Fresh Lens Podcast

The Techno-Optimist Manifesto

February 15, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 43.2 MB

In this episode, Trish & Hirad discuss Marc Andreesen's techno-optimist manifesto, advancements in AI, accelerationism vs decelerationism, the concept of the right-wing progressive, and the historical follies of progressivism. Links to the articles discussed: - The Techno-Optimist Manifesto - The Rise of the Right Wing Progressive - Yudkowski's call to shut down AI in Time Magazine

The Dawn of Everything - Part 3

November 23, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 61.6 MB

In this final instalment on The Dawn of Everything, we discuss the 3 forms of domination characteristic of the modern state, anarchism, non-western democracies, civilizations that have reversed course, and all kinds of other goodies.

The Dawn of Everything - Part 2

February 24, 2023 06:00 - 52 minutes - 35.9 MB

This is part 2 of our coverage of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. In this episode, we're still laying the foundations to answer the question of why it is that we're stuck in a single political paradigm. We discuss how cultures diverge, why the agricultural revolution wasn't much of a revolution, and how pre-agricultural societies actually lived (spoiler: in all sorts of ways).

The Dawn of Everything - Part 1

October 13, 2022 13:00 - 39 minutes - 27.4 MB

In this episode, we kick off our discussion of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow. We liked Bullshit Jobs so much that we decided to keep going with the Graeber titles. This book examines the ways in which humans have organized themselves since the beginning. In this first part, we talk about the fallacious but popular narratives that have saturated our thinking about the history of humanity and the origins of inequality.

#MahsaAmini

October 01, 2022 04:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MB

In this mini-episode, we talk about the recent events in Hirad's home country of Iran. Hirad shares some recollections about life there, and we use the recent events as a perspective on western issues. This episode is a bit different from the usual Fresh Lens content. We feel it's incumbent upon us to keep the conversation about these events alive, since that is all we can do.

Conversation with Joomi Kim

August 09, 2022 07:00 - 43 minutes - 29.7 MB

Today, Hirad is speaking with Joomi Kim, biologist, researcher, and writer of an excellent Substack. Topics include: how Joomi ended up researching COVID vaccine safety, the parallels between the Iraq war propaganda and today's information climate, and how we can navigate difficult topics. You can find her Substack publication here: https://joomi.substack.com/

Bullshit Jobs - Part 2

August 01, 2022 05:00 - 56 minutes - 38.6 MB

Continuing from the previous episode, we discuss the latter half of David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs. We discuss why such jobs exist and what we might do to remedy the situation.

Bullshit Jobs - Part 1

May 13, 2022 20:00 - 50 minutes - 34.8 MB

In this episode, we discuss Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. Graeber was an anthropologist. In 2013, he wrote an article talking about the phenomena of bullshit jobs - jobs that were unnecessary and pernicious. The article touched the nerve, and Graeber was flooded with hundreds of accounts from the holders of Bullshit Jobs. In this episode, we discuss what bullshit jobs are, Graeber's taxonomy of the types of bullshit jobs, and the effect of these jobs on the psyche of those who hold them. ...

The World for Sale

April 12, 2022 19:00 - 26 minutes - 18.1 MB

We're used to going to stores to buy anything we want at highly affordable prices. But where does our stuff really come from? To answer this, Trish & Hirad have been trying to learn about the world of commodities trading. To help them along the way, they picked up The World for Sale, which chronicles the rise of the commodity traders during the new world order that started after WWII. Tune in to find out in what ways, if any, this book changes the way we see the world.

Science Fictions

February 09, 2022 19:00 - 1 hour - 59.5 MB

In our modern world, science is pegged as our guide to understanding what is true. But while the scientific method is the best way we have found to make sense of the world, scientists and scientific institutions have enormous shortcomings that have come to the fore in recent years. In this episode, we discuss Stuart Ritchie's book, Science Fictions. The book enumerates the different ways in which science can go wrong, the replication crisis, and what we may be able to do to get it back on t...

State of the Pandemic with Dr. Shirin Kalyan

December 06, 2021 18:00 - 1 hour - 66.3 MB

On this very special episode of Fresh Lens, we speak Dr. Shirin Kalyan of the University of British Columbia’s Department of Medicine. Dr. Kalyan is an expert in immunology and immunotherapy. In this episode, we discuss the COVID19 pandemic and the scientific foundations of Canada’s response to it. Dr. Kalyan is a fount of knowledge. Our wide-ranging conversation touches on: The different types of vaccines How mRNA vaccines differ from the past vaccines How the immune system recognizes ...

Discussion with Jonathan Rauch

November 30, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 41.4 MB

This episode is a treat! In our last two book episodes, we covered Kindly Inquisitors and The Constitution of Knowledge, both by Jonathan Rauch. We are delighted to have Jonathan on the show today to talk about both books and some points of disagreement we had when we covered the books. We discuss the nature of moral progress, whether his most recent book was politically biased, and what we can make of the credibility of our knowledge-making institutions, particularly the mainstream media. ...

Mini-sode 2: Facebook

October 12, 2021 21:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MB

The tech company everyone loves to hate has been in the news again. In this episode, we discuss the question of monopoly power as it applies to Facebook and whether its social harms outweigh its benefits.

Episode 8 - The Constitution of Knowledge

September 28, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 67.1 MB

In the previous full-length episode, we read Kindly Inquisitors by Jonathan Rauch. We liked that book so much that we decided to read his latest that covers much the same topics but updated to apply to today's issues. But could Rauch exceed the high bar set by Kindly Inquisitors? Listen and find out. Get the book on Amazon here.

Mini-sode 1 - Epistemic Crisis

September 16, 2021 19:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MB

Who are the gatekeepers of information and truth, and do we even need them? In this short mini episode, we riff on the ideas in Jonathan Rauch's new book The Constitution of Knowledge and our current, collective lack of trust in institutions. You can get the book on Amazon.

Episode 7 - Kindly Inquisitors

August 02, 2021 23:00 - 1 hour - 61.9 MB

Trish and Hirad discuss a 28-year-old book on liberalism and its detractors. After a brief history of what liberalism is and how it developed, we talk about why and how it was under attack in the 90s and how the attacks have changed over the years. Along the way, we argue about whether we can ever really make moral progress and how we need to deal with the reality of historical injustices in liberal societies. As always, the book we discuss in this episode is available here.

Episode 6 – The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind

June 23, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 62.5 MB

Why are some people liberal and others conservative? What makes us land on the political positions that we hold? In this episode, we discuss The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind by Jason Weeden and Robert Kurzban, who are trying to get to the root of these questions. We present the arguments laid out by Kurzban and Weeden in the context of the abortion debate. We also debate its ramifications for political discourse in general. You can get the book on Amazon.

Episode 5 - Nature, Nurture, and Twin Studies

June 15, 2021 18:00 - 1 hour - 48.7 MB

In this episode, we explore the nature versus nurture debate with the help of behavioural genetics. In human development, what matters more - the environment or our genome? Join us for a deep dive into the fascinating research of twins and adoption. From the uncanny similarities of twins reared apart to the effects of different parenting strategies, we untangle what the research says about our genes and environment... and what it doesn't. If you have any feedback on how we can make the sho...

Episode 4 – Who We Are & How We Got Here

May 18, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 49.3 MB

In this episode, we discuss David Reich's book, Who We Are & How We Got Here. Starting with an overview of DNA sequencing technology and how it helps paint a picture of our past, we review what we know about ancient humans: Where did we evolve, and how did we spread around the globe? We discuss early modern humans' interactions with other human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. Then, with a focus on Europe and India, we discuss how modern human populations ended up where they are...

Episode 3 – The Handicap Principle

May 03, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 46.7 MB

Predator and prey, parent and offspring, mates and rivals in courtship – animal communication is ubiquitous. The Handicap Principle provides a fascinating explanation of how organisms with divergent evolutionary needs develop means of reliable communication with one another. Get the book on Amazon. If you have feedback on how we can make the show better, please reach out to us. Our email address is [email protected]. Thanks for listening, Trish & Hirad

Episode 2 – The Extended Phenotype

May 03, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 41.7 MB

Several years after the best-selling book, The Selfish Gene, which was the topic of our first episode, Richard Dawkins published The Extended Phenotype. In this book, Dawkins doubled down on the concept the gene as the central unit of selection and outlined how genes can have effects that reach far outside of the bodies in which they ride, sparking heated debate within the world of biology. Get the book on Amazon. If you have feedback on how we can make the show better, please reach out to...

Episode 1 – The Selfish Gene

May 03, 2021 12:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MB

In this inaugural episode of the Fresh Lens podcast, we talk about a book that has had a profound impact on how both of us see the world – The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. We give a quick overview of the key concepts and talk about what it has meant for each of us. Get the book on Amazon here. If you have feedback on how we can make the show better, please reach out to us. Our email address is [email protected]. Thanks for listening, Trish & Hirad