Let's Know Things

This week we talk about STELLARWIND, 9/11, and the NSA.

We also discuss warrantless surveillance, intelligence agencies, and FISA.

Recommended Book: Period: The Real Story of Menstruation by Kate Clancy

Transcript

Immediately after the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001, then President George W. Bush gave his approval for the National Security Agency, the NSA, to run a portfolio of significant and ever-evolving cross-age...

This week we talk about diplomatic immunity, Trump’s court cases, and the Supreme Court.

We also discuss Nixon, Clinton, and the US Constitution.

Recommended Book: My upcoming book, How To Turn 39 (https://books2read.com/htt39), which is available for pre-order today :)

Transcript

There's a concept in international law—diplomatic immunity—that says, in essence, certain government officials should be immune from the laws of foreign coun...

This week we talk about Linux, backdoors, and the Open Source community.

We also discuss CPU usage, state-backed hackers, and SSH.

Recommended Book: The Underworld by Susan Casey

Transcript

In the world of computers, a "backdoor" is a means of accessing a device or piece of software via an alternative entry point that allows one to bypass typical security measures and often, though not always, to do so in a subtle, undetected and maybe...

This week we talk about cacao, plantations, and bean-to-bar chocolate.

We also discuss black pod disease, swollen shoot virus, and seed pod currency.

Recommended Book: The City & The City by China Miéville

Transcript

The cocoa bean, also called "cacao," is a seed derived from the cocoa tree, which is native to the Amazon Rainforest in South America.

More than 5,000 years ago, near present day Ecuador, the Mayo-Chinchipe culture domestic...

This week we talk about the Rwandan genocide, the First and Second Congo Wars, and M23.

We also discuss civil wars, proxy conflicts, and resource curses.

Recommended Book: Everyday Utopia by Kristen R. Ghodsee

Transcript

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, was previously known as Zaïre, a name derived from a Portuguese mistranscription of the regional word for "river."

It wore that monicker from 1971 until 1997, and this regio...

This week we talk about mergers, acquisitions, and the Shale Oil Revolution.

We also discuss liquid natural gas, energy diplomacy, and political hypocrisy.

Recommended Book: Eversion by Alastair Reynolds

Transcript

For the sixth year in a row, the United States is the largest oil producer in the world.

As of March 2024, it's producing an average of 12.93 million barrels of oil per day, according to the US Energy Information Administrati...

This week we talk about foreign aid, brain drain, and long-term economic consequences.

We also discuss the Rasputitsa, counteroffensives, and strategic rethinks.

Recommended Book: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Transcript

We've done this a few times before, but it's been a while since I've done a real update on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine—September of last year, I think, was the last one, a bonus episode on t...

This week we talk about virtual reality, the Meta Quest, and the Apple Vision Pro.

We also discuss augmented reality, Magic Leap, and the iPhone.

Recommended Book: Daemon by Daniel Suarez

Transcript

Ransomware is a sub-type of malware, which is malicious software that prevents its victim from accessing their data.

So that might mean keeping them from logging into their cloud storage, but it might also mean encrypting their data so that ...

This week we talk about the Meiji Revolution, shoguns, and the Lost Decade.

We also discuss NVIDIA, economic bubbles, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Recommended Book: The Blue Machine by Helen Czerski

Transcript

What became known as the Meiji Restoration, but which at the time was generally, locally, called the Honorable Restoration, refers to a period of massive and rapid change in Japan following the restoration of practical powers to...

This week we talk about virtual reality, the Meta Quest, and the Apple Vision Pro.

We also discuss augmented reality, Magic Leap, and the iPhone.

Recommended Book: Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz

Transcript

The term spacial computing seems to have been coined in the mid-1980s within the field of geographic information systems, or GIS, which focuses on using digital technology to mess with geographic data in a variety of hopefully use...

This week we talk about The Messenger, ads, and generative AI.

We also discuss search engines, algorithms, and Semafor’s new curation tool.

Recommended Book: The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman

Transcript

There was a piece published on McSweeney's, a humorous, often satirical writing site, recently, entitled "Our Digital Media Platform Will Revolutionize News and Is Also Shutting Down," written by Devin Wallace, that includes gems, ost...

This week we talk about CAR Ts, lupus, and antigen-presenting cells.

We also discuss Hashimoto’s, potential cures, and allergies.

Recommended Book: The Avoidable War by Kevin Rudd

Transcript

Chimeric antigen receptors, usually shorthanded as CARs, are a type of protein structure that receives and transmits signals within biological systems.

The term "CAR T cell" refers to chimeric antigen receptors that have been altered so that these s...

This week we talk about robo-Biden, fake Swift images, and ElevenLabs.

We also discuss copyright, AI George Carlin, and deepfakes.

Recommended Book: Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber

Transcript

The hosts of a podcast called Dudesy are facing a lawsuit after they made a video that seems to show the late comedian George Carlin performing a new routine.

The duo claimed they created the video using AI tools, training an algorithm...

This week we talk about Operation Iron Swords, October 7, and the International Court of Justice.

We also discuss human rights abuses, the Red Sea, and Iran’s influence.

Recommended Book: Empire Games by Charles Stross

Transcript

In the early morning of October 7, 2023, the militant wing of Hamas—which is also a political organization that has governed the Gaza Strip territory since 2007, a few years after Israel withdrew from the area...

This week we talk about Bukele, Naboa, and the war on gangs.

We also discuss emergency powers, authoritarianism, and the cocaine trade.

Recommended Book: Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Transcript

Nayib Bukele is the 43rd president of El Salvador, and he's an unusual leader for the country in that he's young—born in 1981, so just 42 years old, as of the day I'm recording this—and in that he's incredibly popular, having maintained an ...

This week we talk about the raising of Chicago, Jakarta, and sea level rise.

We also discuss groundwater, flooding, and insurance.

Recommended Book: Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire

Transcript

In the mid-19th century, the city of Chicago, its many sidewalks and buildings and other infrastructure, were hoisted using jackscrews, which are kind of like heavy-duty versions of the jacks you might use to lift your car to replace a tire.

T...

This week we talk about Indonesia, South Africa, and geopolitical risks.

We also discuss the South China Sea, the US Presidential election, and Potemkin democracy.

Recommended Book: The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell

Transcript

By many metrics, 2023 was a tumultuous year.

In the latter-quarter, in early October, the paramilitary group Hamas launched a sneak-attack on Israel which kicked off a new round of turmoil directly, on ...

Note: I’m taking next week off for the new year and to work on my next book—this month’s More Things bonus episodes has thus been moved to this upcoming Thursday, and you’ll see the next LKT episode on January 2!

This week we talk about Venezuelan, Guyana, and the British.

We also discuss oil deposits, gold, and the Geneva Agreement.

Recommended Book: Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross

Transcrip...

This week we talk about stainless steel, DARPA, and GNoME.

We also discuss ceramics, DeepMind, and self-driving labs.

Recommended Book: Drunk On All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

Transcript

In a recent episode, I talked a bit about the bronze and copper ages, and how reaching the level of technological know-how so that it's possible to heat metals so you can blend them with other metals, forge them into useful things, and gene...