The Orthogonal Bet

In this episode, Samuel Arbesman has the pleasure of speaking with Stephen Webb. Stephen is a physicist and the author of numerous books, including one entitled "If the Universe is Teeming with Aliens… Where is Everybody?", the second edition of which includes 75 solutions to the Fermi Paradox. Samuel wanted to talk to Stephen to explore the nature of the Fermi paradox — essentially, if the universe should have extraterrestrial intelligences, why don't we see them? — and how it forces us to think about our place in the universe.
Samuel and Stephen have a chance to examine what the Fermi paradox is, the interdisciplinary nature of the approaches to this puzzle, science fiction as a "playground for thought experiments," and the three main categories for how people approach the Fermi paradox. They discuss some of the fun answers to the paradox, Stephen's personal take on it, how scientific and technological advances have affected how we think about the paradox, and even how AI has changed how we might think about intelligence in the universe.

In this episode, Samuel Arbesman is excited to welcome David Edmonds back to the podcast. Dave is the cohost of the Philosophy Bites podcast as well as the bestselling author of numerous books about philosophy. Last time they spoke about his book Death in a Shallow Pond: A Philosopher, A Drowning Child, and Strangers in Need, and this time they discuss Parfit, his biography of the philosopher Derek Parfit, one of the most influential moral philosophers of the modern era. The book explores the life and philosophy of Parfit, and is simply delightful — a wonderful exploration of Parfit's personality, his ideas, and his relationships with others.
Dave and Samuel discuss what prompted him to write this book and the origins of the biography, as well as his personal relationship to Derek Parfit and Parfit's wife, the philosopher Janet Radcliffe Richards. They explore Parfit's philosophy on personal identity, self-defeating moral theories, and non-identity and population ethics. But they also discuss Parfit as a person, including how he changed over his life and his combination of extreme kindness and self-absorption. They even explore how All Souls College at Oxford was the ideal place for a genius such as Parfit.

In this episode, Samuel Arbesman welcomes back Edward Ashton. Edward is a science fiction writer and the author of numerous novels, including Mickey7, which served as the basis for the film Mickey 17. The two last spoke about Ashton’s novel The Fourth Consort, a compelling first-contact story, and he now returns to discuss his new book, After the Fall.

After the Fall is a delightful and thought-provoking novel set on a post-apocalyptic Earth where an alien civilization has settled on the planet and domesticated humans. Despite the premise, the book is surprisingly fun and funny, featuring a goofy alien who owns the story’s main human character. Ashton’s publisher sent Arbesman an advance copy, which he quickly devoured, eager to dig deeper into the novel’s ideas with its author.

Their conversation explores the origins of After the Fall, the concept of domestication and how we think—or perhaps should think—about it, and a distinctive feature of the alien species known as the Grays called “absenting,” along with its parallels in bull elephants. They also touch on the deliberately ambiguous future history of the book and venture into larger themes, including human mediocrity, the Great Filter, and humanity’s own self-destructive possibilities.

In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Lori Emerson, a professor of Media Studies at University of Colorado Boulder and the founding director of the Media Archaeology Lab, where Arbesman serves as an advisor. Emerson’s work sits at the crossroads of media, technology, and history—a perspective embodied by the Lab’s hands-on approach to preserving older technologies and keeping them alive through use, not just observation.The conversation also explores Emerson’s recent book, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, which treats the idea of the “network” as something far older and stranger than the modern internet. Drawing on examples ranging from pagers and flag signaling to pneumatic tubes—and even the memex envisioned by Vannevar Bush—the book radically expands how we think about connectivity across technological history.Together, Arbesman and Emerson discuss how she approaches her research, the practice of media archaeology, and how engaging directly with obsolete or forgotten technologies can stretch our collective imagination about what technology has been—and what it might yet become. Their conversation ranges from the deep logic of networks to Emerson’s enthusiasm for radio, and the vital role artists play in pushing new technologies into unexpected territory.

In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Brendan Schlagel, a builder obsessed with learning and community, and the cofounder of Hyperlink and Leaflet—projects devoted to helping people learn together and share knowledge in public.

Samuel and Brendan trace the history of Hyperlink and the learning communities it sparked, and how that work ultimately led to Leaflet: a tool designed to make publishing and sharing online feel effortless again. Along the way, they explore learning and education, the strange power of lists, personal canons, antilibraries, practical advice for connection (online and off), and even why a two-person book club can be unexpectedly transformative.