In this wide-ranging episode, Casey and Christine dive deep into leadership transitions, complex systems, and the art of managing large-scale projects. Christine discusses her new role as Head of Engineering at a Series D startup, managing 60+ people and Casey discusses the counterintuitive challenges of scaling teams. Christine shares her synthetic biology progress, building an orbital shaker from scratch and exploring the intersection of hardware and biotech. The conversation spans from ancient Roman infrastructure projects to modern space exploration, touching on hiring challenges, the value of going to primary sources, and why some historical civilizations came tantalizingly close to industrial revolution but never quite made the leap.

Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger

Now It Can Be Told about the Manhattan Project

What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Playground - Contemporary science fiction novel about seasteading and AI

Climbing Gold - Alex Honnold's podcast (featuring Vitaliy Musiyenko’s Sierra traverse story)

Conversations with Tyler - Tyler Cowen's interview show

Lex Fridman Podcast - Episodes with Jeff Wasserstrom (China scholar) and Tim Sweeney (Epic Games)

The Complete History & Strategy of Standard Oil (Part I) (Acquired)

Founders Podcast - Episodes on Jeff Bezos shareholder letters, Jim Simons, John D. Rockefeller, and Estée Lauder

How Andreessen Horowitz Disrupted VC & What’s Coming Next (Ben and Marc Discussions)

The DER Task Force - Distributed energy resources podcast (Jesse Peltan episode)

Main Engine Cut Off - Space industry podcast T+303: The Trump 2024 Transition (with Mark Albrecht)

The Almost-Industrial Revolutions of Rome and China 

Cost of Glory - Ancient history podcast (Julius Caesar series)

Circuit Playground Express - Adafruit electronics learning board

Ada Fruit Orbital Shaker Tutorial - DIY lab equipment project

Thinking by My Wits - Website featuring Scholar Alex Jones's literary works

In this episode, Casey recounts his recent trip to Australia to visit family and friends, while Christine shares her experience running a lemonade stand fundraiser for their children's preschool. They discuss ongoing technical and creative projects, explore the challenges of educational systems for exceptionally bright children, and reflect on various books they've been reading. The conversation weaves through topics of metallurgy, neurodiversity, programming languages for kids, and the future of space exploration.

Neurotribes 

Exceptionally Gifted Children 

Superconvergence 

Now It Can Be Told 

Secret Coders

Founders Podcast: Michael Dell

Complex Systems: Fixing Government Tech With Mikey Dickerson 

Complex Systems: Power In Local Government

Adafruit: Orbital Shaker

Summary

In this week's episode, Casey and Christine discuss their weekend family adventures, including picnic table remodeling, bike maintenance, and trips to the local airport and climbing gym. They explore their experiences with AI toys for children, microwave modification projects, and dive into deeper conversations about human intelligence, biology experiments, and aging research. The discussion ranges from reflections on their honeymoon in Cuba to thoughts on economic growth, education, and the potential of technological advancement to solve fundamental human problems.

Links

Asterix comics - Comics that Casey enjoyed as a child and now reads with his children

Now It Can Be Told by Leslie Groves - About the Manhattan Project

The Prodigy's Cousin - Book about links between autism and childhood prodigies

NeuroTribes - Book about autism

Acquired podcast episode on Epic - Healthcare software company

Gompertz mortality law

Dino - Magical Toys [AI powered toy]

Paperclip Maximizers and Squiggle Maximizers

Bronze Sword Replication Project - Inspired by a 3,400-year-old bronze sword found in South Central Germany in 2023

Lost PLA Method - Similar to the lost wax method for metal casting

Cybertruck Experience - Family rented and drove Tesla's Cybertruck

Glowing yeast experiment

CRISPR experiment

DNA athleticism gene testing

Voyage of the Southern Sun - Book by Michael Smith about flying around the world in an ultralight aircraft

Like War - Book about social media's impact on global politics and warfare

Abundance by Ezra Klein - Audiobook being listened to by hosts

Acquired Podcast - Episode on Meituan

Radiohead - Music being enjoyed in the biology lab

Heracles and the Trojan War - Historical/mythological reference point for the bronze sword era

Non-alcoholic beers - Athletic Brewing, Partake, and Sober Carpenter brands mentioned

Show Notes

Terraform's new blog post - Casey's Terraform 2.0 announcement and job postings

Palladium Magazine - Why Starship Matters - Casey's article on what Starship means

Beast Academy - Math enrichment program

UNSW Math Enrichment - University math problems

Modern Relationships Podcast - Agnes and Arnold - Episode with Agnes and Arnold discussed

Your Undivided Attention - Cult deprogramming - Podcast on cult deprogramming

Dwarkesh Podcast - Scott Alexander - Scott Alexander's first podcast appearance

Situational Awareness blog - Leopold's blog on AI safety

Christine’s create a home biolab blogpost update

Chopin Nocture in C-sharp minor, Op. Posthum.

In this week's episode, Christine and Casey dive into their recent adventures and intellectual pursuits. Christine shares highlights from Jeff Bezos' exclusive MARS conference (Machine learning, Automation, Robotics, and Space), including fascinating encounters with colossal mammoth revival efforts, fusion energy breakthroughs, and quantum consciousness theories. Casey discusses his explorations in creating custom watch faces for his new Garmin device. The conversation expands into thoughtful discussions on education systems around the world, examining Finland, South Korea, and America's approaches to gifted education, teacher quality, and standardized testing. They debate college admissions philosophies, curriculum rigor, and the value of challenging young minds with unsolved problems. The episode concludes with reflections on media consumption, journalism ethics, and the importance of truth-seeking in reporting.

MARS Conference - Jeff Bezos' invite-only event focusing on Machine learning, Automation, Robotics, and Space

Colossal - Company working on woolly mammoth de-extinction through genetic engineering

ZAP Energy - Fusion energy company using Z-pinch technology

Signal Messaging - Mentioned in context of recent news coverage

The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley - Examining education systems in Finland, South Korea, and Poland

Genius Denied by Jan and Bob Davidson - About education for gifted students

The Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller (not recommended by hosts)

Longitude by Dava Sobel - Historical account of the longitude problem

Sharing Space by Cady Coleman - Autobiography of NASA astronaut

The Voyage of the Southern Sun by Michael Smith - Account of recreating the historic flying boat route from Australia to England

The Tech God Complex: Why We Need to Be Skeptics - Podcast

Acquired Rolex Episode - Episode on Rolex 

No, poor people aren’t funding your credit card rewards (Complex Systems Podcast) - Patrick Mackenzie's podcast on payment systems and complex systems

Off-Nominal and Main Engine Cut Off - Space industry podcasts

Tilt Parenting- TPP 178: The Davidson Institute on Supporting & Educating Profoundly Gifted Children - Podcast about raising neurodivergent kids

The Davidson Institute - Resources for gifted education

Magnus Carlsen Interview on Lex Fridman

Customizing Monkey C SDK for wearable devices

Beast Academy (from Art of Problem Solving) - Math curriculum for advanced students

The Collatz Conjecture - An unsolved mathematical problem discussed when talking about challenging gifted students

Note-Our audio was challenging this week! We did our best to postprocess to improve, and we promise the backlog is higher quality listening.

This week, hosts Casey Handmer and Christine Corbett Moran share stories from their recent family road trip to Las Vegas for a cousin's wedding. They discuss the efficiency of Vegas weddings, touring the Hoover Dam and its impressive Art Deco design, and experiencing the technological marvel of The Sphere. The conversation explores engineering history through the lens of Henry Kaiser's accomplishments, biohacking experiments, professional achievements, and Casey's ongoing Mars terraforming project. 

• Sure Thing Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas

• Touring the Hoover Dam and learning about its Art Deco architecture

• Visiting the Great Unconformity geological formation

• Exploring the National Atomic Testing Museum

• Experiencing The Sphere and its "Postcard from Earth" show by Darren Aronofsky

• Discussion of Western Colossus (Kaiser biography)

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (book club selection; Christine does not recommend though)

• Bayesian Conspiracy podcast - "Super Babies" episode

• Founders Podcast - Henry Kaiser Episode

• Cost of Glory Podcast

  Modern Relationships podcast with Eric Weinstein

Show notes:

Bento Lab - Portable DNA analysis lab with centrifuge, gel electrophoresis, and PCR machine

Bio Bits - Kits for demonstrating protein synthesis with fluorescent indicators

Shannon-Hartley theorem - Information theory concept discussed related to signal transmission

Rock climbing for kids - REI resource about climbing with children

The Martian - Book referenced during discussion of radio communications from Mars

Joule-Thomson effect - Physics concept mentioned regarding gas expansion

Blue Ghost lunar lander - Recent moon landing discussed

Starship test flights - SpaceX's Starship development program

Erica DeBenedictis' work - Research on microbial tolerance to Martian environments

Moving Mars - Science fiction book by Greg Bear

Habit Chaining - Productivity concept mentioned

IKEA Poäng chairs - Mentioned as ideal reading chairs

Street Parking - Modified CrossFit workout program Christine uses

The French Laundry Cookbook - High-end cookbook Christine purchased

After Meat - Book about bioreactor technology

Acquired Podcast: Lockheed Martin episode - Podcast Christine is listening to

Banff Mountain Film Festival - Film festival they attended with their children

The Weirdest People in the World - Book by Joseph Henrich

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Book by Jared Diamond

The Machiavellians - Book by James Burnham

His Majesty's Dragon - Historical fantasy novel with dragons

Red Mars - Book by Kim Stanley Robinson about Mars colonization

28C3 Cellular protocol stacks for Internet (Harald Walte) - (Video)

How to Set Up a Home Biohacking Lab for Education - Christine’s blogpost

In this week's episode, we explore Christine's new adventures in biohacking and home biology experiments, including plans for a PCR machine and DNA analysis. Casey shares detailed insights from his recent visit to SpaceX's Starbase, discussing the facility's impressive growth and the technical challenges of Mars colonization. The conversation weaves through topics from DNA structure to educational approaches for children, while touching on historical figures and the evolution of dating technology.

Links:

Lost in Math by Sabine Hossenfelder

Beast Academy - Math education program

The Amoeba Sisters - Biology education resources

Bento Lab - Portable DNA analysis laboratory

Biotechnology 101

Bacterial CRISPR and Fluorescent Yeast Combo Kit 

BioBits - Educational biology kits

SpaceX Starbase - SpaceX's launch facility

Everyday Astronaut's Starbase Tour

Dwarkesh Podcast with Jeff Dean

TSMC Founder Interview on Acquired

Valentine's Day reflections: single women in STEM into single men in STEM

Henry Parkes

Scientific Concepts:

Histones - Proteins that help organize DNA

Karyotype - Chromosomal display

PCR Machine - DNA/RNA amplification technology

Gel Electrophoresis - DNA/RNA separation technique

Nuclear Reactors for Mars and Career Management (W6 2025)

In this rain-soaked LA episode, Casey and Christine explore diverse topics from nuclear reactor design for Mars bases to the evolution of AI capabilities and career advice. The conversation weaves through Finland's unique energy landscape, the challenges of seasonal power storage, and innovative solutions using sand for thermal storage. They discuss the intersection of AI and professional development, share insights on productivity consulting, and debate the optimal size for growing engineering teams. The episode wraps with reflections on personal productivity systems and recent media consumption.

• Energy & Infrastructure [00:05:00]
• AI & Technology [00:35:00]
• Career Development & Management [00:55:00]
• Productivity & Business Growth [01:15:00]

Links 

• https://liberationlabs.com
• Industrial Biotechnology Commercialization Handbook, How to make proteins without animals and fuels or chemicals without crude oil
• Acquired, Microsoft Volume II
• https://modernrelationships.fm
• First Landing 
• Master and Commander series
• Stuff you should have been taught in college but weren’t (Casey Blog)
• Productivity Consultation (Christine)