One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Crime that Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein, Volumes 1 & 2 By: Whitney Alyse Webb Briefly, what are these books about? The alleged connections between organized crime and national intelligence agencies which led to the numerous illicit operations including Watergate, Iran-Contra, the…

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by: Neil Gaiman There Is No Antimemetics Division by: qntm The Man Who Had All the Luck by: Arthur Miller How Green Was My Valley by: Richard Llewellyn Theft of Fire: Orbital Space #1 by: Devon Eriksen Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) by: Robin Hobb Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 2) by:…

With the enormous increase in the power of AI (specifically LLMs) people are using them for all sorts of things, hoping to find areas where they’re better, or at least cheaper than humans. FiveThirtyNine (get it?) is one such attempt, and they claim that AI can do forecasting better than humans. Scott Alexander, of Astral Codex Ten, reviewed the se…

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by: Michael A. Singer Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It by: Ethan Kross The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by: John Mark Comer Dumb Money: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragt…

Journey of the Mind: How Thinking Emerged from Chaos by: Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States by: James C. Scott This post represents a new feature (experiment?) I plan to occasionally write posts which take advantage of one or more books I read recently, but which aren’t actually reviews of those books. …

How durable is the state? How resistant is it to being overthrown? How closely does it reflect our desires? Is it possible it has its own desires? But maybe more importantly how does all this affect the possibility of a very close election in November?โดย Jeremiah

A narcissistic dialogue around ideas that are either annoyingly fractured or wholly unrealistic. DON'T DIE: Dialogues By: Bryan Johnson Published: 2023 247 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? How best to extend the lifespan of humans and the lifetime of humanity presented in the form of a fictional dialogue between various aspects of the author…

Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 by: George Chauncey The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised by: James Pethokoukis Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History by: Nellie Bowles Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir by: We…

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/divine-disappointment-and-mortal Is God Disappointed in Me?: Removing Shame from a Gospel of Grace By: Kurt Francom Published: 2024 190 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Our parents expect that we will do certain things—perhaps it’s cleaning our rooms, perhaps it’s becoming a doctor—when we don't, t…

Luke Richey has a long history of founding companies in the gaming industry. He has pioneered augmented reality technology and worked with cutting edge virtual reality scientists. Today he talks about his journey to God and the miraculous path that brought him there.โดย Mike Sudyk

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by: Kelly and Zach Weinersmith Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by: Judith Herrin The Birth of the West: Rome, Germany, France, and the Creation of Europe in the Tenth Century by: Paul Collins Missing: The Need for Closure After the G…

My submission to the Astral Codex Ten Book Review Contest. It was not a finalist. Comments are appreciated. (Especially ones pointing out how much better it is than the actual finalists.) Links to transcript sections: I- Prologue II- The Core Observation III- The Realm of the Potentially Traumatic IV- “Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Children!?”…

If Trump can brazen is way through all of his various scandals why can't Biden brazen his way through this?โดย Jeremiah

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by: Matthew B. Crawford Nuclear War: A Scenario by: Annie Jacobson The Pragmatist's Guide to Relationships: Ruthlessly Optimized Strategies for Dating, Sex, and Marriage by: Malcolm and Simone Collins Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by: Salman Rushdie Arkham: (The Weird of Hali…

Just look at the episode picture. The episode picture explains all...โดย Jeremiah

The Burnout Society by: Byung-Chul Han Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization by: Brad Wilcox The MANIAC by: Benjamín Labatut Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire by: Peter Wilson You Can’t Screw This Up: Why Eating Takeout, Enjoying Dessert, and Taking the Stress out of Dieting …

Irish Impressions by: G. K. Chesterton How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide by: Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form by: Paul Lockhart A Little History of Science by: William Bynum Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and …

Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities by: David B. Auerbach The Robot’s Rebellion: Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin by: Keith E. Stanovich Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by: John Vaillant Persian Fire The First World Empire and the Battle for the West by: Tom Holland Submi…

The Matter With Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World (Volume 2) by: Iain McGilchrist The World Behind the World: Consciousness, Free Will, and the Limits of Science by: Erik Hoel Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by: Beth Macy American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert …

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by: Rick Rubin The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by: Leonard Mlodinow Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year compiled by: Allie Esiri The Monster of Florence by: Douglas Preston Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age by: Dale C. Allison Jr. As a Driven Leaf by: Milton Steinberg…

Jamie Exodus is the founder of Exodus 90 which is a fraternity for men to grow spiritually. Jamie on LinkedIn Exodus websiteโดย Mike Sudyk

Joel Lopez works with men to help them build strong marriages. https://twitter.com/TheeJoelLopezโดย Mike Sudyk

My report from Natal Con 2023. Including reflections on Tommy Boy, seatbelts, and the proliferation of polycrises.โดย Jeremiah

Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny by: Robert Wright Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by: Matthew Desmond Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough by: Michael Easter Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by: Robert Pirsig Finite and Infinite Games by: James Ca…

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/egregores-group-minds-and-white-magic Is there such a thing as a group mind? If so how does it affect the thriving and surviving of groups? What do such group minds look like from a historical perspective? What about a modern perspective?โดย Jeremiah

Ross Simmonds is a father of 3 kids. He is a marketing mastermind in the areas of SaaS and all things digital creation. He hails from Nova Scotia. Where to Find Ross https://rosssimmonds.com/ https://twitter.com/thecoolestcool/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds/ https://open.spotify.com/show/3xtAETor7wKlNEVrH8OPAF?si=1a4bc39873a74481…

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/11/the-overemphasis-on-love-and-tolerance/ Love is very important for Christians, but has there been too much emphasis placed on it? And has this emphasis warped it into something else? To put it more simply is perfect Christian love the same as unlimited tolerance? This post argue…

The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics by: Richard Hanania How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement by: Fredrik deBoer The Matter With Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World (Volume 1) by: Iain McGilchrist The Alter Ego Effect: Defeat the Enemy, Unlock Your Heroic S…

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/the-worst-book-ive-ever-read/ John Seel Jr.'s book, The New Copernicans, is the worst book I have ever read. He puts forth a dubious premise. In support of which he provides no data to back it up, nor any anecdotes which illustrate it actually occurring. To the extent there is a…

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/worthy-of-our-sufferings/ Dostoevsky wrote, "There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." What does that mean? I think he meant that whatever suffering we’re experiencing it’s suffering God felt we were capable of handling. We need to prove worthy of…

Nate is the founder of New Founding, a venture firm in Dallas Texas. The mission of NF is to "Build the America you want to live in", and branded as "A venture firm for American vitality". He is also a father of 4 (soon to be 5). Where To Find Nate Nate on Twitter Nate on LinkedIn Nate's Venture Firm…

Blake Smith - Founder of Allsmith and father of 6 talks about founding companies and families and the overlap between the two. We discuss what it means to be a team and focus less on the individual. Blake on twitterโดย Mike Sudyk

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/can-we-eliminate-struggle-2023 Humanity has struggled and suffered for so long that we might be unable to survive without them. We dream of such elimination through technology, but will that dream turn into a nightmare?โดย Jeremiah

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/tragedies-truths-and-technologies/ Historically we didn't worry about wars in far away places because we weren't aware of them. Now we're aware of them, but with the rise of AI we're going to have a similar difficulty acquiring accurate information. This is going to complicate o…

Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by: Natasha Dow Schüll The Evolutionary Limits of Liberalism: Democratic Problems, Market Solutions and the Ethics of Preference Satisfaction by: Filipe Nobre Faria A Language Older Than Words by: Derrick Jensen WTF?!: An Economic Tour of the Weird by: Peter T. Leeson Blowback (Second Edition): The…

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/would-you-wager-on-pascals-mugging/ Imagine that someone walks up to you and demands all your money. If you fail to comply they threaten to kill all the inhabitants of some far off planet. How would you react? And is this similar to Pascal's Wager?…

Bart Szaniewski is one of the founders and the current head of DadGang. HE shares the story of taking it from a side hustle fun idea to his current full-time gig.โดย Mike Sudyk

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/betting-on-the-future/ There are three obvious paths forward: religion, atheism and transhumanism. But each of these paths must be chosen. There's also a fourth path, that of apathy. Which should we choose?โดย Jeremiah

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/ai-risk-might-be-more-subtle-than Depressed people are more prone to addiction. If social media engagement looks a lot like addiction, does that mean algorithms for increasing engagement also increase depression?โดย Jeremiah

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/09/the-greatest-three-nephites-story-ever-told/ It is believed that, during his mortal ministry, Jesus granted immortality to three of His American apostles. Known as the Three Nephites they now wander the Earth until His return, doing good. This has lead to many stories of miracul…

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/09/faith-ufos-the-supernatural-and-transistor-radios/ Why are many people so willing to believe evidence of UFOs and Aliens, and so unwilling to believe evidence for God?โดย Jeremiah

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/speculative-attempts-to-complicate When things aren't going well, those in power will sometimes introduce some speculative chaos in the hopes that what emerges on the other side will be better. It mostly doesn't work.โดย Jeremaih

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/09/the-thickness-of-the-world/ In the book Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis there is a scene where the King is arguing with a priest about what seems to be an unreasonable demand from one of the gods. The priest says something profound, something I'm still trying to wrap my head arou…

The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction by: Matthew B. Crawford Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by: Oliver Burkeman Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future by: Jean M. Twenge When Violence Is the Answer: …

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/the-apocalypse-will-not-be-as-cool There are many potential apocalypses, and when people imagine them they imagine that everyone will die. On the contrary most people will live, and it will be messy and miserable.โดย Jeremiah

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/08/does-technology-encourage-virtue/ Last week we looked at how technology appears to multiple our temptations, but what does it do to our better impulses. If we move from considering the Deadly Sins to the Capital Virtues does technology undermine our efforts or assist us?…

Apparently even the "smart" people are finally ready to admit that we should start reducing our annual deficit. In 2017 I was unclear on what the endgame was. I'm still unclear.โดย Jeremiah

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/08/the-temptations-of-technology/ What effect does technology have on the temptations we experience? If we examine the seven deadly sins it would appear that in all cases technology makes these sins more tempting and more accessible. Why would that be?…

End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration by: Peter Turchin Minds Make Societies: How Cognition Explains the World Humans Create by: Pascal Boyer How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by: Steven Johnson Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by: Peter Attia MD Jump Gate Twist by: Mark L. …

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/08/and-there-was-silence-in-heaven/ In the Book of Revelation we read that when the seventh seal was opened there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. In this post I'm going to engage in some spurious scriptural speculation about what that might mean.…