Curious Worldview

Eric Beecher, a seasoned journalist and media entrepreneur, dives into the alarming decline of quality journalism in his conversation. He recounts his experiences in major media, including working under Rupert Murdoch. Beecher discusses how profit motives have overshadowed civic duty in media ownership, the rise of sensationalism, and the impact of algorithms on news. He also warns about the threats posed by unregulated AI in journalism and explains why well-funded journalism is essential for democratic accountability.

Gareth Gore, an investigative journalist and author, dives deep into the dark underbelly of Opus Dei, an organization he's exposed for financial manipulation and coercive practices. He recounts how his investigation into the collapse of Banco Popular revealed a vast network of influence, particularly in political hubs like Washington, D.C. Gareth discusses how Opus Dei's strategies include targeting elites and using legal intimidation against critics. He also reflects on the troubling allegations of human trafficking and the organization's troubling priorities, showcasing a tension between its public image and internal practices.

Gideon Haigh, a veteran journalist and prolific author specializing in cricket history, dives into captivating discussions. He shares insights on how memory can elude journalists and the significance of contemporaneous records for understanding history. Gideon explores the romance of archival discovery in the age of AI and his current obsession with researching the world’s oldest prisoner. He reflects on Shane Warne's charming persona and the complexities of cricket governance in India while highlighting the evolving landscape of journalism in today's digital age.

Robyn Davidson, an acclaimed Australian writer, is renowned for her camel journey memoir, Tracks, and the recent Unfinished Woman. In this engaging conversation, she delves into the fluidity of memoir and memory, asserting, "the truth is, memory is imagination." Robyn shares her thoughts on the complexities of solitude, fame, and her unconventional life choices. With candid reflections on depression and artistic freedom, she emphasizes the power of chance and the importance of resisting labels. Her insights into nomadism reveal its depth beyond mere travel.

“I deserved whatever the opposite of a Pulitzer is.”Phil Elwood is the author of All the Worst Humans, a confessional memoir from the dubious world of public relations.As a PR operative. He helped Qatar win the 2022 World Cup. He spun the release of the Lockerbie bomber into a “positive headline.” Had the Gaddafi family, the Assad regime and plenty more among his clients. Phil speaks with humility and incredible clarity about what he learned from that world. The moral grey zones, the craft behind the spin, and how media manipulation really works in practice.It’s a rare, honest window into an industry that prefers the shadows.How propaganda and PR actually get executed behind closed doorsThe mechanics of “first ink,” astroturfing, and reputation launderingThe moral compromises behind Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bidSportswashing, Liv Golf, and the new global game of influenceWhether the media is more easily manipulated than ever?Whether AI and independent creators can break the old PR machinery00:00 — Who is Phil Elwood?04:57 — Lockerbie bomber: how he manufactured “positive press” for Libya. 11:14 — “Opposite of a Pulitzer” treating the news like a solvable game. 12:30 — What a PR operative really does; “infect a newsroom.”18:28 — First Ink masterclass: Antigua vs USA27:44 — Qatar 2022: going negative on the US bid40:15 — Is Sportswashing PR? Is it all bad? 49:57 — “Buy the printing press”: oligarch media ownership.55:01 — News collapse, AI replacing reporters, and why that’s dangerous. 57:21 — Andrew Callaghan. Do gatekeepers still matter? 01:05:53 — “Digital fentanyl”; treat content as a public-health issue. 01:10:27 — Rebranding Zuckerberg; persona as PR product.01:22:44 — Bots: PR firms pitching bot farms01:34:30 — Practical playbook & media-literacy plus a nice close.

“In the next 25 years, the world will need more copper than in all of human history.”Amendment - I said 3.2 billion kg of copper in opening question, I should have said 320 million kg. In this episode, journalist and author Vince Beiser returns to the podcast to discuss his book Power Metal, a sobering look at the metals that make modern civilization possible — and the extraordinary cost of extracting them.We cover the story of copper — the wire of empire. Beiser reveals why humanity will need more copper in the next 25 years than we’ve used in all of history, and how that quest is reshaping geopolitics, the environment, and our very ideas of progress. From Chile’s drought-stricken Atacama mines to the e-waste yards of Lagos, Nigeria, we follow the real people and places behind our “clean-energy” future — and the dirty truths that power it.We also unpack the rise of deep-sea mining, the billionaires behind it, and the tensions between state power, corporate ambition, and the planet’s limits. Along the way we meet Robert Friedland, Gerard Barron, Dan Gertler, and a cast of characters who prove that the world still runs on digging — and that the future will too.If you liked The World in a Grain or stories about how our material world shapes our moral one, this conversation will hit home.Topics: Resource wars, clean-tech paradox, deep-sea mining, copper shortage, China’s industrial strategy, EV economics, and how to reduce demand without going backwards. Guest: Vince Beiser - author of Power Metal and The World in a Grain Subscribe to his newsletter Power Metal SubstackThe World In A Grain (Vince's First Appearance on The Curious Worldview in 2021) - https://open.spotify.com/episode/7rf8QskOPtzvp2g8tm3lMk?si=zxA1ycpKRViBFt5S3XTCLgTimestamps.00:00 – Intro: Vince Beiser & Power Metal 02:00 – Chile’s Copper Boom & the Atacama Water Crisis 07:00 – Congo’s Cobalt, U.S. Retreat, and Copper Geography 10:00 – The No-Free-Lunch of the Green Transition 12:30 – Lagos E-Waste Recyclers & the Hidden Cost of Recycling 19:10 – Deep-Sea Mining and the Billionaires Behind It 23:00 – The UN vs Trump: Who Owns the Ocean Floor? 33:00 – Robert Friedland, Steve Jobs & Congo’s Mining Empire 41:00 – Corruption, Crony Capitalism & Dan Gertler 47:00 – Commodity Volatility and State Intervention 52:00 – China’s Industrial Patience vs Western Myopia 55:00 – Rethinking Cars, Cities & Demand Reduction 58:00 – The Future of Resources — and Civilization Itself

Theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss (A Universe from Nothing, The Known Unknowns) explores the biggest questions we can ask: How did the universe begin? Why is there something rather than nothing? What is consciousness? And what will remain when every star has burned out?Krauss moves seamlessly from the hard science of the Big Bang and dark energy to existential philosophy, arguing that our cosmic insignificance is precisely what makes life meaningful. Along the way he shares personal stories—mentorship from Nobel laureates, serendipitous discoveries, his friendship with Christopher Hitchens—and explains how curiosity and rigorous science drive human progress.🪐 What We Cover0:00 Intro & Lawrence Krauss’s background1:40 Why cosmic insignificance makes life precious5:45 Serendipity, creativity & the joy of discovery13:00 Australia stories & reflections on public science16:20 Science as culture & the power of the scientific method24:30 Evidence for the Big Bang and the age of the universe (~13.8B years)29:15 How astronomers measure cosmic acceleration & dark energy36:00 The universe’s fate: heat death, black holes & ultimate nothingness40:45 Consciousness and the mystery of self-aware stardust44:40 Memories of Christopher Hitchens and Hitch’s final quip💡 Key Ideas & Quotes“We make our own meaning. The universe doesn’t care—and that’s liberating.”“Science is not just results; it’s the process of questioning and testing.”“Rare things happen all the time in a big, old universe.”Christopher Hitchens on existence: “Why is there something rather than nothing? Just wait... it won’t be for long.”📚 A Selection Of Books by Lawrence KraussA Universe from NothingThe Known UnknownsThe Physics of Star Trek

Subscribe to Chris Arnade's Substack - https://walkingtheworld.substack.com/Who is Chris Arnade!He started as a physicist, earning a PHD from Johns Hopkins and then took to Wall St spending two decades on an elite trading desk at CitiGroup before disillusioning his well dressed allies to engage in the photography, walking and writing of the great and forgotten cities of this world. He is a best selling author, but as well… a best subscribed substacker!'Chris Arnade Walks The World' is the publications name…And in it, Chris lives up to the title. Japan, Europe, China, Australia, The Faroe Islands, Canada, the expansive US of A, Turkey, Korea, Indonesia even Uzbekistan (which gets a special mention in this podcast). Cities within all of these great nations and many more, Chris has trod and documented. His format is slow and empathetic. Chris will embark on several 20-30km journeys at his location, take photos and then report on his walk. I can’t remember how long I’ve been subscribed, although it feels like years, but the other day I woke up to an email which detailed Chris’s initial impressions of Sydney! I replied to the email right away, and just a few hours later was guiding him along the Malabar to Bondi trail. Steve and I - guiding Chris from the area I grew up to the most iconic beach in Australia. That was a special serendipity which came out of no-where and furthermore, led to this podcast today...00:00 Introduction to Chris Arnade — physicist, Wall Street trader, turned global walker/writer.02:00 First impressions of Sydney — “child of LA and London,” with beaches, pubs, suburbs, and good living.Sydney Observations03:40 Sydney’s trains: efficient, sprawling, but designed to avoid beaches.06:00 Sydney friendliness vs. UK cynicism — “Australians are like puppy dogs, eager to please.”09:30 Suburbs as “democratized manors,” good life for the average person, housing affordability issues.13:00 Housing supply constraints, coastline beauty, and why Sydney isn’t as bad as people think.Walking & Method16:30 From physics & Wall Street to walking: walks as stress relief, learning, meditation.20:30 Spreadsheet brain → toy models → refining worldview through walking.22:30 Cities that defied expectations: Tashkent & Jakarta.Global Perspectives25:30 Africa’s challenges: Nigeria & Dakar as examples of dysfunction despite resources.29:00 Australia’s weak ties with Indonesia, lack of Indonesians in Sydney, food culture, overlapping economic models.33:30 Chinese-Indonesian business dominance — parallels to Jews, Lebanese, minorities elsewhere.36:00 High-trust vs. low-trust societies: Japan as the archetype.Culture & Writing41:30 Why he avoids fame, prefers anonymity, but respects subscribers deeply.44:00 Pressure to deliver as a Substack writer — treating it like a job.47:00 Writing inspiration, uninspired cities (Bangkok), and the challenges of always producing.53:00 Strong opinions drive trafficDignity & Underclass55:00 “Dignity” project in the US — underclass and addiction.Personal Life56:20 Family and frugality58:50 Why he doesn’t read other travel writersPhilosophy & Serendipity01:04:50 Serendipity? “I don’t believe in coincidence.” 01:07:00  Country he’s most bullish on01:09:00 Next destinations

Subscribe to Nicholas Gruen's Substack - https://nicholasgruen.substack.com/I joined the Australian economist Nicholas Gruen recently in his Melbourne home to host his first 'long-form' podcast (although I'm not sure at what hour it goes from short to long)At the core of Gruen's worldview is the “un-seriousness” he levels at Australian politics, the media landscape, institutions and in a word... bureaucracies.From his creation of the HALE Index to his decades inside Australia’s public institutions, Nicholas continuously challenges orthodox thinking.The podcast covers the (in my opinion) radical yet (Nicholas's opinion) ancient idea of citizens’ juries as a second pillar of representation, the reasons bold policy rarely survives bureaucratic reality, and how lessons from the Toyota production system could help governments actually listen to people at the bottom of the hierarchy.Along the way, Gruen takes us from Australia’s superannuation system to pokies, from the mental health crisis to the subtle erosion of public-spiritedness inside organisations. To be specific, these are all the topics covered in this chat.The HALE Index of Well-being – Why GDP misses the mark, how HALE works, and what it reveals about Australia’s progress.Measuring What Matters – The limits of subjective well-being metrics, correlations between indicators, and why faux indexes mislead policymakers.Indigenous Policy Contradictions – The tension between material “gap closing” and self-determination, and why policy rarely confronts it.Citizens’ Juries & Political Reform – Introducing random selection into governance and how it could act as a check on elected officials.Goodhart’s Law in Action – How turning measures into targets corrupts them, and the problem of gaming metrics in education and beyond.Internal vs External Goods – Alasdair MacIntyre’s framework and its relevance to public service, corporate culture, and motivation.Institutional Stagnation – Why promising initiatives stall, and how bottom-up programs could scale without being crushed by bureaucracy.Toyota Production System Lessons – Building respect for frontline workers into systems and how it transforms performance.Australia’s Superannuation System – Strengths, inefficiencies, unfair taxation, and misaligned regulation of self-managed super funds.Compulsory Voting & Preferential Systems – How they shape Australia’s political centre and guard against extreme populism.Universities Today – The shift from idea-driven discourse to metric-chasing careerism, especially in economics.Trade-offs vs Synergies – Why economics often overemphasises trade-offs, and examples of where quality and cost improve together.Timestamps00:00 Introduction to Nicholas Gruen05:41 The Limitations of GDP as a Measure11:08 Inequality and Its Impact on Well-being16:45 The Role of Metrics in Policy Making22:10 The Importance of Community Engagement41:48 Connecting Education to the Real World47:24 Learning from Toyota's Success56:52 The Flaws in Superannuation System01:02:55 Reforming Auditing Practices01:11:39 The Shift in University Education01:20:59 Divergent Perspectives in Economics01:32:49 Rethinking Representation in Democracy01:48:25 The Role of Elite Consensus in Political Change02:07:58 Understanding Domestic Violence in Indigenous Communities02:21:55 The Role of New Media in Political Discourse02:26:38 The Impact of Gambling on Australian Society02:36:08 The Nature of Optimism and Serendipity in Life

Geothermal Energy Starter Pack (Geothermal Interviews On A Curious Worldview Podcast)Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe-----Quaise are on the other side of the most exciting week in their companies short history. They use millimeter wave energy from a gyrotron to vaporise rock and create boreholes for accessing deep geothermal energy, offering an alternative to costly traditional drilling methods for accessing those critically hot depths. It is an extremely ambitious, exciting and unique ambition - and Quaise have now proven their technology is applicable outside of theoretical and controlled lab conditions. They have successfully dug to a depth of 100m with their technology at a sight just outside of Austin, Texas - and therefore, move one step closer to realising their goal for adding electrons at scale to the grid.Matt Houde is the Co-Founder of Quaise. This is the second time he's joined me on the podcast. In this interview today we discussed the success of Texas, the business model of Quaise, serendipity in innovation, politics and finance for Quaise and plenty more in between…