Mike and Job discuss conspiracy theories and the complicated and public nature of the modern digital world. They then discuss how people underestimate the progress of democracy around the world and how some ideas in evolution and economics relate to one another.

There is a pervasive and growing mood of pessimism in many parts of society. Our hosts struggle to understand and deal with it. They then tell some of their worst stories from work. The show closes with a discussion of potential university reforms to increase flexibility and practicality.

Mike and Jon follow up on their discussion on repeated processes before debating what makes some revolutions successful. They then argue over the merits of the Irish abortion referendum and direct democracy more broadly. They close with a discussion of the Netflix Documentary Wild Wild Country about the Sannyasin commune in rural Oregon.

The hosts argue about the usage democratize, capitalism, democracy, and communism and then explore the downsides of capitalism. They debate the merits of single issue voting and contrast the events of the Latin American independence revolutions and that of the United States.

Mike and Jon start out complaining about people with terrible grammar but quickly move on to an attempt to make boring things interesting and a far ranging conversation about the possibilities of terraforming Mars and Venus. They finish it all off with an examination of automation and the difference between scarcity and abundance.

Mike and Jon complain about walking etiquette before exploring how society treats the elderly and experience. They then discuss creating new things and what goes into it. They close with a conversation on giant tech firms, and why there are none in Europe.

To celebrate their twentieth episode Mike and Jon decided to try something a little different. Avoiding even the whiff of anything serious they discuss a series of peculiar questions written by the Author Chuck Klosterman. They discuss questions: 1,2,4,13,7,19, and 8 in that order with all of the awkwardness and unnecessary seriousness they bring to everything.

Mike and Jon talk about the potential use of DNA for data storage and the progression of science through the centuries. They then discuss their second quarter plans and the growing complexity of and conflicts between intellectual and tangible property rights.

Mike and Jon discuss how words for specific places or things generalize before exploring some simple strategies for improving memory retention when studying or reading books. They then break down the relationships between population decline, economic growth, and national debts, and Japan’s acute dangers with these.

Mike and Jon clarify the importance simplicity when learning science. Then they discuss playing pool and the difference between knowing about and knowing how to do something. They follow that with an exploration of potential impacts of Autonomous Vehicles and then close by talking through some of the dangers around cults of personality and the rise of strong men in politics.