[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Favorite Podcast Episode of 2021?
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Ask HN: Favorite Podcast Episode of 2021?
        
       Mine was Fall of Civilizations Episode 12, about the Inca empire:
       https://fallofcivilizationspodcast.com/2021/01/12/episode-12-is-
       now-live/
        
       Author : hnu0847
       Score  : 135 points
       Date   : 2021-12-27 16:02 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
       | thricegr8 wrote:
       | Undoubtedly that personal award goes to Citations Needed Episode
       | 73: Western Media's Narrow, Colonial Definition of 'Corruption'.
       | You can read the transcript on Medium [1] or listen on Spotify
       | [2].
       | 
       | It may seem a bit bromide for HN, but it really shattered my
       | world view. Or at least was the impetus of a rather radical shift
       | in how I viewed global power structures, old wealth, and the evil
       | systems in place today that continue to perpetuate global
       | inequality. In the episode, they dig into these popular
       | "corruption" indices, why the Global South is always painted as
       | the "most corrupt", true sources of institutionalized corruption,
       | where the real tax havens and how they operate. It even
       | highlights a (previously unknown to me at least!) stark and
       | admittedly macabre distinction between London, the city in
       | England and the ancient The City of London [3]. Yes there is a
       | huge difference with the latter being a 1,000 British colonial-
       | era holdover that's home to the largest tax haven hub in the
       | world.
       | 
       | As a bonus, it features Jason Hickel, an economic anthropologist
       | who wrote The Divide [4]. Which, for reasons outlined above, is
       | also one of my favorite books ever. If you find my poor attempt
       | of summary or the article/podcast interesting, I'd implore you to
       | buy the book and learn something new.
       | 
       | All the world is a stage and indeed we are merely players.
       | 
       | [1] - https://citationsneeded.medium.com/episode-73-western-
       | medias...
       | 
       | [2] -
       | https://open.spotify.com/episode/7cf3g7670FYKrD9OE6vHQd?si=v...
       | 
       | [3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London
       | 
       | [4] - https://www.jasonhickel.org/the-divide
       | 
       | Edit: Just to clarify, this episode is from 2019. I did not
       | interpret the question clearly and assumed it was in the spirit
       | of "Favorite podcast episode you listened to this year". Hope
       | this helps.
        
         | istjohn wrote:
         | I'm intrigued, but this episode is from April 2019.
        
           | thricegr8 wrote:
           | Ya know, you're right. I guess I assumed the OP meant more
           | along the lines of "What was your favorite podcast episode
           | you listened to this year" vs the more literal translation.
           | I'll throw in an edit to clarify.
        
         | bernardom wrote:
         | The CGP Grey videos on the city of London are pretty great too:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrObZ_HZZUc
        
         | Brakenshire wrote:
         | > Yes there is a huge difference with the latter being a 1,000
         | British colonial-era holdover that's home to the largest tax
         | haven hub in the world.
         | 
         | In what sense is it a colonial-era holdover? Unless you mean
         | Norman colonialism.
        
         | wodenokoto wrote:
         | I'm guessing this is not the same citation needed as when Tom
         | Scott does citation needed with the technical difficulties.
         | 
         | Here's a link to one of their episodes:
         | https://youtu.be/1nd5HsxWXTI
        
         | akudha wrote:
         | Thank you for recommending episode 73, it was very interesting.
         | I had _some_ idea from this book
         | https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-of-Economic-Hitman-audiob...
         | but this is even more interesting. I read this book more than
         | 15 years ago, I suppose things are much more sophisticated,
         | crooked and hidden now :(
         | 
         | This is all soooooo depressing :(
        
       | timdaub wrote:
       | I loved Lex Friedman and Brandon Eich this year.
       | 
       | I was astonished by the intellect and wisdom of Eich. I always
       | understood him to be rather smart inventing JS in a matter of
       | days, but his insight in the history of the web paint an even
       | more impressive picture.
       | 
       | He's been much more influential to our lives than many might
       | guess and it's shocking to hear it from himself and his
       | authority.
        
       | hasheddan wrote:
       | The second round of Jim Keller on the Lex Friedman podcast was my
       | top episode of the year
       | 
       | https://lexfridman.com/jim-keller-2/
        
       | pitched wrote:
       | I've yet to ever listen to a podcast episode twice, but this
       | Akira the Done album is basically Naval's podcast set to music
       | and I've listened to it too many times now:
       | https://open.spotify.com/album/4SGFW7Rig34Me2NPPA7Eur
        
       | stunt wrote:
       | I enjoyed many of the "The Rest Is History" episodes but oddly
       | not any of the ones that they did in December.
       | 
       | https://play.acast.com/s/the-rest-is-history-podcast
        
         | marcinpikusa wrote:
         | My favorite podcast discovery of the year! massive lads! ;)
        
       | borkenstein wrote:
       | THE PRIVATDOZENT PODCAST Episode 2: Kurt Godel's Brilliant
       | Madness
       | 
       | https://www.privatdozent.co/p/episode-2-kurt-godels-brillian...
        
       | bbu wrote:
       | I enjoy Developing Leadership a lot. So much good content:
       | https://www.developingleadership.co/
        
       | _ttg wrote:
       | Ezra Klein's interview with Noam Chomsky -
       | https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id154...
       | 
       | Even though I was familiar with most of Chomsky's spiel, this was
       | a total joy to listen to and I was very inspired by the great
       | righteous indignation and moral clarity that Chomsky still speaks
       | with and only he can summon. Lots of provocative thoughts on
       | capitalism, class, American politics and a breadth of other
       | topics, as a bonus.
        
       | bradlys wrote:
       | I'm not a fan of the podcast normally but I was sent this one
       | because my ex-wife knew it would be good for me. Spark Bird by
       | This American Life. First off - I've tried to pick up birding a
       | little bit. But most importantly - about 35 minutes in - there's
       | a story about Birdly. This family that sounds utterly insane and
       | has six imaginary birds as part of their family. It's a really
       | well told story - much better than the podcast normally has.
       | 
       | Well - anyway - it turns out there are other couples/families out
       | there that do this. We had this with our "family." In our case
       | (my ex's and I) we had three stuffed animal children. The podcast
       | really will show the full gradient of how far you can push what
       | is "real". We took our children across the world and they had
       | stories, purpose, meaning, and lots of love to share. I don't
       | spend as much time with "the children" now. They live in
       | different but sharable dimensions/realities/universes more often
       | now since their mom and dad aren't together. It's rough being a
       | single dad of 3. Get a lot of questions but is what it is. She
       | asks about them when she calls.
       | 
       | We planned to have children the more traditional way as well. We
       | just never got there before we split up.
       | 
       | https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fm0Ntx2IxuWEM2ieYZasv?si=n...
        
       | simonbarker87 wrote:
       | Two really stand out to me 1. Matt Wensing on a life of
       | entrepreneurship and software dev. Pretty recent but I've
       | listened twice already.
       | 
       | https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/236_matt_wensing
       | 
       | 2. Ben Carpenter on the James Smith podcast. Two PTs talking
       | about massive life changes seeking happiness and the downsides of
       | life in the UK and mental health. Have listened to this three
       | times now.
       | 
       | https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ben-carpenter/id144472...
        
         | metabagel wrote:
         | PT? Personal Trainer?
        
           | simonbarker87 wrote:
           | Sorry, yes. Personal trainer.
        
           | fredoliveira wrote:
           | I assumed physical therapists, but did not validate.
        
             | majewsky wrote:
             | I'm guessing "psychotherapist".
        
       | swayson wrote:
       | I find it challenging to choose one but Andrew Huberman's podcast
       | is exceptional. Latest in neuroscience/neurobiology which is
       | accessible to the general public. From topics like sleep,
       | anxiety, learning, performance etc. I have learned so much and
       | applying the protocols have been great.
        
         | ismail wrote:
         | +1 on Huberman. Specifically the episodes on sleep.
        
       | bwanab wrote:
       | Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast has been the Russian Revolution
       | in 2021 and as always, is very detailed and informative.
        
         | Jolter wrote:
         | Which episode? URL?
        
           | sixo wrote:
           | https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/ All
           | of season 10, it's a lot, it's great.
        
         | sofixa wrote:
         | I particularly enjoyed it. It's like listening to a slow train
         | crash, there are just so many wrong moves by so many people
         | it's terrifying.
         | 
         | Also it changed my perception of many of the participants.
        
       | tmsh wrote:
       | Steve Yegge's tech predictions for the next 10-30 years:
       | 
       | https://youtu.be/8xwSRB3eGXY
        
         | f0e4c2f7 wrote:
         | I didn't know Steve had a podcast. I've read some of his
         | writing and really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing I'll check it
         | out.
        
       | mvo wrote:
       | Many good ones this year, maybe "Short History Of..." - Space
       | race and Moon landing
       | 
       | https://podfollow.com/short-history-of/episode/2966a9d948fb7...
       | 
       | https://podfollow.com/short-history-of/episode/8588f87525136...
        
       | karmanyaahm wrote:
       | World's Greatest Con: 0101: How To Fool Hitler
       | https://worldsgreatestcon.fireside.fm/2
       | 
       | The whole season is really good, but this is the first episode
        
       | drcode wrote:
       | Sean Carroll and David Wallace, who know their sh*t, doing a deep
       | dive on entropy and how it relates to time and the "past
       | hypothesis".
       | 
       | https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2021/08/02/158-...
        
         | rossvor wrote:
         | I would also add episode with Michael Levin as a worthy
         | candidate for this year.
         | 
         | https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2021/02/01/132-...
        
       | fitblipper wrote:
       | I really enjoyed listening to Dark Net Diaries - The Spy
       | https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/99/
        
       | egman_ekki wrote:
       | Unexpectedly, Lex Fridman's interview with Richard Wrangham about
       | the role of violance in human history and how we're similar and
       | different from other big apes was really thought provoking and
       | introduced some new interesting concepts/distinctions to me.
       | 
       | https://open.spotify.com/episode/3txWhPWf2YuGN25cIJxm0e?si=J...
        
       | gringoDan wrote:
       | The Sam Bankman-Fried episode of Odd Lots:
       | https://open.spotify.com/episode/2p2Mfr20nDNmRxdNjCcmJe?si=2...
       | 
       | Specifically, the 7 minutes from ~19:40 - 26:30 where he talks
       | about the $30M/day profit he made in 2017 by arb-ing the
       | different prices of Bitcoin on Japanese vs. US exchanges. This
       | demonstrated the difference between complex and complicated
       | problems and how much of success in business is simply
       | schlepping.
       | 
       | (Obligatory pg post: http://paulgraham.com/schlep.html)
        
         | dannyeei wrote:
         | There's an episode on Acquired with him where he talks about
         | FTX. Would definitely recommend!
        
       | dijit wrote:
       | I enjoyed being part of one (if that counts)...
       | 
       | https://www.gcppodcast.com/post/episode-265-sharkmob-games-w...
        
       | filippp wrote:
       | Jordan Peterson's interviews with Roland Griffiths and Iain
       | McGilchrist.
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIP-3Q-p_s
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zld-MX11lA
        
       | polytely wrote:
       | 1. The Dan Harmon episode of _Good One - a podcast about jokes_.
       | 
       | If you like Community, Rick and Morty & love comedy writing this
       | is a fantastic episode, it starts off being about a specific
       | joke, but after that it goes into his writing philosophy/method,
       | being a bad boss and getting better after fucking everything up,
       | and story structure.
       | 
       | https://podtail.com/en/podcast/good-one-a-podcast-about-joke...
       | 
       | 2. _Interdependence_ episode 39: World Fairs, WorldBuilding, the
       | bicameral mind, the nightmare of organizing research and the art
       | of memory with Kantbot
       | 
       | A dizzying interview with Kantbot (the Adam Curtis of weird
       | twitter) by musical artist's/technologists Holly Herndon and Mat
       | Dryhurst. Hard to describe but gives you a lot of threads to
       | investigate further.
       | 
       | https://interdependence.fm/episodes/world-fairs-worldbuildin...
       | 
       | 3. _True Anon_ Episode 181: 9 /11: Twenty Years On the Road
       | 
       | Hosts Brace Belden & Liz Franczak discuss the 20th anniversary of
       | 9/11 with writer Prof. Peter Dale Scott (Deep Politics and the
       | Death of JFK) and editor of Covert Action magazine Aaron Good.
       | 
       | https://soundcloud.com/trueanonpod/911-twenty-years-on-the-r...
       | 
       | 4. _Wong Notes_ - Michael League
       | 
       | Rhythm guitarist & producer Cory Wong (Vulfpeck, Cory Wong and
       | the Wongnotes) interviews jazz-fusion bassist / band leader
       | Michael League (Snarky Puppy) about music, artistry, self-worth.
       | 
       | https://wongnotes.captivate.fm/episode/michael-league
       | 
       | 5. WTF with Marc Maron episode 1278 - "Cancelled Comedy" w/ Kliph
       | Nesteroff and David Bianculli
       | 
       | Gives some needed historical perspective on comedians complaining
       | about being cancelled. Talks about the history of censorship in
       | comedy. With comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff and Smothers
       | Brothers biographer David Bianculli.
       | 
       | https://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1278-canceled-comedy-...
       | 
       | PS: It's not freely accessible, but I would also highly recommend
       | the Episode 292 of _Radio War Nerd: No Plan for Afghanistan, or
       | "Always Bet Against the American Elite"_ and _Episode 293: The
       | Forever Analogy: Saigon vs Afghanistan._ , for a superb breakdown
       | of America's involvement in Afghanistan and the reasons it was
       | doomed to fail.
        
       | TOMDM wrote:
       | My favorite is easily Rationally Speaking by Julia Galef.
       | 
       | The episode that pulled my in initially was "Are Boomers to blame
       | for Millenials' struggles?" from November of last year, but all
       | episodes since have the same features that enamoured me
       | initially. The episode was a master class in talking beyond the
       | rhetoric and digging into the meat beyond. In the aforementioned
       | episodes, she digs into policies that may have affected
       | Millenials', as well as looking into voting demographics that
       | brought about said policies. It resulted in an incredibly nuanced
       | view (For the Boomers here on HN who may be put off by the title,
       | it's not the typical generational hitpiece, but an addressal of
       | them).
       | 
       | Julia puts in a lot of work for these episodes, making sure to
       | read up extensively on the topics before the episode, and
       | inviting guests of varying stances with meaningful experience to
       | contribute. Going as far as inviting multiple guests for an
       | episode, and reading all of said guests published books on the
       | topic before recording. She will often go back after the
       | interviews to offer clarifications to hanging questions that
       | occured during the conversation.
       | 
       | http://rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/245-are-boomers-to-blam...
       | 
       | Julia for me sets the bar for what empathetic and reasoned
       | conversation can be if one is willing to put in the effort.
        
       | lettergram wrote:
       | How to save the world, in three easy steps. Bret Weinstein |
       | DarkHorse Podcast
       | 
       | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-save-the-world-...
       | 
       | I personally find this to be my favorite because I found it to be
       | the most impactful. Particularly to myself, I ended up reaching
       | out because I saw the jump in heart related issues (likely
       | related to vaccines) while tracking COVID19. I reached out as I
       | saw this podcast and was able to validate several of the items
       | discussed via CDC data.
       | 
       | That put me on a whirlwind journey of being connected to quite a
       | few different people and on conference calls with highly regarded
       | scientists and billionaires, which I never expected -_-
       | 
       | There's a lot more recent and relevant information, particularly
       | on Joe Rogan's podcast (#1747 - Dr. Peter A. McCullough):
       | 
       | https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aZte37vtFTkYT7b0b04Qz?si=A...
       | 
       | Anyway, I don't know generally about favorite in terms of content
       | to others, but it did put me on quite an adventure.
        
       | danr4 wrote:
       | these threads always bring the worst of my FOMO.
        
       | jot wrote:
       | This example customer interview on The Software Social Podcast:
       | https://softwaresocial.dev/episodes/customer-interview-part-...
       | 
       | It inspired my to create a podcast dedicate to more like it.
        
       | tailspin2019 wrote:
       | I've listened to too many to pick a favourite but this one from
       | Lex Friedman is a random pick. Difficult subject matter but quite
       | moving:
       | 
       | #220 - Niels Jorgensen: New York Firefighters and the Heroes of
       | 9/11
       | 
       | https://pca.st/episode/cb175a0c-b0c1-4200-a8e3-9702ebf0525c
       | 
       | Edit: and here's an oddball recommendation on the other end of
       | the spectrum, and outside of the normal HN bubble. For the Brits
       | here and those who may enjoy extremely juvenile British humour
       | (like me):
       | 
       | RHLSTP 268 - Charlie Brooker
       | 
       | https://pca.st/episode/57ee8b54-2d47-4506-924a-bb7636362f9e
       | 
       | (Charlie Brooker is the British writer behind Black Mirror.)
        
       | andreilys wrote:
       | Tim Ferriss's second episode with Balaji was great. It was around
       | 4-5 hours, and Tim just steps aside letting Balaji brain dump on
       | all sorts of interesting topics and ideas.
       | 
       | https://tim.blog/2021/11/15/balaji-srinivasan-2/
        
         | f0e4c2f7 wrote:
         | Hopefully posting this doesn't get it taken down...
         | 
         | I really enjoyed that interview on Tim's podcast and I've been
         | working my way through some of Balaji's other interviews and
         | videos online.
         | 
         | I'm currently watching this one someone posted of his coursera
         | course from 2012 all pasted together into one video over 7
         | hours long. I have come to like this format more and more on
         | youtube becuase you just resume and don't have to worry about
         | finding the next video etc.
         | 
         | Anyway, watching this in the context of it being from 2012 is
         | pretty mindblowing and the advice has seemed like it would have
         | been quite good back then (some of it still now too I'm sure.)
         | 
         | The name of the course was Startup Engineering. I don't believe
         | it's available on Coursera or anywhere else anymore.
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QC1FK2_pqg
        
         | guidovranken wrote:
         | I used to follow Balaji on Twitter, he frequently had original
         | and eloquent perspectives on things, but his incessant web3
         | evangelism turned me off.
        
           | m_ke wrote:
           | He's the Jordan Peterson of tech, profound sounding with zero
           | substance.
        
             | dnautics wrote:
             | The crazy thing to me is that he gave an interview? once in
             | how genomics is not "big data" in the same way that
             | anything else is big data in tech and that interview seems
             | to have been memory holed, even though imo it's the most
             | profound analysis I think he has ever given (I used to work
             | in genomics and now I work in ml), and there is a real sub
             | community of the tech sector that needs to understand what
             | he said but doesn't.
        
         | tailspin2019 wrote:
         | Just started listening to this on your recommendation.
         | (Thanks!) I wasn't familiar with Balaji before now but he's
         | clearly a smart guy and a deep thinker.
         | 
         | I find myself disagreeing with quite a lot of what he's saying
         | (to the extent that I'm educated enough on some of the topics
         | to even have an opinion), but will keep listening as it's
         | interesting to hear a viewpoint that's perhaps slightly outside
         | of my normal bubble.
        
           | andreilys wrote:
           | That's probably my favorite part about Balaji, is his
           | thinking is so multi-faceted and original that you're
           | naturally going to come across things you agree with him and
           | disagree.
        
       | jkeat wrote:
       | TrueAnon's trilogy on Tesla
       | 
       | https://soundcloud.com/trueanonpod/lamest-show-1
       | 
       | > how a nerdy dot-com gold chaser hacked the self-satisfied
       | neoliberal green political regime and orchestrated a cacophonous
       | symphony of thirsty social media marketeers, auto industry
       | executives, captured and bought off media, and the bull market
       | ride of the century. At the center of all of this is the pied
       | piper of the redditmen, our very own epic bacon PT Barnum -- Elon
       | Musk -- who rightly understands that branding really is
       | everything and that so long as you can keep the music going the
       | party doesn't have to end.
        
         | BrissyCoder wrote:
         | +1 came here to post this.
         | 
         | I knew Musk was a bit of an asshole but didn't realize to what
         | extent he was an absolute fraud.
        
         | 4monthsaway wrote:
         | doot
        
       | geocrasher wrote:
       | There are about 3 or 4 Darknet Diaries, but here's my fav. OK
       | it's a tie:
       | https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/90/        Jenny        Meet
       | Jenny Radcliffe, the People Hacker. She's a social
       | engineer and physical penetration tester. Which means she
       | gets paid to break into buildings and test their
       | security. In this episode she tells us a few stories of
       | some penetration testing jobs she's done.
       | https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/95/        Jon & Brian's Big
       | Adventure        Jon and Brian are penetration testers who both
       | worked at         a place called RedTeam Security. They're paid
       | to break         into buildings and hack into networks to test
       | the         security of those buildings. In this episode they
       | bring         us a story of how they prepare and execute a
       | mission like         this. But even with all the preparation,
       | something still         goes terribly wrong.
       | 
       | Episodes 84 and 81 also. GREAT stuff. But 90 and 95 are my faves.
       | I don't have time for other podcasts so its DND for me.
        
         | Bobbleoxs wrote:
         | Mine were:
         | 
         | 77 Olympic Destroyer 78 Knaves out 86 The LinkedIn Incident 97
         | The Pizza Problem
        
         | more_corn wrote:
         | One more for Darknet. The NSO group episodes are my favorite.
         | 99 and 100 I think they are. The episode about the Puerto Rico
         | lottery is amazing too.
        
         | tailspin2019 wrote:
         | I picked up on Darknet Diaries from recommendations in a
         | previous HN podcast thread.
         | 
         | Some of the physical pen test episodes are totally gripping!
         | Well worth a listen.
         | 
         | Great podcast.
        
         | paranorman wrote:
         | Echo the love for this podcast, one of the easiest subscription
         | purchases I've ever made. Jack is a great storyteller.
        
       | bijant wrote:
       | Odd not to see an episode from the Odd Lots podcast here (going
       | by how often it gets cited in economic/supply chain discussions
       | around here)
       | 
       | My favorite would certainly be an Amp Hour Episode if I knew
       | which one to pick. Have still held out for the annual Keyzermas
       | Episode so that one could easily take the title.Chris Gammell is
       | just an all-around cool dude who's always asking the right
       | questions to get the most out of his guests.
       | 
       | Honorable Mention goes to some reverse engineering podcast that
       | must remain unnamed. Its great but far to infrequent.
        
         | baldgeek wrote:
         | why not name it?
        
       | mhb wrote:
       | Darknet Diaries: Money Maker
       | https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/102/
        
       | nikivi wrote:
       | I liked one with Kevin (first CEO of Instagram)
       | 
       | https://overcast.fm/+eZyDZHzsI
        
         | pawelwentpawel wrote:
         | Same here, that was my favourite!
        
         | throwtaway wrote:
         | Same here
        
       | serjester wrote:
       | Peter Attia's podcast with Tom Catena. He's a doctor in war torn
       | Africa and I'd argue one of most inspirational people alive.
       | Turned down money, resources and a comfortable life in the US to
       | make a greater impact in Africa. Peter Attia being a fellow
       | doctor adds tons to the discussion.
        
       | gxqoz wrote:
       | A recent 99% Invisible episode on alphabetical order was pretty
       | fascinating. It's based on Judith Flanders's new book about
       | alphabetical order, A Place for Everything. Among things I hadn't
       | considered is how in Chinese "alphabetical order" is based on the
       | number of strokes in the character.
       | 
       | https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/alphabetical-order/
       | 
       | Two other goods ones from the always enjoyable Decoder Ring:
       | 
       | Truly Tasteless Jokes - How "free speech" moved from being a
       | largely left-wing phenomenon to a right-wing phenomenon through
       | an '80s joke book: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-
       | ring/2021/12/decoder-ring...
       | 
       | The Tootsie Shot - About filming in New York and an iconic shot
       | you've seen from countless films -
       | https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2021/06/tootsie-shot
       | 
       | Finally, both seasons of TMC's The Plot Thickens that aired this
       | year were good listens. Season 2 is on the failed film adaptation
       | of The Bonfire of the Vanities. Season 3 is on Lucille Ball.
       | https://theplotthickens.tcm.com/
       | 
       | And heck, one more film podcast. The Mubi Podcast's episode on
       | the Chinese film "Dream Factory" and how it basically built up
       | that country's film industry was a great story I had never heard
       | before: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mubi-
       | podcast/id1569229...
        
       | starik36 wrote:
       | Lex Fridman talks to Jamie Metzl about the Lab Leak theory.
       | Absolutely fascinating.
       | 
       | https://lexfridman.com/jamie-metzl/
        
       | lhoff wrote:
       | Hands down this Lex's interview with Joscha Bach. Very inspiring
       | and a lot of interesting viewpoints.
       | https://lexfridman.com/joscha-bach-2/
       | 
       | EDIT For German Speakers i'd also recommend these two episodes: -
       | http://www.jungundnaiv-podcast.de/2021/09/535-aladin-el-mafa... -
       | https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/2021-03/maja-goepel-intervi...
        
         | aspectmin wrote:
         | Wow - absolutely the same here. That was an amazing discussion.
        
         | sva_ wrote:
         | I may also recommend his appearance on 'Theories of Everything
         | with Curt Jaimungal' and
         | 
         | > For German Speakers
         | 
         | Also https://alternativlos.org/42/
        
           | lhoff wrote:
           | I actually prefere the Talk on Alternativlos because it was
           | easier for me to grasp the complex ideas. I was listening it
           | again just last week. But for the mostly English speaking
           | community here the talk with LeX is equally good.
        
         | fredoliveira wrote:
         | This one for me as well. I found myself having to pause and
         | contemplate some of the ideas in that one several times. It's
         | fascinating to hear Joscha describe how he models everything
         | around us. Definitely worth a (patient, attentive) listen.
        
         | VieEnCode wrote:
         | Is Bach well-regarded in the AI community? I found this podcast
         | a very interesting listen and checked out many of his others.
         | He is a compelling speaker, but I am in not any way qualified
         | to verify his claims. He also seems somewhat categorical in his
         | statements about things that perhaps don't warrant such
         | confidence: e.g. his view of the nature of mind, consciousness,
         | the self, dreams, etc.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | swayson wrote:
           | The impression I get is he specialises more around the
           | philsophy of AI and cybernetics.
        
       | maneesh wrote:
       | By far, The Program Audio Series has been my favorite podcast of
       | all time. It's a dys/u/topian story of a world where money, god,
       | tech, and society all merge together into one, told in a very
       | interesting format.
       | 
       | It's so good that I reached out to the creator and hired him
       | haha.
       | 
       | He had a very interesting episode about humanity that was my
       | favorite episode of the year:
       | https://www.programaudioseries.com/19-abandonware/
       | 
       | As a disclaimer, I sponsored this episode --- but only because
       | it's awesome.
        
       | wdella wrote:
       | For excellent reporting on a dystopian intersection of tech and
       | politics:
       | 
       | Darknet Diaries Episode 100: NSO
       | 
       | On a different note: a whimsical, impossible, and hilarious
       | improvised musical:
       | 
       | Mission to Zyxx Episode 507: A Little 'Ditty about Jack and
       | Shai'an
        
       | shantara wrote:
       | Non-tech related: Anthropocene Reviewed - Orbital Sunrise
       | 
       | https://pod.link/1342003491
        
       | elevenoh wrote:
        
         | sveng wrote:
         | This doctor's claims made on that podcast have been largely
         | debunked.[0] And his association with a serious-sounding
         | medical group is rather revealing.[1]
         | 
         | JRE as Entertainment? Yes. Accurate guidance on important
         | science issues? Not so much.[2]
         | 
         | [0]https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/joe-
         | rogan-...
         | 
         | [1]https://www.reddit.com/r/JoeRogan/comments/rgzvr3/something_
         | ...
         | 
         | [2]https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health-and-
         | nutrit...
        
         | jetsetgo wrote:
        
         | shimonabi wrote:
         | I hope HN bans you for spreading deadly misinformation.
        
           | lwhalen wrote:
           | Indeed, deadly misinformation about a disease with a 99.8%
           | survival rate. The shame, the horror...
        
             | Bilal_io wrote:
             | 809300 deaths out of 51574787 cases is 1.5%. that's nothing
             | if you don't care about the people that died, or the many
             | that suffered and lived.
        
             | qwerqsdfqw wrote:
             | How many deaths does it take be considered deadly?
             | 
             | Based on the survival rate of 99.8% in 7B (approx world's
             | population) is about 14M deaths (if we are not there yet,
             | we should be tending towards it based on the survival
             | rate). Besides, this doesn't consider cases of long covid,
             | financial and other impact on people/families etc.
        
       | grae_QED wrote:
       | I have two: Darknet Diaries episode 92 on the pirate bay and the
       | Huberman Lab episode 22 on hypertrophy.
        
       | dannyeei wrote:
       | Can't believe no one has mentioned Acquired! The episode on
       | Standard Oil is extremely good
       | https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/standard-oil-part-i
        
       | bmcphail wrote:
       | Shawn Ryan Show #015 Former Seal Team Six operator goes deep into
       | his mental and physical training, injuries, addictions,
       | relationships, and more. Powerful is the most apt description.
       | Takes him a few minutes to warm up, but is unbelievable after.
       | 
       | Spotify -
       | https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ozFFhC6NS5fZcfRXhM2LZ?si=a...
       | YouTube - https://youtu.be/dWJ_WwWSabw
        
       | poo_clown wrote:
       | Alison McDowell on THC. Really good primer on web 3.0/spatial
       | web, impact investing, ESG, Outcome Based Education, smart
       | contracts, human capital markets, and predatory philanthropy. In
       | general I can't recommend her work enough at wrenchinthegears.com
       | but this episode was a really good starting point.
       | 
       | https://www.thehighersidechats.com/alison-mcdowell-human-cap...
        
       | qntty wrote:
       | I'm not usually a Joe Rogan listener, but I keep thinking about
       | the interview he did with Carl Hart:
       | https://open.spotify.com/episode/4xMbq7gLEjFioOQ5gpSw2l
       | 
       | Hart claims that the inherent addictiveness of even the most
       | addictive drugs (he talks mostly about heroin) is exaggerated,
       | because most of the worst addicts are dealing with psychological,
       | social, and financial difficulties in addition to drug addiction,
       | and drugs are often unfairly blamed for all their problems. I
       | don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but he has a
       | very interesting perspective.
        
         | spurgu wrote:
         | Personal anecdote. I tried (smoking) heroin once, out of
         | curiosity, and I beg to disagree. It was really nice and
         | calming. Then 30 minutes laters I got the urge and wanted more.
         | Then felt nice again. Then 20 minutes later I wanted more. Then
         | 10 minutes later. Then 5. Then the bag was empty and I felt
         | like crap. Then the car wouldn't start and we had to push it to
         | jump start - felt like one of the most physically demanding
         | things I've ever done.
         | 
         | If you were to shoot it in the vein those effects would be
         | exacerbated to a point I can't even imagine what the cravings
         | and after-effects would be like.
         | 
         | Granted I might not have been in the best state of mind back
         | then, but still. It's by far the most addictive (short-term)
         | substance I've ever tried. I still use others irregularly but
         | that one I'll never touch again.
        
           | qntty wrote:
           | I've heard a couple different stories about trying drugs like
           | heroin. Some say that they felt addicted immediately, some
           | say it takes a while. Then there's Carl Hart who says that he
           | has occasionally done heroin for years without developing an
           | addiction and he knows others like him.
           | 
           | If I had to guess, I'd say that there's a significant
           | minority of people who can do addictive drugs without getting
           | addicted and it's probably related to genetics. Maybe it has
           | something to do with sensitivity to pain and executive
           | function.
           | 
           | Either way, I don't plan on ever trying anything like that
           | myself. I suspect that I'd be one of the unlucky ones.
        
             | spurgu wrote:
             | This is highly plausible. Nicotine addiction seems to
             | differ from individual to individual as well. I know people
             | who smoke for years, then just one day decide to quit and
             | do it without any issues[0] and stay off it for a couple of
             | months or years and then start again, or not. Me personally
             | I go insane within 12-24 hours of abstinence (massive
             | anxiety/frustration) and it requires an enormous amount of
             | willpower to get past the 48-72 hours until it starts to
             | ease.
             | 
             | [0] They mostly cite the "habit" being hard to break
        
               | conductr wrote:
               | Most of my family growing up were smokers and always
               | trying/going to quit. What always amazed me is many times
               | one of them would quit for like a week or two, it was
               | hell for them, then they'd just pick it back up saying it
               | was just too hard. I'd think the hard part was over but
               | then I always connected it to the social part smoking and
               | the having something to do with their hands aspect.
               | There's something else besides the nicotine addiction
               | that's hard to kick.
        
           | spoonjim wrote:
           | Yes but what was your life like when you smoked heroin for
           | the first time? Were you economically comfortable, employed,
           | married, had kids, had a strong social network, had strong
           | ties to institutions in your community?
        
           | wbsss4412 wrote:
           | The thesis isn't that drugs aren't inherently addictive at
           | all, it's that the addictiveness (which I'm defining as the
           | degree to which it is difficult for people to stop using) is
           | estimated to be higher than the inherent addictive properties
           | of the drug would actually imply.
           | 
           | It's not to say that the drugs don't cause cravings, it's
           | that people without the aforementioned issues have a much
           | more straightforward ability to manage those cravings.
        
           | avgDev wrote:
           | I have taken opiates for pain, and first time I took it I
           | also experienced calm and euphoria. However, it only lasted
           | the first few doses. I would quickly need to up the dosage to
           | feel the same effects. I can see how someone could really
           | start doing more and more to get that effect. However, if you
           | are taking only the prescribed dosage I would argue that the
           | risk is quite low for severe addiction, but you would still
           | have dependence and would need to ween off. You would just
           | need to fight the "need" urge you experienced and be
           | conscious about the correct usage.
           | 
           | If I took a few days/weeks off and taken it again I would get
           | the same calming and euphoric effect but again it would
           | quickly wear off and would require higher dosage to get it,
           | but the pain was controlled at the same dosage.
           | 
           | The whole opiate epidemic really fked anyone with chronic
           | pain for who SSRIs don't work.
        
         | m_ke wrote:
         | A few related things that I just watched last night:
         | 
         | Opioid Tragedy: Inside the Fentanyl Crisis | Ten Dollar Death
         | Trip | ENDEVR Documentary: https://youtu.be/Dfv_tISYl8A
         | 
         | The Solution to the Opioid Crisis | Joe Rogan & Johann Hari:
         | https://youtu.be/vVMN3DgcRYk
        
       | coldpie wrote:
       | My was this 4-episode mini-series about the development of Halo
       | 2's multiplayer component. Links here: https://smarturl.it/H2Pod
        
       | ranger207 wrote:
       | Dan Carlin's Supernova in the East VI.
       | 
       | Given the insane brutality of the Pacific war, the stranglehold
       | the Japanese military had on its society, and the utterly
       | unbreakable Japanese will that just kept going loss after brutal
       | loss even when it was clear to everyone involved that there was
       | no possible way left for them to win, Carlin makes it clear that
       | the leaders of the day certainly felt justified with their
       | decisions to first firebomb and then atomic bomb Japanese
       | civilians and cities.
       | 
       | A couple of weeks later a friend told me that he believed that
       | you should be willing to fight to the death, and even the death
       | of others, for what you believe is right. I think morally of
       | course you should be committed to your beliefs, but if you
       | replicate that to that extent on a society-wide scale, you might
       | end up with another Imperial Japan.
       | 
       | https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-67-supern...
       | 
       | (Of course, as Carlin will often tell you, he's not a historian
       | and is more interested in an emotional story than 100% true
       | facts. I'll also recommend Ian Toll's Pacific War book trilogy
       | for a more accurate take on events. Plus, it covers the
       | incredibly brutal Battle of Manila that Carlin leaves out.)
        
       | darawk wrote:
       | This is pretty different than most of the other recommendations
       | on here, but the "Johnny Keys" story from Sammy Gravano's
       | podcast, which starts at the end of episode 6, and continues to
       | the beginning of episode 8:
       | 
       | https://youtu.be/oEFjWlgOu1k?t=1260 (this is the point in ep. 6
       | that the story starts)
       | 
       | It's a little bit ethically questionable to listen to, since the
       | guy is a killer, and he's profiting from it. However, the
       | storytelling in this thing is leagues better than any movie i've
       | seen in the last few years. He's literally sitting in his
       | armchair just talking, and it's so much more engaging than most
       | professionally written stories.
        
       | jtmetcalfe wrote:
       | Felix Biederman interviews former Gov. of Illinois and convicted
       | felon Rod Blagojevich on Chapo Trap House:
       | https://otter.ai/u/B_VZ8fzEK4S-c0jVmRQ2_wYHCCA
       | https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/561-teaser-blago-hat...
        
       | f0e4c2f7 wrote:
       | Tim Ferris #542 with Chris Dixon and Naval was the podcast that
       | made me think _maybe_ there might be something to web3 and it was
       | at least worth investigating.
       | 
       | 2 months later I'm still not yet sure. So take that for what it's
       | worth.
       | 
       | https://tim.blog/2021/10/28/chris-dixon-naval-ravikant/
       | 
       | As an honorable mention I'll also say that I've been listening to
       | Dan Carlin's series on Japan in WW2 and it has been incredible as
       | I've come to expect from his work.
        
       | wenbin wrote:
       | It's hard for me to pick one, as I've listened to many :)
       | 
       | Here's my master playlist (the only rss I subscribe on overcast):
       | https://lnns.co/3iXVgJq5MRa
        
       | dnissley wrote:
       | The Real Story of "The Central Park Karen"
       | 
       | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/honestly-with-bari-wei...
       | 
       | Remember the story about the off leash dog walker and the bird
       | watcher in central park that went viral right around the time
       | when the murder of George Floyd took place? In all of the ensuing
       | frenzy I had personally believed the horrible portrait the media
       | painted of this woman, but this podcast showed just how wrong
       | that portrayal was.
        
       | CyanDeparture wrote:
       | The Off Menu with Bridget Christie as the guest (it has zero to
       | do with tech):
       | 
       | https://play.acast.com/s/offmenu/ep130-bridgetchristie
        
         | tailspin2019 wrote:
         | Seconded!
         | 
         | Also #112 with Simon Amstell was good as was the recent episode
         | with Harry Hill.
        
       | marban wrote:
       | Pretty much all early episodes of https://hubermanlab.com --
       | Though it's become a bit lengthy and repetitive lately.
        
         | tailspin2019 wrote:
         | I agree with the early episodes being very good. I've put quite
         | a lot of learnings into action after listening to those.
         | (Especially the episodes on sleep).
         | 
         | The biggest takeaway was understanding the impact of body
         | temperature on circadian rhythms. I'd known about the impact of
         | light before (but he had a lot more information to share on
         | that too which I hadn't previously heard), but the body
         | temperature stuff was completely new to me and fascinating.
         | 
         | I can't vouch for the later episodes as I haven't listened for
         | a while...
        
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