Audiolog https://audiolog.jamesking.io en-gb An audio link blog from James King, packaged as a podcast.
Published about once a week.

]]> © James King Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:22:12 GMT James King An audio link blog from James King, packaged as a podcast.
Published about once a week.

]]> James King no Simple Podcast Generator Solving inspiration https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-10-06/ 2026-10-06-episode-37 Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Numberphile, Ben Thompson, Christopher Norris and Mary Midgley.

]]>
  • 0:00: Medium sized dry goods - Not heard this expression before, but I love it.
  • 1:29: Nothing important goes into Codex - Tristan Buckmaster talks to Numberphile about getting scooped by Open AI.
  • 3:03: Solving inspiration - Ben Thompson waxing lyrical on the next platform shift. Is inspiration really something to be solved?
  • 4:20: Scientific myth-making - Mary Midgley on Dawkins' selfish gene metaphor and its compatibility with the Thatcherite / Reaganite age.
    • ]]>     00:07:36 Clips from Numberphile, Ben Thompson, Christopher Norris and Mary Midgley. Clips from Numberphile, Ben Thompson, Christopher Norris and Mary Midgley.

    ]]>     no full 37 1     Science practices https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-09-15/ 2026-09-15-episode-36 Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Bruno Latour, Michael Lewis, Brian Wynne and Robert Miles.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Science practices - Bruno Latour on crossing the divide between science and the practice of science. How this threatens people that see social explanations of science as a debunking of science. "They believe that the object that they describe does not really exist".
  • 3:28: A ritual sacrifice - Michael Lewis explains why an economics degree is a prerequisite for working in finance, even though the knowledge isn't used in finance.
  • 7:19: Should we have known? - David Cayley interviewing Brian Wynne on how science creates ignorance as well as knowledge.
  • 10:43: A linguistic shorthand, but also not really - Robert Miles on how to think about AI "thinking".
    • ]]>     00:12:54 Clips from Bruno Latour, Michael Lewis, Brian Wynne and Robert Miles. Clips from Bruno Latour, Michael Lewis, Brian Wynne and Robert Miles.

    ]]>     no full 36 1     Andrew Pickering's philosophy of science https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-09-08/ 2026-09-08-episode-35 Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from episode 4 of How to Think About Science in which David Cayley interviews the philosopher of science, Andrew Pickering.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: The old and new physics - Andrew Pickering discusses the old and new styles of physics described in his book, Constructing Quarks.
  • 1:59: The dance of agency - The world does not sit around waiting to be described. "We try to do things, the world does things back." "An open-ended, never-ending, emergent process."
  • 3:52: The mangle of practice - There are no eternal and unchanging ideas.
  • 5:03: An adequate view of scientific practice - The "strong program" in STS ultimately concluded that there is a sociological cause of scientific knowledge production. But this just replaces one set of unchanging natural truths with another set of social truths. All aspects of reality are in flux in relation to one another.
  • 7:51: Sketches of another future - Cybernetics in Britain. A science of "getting along in a world that will always surprise you, that you can never dominate."
  • 10:12: An organ of adaptation - Models of the brain as an organ of adaptation that bumps up against the world.
  • 15:00: A world of surprises - Royal sciences and nomad sciences. Putting modernity in its place. An option, not a destiny.
    • ]]>     00:18:20 Clips from episode 4 of [How to Think About Science](https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/how-to-think-about-science-part-1-24-1.2953274) in which David Cayley interviews the philosopher of science, [Andrew Pickering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Picker Clips from episode 4 of How to Think About Science in which David Cayley interviews the philosopher of science, Andrew Pickering.

    ]]>     no full 35 1     The Glitch in The Matrix https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-08-17/ 2026-08-17-episode-34 Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Jeremy Grantham, Robert Miles and Patrick Boyle.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Simpler models - An example of a simpler model outperforming more complex models in the real world. See Classification in the Wild.
  • 1:13: The glitch in The Matrix - "The image translators work for the construct program."
  • 2:44: GMO's survival strategy - Grantham describes how GMO evolved into three separate investment boutiques operating more-or-less independently. He credits this structure for GMOs longterm success and survival.
  • 5:29: The forward premium puzzle - I wonder if Ergodicity Economics has a solution for this economic puzzle.
  • 8:30: The study of market inefficiencies - Grantham on academic economics' misplaced faith in the efficient markets hypothesis.
    • ]]>     00:12:34 Clips from Jeremy Grantham, Robert Miles and Patrick Boyle. Clips from Jeremy Grantham, Robert Miles and Patrick Boyle.

    ]]>     no full 34 1     St. Petersburg Paradoxing https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-07-20/ 2026-07-20-episode-33 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Jeremy Grantham, Alexander Altmann, Gary Stevenson, Sam Bankman-Fried and Sam Neil.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: You can't get any more stupid than that - Jeremy Grantham on the usefulness of economics in the financial profession. Same sentiment as Gappy Paleologo.
  • 0:51: The stock market is the economy now - Alexander Altmann on the potential outsized impact of a stock-market downturn.
  • 2:04: I'm the inequality doctor - Gary Stevenson on viewing economics as a collection of specialisms rather than a single discipline. Like medicine.
  • 3:07: St Petersburg paradoxing into an enormously valuable existence - Infamous clip of Sam Bankman-Fried taking a double-or-nothing bet on all of human existence.
  • 4:10: Separate yourself from your profession - RIP Sam Neil.
    • ]]>     00:05:53 Clips from Jeremy Grantham, Alexander Altmann, Gary Stevenson, Sam Bankman-Fried and Sam Neil. Clips from Jeremy Grantham, Alexander Altmann, Gary Stevenson, Sam Bankman-Fried and Sam Neil.

    ]]>     no full 33 1     Compressed representations https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-07-15/ 2026-07-15-episode-32 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Grant Sanderson, Money Stuff and The Rest is Entertainment.

    ]]>

  • 0:00: Expository problems - Grant Sanderson talking to Dwarkesh Patel on what AI progress in math might look like.

  • 1:03: The end goal is understanding - Finding the compressed representation.

  • 1:43: Three ways that AI might make progress in maths - Sanderson proposes three ways that AI might make progress in solving maths and science problems:

  • Connecting fields - finding a connection between two unrelated fields of mathematics to solve a problem.

  • Mountain building - generating new mathematical abstractions in order to make progress on a new problem.

  • Raw hustle - Not developing new maths, but using super-human amounts of time and energy to generate long chains of reasoning to produce an answer. These are not immediately understandable to a human mathematician.

  • 3:20: You can't really hide yourself in the Love Island villa - Richard Osman and Marina Hyde on why reality TV is important and why reality stars are more culturally relevant than movie stars today.

  • 6:06: Insider trading - Should insider trading be legal?

    • ]]>     00:06:55 Clips from Grant Sanderson, Money Stuff and The Rest is Entertainment. Clips from Grant Sanderson, Money Stuff and The Rest is Entertainment.

    ]]>     no full 32 1     Difficult, Important, Succeeding https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-06-29/ 2026-06-29-episode-31 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Ada Palmer, Charlie Brooker and Russell Davies

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Thinking in bets, c. 1500 - Much like Annie Duke, Machiavelli was also thinking in bets.
  • 1:46: Every economics story - Emily Surname on the economy.
  • 4:18: Difficult, Important, Succeeding - What are you working on?
    • ]]>     00:05:43 Clips from Ada Palmer, Charlie Brooker and Russell Davies Clips from Ada Palmer, Charlie Brooker and Russell Davies

    ]]>     no full 31 1     Would a young Jack Bogle have waited for a second marshmallow? https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-06-15/ 2026-06-15-episode-30 Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from the MMT podcast featuring Cory Doctorow and Patricia Pino and my highlights from the excellent recent episode of Acquired on Vanguard.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Doctorow on marshmallows - Cory Doctorow summarising the Stanford marshmallow experiment.
  • 6:07: Patricia Pino launching the MMT UK Policy Research Group - Patricia Pino launching the MMT UK Policy Research Group and giving a talk on her publication of the Job Guarantee research papers.
  • 11:10: Why is mutual ownership not more common? - How many other opportunities are there to mutualise ownership?
  • 15:38: In private markets the assets have to pick you back - As private markets grow and swallow up all of the returns will Vanguard, index funds in general and even the public markets still be able to offer regular investors a place to grow their wealth?
  • 17:11: Zero profit - It is incredible how just a single person deciding not to maximise profits can have such a beneficial impact on so many people.
    • ]]>     00:18:28 Clips from the MMT podcast featuring Cory Doctorow and Patricia Pino and my highlights from the excellent recent episode of Acquired on Vanguard. Clips from the MMT podcast featuring Cory Doctorow and Patricia Pino and my highlights from the excellent recent episode of Acquired on Vanguard.

    ]]>     no full 30 1     How does the math math? https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-06-08/ 2026-06-08-episode-29 Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from CNBC, Money Stuff and Russell Davies

    ]]>

  • 0:00: How does the math math? - Incredibly awkward interview with Gamestop CEO, Ryan Cohen, on the attempted purchase of Ebay. The bid was later rejected.

  • 2:46: Matt Levine's favourite finance books - The list:

  • Liars Poker by Michael Lewis

  • Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar

  • Diary of a Very Bad Year by Keith Gessen

  • Expected returns by Antti Ilmanen

  • The Bond King by Mary Childs

  • Trading at the Speed of Light by Donald MacKenzie

  • 7:49: You have to think about what you think - Russell Davies on what he's learnt after 98 days of his morning talking habit.

    • ]]>     00:08:39 Clips from CNBC, Money Stuff and Russell Davies Clips from CNBC, Money Stuff and Russell Davies

    ]]>     no full 29 1     Parades of Horribles https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-06-01/ 2026-06-01-episode-28 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Matt Dinniman, Benn Steil, Odd Lots, Steven Strogatz and the Newsagents.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Parade of Horribles - From the opening of the new Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman. Narrated by Jeff Hays.
  • 0:41: The Triffin Dilemma - Excerpt from The Battle of Bretton Woods by Benn Steil.
  • 2:50: What flipped? - Albert Edwards on the post-pandemic flip to a regime of higher interest rates and inflation (Odd Lots podcast)
  • 6:09: What is the value of short-selling in the golden age of fraud? - Fahmi Quadir on the challenges of short-selling when everyone is willing to ignore the grift. (Odd Lots podcast)
  • 7:28: The Zucman Tax - Gabriel Zucman describes his proposal for a wealth tax. (The Newsagents podcast)
  • 9:12: They are going to move to Dubai - Gabriel Zucman describes his proposal for a wealth tax. (The Newsagents podcast)
  • 10:43: Calculus developed backwards - Excerpt from Steven Strogatz's book, Infinite Powers
    • ]]>     00:12:45 Clips from Matt Dinniman, Benn Steil, Odd Lots, Steven Strogatz and the Newsagents. Clips from Matt Dinniman, Benn Steil, Odd Lots, Steven Strogatz and the Newsagents.

    ]]>     no full 28 1     Useful and competent technicians, like dentists https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-04-27/ 2026-04-27-episode-27 Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from JerryrigEverything, Grant Sanderson, Dan Davies, Works in Progress and Why Nations Fail.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Not a wheelchair - JerryrigEverything built a wheelchair. Faster, cheaper, better. https://notawheelchair.com/
  • 1:13: Logarithmic intuition - Grant Sanderson talking to Dwarkesh Patel about mathematical intuition (Dwarkesh podcast)
  • 2:39: Content with being big and important - From chapter 17 of Dan Davies' The Unaccountability Machine.
  • 4:20: Our colleagues, the economists - From chapter 17 of Dan Davies' The Unaccountability Machine.
  • 6:13: Useful and competent technicians, like dentists - From chapter 17 of Dan Davies' The Unaccountability Machine.
  • 8:48: Surrogate endpoints - Ruxandra Teslo discusses the challenge of identifying and developing new surrogate endpoints for clinical trials, with Saloni Dattani and Ben Southwood. (Works in Progress podcast)
  • 11:21: Solving political problems - From chapter 2 of Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson.
    • ]]>     00:13:09 Clips from JerryrigEverything, Grant Sanderson, Dan Davies, Works in Progress and Why Nations Fail. Clips from JerryrigEverything, Grant Sanderson, Dan Davies, Works in Progress and Why Nations Fail.

    ]]>     no full 27 1     I hope you carry this wonder with you https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-04-13/ 2026-04-13-episode-26 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Dithering, Odd Lots, Philip Pullman and the Artemis II mission.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: The 4th greatest tech company - John Gruber and Ben Thompson discussing which companies would be on the Mount Rushmore of tech. (Dithering podcast)
  • 1:17: Why do investment bankers work long hours? - Scott Bok explains what investment bankers are doing with their time. (Odd Lots podcast)
  • 2:25: It takes prose to tell you that - Philip Pullman talks to Alex O'Connor about the different strengths of story-telling media. (Within Reason podcast on YouTube)
  • 4:31: I hope you carry this wonder with you - Leah Cheshier Mustachio signing off from presenting her segment of the Artemis II mission.
    • ]]>     00:05:07 Clips from Dithering, Odd Lots, Philip Pullman and the Artemis II mission. Clips from Dithering, Odd Lots, Philip Pullman and the Artemis II mission.

    ]]>     no full 26 1     Consider the Greenland Shark https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-03-28/ 2026-03-28-episode-25 Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Mark Kermode, Ada Palmer and Katherine Rundell.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: The Norwich fossilised keyboard - Art student project from 2001. (Nostalgia Nerd on YouTube)
  • 1:15: Can men have friends? - Mark Kermode reviews Project Hail Mary (Kermode and Mayo's Take on YouTube)
  • 1:52: It took 40 years for print to become economically sustainable - Ada Palmer talks to Dwarkesh Patel about the shape of technological revolutions (The Dwarkesh Podcast)
  • 6:05: Consider the Greenland shark - Katherine Rundell reads her short essay (London Review of Books)
    • ]]>     00:07:10 Clips from Mark Kermode, Ada Palmer and Katherine Rundell. Clips from Mark Kermode, Ada Palmer and Katherine Rundell.

    ]]>     no full 25 1     Deep Blue https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-03-02/ 2026-03-02-episode-24 Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from AOC, John Gruber, Cracking the Cryptic, Sabine Hossenfelder.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Interesting wealth tax implementation ideas - AOC asked about wealth taxes on a panel. Another panelist adds a few interesting US-specific implementation ideas (AOC on YouTube)
  • 0:29: The universe singing to us - Very satisfying Sudoku puzzle. (Cracking the cryptic on YouTube)
  • 1:11: The lingua franca of LLMs - John Gruber on Markdown becoming a programming language. (The Talk Show podcast)
  • 1:46: Communication between branches of the multiverse - Echoes of Ted Chiang's Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom (Sabine Hossenfelder on YouTube)
  • 4:04: Deep Blue - Simon Willison on the Oxide and Friends predictions podcast LLM-induced ennui (Oxide and Friends on YouTube)
    • ]]>     00:06:00 Clips from AOC, John Gruber, Cracking the Cryptic, Sabine Hossenfelder. Clips from AOC, John Gruber, Cracking the Cryptic, Sabine Hossenfelder.

    ]]>     no full 24 1     Carrying a baby through a war zone https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-02-13/ 2026-02-13-episode-23 Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Making KPop Demon Hunters, negative income tax, car parks, and game theory on University Challenge.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Carrying a baby through a warzone - KPop Demon Hunters writer-directors on the challenge of making an animated movie. (Corridor Crew on YouTube)
  • 0:46: The Negative Income Tax - Milton Friedman describing the negative income tax. (FEE Online on YouTube)
  • 1:47: Welcome to Saffron Hill Car Park - I thought Saffron Hill was a fictional place. Or was that Saffron Park? What about Saffron Hill Car Park? (Russell Davies on YouTube)
  • 2:01: Flip-Flop? - Three questions I knew the answers to on University Challenge (University Challenge on iPlayer)
    • ]]>     00:03:14 Making KPop Demon Hunters, negative income tax, car parks, and game theory on University Challenge. Making KPop Demon Hunters, negative income tax, car parks, and game theory on University Challenge.

    ]]>     no full 23 1     Do you feel the competency draining out of your ears? https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-02-01/ 2026-02-01-episode-22 Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Map projections, prospect theory and competency in the age of AI.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: We're from the OCSE - This glorious clip from the West Wing appeared on my timeline, nearly prompting me to rewatch the entire series for the umpteenth time. (The West Wing on YouTube)
  • 2:16: It feels about a third as good as the equivalent bad year feels bad - Cliff Asness on losses hurting more than gains. (Infinite Loops podcast)
  • 3:17: No longer trusting the process - Jenny Wen on how UX design changes when building software becomes so inexpensive and fast. (Hatch Conference on YouTube)
  • 4:52: Do you feel the competency draining out of your ears? - Adam Wathan (of Tailwind) on the tradeoffs of using coding agents. (Hackers Incorporated podcast)
  • 6:30: Its the highest value thing that we do - Adam Wathan (of Tailwind) on the tradeoffs of using coding agents. (Hackers Incorporated podcast)
    • ]]>     00:07:28 Map projections, prospect theory and competency in the age of AI. Map projections, prospect theory and competency in the age of AI.

    ]]>     no full 22 1     Airport books https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-01-18/ 2026-01-18-episode-21 Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Lets celebrate airport books with some clips from Malcom Gladwell and Michael Lewis.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Being able to play in the world of ideas - Malcom Gladwell turning a diss into a compliment. (@hasanminhaj on TikTok).
  • 1:59: The halo effect - Micheal Lewis on Daniel Kahneman's design for interviewing military recruits (The Undoing Project)
    • ]]>     00:04:50 Lets celebrate airport books with some clips from Malcom Gladwell and Michael Lewis. Lets celebrate airport books with some clips from Malcom Gladwell and Michael Lewis.

    ]]>     no full 21 1     Taking our own past and haunting us with it https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2026-01-11/ 2026-01-11-episode-20 Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Odd Lots, Tim Ferriss, Annie Duke, and Adam Curtis.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: The 1, 2, 3 method - Greg McKeown explains his approach for making sense of a chaotic day (Tim Ferriss on YouTube).
  • 1:45: Odious debt - Lee Buchheit explains the concept of odious debt to Odd Lots
  • 4:06: Instead we're teaching trigonometry - Annie Duke thinks we should teach probabilistic thinking much earlier (Infinite Loops podcast)
  • 4:45: Why does the finance industry exist if markets are efficient? - Odd Lots pondering the efficient markets hypothesis (Odd Lots podcast)
  • 7:11: Taking our own past and haunting us with it - Adam Curtis on AI (The Rest is Entertainment on YouTube).
    • ]]>     00:08:46 Clips from Odd Lots, Tim Ferriss, Annie Duke, and Adam Curtis. Clips from Odd Lots, Tim Ferriss, Annie Duke, and Adam Curtis.

    ]]>     no full 20 1     Its not about the coffee https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-12-08/ 2025-12-08-episode-19 Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Dithering, The Watch, Jason K Pargin, Money Stuff, Acquired (10 years!), Veritasium and Switch Angel.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Banker's Rounding - John Gruber tells Ben Thompson about banker's rounding (Dithering podcast)
  • 1:38: Just coffee, black. - Jason K Pargin discussing the need to feel normal (jasonkpargin on TikTok).
  • 3:29: Its not about the coffee - Jason K Pargin discussing the need to feel normal (jasonkpargin on TikTok).
  • 4:01: You could make a living - Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan talk about the impending sale of Warner Brothers (The Watch podcast)
  • 4:56: So much of the upside has been captured already - Matt Levine and Katie Greifeld discussing a potential Space X IPO (Money Stuff podcast)
  • 8:05: Each book feels like another startup - Michael Lewis talks with Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal about the differences between podcasting versus book writing. (10 Years of Acquired)
  • 10:18: Why aren't there more Acquireds? - Michael Lewis talks with Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal about the ingredients of the Acquired podcast. (10 Years of Acquired)
  • 11:45: You have incentives, but you don't have bosses - Michael Lewis talks with Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal about creating scarcity in creative work and only doing it if its great. (10 Years of Acquired)
  • 13:00: Your business has low enterprise value - Michael Lewis talks with Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal about Aquired's business model. (10 Years of Acquired)
  • 13:36: Refusing to shut up and calculate - Einstein and Bohr's differences over quantum mechanics have been misunderstood. (Veritasium on YouTube)
  • 14:24: We can cut time like a ribbon - Live coded music from Switch Angel using the Strudel software package. (@Switch-Angel on Youtube)
    • ]]>     00:17:25 Clips from Dithering, The Watch, Jason K Pargin, Money Stuff, Acquired (10 years!), Veritasium and Switch Angel. Clips from Dithering, The Watch, Jason K Pargin, Money Stuff, Acquired (10 years!), Veritasium and Switch Angel.

    ]]>     no full 19 1     That's the bit that needs to die https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-12-07/ 2025-12-07-episode-18 Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT A brief clip from Katherine Rundell on writing.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: That's the bit that needs to die - Katherine Rundell on writing badly (BBC Sounds on TikTok, via Undermanager).
    • ]]>     00:00:53 A brief clip from Katherine Rundell on writing. A brief clip from Katherine Rundell on writing.

    ]]>     no full 18 1     It was so indescribably beautiful https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-11-10/ 2025-11-10-episode-17 Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Richard Thaler doesn't think there is any progress to make on economic theory (strong disagree!). Channing Tatum's Olympic-level effort. A conversation that never happened between Björk and Lady Gaga. Andrew Wiles on discovering the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: I do not think there will be a new grand theory - Richard Thaler interviewed by Chris Giles (The Economics Show podcast)
  • 1:15: Give Channing Tatum a medal - Shirley Li, Griffin Newman and David Sims discussing Channing Tatum's Olympic-level effort for his supporting part in the Coen Brother's 2016 movie, Hail Caesar! (Blank Check with Griffin and David podcast)
  • 2:39: The cosmic explosions that happen in our everyday lives - A conversation that never happened between Björk and Lady Gaga (The Talk on YouTube)
  • 4:08: Here is a problem that I, a ten year old, could understand - Andrew Wiles on discovering the proof for Fermat's last theorem (Beauty is suffering - BBC Horizon on YouTube)
    • ]]>     00:08:15 Richard Thaler doesn't think there is any progress to make on economic theory (strong disagree!). Channing Tatum's Olympic-level effort. A conversation that never happened between Björk and Lady Gaga. Andrew Wiles on discovering the proof of Fermat's Last Richard Thaler doesn't think there is any progress to make on economic theory (strong disagree!). Channing Tatum's Olympic-level effort. A conversation that never happened between Björk and Lady Gaga. Andrew Wiles on discovering the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.

    ]]>     no full 17 1     Ensorcelled by mega scale https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-10-26/ 2025-10-26-episode-16 Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Craig Mod on being adopted and Japan, Alan Alda on communication, Andrej Karpathy on learning and Boards of Canada on the PDP-1.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Everyone is being taken care of - Craig Mod on being adopted and living in Japan (The Tim Ferriss Show podcast)
  • 1:38: Back to 1989 - Andrej Karpathy on improvements in AI (the Dwarkesh Podcast)
  • 3:05: Ensorcelled by mega scale - Craig Mod on working at the right scale (The Tim Ferriss Show podcast)
  • 5:27: 3 rules of 3 - Alan Alda's tips on communication (Big Think on Youtube) via Russell Davies.
  • 7:45: You just think you have the knowledge - Andrej Karpathy on learning by building (the Dwarkesh Podcast)
  • 8:24: My favourite noodle is universal healthcare - Craig Mod discussing how his travel recommendations went viral (The Tim Ferriss Show podcast)
  • 9:17: Olson on the PDP-1 - Olson by Boards of Canada played on the PDP-1 computer (Joe Lynch on YouTube)
    • ]]>     00:11:15 Craig Mod on being adopted and Japan, Alan Alda on communication, Andrej Karpathy on learning and Boards of Canada on the PDP-1. Craig Mod on being adopted and Japan, Alan Alda on communication, Andrej Karpathy on learning and Boards of Canada on the PDP-1.

    ]]>     no full 16 1     What message do I want to leave? https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-10-11/ 2025-10-11-episode-15 Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Acquired on Google's Jeff Dean, Nick Lane on mitochondria, Moneystuff on the AI bubble, Gary Stevenson on the problem with the Western intellectual class and Jane Goodall's final message.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Jeff Dean facts - Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal sharing their favourite Jeff Dean facts (Acquired podcast)
  • 0:57: Anaesthetics, mitochondria and consciousness - Nick Lane, interviewed by Dwarkesh Patel (The Dwarkesh Podcast)
  • 3:04: The Y chromosome is basically saying GROW FAST - Nick Lane, interviewed by Dwarkesh Patel, referencing the work of Ursula Mittwoch (The Dwarkesh Podcast)
  • 4:51: Cells are a little battery with the same structure as the Earth - Nick Lane, interviewed by Dwarkesh Patel (The Dwarkesh Podcast)
  • 6:28: That sounds like a bubble - Katie Greifeld and Matt Levine discuss the possibility of the AI bubble
  • 9:18: Constantly misdiagnosing the problem - Gary Stevenson on diagnosing the problem (Gary's Economics on Youtube)
  • 10:21: What message do I want to leave? - Some of Jane Goodall's last words (Famous Last Words on Youtube)
    • ]]>     00:12:40 Acquired on Google's Jeff Dean, Nick Lane on mitochondria, Moneystuff on the AI bubble, Gary Stevenson on the problem with the Western intellectual class and Jane Goodall's final message. Acquired on Google's Jeff Dean, Nick Lane on mitochondria, Moneystuff on the AI bubble, Gary Stevenson on the problem with the Western intellectual class and Jane Goodall's final message.

    ]]>     no full 15 1     Efficiency makes the world a worse place https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-10-02/ 2025-10-02-episode-14 Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Roman Mars on efficiency, Ole Peters on reflexivity in economics and Ed Yong on tyranny.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Efficiency makes the world a worse place - Roman Mars defines the hill he'd be willing to die on (99% Invisible podcast)
  • 3:07: We've given up too easily - Ole Peters giving an introduction to Ergodicity Economics at Gresham College, 12 years ago. (Gresham College on Youtube)
  • 5:11: Science is bad for tyrants - Ed Yong (Science Vs on BlueSky)
    • ]]>     00:05:46 Roman Mars on efficiency, Ole Peters on reflexivity in economics and Ed Yong on tyranny. Roman Mars on efficiency, Ole Peters on reflexivity in economics and Ed Yong on tyranny.

    ]]>     no full 14 1     Wall of sound https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-09-10/ 2025-09-10-episode-13 Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Clips from Grant Sanderson, the MMT Podcast, The London Review of Books podcast and some very fast trains.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Wall of sound (1) - Tom Scott on the world's fastest train (Youtube)
  • 0:39: Scooping everyone along - Grant Sanderson interviewing Paul Dancstep on his work at the Exploratorium and how he created this video (Grant Sanderson on Youtube)
  • 2:50: Speculators may do no harm - Phil Armstrong quoting Keynes (The MMT Podcast)
  • 3:17: Once every 25 years - Richard Seymour on David Graeber (The LRB Podcast)
  • 7:08: Wall of sound (2) - A reporter witnessing a very fast Maglev train in Japan (posted by Jenny Frecklington-Jones on Bluesky)
    • ]]>     00:07:25 Clips from Grant Sanderson, the MMT Podcast, The London Review of Books podcast and some very fast trains. Clips from Grant Sanderson, the MMT Podcast, The London Review of Books podcast and some very fast trains.

    ]]>     no full 13 1     The sin of comfort https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-08-26/ 2025-08-26-episode-12 Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT Three clips from comedians this week. Contains swearing.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: The sin of comfort - Jerry Wayne Longmire on TikTok
  • 1:33: ChatGPT psychosis - Pearlmania500
  • 3:51: Can you farm? - Mitch Hedberg on Vimeo. Via David Marx.
    • ]]>     00:04:23 Three clips from comedians this week. Contains swearing. Three clips from comedians this week. Contains swearing.

    ]]>     no full 12 1     The peripheral and the foveal https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-07-25/ 2025-07-25-episode-11 Fri, 25 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Complexity science, economic modelling, assistive AI and luck. Featuring clips from David Krakauer, Steve Keen and Derek Muller.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Foveal vs peripheral vision scientists - David Krakauer on complexity science. Interviewed by Paul Middlebrooks (Brain Inspired podcast)
  • 3:01: Modelling in continuous time - Steve Keen on the importance of building economic models in continuous rather than discrete time (Debunking Economics podcast)
  • 4:29: Live AI as a visual interpreter - Victoria Song interviewing a live-AI user (The Verge on Tik Tok)
  • 5:31: Increase the luck of others - Derek Muller on luck. (Veritasium on Youtube)
    • ]]>     00:06:24 Complexity science, economic modelling, assistive AI and luck. Featuring clips from David Krakauer, Steve Keen and Derek Muller. Complexity science, economic modelling, assistive AI and luck. Featuring clips from David Krakauer, Steve Keen and Derek Muller.

    ]]>     no full 11 1     The original sin in economics https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-07-06/ 2025-07-06-episode-10 Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT A clip from the Money Stuff podcast featuring Gappy Paleologo.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: The original sin in economics - Gappy Paleologo on which type of scientist makes a good quant (Money Stuff podcast)
    • ]]>     00:02:52 A clip from the Money Stuff podcast featuring Gappy Paleologo. A clip from the Money Stuff podcast featuring Gappy Paleologo.

    ]]>     no full 10 1     Things fall apart https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-07-02/ 2025-07-02-episode-9 Wed, 02 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Clippings from The Economics Show, Veritasium and Odd Lots.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Things fall apart - Martin Wolf quoting The Second Coming by WB Yeats. (The Economics Show podcast)
  • 1:05: Reconcentrating risk - Gillian Tett gives a clear explanation of the 2008 great financial crisis. (Odd Lots podcast)
  • 4:56: We don't know whats important - Steven Strogatz on Goldbach’s Conjecture (Veritasium Youtube channel)
    • ]]>     00:05:50 Clippings from The Economics Show, Veritasium and Odd Lots. Clippings from The Economics Show, Veritasium and Odd Lots.

    ]]>     no full 9 1     Twenty San Franciscos https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-06-16/ 2025-06-16-episode-8 Mon, 16 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT We can do big things and sometimes they work.

    ]]>

  • 0:00: Twenty San Franciscos - Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen discussing the impact of PEPFAR on the HIV AIDS epidemic. (From episode 1 of the Hard Drugs podcast)

  • 4:48: Tasted a little teargas… - KCA News live from Los Angeles

    • ]]>     00:04:58 We can do big things and sometimes they work. We can do big things and sometimes they work.

    ]]>     no full 8 1     Search has always been conversational https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-06-07/ 2025-06-07-episode-7 Sat, 07 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Musing on AI-powered search and a fantastic explanation of modern monetary theory.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Search has always been conversational - Matt Webb on building Braggoscope (Rosenfeld Review Podcast)
  • 1:52: MMT explained - Christian Reilly explains MMT beautifully in less than 10 minutes (The MMT Podcast)
    • ]]>     00:11:03 Musing on AI-powered search and a fantastic explanation of modern monetary theory. Musing on AI-powered search and a fantastic explanation of modern monetary theory.

    ]]>     no full 7 1     Rough consensus https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-05-29/ 2025-05-29-episode-6 Thu, 29 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT Decision making via rough consensus and an anecdote about working collaboratively with AI.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Rough consensus (Not Another CEO podcast) - Description of a decision-making process via a memo with a rough-consensus.
  • 2:40: Human-AI agents (Stratechery Update) - Multi-user collaboration with AI via a shared chat-log.
    • ]]>     00:05:52 Decision making via rough consensus and an anecdote about working collaboratively with AI. Decision making via rough consensus and an anecdote about working collaboratively with AI.

    ]]>     no full 6 1     Information becoming causal https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-05-14/ 2025-05-14-episode-5 Wed, 14 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT Clips from things I've been listening to. Bill Gates on polio eradication and Sara Walker discussing Assembly Theory.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Information becoming causal - Sara Walker discussing her book, Life as no one knows it (The Jim Rutt Show podcast)
  • 1:35: The miracle of zero - Bill Gates talking about efforts to eradicate polio (The Economics Show Podcast)
  • 2:57: Randomness is a techno-signature - Sara Walker discussing her book, Life as no one knows it (The Jim Rutt Show podcast)
    • ]]>     00:03:48 Clips from things I've been listening to. Bill Gates on polio eradication and Sara Walker discussing Assembly Theory. Clips from things I've been listening to. Bill Gates on polio eradication and Sara Walker discussing Assembly Theory.

    ]]>     no full 5 1     If it sounds good, it is good https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-05-11/ 2025-05-11-episode-4 Sun, 11 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT I have just discovered the Gyu Beats Youtube channel. It has made me very happy.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: If it sounds good, it is good - A recreation of The Prodigy's Out Of Space (Gyu Beats Youtube Channel)
    • ]]>     00:03:32 I have just discovered the [Gyu Beats](https://www.youtube.com/@GyuBeats) Youtube channel. It has made me very happy. I have just discovered the Gyu Beats Youtube channel. It has made me very happy.

    ]]>     no full 4 1     Being real points https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-03-22/ 2025-03-22-episode-3 Sat, 22 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT Clips from audio I have been listening to recently. Narrative, technology.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Being real points - John Gruber and Ben Thompson (Dithering)
  • 3:28: A big gear and a little gear - Capitalists Hate Capitalism with Cory Doctorow (The MMT Podcast)
    • ]]>     00:04:38 Clips from audio I have been listening to recently. Narrative, technology. Clips from audio I have been listening to recently. Narrative, technology.

    ]]>     no full 3 1     First guess, then prove https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-02-10/ 2025-02-10-episode-2 Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT Clips from audio I have been listening to. Epistemology, Cinema.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: First guess, then prove - Polya explains the problem solving technique (Youtube)
  • 3:29: I don't think people expect me to be such a cinephile - Pamela Anderson's Closet (criterion.com)
    • ]]>     00:07:36 Clips from audio I have been listening to. Epistemology, Cinema. Clips from audio I have been listening to. Epistemology, Cinema.

    ]]>     no full 2 1     Extremely athletic learning https://audiolog.jamesking.io/2025-01-30/ 2025-01-30-episode-1 Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT Selected audio from things I have listened to recently. Learning, finance, quantum mechanics.

    ]]>
  • 0:00: Extremely athletic learning - Joe Walker & Andy Matuschak (The Joe Walker Podcast)
  • 3:26: He succeeded in the aggregate - Messing With Models (The Money Stuff Podcast)
  • 6:26: What could be more absurd? - Roger Penrose on quantum mechanics and consciousness (The Institute of Art and Ideas)
    • ]]>     00:08:09 Selected audio from things I have listened to recently. Learning, finance, quantum mechanics. Selected audio from things I have listened to recently. Learning, finance, quantum mechanics.

    ]]>     no full 1 1