Smart Cookies Podcast
1) Why does the INTERNET suck so bad now? With Cory Doctorow
We all know it - the internet has become a huge garbage heap, guided by malignant algorithms and filled with useless apps, mind numbing social media and AI slop. In a word - it's shitty. But how did w...Show More
2) Genocide in GAZA, the biggest crime of our time. With Mouin Rabbani
The horrific war that Israel is waging against the predominantly civilian population in Gaza has been going on for almost two years, and yet, the slaughter continues to this day. Why is that? To discu...Show More
3) The notorious two OPIUM WARS that ushered in China's century of HUMILIATION. With Prof. Yang-Wen Zheng
Few conflicts have been as impactful as the two Opium Wars fought between China and the Western powers during the 19th century. These unjust wars, unanimously won by the West, ultimately resulted in a...Show More
4) Is the killing of CHARLIE KIRK another symptom of a disintegrating political SYSTEM? With Prof. Will Davies
Neoliberal capitalism is dead. But what kind of a system has replaced it?In the era of tech titans, weakening institutions and growing social tensions it's hard to get a grip on the forces that are go...Show More
5) The one power that finally managed to BEAT BACK the ruthless MONGOL invasions. With Prof. Nicholas Morton | Pt. 2
It's the middle of the 13th century and the Mongols have bulldozed their way through a host of Middle Eastern kingdoms like they are playing a strategy game with a cheat code. One after the other, the...Show More
6) You're a MEDIEVAL King in the Middle East... and the MONGOLS have just showed up. With Nicholas Morton | Pt. 1
The Byzantine Empire, Anatolian Seljuks, The Ayyubid Empire, Kingdom of Armenia, The Crusader States, The Abbasid Caliphate, the Nizari Assassins... this isn't a list of factions for a new Age of Empi...Show More
7) The West is CLUELESS about China. Here's why that's a MISTAKE. With Kaiser Kuo
In the mainstream media China still occupies the role of the main adversary of the West. It's usually portrayed negatively, as a belligerent country and a paragon of human rights abuses. But is China ...Show More
8) In politics and in the workplace, WHY do we keep electing BAD LEADERS? With Dr. Martin Gutmann
The omnipresent problem of bad leadership in politics and business seems to be more pressing than ever. So why do we keep choosing incompetent leaders? What kind of people get ahead in the workplace? ...Show More
9) The TOTALITARIANISM of Stalin, Hitler and... Trump? With Prof. Marci Shore
Marci Shore is a historian, chair in European Intellectual history, a professor at the Munk School of Global affairs, and the author of The Taste of Ashes: The Afterlife of Totalitarianism in Eastern ...Show More
10) AI empires are here - what are they after? With Nick Srnicek
What are the motivations of artificial intelligence CEO's, people like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk and Sam Altman? What kind of ideologies are animating Silicon Valley? Why are AI companies, such as Palant...Show More