Best Completely Unprepared Podcasts (2025)

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#222 – Neel Nanda on the race to read AI minds 3:01:11

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32m ago3:01:11

3:01:11

We don’t know how AIs think or why they do what they do. Or at least, we don’t know much. That fact is only becoming more troubling as AIs grow more capable and appear on track to wield enormous cultural influence, directly advise on major government decisions, and even operate military equipment autonomously. We simply can’t tell what models, if a…

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#221 – Kyle Fish on the most bizarre findings from 5 AI welfare experiments 2:28:53

11d ago2:28:53

2:28:53

What happens when you lock two AI systems in a room together and tell them they can discuss anything they want? According to experiments run by Kyle Fish — Anthropic’s first AI welfare researcher — something consistently strange: the models immediately begin discussing their own consciousness before spiraling into increasingly euphoric philosophica…

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How not to lose your job to AI (article by Benjamin Todd) 51:25

1M ago51:25

51:25

About half of people are worried they’ll lose their job to AI. They’re right to be concerned: AI can now complete real-world coding tasks on GitHub, generate photorealistic video, drive a taxi more safely than humans, and do accurate medical diagnosis. And over the next five years, it’s set to continue to improve rapidly. Eventually, mass automatio…

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Highlights: #218 – Hugh White on why Trump is abandoning US hegemony – and that’s probably good 47:13

2M ago47:13

47:13

For decades, US allies have slept soundly under the protection of America’s overwhelming military might. Donald Trump — with his threats to ditch NATO, seize Greenland, and abandon Taiwan — seems hell-bent on shattering that comfort. But according to Hugh White — one of the world's leading strategic thinkers, emeritus professor at the Australian Na…

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Rebuilding after apocalypse: What 13 experts say about bouncing back 4:26:38

2M ago4:26:38

4:26:38

What happens when civilisation faces its greatest tests? This compilation brings together insights from researchers, defence experts, philosophers, and policymakers on humanity’s ability to survive and recover from catastrophic events. From nuclear winter and electromagnetic pulses to pandemics and climate disasters, we explore both the threats tha…

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#220 – Ryan Greenblatt on the 4 most likely ways for AI to take over, and the case for and against AGI in <8 years 2:50:32

2M ago2:50:32

2:50:32

Ryan Greenblatt — lead author on the explosive paper “Alignment faking in large language models” and chief scientist at Redwood Research — thinks there’s a 25% chance that within four years, AI will be able to do everything needed to run an AI company, from writing code to designing experiments to making strategic and business decisions. As Ryan la…

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Highlights: #217 – Beth Barnes on the most important graph in AI right now — and the 7-month rule that governs its progress 40:54

2M ago40:54

40:54

AI models today have a 50% chance of successfully completing a task that would take an expert human one hour. Seven months ago, that number was roughly 30 minutes — and seven months before that, 15 minutes. These are substantial, multi-step tasks requiring sustained focus: building web applications, conducting machine learning research, or solving …

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#219 – Toby Ord on graphs AI companies would prefer you didn't (fully) understand 2:48:22

3M ago2:48:22

2:48:22

The era of making AI smarter just by making it bigger is ending. But that doesn’t mean progress is slowing down — far from it. AI models continue to get much more powerful, just using very different methods, and those underlying technical changes force a big rethink of what coming years will look like. Toby Ord — Oxford philosopher and bestselling …

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#218 – Hugh White on why Trump is abandoning US hegemony – and that’s probably good 2:48:42

3M ago2:48:42

2:48:42

For decades, US allies have slept soundly under the protection of America’s overwhelming military might. Donald Trump — with his threats to ditch NATO, seize Greenland, and abandon Taiwan — seems hell-bent on shattering that comfort. But according to Hugh White — one of the world's leading strategic thinkers, emeritus professor at the Australian Na…

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Patch Job: Kicked Out By A Friend After Six Months In Her Guest Room 17:51

3M ago17:51

17:51

She said she was healing. Her friend said she was freeloading. This week’s confession comes from someone who moved into her friend’s guest room after a messy breakup—and didn’t leave. Six months, zero rent, and a whole lot of unspoken tension later, her friend changed the Wi-Fi password and handed her a formal three-day notice. Yikes. In this Patch…

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#217 – Beth Barnes on the most important graph in AI right now — and the 7-month rule that governs its progress 3:47:09

3M ago3:47:09

3:47:09

AI models today have a 50% chance of successfully completing a task that would take an expert human one hour. Seven months ago, that number was roughly 30 minutes — and seven months before that, 15 minutes. (See graph.) These are substantial, multi-step tasks requiring sustained focus: building web applications, conducting machine learning research…

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Highlights: #216 – Ian Dunt on why governments in Britain and elsewhere can’t get anything done – and how to fix it 30:56

3M ago30:56

30:56

When you have a system where ministers almost never understand their portfolios, civil servants change jobs every few months, and MPs don’t grasp parliamentary procedure even after decades in office — is the problem the people, or the structure they work in? Political journalist Ian Dunt studies the systemic reasons governments succeed and fail. An…

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Beyond human minds: The bewildering frontier of consciousness in insects, AI, and more 3:34:40

4M ago3:34:40

3:34:40

What if there’s something it’s like to be a shrimp — or a chatbot? For centuries, humans have debated the nature of consciousness, often placing ourselves at the very top. But what about the minds of others — both the animals we share this planet with and the artificial intelligences we’re creating? We’ve pulled together clips from past conversatio…

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Highlights: #215 – Tom Davidson on how AI-enabled coups could allow a tiny group to seize power 37:19

4M ago37:19

37:19

Throughout history, technological revolutions have fundamentally shifted the balance of power in society. The Industrial Revolution created conditions where democracies could dominate for the first time — as nations needed educated, informed, and empowered citizens to deploy advanced technologies and remain competitive. Unfortunately, there’s every…

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Don’t believe OpenAI’s “nonprofit” spin (emergency pod with Tyler Whitmer) 1:12:04

4M ago1:12:04

1:12:04

OpenAI’s recent announcement that its nonprofit would “retain control” of its for-profit business sounds reassuring. But this seemingly major concession, celebrated by so many, is in itself largely meaningless. Litigator Tyler Whitmer is a coauthor of a newly published letter that describes this attempted sleight of hand and directs regulators on h…

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Patch Job: Trying to Organize Has Me Crying on My Couch 28:03

4M ago28:03

28:03

If you’ve ever looked around your space and thought “I cannot deal,” then opened Instagram and lost 45 minutes to fridge tours and color coordinated shelf bins, this episode is for you. Our confessor is buried in clutter, frozen by overwhelm, and frustrated that looking at other people’s perfectly organized homes isn’t making her feel any better. H…

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The case for and against AGI by 2030 (article by Benjamin Todd) 1:00:06

4M ago1:00:06

1:00:06

More and more people have been saying that we might have AGI (artificial general intelligence) before 2030. Is that really plausible? This article by Benjamin Todd looks into the cases for and against, and summarises the key things you need to know to understand the debate. You can see all the images and many footnotes in the original article on th…

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Emergency pod: Did OpenAI give up, or is this just a new trap? (with Rose Chan Loui) 1:02:50

4M ago1:02:50

1:02:50

When attorneys general intervene in corporate affairs, it usually means something has gone seriously wrong. In OpenAI’s case, it appears to have forced a dramatic reversal of the company’s plans to sideline its nonprofit foundation, announced in a blog post that made headlines worldwide. The company’s sudden announcement that its nonprofit will “re…

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#216 – Ian Dunt on why governments in Britain and elsewhere can't get anything done – and how to fix it 3:14:52

4M ago3:14:52

3:14:52

When you have a system where ministers almost never understand their portfolios, civil servants change jobs every few months, and MPs don't grasp parliamentary procedure even after decades in office — is the problem the people, or the structure they work in? Today's guest, political journalist Ian Dunt, studies the systemic reasons governments succ…

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The Nephilim Hunter - Season 1, Episode 5 - Season Finale 28:51

4M ago28:51

28:51

Overview: The Olympic National Park hosts 4 different temperate rain forests. Each one is dense. Each one is dark. Each one hosts old growth trees dating back a thousand years. Now, they host something even older -- and darker. Now, they host - The Nephilim. Episode 5: Act 1 - "I mean really... Nephilim?" Commander Nussbaum relieves Captain Broderi…

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Patch Job: I Don't Want to Have a Sad Dad House 20:43

4M ago20:43

20:43

We’re taking a short break from full-length episodes while I sort through new confessions for Season Two—but in the meantime, welcome to Patch Job, a mini-series from True Home Confessions! Each week on Patch Job, we share one anonymous home-related confession and patch it up with advice from real listeners (and a little help from me, Laurie March)…

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Serendipity, weird bets, & cold emails that actually work: Career advice from 16 former guests 2:18:41

5M ago2:18:41

2:18:41

How do you navigate a career path when the future of work is uncertain? How important is mentorship versus immediate impact? Is it better to focus on your strengths or on the world’s most pressing problems? Should you specialise deeply or develop a unique combination of skills? From embracing failure to finding unlikely allies, we bring you 16 dive…

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Highlights: #214 – Buck Shlegeris on controlling AI that wants to take over – so we can use it anyway 41:26

5M ago41:26

41:26

Most AI safety conversations centre on alignment: ensuring AI systems share our values and goals. But despite progress, we’re unlikely to know we’ve solved the problem before the arrival of human-level and superhuman systems in as little as three years. So some — including Buck Shlegeris, CEO of Redwood Research — are developing a backup plan to sa…

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#215 – Tom Davidson on how AI-enabled coups could allow a tiny group to seize power 3:22:44

5M ago3:22:44

3:22:44

Throughout history, technological revolutions have fundamentally shifted the balance of power in society. The Industrial Revolution created conditions where democracies could flourish for the first time — as nations needed educated, informed, and empowered citizens to deploy advanced technologies and remain competitive. Unfortunately there’s every …

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I'm Completely Unprepared for Disaster 52:35

5M ago52:35

52:35

Wrapping up Season One, we swoop in with one of our most hilarious episodes, chock full of relatable moments and comedy gold. Our confessor called to say that even though he lives in Los Angeles, he finds himself completely unprepared for earthquakes. Like - he has NOTHING. His final words are, "I feel like if the apocalypse hits, I'm just going to…

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The Nephilim Hunter - Season 1 - Episode 4:"She Was Still Growling" 29:46

5M ago29:46

29:46

Overview: The Olympic National Park hosts 4 different temperate rain forests. Each one is dense. Each one is dark. Each one hosts old growth trees dating back a thousand years. Now, they host something even older -- and darker. Now, they host - The Nephilim. Episode 4: The Fishcops fight to protect their station from an attack by the Nephilim and d…

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Guilt, imposter syndrome & doing good: 16 past guests share their mental health journeys 1:47:10

5M ago1:47:10

1:47:10

"We are aiming for a place where we can decouple the scorecard from our worthiness. It’s of course the case that in trying to optimise the good, we will always be falling short. The question is how much, and in what ways are we not there yet? And if we then extrapolate that to how much and in what ways am I not enough, that’s where we run into trou…

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Help! My Neighbor Heard Me Having Sex 52:49

5M ago52:49

52:49

In this week's spicy episode of True Home Confessions, we hear from Will - a young man who's facing an awkward situation with his elderly neighbor. She's not shy about letting him know that she can hear him and his girlfriend getting busy in their thin-walled apartment! He's called in to tell us - she's cornered him in the garage to confront him, a…

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#214 – Buck Shlegeris on controlling AI that wants to take over – so we can use it anyway 2:16:03

5M ago2:16:03

2:16:03

Most AI safety conversations centre on alignment: ensuring AI systems share our values and goals. But despite progress, we’re unlikely to know we’ve solved the problem before the arrival of human-level and superhuman systems in as little as three years. So some are developing a backup plan to safely deploy models we fear are actively scheming to ha…

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Off the Clock #8: Leaving Las London with Matt Reardon 1:43:21

5M ago1:43:21

1:43:21

Watch this episode on YouTube! https://youtu.be/fJssGodnCQg Conor and Arden sit down with Matt in his farewell episode to discuss the law, their team retreat, his lessons learned from 80k, and the fate of the show.By The 80,000 Hours team

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Should I Buy a House With My Aging, Boomer Parent? 57:11

5M ago57:11

57:11

What exactly do we owe our aging parents, if the relationship is strained? In this episode, our caller opens up about her difficult relationship with her belligerent mother, who’s losing her independence due to health issues. Despite a few falls and mobility struggles, her mother refuses to consider other living options, like community housing or a…

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15 expert takes on infosec in the age of AI 2:35:54

5M ago2:35:54

2:35:54

"There’s almost no story of the future going well that doesn’t have a part that’s like '…and no evil person steals the AI weights and goes and does evil stuff.' So it has highlighted the importance of information security: 'You’re training a powerful AI system; you should make it hard for someone to steal' has popped out to me as a thing that just …

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The Nephilim Hunter - Season 1: Episode 3 - "A Death Sentence" 21:50

5M ago21:50

21:50

Overview: The Olympic National Park hosts 4 different temperate rain forests. Each one is dense. Each one is dark. Each one hosts old growth trees dating back a thousand years. Now, they host something even older -- and darker. Now, they host - The Nephilim. Episode 3: Hardy and Simmons are back at it and there are more killings in the park. Only, …

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Highlights: #213 – Will MacAskill on AI causing a “century in a decade” — and how we’re completely unprepared 33:35

6M ago33:35

33:35

The 20th century saw unprecedented change: nuclear weapons, satellites, the rise and fall of communism, third-wave feminism, the internet, postmodernism, game theory, genetic engineering, the Big Bang theory, quantum mechanics, birth control, and more. Now imagine all of it compressed into just 10 years. That’s the future Will MacAskill — philosoph…

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Living Zero Waste is Destroying My Mental Health 52:00

6M ago52:00

52:00

Is It Possible to Recycle... TOO MUCH? In this episode, we dive into the ups and downs of striving for a zero-waste lifestyle. Our confessor shares his journey from feeling empowered by small changes like shopping in bulk, going dairy-free, and embracing a more eco-friendly lifestyle - to becoming completely overwhelmed by the obsession with Zero-W…

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The Nephilim Hunter - Season 1: Episode 2 - "A Willing Victim" 18:50

6M ago18:50

18:50

Overview: The Olympic National Park hosts 4 different temperate rain forests. Each one is dense. Each one is dark. Each one hosts old growth trees dating back a thousand years. Now, they host something even older -- and darker. Now, they host—The Nephilim. Episode 2: Upon their release from the hospital, Hardy and Simmons return to the scene of the…

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I'm a Minimalist - But My Mom Won't Stop Buying Me Stuff! 37:07

6M ago37:07

37:07

What happens when your mom’s love language is gift-giving—but you’re drowning in things you don’t want? In this episode, we explore a common struggle: how to navigate family dynamics when your minimalist lifestyle clashes with parents' well-meaning gifting habits. Today’s confessor lives in a tiny apartment, follows a minimalist lifestyle, and love…

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Highlights: #212 – Allan Dafoe on why technology is unstoppable & how to shape AI development anyway 29:21

6M ago29:21

29:21

Technology doesn’t force us to do anything — it merely opens doors. But military and economic competition pushes us through. That’s how Allan Dafoe — director of frontier safety and governance at Google DeepMind — explains one of the deepest patterns in technological history: once a powerful new capability becomes available, societies that adopt it…

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#213 – Will MacAskill on AI causing a “century in a decade” – and how we're completely unprepared 3:57:36

6M ago3:57:36

3:57:36

The 20th century saw unprecedented change: nuclear weapons, satellites, the rise and fall of communism, third-wave feminism, the internet, postmodernism, game theory, genetic engineering, the Big Bang theory, quantum mechanics, birth control, and more. Now imagine all of it compressed into just 10 years. That’s the future Will MacAskill — philosoph…

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Yesterday My House Caught on Fire. What Am I Supposed to Do Now? 48:16

6M ago48:16

48:16

This episode of True Home Confessions features a call from Bob and Jan, friends of a THC show producer, who had a huge fire in their house yesterday. Everyone got out okay, including the cat, but Bob is shocked, and trying to figure out what to do first. They have a place to stay, but Bob is looking for advice on what he should do immediately. In e…

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Emergency pod: Judge plants a legal time bomb under OpenAI (with Rose Chan Loui) 36:50

6M ago36:50

36:50

When OpenAI announced plans to convert from nonprofit to for-profit control last October, it likely didn’t anticipate the legal labyrinth it now faces. A recent court order in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the company suggests OpenAI’s restructuring faces serious legal threats, which will complicate its efforts to raise tens of billions in investment…

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My Mom is Building an Entire Room for her Dog 37:19

6M ago37:19

37:19

This episode of True Home Confessions features an anonymous caller who is seriously concerned about his parents. They're doing a big remodel with major customizations for their 'furry family members.' Is it crazy to put a Dog Room into a house - and are they over investing? How far is too far when you're obsessed with your dogs and want them to hav…

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The Nephilim Hunter - Season 1: Episode 1 - "Should've Stayed In Tucson." 24:43

6M ago24:43

24:43

The Nephilim Hunter Episode 1: Rufus Hardy, Fishcop. After twenty-seven years working for the Department of Fish and Game, he’s ready to collect on his pension. But, the universe, it seems, has other plans for him. Opening: The Olympic National Park hosts 4 different temperate rainforests. Each one is dense. Each one is dark. Each one hosts old gro…

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#139 Classic episode – Alan Hájek on puzzles and paradoxes in probability and expected value 3:41:31

7M ago3:41:31

3:41:31

A casino offers you a game. A coin will be tossed. If it comes up heads on the first flip you win $2. If it comes up on the second flip you win $4. If it comes up on the third you win $8, the fourth you win $16, and so on. How much should you be willing to pay to play? The standard way of analysing gambling problems, ‘expected value’ — in which you…

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I Take Scissors to the Plant Store - Green Thumb or Sticky Fingers? 50:20

7M ago50:20

50:20

This episode of True Home Confessions features an anonymous caller who, through the pandemic, picked up a morally ambiguous habit: he started collecting broken branches and succulent leaves from the plant section at Walmart. After early success keeping these bits alive, our caller graduated to bringing his scissors to the store to take his own cutt…

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#143 Classic episode – Jeffrey Lewis on the most common misconceptions about nuclear weapons 2:40:52

7M ago2:40:52

2:40:52

America aims to avoid nuclear war by relying on the principle of 'mutually assured destruction,' right? Wrong. Or at least... not officially. As today's guest — Jeffrey Lewis, founder of Arms Control Wonk and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies — explains, in its official 'OPLANs' (military operation plans), the US is com…

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Dating Disaster: He's Stealing His Neighbor's Wifi 54:30

7M ago54:30

54:30

This episode of True Home Confessions features a call from Abbey, who recently went on a date with a guy who spilled his secret: He’s been blatantly stealing his neighbor’s wifi ever since his elderly neighbor asked him for help with her connectivity – and he’s proud of it. How is this even possible, and should she be sketched out or inspired by th…

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#212 – Allan Dafoe on why technology is unstoppable & how to shape AI development anyway 2:44:07

7M ago2:44:07

2:44:07

Technology doesn’t force us to do anything — it merely opens doors. But military and economic competition pushes us through. That’s how today’s guest Allan Dafoe — director of frontier safety and governance at Google DeepMind — explains one of the deepest patterns in technological history: once a powerful new capability becomes available, societies…

1
Emergency pod: Elon tries to crash OpenAI's party (with Rose Chan Loui) 57:29

7M ago57:29

57:29

On Monday Musk made the OpenAI nonprofit foundation an offer they want to refuse, but might have trouble doing so: $97.4 billion for its stake in the for-profit company, plus the freedom to stick with its current charitable mission. For a normal company takeover bid, this would already be spicy. But OpenAI’s unique structure — a nonprofit foundatio…

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AGI disagreements and misconceptions: Rob, Luisa, & past guests hash it out 3:12:24

7M ago3:12:24

3:12:24

Will LLMs soon be made into autonomous agents? Will they lead to job losses? Is AI misinformation overblown? Will it prove easy or hard to create AGI? And how likely is it that it will feel like something to be a superhuman AGI? With AGI back in the headlines, we bring you 15 opinionated highlights from the show addressing those and other questions…