Hacking State
Exploring how technology changes our relationship to power, each other, and ourselves. Making sense of the techno-acceleration, Alex Murshak conducts in-depth interviews on the philosophy of technology. 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. 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 will determine our future.
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Episodes
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
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
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
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
Thursday Dec 26, 2024
Thursday Dec 26, 2024
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
Thursday Dec 19, 2024
Thursday Dec 19, 2024
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.
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
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Nathan Worcester covers national politics and energy for The Epoch Times.
We talk about
- Views from the 2024 Presidential Campaign trail
- Prospects for American Re-Industrialization
- Nuclear deregulation and the future of American energy
- DOGE
Nathan on X: https://x.com/nnworcester
My AI For Government Affairs Startup https://lawgiver.ai
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
Thursday Dec 05, 2024
Thursday Dec 05, 2024
Logan Allen is the CEO of Zorp, an applied research company building NockChain and the Nockstack.
We discuss how NockChain combines proof-of-work with zero-knowledge proofs, creating incentives for proof generation at scale. The conversation covers how zero-knowledge proofs enable state compression for large computations and Zorp's approach to building secure infrastructure for network tribes. We explore practical applications like verifying computations in nuclear reactors and power stations, the economics of zero-knowledge proof markets, and how the Nockstack provides tools for high-security production environments. Nock's minimal instruction set makes it simple enough for one person to understand, forming the foundation for this secure computing infrastructure.
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
Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
A Maverick Director on Documenting Nayib Bukele's Re-Election.
Director & Producer Jessica Solce joins me to discuss Forging A Country, her latest film documenting Nayib Bukele's 2024 re-election in El Salvador.
We cover why Western liberalism's playbook is insufficient for El Salvador's problems, her approach to documentaries with ideological implications, reflections on her opus, Death Athletic, film and propaganda, streaming platform politics, filming over long timelines, accessing high profile documentary subjects, and discovering a film's aesthetics.
My AI For Government Affairs Startup https://lawgiver.ai
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
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Eric Kaufmann is a professor of politics and Director of the Centre for Heterodox Social Science at the University of Buckingham. He is also Adjunct Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
We talk about his new book "The Third Awokening" and cover: how quasi-religious left-wing liberalism bears more responsibility for Wokeness than “radical neo-Marxist” Theory, the weaponization humanistic psychotherapy and trauma, “Be kind” as an ideology, the simple emotional structure behind it: minorities good, majorities bad—the making sacred of historically marginalized race, gender, and sexual minorities as a structure of taboos, conservatives' failure to win culture, his defense of negative liberty, Wokeness as a meme, Gen Z’s shift to the right, comparing the free speech climate of the US, the UK, and Canada, and the coming intensification of cultural politics.
My startup: https://lawgiver.ai
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
Thursday Oct 10, 2024
Thursday Oct 10, 2024
Kinode is a decentralized operating system, peer-to-peer app framework, and node network designed to simplify the development and deployment of decentralized applications.
Ben McCormick, a lead developer at Kinode, joins me to discuss the birth of Kinode, the need for backend tools in crypto, choosing Web Assembly for peer-to-peer computing, breaking out of the Feudal structure of Web 2.0 and creating coordination power outside Big Tech oligopolies, how to popularize permission-less infrastructure, getting started developing on the network, and the grand vision that is Kinode.
The Kinode Book: https://book.kinode.org/
Discord: https://discord.gg/mYDj74NkfP
Kinode on X: https://x.com/kinode
Dartfrog: https://kinode.org/blog/hello-dartfrog
My startup: https://lawgiver.ai
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
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
Charles Haywood is the Maximum Leader of The Worthy House, publisher of over 600 book reviews, and creator of a framework for the renewal of society called Foundationalism.
We talk about how buying machinery from a defunct hair products manufacturer made him tremendously wealthy, The Worthy House and refining his politics by writing hundreds of book reviews, the (im)possibility of political action today, Foundationalism, right wing "elites", the meaning of left wing violence, why Europe is over, the fertility crisis as an existential threat to civilization, and advice for ambitious young men.
The Worthy House
X: https://x.com/TheWorthyHouse
Site: https://theworthyhouse.com/ Foundationalist
Manifesto: https://theworthyhouse.com/2021/06/17/the-foundationalist-manifesto-the-politics-of-future-past/
WAITLIST for my AI Legislative Startup, Lawgiver: https://lawgiver.ai
Support Hacking State: https://hackingstate.substack.com/subscribe
If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a review on Spotify/iTunes.
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
Political Technology
Our capacity to harness nature has never been greater. Science and technology have unlocked immense power, making us comparable to the Gods of yore. Yet the human animal remains remarkably similar across millenia. In such a situation, it is our relationship to ourselves, our systems, and one another, that requires tending to, as we shepherd humanity into the aeons on the horizon. 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, to organizations, governments, and social systems.