We catch up with World Cup news, engage in some vile orientalism about Qatar, and take a look at American colleges and universities partnering with gambling sites to wring some more profit out of their students and sports programs. Then, an in-depth reading series on a Peter Thiel-aligned movement of eugenics, biological optimization, “secular Calvinism,” and more dubious effective altruism, all wrapped up in one couple and their plans to out-breed the world. Find all of the programming and subscriber announcements mentioned at the end of the episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/announcing-hell-74753159
  • Wheaties [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    There is something so i n f u r i a t i n g about this approach to "long-term" thinking.

    The real problems may be obvious to everyone and have material solutions, but the fundamental problems are a long way off, inevitable, and can only be solved by giving me all the money please.

    If these cretins actually cared about Robo-Satan or "civilizational depopulation" or whatever, they would still be doing - I don't know - something about climate change, about food insecurity, about energy generation, some sort of ecological husbandry. Because it would really be a pinch if you wind up having to fight Robo-Satan and rising sea-levels at the same time. Because the short-term becomes the long-term.

    But they don't actually care about it. Like :matt-jokerfied: says, it's Calvinism without that inconvenient "God" stuff.

    • Kresimir [they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      it isn't just matt saying that. Those people actually consider themselves secular calvinists. How hollow do you have to be in order to think that that is a good thing?