The Hope Axis by Anna Gát

Anna Gát
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Biweekly

What is there in the world to hope and work for? Let's discuss!

  1. 4h ago

    Michael Solana: Hope for Teens with Superpowers

    This week on The Hope Axis, I'm joined by Mike Solana, CMO at Founders Fund and Editor-in-Chief of Pirate Wires. In this no-filter conversation between two editors-in-chief, we dive into recent political policy landscapes, the echoes of post-Soviet governance, and what keeps a tech optimist genuinely hopeful in today's world. Hope you enjoy! For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16drg8RuK8-vlFZvrThdID6Gp5CrRnlp-/view?usp=sharing Important Links: X (Twitter) – Mike Solana (@micsolana) / X Founders fund–https://foundersfund.com/team/michael-solana/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/micsolana/?hl=en Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-solana-2484a644/?isSelfProfile=false Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction (01:39) Freedom of speech (07:48) Political bubbles and separate realities (15:28) DSA, Millennial, and Zoomer grievances (19:42) The case of student loan debt (26:33) Social media and endless ideological war (29:25) "Grok, is this true?" (38:33) The Abundance movement (48:55) The road from science-fiction to political reality (59:05) Ending Books, Essays & References Mentioned: Derek Thompson & Ezra Klein — Abundance Louis Hartz — The Liberal Tradition in America Michael Solana — Citizen Sim Nick Bostrom — Simulation hypothesis Doug Hofstadter — Cognitive science and philosophy Peter Thiel — Email on millennials, capitalism, and student debt Community Notes — Crowdsourced fact-checking system Grok — AI chatbot by xAI ChatGPT — AI language model Large Language Models (LLMs) — Artificial intelligence models Universal Basic Income (UBI) — Economic policy proposal Libertarianism — Political philosophy Post-scarcity — Economic concept Rob Henderson — Luxury Beliefs Carly Simon — "Let the River Run" (Working Girl)

  2. Jul 10

    Sarah Constantin - Thinking. The Secret Competitive Advantage

    This week, Sarah Constantin joins me on The Hope Axis. Sarah is a mathematician and versatile thinker whose work spans defense, software, AI, biotechnology, and mental health. In this conversation, we revisit our connection from six years ago to discuss her latest explorations and her perspective in this unique moment for both AI and her own professional journey. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14uG39HZYnxphJ82I6pj4_3CLs00XK42n/view?usp=sharing Important Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/s_r_constantin?lang=en Website– https://www.sarah-constantin.org/ Substack – https://sarahconstantin.substack.com/ Github – https://srconstantin.github.io/about/ Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-constantin-ba71b02b/?isSelfProfile=false Show Notes: (0:00:00) Introduction(0:05:21) The Internet used to be a social place(0:14:57) The Importance of Practical Experience(0:19:37) From the Covid Era to the AI Era(0:22:34) Wrong Assumptions About Medicine(0:36:02) Self-help(0:39:51) Love, Relationships, and Conversations(0:45:53) Neutrality, The Debate-resolution App(0:56:53) Taiwan, the Lack of Explosives in the US(1:01:36) Why Sarah Writes(1:08:37) AI Books, Essays & References Mentioned: Samuel Shem — The House of God Lewis Thomas — The Youngest Science Ayn Rand — The Virtue of Selfishness Agnes Callard — Open Socrates Venkatesh Rao — "Never have both halves of a conversation" Internal Family Systems (IFS) — Psychological framework Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) — Psychological framework Contractualism — Political philosophy of fair procedures LessWrong — Rationalist community Principal Component Analysis (PCA) — Statistical method TSMC — Semiconductor manufacturing SBIR — Small Business Innovation Research program The military-industrial complex — Defense innovation ecosystem

  3. Jun 25

    Julie Fredrickson: Networks, Loss, and the Open Internet

    This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by investor and startup veteran Julie Fredrickson for a conversation that purposefully wanders away from the standard career trajectory. We move past the typical bio to talk about what actually sustains agency in a world that often feels designed to induce hopelessness. As the "Mary Poppins of startups" and a former founder herself, Julie understands the grit required to build. We discuss the quiet, radical act of ignoring the noise to simply do good work.I hope you enjoy this one. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UkTSGglb9yTo1OiKilxQ-02lLsIOmPqL/view?usp=sharing Important Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/AlmostMedia?lang=en LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliefredrickson/?isSelfProfile=false Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/juliefredrickson/?hl=en Website - https://jfredrickson.com/ Show Notes: (00:00) Guest Introduction  (01:51) Knowing Your True Limits  (07:07) Remembering and Forgetting  (12:50) Family Systems  (16:23) Losing a Father  (21:58) Becoming the Explainer After 40  (25:27) Community & Being a Beacon on the Internet  (33:40) The Silicon Valley Diaspora  (39:18) Algorithms Taking Over the Feeds  (45:09) How to Show up on the Internet Today  (48:22) Being the First Friendly Face on the Internet  (54:28) Funding the Miracle Startups Books, Essays & References Mentioned: William Gibson — Pattern Recognition Thomas Mann — Joseph and His Brothers Howe-Strauss — The Fourth Turning theory Peter Turchin — Cliodynamics Henry Giroux — The Violence of Organized Forgetting Internal Family Systems (IFS) — Psychological frame work Rudolf Steiner — Waldorf educational philosophy Robin Dunbar — Dunbar's number Stendhal — The Stendhalian approach to new experiences Sheryl Sandberg — Advice on fertility and career planning Parsifal — The Parsifalian question

  4. Jun 10

    Dean Ball - Living Through a New Industrial Revolution.

    This week on The Hope Axis, Dean Ball joined me for a conversation that took a real intersection in the space-time continuum to finally make happen. Dean — a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, author of the Substack Hyperdimensional, and an influential policy voice in Washington — and I sat down to talk about his groundbreaking AI policy work including his recent four months at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he served as the principal staff drafter for America's AI Action Plan. We went into Dean's journey in politics, his writing, why Beethoven matters for technologists, and much more. Hope you enjoy! For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m6PwzgJI5p2zYbNYwypFnz6F5WPEaL0E/view?usp=sharing Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/deanwball?lang=en  Substack - https://www.hyperdimensional.co/  LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/dean-ball-66823728  The Foundation for American Innovation - https://www.thefai.org/profile/dean-ball The Federalist Society - https://fedsoc.org/bio/dean-ball-2 Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction (01:54) Dean Ball's family history (05:33) New wave of politicians (11:52) Explaining AI public debate to an alien (17:19) The difference between American and European thought about AI? (21:50) Technological chase and it's ties (24:52) Is it still possible for the past to guide us through the present revolutions? (29:51) The warmth of untidiness and conservative disposition (36:42) Why don't Europeans understand AGI? (47:23) The Encyclical (50:32) What did it cost to publicly criticize the Anthropic–Department of War fiasco? (58:59) The Hope Axis question - Beethoven and the metaphor of technology. (01:01:55) Final comments Books, Essays & References Mentioned:  Michael Oakeshott — On Being Conservative  Joel Mokyr — The Great Divergence  Luis and Pieter Garicano — Silicon Continent  Pope Leo XIII — Rerum Novarum  Ludwig van Beethoven — Hammerklavier  Claude Shannon — Information Theory  Alan Turing — Signal Processing  Marc Andreessen — Technoculture and AI  Frantz Fanon — Post-colonial theory  Alexis de Tocqueville — American democracy and society.

  5. Jun 1

    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 Important Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/anecdotal?lang=en Substack - https://substack.com/@hollisrobbinsLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollisrobbins Google Scholars - https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d2MNMeMAAAAJ&hl=en Instagram - 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

  6. Mar 29

    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  Essayful - https://substack.com/@essayful  LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanoa4/  The Spectator - 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

  7. Mar 15

    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 Important Links:  X (Twitter) –https://x.com/alastair_benn  Engelsberg Ideas - https://engelsbergideas.com/author/alastair-benn/ LinkedIn – https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alastair-benn-0327b578 Bokforlaget Stolpe– 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

  8. Mar 8

    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 Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/alananewhouse  Tablet Magazine – https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/alana-newhouse     LinkedIn –      / https://www.linkedin.com/in/alana-newhouse-25214716a  The New York Times – https://www.nytimes.com/by/alana-newhouse  Website - https://www.alananewhouse.com/  Instagram - 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

See All (50)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

What is there in the world to hope and work for? Let's discuss!

Information

You Might Also Like