Decoding the Gurus8 Jul 2022

Lex Fridman & Jonathan Haidt: The Techno Monk & The Social Scientist

First, we apologise sincerely for the delayed-release. Matt and Chris have been busy beavers splicing together this decoding which proved particular gruelling for all sorts of uninteresting (but on-theme) technical reasons.

But finally, the wait is over and the long-anticipated episode on AI-aficionado and popular podcast host, Lex Fridman, is here. Although as the title indicates this accidentally turned into a joint decoding episode of his guest, the 'heterodox' social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt.

Lex is an interesting character and as such, for the decoding, two rather different pieces of content were selected: 1) a day-in-the-life video dairy and 2) one of his characteristic long-form interviews (with Haidt discussing social media). The format of a day-in-the-life video is perhaps inescapably cringey but it did give some unique insight into Lex's techno-monk lifestyle and his ongoing fascination/discovery of just how bad the Nazis & Hitler were. His interview with Haidt on the other hand was more substantial and covers a lot of tech-related issues that are genuinely complex and subject to an ongoing debate.

Jonathan Haidt is a famous and well-regarded academic but also something of a controversial figure online in part because of his involvement in the dreaded 'culture wars'. In particular, Haidt co-wrote the influential book 'The Codding of the American Mind', founded 'Heterodox Academy', and is a vocal critic of 'wokism' and certain aspects of social media. We take a look at his arguments and try to discern whether he is a nuanced social scientist offering prescient warnings or a boomer shaking his fist at the kids these days?

Join us and find out!

Links

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(247)

Decoding Academia 34: Empathetic AIs? (Patreon Series)

In this Decoding Academia episode, we take a look at a 2025 paper by Daria Ovsyannikova, Victoria Olden, and Mickey Inzlicht, asking a question that might make some people uncomfortable/angry, specifi...

12 Feb 22min

The Rise of the Science Populists with Sam Gregson and Tim Henke

In this interview episode, we are joined by physicists Sam Gregson (Bad Boy of Science YouTube channel) and Tim Henke to examine the rise of science populism: a style of science communication that bor...

9 Feb 1h 35min

Supplementary Material 44: Peasant Archmages, Moral Panics, and LOTR Parenting Tips

We descend once more into the Gurusphere, encountering secret peasant archmages, decline narratives, Epstein emails, and endless moral panics.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 ho...

7 Feb 32min

Open Science, Psychology, and the Art of Not Quite Claiming Causality with Julia Rohrer

In a rare departure from our usual diet of online weirdos, this episode features an academic who is very much not a guru. We’re joined by Julia Rohrer, a psychologist at Leipzig University whose work ...

30 Jan 1h 32min

Supplementary Material 43: Red-Blooded Americans, Real Life Alan Partridge, and Rationalist Eulogies

We crawl around the dark crevices of the internet so you don't have to. And what wonders we have to show you...The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 34 minutes).Join us at: htt...

24 Jan 21min

Scott Galloway, Part 2: Peak Masculinity

We return for Part 2 of our Scott Galloway deep dive, where the vibes remain strong, the confidence unwavering, and the relationship with empirical evidence increasingly… decorative.Returning to our M...

23 Jan 3h 8min

Supplementary Material 42: Chimpanzee Testicles, Home Alone Statistics, and Influencer Research

We dig deep into the online world to DO OUR OWN RESEARCH and return with horrors never dreamt of by man.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 23 minutes).Join us at: https://ww...

8 Jan 34min

Scott Galloway, Part 1: On Men

We return to the podcast circuit in 2026 to examine Scott Galloway: NYU professor, prolific podcaster, and, more recently, part-time life coach for struggling young men.Joining him on an episode of Mo...

4 Jan 2h 51min