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Useful Fictions—Art, Science, and the Stories That Shape Our Future with Artist Wendi Yan

What would it be like to be a mammoth brought back from extinction—without your consent?This conversation with the visionary Wendi Yan radically expanded my mind 🤯We talked about:- How storytelling shapes which science gets funded and built- The liminal space where fiction and science converge- How dystopian cultural narratives risk becoming self-fulfilling if technologists and artists remain siloed- Why collective imagination might be our most critical toolAnd much more on simulating alternative futures through art and science! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yesthis.substack.com [https://yesthis.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Emergent Meaning: Networks, AI, and the Geometry of Our Collective Mind with Douglas Guilbeault

An interview with Douglas Guilbeault, Assistant Professor in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. We explore how AI and large language models might teach us about our own collective humanity, drawing connections between the engineered and algorithmic world and the complex, cultural, and living. Douglas uses computational social science to study social structures, with fascinating implications for everything from content moderation to climate policy to the spread of behaviors like mask-wearing during COVID. What if LLMs weren't replacements for human intelligence, but instead portals into our collective cultural knowledge that depends on our continued creativity and agency? Episode Outline Bridging humanities, sciences, and computational methods [6:00 - 13:55] Computational Social Science and Meaning [14:00 - 22:05] Research methodologies and applications for understanding meaning in digital age [22:05 - 27:00] Case studies on group size, gender, and macro distortions [27:00 - 33:45] Content moderation and policy implications [33:45 - 47:45] Collective Intelligence [47:45 - 55:00] Complex Contagions [55:00 - 1:07:40] LLMs as Cultural Technologies [01:07:40 - 01:20:35] Optimistic Perspective on AI [01:20:35 - 01:25:35] Scientific discovery revealing greater complexity [01:25:35 - 01:32:45] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yesthis.substack.com [https://yesthis.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

From Scarcity to Abundance: Syntropic Agriculture and Cultural Transformation

In this episode, we explore how the Eden Forest Collective is applying syntropic principles—where diversity and complexity create harmonious outcomes—in their land cultivation as well as in their cultural and community practices. Eden is an operating (abundantly!) food forest, educational nonprofit, and event center whose mission is to heal the story of separation through regenerative cultural practice. Eden’s mission centers on healing the story of separation through reconnection with nature and regenerative land practices. Among many things, we discuss visions of abundant futures, the importance of inner work, and having the creative process itself embody the values we seek to cultivate more of — joy, patience, connection. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yesthis.substack.com [https://yesthis.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Greening the Built Environment; Anneli Tostar, Tangible Materials

Tangible's mission is to decarbonize buildings. Their software tool helps identify, manage, and track sustainable building materials. Co-founder, Anneli Tostar, walks us through her unexpected journey from Harvard, to Sao Paolo, Sweden, London, and finally to San Francisco.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yesthis.substack.com [https://yesthis.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Grid of the Future: Matt Plante, President & Co-Founder of Voltus

Matt Plante is the president and co-founder of Voltus, a distributed energy resources platform whose mission is to fulfill the promise of the energy transition. Voltus’s technology platform, VoltApp, connects any distributed energy resource, from energy efficiency to demand response, to any wholesale market in North America. In this episode, we discuss the electric grid of the future, the DER technology and policy to get us there, lessons learned from the Texas and California blackouts, and what makes Voltus special. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yesthis.substack.com [https://yesthis.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]