Hacking State

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
 
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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 Nationalist05:07 The Eggs Benedict Option: Philosophy and Reception10:10 Food, Politics, and Social Control14:48 Testosterone Decline and Masculinity20:02 The End of Men Documentary and Its Impact24:56 The Last Men: Upcoming Book Insights29:53 Cultural Resurgence of Vitalist Health33:48 The Mind-Body Connection and Education38:25 The Weight Loss Drug Dilemma42:17 The Power of Big Pharma49:40 The Crisis of Medicalization and Control52:06 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/
 
 
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/hackingstate/feed.xml
 

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.
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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/
 
 
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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 
 
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
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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.
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
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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.
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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.
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XB9XYULrAY4dp0qIJVvCg
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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.
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40 - Cody Moser: Systems Intelligence and the Mysteries of Life

Cody Moser is a PhD candidate in Cognitive Science at the University of California, Merced studying collective intelligence, system collapse, complex systems, and networks.
We cover the challenge of integrating humanity into science, the collapse of public spaces, consequences of social institutions moving online, how network structures optimize innovation, how AI reveals the anti-human incentives of many of our systems, living things and the theory of dissipative systems, and the mystery of life for statistical physics.
 
My AI For Government Affairs Startup https://lawgiver.ai
 
 
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
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