
Hacking State
Alex Murshak explores minds, machines, and matters political in the spirit of overcoming system limitations.
Hacking State is a show about political technology. Heidegger describes the nature of technology as a kind of revealing. It remains to be seen where and whether technology gives us Nietzschean will-to-power-like mastery over nature and ourselves or, as Plato warns, we are liable to be lead astray by novel ideas. Our capacity to harness nature has never been greater. Science and technology have unlocked immense power. Yet the human animal remains remarkably similar across millennia. In such a situation, discernment is our greatest asset. It is our relationship to ourselves, our systems, and one another, that requires tending to. Hacking State is about doing more with less, pushing limitations, and finding gainful exploits at every level of the human operating system; from minds, to bodies, to tools, organizations, governments, and higher order social systems.
Latest episodes

Apr 29, 2025 • 1h 5min
50 - Arcadius Strauss: A Techno-Nationalist Future
In this episode of Hacking State I discuss "Techno-Nationalism for Building Western Civilization 4.0" with Arcadius Strauss. We examine the un-sustainability of our current societal structures influenced by technology, globalization, and cultural shifts. Strauss presents 3 competing visions for the future—"Matrix West," "Space West," and "Neo-Traditional West"—each reflecting potential paths for civilization.
We also explore demographic challenges and the ideological conflicts between traditional values and technological solutions. Strauss advocates for a vision that integrates innovation with tradition, concluding that with strong leadership, we can navigate toward a thriving future.
Arcadius Strauss
On X: https://x.com/ArcadiusStrauss
On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ArcadiusStrauss
On Substack: https://arcadiusstrauss.substack.com/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes. Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Apr 15, 2025 • 1h 9min
49 - Alex Petkas: Greco-Futurism and the Return of Zeal
Alex Petkas is host of Cost of Glory podcast. He holds a PhD in Classics from Princeton, and teaches on persuasion, heroes, and Plutarch’s "Parallel Lives."
We talk about the value of Plutarch’s “Parallel Lives”, the contemporary thirst for heroes and grand narratives, Platonism vs. Stoicism, Archeofuturist aesthetics, why futurism is ripe for our cultural moment, his Rostra group and training men in the art of rhetoric, and why our future depends on recovering the spirit of zeal.
Cost of Glory:
On X: https://x.com/costofglory
Website: https://www.costofglory.com
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Mar 20, 2025 • 58min
48 - Raw Egg Nationalist: Health, Hormones, and Social Control
I am joined by Raw Egg Nationalist, creator and publisher of Man’s World Magazine, co-founder of Kindred Harvest, and author of "The Eggs Benedict Option."
We discuss the relationship between individual health and the political system, his upcoming book with Passage Press, “The Last Men,” the consequences of declining testosterone levels and sperm counts, the harmful effects of environmental xenoestrogens, MAHA (Make America Healthy Again), the dangers of reliance on Ozempic and other GLP1 agonists, the iatrogenics of the medical industrial complex, and his upcoming speech at the 2025 Natal Conference.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Raw Egg Nationalist
05:07 The Eggs Benedict Option: Philosophy and Reception
10:10 Food, Politics, and Social Control
14:48 Testosterone Decline and Masculinity
20:02 The End of Men Documentary and Its Impact
24:56 The Last Men: Upcoming Book Insights
29:53 Cultural Resurgence of Vitalist Health
33:48 The Mind-Body Connection and Education
38:25 The Weight Loss Drug Dilemma
42:17 The Power of Big Pharma
49:40 The Crisis of Medicalization and Control
52:06 Philosophical Insights on Fertility and Captivity
Raw Egg Nationalist on:
X: https://x.com/Babygravy9
Man’s World: https://mansworldmag.online/
Kindred Harvest: https://kindredharvest.co/
Eggs Benedict Option: https://antelopehillpublishing.com/product/the-eggs-benedict-option-by-the-raw-egg-nationalist/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Mar 13, 2025 • 1h 9min
47 - Alex Priou: From Plato to Palantir - Philosophy's Place in Technological Society
Alex Priou is Associate Professor of Political Philosophy and Interim Dean of the Center for Intellectual Foundations at University of Austin, as well as co-host of The New Thinkery podcast.
We discuss the place of the Great Books in education, a justification of political philosophy in terms of the good life, his review of Palantir's Alex Karp's and Nicholas Zamiska's book, “The Technological Republic,” the challenges posed by life mediated through technology, the interplay between great thinkers, and his upcoming book on Plato’s Republic and Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, exploring how times of decadence create a desire for revolutionary politics and drawing parallels to the pitfalls of today.
Alex Priou
Personal site: https://alexpriou.com/
UATX profile: https://www.uaustin.org/people/alex-priou
On X: https://x.com/alexpriou
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Mar 6, 2025 • 1h 6min
46 - ARX-Han: The Shape of Meaning | Shame, Masculinity, Nihilism, and Agency
ARX-Han is a novelist and publisher of the Decentralized Fiction Substack. He joins me to discuss cultural accelerationism, shame and masculinity, nihilism and the crisis of agency, and AI & fears of human obsolescence.
ARX-Han
On X: https://x.com/ARX_Han
On Substack: https://www.decentralizedfiction.com/
His novel, INCEL: https://www.amazon.com/INCEL-Novel-ARX-Han/dp/B0CJLCZVCG/
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Feb 20, 2025 • 1h 1min
45 - Edward Luttwak: The Vitality of War
Edward Luttwak is a legendary military historian and grand strategist, known for his books “Coup d’Etat: A Practical Handbook,” “Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace,” and “The Rise of China vs. The Logic of Strategy.”
We discuss:
How Russia and Ukraine is an 18th century war
Why Israel-Hezbollah war is the real modern war
Europe’s demographics of death
Why “the fertility crisis is a vitality crisis”
War as the engine of Europe
China’s military prospects
The Heroic Danes
National Service as the key to countries’ futures
Edward Luttwak on X: https://x.com/ELuttwak
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Feb 13, 2025 • 1h 18min
44 - Daniel Hess: Fixing the Fertility Crisis
Daniel Hess is the writer behind More Births, ideas for reversing the collapse in global fertility. MoreBirths is a data-driven resource dedicated to helping humanity to understand and ultimately solve the low birthrate crisis that has taken hold across the world.
We discuss:
- Factors contributing to the fertility crisis
- Why Israel is an exception among developed nations in fertility
- The power of strong pro-natal belief - Components of the “Fertility Stack”
- The Amish as the highest fertility group in America
- The importance of allo-parenting and grandparents
- The role of religiosity
-Why economic arguments don’t explain low fertility
- Embattlement as an explanation for nations’ fertility
- The limits of egg freezing and IVF
- The effectiveness of pro-natal public policy interventions
- How the housing we build affects fertility
More Births Substack: https://www.morebirths.com/
Daniel Hess on X: https://x.com/MoreBirths
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Jan 23, 2025 • 57min
43 - Jonathan Scharf: The Future of Energy | Nuclear, AI, and Renewables
Jonathan Scharf is a PhD energy consultant specializing in renewable energy. They discuss Jonathan's eclectic background, his transition from academia to industry, and the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in tackling energy challenges. The conversation delves into the current state of nuclear energy adoption, the regulatory hurdles it faces, and the hype surrounding new technologies in the energy sector. Jonathan emphasizes the need for effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders to drive meaningful progress in renewable energy. This conversation goes into the intersection of AI, energy demand, and consulting, highlighting the rapid evolution of technology and its implications for industries. The speakers discuss the increasing complexity of AI systems, the importance of bridging technical knowledge gaps in energy sectors, and the role of machine learning in consulting. They emphasize the necessity of domain knowledge in effectively utilizing AI tools and the cultural shifts affecting workforce development. Additionally, the conversation addresses recruitment challenges in a changing landscape, advocating for a more nuanced approach to hiring.
Scharf Energy Consulting:
scharfenergy.com
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Jan 16, 2025 • 1h 4min
42 - Daniel Schwarzhoff: Meditations on Emotional Resilience in Politics
In this conversation, Alex Murshak speaks with Schwarzhoff Jr., co-founder of the See meditation app, about the importance of emotional regulation in today's political climate. They discuss the unique approach of the app, which focuses on non-contemplative meditation, and how it aims to help individuals build resilience against stress. The conversation delves into the nature of stress, the role of resentment in emotional responses, and how manipulation through emotional dysregulation plays a significant role in politics. They also explore the collective response to societal stress and the psychological implications of these dynamics. In this conversation, Alex Murshak discusses the dangers of harboring resentment and the impact of ideology on individual psychology. The discussion also explores the ripple effect of individual change on broader societal dynamics, particularly through the lens of emotional resilience and meditation practices. They share insights into the development of a meditation app designed to facilitate personal growth and emotional well-being, highlighting its simplicity and effectiveness. The conversation concludes with reflections on the importance of intentionality in using technology and the potential for personal transformation.
The See meditation app: https://theseeapp.com/
Daniel Schwarzoff on X: https://x.com/dschwarzhoffjr
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml

Dec 26, 2024 • 1h 27min
41 - Thom Ivy: The State of Persuasion
The enlightening Thom Ivy joins me to discuss pheromones, bioenergetics and Peating, state management, hypnosis, and propaganda.
Thom Ivy on X: https://x.com/thom_ivy_1
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
Listen on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexmurshak
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacking-state/id1689677076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
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