Arjun Khemani Podcast

Andrew Kirby is a YouTuber with over 600,000 subscribers who became financially free at age 22 by synthesizing content on the Internet.We talk about the path Andrew takes to attain financial freedom at age 22, how to write good cold DMs, entrepreneurship, misconceptions around money, The Beginning of Infinity and Andrew’s most influential books, the pursuit of creation, happiness and much more!Listen on Apple Podcasts or SpotifyTIMESTAMPS0:00 - Andrew’s backstory // his entrepreneurial childhood4:50 - How Andrew became financially free at 22 // being a permission-less apprentice9:15 - The shortcut to writing good Cold DMs 12:18 - What Andrew invests in13:24 - Understanding is the purest form of power // Andrew’s big goals15:42 - Money can be boiled down to solving people’s problems 19:15 - Say yes to everything at first, then say no // how to prioritize22:30 - BOOKS! 30:45 - Creating for yourself vs. creating for others34:37 - Happiness and the meaning of lifeANDREW’S LINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrewKirbysTwitter: https://twitter.com/IAmAndrewKirbyARJUN’S LINKSTwitter: https://twitter.com/arjunkhemaniBlog: https://arjunkhemani.comSupport the podcast using this link: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/arjunkhemani This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Chiara is a quantum physicist and research fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. Her research interests are at the foundations of physics. Together with David Deutsch she is the pioneer of constructor theory, a new mode of scientific explanation which expresses physical laws in terms of counterfactuals, i.e. what can and cannot happen.She is the author of The Science of Can and Can’t subtitled “A Physicist’s Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals” which is all about constructor theory and its implications.We talk about Chiara’s lovely childhood that led to her developing an interest in fundamental physics, people being a force of nature, knowledge, instrumentalism, reductionism, information having physical properties, updates on constructor theory, productive constraints and more!Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.TIMESTAMPS1:40 - Chiara’s childhood and why she came to do what she does today11:44 - Man, a force in nature & what makes knowledge resilient21:45 - In an information-less universe / why information and knowledge are physical (not abstract) entities26:00 - Explanatory and non-explanatory knowledge28:45 - How constructor theory has been received by the physics community so far33:28 - Bad philosophy / instrumentalism and reductionism45:17 - Constraints are good!51:50 - Why Chiara isn’t on Twitter + closing remarksLINKS* https://constructortheory.org* https://www.chiaramarletto.comSupport the podcast using this link: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/arjunkhemaniARJUN’S LINKSTwitter: https://twitter.com/arjunkhemaniBlog: https://arjunkhemani.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Charlie Jungheim (aka Hermes of Reason) makes really cool videos about Critical Rationalism following the works of Karl Popper and David Deutsch. He’s a musician and comedian.In a fun and wide-ranging conversation, we talk about mixing comedy with intellectual stuff, our lives being transformed by the works of David Deutsch, how meditation links to epistemology, then Mars and more!TIMESTAMPS0:45 - Charlie’s INCREDIBLE content around critical rationalism (comedy mixed with intellectual stuff)6:17 - Most intellectual heroes are dead. Ours isn’t.11:55 - Deep ideas can take a while to penetrate (plus isn’t “being a Deutschian” ironic?)18:33 - Things David Deutsch changed Charlie’s mind about (plus “your problem is the biggest problem in the world”)24:50 - Linking meditation and epistemology, and Mars38:25 - Barriers to creativity and productive constraints48:25 - The meaning of lifeCHARLIE’S LINKSTwitter: https://twitter.com/hermesofreasonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDCrUxqE3ThHrmLYsuM9fLQARJUN’S LINKSTwitter: https://twitter.com/arjunkhemaniBlog: https://arjunkhemani.comBuy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/arjunkhemani This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Michael Strong is the founder of a virtual school called The Socratic Experience, made for children aged 8-19 where they get a personalized and purpose-driven education cultivated to develop their unique genius. He is one of the most experienced designers of innovative school programs in the United States. In our conversation, we talk about Michael’s vision for education in 20 years, deschooling society, Socratic questioning, the future of education and much more!Listen on Apple Podcasts or SpotifyTIMESTAMPS0:49 - Michael’s vision for education5:03 - Ivan Illich’s book Deschooling Society 8:00 - How to eliminate the need for credentialing 11:55 - Adding something to the education system won’t help14:52 - Non-coercive boundaries for children 17:58- The Socratic method of questioning 27:08 - Gamifying learning29:32 - Reading + the difference between teaching and learning34:50 - How to scale alternative education so that it becomes the norm? + closing remarksMICHAEL’S LINKSTwitter: https://twitter.com/flowidealismThe Socratic Experience: https://socraticexperience.comARJUN'S LINKSTwitter: https://twitter.com/arjunkhemaniBlog: https://arjunkhemani.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Jason is the founder of The Roots of Progress, where he writes and speaks about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. Previously, he spent 18 years as a software engineer, engineering manager, and startup founder.We talk about the need to study progress, tackle the question of whether progress makes humans any happier, optimism and solutionism, and some more.Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.TIMESTAMPS:0:38 - Why we need a new philosophy of progress3:54 - “Almost nothing about progress is linear…”9:56 - Why bother making any progress in the first place?16:18 - Understanding and “obeying” laws of nature18:01 - Does progress make us happy? Are we on an intergenerational hedonic treadmill?27:52 - Optimism and solutionism35:15 - What’s your message for people living a thousand years from now?JASON’S LINKS: The Roots of Progress: https://rootsofprogress.orgTwitter: https://twitter.com/jasoncrawford This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

In this episode, I talk to Chris Turner. A tech entrepreneur turned education entrepreneur who founded Moonrise, a co-learning space for kids. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.We talk about the problem with school, bad explanations around learning, the hard (yet exciting) problem Moonrise is solving, Taking Children Seriously and much more.This was a very fun and insightful conversation! Hope you find it so to.TIMESTAMPS0:30 - How Chris came from the startup world to the alt-education space8:55 - School does serve a function in society12:15 - Structure without coercion is good for creativity17:11 - Moonrise: a co-learning space for kids24:08 - Why the Internet didn’t really revolutionize the education system29:41 - Do you learn by immersion?31:47 - Bad explanations about learning33:59 - Should we revolutionize the education system or make changes incrementally?38:55 - Problem of people being “uneducated” and on credentials and proof of work47:35 - Taking Children Seriously and closing remarksChris’ links:Twitter: https://twitter.com/_cturnerMoonrise website: https://www.moonrise.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

TIMESTAMPS0:00 - Jay is one of the coolest people I’ve met1:56 - What’s wrong with the school system and how to escape it5:48 - Growing up in an entrepreneurial family and dropping out8:18 - Become more valuable by learning high value skills10:45 - Voids create value / why Jay wants to change the way education is done13:20 - Digital Nomad and filming a documentary in the Arctic Circle21:10 - The most profound thing Jay learned from traveling to 57 countries 24:30 - All morality is localized / every idea is open to criticism 29:31 - How you do one thing is how you do everything30:20 - What “home” means to a digital nomad / I’m a citizen of the world39:21 - Next steps for Jay 44:00 - Biggest mentors in Jay’s life + books / closing remarksIn this podcast I speak with Jay Topp.He’s like one of the coolest people I’ve ever met.* Jay is 22 years old from the Gold Coast, Australia.* He’s a Digital Nomad who’s stepped foot in 57 countries. He calls himself a “citizen of the world”.* He dropped out of school when he was 16 at a time when he started earning more than his teachers while helping his family scale their business.* His agency, Lion Social helps scale businesses from ideation to seven figures and has had a couple of great success stories.* He’s an excellent musician.* He’s been working on a documentary on “Digital Nomads living in the Arctic circle” which releases later this year.* His mission is to play a meaningful role in the revolution of education.WHAT WE TALK ABOUT* We talk about the flaws in the education system and how Jay escaped it.* Jay shares the most profound thing he learned upon traveling to 57 countries.* We explore who digital nomads are and the reasons why Jay is creating a documentary about them situated in a very unique place.* Jay shares what “home” means to him.* And much more.Jay’s links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayt0pp/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzevubxwGHCx7aVbKPTOxjg This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Links* Aastha Jain* Live Longer World podcast* Feynman Kids Program* Blog post by Aastha: Contra Elon Musk on Lifespan ExtensionTimestamps1:05 - An important question: should we stop aging?3:27 - What if people don’t change their minds?5:35 - It’s in human nature to go against nature7:14 - Contra Elon Musk on Lifespan Extension15:20 - Greater chance for statism if a generation extends indefinitely?18:26 - Population and pessimism25:26 - Doesn’t death give life meaning?34:56 - The importance of desire and changing our neurochemistry41:15 - How far we’ve come in the field of longevity49:40 - “I just want to live long enough until we defeat death” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

This was a very fun conversation with Sarah on the manner in which children are generically raised and why that is not helpful, the importance of Taking Children Seriously and raising a child without coercion, fallibilism, the growth of knowledge, problem-solving, her inspiration for founding Taking Children Seriously and much more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Brett's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ToKTeacherBrett's blog: https://bretthall.orgBrett's podcast (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmP5H2rF-ER33a58ZD5jCig This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com