Explore every episode of the podcast Hacking State
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 - Nina Power: Defamation and Free Speech in the Internet Age | 12 Sep 2024 | 01:07:49 | |
I speak with Nina Power about her harrowing defamation suit court battle, the narrowing window of free expression in the West, novel problems of anonymity, pseudonymity, and identity presented by the internet, the antagonism of the philosopher and the city, and the need for cultural tools to push back against authoritarian overreaches in free expression. Nina Power on Substack: https://ninapower.substack.com/ Read the court judgement yourself: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Miller-and-Power-v-Turner-08.11.23.pdf
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 23 - Zero HP Lovecraft: Toward a Christo-Nietzschean Synthesis | 02 Jan 2024 | 01:25:50 | |
I speak with sci-fi horrorist Zero HP Lovecraft on his Six Components of Religious Experience, a functionalist approach to religion, the concept of God becoming increasingly abstract and far away (divine distance), how Christianity can benefit from Nietzsche’s bitter medicine, Christianity’s struggle with modern sexual mores, pathological altruism, why goodness is strength, regaining self-possession, submitting to tradition to gain mastery over craft, and the tension between self-love and self-abolishment driving Western man.
Relevant Links: Zero HP Lovecraft on X: https://x.com/0x49fa98 Zero HP Lovecraft on Substack: https://zerohplovecraft.substack.com/
Toward a Functionalist Understanding of Religion - https://zerohplovecraft.substack.com/p/marooned-in-the-deepest-darkness-993 Toward a Functionalist Understanding of Religion, Pt. 2: The American Civic Religion - https://zerohplovecraft.substack.com/p/marooned-in-the-deepest-darkness-90b Toward a Functionalist Understanding of Religion, Pt. 3: Christo-Nietzschean Synthesis - https://zerohplovecraft.substack.com/p/marooned-in-the-deepest-darkness-bad
------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 22 - Luca Cacciatore: The State of Christianity in America | 24 Dec 2023 | 00:50:21 | |
Luca Cacciatore joins me to discuss Christianity in America, the decline of religiosity, the Second Great Awakening, how technology mediates religiosity, faith and fertility, religion grappling with science, the Evangelical Revolution, and the dearth of compelling Christian narratives for young men. | |||
| 21 - The Kino Corner: Great Films Touch Our Lives | 19 Dec 2023 | 01:36:58 | |
I am joined by Kino Corner to discuss movie making, film as a medium for capturing the zeitgeist of different eras, shooting on digital, film, and hybrid, the economics of why mid-budget movies have disappeared, crowdfunding movies, The Killer (Fincher, 2023), Asteroid City (Anderson, 2023), drifting from the binge model of TV series', and the Kino Corner's 5 masterpiece film recommendations. Relevant Links: https://www.youtube.com/c/thekinocorner https://instagram.com/the_kino_corner https://letterboxd.com/TheKinoCorner
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 20 - Michael Millerman: Heidegger, Dugin, and Strauss -- The Rewilding of Philosophy | 05 Dec 2023 | 01:28:25 | |
Michael Millerman joins me to discuss starting a philosophy school, why tech and startups are seeking wisdom, whether Western philosophy is still a living tradition, objections to the usefulness of philosophy, leading students to the eternal questions, the intimate pleasure of communing with old friends, Martin Heidegger's influence on Alexander Dugin, Leo Strauss and Heidegger's disagreement on philosophical historicism, our place in the cave beneath Plato's Cave, Millerman's intriguing encounter with Dugin, why Dugin is a dangerous philosopher, his take on "Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy," and the potential for the rewilding of philosophy.
Relevant Links: https://www.michaelmillerman.ca/ https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Heidegger-Philosophical-Constitution-Political/dp/1912975793 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AVVipiukPI
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 19 - Bitcoin Gandalf: Satoshi’s Immaculate Coinception | 24 Nov 2023 | 01:05:41 | |
I sit down with Bitcoin Gandalf for a deep dive on Satoshi's immaculate coinception. Gandalf is a large influencer in the Bitcoin space and works in Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin is one of the most innovative technologies of the last century from a governance and coordination perspective. I believe it has the potential to be a vehicle for civilization-level reconfiguration of value. We cover our respective journeys in becoming "orange-pilled" on Bitcoin, the Bitcoin mining industry from the inside, Bitcoin maximalism, its potential to supplant existing fiat currencies, the virtues of self-custody, Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoiners (community), proof of work vs. proof of stake, where we are in the current hype cycle, and getting into Bitcoin for noobs.
You can find Gandalf on:
Suggested Reading: Bitcoin White Paper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 18 - Nikolai Yakovenko: Exploring DeepNews | 17 Nov 2023 | 00:56:06 | |
DeepNews is using LLMs to aggregate and summarize the latest news across the internet, seeking to change the way we digest news. Nikolai Yakovenko is an ex-Twitter, Google, and Nvidia machine-learning engineer who initially forayed into Web3 with his venture 'DeepNFTValue,' which uses machine learning to estimate the value of NFTs; before also going on to create DeepNews. We cover using generative AI for compression, why this application of LLMs could better deliver news from primary sources across the internet in real time, the narrative neutrality of the AI-platform, concerns about information accuracy, misinformation, fidelity, and robustness, as well as potential areas for improvement.
You can find Nikolai on: https://twitter.com/ivan_bezdomny https://nikocrypto.substack.com/ https://substack.com/@nikocrypto
Relevant Links:
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 16 - Grant Dever: Nuclear Texas | 30 Oct 2023 | 01:16:44 | |
We envision a nuclear Texas. Grant Dever is a research fellow at FREOPP (Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity) who writes about energy policy, with a focus on nuclear power. He earned his degree in economics and business from the University of Rochester. During the pandemic, Grant cultivated community for IndieThinkers.org—an accelerator for independent thinkers on the internet. He also authored "Lead The Future: Strategies and Systems for Emerging Leaders."
The conversation touches on Texas as an independent energy powerhouse and the challenges with its power grid. Dever also speaks about the role of tech giants in advancing Nuclear Energy. By adopting demand response and managing intermittency, power-intensive applications like bitcoin mining, training LLMs & hydrogen production can be transformative in nuclear energy proliferation.
The discussion concludes with a note on the opportunities in the Texas energy sector, particularly when diverging from federal directives, standing as the lone star state.
You can find Grant on:
Website: https://grantdever.com/
Substack: https://www.seekingtribe.com/
FREOPP: https://freopp.org/the-freopp-scholar-grant-dever-badbe66c8b7e
X: https://twitter.com/grantadever
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Future-Strategies-Systems-Emerging-ebook/dp/B0828895H4
Relevant Links:
https://freopp.org/rethinking-u-s-nuclear-energy-regulation-7639c7e88642
https://blog.freopp.org/were-not-going-to-have-another-chernobyl/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 15 - Brendon Marotta: Children’s Justice | 17 Oct 2023 | 01:37:35 | |
Brendon Marotta is a filmmaker, author, and podcaster. We talk about his book, "Children's Justice", which applies critical theory to the controversial topic of infant circumcision. We go through his decision to appropriate the tools and tactics of critical theory in service of this issue, apprehensions around taking circumcision up as a social justice or human rights concern, my discomfort with everything about this, childhood trauma and its reverberating effects on adults and institutions, rhetorical methods borrowed from Foucault and others to make his argument, barriers for men and parents to discussing circumcision, and why he sees advocacy around this issue as a microcosm for opening a broader discussion around the treatment of children.
Brendon Marotta's feature-length documentary, "American Circumcision" garnered numerous nominations and awards at film festivals, including Best Documentary at the Lone Star Film Festival (2017), The Silver Jury Prize at The Social Justice Film Festival (2017), Best Documentary Feature at Outer Docs Film Festival (2018), and is available on Netflix (non-US) and Prime video.
Children's Justice (2022): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735113425/ American Circumcision: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628146/ Gods of AI (2022): https://www.amazon.com/Gods-AI-AI-Generated-Art-Book/dp/B0BMTFSNQ5/
Brendon Marotta Site: https://brendonmarotta.com/ X: https://twitter.com/bdmarotta
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 14 - Stephen Pimentel: Reviewing ”Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy” | 03 Oct 2023 | 01:49:45 | |
Engineer and essayist Stephen Pimentel joins me for a review of the recently released bestselling book in Political Philosophy, Costin Alamariu’s “Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy”. In this discussion we go deep in tracing the argument, point-by-point, of Costin’s thesis concerning the twin emergence of philosophy and tyranny out of the idea of nature, and its teaching and preservation in the aristocratic regime. We attempt to tour the line of argument in sequential fashion, laying out the basic premises, consequences, and conclusions Costin provides, as well as its potential reverberations for our understanding of classical political philosophy; and hint at potential future implications, given advances in technology and age of the current regime, of this timely and unexpectedly popular hit. We go through the early anthropological account of pre-philosophical societies under the sway of collective nomos, the introduction of natural law from martial-aristocratic pastoralist conquerors, the discussion of Pindar and his insights for the aristocracy's self-understanding, phusis and its connection to physicality, the emergence of nature outside the city by breeding and training as a re-wilding project aimed at cultivating men of andreia and phronesis, Callicles and Socrates in Plato's Gorgias--turning Platonic political philosophy on its head, and Nietzsche's resurrection of aristocratic radicalism in service of the preservation of philosophy for the production of genius.
Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Selective-Breeding-Philosophy-Costin-Alamariu/dp/B0CJ3ZDHF6
Stephen Pimentel: https://twitter.com/StephenPiment
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 31 - Nick Simmons: Octu Ventures + Urbit, Building the Pillars of a Digital Civilization | 11 Jun 2024 | 01:02:18 | |
Nick Simmons is Cofounder and member of Octu Ventures, a member-driven venture DAO investing in teams building on Urbit. Urbit comprises a decentralized network of personal servers, a unique digital ID system, and a decentralized peer-to-peer networking protocol. Altogether, these constitute load-bearing pillars of a truly digital civilization. We talk about the Urbit stack, Octu's thesis behind a member-driven venture DAO, Urbit as a new coordination technology, the importance of persistent digital identities that are not real names, encoding offline social technology in digital online network technology, the robustness and fault-tolerance of the Urbit network, and building the load-bearing pillars of a digital civilization.
Find Nick on Urbit: ~simfur-ritwed Octu: https://octu.ventures/ Hydra Ventures: https://www.hydraventures.xyz/ What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly: https://www.amazon.com/What-Technology-Wants/dp/B00476WM36/ref=sr_1_1
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 13 - Steve Hsu: Polygenic Embryo Selection, Improving LLMs, & Getting Nearly Cancelled | 21 Sep 2023 | 01:22:02 | |
Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Michigan State University, as well as the founder of Genomic Prediction and SuperFocus AI; he also hosts the Manifold podcast, and the Information Processing blog. Steve and I speak about polygenic risk scoring and embryo selection, using AI to predict phenotype from genotype, in-vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing, eugenic public policy, addressing Christians' and right-wing traditionalists' concerns over reproductive technology, SuperFocus AI's plan to eliminate hallucination in large language models (LLMs) by separating memory from inference, introspection for LLM error correction, and surviving the failed cancellation attempt at MSU.
Steve Hsu: On X: https://twitter.com/hsu_steve Personal Site: https://infoproc.blogspot.com/ Manifold podcast: https://www.manifold1.com/ Genomic Prediction: https://www.lifeview.com/ SuperFocus AI: https://superfocus.ai/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 12 - Garrett Dailey: Designing Business Around Philosophy | 12 Sep 2023 | 01:33:12 | |
Garrett Dailey is the founder of Aion Enterprises, a business philosophy and design firm. We speak about the meaning of Aion, building a business around philosophy, individuation, the Candy Cane model of reality, and the importance of aesthetics for catalyzing people with a compelling vision of the future. “Any sufficiently complex thought is philosophy.” Aion: https://www.aion.enterprises/ https://twitter.com/AionEnterprises Garrett Dailey: https://garrettdailey.substack.com/ https://twitter.com/Liber_Rex
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 11 - Disgraced Propagandist: The World of Dissident Marketing | 01 Sep 2023 | 01:02:45 | |
Disgraced Propagandist (Isaac Simpson) is the founder of WILL, a dissident marketing agency, and The Carousel Substack and podcast. We speak about how WILL does dissident marketing for a cohort of new natural “wholesome” brands, the marketing industry as the canary in the coal mine for workplaces becoming Longhouses, the power of branding, the meaning of The Carousel metaphor, nostalgia, the “hype dad” archetype, his literary influences, and NEVER APOLOGIZE!
WILL, the agency: https://willtheagency.com/ On X: https://x.com/WILLtheagency
The Carousel: https://thecarousel.substack.com/
Disgraced Propagandist: On X: https://x.com/DisgracedProp Site: https://isaacsimpson.com/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 10 - Razib Khan: Genetic Time Traveling | 25 Aug 2023 | 01:34:25 | |
Razib Khan is a population geneticist, has a popular Substack on genetics and history, and is a co-founder of GenRAIT. We speak about his role in the scientific ecosystem, the effect of the computing revolution on ancient genetics and genomics, why he’s most interested in Eurasian steppe populations, how ancient DNA has shed light on theories in archeology and philology, the effects of delayed fertility on genetic quality of offspring, prenatal genetic screening and gene editing, selection effects of modern environments, his startup, GenRait, and his antics on Twitter/X.
Website: https://www.razib.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/razibkhan GenRait: https://www.genrait.com/ | |||
| 9 - Hannah Frankman: On the Education of Rebels | 07 Aug 2023 | 01:10:16 | |
Hannah Frankman is the founder of Rebel Educator, an all-inclusive resource hub for parents, teachers, and entrepreneurs. We discuss her experiences in educational reform and alternative paths to education, Montessori education philosophy, her involvement in the education space, and the launch of Rebel Educator. We also cover criticisms of the educational system and popular alternatives, homeschooling, the potential benefits of accelerated and decelerated learning, the need for more localized, private, and independent schools, and the importance of values in education.
Hannah Frankman Website: http://hannahfrankman.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HannahFrankman Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@thehannahfrankmanpodcast
Rebel Educator: https://rebeleducator.co/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/rebelEducator
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 8 - Bo Winegard: Aporias of Human Nature | 20 Jul 2023 | 01:12:43 | |
Bo Winegard on life after cancellation, why we should talk about group differences in intelligence, Aporia - a new magazine courting heterodox social science and philosophy, victimhood rhetoric, the tedious relationship of truth to justice, anonymity vs. identity, are we at peak wokeness?, noble lies, epistemic accelerationism, limits to academic discourse in public, and his proposal for a Republic; if you can keep it.
Bo Winegard is a Social Psychologist and Executive Editor of Aporia. Bo Winegard on Twitter: Aporia Magazine: https://www.aporiamagazine.com/
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 7 - Mark Wilcox: 21e8 and Computational Data Markets | 07 Jul 2023 | 01:19:21 | |
Mark Wilcox on 21e8, his information architecture company, computational data markets, why compute is money, Bitcoin’s role in all this, price discovery via compute, how AI is destroying people’s belief in the computer, deleveraging from the U.S. dollar, decision theory, the curse of dimensionality, and moving back to base primitives.
“The problem to solve is how much compute it takes to generate value.” - Mark Wilcox
Mark Wilcox on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mwilcox 21e8 (company): Twitter - https://twitter.com/21e8ltd N.Z. - https://21e8.nz/ U.S. - https://21e8.com/
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 6 - Jason Snyder: Growing Doomer Optimism | 29 Jun 2023 | 01:33:27 | |
I speak with Doomer Optimist cofounder and faculty in the Department of Sustainable Development at Appalachian State University, Jason Snyder, about finding the others, using the internet to encourage localism, Balaji Srinivasan’s The Network State, homesteading, the value of embodied work, regenerative agriculture, resource independence, and our disagreement on degrowth.
Doomer Optimism is an eclectic metamodern movement building a template for post-collapse.
“I don’t think the industrial food system as its currently composed is sustainable.” - Jason Snyder
Jason Snyder on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cognazor
About Doomer Optimism: Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoomerOptimism Website: https://www.doomeroptimism.com/
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 5 -Jonah Davids: Mental Health is Unwell | 22 Jun 2023 | 01:05:36 | |
Jonah Davids' new Substack, Mental Disorder, explores the science and politics of mental health from a data-driven perspective. Jonah is also Communications Director at the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology. We spoke about why being a psychologist has no noticeable effect on the efficaciousness of talk therapy, the lack of evidence in mental health treatment, how CBT became the gold standard and why its not more effective than other therapies, the case for fixing your material conditions to improve mental health, lowering barriers to entry for mental health workers, how mental health professionals are less mentally healthy than the general population, and more... Jonah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonahdavids1 Jonah on Substack: https://mentaldisorder.substack.com/
Related writings: On CBT: https://mentaldisorder.substack.com/p/is-cbt-superior-jonah-davids On the sadness of psychologists: https://www.mentaldisorder.ca/p/how-sad-are-psychologists Whether loneliness should be considered a public health problem: https://www.mentaldisorder.ca/p/loneliness-public-health-problem-jonah-davids
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 4 - Cody Moser: The Science of Innovation, Core-Periphery Networks, Internet Polarization | 16 Jun 2023 | 01:25:14 | |
Cody Moser is a PhD student in the Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences at University of California, Merced. His work focuses primarily on the evolution of human behavior and human institutions. We spoke about his work generating formal network models with agent-based modeling, the life history of organizations, core-periphery dynamics and why "loser" nodes are necessary for network innovation, the tension between explore-exploit tradeoffs in organizations, generative adaptive systems, path dependency and organizational longevity, why we want hyper-hyper polarization on the internet, and more... "Innovators come from the outside." - Cody Moser Cody Moser's blog: https://culturologies.co/ His Twitter: https://twitter.com/LTF_01 UC Merced bio: https://cogsci.ucmerced.edu/content/cody-moser Paper on core-periphery networks in innovation: https://culturologies.co/files/coreperiphery.pdf All Intelligence is Collective Intelligence: https://www.neuralpress.org/_files/ugd/1dd990_f5fc8a4eef6142b48e387daa9c4454e7.pdf The Ties That Bind Us: https://culturologies.co/files/HungarianConservative.pdf Internet polarization: https://culturologies.substack.com/p/internet-polarization-reform-and?nthPub
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 30 - Alexander Pacheco: Building a Network of 150 | 21 May 2024 | 00:56:36 | |
Alexander Pacheco is the founder of social media platform, 150. Based on Dunbar’s Limit, 150’s innovative social network leverages insights from network science to create a small-town feel that elides many of the downsides that come with incumbent social media giants. Alexander walks us through using anthropology and human nature to shape the network topology of 150 to more closely reflect the way we socialize and build connections in real life, how trust in networks is where the real value lies, the formula for high-quality consensus-building, and why bi-directional, exclusive networks are the optimal structure for building effective, high-trust communities.
Get 150:
Alexander Pacheco https://alexpacheco.substack.com/ https://twitter.com/alexandercurves
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 3 - Jae Yang and John Bugnacki: Tacen and the Wild West of Tech | 07 Jun 2023 | 01:22:49 | |
Jae Yang and John Bugnacki of Tacen join me to discuss financial sovereignty, the regulatory state of crypto in the United States, the Wyoming stabelcoin, and why you have to go to the frontier for better governance and technology. Tacen is working on a crypto exchange that is fast, non-custodial, and cross-chain. Project TXA is a settlement network that allows cross-chain settlement. Jae Yang is the founder and CEO of Tacen and the Chief Architect of Project TXA. John Bugnacki is Deputy General Counsel and Director of Regulatory Policy at Tacen.
Jae Yang: https://twitter.com/jae_tacen Tacen: https://www.tacen.com/ Tacen Twitter: https://twitter.com/tacen_app Project TXA: https://www.txa.app/ Project TXA Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProjectTXA
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| 2 - Matthew Mehan: Classical Education & the Moral Training of Self-Government | 31 May 2023 | 01:01:19 | |
Matthew Mehan is Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Government for Hillsdale College’s Steve and Amy Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington D.C. We spoke about the relationship of poetry to philosophy, the value of a classical liberal arts education, technology and the Tyranny of Velocity, raising children with social media, politicization of education, the moral training of self-government, and how to create leaders of tomorrow.
Hillsdale profile: https://dc.hillsdale.edu/Profiles/Matthew-Mehan/ Matthew Mehan is also the author of popular children's books: Mr. Mehan's Mildly Amusing Mythical Mammals: https://www.amazon.com/Mehans-Mildly-Amusing-Mythical-Mammals/dp/1505112494 The Handsome Little Signet: https://www.amazon.com/Handsome-Little-Cygnet-Matthew-Mehan/dp/1505120608
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 1 - Robin Hanson: Prediction Markets & Futarchy | 25 May 2023 | 01:35:54 | |
Robin Hanson and I discuss prediction markets, decision markets, Futarchy, and Demarchy. We cover simple and more elaborate applications of prediction markets, common objections to them and barriers to implementation at the organization level, when a prediction market becomes a decision market, his vision for Futarchy--a proposed system of government whereby elected officials use prediction markets to inform policy decisions based on measurable objectives--and Demarchy, another alternative governance mechanism where policy-makers are chosen at random from among the population. Professor Robin Hanson is Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University.
Robin Hanson's Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinhanson Personal site: http://mason.gmu.edu/~rhanson/home.html University bio: https://economics.gmu.edu/people/rhanson On prediction markets: http://mason.gmu.edu/~rhanson/ideafutures.html On Futarchy: http://mason.gmu.edu/~rhanson/futarchy.html
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe | |||
| 29 - Kevin Dolan (Bennett's Phylactery): Rebooting Natalism for the 21st Century | 07 May 2024 | 01:16:59 | |
I’m joined by cofounder and organizer of the 2023 Natal Conference in Austin, TX, Kevin Dolan. We talk about the conception of a conference to promote having more babies, the various religious and techno-optimist factions of the Natalist Movement, environmental detriments to fertility, how we’re radically undervaluing motherhood, thought-terminating technical solutions to the fertility crisis, surrogacy, expanding freedom of association as the key to self-replicating communities, like-minded community as a solution for the alienation of motherhood, and setting sights on Natal Conference 2024.
“It’s not about stopping the rain, it’s about building a boat.” - Kevin Dolan Find out about the Natal Conference: https://www.natalism.org/ Follow Kevin on X: https://X.com/extradeadjcb
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: | |||
| 28 - Charles Rosenbauer and Olli Payne: Finding the Keys to Our Possible Futures | 30 Apr 2024 | 01:26:41 | |
I am joined by Charles Rosenbauer and Olli Payne of Possibilia Magazine. Possibilia is an ambitious literary magazine showcasing realistic, optimistic science fiction. They’re bringing positive visions of the future in digital and in print—replete with short stories, nonfiction companion pieces, and illustration.
We talk about the constraints of keeping sci-fi optimistic and realistic, working with writers to meet these constraints, future-adjacent technologies, how private information (cryptography) beats raw compute power, SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE, optimism as a positive telos for humanity, e/acc’s death drive, the Principle of Explosion, generative art as the catalyst for up-skilling artists, stories as social technology, magic lamps, new futurism aesthetics, and the challenges of running a magazine bridging art and technology.
https://www.possibiliamag.com/ https://twitter.com/bzogrammer
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 27 - Lomez: Keeper of the Press | 26 Mar 2024 | 01:03:27 | |
I speak with father of the Passage Prize and Keeper of the Passage Press, Lomez. Passage Prize started as an open call for literary and artistic submissions to find untapped talent from the Twitter anon sphere. It quickly exceeded its initial ambitions, drawing artists both obscure and famous to claim their spot in the coveted limited run print edition book, and a share of the $20,000 prize. From the success of the Passage Prize contest, the Passage Publishing company was born. Lomez and I speak about the origins of the Passage Prize, the hole in the market for right-of-center artists to share their work, the dearth of vitality in conservative art, surprises from the first submissions, how they selected for quality, the gap in publishing that Passage Press is aiming to fill, its relationship with Man's World and Mystery Grove Publishing, and his vision for the future of the Passage Press.
Buy book(s): https://passage.press/ Passage Press on X: https://x.com/PassagePress Lomez on X: https://x.com/L0m3z
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 26 - Stephen R. C. Hicks: Ayn Rand and High Romanticism | 05 Mar 2024 | 00:59:04 | |
On Ayn Rand, Objectivism, the resonance of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, the development and spread of Individualism, high Romanticism, Rand's polarizing characters, the relationship between altruism and selfishness in her works and philosophy, Ayn Rand's large influence on entrepreneurs, and the intellectual subculture of Randian academics. Stephen R. C. Hicks is Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University and Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and Senior Scholar at The Atlas Society. Site: https://www.stephenhicks.org/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 25 - Kevin MacDonald: Jewish Group Evolutionary Strategy | Cofnas-MacDonald Debate, pt. 2 | 23 Jan 2024 | 01:15:06 | |
For part 2 of the Cofnas-Macdonald debate I interview evolutionary psychologist Kevin Macdonald. We go over his response to Nathan Cofnas' objections to the Jewish Group Evolutionary Strategy laid out in "The Culture of Critique" series, his explanations for outstanding Jewish influence, conscientiousness, emotional intensity, and affect intensity as notably Jewish personality traits, Ashkenazi verbal tilt in IQ, the history of Jewish advocacy for immigration, the dispute over group-level selection in evolutionary biology, and his response to the charge of antisemitism.
Youtube interview: https://youtu.be/_tIut3USaFM
Relevant Links: https://nathancofnas.com/debate-with-kevin-macdonald
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 24 - Nathan Cofnas: Jewish Group Evolutionary Strategy | Cofnas-MacDonald Debate, pt.1 | 16 Jan 2024 | 01:39:14 | |
Nathan Cofnas is Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, working in philosophy of biology and ethics. We discuss his paper “Still No Evidence for a Jewish Group Evolutionary Strategy” in the context of his ongoing debate with Kevin MacDonald and "The Culture of Critique” series. We cover explanations for outstanding and disproportionate Jewish success, differences in Jewish intelligence, whether Jews are particularly ethnocentric, Jewish involvement in Multiculturalism, Liberalism, mass immigration, and other political & intellectual movements, Margherita Sarfatti and Jews’ role in Italian Fascism, and the relationship of these unanswered questions to antisemitism.
Relevant Links: https://nathancofnas.com/debate-with-kevin-macdonald
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 36 - Eric Kaufmann: Breaking Taboos to Win the Culture War | 25 Oct 2024 | 01:06:48 | |
Eric Kaufmann is a professor of politics and Director of the Centre for Heterodox Social Science at the University of Buckingham. He is also Adjunct Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. We talk about his new book "The Third Awokening" and cover: how quasi-religious left-wing liberalism bears more responsibility for Wokeness than “radical neo-Marxist” Theory, the weaponization humanistic psychotherapy and trauma, “Be kind” as an ideology, the simple emotional structure behind it: minorities good, majorities bad—the making sacred of historically marginalized race, gender, and sexual minorities as a structure of taboos, conservatives' failure to win culture, his defense of negative liberty, Wokeness as a meme, Gen Z’s shift to the right, comparing the free speech climate of the US, the UK, and Canada, and the coming intensification of cultural politics.
My startup: https://lawgiver.ai
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 35 - Ben McCormick: Getting to Know Kinode | 10 Oct 2024 | 00:52:38 | |
Kinode is a decentralized operating system, peer-to-peer app framework, and node network designed to simplify the development and deployment of decentralized applications. Ben McCormick, a lead developer at Kinode, joins me to discuss the birth of Kinode, the need for backend tools in crypto, choosing Web Assembly for peer-to-peer computing, breaking out of the Feudal structure of Web 2.0 and creating coordination power outside Big Tech oligopolies, how to popularize permission-less infrastructure, getting started developing on the network, and the grand vision that is Kinode.
The Kinode Book: https://book.kinode.org/ Discord: https://discord.gg/mYDj74NkfP Kinode on X: https://x.com/kinode Dartfrog: https://kinode.org/blog/hello-dartfrog
My startup: https://lawgiver.ai
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 34 - Charles Haywood: Political Action, Foundationalism, Advice for Ambitious Young Men | 26 Sep 2024 | 01:28:03 | |
Charles Haywood is the Maximum Leader of The Worthy House, publisher of over 600 book reviews, and creator of a framework for the renewal of society called Foundationalism. We talk about how buying machinery from a defunct hair products manufacturer made him tremendously wealthy, The Worthy House and refining his politics by writing hundreds of book reviews, the (im)possibility of political action today, Foundationalism, right wing "elites", the meaning of left wing violence, why Europe is over, the fertility crisis as an existential threat to civilization, and advice for ambitious young men.
The Worthy House X: https://x.com/TheWorthyHouse Site: https://theworthyhouse.com/ Foundationalist Manifesto: https://theworthyhouse.com/2021/06/17/the-foundationalist-manifesto-the-politics-of-future-past/
WAITLIST for my AI Legislative Startup, Lawgiver: https://lawgiver.ai
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 52 - Uberboyo: Christ vs. Nietzsche - The West's Moral Revolutionaries | 13 May 2025 | 01:15:31 | |
In this episode, I sit down with Uberboyo, a prominent YouTuber and Nietzschean thinker, to explore the complex relationship between Christianity and Nietzscheanism. Our conversation begins by examining what it means to be "Nietzschean" - not as an ideology, but as a methodology for approaching morality and understanding psychological patterns in society. We discuss how moral systems evolve with changing demographics, comparing the nationalist God of the Old Testament with the more universal God of later Christianity. Uberboyo presents a fascinating neurological perspective, discussing how the brain's threat detection center influences both religious belief and tribal identity, suggesting both are rising among younger generations disillusioned with modern culture. The conversation goes into the psychological distinction between "life-affirming" and "life-denying" worldviews, with parallels drawn between ancient Rome's decline and our current cultural moment. We discuss the challenges facing Western civilization, the generational divide between institutional "Boomer" thinking and the more tribalistic instincts emerging in Gen Z, and whether there might be a path forward that incorporates elements of both Christian and Nietzschean thought. Throughout our discussion, we grapple with profound questions about metaphysics, morality, and meaning in an age of decadence and cultural transformation. Despite our challenges, Uberboyo offers a white pill of hope: the possibility that younger generations might organically develop healthier moral instincts, potentially leading to cultural renewal in the West.
Uberboyo's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrk8Y2fsR5i_5c1iTR9tZpg Uberboyo's website: https://uberboyo.com/
SIGN UP for the Hacking State newsletter: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe If you enjoyed this talk, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 51 - Patrick Casey: The New New Right | 06 May 2025 | 00:55:40 | |
I sit down with Patrick Casey — political commentator, writer, and creator of Restoring Order — for a deep-dive interview on the state of right-wing politics in America. We explore the rise of the dissident right, Trump’s 2024 comeback, paleoconservatism, the influence of online political movements, and the challenges of building lasting alliances on the right. Topics include: the impact of tech elites on immigration policy, generational shifts among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the return to traditional religion among young conservatives, and the future of nationalism, populism, and right-wing strategy. Patrick also shares insights into his own motivations, his view of Trump’s evolving political instincts, and which figures he’s eager to interview next — from J.D. Vance to Nick Land.
If you enjoyed this talk, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 42 - Daniel Schwarzhoff: Meditations on Emotional Resilience in Politics | 16 Jan 2025 | 01:04:25 | |
In this conversation, Alex Murshak speaks with Schwarzhoff Jr., co-founder of the See meditation app, about the importance of emotional regulation in today's political climate. They discuss the unique approach of the app, which focuses on non-contemplative meditation, and how it aims to help individuals build resilience against stress. The conversation delves into the nature of stress, the role of resentment in emotional responses, and how manipulation through emotional dysregulation plays a significant role in politics. They also explore the collective response to societal stress and the psychological implications of these dynamics. In this conversation, Alex Murshak discusses the dangers of harboring resentment and the impact of ideology on individual psychology. The discussion also explores the ripple effect of individual change on broader societal dynamics, particularly through the lens of emotional resilience and meditation practices. They share insights into the development of a meditation app designed to facilitate personal growth and emotional well-being, highlighting its simplicity and effectiveness. The conversation concludes with reflections on the importance of intentionality in using technology and the potential for personal transformation.
The See meditation app: https://theseeapp.com/ Daniel Schwarzoff on X: https://x.com/dschwarzhoffjr
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 41 - Thom Ivy: The State of Persuasion | 26 Dec 2024 | 01:26:50 | |
The enlightening Thom Ivy joins me to discuss pheromones, bioenergetics and Peating, state management, hypnosis, and propaganda.
Thom Ivy on X: https://x.com/thom_ivy_1
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 40 - Cody Moser: Systems Intelligence and the Mysteries of Life | 19 Dec 2024 | 01:12:21 | |
Cody Moser is a PhD candidate in Cognitive Science at the University of California, Merced studying collective intelligence, system collapse, complex systems, and networks. We cover the challenge of integrating humanity into science, the collapse of public spaces, consequences of social institutions moving online, how network structures optimize innovation, how AI reveals the anti-human incentives of many of our systems, living things and the theory of dissipative systems, and the mystery of life for statistical physics.
My AI For Government Affairs Startup https://lawgiver.ai
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 39 - Nathan Worcester: American Dynamism | 12 Dec 2024 | 01:01:14 | |
Nathan Worcester covers national politics and energy for The Epoch Times. We talk about - Views from the 2024 Presidential Campaign trail - Prospects for American Re-Industrialization - Nuclear deregulation and the future of American energy - DOGE
Nathan on X: https://x.com/nnworcester
My AI For Government Affairs Startup https://lawgiver.ai
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 38 - Logan Allen: Zorp, NockChain, A Market For Zero-Knowledge Proofs | 05 Dec 2024 | 01:08:40 | |
Logan Allen is the CEO of Zorp, an applied research company building NockChain and the Nockstack. We discuss how NockChain combines proof-of-work with zero-knowledge proofs, creating incentives for proof generation at scale. The conversation covers how zero-knowledge proofs enable state compression for large computations and Zorp's approach to building secure infrastructure for network tribes. We explore practical applications like verifying computations in nuclear reactors and power stations, the economics of zero-knowledge proof markets, and how the Nockstack provides tools for high-security production environments. Nock's minimal instruction set makes it simple enough for one person to understand, forming the foundation for this secure computing infrastructure.
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 37 - Jessica Solce: Forging A Country | 19 Nov 2024 | 01:02:56 | |
A Maverick Director on Documenting Nayib Bukele's Re-Election. Director & Producer Jessica Solce joins me to discuss Forging A Country, her latest film documenting Nayib Bukele's 2024 re-election in El Salvador. We cover why Western liberalism's playbook is insufficient for El Salvador's problems, her approach to documentaries with ideological implications, reflections on her opus, Death Athletic, film and propaganda, streaming platform politics, filming over long timelines, accessing high profile documentary subjects, and discovering a film's aesthetics.
My AI For Government Affairs Startup https://lawgiver.ai
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 50 - Arcadius Strauss: A Techno-Nationalist Future | 29 Apr 2025 | 01:04:31 | |
In this episode of Hacking State I discuss "Techno-Nationalism for Building Western Civilization 4.0" with Arcadius Strauss. We examine the un-sustainability of our current societal structures influenced by technology, globalization, and cultural shifts. Strauss presents 3 competing visions for the future—"Matrix West," "Space West," and "Neo-Traditional West"—each reflecting potential paths for civilization. We also explore demographic challenges and the ideological conflicts between traditional values and technological solutions. Strauss advocates for a vision that integrates innovation with tradition, concluding that with strong leadership, we can navigate toward a thriving future.
Arcadius Strauss On X: https://x.com/ArcadiusStrauss On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ArcadiusStrauss On Substack: https://arcadiusstrauss.substack.com/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 49 - Alex Petkas: Greco-Futurism and the Return of Zeal | 15 Apr 2025 | 01:09:12 | |
Alex Petkas is host of Cost of Glory podcast. He holds a PhD in Classics from Princeton, and teaches on persuasion, heroes, and Plutarch’s "Parallel Lives." We talk about the value of Plutarch’s “Parallel Lives”, the contemporary thirst for heroes and grand narratives, Platonism vs. Stoicism, Archeofuturist aesthetics, why futurism is ripe for our cultural moment, his Rostra group and training men in the art of rhetoric, and why our future depends on recovering the spirit of zeal.
Cost of Glory: On X: https://x.com/costofglory Website: https://www.costofglory.com
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 48 - Raw Egg Nationalist: Health, Hormones, and Social Control | 20 Mar 2025 | 00:58:10 | |
I am joined by Raw Egg Nationalist, creator and publisher of Man’s World Magazine, co-founder of Kindred Harvest, and author of "The Eggs Benedict Option." We discuss the relationship between individual health and the political system, his upcoming book with Passage Press, “The Last Men,” the consequences of declining testosterone levels and sperm counts, the harmful effects of environmental xenoestrogens, MAHA (Make America Healthy Again), the dangers of reliance on Ozempic and other GLP1 agonists, the iatrogenics of the medical industrial complex, and his upcoming speech at the 2025 Natal Conference.
Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Raw Egg Nationalist 05:07 The Eggs Benedict Option: Philosophy and Reception 10:10 Food, Politics, and Social Control 14:48 Testosterone Decline and Masculinity 20:02 The End of Men Documentary and Its Impact 24:56 The Last Men: Upcoming Book Insights 29:53 Cultural Resurgence of Vitalist Health 33:48 The Mind-Body Connection and Education 38:25 The Weight Loss Drug Dilemma 42:17 The Power of Big Pharma 49:40 The Crisis of Medicalization and Control 52:06 Philosophical Insights on Fertility and Captivity
Raw Egg Nationalist on: Man’s World: https://mansworldmag.online/ Kindred Harvest: https://kindredharvest.co/ Eggs Benedict Option: https://antelopehillpublishing.com/product/the-eggs-benedict-option-by-the-raw-egg-nationalist/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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| 47 - Alex Priou: From Plato to Palantir - Philosophy's Place in Technological Society | 13 Mar 2025 | 01:09:08 | |
Alex Priou is Associate Professor of Political Philosophy and Interim Dean of the Center for Intellectual Foundations at University of Austin, as well as co-host of The New Thinkery podcast.
We discuss the place of the Great Books in education, a justification of political philosophy in terms of the good life, his review of Palantir's Alex Karp's and Nicholas Zamiska's book, “The Technological Republic,” the challenges posed by life mediated through technology, the interplay between great thinkers, and his upcoming book on Plato’s Republic and Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, exploring how times of decadence create a desire for revolutionary politics and drawing parallels to the pitfalls of today.
Alex Priou Personal site: https://alexpriou.com/ UATX profile: https://www.uaustin.org/people/alex-priou On X: https://x.com/alexpriou
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 46 - ARX-Han: The Shape of Meaning | Shame, Masculinity, Nihilism, and Agency | 06 Mar 2025 | 01:06:00 | |
ARX-Han is a novelist and publisher of the Decentralized Fiction Substack. He joins me to discuss cultural accelerationism, shame and masculinity, nihilism and the crisis of agency, and AI & fears of human obsolescence.
ARX-Han On X: https://x.com/ARX_Han On Substack: https://www.decentralizedfiction.com/ His novel, INCEL: https://www.amazon.com/INCEL-Novel-ARX-Han/dp/B0CJLCZVCG/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 45 - Edward Luttwak: The Vitality of War | 20 Feb 2025 | 01:00:33 | |
Edward Luttwak is a legendary military historian and grand strategist, known for his books “Coup d’Etat: A Practical Handbook,” “Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace,” and “The Rise of China vs. The Logic of Strategy.”
We discuss:
Edward Luttwak on X: https://x.com/ELuttwak
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 44 - Daniel Hess: Fixing the Fertility Crisis | 13 Feb 2025 | 01:18:16 | |
Daniel Hess is the writer behind More Births, ideas for reversing the collapse in global fertility. MoreBirths is a data-driven resource dedicated to helping humanity to understand and ultimately solve the low birthrate crisis that has taken hold across the world. We discuss: - Factors contributing to the fertility crisis - Why Israel is an exception among developed nations in fertility - The power of strong pro-natal belief - Components of the “Fertility Stack” - The Amish as the highest fertility group in America - The importance of allo-parenting and grandparents - The role of religiosity -Why economic arguments don’t explain low fertility - Embattlement as an explanation for nations’ fertility - The limits of egg freezing and IVF - The effectiveness of pro-natal public policy interventions - How the housing we build affects fertility
More Births Substack: https://www.morebirths.com/ Daniel Hess on X: https://x.com/MoreBirths
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe Listen on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg | |||
| 43 - Jonathan Scharf: The Future of Energy | Nuclear, AI, and Renewables | 23 Jan 2025 | 00:56:33 | |
Jonathan Scharf is a PhD energy consultant specializing in renewable energy. They discuss Jonathan's eclectic background, his transition from academia to industry, and the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in tackling energy challenges. The conversation delves into the current state of nuclear energy adoption, the regulatory hurdles it faces, and the hype surrounding new technologies in the energy sector. Jonathan emphasizes the need for effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders to drive meaningful progress in renewable energy. This conversation goes into the intersection of AI, energy demand, and consulting, highlighting the rapid evolution of technology and its implications for industries. The speakers discuss the increasing complexity of AI systems, the importance of bridging technical knowledge gaps in energy sectors, and the role of machine learning in consulting. They emphasize the necessity of domain knowledge in effectively utilizing AI tools and the cultural shifts affecting workforce development. Additionally, the conversation addresses recruitment challenges in a changing landscape, advocating for a more nuanced approach to hiring.
Scharf Energy Consulting:
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