A grown man made a wager. He lost. He made another wager. He lost again. End of story.
– Tony Soprano
This is the story of weak men and rapacious men.
This is the story of Bed Bath & Beyond.
This is the story of America today.
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
City of God / City of Man
An AI in the City of God
The City of Man always wins.
The Visigoths always sack Rome. The Vandals always sack Hippo. Augustine always dies in the siege. Bad things always happen to good people … at scale.
Here’s how we use generative AI to flip the script.
Men of God in the City of Man, Part 1: Virus
This is a story about a virus and the gain-of-function research that produced it.
It’s not what you think.
Men of God in the City of Man, Part 2: Carriers
Every virus needs carriers to spread. Even a narrative virus.
We can learn a lot from what they have in common.
Men of God in the City of Man, Part 3: Memetics
In the same way that genetics governs how physical viruses reproduce within a host, memetics governs how narrative viruses reproduce within a culture.
And the memes which govern our narrative virus are powerful.
Men of God in the City of Man, Part 4: Epimemetics
Every narrative is built on memes that have evolved and adapted to human culture over centuries.
But some environments change the way that those memes are expressed. The effects can be explosive.
Men of God in the City of Man, Pt. 5: Epidemic
Men of God prophesied as early as 2007 that God would make Donald Trump the President of the United States.
Our narrative virus gave these predictions fertile ground to take root.
Men of God in the City of Man, Pt. 6: Pandemic
Surprising outcomes in reality world that seem to confirm a narrative often produce explosive growth in its scale.
But also in its scope.
Men of God in the City of Man, Pt. 7: Mutation
Narrative viruses are not immune to events in reality world – especially when we have made those narratives part of our identity.
And when a narrative becomes part of our identity, it changes what we need to be true.
Men of God in the City of Man, Part 8: Zoonosis
Physical viruses sometimes jump from one species to another.
Narrative viruses sometimes jump from one culture to another.
All it takes is the right virus and a susceptible host.
Recent Notes
Cursed Knowledge #20: Airbnb
Airbnb has reshaped how we travel and disrupted the hotel industry. But most of the stories from both guests and hosts reveal nothing but disasters. So what’s really going on? What’s the real story of Airbnb?
Breaking News #4: From Ross Perot to RFK Jr – The Evolving Narratives of Political Entrepreneurs
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the tactics and tools used by upstart political entrepreneurs. Our political system is setup to heavily favor incumbents and candidates that are part of the political establishment. This presents an exceptionally difficult challenge for candidates who come from outside of that system. But social media and technology have given upstart candidates more tools at their disposal than they have ever had in history. And they are using them to both gain our votes and influence our opinions. We discuss how they do that and how all of us can maintain clear eyes and full hearts in the midst of their influence.
Inflation in the Twenty-First Century: A Circular Flow No Longer
The flow of dollars between the US and China is no longer circular, and that has enormous implications for how the US finances its budget deficits.
New from ET contributor Kevin Coldiron!
Cursed Knowledge #19: The Snappiest Place on Earth
We live in a very safe world. And we’ve worked hard to make it safe. But sometimes we take that safety for granted. And sometimes we think that safety applies even when it really really doesn’t.
The Time I Got A High School Paper Extension In A Bar: The Fourth Turning (But Not In The Way You Think)
Wanna guess what book both Steve Bannon and Al Gore handed out to members of Congress?
ET contributor Matt Zeigler knows it was “The Fourth Turning”, and he’s got a thing or two to say about generational theory.
Inflation in the Twenty-First Century: Unintended Consequences
“My house in California sits within a short walk of the Hayward fault. Most of the time nothing happens, but occasionally we are jolted awake by an earthquake.”
New ET contributor Kevin Coldiron on the tectonic plates that are driving inflation (and its consequences) today!
Men of God in the City of Man, Part 2: Carriers
Every virus needs carriers to spread. Even a narrative virus.
We can learn a lot from what they have in common.
Breaking News #3: ESG, Vivek Ramaswamy and The Influence of Political Entrepreneurs
Political entrepreneurs are all around us. They influence what we think. They influence how we think. But we often don’t recognize it. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the world of political entrepreneurs. We explain who they are, what they do and why they do it. We also look at what we can all do to protect ourselves from their influence.
Men of God in the City of Man, Part 1: Virus
This is a story about a virus and the gain-of-function research that produced it.
It’s not what you think.
Cursed Knowledge #18: The Bone Wars
The Bone Wars. A decade long battle of ego between two dueling paleontologists. It’s a tale of obsession, sabotage, and academic backstabbing. This clash of titans brought new attention to the theory of evolution and helped make dinosaurs the cultural juggernauts we know them as now.
Freedom of Speech, Rich Men of Reach
TRIGGER WARNING:
This note will make many readers anxious and angry, because you have been told by the political entrepreneurs of your tribe that neither Oliver Anthony nor Greta Thunberg is ‘political’ at all, and that anyone who says otherwise is a bad person.
The political entrepreneurs of your tribe are lying to you.
Narrative Derangement Syndrome
Awareness of narrative is a necessary tool for the politically engaged citizen.
Up to a point.
If obliviousness to narrative is the easiest way to shut off our brains, narrative derangement syndrome is a close second. The citizen must be vigilant against both.
Breaking News #2: The Drumbeat of Inflation
The recession-is-coming narrative is dead and the inflation-is-over narrative is dominant, making the Fed’s job that much harder and making resurgent inflation that much more likely.
Now about those 10-yr Treasury yields …
Language is a Virus: Mike Pence edition
This is not a note about Mike Pence.
This is a note about language.
This is a note about how viral words of *therapy* have infected blue tribe brains and viral words of *war and conflict* have infected red tribe brains, words that change the way we see the world and speak to the world. Words that change the way we THINK.
Cursed Knowledge #17: Frances Ethel Gumm and the Wizard of Oz
Harper and Ben finally get a chance to talk about the Wizard of Oz and the not so wonderful behind the scenes production. Of course this was par for the course in the Golden Age of Hollywood as the studio star making system controlled everything. And we do mean everything.
How To Live Forever: The Future Is Shaped By The Art We Make
A beautiful note by musician/composer Scott Bradlee, of Postmodern Jukebox fame, on the permanence and power of art.
Mythology IS the song.
What will your verse be?
Breaking News #1: The Water In Which We Swim
In our kick-off episode, Ben, Matt and Jack talk about why we’re here – to break open the news reported by mainstream media to reveal the nudging language of narrative and story that drives us.
We focus on the reporting of inflation as a perfect example of what we call Fiat News.
The Economic Perception Model
Recession – like beauty – is in the eye of the beholder. Unlike beauty, though, our economic perceptions are far more likely to fall into the self-imposed traps of cynicism and nihilism.
Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai
This is the Way.
Not just for the samurai but for the trader.
Cursed Knowledge #16: Women in Refrigerators
A revamped Cursed Knowledge is back! In this brand new episode, Ben joins Harper in the studio to talk about the all too common trope of killing off female characters to motivate male characters. Trust me, you’ve seen it. It’s everywhere and can tell us a lot about how hard it is to capture and maintain an audiences attention.