Technocrats and Journalism: A recipe for rhetorical dominance?
February 07, 2021 05:00 - 58 minutes - 40 MBIn this episode we review the state of FLOSS software, the things going right and the things going wrong. We discuss if it's good to be a technocrat, and when that can go wrong, and sigh with disbelief at the google vs australian newspaper fight. Please contact us or support us on Patreon! Tidelift - a new way to pay for open source How one programmer broke the internet by deleting a tiny piece of code Economic vs Rhetorical Dominance - Bryan Caplan Contra Weyl on Technocracy Weyl's re...
Episode 5: Infinite Credentials
January 31, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 42 MBPlease support our patreon!! We discuss "the infinite game" by Simon Sinek. Decide that we all need to be better capitalists, and some of what we've learned from Scott Alexander, our favorite auhor (technically just Chris's favorite author, but he feels strongly enough about it to speak for Brian too) Simon Sinek - The infinite game Astral Codex Ten - Scott Alexander Meditations on Moloch Big list of coffee bets Bender's speedrun Mekalb's speedrun
Episode 4: Fraud, FLOSS and working from home
January 24, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 43.5 MBThis episode we discuss alternative theories of government and economics. Could we police the whole world purely through securities fraud law? Are there better models for open source software development? Look forward to not really finding satisfying answers to these obviously clickbait questions! Also, good news and bad news. We have reached the point in this podcast where we are starting to have to pay for boring things like hosting and domain names. If you're enjoying the podcast and wa...
Episode 3: Apologies, intangibles and stagnation
January 17, 2021 01:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBIn this episode we apologise to Bryan Caplan and reveal ourselves to be the full throated, selfish libertarians you always suspected we were. We discuss the similarities between codebases and factories, and determine if economic progress halted in the 70s. Capitalism without capital The Great stagnation Productivity graph Evil doom number - we used to have to actually optimize our code DALL-E - an amazing application of AI to draw pictures based on text input AGDQ - awesome games done...
Episode 2: Should we even follow laws?
January 09, 2021 07:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBIn this episode Brian and Chris discuss the ethical weight of law, should we be able to drive faster, what plato has in common with podcasts and a WORLD RECORD diablo II run! Bryan Caplan - The righteous scofflaw -How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie Escaping paternalism book club Stopping distances of cars (I really wish I could find how this has improved over the years, but couldn’t turn anything up quickly. Perhaps our listeners can help? Very bad wizards w...
Episode 1: CovUK and Zvi Mowshowitz
January 04, 2021 08:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBThe Trolley Problem: There is a runaway trolley barrelling down the railway tracks. On the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. You are standing next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks with one person on the side track. You have two options: Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track. Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person. QALY - Qua...
Trailer
December 15, 2020 07:00 - 13 seconds - 203 KBI know you all can't wait until the release of our podcast, so here's 13 seconds of Chris' voice introducing things to tide you over until then.