Best jacob sutton Podcasts (2025)

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Some thoughts on the Sutton interview 11:39

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2d ago11:39

11:39

I have a much better understanding of Sutton’s perspective now. I wanted to reflect on it a bit. (00:00:00) - The steelman (00:02:42) - TLDR of my current thoughts (00:03:22) - Imitation learning is continuous with and complementary to RL (00:08:26) - Continual learning (00:10:31) - Concluding thoughts Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwa…

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[Preview] City of Sunset Tree (MX #16) 12:22

4d ago12:22

12:22

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/140334720 It's September's music exchange coming at you a few days late. Sorry about that. On this installment, Josh and I discuss City of Evil by Avenged Sevenf…

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Wild Faith, ft. Talia Lavin 1:04:46

7d ago1:04:46

1:04:46

We’re delighted to welcome author and journalist Talia Lavin to the show to discuss her book, “Wild Faith: How the Christian right is taking over America.” This is a broad topic that we know a lot of you are interested in. We touch on the rise of the Moral Majority, the mainstreaming of the Satanic Panic, the unwavering faith of true believers, and…

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From Patriot to Nomad (feat. Jacob Dallas) 2:20:08

9d ago2:20:08

2:20:08

On today's episode, Jacob Dallas (The Socialist Shelf) joins Jackal and Josiah to talk about Captain America and the way he evolved from a symbol of proud patriotic anti-fascism in the 1940s, to disenchanted liberal in the 70s, to heartbroken hero in the 2000s. Pre-order Jacob's novel, They Called Her Rebel, here: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com…

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Richard Sutton – Father of RL thinks LLMs are a dead end 1:06:22

11d ago1:06:22

1:06:22

Richard Sutton is the father of reinforcement learning, winner of the 2024 Turing Award, and author of The Bitter Lesson. And he thinks LLMs are a dead end. After interviewing him, my steel man of Richard’s position is this: LLMs aren’t capable of learning on-the-job, so no matter how much we scale, we’ll need some new architecture to enable contin…

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Roch Cholowsky and Liam Peterson go back to school! 46:37

11d ago46:37

46:37

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and Florida RHP Liam Peterson headline season six and the start of the 2026 season. They share lessons in failure, family, and their future in major league baseball. Roch's vision boards have become a staple in his college career, he shares his visions for 2026 and Liam's College World Series experience paired with Kev…

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Literally 1984 2:11:12

14d ago2:11:12

2:11:12

“1984 is a great fiction novel to read but it seems like it is becoming the reality we are currently living under more and more each day” —noted genius Madison Cawthorn Today we get into THE dystopian giant, Georgia Orwell’s 1949 novel, “1984.” We have mixed feelings. Learn about the very earnest and very annoying George Orwell, a man of often good…

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How To Not Get Cancelled 8:45

14d ago8:45

8:45

What does a real apology look like? In this video, Brad Gage breaks down how Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon avoided being fully cancelled during the #MeToo movement by offering something few public figures ever manage: a genuine apology. On Real Feels, we explore how stories, movies, and culture reflect the modern struggles of masculinity, ac…

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[Preview] Fruitless Sports Corner (FSC #1) 15:00

19d ago15:00

15:00

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/139132098 Welcome to the Fruitless Sports Corner (FSC): a now semi-reoccurring series where Josiah, Nathan Thiessen, Chris Barker, and Jake the Lawyer talk about…

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Article Brain: The Pronouned Masses 1:05:16

20d ago1:05:16

1:05:16

Article Brain returns! Once again, we try to drive each other insane with articles, and this time both comes from close to home… Yeah scrapping all our institutions of public health is bad, but have you considered maybe they deserve it because sometimes doctors try to be trans inclusive? That’s what our first article seems to think. And then we tal…

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Author Spotlight: Copaganda with Alec Karakatsanis 50:35

25d ago50:35

50:35

It’s a bonus episode!! Lenore sat down with Alec Karakatsanis, civil rights lawyer and author of the book, “Copaganda” and a newsletter by the same name, to talk about his writing, the deeply violent nature of the American police state, and the way our media plays an active role in carrying out police terror Get Alec’s book here! Read Alec’s newsle…

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Fully autonomous robots are much closer than you think – Sergey Levine 1:28:28

25d ago1:28:28

1:28:28

Sergey Levine, one of the world’s top robotics researchers and co-founder of Physical Intelligence, thinks we’re on the cusp of a “self-improvement flywheel” for general-purpose robots. His median estimate for when robots will be able to run households entirely autonomously? 2030. If Sergey’s right, the world 5 years from now will be an insanely di…

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The Sleepers, ft. Josh Boerman 2:03:04

28d ago2:03:04

2:03:04

The Sleepers? Yeah, I sure do feel sleepy trying to get through this damn book! The great Josh Boerman returns to the pod to talk about Matthew Gasda’s truly heinous 2025 novel, “The Sleepers.” We discuss the hack nature of the “post left,” the long 2016, and the strange enduring rage a certain type of guy holds for Chapo Trap House. We also get re…

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We're Just Here For the Bad Guys 1:53:56

30d ago1:53:56

1:53:56

On today's episode, Josh, Alien, and Josiah tackle Matt Johnson's 2013 black comedy, The Dirties. We discuss Matt Johnson's filmmaking career and his unique mockumentary style before exploring what this film has to say about the media environment surrounding school shootings. Become a Fruitless Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 C…

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How Hitler almost starved Britain – Sarah Paine 1:35:17

1M ago1:35:17

1:35:17

In this lecture, military historian Sarah Paine explains how Britain used sea control, peripheral campaigns, and alliances to defeat Nazi Germany during WWII. She then applies this framework to today, arguing that Russia and China are similarly constrained by their geography, making them vulnerable in any conflict with maritime powers (like the U.S…

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Evil Blockbuster: Universal Harvester: ft. Josiah Sutton 1:52:02

1M ago1:52:02

1:52:02

It’s Iowa time. Josiah Sutton of Fruitless joins us to discuss John Darnielle’s (of “The Mountain Goats” tame) Midwestern Gothic semi-horror, “Universal Harvester.” Themes: Iowa, corn, VHS tapes, beer, loneliness, more Iowa. If you like our show, you’ll like Fruitless. Check it out now! Episode art is a whole lot going on at a barn…

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[Preview] Steal This Wildlife (MX #15) 13:38

1M ago13:38

13:38

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/137764349 Josh and I discuss Steal This Album by System of a Down and Wildlife by La Dispute. Also this is the 50th Patreon episode. Music by System of a Down, L…

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Chapter 1: They Called Her Rebel 19:17

1M ago19:17

19:17

Hey! So due to some logistical issues and Covid-19 dunking on Lenore, this week’s episode will be late, but we still wanted to give you something to listen to for your Tuesday. Please enjoy this shameless self promo as Jacob reads the prologue and first chapter of his upcoming novel, “They Called Her Rebel.” Pre-order Jacob’s novel here!…

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[Preview] Gemstones #4. Everything Works Out, Again 10:21

1M ago10:21

10:21

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/gemstones-4-out-137047530 Joseph (@gross_online), Josiah, Josh, and James (@cigarette_liker) all reconvene to run through the house with a pickle in our mouth an…

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Evolution designed us to die fast; we can change that — Jacob Kimmel 1:44:40

2M ago1:44:40

1:44:40

Jacob Kimmel thinks he can find the transcription factors to reverse aging. We do a deep dive on why this might be plausible and why evolution hasn’t optimized for longevity. We also talk about why drug discovery has been getting exponentially harder, and what a new platform for biological understanding to speed up progress would look like. As a bo…

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MFW No Alternative D: Capitalist Realism ft. Jonathan Kennedy 1:34:51

2M ago1:34:51

1:34:51

More like capitalist fake-ism… This week we take on Mark Fisher’s 2009 philosophical work, “Capitalist Realism,” an explanation of the seeming all-encompassing, eternally-enduring, indestructible nature of capitalism (and the systems that propagate that myth). We are joined by filmmaker, writer, photographer, and Fisher-appreciator Jonathan Kennedy…

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What the Buck (feat. Phil Christman) 2:05:09

2M ago2:05:09

2:05:09

On today's episode, Phil Christman joined Josiah to discuss Sam Tanenhaus' excellent new biography, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America Pre-order Why Christians Should Be Leftists here: https://www.eerdmans.com/9780802884053/why-christians-should-be-leftists/ Check out Phil Christman's Substack The Tourist: https://philipchris…

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China is killing the US on energy. Does that mean they’ll win AGI? — Casey Handmer 1:08:22

2M ago1:08:22

1:08:22

How will we feed the 100s of GWs of extra energy demand that AI will create over the coming decade? On this episode, Casey Handmer (Caltech PhD, former NASA JPL, founder & CEO of Terraform Industries) walks me through how we can pull it off, and why he thinks a major part of this energy singularity will be powered by solar. His views are contrarian…

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Roach Dance: Kafka's, "The Metamorphosis" 1:19:11

2M ago1:19:11

1:19:11

We're going roach mode. This week we cover Franz Kafka's 1915 classic, "The Metamorphosis," a story about a man getting straight up turned into a giant cockroach...bro still tries to go to work. We get into the life of Kafka and the challenges of life as a Jewish man in early century Austria-Hungary. We discuss his numerous complexes and obsessions…

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Resistance 2.0 (feat. Luke Savage) 1:17:27

2M ago1:17:27

1:17:27

On today's episode, Luke Savage (Michael & Us, @lukewsavage) joins Josiah to discuss the state of Resistance liberalism under the second Trump administration. Follow today's guest on Twitter @lukewsavage and Bluesky @lukewsavage.bsky.social Check out Luke's Substack: https://www.lukewsavage.com/ Listen to Michael & Us: https://www.patreon.com/c/mic…

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Artificial meat is harder than artificial intelligence — Lewis Bollard 1:08:05

2M ago1:08:05

1:08:05

A deep dive with Lewis Bollard, who leads Open Philanthropy’s strategy for Farmed Animal Welfare, on the surprising economics of the meat industry. Why is factory farming so efficient? How can we make the lives of the 23+ billion animals living on factory farms more bearable? How far off are the moonshots (e.g., brainless chickens, cultivated meats…

1
Lonely No More - Mark Greene’s Mission to Help Men Open Up Through Walking 35:16

2M ago35:16

35:16

How can men make new friends as adults when their lives are busy, stressful and hectic? Mark Greene is the co-founder of Walking Talking Men, a national movement for men to create real, lasting, local friendships in our own neighborhoods, one walk at a time. He is based in New York City, and has seen success personally and with the men who join his…

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Least Evil Finance Bro: American Psycho 1:35:16

2M ago1:35:16

1:35:16

Disclaimer: killing people is bad actually. Don't try Patrick Bateman's techniques at home. This week we check out Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 work of horror, "American Psycho." Join us as we dive into the absolute horrifying nihilism that is late century Wall Street and its logical conclusion: mass, indiscriminate torture and murder. We get into the e…

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[Preview] Columbine and Martyrdom 10:44

2M ago10:44

10:44

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/134976204 Content warning for in-depth and detailed discussion of school shootings. On today's episode, Josh and I end Christian Rock Summer 2025 on a somber not…

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Article Brain #1: Frog Slurry 1:43:26

2M ago1:43:26

1:43:26

Welcome to a new subseries of The Socialist Shelf: Article Brain! Once a month, we'll take a break from the books for each of us to bring forward an article specifically designed to drive the other two insane. We'll read them, we'll laugh, we'll weep, we'll rage. This week we talk about: CNN's 2028 Democratic primary predictions, the NYT Opinion Se…

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Sarah Paine — How Imperial Japan defeated Tsarist Russia & Qing China 1:55:37

2M ago1:55:37

1:55:37

After my last lecture series with Sarah Paine ended, I still had so many questions. I knew we’d only scratched the surface of Sarah’s scholarship, so I immediately invited her back for another series: she graciously agreed, and we’ll be releasing the results online over the coming weeks and months! This first lecture is focused on the balance of po…

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Holding Out for a !Hero (feat. Brian Alford) 2:41:13

3M ago2:41:13

2:41:13

Christian Rock Summer 2025 continues! On today's episode, Brian Alford (The Worst of All Possible Worlds, @spocksbrian) joined Josiah and Josh to discuss !Hero: The Rock Opera: a 2003 musical attempting to be "Jesus Christ Superstar for the MTV generation," featuring a CCM star-studded cast including Michael Tait, Rebecca St. James, Mark Stuart, an…

1
Long Live Queer Socialism! : Rainbow Solidarity, ft. Matéo Penado 1:53:37

3M ago1:53:37

1:53:37

Y'all like socialism? Y'all like queers? Get ready for some...queer socialism!! Matéo Penado of the Rainbow Collective joins us to talk about Leslie Feinberg's 2008 collection, "Rainbow Solidarity: In Defense of Cuba," an analytical, journalistic, and educational analysis of the history of the queer liberation struggle since the socialist Cuban rev…

1
His Pod Goes Casting On: Fire on the Mountain 1:47:04

3M ago1:47:04

1:47:04

We've seen plenty of dystopian futures...how about a utopian one? Terry Bisson's 1988, "Fire on the Mountain" explores an alternate timeline where Harriet Tubman was able to join John Brown at the Harper's Ferry raid, and with her tactical skill the raiders made it out and went on to start a nation-wide slave rebellion. How did history go different…

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[Preview] Lost In The Sound of Inner Turmoil: Underoath 11:25

3M ago11:25

11:25

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/133681381 Christian Rock Summer 2025 continues! On today's episode, Josiah, Josh, Nate, and James discuss the kings of Christian post-hardcore/metalcore/screamo:…

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Stephen Kotkin — How Stalin became the most powerful dictator in history 2:12:41

3M ago2:12:41

2:12:41

The Stephen Kotkin episode. Kotkin is arguably the world’s foremost expert on Joseph Stalin and has written a massive 2-volume biography on him (with a 3rd volume in the works). No other individual had more of a profound impact on the 20th century than Stalin. He held the power of life and death over every single person across 11 time zones, and he…

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Gays Shouldn't Shut Up: Mélusine, ft. Aysha U. Farah and Lee Mandelo 2:16:37

3M ago2:16:37

2:16:37

Let's read a problematic gay fantasy novel!!! Author Lee Mandelo (Summer Sons, The Woods All Black, Feed Them Silence) and 5 time returning guest, writer, and podcaster, Aysha U. Farah (Life is Strange: Double Exposure, The Sky Left Us, All My Maidens Podcast) join us to discuss "Mélusine," a fantasy novel from 2005 by Sarah Monette (also known as …

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What Happens at a Men's Retreat? - with Life Coach Cator Sparks 33:22

3M ago33:22

33:22

Brad Gage talks to Cator Sparks, an ICF-certified life coach who focuses on men. Cator and Brad met through a national men's group called Buoy's Club, and dig into the fun and illuminating work Cator does with straight and queer men alike. Topics covered: -What actually happens at Men's Retreats. -The difference between coaching and therapy. -How p…

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Why I don’t think AGI is right around the corner 14:01

3M ago14:01

14:01

I’ve had a lot of discussions on my podcast where we haggle out timelines to AGI. Some guests think it’s 20 years away - others 2 years. Here’s an audio version of where my thoughts stand as of June 2025. If you want to read the original post, you can check it out here. Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkesh.com/subscribe…

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Intro to Christian Rock (feat. Tom O'Mahony) 2:13:46

3M ago2:13:46

2:13:46

Christian Rock Summer is back for 2025! And this time, we're kicking it off with a more general introduction to the history of Christian rock. On today's episode, Josiah and Josh introduce Tom O'Mahony (@gotitatguineys, Beneath the Skin, Lions Led By Donkeys) to the edgier side of CCM. Follow today's guest on Twitter @gotitatguineys and Bluesky @go…

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Hear the Gorilla Out: Ishmael, ft. Jen Big Nasty 1:53:41

3M ago1:53:41

1:53:41

Today, a gorilla will set us straight. This week we're covering "Ishmael," a 1992 philosophical dialogue between a man and a gorilla, written by Daniel Quinn. We are joined by Jen Big Nasty, host of the podcast, "How the Red Was Won" to figure out just what this huge, hairy cousin of humanity has to teach us about life. We go deep into environmenta…

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[Preview] Freak Out, FIDLAR! (MX #14) 11:13

3M ago11:13

11:13

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 EPISODE ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132809608 Josh and I discuss FIDLAR by FIDLAR and Freak Out! by The Mothers of Invention. Music by FIDLAR, The Mothers of Invention, and SHADE08 ★ Support this p…

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A billion years of evolution in a single afternoon — George Church 1:33:45

3M ago1:33:45

1:33:45

George Church is the godfather of modern synthetic biology and has been involved with basically every major biotech breakthrough in the last few decades. Professor Church thinks that these improvements (e.g., orders of magnitude decrease in sequencing & synthesis costs, precise gene editing tools like CRISPR, AlphaFold-type AIs, & the ability to co…

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[Preview] Best Films of the 21st Century 11:30

3M ago11:30

11:30

THIS IS A PREVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT FRUITLESS ON PATREON HERE: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141 Alien and Josiah go through their ballots for the New York Times' 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. Music by SHADE08 ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Josiah Sutton

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Saw Gerrera > Fail Organa: Star Wars, the Mask of Fear, ft. Manuclearbomb 2:02:26

3M ago2:02:26

2:02:26

Folks, we're not immune to the Andor hype! This week, we decided to return to the world of Star Wars to cover what can be seen as loosely as an Andor tie-in novel, Alex Freed's 2025 Star Wars novel "Reign of the Empire, the Mask of Fear". We are joined by Manuclearbomb of NotACast and My Brother, My Captain, My Podcast to unpack the rise of fascism…

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Why China's manufacturing economy is dominating — Arthur Kroeber 2:26:43

4M ago2:26:43

2:26:43

Arthur Kroeber is a leading researcher on Chinese tech and macro, a founding partner at Gavekal Dragonomics, and author of "China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know." It's the most useful, detailed resource I've found of how China actually works. On this episode, we discuss how China achieved high-tech manufacturing dominance, and where they'll…

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Iran & the Logic of Escalation (feat. Keanu Heydari) 57:13

4M ago57:13

57:13

On today's episode, Keanu Heydari joins Josiah to discuss the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran in historical context. Read Keanu’s piece in the New International: https://newintermag.com/iran-israel-the-logic-of-escalation/ Follow Keanu on Bluesky @keanuheydari.bsky.social Find Keanu's work here: https://www.keanuheydari.com/ Become a Fr…

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Episode 100: Cow Tools and Q&A 1:28:39

4M ago1:28:39

1:28:39

We did it, Shelfers. 100 EPISODES OF THE SOCIALIST SHELF!! To honor this beautiful occasion we answer some questions from you, our glorious listeners, and then get into perhaps the our most complex work of literature to date, Gary Larson's 1982 comic, "Cow Tools." If you're not familiar with Cow Tools, take a quick look at it now. Stay tuned during…

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"China is digging out of a crisis. And America’s luck is wearing thin." — Ken Rogoff 1:36:04

4M ago1:36:04

1:36:04

Ken Rogoff is the former chief economist of the IMF, a professor of Economics at Harvard, and author of the newly released Our Dollar, Your Problem and This Time is Different. On this episode, Ken predicts that, within the next decade, the US will have a debt-induced inflation crisis, but not a Japan-type financial crisis (the latter is much worse,…

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We Finally Talk About Movies: A Discussion with Resistance Cinema ATL 1:16:32

4M ago1:16:32

1:16:32

Don't worry, we're still a literature podcast, but we wanted to have our friends Jason and Ankita from Resistance Cinema ATL on the show to talk about their collective and the role of film (and art more generally) in revolutionary movements. We've got a handful of links here, so bear with us (and click on all of them you know you want to). Pre-orde…

Jacob Sutton Podcasts