Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss the logic behind a centralized society and what life looks like inside it. Despite the psychological stresses of living in a world where everything is tracked and legible, societies around the world seem to move increasingly toward this model. What are its actual strengths and weaknesses? Is our problem too much scale or insufficient social complexity? And what's the real lesson of the Tower of Babel? The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss what defines elites and how to cultivate them. Could it be that we do, in fact, only have an upper middle class today? Other topics include why money doesn't grant elite status, the reason why privilege is necessary for founding new institutions, and where people should go to escape the social conditioning of the rat race. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss China's embrace of high modernity. Since the early 20th century, America has been the core of industrial civilization. Now, China is its most powerful rising periphery. But while China is currently ascending, it is already reaching important inflection points, like demographic stagnation and uncertain political succession. Does its rebirth contain the beginnings of a new stagnation? Additionally, the team discusses why China seems to act as a proxy for questions about the nature of our own society. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Dr. Michael Zargham joins Wolf Tivy to discuss the dynamics of complex systems and what they can tell us about governing entire societies. Topics include how to think about local and global levels of action, why technological decisions are ultimately decisions about governance, and how to train people to embrace subjectivity. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Dr. Viren Murthy joins Ash Milton to discuss the philosophy of world order in modern Japan and China. Topics include Pan-Asianism in the Japanese Empire, Miki Kiyoshi and the Kyoto School, and the thought of Chinese intellectuals Zhao Tingyang and Jiang Shigong. In the second half, they delve deep into the Chinese concept of tianxia (All-Under-Heaven). Do tianxia's advocates have what it takes to build a world order beyond the West? The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Jesse Velay-Vitow joins Ash Milton to discuss how we can reconcile industrial disruption, ecological stewardship, and the destiny of our species. Topics include how people have terraformed the Earth for millennia, whether our society's risk tolerance is unacceptably low, and why we need a strong conception of telos to discipline humanity's world-making power. Jesse recently wrote about the consequences of inevitable climate change for civilization. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Samo Burja joins Wolf Tivy from Turkey to discuss why civilization is older than we thought. Samo's research into ruins like Göbekli Tepe inspired him to ask just how ancient civilization could really be. Topics include why national politics can end up yielding archaeological progress, whether the Dunbar number is a false limit on human development, and why Samo is willing to bet on finding cities that predate the last Ice Age. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Charlie Smith joins Wolf Tivy to debate the real future of crypto. Its advocates promise radical transformation, but skeptics can point to a long list of scams and schemers. By examining the projects doing something real, we can better understand how crypto lets people coordinate in new ways. And are the schemers just a facet of life on any new frontier? In the second half, Charlie and Wolf discuss what a more rigorous bullish case for crypto looks like. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss the moral logic that drives industrial progress. The industrial revolution has been left halted across its most important domains. The 20th century's major advances were never fully developed. Returning to the path of industrial progress isn't just a policy matter. Instead, we need to re-develop the complex ecosystem of mastery, tacit knowledge, and material practice that can bring about our society's advancement. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.

Wolf Tivy and Ash Milton discuss cults as society's real foundation. Cults channel and condition the highest desires of human consciousness. The stories they tell about the world give meaning to every other aspect of our lives. Their authority can make demands for people to act in ways that no other kind of organization can dream of. Sometimes, they inspire members to sacrifice their lives. Cults and cultic activity are not a luxury that societies indulge when all other needs are met. They are the first-movers, setting the stage for everything else that follows. The first half of the show is available to all our listeners. The full discussion is available to Palladium Members. Members also get to participate in the Palladium Community Salons, which the editorial podcasts are often based on, as well as other benefits like the community chat. To become a Palladium Member, subscribe here.