The Wolves and Dragons Podcast

Fenrir The Podcaster

If you want to hear a man ramble about pointless things on your drive to work, this podcast is for you.

  1. Oct 29

    S1E18 - No More Fighting Pits: Game of Thrones, AI, and the End of the Climb

    What happens to a society when the ladder disappears? In this unscripted episode of Wolves and Dragons, Fenrir turns to Game of Thrones for an unlikely lens on artificial intelligence. Remember when Daenerys is advised to reopen the fighting pits? It sounds barbaric until a former pit fighter explains that without them, he’d never have had a way to make a name for himself. Fenrir argues that for generations, degrees, scholarships and sports were our fighting pits: clear arenas where someone with nothing could work hard and rise. Think of the basketball player with no other option, or the South African parents beaming at graduation because a degree means a better life. Now AI is automating entry-level work in tech, finance and beyond, and graduates are asking whether the effort still leads anywhere. This conversation explores what happens when effort stops guaranteeing outcomes. It imagines a world with neither the rewards of capitalism nor the safety net of socialism, where the elite stay elite and everyone else is locked into rank. Does that breed resentment, revolution, or a new peasantry? Is Fenrir being paranoid, or was Game of Thrones onto something? Raw, speculative and research-free, this is a reflection on motivation, meritocracy, and what a society needs to keep hope alive. Press play, then tell us: what’s the new fighting pit? I left out the Netherlands job-loss figure, since it’s an unverified claim and could draw pushback. I can add it back with a hedge if you’d like.

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If you want to hear a man ramble about pointless things on your drive to work, this podcast is for you.