Luke Kemp, a research affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk researched 324 cases of societies, usually empires (which he called Goliaths) that collapsed - and soon found one thing they all had in common...
In this (slightly terrifying) conversation we discuss the main questions featured in Luke's groundbreaking book, Goliath's Curse - questions like why are hierarchical societies always a bad idea, what usually goes wrong first and finally, why we seem to be heading for a collapse of our own 👇🏻
I always wondered whether the Renaissance was a truly groundbreaking historical event - or has it become just a self-referential cliché?
Talking to Prof. Kenneth Bartlett (author of The Renaissance in Italy: A History), I finally had a chance to ask...
In this illuminating conversation we talk about the movement's main ideas, the timeless art they produced, the political intrigues of Florence, the House of Medici and finally, their ominous adversary, friar Savonarola.
As someone who moved to Japan not too long ago I was always fascinated with the country's unique history, particularly with the question of how did a country so completely isolated from the industrial revolution become a global superpower in just a few short decades? How did it manage to totally transform its society, military and culture? And finally, where did it all go wrong?
Join me and historian Christopher Harding, author of A History of Modern Japan, as we explore Japan's journey from the Edo period's isolation to the transformative Meiji Restoration, discussing how Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War marked its emergence as a modern power, only to later slide into the shadows of World War II fascism...
But also, how the country faces new challenges today, balancing tradition with modernity in a world primarily marked by the rise of China.
The old version of the story went something like this - Homo Sapiens appeared in Africa around 2 to 300.00 years ago and for most of that time, we lived in small hunter gatherer communities, competing with other animals, sometimes more, and sometimes less successfully.
That was, until one day we had a gnarly idea to start growing crops, build settlements and settle down for good.
However, the mind-boggling discovery of the dazzling Gobekkli Teppe, has thrown this attractively simple narrative into question. But how is it possible that such an impressive complex of monuments, built 12.000 years ago (thousands of years before the first cities ever appear), was put there by "simple" hunter gatherers... and most of all, why?
To tackle these questions I turn to Jens Notroff, a German archeologist who actually worked on the the site for many years 👇🏻
In the past 2 decades literacy rates have dropped dramatically... and so have our IQ scores.
Writer James Marriott believes these two facts are connected. His Substack article, "The dawn of the post-literate society and the end of civilisation," in which he argues that the absence of reading might signify the end of our civilisation, caused a big stir online...
In this conversation we talk about the history of reading, why this immense transfer of knowledge led to the breakdown of feudal society (while making us smarter), but also about how smartphones are fracturing our political systems while robbing us of our most cherished possession - our ability to think 👇🏻
A lot of Russians have nostalgia for the USSR. But why? Wasn't it all just endlessly grey days working in factories and standing in lines to buy a couple of loaves of bread?
Historian Joseph Kellner, author of the book The Spirit of Socialism, doesn't seem to think so.
He explains how the state guaranteed housing, schooling and health care to all people, and most of, all how, at least in the 50's and 60's, it provided the Soviet citizens with a sense of unity and purpose.
Joseph Kellner is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union at the University of Georgia. He's also the author of the recently released book The Spirit of Socialism - Culture and Belief at the Soviet Collapse.
Contrary to Western narratives, culture within the USSR wasn't an eternally grey monolith that we used to see in James Bond movies. Quite the opposite - it was a diverse, often flourishing organism. But what happened to it during the brutal dissolution of the Soviet Union?
In this conversation, Prof. Kellner and I discuss the decline and the indescribable shock that accompanied the sudden dissolution of the USSR, before turning our attention to an explosion of wild, "exotic" cultural countries springing up in the new country of Russia:
Podcaster Joe Rogan keeps claiming that climate change doesn't really exist and that the Earth is in fact, cooling down, negating all available climate science (as well as plain observation).
To address this misleading take, and the often cited Washington Post article accompanying it, I talk to Prof. David Armstrong McKay, climate scientist from the University of Sussex.
We also talk about the rate of warming in 2025, the global lack of progress on climate targets, the danger of tipping points and whether the Paris Accords target of keeping the warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is really dead in the water 👇🏻
We all know it - the internet has become a huge garbage heap, guided by malignant algorithms and filled with useless apps, mind numbing social media and AI slop. In a word - it sucks.
But how did we get here? And how can we restore the better internet of old?
Cory Doctorow, author of the groundbreaking book ENSHITIFICATION: Why Everything Was Built to Break, has a couple of ideas 👇🏻
The Smart Cookies Podcast
Luke Kemp, a research affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk researched 324 cases of societies, usually empires (which he called Goliaths) that collapsed - and soon found one thing they all had in common...
In this (slightly terrifying) conversation we discuss the main questions featured in Luke's groundbreaking book, Goliath's Curse - questions like why are hierarchical societies always a bad idea, what usually goes wrong first and finally, why we seem to be heading for a collapse of our own 👇🏻
15 hours ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
I always wondered whether the Renaissance was a truly groundbreaking historical event - or has it become just a self-referential cliché?
Talking to Prof. Kenneth Bartlett (author of The Renaissance in Italy: A History), I finally had a chance to ask...
In this illuminating conversation we talk about the movement's main ideas, the timeless art they produced, the political intrigues of Florence, the House of Medici and finally, their ominous adversary, friar Savonarola.
1 week ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
As someone who moved to Japan not too long ago I was always fascinated with the country's unique history, particularly with the question of how did a country so completely isolated from the industrial revolution become a global superpower in just a few short decades? How did it manage to totally transform its society, military and culture? And finally, where did it all go wrong?
Join me and historian Christopher Harding, author of A History of Modern Japan, as we explore Japan's journey from the Edo period's isolation to the transformative Meiji Restoration, discussing how Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War marked its emergence as a modern power, only to later slide into the shadows of World War II fascism...
But also, how the country faces new challenges today, balancing tradition with modernity in a world primarily marked by the rise of China.
1 month ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
The old version of the story went something like this - Homo Sapiens appeared in Africa around 2 to 300.00 years ago and for most of that time, we lived in small hunter gatherer communities, competing with other animals, sometimes more, and sometimes less successfully.
That was, until one day we had a gnarly idea to start growing crops, build settlements and settle down for good.
However, the mind-boggling discovery of the dazzling Gobekkli Teppe, has thrown this attractively simple narrative into question.
But how is it possible that such an impressive complex of monuments, built 12.000 years ago (thousands of years before the first cities ever appear), was put there by "simple" hunter gatherers... and most of all, why?
To tackle these questions I turn to Jens Notroff, a German archeologist who actually worked on the the site for many years 👇🏻
2 months ago | [YT] | 3
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
In the past 2 decades literacy rates have dropped dramatically... and so have our IQ scores.
Writer James Marriott believes these two facts are connected. His Substack article, "The dawn of the post-literate society and the end of civilisation," in which he argues that the absence of reading might signify the end of our civilisation, caused a big stir online...
In this conversation we talk about the history of reading, why this immense transfer of knowledge led to the breakdown of feudal society (while making us smarter), but also about how smartphones are fracturing our political systems while robbing us of our most cherished possession - our ability to think 👇🏻
3 months ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
A lot of Russians have nostalgia for the USSR. But why? Wasn't it all just endlessly grey days working in factories and standing in lines to buy a couple of loaves of bread?
Historian Joseph Kellner, author of the book The Spirit of Socialism, doesn't seem to think so.
He explains how the state guaranteed housing, schooling and health care to all people, and most of, all how, at least in the 50's and 60's, it provided the Soviet citizens with a sense of unity and purpose.
3 months ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
Joseph Kellner is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union at the University of Georgia. He's also the author of the recently released book The Spirit of Socialism - Culture and Belief at the Soviet Collapse.
Contrary to Western narratives, culture within the USSR wasn't an eternally grey monolith that we used to see in James Bond movies. Quite the opposite - it was a diverse, often flourishing organism. But what happened to it during the brutal dissolution of the Soviet Union?
In this conversation, Prof. Kellner and I discuss the decline and the indescribable shock that accompanied the sudden dissolution of the USSR, before turning our attention to an explosion of wild, "exotic" cultural countries springing up in the new country of Russia:
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
Podcaster Joe Rogan keeps claiming that climate change doesn't really exist and that the Earth is in fact, cooling down, negating all available climate science (as well as plain observation).
To address this misleading take, and the often cited Washington Post article accompanying it, I talk to Prof. David Armstrong McKay, climate scientist from the University of Sussex.
We also talk about the rate of warming in 2025, the global lack of progress on climate targets, the danger of tipping points and whether the Paris Accords target of keeping the warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is really dead in the water 👇🏻
3 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
We all know it - the internet has become a huge garbage heap, guided by malignant algorithms and filled with useless apps, mind numbing social media and AI slop. In a word - it sucks.
But how did we get here? And how can we restore the better internet of old?
Cory Doctorow, author of the groundbreaking book ENSHITIFICATION: Why Everything Was Built to Break, has a couple of ideas 👇🏻
4 months ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
The Smart Cookies Podcast
Why is the INTERNET so shitty now?
Cory Doctorow, author of the groundbreaking book ENSHITIFICATION: Why Everything Was Built to Break, has a couple of ideas.
Full episode out tomorrow!
4 months ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
Load more