Podcast Notes Playlist: Latest Episodes

• Dunbar’s number suggests that humans can maintain about 150 relationships at a given time 
• Humans have spent most of our lives in smaller, hunter-gatherer groups; existing together in large cities is a relatively new thing for the species 
• The best predictor of your mental and physical health – in addition to how long you are going to live into the future – is the number and quality of your closest relationships 
• There is a correlation between the number of friends people claim to have and the size of certain regions in their brains 
• “If you really want to live forever, just make sure you have five friends.” – Robin Dunbar 
• The emotional closeness of a relationship is highly correlated to the amount of time invested in it 
• Laughter, singing, and storytelling are how we foster emotional closeness with others without physical touch 
• Homophily is the tendency for people to seek out or be attracted to those who are similar to themselves; this is the driving force behind friendships 
• Face-to-face relationships are paramount: there is a significant difference between bonding with something in your head and with someone in the real world

My guest today is Robin Dunbar. Robin is a biological anthropologist, evolutionary psychologist, and specialist in primate behavior. He is the man behind Dunbar’s number, a theory about the number of stable relationships we can maintain at once. Robin unravels the thread of research that led him to Dunbar’s number and describes how this plays into every single person’s layers of human connection. It was fascinating to hear how his findings on social circles have implications for optimally structuring businesses and organizations, as well as the idea of homophily, all of which Robin thoughtfully explains. It was a treat to get to explore these topics with Robin Dunbar himself so please enjoy this great conversation.  

Listen to Founders Podcast

• The Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York was the site of the worst environmental disaster involving chemical waste in U.S. history 
• The site was eventually filled in, and years later after selling the land to the City of Niagara for $1, housing developments and a school were built on top of it 
• In just a few years after people started living in the area, some people began developing horrible physical defects, and the rate of birth defects skyrocketed 
• Many residents who moved into the area had no idea that toxic waste was stored below them 
• In 1976, the Niagara Gazette published the first article that explained the origins of the Love Canal neighborhood, explaining the history of the Hooker Company and the toxic waste that was buried beneath the soil 
• It took several years for the issue to be acknowledged; several city-sponsored investigations took place, but the results were not shared with the local populous 
• Grassroot initiatives, led by Lois Gibbs, eventually brought national media attention to the crisis; her efforts led to $50+ million in federal and state funding to mitigate the effects of the disaster 
• A state of emergency was declared, the town was eventually shut down and flattened, and all but two families left Love Canal
• People have since moved back into the area, which is now known as Black Creek; today, some of the people living in the town remain unaware of the history of Love Canal  

A man with an unfulfilled vision left a huge gash in the ground near Niagara Falls. Then a chemical company came along and filled it with toxic waste. Then people came along and built homes and an elementary school on top of it. Then things went badly.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

• The key question to consider about work and productivity: “How do we produce stuff, and be proud and ambitious about what we are doing, but also not burn out?” 
• Pseudo-productivity places too great an emphasis on looking busy but not creating anything of value; it is busyness for the sake of busyness because measuring productivity any other way in the knowledge work sector is too difficult  
• Do not shatter your day into fragments so small that you get nothing meaningful done 
• History’s greatest knowledge workers worked very slowly 
• Doing fewer things at once will enable you to accomplish more things 
• Your results are determined by intensity in the short term and consistency in the long term 
• Never give a yes or a no in the room; not saying yes or no in the room creates psychological distance from the decision 
• “Busyness” is attractive to people because it is a goal that they can succeed at; if a person wants to be busy, they will be busy   
• Signal to others that you are very careful about your time
• “People who obsess over quality grow antibodies to busyness.” – Cal Newport 

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University, a productivity expert and an author.

• Check out these Podcast Notes on Stuff You Should Know About Manhunts 

For a learning disability that everyone seems to know about, dyslexia is maybe the most commonly misunderstood and controversial cognitive difficulty there is. Some people think it’s a gift, some people think it doesn’t even exist. Learn more in this classic episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

• A common interpretation across civilizations is that solar eclipses happen when the people on earth have done something bad 
• Another popular interpretation of solar eclipses is that when humans were fighting too much on Earth, the sun and the moon would begin to fight in the sky
• In ancient civilizations, evidence of human sacrifices is common in places where eclipses occurred 
• Today is the most cosmically perfect time in the history of the universe; the fact that we can see eclipses at all is a complete coincidence 
• In 620 million years, the moon will be far away enough from Earth that we will no longer have total eclipses, only partial eclipses
• No other rocky planet in the solar system has a moon large enough to cause a total eclipse 
• After the April 8th, 2024 solar eclipse, the next viewable solar eclipse in the United States won’t be until 2040 

Scientific American's Lee Billings and Clara Moskowitz join Rachel this week to talk all things eclipse.

Get 20% OFF @honeylove by going to https://honeylove.com/WEIRDEST! #honeylovepod

Right now, get 55% off at https://Babbel.com/WEIRDEST

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month at https://BetterHelp.com/WEIRDEST

Head to https://FACTORMEALS.com/weirdest50 and use code weirdest50 to get 50% off.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• The future is now with stem cell treatments for longevity – stem cell treatments can be targeted, dosed, and have predictable outcomes like pharmaceuticals

• In early trials, stem cells transplanted into the brain created new dopamine neurons and put Parkinson’s disease into remission

• Look out for klotho, NK cell treatments, placental implants, and Vagus nerve blocks to become common practice

Are you tired of feeling the effects of aging, like sluggish muscles, persistent inflammation, and a general slowdown? Imagine receiving a treatment that not only decelerates these processes but also enhances muscle growth and restores your energy at the cellular level.

In this episode, Dr. Adeel Khan, a repeat guest, unveils the revolutionary treatments offered at his clinic, Eterna Health, such as follistatin gene therapy and Klotho injections. These cutting-edge treatments combat the aging process, helping you feel youthful and vibrant — stay tuned to hear about my personal experience during my visit to his Cabo location.

As the CEO and founder of Eterna Health, a revolutionary concept in specialized healthcare, Dr. Khan's allure extends beyond borders. Patients from across the globe seek out his unwavering dedication to understanding cellular physiology and the art of cellular repair, leading to collaborations with scientists in Canada, the USA, Mexico, Dubai, Italy, and Japan.

Dr. Khan’s grand vision reaches beyond personal success. His ultimate aspiration is to democratize regenerative medicine, making it affordable and accessible to people from all walks of life.

Join Dr. Khan and me as we explore the benefits of cutting-edge treatments for slowing down the aging process, enhancing muscle growth, improving overall health, and innovative approaches to regenerative medicine, shedding light on the future of anti-aging therapies.

Oh, and if you didn't catch our first interview together, I highly recommend checking that out here: “The Difference Between Getting Stem Cells Internationally Vs. The USA, Peptides, Testosterone & Hormones, Tissue Engineering, DNA Editing, Truths & Myths Of Regenerative Medicine & More.”

For the full show notes, visit: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/eternapodcast

Episode sponsors:

Jigsaw Health: Visit JigsawAC.com and use “Greenfield10” to get 10% off on your order. 

Mary Ruth’s Organics: Use code MROBENG20 for 20% off (valid on both maryruthorganics.com and Amazon).

Limitless Life Nootropics: Visit limitlesslifenootropics.com/bengpeptides and use code BEN  for an exclusive discount.

Ipothecary: Go to ipothecarystore.com/ben and using code BEN20 for 20% off.

Wild Health: Get 20% off with code BEN at wildhealth.com/ben

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

• Check out the episode page

This is Zack Fuss. Today we are breaking down the Mitsubishi Corporation. In Japan, the business model of a trading company is prominent. The big five trading companies caught the attention of global investors in 2020, when Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a major stake in all of them: Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Marubeni, and Sumitomo. Today's Berkshire stake is nearly 10%.  

Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

Show Notes

Renaissance Technologies is the best performing investment firm of all time. And yet no one at RenTec would consider themselves an “investor”, at least in any traditional sense of the word. It’d rather be more accurate to call them scientists — scientists who’ve discovered a system of math, computers and artificial intelligence that has evolved into the greatest money making machine the world has ever seen. And boy does it work: RenTec’s alchemic colossus has posted annual returns in the firm’s flagship Medallion Fund of 68% gross and 40% net over the past 34 years, while never once losing money. (For those keeping track at home, $1,000 invested in Medallion in 1988 would have compounded to $46.5B today… if you’d been allowed to keep it in.) Tune in for an incredible story of the small group of rebel mathematicians who didn’t just beat the market, but in the words of author Greg Zuckerman “solved it.”

Sponsors:

Many thanks to our fantastic Season 14 partners:

• J.P. Morgan Payments
• ServiceNow
• Vanta

Links:

• The Man Who Solved the Market
• The Quants
• Bloomberg’s 2016 RenTec profile
• Quartr's visualization of RenTec's returns
• All episode sources

Carve Outs:

• Modern Treasury’s Transfer Conference Registration
• The New Look
• Cole Haan x Acquired!
• Class of Palm Beach (and the Mini Kelly inside the Birkin!!)

More Acquired:

• Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
• Join the Slack
• Subscribe to ACQ2
• Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!

Note: references to Fortune in ServiceNow sponsor sections are from Fortune ©2023. Used under license.

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.