The Rhys Show Rhys Lindmark

In this episode Jan Voelkel, Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at Stanford University and also a member of the Polarization and Social Change Lab, joins us to talk about how to decrease polarization and run mega studies.

Jan is the leading author of “The Strengthening Democracy Challenge” a mega study which brought academics, practitioners, and industry experts together in a collective effort to identify effective interventions to improve Americans’ commitment to democratic principles of political engagement.

If Polarization is a worry, then in this chapter you will find hope. You will learn about the kind of memetic engineering we can do as a society to nudge us towards a less polarized and more positive reality and you will discover a way to do these beautiful mega studies.

We talk about polarization, how to decrease polarization, The Strengthening Democracy Challenge mega study, implementing this mega study into social media platforms and partisan animosity vs. support for anti democratic practices. Dive in! You will discover two ads that went viral intending to decrease polarization!


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Who is Jan Voelkel?
Jan is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at Stanford University and also a member of the Polarization and Social Change Lab.

Jan studies political persuasion, group conflicts, and meta-science. Jan Voelkel aims to identify the endogenous and exogenous factors that divide ideologically dissimilar groups, design and test interventions that enable more constructive discourse about moral and political issues and examine new ways to increase the reproducibility of scientific findings.


Topics:
Welcome Jan Voelkel to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00)
The importance of making a better social media ecosystem: (00:02:43)
The Strengthening Democracy Challenge: overall setup & lessons learned: (00:03:38)
Key patterns of the interventions that worked for people: (00:09:55)
Partisan animosity vs. support for anti democratic practices: (00:13:45)
Implementing “The Strengthening Democracy challenge” learnings into social media platforms: (00:27:33)
An optimal version of what a new feed should look like: (00:32:45)
Why are we in this hyperpolarized place & how to escape from it: (00:38:07)
From a sociological perspective: what is going on that is making people polarized & decreasing the partisan animosity: (00:43:05)
Recommendations for those who want to run mega study: (00:46:25)
Overrated or underrated?: (00:52:07)
Wrap-up: (00:54:37)


Mentioned resources:
Heineken ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3a8MdloAAM
Political rivals in Utah ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vLo_KJLJgE

Connect with Jan Voelkel:
PASCL Standford Web: https://www.pascl.stanford.edu/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jgvoelkel
The Strengthening Democracy Challenge: https://www.strengtheningdemocracychallenge.org/

In this episode Kinjal Shah, investor at Blockchain Capital, joins us to talk about where she sees the web3 (the third generation of the evolution of web technologies) system today and where it is headed.

Kinjal Shah is a Partner at Blockchain Capital. Kinjal leads Blockchain Capital’s research content strategy, conducts investment diligence, and supports their portfolio companies. At Blockchain Capital, she focuses on taking an interdisciplinary approach to investing in the crypto and blockchain ecosystem.

In this chapter you will have a clear view of the current state of crypto, how content and value creation are different in Web 3.0, and how it could change the way brands grow and advertise. We talk about the original web and where it struggled, how social tokens work in the Web 3.0 ecosystem, the role of DAOs in the future and some of the missing pieces that are needed to push Web 3.0 in the right direction.

You will learn about data availability , labor vs capital, DAOs & how NFTs provide meaning in different ways.

Finally, we share some ideas around how to make the world of crypto in general more inclusive to all.

Cool founder looking to build things in the crypto world? Dive in!


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Who is Kinjal Shah?
Kinjal Shah is an early-stage investor at Blockchain Capital LLC., working with founders building the future of crypto.

She is contributing to Komorebi Collective, Ecodao & Des Femmes Magazine, as well as writing in Two Cents by Kinjal & Kinjal.mirror.xyz

Kinjal earned her B.S. in Quantitative Economics from Tufts University, with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Studies.

Topics:
Welcome Kinjal Shah to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00)
Goal for Listeners: (00:01:32)
What kicked off Kinjhal’s curiosity in her childhood: (00:02:00)
Kinjal’s perspective on web3 in 2022 and the future: (00:06:04)
What Kinjal is more curious about: NFT, DAO or DeFi?: (00:08:10)
Social use cases Kinjal is excited by: (00:09:21)
Thoughts on crypto enabling more localization vs massive aggregation: (00:11:21)
Kinjal’s perspective on investing in a “subreddit”: (00:13:28)
How communities coordinate their labor: (00:16:38)
What the flat structure would look like: (00:18:52)
“Crypto twitter” memetic pools Kinjal has been drinking from recently: (00:22:34)
Value maze determining what people, DAOs and customers want: (00:25:42)
About data availability & how is it connected to blockchains: (00:29:10)
Bringing more women in this space: (00:34:23)
How to be a nice person in the crypto space & what crypto will look like in the next ten years: (00:37:28)
What to focus on to make things right: (00:43:30)
Overrated & underrated questions: (00:45:30)
Wrap-up: (00:48:00)


Mentioned resources:
Book Tumblr: https://books.tumblr.com/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/

Connect with Kinjal Shah:
Two Cents by Kinjal: https://kinjalshah.substack.com/
Blockchain Capital LLC: https://blockchain.capital/
Kinjal.mirror.xyz: https://kinjal.mirror.xyz/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinjalshah15
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kinjalbshah

In this episode, professor, researcher and author Anthea Roberts joins us to talk about how to view the world and current debates from different lenses.

Anthea specializes in public international law, international trade and investment law, global governance and geoeconomics. She is the co-author of ”Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses And Why It Matters”, selected as one of the best economic books of 2021.

In this book Anthea and her co-author identify six main narratives driving debates in the West about the virtues and vices of economic globalization: the old establishment view that globalization benefits everyone (win–win), the pessimistic belief that it threatens us all with pandemics and climate change (lose–lose), along with various rival accounts that focus on specific winners and losers, from China to America’s Rust Belt.

“Narratives are stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world... They are also stories we tell others to influence their understanding of the world.”

Anthea proposes to cut through the complexity to reveal what splits us apart and the points of concurrence that could bond us back together and move forward.

In this chapter you will have a bigger picture of what is going on in the world and will learn how to see it from different lenses. You will also discover the importance of being a system thinker and how to become one.


If you want to learn about multiperspectivism or how to view the global stage in a non dogmatic way, reading Six Faces of Globalization is a MUST!


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Who is Anthea Roberts?
Anthea is a Professor at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University (ANU) and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School.

She is the co-author of Six Faces of Globalization, selected as one of the Best Books of 2021 by The Financial Times and Fortune Magazine.

Topics:
Welcome Anthea Roberts to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00)
About Six Faces of Globalization: (00:01:56)
Curiosity about multiperspectivism: (00:06:04)
Using metaphors to synthesize narratives: (00:09:05)
About identity & how can it fit in as a perspective: (00:17:20)
How effective altruism, techno utopianism & self transformation fit in 6 faces of globalization: (00:21:07)
Internal chinese narratives about globalization: (00:26:00)
Competition & coopetition of how narratives succeed: (00:34:31)
How to be good at system thinking: (00:42:05)
Overrated & underrated questions: (00:46:11)
Wrap-up: (00:48:20)

Mentioned resources:
“The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World” book by Charles C. Mann
“Images of Organization” Book by Gareth Morgan
“Metaphors we believe by” (Blog) by Aaron Z. Lewis

Connect with Anthea Roberts:
Web: https://www.anthearoberts.com/
Six Faces of Globalization Web: https://www.sixfacesofglobalization.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthea-roberts-a8596b142/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AntheaERoberts
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLoW2GdYY2EHQVLUNYoI74g/playlists

In this episode, physical anthropologist and archaeologist Chris Stringer joins us to explore fossil records and what they tell us about the birth of our species and its staying power on Earth.

Chris is known as one of the leading proponents of the “Recent African Origins” hypothesis, which is currently the most widely accepted model for the origin of our species. This hypothesis is that the modern form of Homo sapiens and human behavior had evolved in Africa by at least 150,000 years ago. Around 60,000 years ago, modern humans left Africa, replacing archaic hominins outside of the continent with restricted amounts of interbreeding.

We dive deep into the whole story from 7MM years ago to the Neolithic revolution and to us as lone survivors. He talks about the last 500 thousand years when lots of homo species were existing at the same time and the behavioral and cognitive traits that distinguished current Homo sapiens from other anatomically modern humans.

Additionally we talk about fossils, what evidence they are providing in regards to human evolution and where they are found. Stringer looks ahead on ideas from a historical fossil perspective and shares the importance of fossil protein that can take us beyond ancient DNA and provide us with more information about how Homo sapiens came to be.

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Who is Chris Stringer?
Professor Chris Stringer is a Research Leader in Human Origins at the Natural History Museum of London and is the co-director of the follow-up Pathways to Ancient Britain project.

He studied anthropology at University College London and holds a PhD in Anatomical Science, and a DSc in Anatomical Science both from Bristol University.

Stringer is author of many scientific papers and books, here are a few to mention: Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth, Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story & Our Human Story. Stay tuned for his upcoming book!

Topics:
Welcome Chris Stringer to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00)
Putting in context: understand time period from 7MM years ago through twelve thousand years ago: (00:02:11)
The story from 7MM years ago to the Neolithic revolution: (00:03:13)
Reason for walking upright: (00:08:03)
Transition from Australopithecines to humans: (00:11:30)
The story from 2MM years ago: about Homo erectus and Homo luzonensis the dwarf species: (00:15:10)
From 2MM years ago to 200 thousand years ago: How did Homo Sapiens emerge and the oldest human dna recovered : (00:20:03)
What makes us different in the skeleton compared to other humans: (00:26:12)
About Denisovans: Discovery of Homo Longi “Dragon Man” in China: (00:27:42)
About Denisovans: discovery of the whole genome of a new kind of human in Siberia and the Neanderthal & Denisovan hybrid: (00:31:15)
Behavioral modernity and the beginning of language: (00:35:53)
60000 years ago: what cultural evolution looked like back then and how ideas spread: (00:42:03)
Thoughts on gene-culture coevolution: (00:46:38)
Looking ahead on ideas from a historical fossil perspective: (00:48:12)
Overrated & underrated questions about fire, tools and being in groups: (00:49:42)
Wrap-up: (00:51:35)

Mentioned resources:
Archaeological site of Atapuerca: https://www.britannica.com/place/Atapuerca
Story of “Dragon Man” skull discovery in the river Songhua, Harbin, 1933: https://answersingenesis.org/human-evolution/dragon-man-newest-human-cousin/


Connect with Chris Stringer:
Web Natural History Museum: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/staff-directory/chris-stringer.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisstringer65

In this episode, renowned paleo-anthropologist Dean Falk joins us to talk about
how the evolution of our brains led to the emergence of language and how we differ from apes in terms of language and tools.

Dean Falk shares her interesting perspective on how language began and the biases we have trying to understand our past from a male and female perspective which helps us acknowledge how humans evolved.

A lot was going on 7MM years ago all the way to and through 200/300K years ago. We dive deep into the importance of fossils and what they have revealed, human and chimpanzee common ancestors and the split between the 'human' family tree from the chimpanzees.

Additionally we talk about what happened after the split, the Botanic Age and the key role of mothers and babies in the origins of language. Stay tuned!


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Who is Dean Falk?
Dean Falk is an American evolutionary anthropologist specialized in paleo-anthropology, academic, research professor and author who is currently writing a book about the emergence and evolution of the earliest human predecessors who lived long before the appearance of the oldest known stone tools (tentatively titled Basket Weaving 101: Hominin Evolution during the Botanic Age).

She is the Hale G. Smith Professor of Anthropology and a Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University. Much of her work focuses on the evolution of the human brain (paleoneurology) and the associated emergence of language, music, art, and science.


Topics:
Welcome Dean Falk to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00)
Goal for listeners: (00:02:16)
What part of early sapiens Dean focuses on: (00:02:50)
Answering questions by studying skulls: (00:04:37)
4 decade discussion focusing on lunate sulcus: (00:08:51)
About Bipedalism & the split between humans and chimpanzees: (00:10:06)
About tools and mothers & babies: two cognitive biases: (00:14:33)
The role of women as opposed to stone tools & the Botanic Age: (00:18:21)
How does Dean know whether her perspective is true or not: (00:27:11)
How did language start & how was it connected to imitation: (00:32:43)
What about imitation, spindle neurons or mirror neurons?: (00:39:18)
About the evolution of brain size: (00:45:16)
How evolution as from early primates applies to the future: (00:49:21)
Overrated or underrated questions about fire and the importance of being in groups in human evolution: (00:53:34)
Get in touch with Dean: (00:55:35)

Dean Falk’s books:
“Geeks, Genes, and the Evolution of Asperger Syndrome”: https://www.amzn.com/0826356923
“Finding Our Tongues: Mothers, Infants, and the Origins of Language”: https://www.amzn.com/0465002196

Connect with Dean Falk:
FSU Department of Anthropology: https://anthro.fsu.edu/faculty-staff/department-faculty/dr-dean-falk
Web: https://deanfalk.com/

In this episode, social ecosystem designer, culture hacker, and facilitator Jean M. Russell joins us to talk about how a participatory and cooperative approach instead of a brutal approach enables us to envision and co-create a world of wellbeing and health.

As the founder of the thrivability movement and expert on collective thriving, Jean speaks about THRIVABILITY. She believes this word is a gift. It inspires you to wonder what it looks like in your context and make it show up. What comes alive in you?

We dive deep into hedonic habituation and how to avoid falling into it, how to emerge to more positive futures, about co-creation and how to break down the “who” the “how” and the “what”, what a positive environment should look like and how to design it, and how to get set on a more participatory path.

“Something about thriving speaks to our inner sense of harmony, abundance, greatness, generativity, aliveness, vitality, well being, and right-placement. What would our lives and the sum of our society be like if we said they were thriving?”

If you are interested in open-source software or a better social ecosystem design, this chapter is for you! Stay tuned!

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Who is Jean M. Russell?
Jean M Russell is a social ecosystem designer, culture hacker, and facilitator.

She is the founder of the Thrivability movement and an expert in collective thriving speaking to and with change agents, innovators, builders, and edge-riders around the world.

Her work on thrivability, innovation, philanthropy, and cultural shifts has been highlighted in the Economist, Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Worldchanging.


Topics:
Welcome Jean M. Russell to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00)
What is thrivability?: (00:01:41)
How do you give a positive valance term for what animals should experience: (00:04:09)
Happiness like short term dopamine versus delight and purpose: (00:05:53)
Thrivability as an emergent thing we chat about with others and move towards emergent positive futures: (00:08:03)
How should Roote as an org be more participatory about building the wisdom age instead of making it “everybody be wiser”: (00:11:19)
Co-creation: an example to breakdown the who and the how: (00:14:26)
How Jean views cooperation playing a role vs. competition playing a role: (00:16:07)
Lord of the rings has a memetic view of reality. Is there another memetic version to show another view of reality?: (00:19:25)
About anarchism & Peter Kropotkin: (00:22:37)
Other ways to make a more cooperative lense of society: (00:23:44)
Instead of pointing at the bad competition, double down on the good?: (00:26:05)
What does a positive environment look like for animals?: (00:31:56)
What does a positive environment look like for humans?: (00:34:44)
Designing an environment for memes: instead of a brutal one a positive one?: (00:37:54)
Breakdown “hands, head and heart” model & how the heart relates: (00:42:41)
How to take a more participatory path & wrap-up: (00:47:57)


Mentioned resources:
“Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity” book by Brian Hare & Vanessa Woods: https://www.amzn.com/0399590668
“A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster” book by Rebecca Solnit
Peter Kropotkin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kropotkin
“Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution” book by Peter Kropotkin: https://www.amzn.com/0875580246
“Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures” book by Merlin Sheldrake: https://www.amzn.com/0525510311

Connect with Jean M. Russell:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nurturegirl
Twitter Thrivable Society: https://twitter.com/Thrivable
Web: https://www.jeanmrussell.com/
Thrivable Society Project: https://www.thrivablesociety.org/
Facebook: https://www.faceboo