314! Universal Truths
What universal truths do you believe in?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about database shapes, LLMs, collective human intelligence, apple eating, folk wisdom, and Pi. They don’t talk about apple pie, though.
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313! No-Phone Zones
How do you feel about no-phone zones?
This week, Joey and Aaron talk about AI, parenting, over-responsibility, constant access, bluetooth speakers, and biking while texting. They don’t talk about Nowadays.
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The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards
Quad Press Release: "81% of Gen Z report wishing it was easier to disconnect from digital devices"
312! Creating With Friends
Do we create more with friends?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about consuming, the value cylce, parallel play, time horizons, water-based cooking, and Ciabatta. They don’t talk about Real Genius.
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311! Bravery
How do we muster the courage?
This week, Jess and Joey talk about fear, Inside Out 2, Andor, The Mandalorian, stoking action, and antidotes. They don’t talk about booze.
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310! Stress
How do we stress professionally?
This week, Aaron, Jess, and Joey talk about Cowboy Carter, self-regulation, Frozen, tears, being "professional," and anger. They don’t talk about Organized Konfusion.
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309! Dating Optimization
How is this world optimized for dating?
This week, special guest Chloe returns to chat with Joey about high yield investment strategies, influencers, gender polarization, crushes, the butterfly effect, and Russian hackers. They don’t talk about the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14.
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308! Disavowing Your Creative Outputs
How do you approach reclaiming or disavowing your creative outputs that you don't love?
This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Smithee-ing, TV edits, résumé writing, Spike Jonze, sportsball, and the DC Universe. They don’t talk about Cordwainer Bird.
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307! Imagination Resolution
How good is hi-res for our imagination?
This week, Aaron and Jess talk about smoothing, the boundless powers of creativity, Smell-O-Phone/Vision, imagination reconstruction, gaming, and nurturing our sense of play. They don’t talk about NHL 98 on Sega Genesis.
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306! Being Seen
How do we make people feel seen?
This week, Joey, Jess, and Aaron talk about the burden of eyes, privacy, showing, acknowledging, surprise parties, and social anxieties. They don’t talk about the Talking Heads.
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305! Metabolizing Uncertainty
How are we processing uncertainty differently?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about Punxsutawney Phil, tariffs, the meme recession, Jason Bourne, Edmonton, and Sam Cooke. They don’t talk about the bleak and endless hopelessness of it all.
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Corrections Department: There's air in between you and I (even if we're not seventeen)
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
Corrections Department: The eleven studio albums Sam Cooke recorded and released before his death in 1964
304! Tools
When do we tool or not tool?
This week, Jess and Joey talk about rules aversion, AI, devil hamsters, banana slicers, tool expertise, and simplicity. They don’t talk about gaffer tape.
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303! Being Spoiled
What do you think makes us spoiled?
This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about The Lululemon Index, air travel, gender-based differences, hard work, Warren Buffett, and shrooms. They don’t offer any spoiler alerts.
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Progress Report: To Follow or Not to Follow
Bonus episode: A takeover! Aaron shares his latest edition from SYLVAIN’s Progress Report newsletter: To Follow or Not to Follow.
For more from SYLVAIN's Progress Report, see progressbysylvain.co.
302! Thought Bottling
How should we start bottling things up?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about undesired thoughts, Nietzsche, folk wisdom, Marie Kondo, baggage, and forgetting. They don’t talk about the Young "Black" Teenagers.
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301! Hibernation
When did we start calling it hibernation and when did hibernating start being a thing?
This week, Jess and Joey talk about lux, vitamin D, dopamine, socialization, Groundhog's Day, and disgust thresholds. They don’t talk about the late, great Roy Ayers.
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300! Random Nonsense Generator
This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey celebrate 300(!) episodes of Critical Nonsense by revisiting random episodes. They talked about 121! The Coming-Out Gauntlet and Thick Conversations, 75! Top 3 Things Not to Do in Quarantine, with Clarissa Pharr, 170! Weirder Inspiration, and 158! Buttresses, Tethers, and Grunts. They don’t talk about the Rota Fortunae.
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299! Corn
What are the things that we should be treating like corn that's better than corn?
This week, Jess and Aaron talk about potatoes, clothing overabundance, plastics recycling, concrete, eating fruits and veggies, and pomegranates. They don’t talk about the International Adult Conspiracy's creamed corn agenda.
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Progress Report: The State of Wellbeing
Bonus episode: A takeover! Claire Choi shares her latest edition from SYLVAIN’s Progress Report newsletter: The State of Wellbeing: Are We Unwell?
For more from SYLVAIN's Progress Report, see progressbysylvain.co.
298! Desire Paths
Where are other places where desire paths would be relevant when not talking about sidewalks?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about friction, grocery store layouts, Norman doors, incentives, breaking templates, and shopping districts. They don’t talk about sneckdowns.
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297! Sick Responsibilities
What's the best way to get sick as an adult?
This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about historically un-sick parents, hyper-individualistic cultures, COVID, community health, personal comfort vs. social responsibility, and rest. They don’t talk about Mudhoney.
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