Podcasts by let

The Hero Trendency from 2021-11-18T19:30:11

Becoming super is super, but what are your underlying motivations?
The extreme of self-optimization is to become heroic… and who better to look at than fictional superheroes to map out a few pr...

The Hero Trendency from 2021-11-18T19:30:11

The Hero Story 

Perhaps there has always been an effort towards optimization, and it generally looks like technology. When speaking of self optimization, or overcoming , we are speaking ...

Atomic Habits (optimization pt 2) from 2021-10-20T19:22:08

Part 1: The Aggregation of Marginal Gains

Habits are really about identity change. Behaviour change is simply the means to get there (the feedback loop).

Listen

Self-Optimization Lure (part 1) from 2021-10-11T21:37:37

Series overview

There is a mystical power to self optimization, to becoming better. With all the Behavioral Science, behavioral economics, psychology, neurological studies, and Listen

Sacred Economics (pt 2) from 2021-09-20T22:32:14

Intro

Check Step 46 for a history of how money developed from sacred origins into “a force for evil.”

Sacred Economics (pt 1) from 2021-09-14T16:09:34

Eisenstein asks “Why is money a force for evil in the world?” When did money, once a sacred promise and gift, become a means to separate individuals from each other and nature, to create competi...

Free Guy from 2021-08-23T23:39:24

https://www.letusthinkaboutit.com/step-45-free-guy/

Part I

This week, we were offered a story of an NPC, non-player character, in a video game called Free City. An...

Step 44: Fart Art from 2021-07-17T18:49:48

PART I
The art world is a complicated place with diverse motivations, bizarre criteria and social norms, yet it also offers profound friendships and solidarity through comm...

China Unraveled, Jason Szeftel from 2021-06-25T16:03:30

Given the recent news of Hong Kong's protests being squashed, the "China Question" looms larger. As no expert, the best way to learn is bring someone on the show who has been podcasting about th...

Step 41: Utopia for Realists, pt 2 from 2021-06-19T19:31:35

Rutger Bregman’s book, Listen

After the Orgy, Baudrillard from 2021-05-24T15:25:36

Mapping out how we got here, and why Baudrillard's ideas of the simulation and simulacrum can explain much about how our institutions and ideals have lost touch with their original motivating fo...

Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard from 2021-05-17T12:39:06

This is a loosely beginner friendly, and broad, look at Baudrillard's notions of simulacrum and simulation. 

Baudrillard is frequently cited in the art world in reference to all things tha...

Step 36: Yes, Men are Apes, as are Women; Rebecca Coffey from 2021-04-30T13:00

This was a delightful conversation with Rebecca Coffey, author of the book "Science and lust" available on Amazon, or wherever you buy things that make you smarter.

We cover a lot of groun...

Step 35: Global Citizenship, Zackary Sietz from 2021-04-25T00:17:17

This week, I talk with Zackary Seitz, a doctoral student in Education and Social Studies at Univeristy of Texas at Denton.

We cover how to be a global citizen, especially when our globaliz...

The Specter of Uselessness (Culture of the New Capitalism part 2) from 2021-03-19T23:50:43

During the depression people couldn't find work, so now we get an education, but today we still can't find work, and have lost our place in a society that devalues craftsmanship, stability, and ...

Culture of the New Capitalism (pt 1) from 2021-03-11T22:56:52

PART 1: militarization of society

Tracing back to Max Weber’s insights, Sennett talks about the “iron cage” of the militarized bureaucracy is mapped onto society by Otto Von Bismarck. Listen

Pragmatism (with Mister Lisa) from 2021-02-25T17:30:25

For the podcast's first interview, L and I read William James "Pragmatism" as well as a few other texts. We are mostly concerned with how objective and subjective truths or beliefs intertwine, a...

Our Malady (Lessons in Liberty) from 2021-01-28T02:21:28

PART I : 
Rage

Snyder brings up feeling “rage” … lonely rage while lying in a hospital bed. Before COVID hit, he was in 3 hospitals and each one mi...

Moral Mazes (part 2) from 2021-01-20T15:31:45

Gut Decisions

“The core of the managerial mystique is decision-making prowess” 

Robert Jackall

So, if decisions were easy, they would be made ...

Moral Mazes (Part 1) from 2021-01-11T01:58:41

Part I: Protestant Work Ethic

Max Weber has a phrase: “secular ascetism” where you subjugate your impulses to God’s will, through “restless, continuous, systematic work in a worldly call...

Xmas Decorations and Musings on Neighbors from 2020-12-24T16:00

Ryder takes a walk, and ends up musing about his neighbor's Xmas decorations, the lack of participation, and if that means anything. Expecting a conspiracy he researches the use of Xmas lights a...

The Dangers of Common Sense from 2020-12-20T20:00:11

Part I

In a reaction to the previous podcast, step 23, my wife and I discussed the problem of tyrants, or mini-tyrants, who practice repressive tactics based on fear, coercion, and crony...

Guilt, Shame and Groupthink from 2020-12-14T02:03:01

Moving through the psychology of guilt vs Shame, and onto the societal implications of a shame-based or guilt-based culture, invoking Max Weber's "Protestant Work Ethic" as roots for our meritoc...

Breakdown of Will from 2020-11-15T21:36:15

Part I

We are in the era of "treat yo' self" and "you deserve it," which is at odds with the attitudes and behaviors of many successful people.

What is will power? Ryder maps out t...

Madness and Oscillations from 2020-09-20T22:01:47

Drawing from ideas in "Marginal Revolution" and "Sapiens," Ryder discusses some ideas on how our society is formed through tribes and stories. The internet and social media have thrown a wrench ...

The Post-Panopticon from 2020-08-21T00:06:35

In Part I we recap some of Foucault's panoptic implications, and then begin to consider some critiques of his ideas, with a heavy emphasis on Gilles Deleuze and how the controll...

The Panopticon from 2020-07-17T21:06:55

After discussing the social contract and the balance of "Freedom From/Freedom To" Ryder looks at another form of social power dynamics that stem from ideological prison design, grow into institu...

Social Contract: Freedom To, Freedom From from 2020-05-31T22:05:25

What are we "Free To" do when the state does not protect our "Freedom From"?

Economy or Life? from 2020-05-13T22:30:44

Do we save the economy or ourselves? Are our politicians simply modern tribal chieftains enacting rituals for the religion of economy rather than leading us?

The Passive Life from 2020-05-11T22:11:24

We now contemplate the active life rather than living it, often turning into spectators of life, which robs us of our ability, and the time, to gain mastery or even be unique.

Tom Sawyer & Learning from 2020-04-21T19:38:06

A continuation of Tom Sawyer's conversion of work to play, with some discussion of how our leisure time is labor, and how learning is a chore we wish to escape.

Tom Sawyer & Chores from 2020-04-19T22:56:43

Chores can be onerous and dreaded, except during the quarantine. Considering this attitude shift Tom Sawyer offers some insight into attitude on work when considered play.

Doubling from 2020-03-20T21:04:25

Building yourself: Doubling as necessary to simultaneously reject and participate in society while maintaining and altering the self.

Pliers from 2020-03-16T23:25:57

Tools as ideas. Tools as destruction. The perfect tool for the job. Ah, whatever, throw a wrench in it.

Home Depot Orange from 2020-03-15T22:26:12

Why this orange? Co-opted governmental authority is now purchasable and branded. The citizen who spends money can now be an authority, or at least feel empowered, but perhaps this small rebellio...

Home Depot Orange from 2020-03-15T22:26:12

Why this orange? Co-opted governmental authority is now purchasable and branded. The citizen who spends money can now be an authority, or at least feel empowered, but perhaps this small rebellio...

Home Depot Orange from 2020-03-15T22:26:12

Ryder considers a certain orange as it was co-opted from governmental authority to a purchasable symbol, relating self-empowerment to political divisiveness, and ultimately discussing the appeal of...