The Orthogonal Bet

Lux Capital
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  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to The Orthogonal Bet, a podcast that explores the unconventional ideas and delightful patterns that shape our world. Hosted by Samuel Arbesman Produced by Christopher Gates

  1. 1D AGO

    Molly Mielke on What Makes a Founder Worth Betting On

    In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Molly Mielke. Despite her youth, Molly has already built a fascinating career across tech—spending time at Notion, Figma, Stripe, and the Browser Company—before launching her own venture fund, Moth Fund. Along the way, she’s learned a great deal about herself and thought deeply about the role of technology in the world. Arbesman and Mielke discuss her career so far, why she chose to move into venture, how she evaluates and supports people—whether through startup investments or grants—and the kinds of builders and thinkers who earn her conviction. The conversation also dives into tech culture, San Francisco’s gravitational pull and monoculture, the dynamics of age and youth, and how Molly frames meaning and purpose in work and life.

    46 min

  2. SEP 24

    Daniel Temkin on Esoteric Programming Languages

    In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Daniel Temkin, a writer and artist working in the digital art space who has been creating strange and provocative programming languages for years. These “esoteric languages” or “esolangs” [esso] explore the limits and breadth of what programming and code can be. Temkin recently released a book collecting languages he created, titled Forty-Four Esolangs, a work that is both wild and fascinating. Together, Arbesman and Temkin explore the nature of esolangs, the benefits of playful constraints, how to think about programming languages more broadly, code poetry, the balance between the unforgiving and human properties of code, and how Temkin was able to turn these experiments and projects into a book.

    47 min

  3. SEP 17

    Parker Owens on Parker's Brick Builds

    In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Parker Owens, whose passion for Lego has grown into something remarkable. In addition to working as an attorney, Parker runs Parker’s Brick Builds, a company where he designs and sells custom Lego creations. His sets range from vehicles and a siege tower to even a Lego “dumpster fire” that fans can build themselves. Arbesman and Owens explore Parker’s Lego journey—from childhood play, through a hiatus during his young adult years, to rediscovering the bricks and eventually becoming a Lego TikTok star. Their conversation covers the origins of Parker’s business, his win in a business competition, the broader Lego-adjacent ecosystem of creators and companies beyond the official Lego Group, how he approaches design, and the mission that guides his work, including the kind of customer he envisions for his sets.

    46 min

  4. SEP 10

    Kristoffer Tjalve on The Internet Phone Book

    Samuel Arbesman is joined once again by Kristoffer Tjalve. The two previously spoke about the poetic web and the delightful aspects of the internet. This time, Kristoffer shares his new project: the Internet Phone Book—a physical book that lists personal websites alongside essays about the internet. After selling out its first run, the book is now available again as a reprint from Metalabel. In their conversation, Arbesman and Tjalve discuss the origins and nature of the Internet Phone Book, the spirit of the early web it seeks to recapture, and the lessons Kristoffer learned while making it. They also explore ideas such as the Internet as an “underdeveloped ecosystem,” the notion of “organic software,” ways of supporting the poetic web, and what today’s online world might learn from the traditions of books and print publishing. It’s a wide-ranging and playful exchange that captures both the wonder and the seriousness of building a more poetic internet.

    49 min

  5. SEP 3

    Edward Ashton on The Fourth Consort

    In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Edward Ashton. Edward Ashton is a science fiction writer and the author of numerous novels, including Mickey7, which became the basis for the movie Mickey 17. His most recent novel is The Fourth Consort, a fascinating first contact story that touches upon many different topics, from humanity’s uniqueness to how to think about interstellar confederations. Arbesman and Ashton discuss the origins of The Fourth Consort, the science fiction features Ashton was playing with and subverting, and why science fiction shouldn’t simplify alien species or human beings. They also explore the unique features of humanity, the power of storytelling and its role in humanity’s triumph on Earth, the qualities that allow for technological intelligence, and much more. Their conversation even touches on the dark forest theory, underestimating humans, interstellar federations and the exploitation of other species, as well as other authors and works Ashton recommends.

    44 min

  6. AUG 27

    Neal Agarwal on neal.fun

    In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Neal Agarwal. Neal has been building online playthings for most of his life. He runs neal.fun, which many listeners may already be familiar with, home to such games and internet toys as Infinite Craft and Internet Roadtrip. For example, Infinite Craft begins with the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, which can be recombined in open-ended ways to build almost anything: water plus earth yields plant; plant plus fire equals smoke; smoke plus fire equals volcano—and then you’re off to the races. These websites are delightful, strange, and exciting, showcasing the sheer breadth of what the web can be. Samuel and Neal discuss Neal’s origins and history making things on the web, and how he came to build neal.fun full time. Their conversation explores the unique nature of the web as a medium, and what it means to take it seriously. This connects to the challenge of describing the internet toys Neal creates, since they represent something truly new and delightful. They also touch on programming, how AI might make building weird online things easier, the communities that have grown around Neal’s creations, and his process for designing these games. Along the way, they even consider fellow travelers in this world of fun online creations.

    42 min

  7. AUG 20

    Julian Gough on the Evolution of Universes

    In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Julian Gough — a writer, musician, and now researcher in cosmology. Julian was part of Toasted Heretic, an Irish rock group, has written novels for both children and adults, and even composed Minecraft’s end poem. More recently, he has turned his attention to cosmology, exploring ideas at the intersection of evolution and universe formation to better understand why the cosmos is the way it is. He writes about this work in his newsletter The Egg and the Rock, where he argues that “our universe appears to be the result of an evolutionary process at the level of universes,” drawing on recent data from across many fields. Samuel and Julian discuss his career in music and writing, and how he gradually became drawn into big questions about cosmology. Their conversation explores cosmological natural selection, the idea of the universe as a developmental process, Julian’s blowtorch theory, and the challenges and opportunities of doing research outside the scientific establishment. Along the way, they consider the implications for our understanding of the cosmos, the role of intelligent life in the universe, how scientific paradigm shifts occur, and the value of interdisciplinary thinking.

    52 min

  8. AUG 13

    Étienne Fortier-Dubois on Tech Trees

    In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Étienne Fortier-Dubois, a writer and programmer whose work has appeared in publications such as Asterisk Magazine and Works in Progress. He also authors the newsletter Hopeful Monsters. With a vast and eclectic set of interests—from the intricate details of technological history to the sweeping arcs of human civilization—Fortier-Dubois recently created The Historical Tech Tree, a website mapping the vast interconnections and interdependencies of technological advances across millions of years. Arbesman and Fortier-Dubois delve into the concept of a tech tree (and its connections to the game Civilization) and examine the nature of the tech tree he built. Their discussion ranges from decisions about what qualifies as a technology to the sources he used, as well as fascinating edge cases and stories uncovered during the project. They explore how such a tech tree can and cannot be used, its implications for education in technological history and literacy, and the potential for other kinds of “trees” to be constructed. The conversation also touches on worldbuilding, the so-called “illusion of complexity” in most fantasy and science fiction worlds, and how this perspective may have influenced Fortier-Dubois’s interest in history.

    42 min
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About

Welcome to The Orthogonal Bet, a podcast that explores the unconventional ideas and delightful patterns that shape our world. Hosted by Samuel Arbesman Produced by Christopher Gates

Information

  • Creator
    Lux Capital
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Lux Capital
  • Show Website
    The Orthogonal Bet

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