Should we engineer the extinction of mankind on utilitarian grounds? Another normal conversation. An essay prompts us to consider whether suffering is part and parcel of consciousness, and whether this means existing is worse than not. Plus,

More screed in your feed: we tackle the notorious Google memo. This episode’s topic is the prequel to Need for Screed II: Screedo Shot Last. If you don’t know what’s up with this memo yet, you will soon. Notes Before we get into the screed weeds,

Famous former black hat, Hector Monsegur, gives us the lowdown on how secure we really are (or aren’t). A troubling conversation with a very cool dude. Hector Xavier Monsegur is a security researcher and Director of Assessment Services at Rhino Securit...

Please welcome GiveDirectly’s Joe Huston to the program. You won’t regret it. Joe Huston is the CFO of GiveDirectly (Twitter), this podcast’s favorite charity (or mine, at least). You’ll notice that, despite the rambling questions and non-questions I p...

Evolutionary psychologist Diana Fleischman talks about what we find disgusting and why. Also, cannibalism and how great it is. Zach and I had a great time speaking with psychologist and lecturer Diana Fleischman.

Our very first guest—and one of our favorites—James Hughes returns to keep it 100. James Hughes, Executive Director of the IEET, and the first guest we ever had, is back. He’s the best. Prepare for a transhumanist delight. Notes What’s that you say?

Amazon is taking over; so what? Plus: thoughts on power drills. Look, drills are technology. So they are fair game for this podcast. Also, according to some jerks, nearly everything is technology. So everything is fair game. Thanks, jerks. Take that,

Helicopter parenting, VR prison pods, and more. Oh my. This one’s all over the place. Thanks again for the interesting feedback, superheroic listeners. Notes Here’s what you really came here for: military commercials from our collective memory.

One day he’s in Uzbekistan, the next he’s on our podcast. There’s no predicting the inimitable Kevin Kelly. Kevin Kelly. Where to start? Whole Earth Review. Wired. A slew of dope books, including The Inevitable (now available in paperback).

No, it’s not our new line of energy drinks (yet). We talk extreme interests, hobbies, pursuits and the like. Oh, the like. Warning: jiu jitsu is discussed at length. As is fasting. I encourage you to deal. Notes SURPRISE: I’m a big fan of Jason Fung,