In this episode, we speak with Cade Diehm. Cade is a political and systems theorist who was an early contributor on the messaging app Signal, as well as the chief design officer at SpiderOak. 

He went on to lead design and security research at Tactical Tech, and most recently founded The New Design Congress where he currently researches the intersection of digital infrastructure, politics, and society.

Topics covered include the concept of digital regionalism, methods for building more ethical systems, and ways to challenge assumptions about how we build technology by imagining alternative histories.

>>Links<<

The New Design Congress

“Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate”: A Cultural History of the Punch Card

Cade Diehm: On Weaponized Design

Ink and Switch

This Is Fine: Optimism & Emergency in the P2P Network, by Cade Diehm

Moral Machine

Undersco.re Stream

In this special episode, recorded on location in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, we speak with Tilek Mamutov. Tilek is a software engineer and entrepreneur. He recently led projects at Google X, including at Loon: a moonshot to deliver internet to underserved populations via stratospheric balloons.

He now is the founder & CEO of Outtalent, a Y Combinator-backed startup helping engineers from emerging markets level-up and get jobs at Silicon Valley tech companies.

In this conversation, Gavan and Tilek talk about fostering personal rationality, methods for instilling values into organizations, and how to create a career trajectory aimed at personal impact.

For the video version of this interview, check out our YouTube Channel!

>> Links <<

Outtalent

Kloop

Center for Applied Rationality: CFAR

In this episode, we speak with Sherryl Vint. Sherryl is a professor of science fiction at University of California Riverside, and the author of a number of books including Science Fiction from the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, and Biopolitical Futures, which comes out later this year.

We'll be talking about the roles that speculative fiction plays in our society, ways to critically navigate both utopian and dystopian narratives, and how science fiction thinking is, and isn’t, making it into the corporate world.

>> ACTIVATIONS <<

The IAFA Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Award

XPrize

Speculative Fictions and Cultures of Science program at UCR

>> REFERENCES <<

Ministry For the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Foundation Series by Isaac Azimov

Ubik by Philip K Dick

Neal Stephenson's Website

The Centenal Cycle by Malka Older

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Bannerless Saga by Carrie Vaughn

Freedom(TM) by Daniel Suarez

The Expanse

Semiosis by Sue Burke

Colonialism and the Emergence of Science Fiction by John Rieder

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Culture Series by Iaian M. Banks

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

Enders Quintet by Orson Scott Card

Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds

Tom

In this episode, we speak with Jeffrey Ladish. Jeffrey wears many hats. He is variously a biologist, a cybersecurity and biosecurity consultant at Stanford University, and the founder of Gordian Research, which provides operational security and select biosecurity consulting services.

Jeffrey and Gavan get meta/nerd out on the dual-use model of risk assessment for emerging technologies, discuss the lab origin theory for SARS-CoV-2, and Jeffrey offers some best-practices for your own personal security.

Producer Nick's toe sticks out momentarily from behind the curtain.

>> ACTIVATIONS <<

Contact Jeff if you have skills in relevant biosecurity areas, e.g. micro-fluidics

Security Best Practices From One of the Best!

>> LINKS AND REFERENCES <<

Trevor Bedford's Twitter

Future of Humanity Institute

The Eco Health Alliance

Nextstrain.org

MicroCovid Project

Yubikeys

In this episode, we speak with Eric Wycoff Rogers. Eric is a scholar, organizer, designer, and artist currently based in Cambridge in the UK. We touch on their project Critical Hedonism(s), which seeks to transform how society distributes pleasure and care, and talk about redesigning cities in an increasingly post-work world; among many other interesting topics. We probably (definitely) nerd out about Cyberpunk 2077.

>> References <<

Post-Work City

Eric's Personal Web Site

Critical Hedonism(s)

In this episode of ReRoute, we speak with Sean Faircloth. Sean is a writer, an attorney, and a politician. Sean has authored both books and articles, served as State Senator, House Majority Whip, and as the Mayor of Bangor, Maine. He is also the founder of the Maine Discovery Museum. We speak about ethical capitalism, religious exemptions in government, the dangers of modern authoritarianism, and why you should consider getting involved in politics.

>> Activations <<

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State

In our inaugural episode, we speak with philosopher and Director of Development for the Long Now Foundation Nicholas Paul Brysiewicz. We touch on topics ranging from finite vs. infinite games, our relationship to technology, and how to build and sustain multi-generational institutions.

>> Activations <<

Ask Yourself: What Do I Want to Last?

Grab a Drink at the Interval

>> Links and References <<

The Long Now Foundation

Apply-Degger with Simon Critchley

Discussion About Pace Layers

The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

The Question Concerning Technology by Martin Heidegger

Being and Time by Martin Heidegger

What Kind of Dinosaur Is Godzilla?

Humanity stands at a crossroads. We face a myriad of existential challenges, yet we are closer than ever to realizing the dream of global flourishing. Finding the right path forward has never been more consequential.

ReRoute is a podcast about creatively navigating around disaster and towards a brighter future.

Join us as host Gavan Wilhite and a series of cultural and technological visionaries explore new systems and stories for brightening our shared path forward.

Stay tuned for our first episodes on 5/1/21!