Observers regularly predict the U.S. dollar’s collapse as the global reserve currency. In reality, history shows that currency dominance is one of the most enduring forms of hegemony.
Wolf Tivy and Galen Wolfe-Pauly discuss what’s wrong with social media and computing as we know it, as well as a new paradigm for humane computing.
Humanism believed that we could conquer the world. In reality, modernity has escaped our control. Only a posthumanist framework can see us through.
Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss the concept of progress and whether it still has a role in the American consciousness.
Dr. Nicholas Christakis joins the salon to discuss his new book on COVID-19, extreme crisis, and what we can learn about the relationship between pandemics and human nature.
New Optimists such as Steven Pinker emphasize the triumphs of modern civilization. But modernity has also created a grim left tail of potential catastrophes. We have only averted them by luck.
Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss the role of billionaires in society, how to think about personal wealth, and the inherent tensions between capital and state.
Roman Krznaric joins the salon to discuss his book, intergenerational thinking, and how we can be good ancestors.
The United States is waking up to our new geopolitical normal—a world of competition with rising powers. We need to discard entrenched foreign policy and go back to first principles.
Samo Burja comes on the podcast to talk about when it’s appropriate to regulate online speech and the proper relationship between state and media.
National service is a well-established way for Western democracies to build civic unity. A joint military and diplomatic initiative can spark America’s institutional renewal.
Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss the collapse of the scientific mythos and how both knowledge and statecraft can find new grounds for legitimacy.
Numerous Chinese projects adopted the Belt and Road brand. But its grand strategy propaganda has created new enemies and makes Xi responsible for every failed venture.
Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss the postmodern condition, the failures of objectivity and neutrality, and how truth and meaning can survive.
Digital centralization is increasing, and social media networks are now engaging in direct censorship. This is not a violation of the internet’s original spirit, but a necessary feature of its logic.
Mary Harrington comes on the podcast with Wolf Tivy to build out a model of relational vs. transactional conceptions of justice and morality, and to discuss bringing back the mirror of princes literature.
Laura Deming joins us from Los Alamos to talk about self-education, the cultivation of talent, and the state of longevity research.
American social capital is concentrated at the top. The result is gerontocracy and a generational succession failure.