Podcast Notes Playlist: Latest Episodes

Although they may call it different things and approach its attainment in different ways, many of the world’s religions and philosophies have a similar goal: achieving a life of virtue, peace, and flourishing.

In his new book, Seriously Happy, Ben Aldrige explains how anyone can use the wisdom of ancient traditions to improve themselves and live the Good life. Today on the show, Ben offers a thumbnail sketch of Buddhism, Cynicism, Taoism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Aristotelianism, along with practices and challenges inspired by these philosophies, including walking a banana, listening to a music performance without music, and taking a Wu Wei adventure, that you can use to put ancient wisdom into action and become a better and happier man.

• Ben’s previous appearance on the AoM podcast: Episode #640 — Weird and Wonderful Ways to Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
• AoM Podcast #148: Trying Not to Try
• Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment by Robert Wright
• John Cage’s 4’33”
• Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

• Ben’s website

• Check out the episode page

Eric Weinstein is a mathematician, economist, former Managing Director of Thiel Capital and a podcaster.

• In the United States, free speech is not a right granted by the government but is considered an unalienable right of a human being
• But free speech is viewed differently in the European Union; for example, the French view free speech as needing to strike a balance between the individual and the community 
• It was revealed during the “Twitter Files” controversy that American lobbyists wanted to push America more towards the European model of policing speech online
• The state has figured out how to turn the Internet into an instrument of social control 
• Counter-terrorism to Counter-populism: Many of the government agencies that once focused on stopping terrorist groups have shifted their focus inward domestically to monitor and censor American citizens 
• The state uses “misinformation” as a pretext for guiding messaging
• The gradual drift towards authoritarianism: People come to worship authority when the state “saves” them from every “emergency”
• Be wary of Language Inflation: A phenomenon in which extreme language is used to describe something that does not warrant the use of extreme language 
• There is a natural political bias in government-sponsored censorship; the people who fill government censorship positions tend to come from left-leaning universities 

In the past few weeks, there’s been an increasing number of threats to freedom of speech around the world.

In France, authorities arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov for failing to adequately moderate content and prevent criminal activity on his platform. 

In the UK, since the outbreak of anti-immigration riots, police have arrested individuals merely for posting comments online. The Labour-led government has suggested expanding measures to remove “legal but harmful” content. 

In Brazil, President Lula’s administration has proposed new regulations requiring social media companies to monitor and remove “harmful content,” and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice just banned X altogether in the country. The ruling came after the platform missed a deadline to name a new legal representative there.

From Hungary to Pakistan, the right to speak your mind, particularly on the internet, is more precarious than ever. 

Even in the United States, with our free speech rights enshrined in the Constitution, polls suggest an entire generation has grown up thinking it should be illegal to say something inaccurate or hateful. Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz said as much: “There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy.”

So how did we get here? And, where is this all going? 

Today, Michael sits down with the intrepid journalist Matt Taibbi, who knows this issue inside out. When The Free Press launched, he reported the Twitter Files with Bari Weiss, and together they exposed how government agencies had pressured Twitter to censor undesirable information, including skepticism of Covid lockdowns and opposition to Covid-related public school closures. 

In this conversation, Matt and Michael talk about what’s happening in Europe, Brazil, and here in the U.S. They discuss the factors that precipitated the so-called “misinformation wars,” from 9/11 to Brexit and Trump’s election, that convinced elites of the need to enforce restrictions on speech. And they talk about why these efforts are doomed to backfire. 

If you liked what you heard from Honestly, the best way to support us is to go to thefp.com and become a Free Press subscriber today.

• The state of bewilderment that we are currently living through is beneficial to those in power because it grants them more control 
• Those in power benefit from bewilderment, conflict, and chaos because it is easier to assert authority in these environments 
• When a state of crisis benefits those in power, you can expect a perpetual state of crisis 
• The state attempts to emulate the characteristics of God: omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and glory  
• “Secularism is all well and good, as long as the state doesn’t behave like a god.” – Russell Brand 
• If you have a deep need for God, then be careful because the culture will try to fill that desire with false gods such as drugs, alcohol, money, and fame
• See every person that you come across as a human being; be open to the idea that God is trying to speak to you through another person
• If our communities are guided by God, then it is more likely that we will create communities, states, nations, and a planet of peace and prosperityfrom the bottom up, and not from the top down 
• While technology has created the possibility of further decentralization of power, crises are being used to legitimize decentralization; those in power prefer the trajectory of totalitarianism and technological feudalism under the peculiar veil of kindness and protection 
• Protection and control exist on a continuum; this dynamic is fine for a parent who is looking after her child, but not for a state and its people 

Tucker Carlson Live Tour in Phoenix, AZ. Russell Brand on his baptism and God’s role in the battle against totalitarianism in the west.

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• Tips for maintaining consistency: (1) What gets you excited to work out?; (2) What exercise do you enjoy and have low pain with?; (3) What will you execute consistently?
• Variables for building strength: (1) Mechanical tension; (2) Number of hard sets; (3) Training muscles at long lengths under tension
• Factors that increase the risk of injury: (1) Increase in training load and/or volume when you aren’t prepared; (2) Psychological stress – what happens in the mind affects the body (and what happens in the body affects the mind); (3) Sleep quality is a big lever for injury risk and pain management

• Form doesn’t move the needle on injury risk – tissue adaptation matters more

• Seed oils are not innocuous but energy toxicity is a big chunk of what’s happening, we’re eating too much and moving too little
• Seed oils are also more representative of consuming more processed foods
• Bottom line: There is no strong evidence to avoid seed oils, as long as you’re still controlling for overall diet quality and calories – focus on diet quality and the bigger picture

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Dr. Layne Norton is a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences, a professional bodybuilder, and a champion powerlifter. We discuss why most people aren’t training too hard, when to go to failure, whether seed oils are “the” central cause of chronic disease, why having a slow metabolism isn’t a credible reason for being overweight (for most), and the sustaining power of good habits. We also get into controversies around the carnivore diet, diet sodas, artificial sweeteners, intermittent fasting, and much more.

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (04:48) Layne's coaching philosophy
• (14:39) Why to start tracking calories (for at least 3 days)
• (17:41) Why people lie to themselves about food intake
• (23:06) The profound benefits of small exercise doses
• (26:53) Why you should treat exercise like brushing your teeth
• (30:11) Benefits of resistance training for older individuals
• (33:51) Should you train to failure?
• (47:07) Why hard training & consistency trump exercise selection
• (56:46) Is lifting heavy necessary for building muscle?
• (57:54) Barbell vs. hack squats for preventing falls
• (1:00:10) Can lifting weights decrease low-back pain?
• (1:01:43) Injury prevention when resistance training
• (1:11:16) How exposure therapy can help you with injuries
• (1:15:04) Why pain doesn't always indicate tissue injury
• (1:18:17) Should you resistance train after a poor night of sleep?
• (1:21:57) Why menopause can cause weight gain
• (1:29:36) Why it's never too late to start lifting weights
• (1:32:05) Resistance training tips for older individuals with joint pain
• (1:36:18) Why total protein intake matters more than distribution
• (1:44:19) Layne's daily protein distribution
• (1:46:44) The shortcomings of nutrition studies
• (1:54:06) Is consuming more than 1.6 g/kg of protein beneficial?
• (1:55:33) Should you eat more protein in a calorie deficit?
• (1:56:43) Protein intake for endurance athletes
• (1:58:07) How much protein does Layne eat?
• (1:59:11) Are seed oils a predominant cause of chronic disease?
• (2:08:45) Does the carnivore diet increase heart disease risk?
• (2:14:16) Are heated seed oils more inflammatory?
• (2:20:33) Is there a "big food" industry conspiracy?
• (2:26:17) Are sugar-sweetened beverages uniquely deleterious?
• (2:30:17) Can diet soda help you lose weight?
• (2:34:20) Microbiome & cancer risks of diet soda
• (2:42:02) Is drinking 1 Diet Coke per day unhealthy?
• (2:44:24) Why Layne rarely takes a strong position on early science
• (2:49:04) Carnivore diet
• (3:01:52) Time-restricted eating
• (3:12:38) Layne's daily routine
• (3:16:55) Layne's diet and supplements
• (3:19:49) Creatine and hair loss
• (3:22:49) Rhodiola rosea & ashwagandha
• (3:25:54) Layne's tier 2 supplements

Show notes are available by clicking here

Watch this episode on YouTube

• Check out the episode page

“We have created for ourselves a world that we didn't evolve for.”

Gurwinder Bhogal is, for my money, one of the most independent, original and insightful thinkers you’ll find in our corner of the internet.

He returns to discuss how willpower and good old-fashioned human agency can help us reclaim our mental sovereignty and escape the “constant avalanche of concerns that are being vomited over us through our laptop screens, our phones, our TV screens, and in conversations.”

For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other stuff designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!” check out our Substack.

Important Links:

• Gurwinder's Substack 
• Gurwinder's Twitter
• Gurwinder’s previous Infinite Loops appearance

Show Notes:

• “We have created for ourselves a world we didn’t evolve for”
• The dogged persistence of our stubborn beliefs
• Gamification; generational differences in agency
• The societal impact of the education system’s changing priorities
• How to zombify a population
• Skin in the game: Gurwinder’s guide to reclaiming agency
• LLMs, bullshit, and the atomization of culture
• How to play better games
• Willpower is the bottleneck
• Gurwinder as emperor of the world
• MORE!

Books Mentioned:

• Why Everything is Becoming a Game; by Gurwinder Bhogal
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know; by Adam Grant
• The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr
• The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements; by Eric Hoffer
• Why the Mental Health of Liberal Girls Sank First and Fastest; by Jonathan Haidt (After Babel)
• America’s Colleges Are Reaping What They Sowed; by Tyler Austin Harper (The Atlantic)
• Joe Biden and the Common Knowledge Game; by Ben Hunt (Epsilon Theory)
• The Emperor’s New Clothes; by Hans Christian Andersen
• Futarchy Details; by Robin Hanson (Overcoming Bias)
• The Enlightenment Trilogy; by Jed McKenna
• The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by Joseph Henrich

The name of Nobel usually calls to mind Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, and the internationally prestigious prizes that bear his name. But Alfred was only one member of a creative and innovative family who built an industrial empire in prerevolutionary Russia. The saga begins with an emigre from Sweden, Immanuel Nobel, who was an architect, a pioneer producer of steam engines, and a maker of weapons.

Immanuel's sons included Alfred; Robert, who directed the family's activities in the Caspian oil fields; and Ludwig, an engineering genius and manufacturing magnate whose boundless energy and fierce determination created the Russian petroleum industry.

Ludwig's son Emanuel showed similar mettle, shrewdly bargaining with the Rothschilds for control of the Russian markets and competing head-on with Standard Oil and Royal Dutch Shell for lucrative world markets.

Perhaps no family in history has played so decisive a role in building an industrial empire in an underdeveloped but resource-rich nation. Yet the achievements of the Nobel family have been largely forgotten. When the Bolsheviks came to power, Emmanuel had to flee the country disguised as a peasant.

The Nobel empire with its 50,000 workers lay in ruins. An empire which had taken eighty years to design and build, was nearly destroyed, bringing a sudden and bitter end to one of the most remarkable industrial odysseys in world history.

This episode is what I learned from reading The Russian Rockefellers: The Saga of the Nobel Family and the Russian Oil Industry by Robert Tolf.

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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth

Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

• Writing invokes clarity of thought; it forces you to ensure that every you say is actually correct 
• Productive writers are always thinking about the topics they write about, even if they are not sitting in front of their computer 
• The goal of writing is not to convince the reader that you are right, but to force the reader to think about the issue that you are discussing
• “The most important article you write is the second article someone reads.” – Ben Thompson 
• Develop a framework for writing by using “The Writing Machine”:
  • Have an overall view of the world and how it works
  • Process news and information as it happens
  • Fed that information into your worldview machine
  • The output that this machine churns out is your content 

What if writing a newsletter could pay your rent? Well, it can. And today, you’re going to learn how.

SPEAKER LINKS: 

WRITE OF PASSAGE: 

PODCAST LINKS: 

• “Every tap on a mobile app is a miracle for you as a product developer.” – Nikita Bier 
• Teens see each other everyday; this is one of the most important factors for why teen consumer apps have a higher probability of going viral 
• If you are building a product with network effects and that is a communication tool, then you want to be positioned on that upward curve of adding connections to your social graph, because there is a higher urgency to connect 
• Search for product ideas by using the concept “latent demand”: Identify the user’s motivation, clear up what they are actually trying to do, and then crystalize the process for them; this leads to intense adoption
• The most important thing to increase your probability of success: Develop a reproducible testing process 
• You will know when your product is working; if there is any uncertainty, then your product is not working 
• People download apps to make or save money, find a mate, or unplug from reality 
• How to take a product from Zero to One: Execute at 100% for the thing you are trying to validate at that specific stage of the product development cycle
• Always do right by users; if you do wrong to users, the internet will eventually find a way to seek its revenge on you 
• While discovering a new communication product is a once-in-a-decade black swan event, growing a product can be more of a science 
• Your app must demonstrate value in the first three seconds or it is not going to work  
• “Consumer products live and die in the pixels.” – Nikita Bier 

Nikita Bier is one of the most in-demand consumer, social, and growth experts in the world. He’s the co-founder of TBH (sold to Meta for more than $30 million) and Gas (sold to Discord for millions more) and has helped more consumer apps that have hit #1 in the app stores than any other person I’ve come across. He currently spends his time advising founders on growth, product, and design and is an investor and advisor to some of the best consumer tech companies, including Flo, Locket, Eight Sleep, Citizen, BeReal, Captions, and more. In our conversation, we discuss:

• The inside story of how TBH and Gas achieved explosive growth

• Strategies for building viral consumer apps

• Why teens are such a great audience

• Fighting the human trafficking hoax at Gas

• The challenge of creating durable social products

• His experience working as a PM at Facebook

• Advice for founders on building consumer apps

• Much more

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Brought to you by:

• Webflow—The web experience platform

• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security

• Explo—Embed customer-facing analytics in your product

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Book Nikita for 1:1 consultation/mentoring: https://intro.co/NikitaBier

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Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-consistently-go-viral-nikita-bier

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Where to find Nikita Bier:

• X: https://x.com/nikitabier 

• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nikitabier

• Website: https://intro.co/NikitaBier

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Nikita’s background 

(06:08) Nikita’s early ventures: Politify and Outline

(08:42) Transition to consumer apps

(13:45) The birth of TBH

(16:43) Building for teens vs. adults

(20:00) TBH’s viral success

(32:18) Leveraging live chat

(34:08) Lasting lessons from TBH

(37:00) Selling TBH to Facebook

(42:19) Big-tech product management

(48:46) Nikita on why “product management is not real”

(51:49) The Tim Cook painting story

(53:53) Leaving Facebook and starting a new venture

(58:02) Rebuilding TBH and overcoming challenges

(59:46) Addressing criticism

(01:04:24) The human trafficking hoax

(01:09:51) Selling to Discord and lessons learned

(01:11:36) Lasting lessons from Gas

(01:13:14) Building durable consumer apps

(01:22:35) The VC route

(01:23:27) Contact permissions in iOS 18

(01:26:53) The success of Dupe

(01:31:53) Advice for startup founders

(01:34:14) Work with Nikita

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

• There have been about five political realignments throughout American history, and we are going through another one right now 
• The Democratic Party now consists of the elites, and the Republican Party now consists of the middle and working class 
• The first step towards totalitarianism always begins with censorship
• A democracy cannot exist with censorship: Throughout history, the people who were censoring speech always turn out to be the bad guys  
• Thirty-seven hours after Biden took the oath of office, his administration opened up a portal to the FBI so that it would have access to social media posts across the various platforms 
• Elon Musk would have the hero of the old Democratic Party; but today, he is its enemy
• The most important issues to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why he got involved in politics:
  • End unjust foreign wars 
  • Stop the censorship 
  • Protect the children the emergent chronic disease epidemic
• A function of the president is to explain to the country why we should be proud of the people within it 
• If you vote for Kamala Harris, you are not electing her – you are electing the apparatus around her 
• “When we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine, to understand who God is, and our own potential and duties are as human beings. ” – RFK Jr 

When Bobby Kennedy endorsed Donald Trump last week, he burned his boats. There’s no turning back for him, or for American politics. Here’s his first interview since that happened.

(00:00) Get Tickets to Our Live Tour at TuckerCarlson.com