#208 – Elizabeth Cox on the case that TV shows, movies, and novels can improve the world
80,000 Hours Podcast21 Marras 2024

#208 – Elizabeth Cox on the case that TV shows, movies, and novels can improve the world

"I think stories are the way we shift the Overton window — so widen the range of things that are acceptable for policy and palatable to the public. Almost by definition, a lot of things that are going to be really important and shape the future are not in the Overton window, because they sound weird and off-putting and very futuristic. But I think stories are the best way to bring them in." — Elizabeth Cox

In today’s episode, Keiran Harris speaks with Elizabeth Cox — founder of the independent production company Should We Studio — about the case that storytelling can improve the world.

Links to learn more, highlights, and full transcript.

They cover:

  • How TV shows and movies compare to novels, short stories, and creative nonfiction if you’re trying to do good.
  • The existing empirical evidence for the impact of storytelling.
  • Their competing takes on the merits of thinking carefully about target audiences.
  • Whether stories can really change minds on deeply entrenched issues, or whether writers need to have more modest goals.
  • Whether humans will stay relevant as creative writers with the rise of powerful AI models.
  • Whether you can do more good with an overtly educational show vs other approaches.
  • Elizabeth’s experience with making her new five-part animated show Ada — including why she chose the topics of civilisational collapse, kidney donations, artificial wombs, AI, and gene drives.
  • The pros and cons of animation as a medium.
  • Career advice for creative writers.
  • Keiran’s idea for a longtermist Christmas movie.
  • And plenty more.

Check out Ada on YouTube!

Material you might want to check out before listening:

Chapters:

  • Cold open (00:00:00)
  • Luisa's intro (00:01:04)
  • The interview begins (00:02:52)
  • Is storytelling really a high-impact career option? (00:03:26)
  • Empirical evidence of the impact of storytelling (00:06:51)
  • How storytelling can inform us (00:16:25)
  • How long will humans stay relevant as creative writers? (00:21:54)
  • Ada (00:33:05)
  • Debating the merits of thinking about target audiences (00:38:03)
  • Ada vs other approaches to impact-focused storytelling (00:48:18)
  • Why animation (01:01:06)
  • One Billion Christmases (01:04:54)
  • How storytelling can humanise (01:09:34)
  • But can storytelling actually change strongly held opinions? (01:13:26)
  • Novels and short stories (01:18:38)
  • Creative nonfiction (01:25:06)
  • Other promising ways of storytelling (01:30:53)
  • How did Ada actually get made? (01:33:23)
  • The hardest part of the process for Elizabeth (01:48:28)
  • Elizabeth’s hopes and dreams for Ada (01:53:10)
  • Designing Ada with an eye toward impact (01:59:16)
  • Alternative topics for Ada (02:05:33)
  • Deciding on the best way to get Ada in front of people (02:07:12)
  • Career advice for creative writers (02:11:31)
  • Wikipedia book spoilers (02:17:05)
  • Luisa's outro (02:20:42)


Producer: Keiran Harris
Audio engineering: Ben Cordell, Milo McGuire, Simon Monsour, and Dominic Armstrong
Content editing: Luisa Rodriguez, Katy Moore, and Keiran Harris
Transcriptions: Katy Moore

Jaksot(317)

#51 - Martin Gurri on the revolt of the public & crisis of authority in the information age

#51 - Martin Gurri on the revolt of the public & crisis of authority in the information age

Politics in rich countries seems to be going nuts. What's the explanation? Rising inequality? The decline of manufacturing jobs? Excessive immigration? Martin Gurri spent decades as a CIA analyst and...

29 Tammi 20192h 31min

#50 - David Denkenberger on how to feed all 8b people through an asteroid/nuclear winter

#50 - David Denkenberger on how to feed all 8b people through an asteroid/nuclear winter

If an asteroid impact or nuclear winter blocked the sun for years, our inability to grow food would result in billions dying of starvation, right? According to Dr David Denkenberger, co-author of Feed...

27 Joulu 20182h 57min

#49 - Rachel Glennerster on a year's worth of education for 30c & other development 'best buys'

#49 - Rachel Glennerster on a year's worth of education for 30c & other development 'best buys'

If I told you it's possible to deliver an extra year of ideal primary-level education for under $1, would you believe me? Hopefully not - the claim is absurd on its face. But it may be true nonetheles...

20 Joulu 20181h 35min

#48 - Brian Christian on better living through the wisdom of computer science

#48 - Brian Christian on better living through the wisdom of computer science

Please let us know if we've helped you: Fill out our annual impact survey Ever felt that you were so busy you spent all your time paralysed trying to figure out where to start, and couldn't get much ...

22 Marras 20183h 15min

#47 - Catherine Olsson & Daniel Ziegler on the fast path into high-impact ML engineering roles

#47 - Catherine Olsson & Daniel Ziegler on the fast path into high-impact ML engineering roles

After dropping out of a machine learning PhD at Stanford, Daniel Ziegler needed to decide what to do next. He’d always enjoyed building stuff and wanted to shape the development of AI, so he thought a...

2 Marras 20182h 4min

#46 - Hilary Greaves on moral cluelessness & tackling crucial questions in academia

#46 - Hilary Greaves on moral cluelessness & tackling crucial questions in academia

The barista gives you your coffee and change, and you walk away from the busy line. But you suddenly realise she gave you $1 less than she should have. Do you brush your way past the people now waitin...

23 Loka 20182h 49min

#45 - Tyler Cowen's case for maximising econ growth, stabilising civilization & thinking long-term

#45 - Tyler Cowen's case for maximising econ growth, stabilising civilization & thinking long-term

I've probably spent more time reading Tyler Cowen - Professor of Economics at George Mason University - than any other author. Indeed it's his incredibly popular blog Marginal Revolution that prompted...

17 Loka 20182h 30min

#44 - Paul Christiano on how we'll hand the future off to AI, & solving the alignment problem

#44 - Paul Christiano on how we'll hand the future off to AI, & solving the alignment problem

Paul Christiano is one of the smartest people I know. After our first session produced such great material, we decided to do a second recording, resulting in our longest interview so far. While challe...

2 Loka 20183h 51min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-niinku-asia-on
aamukahvilla
rss-narsisti
adhd-podi
rss-duodecim-lehti
rahapuhetta
aloita-meditaatio
kesken
rss-elamankoulu
koulu-podcast-2
salainen-paivakirja
rss-uskonto-on-tylsaa
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-luonnollinen-synnytys-podcast
rss-koira-haudattuna
rss-hereilla