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. FEB 18

    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 Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/elidourado  Astera –  https://astera.org/team/eli-dourado/ .    LinkedIn –    https://www.linkedin.com/in/elidourado  Substack – 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

    1h 6m

  2. FEB 6

    The End of Year Collective Episode

    This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Natasha Joukovsky, Noah Smith, Musa al-Gharbi, Erica Robles Anderson, Santiago Ramos, Jacob Falkovich, and Gena Gorlin for a free-flowing conversation about AI, culture, creativity, and how people are actually living through all this change. We talk about what’s exciting, what’s worrying, what’s weird, and where a bit of hope still sneaks in. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BghQ... Important Links:  Natasha Joukovsky — https://natashajoukovsky.com/home Noah Smith — https://substack.com/@noahpinion Musa al-Gharbi — https://musaalgharbi.com/musa-al-ghar... Erica Robles Anderson — https://www.roblesanderson.org/ Santiago Ramos — https://substack.com/@santiagoramos Jacob Falkovich — https://substack.com/@yashkaf Gena Gorlin — https://genagorlin.com/ Show Notes: (0:00:00)Warming Up Banter   (0:01:43) Introducing the Topic: Summarizing the Year Together   (0:05:03) Introducing the Guests   (0:21:58) Trump, Wars, and AI   (0:29:50) Nothing's Really New   (0:34:14) AI Pessimism vs Optimism   (0:51:23) Education   (0:57:24) The Dangers of Making Lives Too Easy   (1:01:44) Is Social Media For Old People?   (1:04:11) Favorite Movies, Books of the Year   (1:10:35) Sharing Good Things in Public   (1:14:13) The Future of Creativity   (1:22:07) Motivation & Hope Books, Essays & References Mentioned: The Road to Wigan Pier — George Orwell The Revolt of the Public — Martin Gurri The Mystic Fable — Michel de Certeau Becoming Supernatural — Joe Dispenza The Name of the Rose — Umberto Eco Natasha Joukovsky Noah Smith Musa al-Gharbi Erica Robles Anderson Jacob Falkovich AI and creative work Education as a civic project Over-optimization Rage bait Meaning and purpose

    1h 26m

  3. FEB 3

    Explaining AI to the Humanities

    This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Emmett Shear to talk about AI, hope, and how we should actually think about the future. Emmett is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitch, former interim CEO of OpenAI, and now the co-founder and CEO of Softmax. We discuss why AI inspires so much fear, what it really is capable of, and where hope still shows up. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/10qooWrDB9Nr_0MgKy_kkpd1XMo_2gMN0/view?usp=drive_link Important Links:   X (Twitter) – https://x.com/eshear?lang=en  Wikipedia –  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Shear    Softmax – https://softmax.com/about  LinkedIn –    https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmettshear  Show Notes: (0:00:00) Introduction   (0:03:00) AI and The Humanities   (0:06:29) Reframing "The Essence", or "The Core" of Things   (0:13:01) Why People Want to Work on AI   (0:20:13) Kant As The Grandfather of AI   (0:23:57) Thomas Aquinas, Informing Onto The Boundary   (0:29:41) Back To Teleological Thinking   (0:31:44) Art As Imprinting One's Soul On An Object   (0:35:00) "Real" and "Fake" Interiority, AI's Nature Without Nurture (0:41:46) AI & Art   (0:54:40) A Village of AI   (1:01:58) The Risk of Human Extinction   (1:08:47) AI Slop, Human Experience & Taste   (1:12:22) The Beauty, The Good, and The True as Temporal Coarse-Grainings   (1:18:08) Collective Aliveness of The Biosphere   (1:24:05) Problems Too Big For Individuals, But Not Too Big For Humanity Books, Essays & References Mentioned: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Will Die — Eliezer Yudkowsky Superintelligence — Nick Bostrom Thomas Aquinas (informatio; origin of “information”) Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Immanuel Kant Takens’ Embedding Theorem Homotopy / homotopic stability Groupoids (one-, two-, three-, infinity-groupoid) AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) Optimizers & goal-binding Telos vs goals Taste vs skill Beauty, Truth, and the Good Learning systems & dynamic systems The biosphere / Gaia hypothesis Collective intelligence Speed as risk factor in AI systems

    1h 31m

  4. JAN 21

    Jasmine Sun - Bridging the Divide Between Writers and Technologists

    This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Jasmine Sun for a conversation about AI, writing, creativity, and how writers are actually navigating all this change. Jasmine is a writer and leads writing communities, and until last year worked at Substack helping creators think through how new tools might affect their work. We talk about the questions writers ask most often, what feels exciting, what feels worrying, what feels strange, and where a bit of hope still shows up. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12cnSKpVbHv2qKuIRk4pCPFWpE2H8lhsf/view?usp=drive_link Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/jasminewsun  Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@jasminewsun  Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jasminewsun/?hl=en  LinkedIn –   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminewsun  Substack – https://jasmi.news/  Shownotes: (00:00) Working at Substack (05:49) Bridging the Divide Between Writers and Technologists (12:40) Working for Major Outlets (16:36) Why Mainstream Media Views Everything Through a Political Lens (21:43) Translating the Jargon and Breaking The Silos (28:47) Technology Being Developed Over People's Heads (30:36) Intelligence and Specialization (34:30) Applications and Limits of AI in Writing, Authenticity (42:19) The SF Writing Community (48:50) Working With Kevin Roose on His New Book About AGI (53:09) Closing Remarks Books, Essays & References Mentioned: Superintelligence — Nick Bostrom The AGI Chronicles (forthcoming) — Kevin Roose “No Free Lunch” — Eric Hoel AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) Large Language Models (LLMs) Jagged frontier of intelligence Human creativity vs automation Tech–culture translation Asterisk Magazine Substack

    55 min

  5. JAN 7

    Shadi Hamid - The Case for American Power

    This week, Shadi Hamid joins me on The Hope Axis. Shadi is a political scientist and writer known for his sharp thinking on democracy, religion, and American power. We talk about the key ideas he’s exploring in his new book, The Case for American Power, and what they mean for the moment we’re living in. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iyaF... Important Links:  X (Twitter) – https://x.com/shadihamid?lang=en The Washington Post – https://www.washingtonpost.com/people... LinkedIn –    / shadi-hamid-542267a0   Georgetown University: https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s... Substack – https://substack.com/@shadihamid Show Notes: (0:00:00) Guest Introduction (0:01:22) Writing a Hopeful Book When The World Is Getting Darker (0:06:02) American Involvement in Gaza (0:12:06) Making The Case for American Power As an Arab Muslim (0:20:22) Being a Patriot Despite Gaza (0:23:41) Dignity, Liberty, and the Struggle for Freedom (0:28:30) Social Repercussions of Criticising Israel (0:32:25) Identity, Feeling Existentially Threatened (0:38:31) The Generational Shift, Oikophobia (0:47:11) American Aspirations, The Sense of Moral Purpose (0:59:03) 9/11 (1:03:49) The Audacity of Hope

    1h 14m

  6. 12/30/2025

    Cate Hall: Crossing The Imaginary Boundaries

    Writer and thinker Cate Hall joins me to talk about the tightrope between radical optimism and deep pessimism — and what it actually takes to stay hopeful in a world that doesn’t always reward it. We dig into her widely loved “50 Secrets” post, the kind of people who end up walking that edge, and how she thinks about preserving agency and perspective when the culture around us feels increasingly discouraged. I also reflect on why I consider Cate one of the most hopeful voices of our time, and why these conversations feel especially urgent in 2025. Hope you enjoy! For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16X6L...   Important Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/catehall?lang=en Astera – https://astera.org/team/cate-hall/ Website – https://www.catehall.com/ LinkedIn –   / cate-hall-9a81a35   Substack – https://substack.com/@usefulfictions Show Notes: (00:00) Guest Introduction (00:24) The Edge Between Rampant Optimism and Crushing Pessimism (03:34) Misguided Compromises & Imaginary Boundries (08:40) The "I Must Win" Mindset Is Short-term Thinking (11:24) Writing a List of Fears (13:40) Belief in God (23:27) Poker & Reading People (29:57) Distracting Ourselves From Uncomfortable Truths (33:54) Introspection Without Self-flagellation (37:05) Confronting Negative Thoughts (42:54) Aella, and Crossing The Boundaries (44:53) Seeking Rejection (49:24) Agency vs Addiction (54:38) Slow Change Instead of Breakthroughs (57:13) Luck

    59 min

  7. 12/29/2025

    Gena Gorlin - Therapy for the True Outliers

    Psychologist and founder coach Dr. Gena Gorlin joins me to discuss The Founder’s Mindset — how to stay hopeful, resilient, and creative while building something from the ground up. We talk about the psychology of entrepreneurship, why losing can be a sign of progress, and how to keep optimism alive amid a culture that often feels discouraged. I also share what inspired me to start The Hope Axis while running Interintellect as a solo founder. Hope you enjoy! For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/fo... Important Links: Substack – https://substack.com/@psychofambition Website – https://genagorlin.com UT Austin Faculty Page – https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psycho... LinkedIn –   / genagorlin   X (Twitter) – https://x.com/Gena_I_Gorlin Show Notes: (00:00) Intro (00:49) Guest Introduction (03:10) Getting Through Childbirth on “Let the River Run” (14:02) Meeting Her Husband at an Ayn Rand Conference (20:19) What People Get Wrong About Ambition (22:37) Fake Arguments for Fun (24:46) Giving Birth to an American Child as an Immigrant (32:37)“Death Is the Default” — Facing Mortality with Clarity (36:38) Accountability in Therapy and Finding Her Niche (48:49) Founders: The Nervous Wrecks Building Amazing Things (53:52) Why Credentials Don’t Matter in Tech (55:47) Psychotherapy for the True Outliers (01:01:32) The Cultural Lag in Mainstream Therapy — European vs. American Spirit (01:10:13) Intellectual Humility as a Cop-Out (01:15:18) Closing Remarks

    1h 17m

  8. 10/02/2025

    Danielle Strachman: Existential Hope and the Future

    The beloved Danielle Strachman, co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship and founder of 1517 Fund, joins The Hope Axis to discuss why hope is taboo in modern discourse, the power of positive naiveté in young founders, why community building requires faith over metrics, and how younger and younger people are reaching the frontiers of knowledge faster than ever before. Hope you enjoy! You can find the transcript of our conversation here. Important Links: Danielle's LinkedInHer Substack1517 FundX ProfileThiel Fellowship Shownotes: (00:00) Guest Introduction (00:24) Existential Hope and Resource-Unconstrained Futures (02:30) Why Hope Requires Intellectual Defense While Pessimism Gets a Free Pass (08:04) Tech-Optimism in the 1980s vs. Doom-and-Gloom in the '90s (11:01) Positive Naïveté as a Superpower for Young Founders (11:52) The Unexpected Evolution of Mentors (21:38) Why Community Building is a Faith-Based Activity (22:24) The $50 Bagels Story: Four Attendees Including Vitalik Buterin (25:54) Teen Camp and Playing the Long Game (28:32) The Burning Man Principle: You Get What You Give (34:12) All Children Are Gifted Until Systems Squash Them (44:27) Community as an Ambition Accelerator (46:41) Raising Humanity's Collective Hope Levels

    47 min
See All (42)

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