Dylan O'Sullivan - The Classics Are Never Getting Old

Hollis Robbins - Hope for AI in Education and Beyond

This week on The Hope Axis, Hollis Robbins joins me to talk about her dense career and what it actually means to build a life dedicated to the humanities today. Hollis, a dear friend of Interintellect and one of the first hosts, stepped back from her role as Dean of Humanities at the University of Utah in 2024 to focus on writing three upcoming books, including one with the incredible title, “Do Not Go to College Unless.” We get into her journey, and finding room for hope and leisure in the middle of it all. Hope you enjoy! For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QrykHXAFjyGdh6OlLQ1WD7yo06rIBf8J/view?usp=drive_link [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QrykHXAFjyGdh6OlLQ1WD7yo06rIBf8J/view?usp=drive_link] Important Links: X (Twitter) – https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVVrdW15djhHZ2lFNU5NcEpQMVBxYm5URHpIQXxBQ3Jtc0tuOEpEN3FTZ0FFT3lONXR2QllWNjNfLU1GVEp4OXplT053bWlOWHp2NjdSRHUwRDBhUEFzMlZsZ2xJMFJHRnNGSXo5OHFfOXBVa2dMTC1haHVPUzAtRnJyOFhRZWpKcWV4M2JITERyRmd6aUJhTU1USQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FDylanoA4%3Flang%3Den&v=lhJ0EOvK6Fghttps://x.com/anecdotal?lang=en [https://x.com/anecdotal?lang=en] Substack - https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbm8tN0ZFYTFQT1ljMUE5VzgzSHBtaThVWm1BUXxBQ3Jtc0ttZjJsS1IwSUthRkpvaHd2enBkNUQ0UGo3VGUyVEVzdWY0R1Y5YjJxeUZ6cTl1amhMV21vOEhGR0ZZXzNsVm1uVWNxeVhxd2dlRTV6WXFTbWszbDZJdmtFRXBDeXJTbFEtNmxaX2tRSVc0eTBVM1NZOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2F%40essayful&v=lhJ0EOvK6Fghttps://substack.com/@hollisrobbins [https://substack.com/@hollisrobbins]LinkedIn – https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbXVQYkpYSU45Mm40RHZGNjhWU0hEOWU1cjFBUXxBQ3Jtc0ttVmpvOGM4SDBFR0xSYmlsdTd6Tm9HWU5KX09ETjJiNTd6R2dILWpiSFJsYVA2SzVaWk5TUnZ5LTYzSU9QdFRfSENTbGVtM2xnV3M5TWVoY2ZmdDBac1Rpd3JrTkt5S2lNN0pxT2xvQXRVZTR4ZU43Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fdylanoa4%2F&v=lhJ0EOvK6Fghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/hollisrobbins [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollisrobbins] Google Scholars - https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1lqeDhEWTdZRFlKNzZvX3RjUlFIRHpwY185UXxBQ3Jtc0trSHVFT3Y3czVldGtNZEJuYWtnUXRTSFFsaE9jVmxZQU9sbWEyMDJGYkZlajd3NjYyRUoxZ05JbDlNY0JYRVJ0VkVoekVqcG1kNjhndExIeVhDdUtyeF9JNDFuMG1WUW01N2NYOXFPV1FRSHczeVA3UQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fspectator.com%2Fwriter%2Fdylan-osullivan%2F&v=lhJ0EOvK6Fghttps://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d2MNMeMAAAAJ&hl=en [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d2MNMeMAAAAJ&hl=en] Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_anecdotal/ [https://www.instagram.com/_anecdotal/] Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction (02:12)  College, dropping out, intellectual ideals and AI (07:22)  The state of universities and colleges in the time of information abundance (15:01)  Intellect and technology (29:00)  Anti-AI and pro-intellectual discourse is missing the point (33:39) America's higher (mid) education doesn't compete with AI (42:45)  Reinventing tutoring (48:04)  How is Hollis Robbins surviving in the humanities? (53:59)  The process of ""dumbing down"" of the American University (01:04:03)  If a specialist won't be teaching you at the university - don't go there. (01:07:24) Intellectual labour in scale economy. (01:10:02)  Final thoughts

Dylan O'Sullivan - The Classics Are Never Getting Old

This week on The Hope Axis, Dylan O’Sullivan joins to talk about the classics and their second life online. We get into reading in the age of TikTok and AI, and whether people today can still take on long, difficult books, along with the experience of going back to books and seeing them differently over time. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fGdRmgt7ZO6MKGzd6sHUX15n3q5QBINl/view?usp=sharing Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/DylanoA4?lang=en [https://x.com/DylanoA4?lang=en]  Essayful - https://substack.com/@essayful [https://substack.com/@essayful]  LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanoa4/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanoa4/]  The Spectator - https://spectator.com/writer/dylan-osullivan/ [https://spectator.com/writer/dylan-osullivan/]  Show Notes:  (00:00) Introduction (02:33) The Right Age to Start Reading The Classics (07:53) The Feeling of Cultural Stagnation (12:22) How to Find Good Books (21:53) Finding What to Read and Where to Think (31:09) Dylan's Most Quoted Authors (39:03) Modern World of Self-publishing (41:38) What Do You Write About If You Don't Live First (48:19) What's up with Dostoevsky (56:14) Ulysses and End Notes Books, Essays & References Mentioned: C.S. Lewis — The Abolition of Man C.S. Lewis — Mere Christianity Arthur Koestler — Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler — The Act of Creation Leo Tolstoy — War and Peace Leo Tolstoy — Anna Karenina Fyodor Dostoevsky — The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky — Notes from Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky — White Nights James Joyce — Ulysses

Alastair Benn - Human Power of Editing, and a Hope for Literacy - With Englesberg Ideas's Alastair Benn

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m very happy to welcome Alastair Benn, deputy editor of Engelsberg Ideas. In this conversation, we talk about Scottish identity and language, the challenges of writing clearly in a “post-literate” age, and the editorial philosophy behind Engelsberg Ideas. We also discuss the idea of Bildung and Benn’s view of the editor as a mentor who helps writers turn strong ideas into clear, readable essays. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IZLw1IkUsu5Q5A-AbAf_mAJZKCUAkQjd/view?usp=drive_link [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IZLw1IkUsu5Q5A-AbAf_mAJZKCUAkQjd/view?usp=drive_link] Important Links:  X (Twitter) –https://x.com/alastair_benn [https://x.com/alastair_benn]  Engelsberg Ideas - https://engelsbergideas.com/author/alastair-benn/ [https://engelsbergideas.com/author/alastair-benn/] LinkedIn – https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alastair-benn-0327b578 [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alastair-benn-0327b578] Bokforlaget Stolpe– https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnRNVEJobnE5R0laejJ0MGZRNm1RVjdwSHRWUXxBQ3Jtc0traHU2aUtoV1Q2LW5VWllIRUFsNzVERGJmak9KckRQNVItR3NqUzRrTEUwd19DVnk2Rlc0VnZJeWQtMWlkM1NENnhHMk14UzVsdVo1eU1rT2tpRnpqU2R3WVNnSkVDalM3R3pmb19jRmo3aEc0THFoWQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fby%2Falana-newhouse&v=MkpQ2LRQ0x0https://bokforlagetstolpe.com/en/authors/alastair-benn/ [https://bokforlagetstolpe.com/en/authors/alastair-benn/] Show Notes:  (0:00:00) Introduction (0:00:58) Misunderstanding the Scots (0:05:32) Linguistic Identity and Code-Switching (0:10:24) Scotland Compared to Scandinavia (0:13:02) Whisky, the Burning Bush, and Scottish Identity (0:22:26) Engelsberg Ideas (0:25:07) Plain Language, Complex Ideas (0:31:12) Why the Written Word Still Matters (0:37:25) Writing Essays like Montaigne (0:42:39) Gatekeepers of the World of the Ideas (0:48:35) Are We Becoming Post-Literate? (0:56:47) What Is Bildung (1:01:08) The Bildungsroman from Goethe to Thomas Mann (1:10:31) Innerlichkeit and the Cult of Inwardness (1:18:14) Hans Castorp and the Arid Cult of Productivity (1:24:38) The Biases of the Hyper-Literate Elite (1:27:10) Schopenhauer, Hegel, and the Problem of Jargon (1:30:03) The Editor as a Mentor (1:36:35) AI and Editing: What It Can and Cannot Do (1:43:19) Closing Remarks  Books, Essays & References Mentioned: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Thomas Mann — The Magic Mountain Great Expectations — Charles Dickens Arthur Schopenhauer Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Robert Louis Stevenson Miguel de Cervantes — Don Quixote Virgil — Aeneid John Milton — Paradise Lost

Alana Newhouse - Why Everything Is Broken and How to Fix It

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m very happy to welcome Alana Newhouse. Alana is a journalist, editor, and founder of Tablet Magazine, and the author of the influential 2021 essay “Everything Is Broken.” In this conversation, we revisit the idea of brokenism a few years later and talk about how people who are intelligent and well-read enough to despair all day might still find a small ray of hope. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HaBI_AINhbkwXo2aXaVfiUd1qvMTcc1J/view?usp=drive_link [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HaBI_AINhbkwXo2aXaVfiUd1qvMTcc1J/view?usp=drive_link] Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa0tNUlk3SFBYSENRaDFkZk1NSVlhV01CbGFnQXxBQ3Jtc0trcFI1bGx3ZjVMRVZtNlhvTVdHdkdQN25VbWNuNE1jdzM1cUxKNUlLcGxHUTdjUzVvQy1zOFNlS3ljbVhyMUhPWm5rMk9tWUdiRllISU1xeVRBRGZlYWVLZHQ5QUJ2eXg0OXV5UTIyM0VfRWl0QjlOTQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Felidourado&v=mmpcuqMiC_0https://x.com/alananewhouse [https://x.com/alananewhouse]  Tablet Magazine – https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/alana-newhouse [https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/alana-newhouse]     LinkedIn –      / [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbjJ3M1ozeHl6VVhNWlI3OC1ueHpyU0FCSG95d3xBQ3Jtc0ttc2Faa0w4NFR2WmI0eWxvN1Z5ODU5VmZZZDhTbEZCcFJRUU9TUFNtV0k4eDVUeVotZUcxMUJqaVZqeUd2b3cxWXVCS1J4ck15enU2Mmw1LXZJSXdVb3RCOENPZmU5U1VuOTBpelFuc3V6MjJtNTVFQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Felidourado&v=mmpcuqMiC_0]https://www.linkedin.com/in/alana-newhouse-25214716a [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alana-newhouse-25214716a]  The New York Times – https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWlmRVpTbWFkR2RGb1hUNkRiaF9IandtajhUQXxBQ3Jtc0trc09MMmVSUkdCSVI1d1QydkFBQ085UFRFZ21qTHNmX3h1VS0yOXRPZU9ZOGJfM0F2RmxlNGVtZmstbUl1RXlqUVJQdnBBVHljdmFFeDFyYTBGdDhjQjc5UVhLV1JEYldja0xnREZQWGJYVFlzN3VOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.elidourado.com%2F&v=mmpcuqMiC_0https://www.nytimes.com/by/alana-newhouse [https://www.nytimes.com/by/alana-newhouse]  Website - https://www.alananewhouse.com/ [https://www.alananewhouse.com/]  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alana.newhouse/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/alana.newhouse/?hl=en]  Show Notes:  (0:00:00) Introduction (0:02:01) "Everything Is Broken" - The Backstory (0:15:36) The Diagnosis and the Dinner that Changed Everything (0:28:01) What It Means to Be a Part of Community (0:35:19) The Internet Has Shrunk the World (0:38:09) Alana's Concept of Flatness (0:46:17) Long-form Content Exercises Your Brain (0:49:24) The Legibility Crisis (0:56:19) Critical Reception of Media and News (0:59:28) The Future of Journalism (1:08:12) Extremes, Media and Antisemitism (1:13:25) 2030 Predictions and End Notes Books, Essays & References Mentioned: “Everything Is Broken” — Alana Newhouse Jürgen Habermas Tablet Magazine The New York Times Bluesky Donald Trump COVID-19 pandemic Legibility crisis Public sphere fragmentation

Eli Dourado - Avoiding Societal Collapse, Complexity, and the Path to Abundance

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m happy to welcome back Eli Dourado. Eli has joined us before in Interintellect salons, and now he’s on the podcast to revisit some of the ideas we talked about in the past. He previously worked at the Abundance Institute and is now the Head of Strategic Investments at Astra. We talk about abundance, progress, and what it takes to help the world flourish a little bit more. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mO1maYYI0KzoR-lrjkhB9w9IZbT1XZFc/view?usp=sharing [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mO1maYYI0KzoR-lrjkhB9w9IZbT1XZFc/view?usp=sharing] Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbGcwYUJGUkViUHltZENRcjZnZnBNbEVuZFJjZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsSWNSZ2swenN6Unk2N09sVkNsOGR1dG9PcXZweFVNei1nTE9pRTZiNDBQTHRJWDVEOFRjcnVLc2tSTWNLQXlVVFNjdXAyLWtVTFZPTldyOWR3Z1l0T3o0WEJGbnQ3NWFNX3BiZVpyZEJOXzY4MVdjcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Feshear%3Flang%3Den&v=5qRgjypTfUshttps://x.com/elidourado [https://x.com/elidourado]  Astera –   [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbUxWNllza0xhZnZlVFRGWGZJcndhblJNNHRNUXxBQ3Jtc0ttS0VJeVBFZkxlMDFCR3JGRGxqcFN4Q2d2WUNaVWExcUxWeklpeGlXWmZ5eW1VWG5wN0xPeV9tUElEVGlhcWp2Z3JUbmNCVVlMTU5BWGJxV1IzeHJRellYMDBxY3ZObC1fU25kZjB4U3d0TjE1RU5EQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEmmett_Shear&v=5qRgjypTfUs]https://astera.org/team/eli-dourado/ [https://astera.org/team/eli-dourado/] . [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbUxWNllza0xhZnZlVFRGWGZJcndhblJNNHRNUXxBQ3Jtc0ttS0VJeVBFZkxlMDFCR3JGRGxqcFN4Q2d2WUNaVWExcUxWeklpeGlXWmZ5eW1VWG5wN0xPeV9tUElEVGlhcWp2Z3JUbmNCVVlMTU5BWGJxV1IzeHJRellYMDBxY3ZObC1fU25kZjB4U3d0TjE1RU5EQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEmmett_Shear&v=5qRgjypTfUs]    LinkedIn –     [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHJLcE5wYjJzYm5ESjIyOUE2UUcwa2NkWWpYZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttUEhxRDI2N1pad0lkVWRUMUpiZ25UejNwSlVvcGZuQ0pfQ2diM2lxTWlZcEQ0eDg4UzhlZUoxNFdDeGRBZ2xqOUh1UzJuWWp6eERKQnVNZ1N1WUQ3Y3E2UTN0ZmkwbG8wTlBmSHN1UXYyLTR3akx6VQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Femmettshear&v=5qRgjypTfUs]https://www.linkedin.com/in/elidourado [https://www.linkedin.com/in/elidourado]  Substack – https://www.elidourado.com/ [https://www.elidourado.com/]  Show Notes: (00:00) Guest Introduction (01:51) Why Joseph Tainter (09:45) The Great Stagnation (15:13) Imagining Someone in 1866 (16:48) Hungary (22:24) The Fragility of Economic Growth (26:02) Complexity (29:56) Chernobyl as The Cause of USSR's Collapse (32:32) The Uneven Stagnation, Explaining Mismanagement (39:16) The Nature of The Elites (43:05) Staving off the Collapse, History and the Future (50:05) Diminishing Marginal Returns (55:24) How to Rebuild Faith in the System Books, Essays & References Mentioned:  The Collapse of Complex Societies — Joseph Tainter The Great Stagnation — Tyler Cowen End Times — Peter Turchin Collapse — Jared Diamond Cliodynamics Total Factor Productivity The Roman Empire The Soviet Union Industrial Revolution Diminishing marginal returns Resource subsidies Technological progress Nihilism in stagnating societies Expansion into the solar system Complexity budget