Safety Last

On the 10th of June, 2023, Theodore John Kaczynski took his own life in his prison cell where, in 1998, he had been sentenced to serve out several life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.

When this news became public, there was a large outcry and a revitalised conversation on the internet about how he should be remembered. So, let’s get to the facts, what did Theodore, or as we’ll call him; Ted, do?

Living from an isolated wood cabin in Montana, he sent packages with explosives to people whom he considered inextricably linked to modern capitalism, the continuation of the Industrial Revolution and foot soldiers of technology against Mother Nature. These killings went on for years before he was ultimately discovered by the authorities in another surreal twist of fate.

So, who was Ted? Was he a philosophical revolutionary who has, pretty accurately, predicted the increasing grip that technology has on humanity? A man who foresaw the world transforming into a technological dystopia akin to that in Blade Runner?

Or was he a misled genius whose sanity was broken by an illegal CIA psychological operation called MK Ultra?

Whatever your stance is on this increasingly important philosophical question, Ted Kaczynski’s writings and theories still continue to ripple across society. And it is for that reason, we’ve provided a one-hour long discussion on this man’s philosophical treatise: Industrial Society and Its Future.

Enjoy.

No franchise has left such a large impact on my life as has Pokemon. From the time I was 10 years old, throughout high school and even in university, Pokemon continued to have a dominating presence.

Even now I still get nostalgic about the older video games that accompanied my youth; for example, Littleroot Town and Ecruteak’s theme song still make me drift back to my childhood. Whether it’s arguing with friends about the pronunciation of Groundon or my parents finally buy me a $20 Pokemon deck only for it to be stolen a few months later, this franchise has added so much colour to my life and imagination.

During high school, I even played Pokemon competitively, which meant abiding by certain rules and regulations imposed by a larger community.

For example, one-hit knock out moves such as Sheer Cold were banned and you couldn’t put more than one Pokemon to sleep on the opposing team.

But I am not the only one in my friendship group with such a nostalgic love for this franchise, one autumn night in Sydney, 2023. Lance, Nathan and I gathered to record a round of the Pokemon Draft Game, this time we went and drafted four different generations for your viewing pleasure.

And with that out of the way, let’s get to the rules.

1)     You must select 6 Pokemon.

2)     You can only select Pokemon that originated from that region. Therefore, you can only pick Gyarados in the first region even if you can catch it in almost every game.

3)     You can only pick one starter from that region.

4)     Once a Pokemon is picked, their entire evolutionary chain is disqualified. For example, picking Magikarp disqualifies Gyarados.

5)     No legendaries or pseudo-legendaries. Legendaries are pretty obvious, but pseudo-legendaries  such as Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross and Heatran are just too powerful and made the game less interesting.

6)     One cute Pokemon is mandatory. They must be able to ride on your shoulder or be carried.

7)     After the round is complete, everyone votes for their favourite team. They cannot pick their own team.

Make sure you tell us which team is the best and make sure to catch them all.

No franchise has left such a large impact on my life as has Pokemon. From the time I was 10 years old, throughout high school and even in university, Pokemon continued to have a dominating presence.

Even now I still get nostalgic about the older video games that accompanied my youth; for example, Littleroot Town and Ecruteak’s theme song still make me drift back to my childhood. Whether it’s arguing with friends about the pronunciation of Groundon or my parents finally buy me a $20 Pokemon deck only for it to be stolen a few months later, this franchise has added so much colour to my life and imagination.

During high school, I even played Pokemon competitively, which meant abiding by certain rules and regulations imposed by a larger community.

For example, one-hit knock out moves such as Sheer Cold were banned and you couldn’t put more than one Pokemon to sleep on the opposing team.

But I am not the only one in my friendship group with such a nostalgic love for this franchise, one autumn night in Sydney, 2023. Lance, Nathan and I gathered to record a round of the Pokemon Draft Game, this time we went and drafted four different generations for your viewing pleasure.

And with that out of the way, let’s get to the rules.

1)     You must select 6 Pokemon.

2)     You can only select Pokemon that originated from that region. Therefore, you can only pick Gyarados in the first region even if you can catch it in almost every game.

3)     You can only pick one starter from that region.

4)     Once a Pokemon is picked, their entire evolutionary chain is disqualified. For example, picking Magikarp disqualifies Gyarados.

5)     No legendaries or pseudo-legendaries. Legendaries are pretty obvious, but pseudo-legendaries  such as Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross and Heatran are just too powerful and made the game less interesting.

6)     One cute Pokemon is mandatory. They must be able to ride on your shoulder or be carried.

7)     After the round is complete, everyone votes for their favourite team. They cannot pick their own team.

Make sure you tell us which team is the best and make sure to catch them all.

(5:20) - Jordan Peterson & Frogs

(9:30) - Compassion in Schools

(14:15) - Plato's Cave and Teaching Dreams

(18:30) - Yoga & Appearance

(22:40) - Learning Languages & Korean

(31:05) - Learning Thai & Muay Thai

(38:25) - Music & Hip Hop

(56:45) - Passions and Writing my Book

(1:00:00) - Giving Feedback about my Book Cover

(1:09:15) - AJ's Passions

Every society that has ever existed has clearly preferred thinner bodies, right? That’s just an unchanging law of nature, right? Wrong.

Sometimes, when we’re trying to understand society, it’s important to step away from what learnt cultural assumptions that seem so obvious. Instead, view society in the same way that an alien would view it, with eyes unclouded by cultural biases.

Well, in that case, I think it’s safe to say that humans spend an absurd amount of time on beauty, whether it’s picking out the right suit for a formal, getting a manicure, selecting the shiniest diamond for a wedding ring, spending an unhealthy amount of time deciding if you should change your hairstyle. The truth is, for a vast majority of people on this earth, we are all hopelessly vain and this desire to be beautiful is the cause for a lot of our pain. Companies exploit this insecurity, media elevates those who fit our beauty standards, and even worse, we assign labels of morality like goodness and honesty to people whom we find beauty.

In this episode, I bring on Charlotte, a good friend whom I’ve discussed many of these topics with before, but finally deciding to record and broadcast our words in the hopes that you’ll learn something from this.

So, have a think about beauty, beyond the shallow conception of what looks good and bad, such labels are subjective and are slaves to our environment. Instead, think of beauty as an unrestrained force that beats at the very core of society. An unrestrained force that governs every action we take in our lives.

TIME STAMP:

(6:35) - Wearing make up in year 8

(11:40) - A man-eating auntie

(16:35) - Obsession with pale skin

(24:10) - Is beauty objective or subjective?

(32:00) - Beauty is political and economical

(48:25) - Moralising beauty

(56:25) - Media representation

(59:20) - Sacrificing a generation to change one's values

(1:04:05) - Asian fox eye trend

(1:10:50) - Dealing with one's own insecurities

North Korea (NK) is a nation that everyone has an opinion on, but no one has any experience. Throughout my entire life, this rogue state has been painted with the worst portrays possible, linked with human rights violation, poverty, a closed-off political system that no foreigner can seem to understand, and perhaps most damning a loose trigger finger with nuclear weapons. So, just imagine my surprise when I found a Westerner who hasn’t just entered NK, she’s done it multiple times and now she works for a travel agency in North Korea. This means, I finally have access to a place that previously seemed impenetrable. Does NK only allow a certain number of haircuts? Are blue jeans really banned? What are the poverty levels like? Will Koreans that speak English really be kidnapped and forced to teach English? So many questions, so little time.

Zoe's Instagram: @zoediscoversnk

Zoe's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZoeDiscovers

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I think men are terrified and obsessed with women because we inherently understand that a beautiful woman can basically level us with a single glance. That’s probably why men have tried and still try to regulate women sexuality (Sharia Law or abortion). Subconsciously, it might be a defence mechanism. On the other hand, I also think that the opposite is true, and that women are both terrified and captivated by masculine strength and vigour. I think the fable of Beauty and the Beast is one of the best representations of the split in the feminine psyche. The awareness that men are dangerous; yet still, the desire to tame this aggression into something more productive and stable.

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(6:40) – A photograph of incel heroes

This is the second episode of a two-part series about China in the modern world. In the previous podcast, I was joined by Mr Mitchell History, a fantastic YouTube channel about history, to answer the million-dollar question. What political system does China actually have?

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I recently had a discussion that made me realise how opaque the Chinese government is. I was reclining on my friend’s sofa when he turned his head and asked, “China is a communist country, right?” Right? I mean the central political body CPC does have ‘communist’ in its name; yet, North Korea also refers to itself as the Democratic Republic of Korea, and it is neither democratic or a republic. How about the fact that China has huge state-lead companies, some of which are household names like Huawei and Alibaba; yet it when it comes to income inequality, the antagonist of any socialist or communist government, China ranks slightly higher than America. Or how about the fact that the Chinese government will politically talk about socialism and the necessity of wealth distribution, yet Shanghai contains one of the most important stock exchanges in the world.

Alain de Botton said “The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life.” I think this is a perfect summary of high school. The fact you see the same people everyday means you build really strong connections, but simultaneously, the fact that you are always surrounded by the same faces means that you’re trapped by the judgement and expectations of your peers.

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