Critical Nonsense

What universal truths do you believe in? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about database shapes, LLMs, collective human intelligence, apple eating, folk wisdom, and Pi. They don’t talk about apple pie, though. 

references 

• West End Girls 
• Ethan Mollic on the "universal geometry" of meaning 
• The Platonic Representation Hypothesis 
• Doctor Dillamond’s Classroom 
• Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language 
• Study: Association Between Apple Consumption and Physician Visits 
• Honeycrisp apples 

How do you feel about no-phone zones? 

This week, Joey and Aaron talk about AI, parenting, over-responsibility, constant access, bluetooth speakers, and biking while texting. They don’t talk about Nowadays. 

references 

• Rabbit r1 AI agent 
• The Humane AI Pin 
• The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee 
• The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards 
• The Bobiverse 
• The Traitors 
• Quad Press Release: "81% of Gen Z report wishing it was easier to disconnect from digital devices" 

Do we need to create more with friends? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about consuming, the value cycle, parallel play, time horizons, water-based cooking, and Ciabatta. They don’t talk about Real Genius. 

references 

• Superstar 
• "My grand theory of life is to just hammer the shit out of quadrant 4" 

How do we muster the courage? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about fear, Inside Out 2, Andor, The Mandalorian, stoking action, and antidotes. They don’t talk about booze. 

references 

• I can run the world from my mama's house. 
• The New York Times: A.G. Sulzberger: A Free People Need a Free Press 

How do we stress professionally? 

This week, Aaron, Jess, and Joey talk about Cowboy Carter, self-regulation, Frozen, tears, being "professional," and anger. They don’t talk about Organized Konfusion. 

references 

• Self-regulation for adults: Strategies for getting a handle on emotions and behavior 
• Emmanuel Acho on the myth of the 'Angry Black Man' 
• Sister Wives 

How is this world optimized for dating? 

This week, special guest Chloe returns to chat with Joey about high yield investment strategies, influencers, gender polarization, crushes, the butterfly effect, and Russian hackers. They don’t talk about the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14. 

references 

• Nonsense 259! The Trend-Mill 
• Marie Claire: Who is Becca Bloom? 
• Looking for an Explanation in Finance 
• Rumble Boxing 

How do you approach reclaiming or disavowing your creative outputs that you don't love? 

This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Smithee-ing, TV edits, résumé writing, Spike Jonze, sportsball, and the DC Universe. They don’t talk about Cordwainer Bird. 

references 

• "God of Wine" 
• Alan Smithee on IMDB 
• Spike Jonze 
• Charles Barkley 
• The Room 
• Spread your wings 

How good is hi-res for our imagination? 

This week, Aaron and Jess talk about smoothing, the boundless powers of creativity, Smell-O-Phone/Vision, imagination reconstruction, gaming, and nurturing our sense of play. They don’t talk about NHL 98 on Sega Genesis. 

references 

• The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister 
• Why It's SO Hard to Find a Game You ACTUALLY Like 
• Harvard Business Review: How Generative AI Can Augment Human Creativity 
• Everything Everywhere All At Once - Hot Dog Fingers Scene 
• The Simpsons - 1950's Super Panavision 70 
• A Minecraft Movie 

How do we make people feel seen? 

This week, Joey, Jess, and Aaron talk about the burden of eyes, privacy, showing, acknowledging, surprise parties, and social anxieties. They don’t talk about the Talking Heads. 

references 

• Dreaming about Cranberries, sans muffin. 
• Revisiting Critical Nonsense 302! Thought Bottling 
• Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: Helpful, Harmful, or Neither? 
• Observer Principle 
• Hidden Brain Podcast: Relationships 2.0: The Price of Disconnection 

How are we processing uncertainty differently? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about Punxsutawney Phil, tariffs, the meme recession, Jason Bourne, Edmonton, and Sam Cooke. They don’t talk about the bleak and endless hopelessness of it all. 

references 

• Corrections Department: There's air in between you and I (even if we're not seventeen) 
• Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson 
• "A Change Is Gonna Come" 
• Corrections Department: The eleven studio albums Sam Cooke recorded and released before his death in 1964