Solutions From The Multiverse

Adam Braus & Scot Maupin

Hosts Adam Braus (@ajbraus) and Scot Maupin (@scotmaupin) meet up each week where Adam brings a new idea to help the world and Scot picks and prods at it with jokes and questions. The result is an informative and entertaining podcast that always gets you thinking.

  1. قبل ١٢ ساعة

    AI that Can Predict Science with Jonah Lynch | SFM 105

    Send us Fan Mail innovationlens.org info@innovationlens.org Most people talk about AI like it’s a faster intern. Jonah Lynch is building something closer to an intellectual compass: a system that can “read” the scientific literature at scale, map what we already know, and point toward the empty spaces where the next discoveries are most likely to happen. We unpack Innovation Lens, Jonah’s research forecasting platform that uses natural language processing, text embeddings, and geometry in vector space to detect patterns across millions of papers. He explains the core intuition behind prediction in science: some fields are too sparse to pay off, others are so crowded that the easy value is gone, and there’s a Goldilocks zone where the research landscape is ready for a breakthrough. We also talk about validation and benchmarking, why this approach can beat random guessing and even the standard “follow the adviser and find a gap” method, and what it changes for PhD topic selection, literature review, and R&D strategy. The conversation gets personal too. Jonah shares how leaving the Catholic priesthood pushed him to rebuild his life around quantitative tools and a search for truth that doesn’t rely on authority. From VC decision-making and capital allocation to philanthropy, NSF-style grant impact, and better alternatives to citation metrics, we explore where AI genuinely helps human flourishing instead of just generating content. If you enjoy episodes about scientific discovery, innovation prediction, and practical AI for research, subscribe, share this with a friend who works in science or investing, and leave us a review. What domain would you want a “map of the future” for? Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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  2. ١٤ أبريل

    Elton University: the 1-on-1 Tutoring University | SFM 104

    Send us Fan Mail Show links: Elton UniversitySold a Story (Podcast Mini-Series) College is supposed to be a launchpad. Too often it’s a slow, expensive maze that teaches the wrong things in the wrong order, then calls it “rigor.” We talk with Scott, the founder of Elton University, about a different design: remote, one-on-one, and built around the question most schools never ask plainly enough: what do you want to learn? We get concrete about how the model works. Instead of measuring learning by seat time and 15-week semesters, Elton uses engagement hours that count real effort: coaching sessions, reading, projects, practice, and assessment. Scott explains how that still maps to familiar outcomes like an MBA, while letting two students pursue very different goals without pretending they learned the same thing on the same schedule. We also explore why modern universities no longer “own” knowledge, and why guidance plus credible assessment may be the most valuable services a school can provide. From there we take a hard turn into evidence-based education and AI curriculum. If medicine needs proof before it reaches patients, why do schools roll out sweeping new programs on kids with little validation? The conversation hits the reading wars, what research says about phonics, and how education fads take hold. We also cover ethics boundaries, accreditation realities, and a PhD-by-publication path designed to help working adults earn citations and a stronger research portfolio without moving or quitting their jobs. If you care about higher education reform, personalized learning, online degrees, and practical alternatives to the status quo, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s fed up with college, and leave a review with the one change you’d make to how people learn. Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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  3. ٣١ مارس

    Solving AI: Tax Wealth Not Work | SFM 103

    Send us Fan Mail Spreadsheet from AdamGarys Economics YT Channel AI is going to make someone wildly richer. The only open question is whether it makes the rest of us safer and freer or more replaceable and more financially fragile. We take a hard look at the “productivity miracle” story and ask what happens when the gains from automation and generative AI keep flowing to the top while millions live one emergency away from losing housing, health care, and stability.  We connect that to an old prediction from Keynes: if productivity keeps climbing, ordinary people should be able to live like today’s high earners and work far fewer hours. Yet we’re still grinding through full-time weeks, and the precariat keeps growing. For us, that’s the heart of the problem: not envy, not abstract wealth inequality, but poverty as economic precarity. When the floor is missing, everything gets expensive: crime, stress, bad health outcomes, and desperate decisions that harm everyone.  Then we get practical. We walk through the “tax wealth not work” approach popularised by Gary’s Economics and break down what it could look like in real policy: a progressive wealth tax, removing the Social Security cap, taxing capital gains like income, closing loopholes like carried interest, and even charging luxury assets such as private jets and yachts like we already do with cars and property. We also tackle the usual pushback about rich people leaving and the “unrealised gains” argument.  If you’re thinking about AI governance, wealth taxes, universal healthcare, Social Security reform, and how to build a post-scarcity or post-precarity society, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who argues about AI or taxes, and leave a review with your take: what’s the first policy you’d pass to end precarity? Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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  4. ١٧ مارس

    Secular Saints Day Calendar | SFM 102

    Send us Fan Mail Your birthday already comes with a zodiac sign, a personality quiz, and a thousand targeted ads. What if it also came with a moral hero you could actually learn from? We kick off a St Patrick’s Day-flavored riff that turns into a serious proposal: Secular Saints Day. Think of the Catholic saint day calendar, but redesigned for secular humanism. Every date gets a short list of “saints” who earn the slot through courage, service, creativity, scholarship, or sacrifice, without needing religion, miracles, or fear-based morality. Look up your birthday and you don’t get vague destiny, you get a story, a role model, and a prompt to act. We dig into why this could be a real solution for modern life: moral courage is often the missing ingredient between values and behaviour. We talk Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf education idea that hero stories help kids build moral fibre before abstract ethics fully clicks, and we connect it to what we see in the world, from non-directed organ donation to different ways religious and secular societies express “doing good”. Then we have fun building the calendar: freedom fighters, scientists, artists, fictional characters, local heroes, and an “All Saints Day” that welcomes everyone into one big tent. We also get practical about how a movement like this could spread: searchable calendars, short biographies, and yes, the same kind of icons, pendants, and yearly tear-off calendars that make the habit stick. If you like ambitious ideas with jokes baked in, hit play, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Who would be on your Secular Saints Day list? Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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  5. ٣ مارس

    A Green Belt and Road Initiative | SFM 101

    Send us Fan Mail What if American influence felt like clean water, reliable power, and healthier newborns instead of tariffs and weapons? We lay out a bold “belt and suspenders” strategy: a Green Belt and Road that targets water security, neonatal health, and clean infrastructure to cool conflicts before they ignite. China’s Belt and Road proved that ports and rail can reshape alliances; we argue for a greener version that fixes leaky megacities, equips hospitals to save infants, and electrifies logistics so food and medicine keep moving when heat and drought hit. We start with the simplest lever: water. From Mexico City losing half its supply to Tokyo’s 24‑hour leak response, the gains from modern pipes, smart metering, and pressure management are massive. Then we connect the dots between drought, rising beef prices, and migration surges that stress borders and budgets. Investing upstream is cheaper than reacting downstream. That’s why we pair urban water projects with resilient agriculture—drip irrigation, soil repair, and drought-ready crops—so people can flourish at home rather than flee in crisis. Health changes demography too. When infant mortality falls, families choose fewer births. Funding maternal clinics, durable incubators, and stable power across sub‑Saharan Africa saves lives and steadily eases pressure on land and cities. We also dig into practical financing: blending public funds, development banks, and private capital with friendshoring rules that grow U.S. and allied manufacturing for panels, pumps, membranes, and meters. And yes, there’s room to cooperate with China on standards and components when it serves local outcomes and global stability. This is foreign policy you can measure: fewer leaks, steadier grids, calmer borders, better trade. It’s also a national story worth telling—one where American engineers, medics, and financiers build systems that last longer than speeches. If you’re ready for a world where the U.S. leads with solutions people can drink from and plug into, hit play. Then share this with someone who thinks climate action stops at our shoreline, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show. Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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  6. ١١ فبراير

    Ethical Sabotage | SFM 100

    Send us Fan Mail Ever wish you could stop harm before it starts—without hurting anyone? We dive into ethical sabotage, a provocative framework for targeted, non-injurious disruption aimed at preventing foreseeable damage. Instead of waiting at the tracks to pull a switch in the trolley problem, we ask what it looks like to keep the trolley from leaving the station in the first place—by disabling a light, jamming a gear, or interrupting a supply line—while staying grounded in strict moral limits. We unpack the guardrails that keep strategy ethical: zero physical injury, proportionality between means and ends, precise targets that actually change outcomes, and a hard line against chaos-inducing tools like fire. From hacktivism that exposes abuse to strike tactics that erode profit margins, we explore how small interventions at key choke points can produce outsized effects. We examine historical contrasts—Gandhi’s nonviolence versus Mandela’s constrained sabotage under apartheid—to show how the character of your opponent shapes effective, ethical resistance. And we draw practical lessons from the CIA’s declassified Simple Sabotage Manual, reframing its operational tricks as a blueprint with added ethical constraints. Climate action provides a clear stress test: shutting down a cement kiln or stalling a high-emissions operation can be morally compelling, but only if actions are precise, reversible where possible, and legible to public judgment. We challenge the lazy conflation of broken windows with bombs and argue for a vocabulary that makes room for calibrated disruption when protest alone fails and violence is both wrong and self-defeating. If you’re curious about where nonviolence ends and strategy begins, this conversation lays out a usable, principled middle path. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves moral puzzles, and tell us: where would you draw the line? Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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    Solving Bioethics: Compassionate Principlism

    Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode of "Solutions from the Multiverse," I (Adam) used Google Notebook LLM to make a podcast episode about my recent  paper "Compassionate Principlism: Towards a Novel Alternative to Standard Principlism in Bioethics" published in Bioethical Inquiry (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-024-10373-9) In it our AI hosts dive into the fascinating world of bioethical frameworks with a groundbreaking alternative to traditional principlism. Our guest introduces "Compassionate Principlism," a novel approach that transforms how we resolve conflicts between ethical principles in healthcare. What happens when we shift beneficence from moral symmetry to asymmetry? How might this change address the inconsistencies that have plagued principlism for decades? Join us as we explore a potential solution to one of bioethics' most persistent challenges, examining how this framework could reshape clinical decision-making and better align with our intuitive moral judgments about reducing unnecessary suffering. Whether you're a healthcare professional, bioethicist, or simply interested in how we make difficult moral choices, this episode offers a fresh perspective on solving bioethical dilemmas. Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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    Solving Academic Journals: A Journal for Ambitious Ideas | SFM E99

    Send us Fan Mail Can music and speech combine to create powerful emotional experiences? Join us as we explore this fascinating intersection, starting with a light-hearted chat about our attempts at pop music. We dive deep into the creative process of blending musical elements like violin and percussion with iconic speeches from figures such as Marilyn Monroe and Martin Luther King Jr. Our journey takes a poignant turn as we discuss future compositions inspired by speeches from "The Matrix" and Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator," reflecting on the timeless and moving message of humanity, kindness, and unity embedded in Chaplin's words. Imagine a journal that celebrates ambitious ideas with high-risk, high-reward potential. We dream aloud about launching a groundbreaking academic journal that breaks away from the conservative norms of traditional publications. Dubbed the "Journal of Big Swings," this project aims to prioritize bold, innovative theories that may not yet be fully provable but deserve exploration. Our brainstorming session includes humorous potential names and the crucial role of reputable contributors to establish credibility. We wrap up this segment with a playful discussion on how enthusiastic supporters of ambitious academic research could propel such a journal into existence. Discover the future of note-taking with digital tools like Obsidian, which help users create interconnected, personal knowledge networks. We discuss how such software can revolutionize the way we organize and visualize information, leading to an innovative idea for an academic journal named "The Journal of Ambitious Inquiry." This journal would offer a platform for sharing and discussing bold hypotheses without the immediate need for evidence. We close by examining the challenges revolutionary ideas face in traditional academic publishing and the need for more flexible avenues to recognize and disseminate transformative concepts. The episode concludes with a call for innovation in academic publishing to better support groundbreaking ideas. Support the show Help these new solutions spread by ... Subscribing wherever you listen to podcastsLeaving a 5-star review Sharing your favorite solution with your friends and network (this makes a BIG difference)Comments? Feedback? Questions? Solutions? Message us! We will do a mailbag episode. Email: solutionsfromthemultiverse@gmail.com Adam: @ajbraus - braus@hey.com Scot: @scotmaupin adambraus.com (Link to Adam's projects and books) The Perfect Show (Scot's solo podcast) Thanks to Jonah Burns for the SFM music.

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حول

Hosts Adam Braus (@ajbraus) and Scot Maupin (@scotmaupin) meet up each week where Adam brings a new idea to help the world and Scot picks and prods at it with jokes and questions. The result is an informative and entertaining podcast that always gets you thinking.