Hey all, 

This was a somewhat surreal episode for me to return to after we recorded it in what seems such a long time ago (back in 2016). I usually save these for later in the season, but Covid as of late has been cruel to my family and my dad’s back in the hospital with leukemia, so...it’s put me in bit of a reflective state, I suppose. 

I mentioned before, in season one, that I’d have my longtime friend, the neuroscientist Nicolas Lori, on at some point in the show. This is this first—and just a part—of our conversation on Karl Schroeder’s Lockstep, a science fiction novel about time, the economy, and the hard choices that we make in life: though in truth it is more of a meditation or delve into notions of self, consciousness, mind and the sorts of gods we construct to make sense of ourselves—or give reasons for the sublime. 

So join us today as we give pause for a moment to everyday life, to see how one artist perceived our future could be like. 

I hope you enjoy. 

-J 

Show notes 

Guardian article on The Paradise Papers  

Scientific American interview with philosopher 

Susan Schneider on The Singularity and Transhumanism  

Two different meditations, by Lapham’s Quarterly and Brain Pickings, on the Ship of Theseus 

David Brin’s Kiln People  

The rules governing who can vote in the US, as of 2020 

Margaret Atwood on writing The Handmaid’s Tale  

Collection of Science articles on skin tone origins and diversity in Africa  

Lockstep, by Karl Schroeder  

Smithsonian on Blade Runner and blurring boundaries of personhood  

What happens when Conan the Barbarian finally meets Crom