4 comments on Audience Capture, Vaccine Absolutism and Rediscovering Ancient Technology

1. Al Jahom says:

   November 23, 2022 at 9:51 pm

   Listener show notes:

   1) I got into your podcast after a plug on Lockdown Sceptics. Never missed an episode since. I appreciate that you release sporadically when you have the time and a load of material to lay down, and I don’t buy into the “you need to release on a consistent schedule” argument, given the way podcast apps work. But. I would appreciate hearing from you guys more regularly, because it’s one of the most engaging and thought provoking things I listen to.

   2) I transitioned from Conservatism to Libertarianism via blogs in the mid-late 2000s. I’ve been blogging in anger since about 2007, though a built a prototype blogging CMS in ASP.NET+MSSQL in about 2002/3. I went to loads of London libertarian drinks and meetups via Twitter in the late 00’s and early 10’s. I was mates with Obo The Clown and Devil’s Kitchen (Chris Mounsey), I knew Old Holborn etc etc. I remember the LPUK drama with Henry North London (Rohan Kapur), Anna Raccoon and Andrew Withers. I remember Old Holborn standing for parliament. And him sending copies of 1984 to all 650 MPs. I woke up to the US Libertarians in the early 10’s, listening to Tom Woods etc, then Malice, Dave Smith etc. Then stuff like Cynical Libertarian Society (an AnCap since about 2008 and by far my favourite podcaster). To say I was ready and waiting for your stuff would be an understatement. It was a journey, and I doubt normie crap like London Calling could get people to where your thinking and mine is. Sidenote: A huge proportion of the people in the London Libertarian scene were either on the spectrum or experienced with properly oppressive old regimes in Africa or East Europe.

   3) Yes. I got into Hancock and Carlson after I heard them on Rogan… their narrative around the meteor strike and around Göbekli Tepe is compelling. I’m delighted about the series on Netflix – normie friends have started reporting they’ve watched it – and if I’d ever relayed Hancock and Carlson’s stuff to them, you could guarantee they’d never have engaged with it, having labelled it as conspiracy and being unable to back down.

   4) I bought into Jordan Peterson early on, but I had misgivings, that were given voice by Vox Day and Adam Piggott. I read Jordanetics, and therefore wasn’t surprised by his descent into madness. Even against that backdrop, his recent Daily Wire videos about conservatism and his speech about Israel are jaw-dropping shillery and insanity. I stand with Ye.

   5) Where did Lex Fridman come from? How did this random dude become some kind of force of nature, attracting millions of views, who could get Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and god knows who else to come on his podcast? I don’t doubt that he has remarkable personal attributes, but many people do. I smell the sponsorship of dark forces.

   6) Like you, I buy Bret’s analogy undermining the claim that vaccines are safe, rather than “often not obviously injurious, but not always”.. But you CANNOT then go on to say that vaping is safe. The same arguments apply. We simply don’t know. Intuitively, it’s probably less dangerous than smoking tobacco, but ingesting nicotine into the lungs, along with clouds of propylene glycol (or whatever it is) is unlikely to be a net positive in itself. I vape, BTW, but on the basis that it’s not as bad as the fags.

   7) Elon Musk is not one of the good guys. He’s a government subsidy harvester, he wants to connect our brains to the internet (if you think Neuralink is going to only be an HID, I have a bridge to sell you), he wants Twitter to be the global standard digital ID and payment platform, with full KYC. Oh and he’s happy to strip mine Africa and enrich China for his batteries. He wants to turn the world into his own personal thought experiment from Trolley Problem to Roko’s basilisk. Fuck that guy.

   Reply
   1. Nic Elliott says:

      November 28, 2022 at 6:01 pm

      Thank you so much for such a detailed post.

      I love hearing about other people’s journeys and I’m glad we did come along for you at the right stage.

      We are trying to get back into the rhythm again so hopefully we can keep the tempo up there.

      I have had a nightmare few months at work which is now ending which is good.

      I think I am with you on Musk. Even if he is somehow a good guy, why is he doing stuff that fits in with the bad guys plans?

      Thanks again for sticking with us.

      Reply
2. Alex says:

   November 27, 2022 at 5:24 am

   On Lapislazuli: It’s a stone. Actually considered a semi-precious stone. Main sources found in the Andes in Chile (although Wikipedia wrongly claims it was Peru), and Afghanistan. Growing up in Chile one could find it set in silver in the cheapest markets because it was so abundant. There were few exceptions where they were polished and cut to perfection and sold in up-market gift shops mainly set in gold but also a a stand alone carved trinket.

   Now since about twenty or thirty years there have been new discoveries in Mongolia, Russia, Canada and the US.

   Keep up the good work and thank you both.

   Reply
   1. Nic Elliott says:

      November 28, 2022 at 5:53 pm

      Loving the history and background, thanks!

      Really pleased you enjoy the pod.
      Nic

      Reply