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An idea from Steven Pinker reshapes how we read online upheaval: cancel culture is predictable because common knowledge guides collective punishment. Pinker argues Malcolm Gladwell’s cancellation was mathematically inevitable, rooted in a social media shaming mob. Common knowledge means I know something, you know it, I know that you know it, and so on. When a dissenting voice finally speaks, the room often echoes in agreement, illustrating a powerful coordination force that underpins civilization itself. Pinker's core distinction is between common knowledge and private or expert knowledge. The book stresses the difference between everyone knowing something and everyone knowing that everyone knows it. It introduces the idea of a shibileth or shibth, insider knowledge outsiders don’t share. When common knowledge falters—through disinformation or AI hallucinations—the foundations of cooperation wobble. Conspiracy theories and woo rise where communities lack a shared epistemic ground, and academia sometimes fears ideas that challenge established norms. Throughout the dialogue, censorship is framed as a tool to prevent common knowledge. Dictatorships and the Catholic Church suppressed demonstrations and the teaching that might unite believers. The Galileo episode shows that censorship targets not just speech but the spread of widely known ideas: Sidereus Nuncius was allowed, Dialogo was forbidden because it could coordinate dissent. Common knowledge thus becomes a weapon, while its suppression preserves power. Two pillars emerge: the Agree to Disagree theorem by Robert Aumann and the signaling logic in charity. If two rational agents share priors and their posteriors are common knowledge, they must converge; disagreement is unlikely with full information. In markets, prices reflect information because of common knowledge. In charity, publicly given gifts can signal virtue, while anonymous giving signals deeper altruism. The ladder of righteousness—from visible generosity to double-blind giving—shows how layers of mutual knowledge shape social rewards. An overarching thread ties to artificial intelligence. Large language models draw on vast text, computing patterns rather than grounding propositions in real-world knowledge. Pinker warns that hallucinations come from training data lacking a reliable knowledge base, producing a polluted form of common knowledge. The discussion also covers free will, determinism, and moral responsibility: even when brains operate under physical laws, people act as if they have free will to sustain social order, a tension that mirrors the puzzles of coordination in the book.

The "Into the Impossible" podcast features a conversation between host Brian Keating and guest Peter Bogosian, a professor at Portland State University. They discuss the challenges of engaging in difficult conversations about sensitive topics while maintaining clarity and respect. Bogosian emphasizes the importance of understanding differing perspectives and the need for evidence in discussions, drawing parallels to Galileo's struggles with the Catholic Church over heliocentrism. They role-play a scenario where Bogosian takes on the role of Galileo, debating the motion of the Earth. They explore the criteria for evidence and belief revision, highlighting the complexities of changing one's worldview based on new information. The discussion touches on the Dunning-Kruger effect, the nature of scientific evidence, and the historical context of scientific discovery. The conversation shifts to contemporary issues in academia, including systemic racism and the meritocracy of science. They reflect on the evolution of scientific discourse and the importance of fostering genuine dialogue over adversarial debates. Bogosian argues for the necessity of compassion and curiosity in conversations, advocating for a "be like water" philosophy that encourages adaptability and understanding. They also address the role of religion and morality in shaping beliefs, with Bogosian asserting that moral questions often masquerade as epistemological ones. The podcast concludes with a call for radical honesty and the courage to speak truthfully, emphasizing that genuine relationships and the willingness to revise beliefs are essential for a fulfilling life. The episode ends with a transition to audience questions on Clubhouse, inviting further exploration of these themes.

Jesse argues that a fixation on UFOs can be maladaptive for most people, noting that subsistence needs on Maslow’s lower tiers must be addressed before people worry about humanity’s place in the cosmos. The conversation outlines a shifting avatar of the UFO landscape: five to ten years ago researchers gathered at desert conferences; today the community is indoors and increasingly populated by high‑profile figures from Tulsi Gabbard to Eric Weinstein, and by whistleblowers like David Grush. They discuss terminology, preferring UFO for clarity, while acknowledging that UAP entered public discourse through government reports and sensational media coverage of pilots’ sightings and declassified material. On the evidence front, they recount the Nimitz carrier strike group and the famous tic‑tac encounter, including the gimbal and go fast videos, and Commander Fravor’s account. Leslie Kaine’s 2017 New York Times article brought the case into broader attention, and David Grush’s testimony to the IC inspector general in 2022 added new credibility to whistleblower narratives. There are databases with hundreds of thousands of sightings, notably the National UFO Reporting Center, and credible testimony from military and nuclear‑security personnel. Proponents point to material traces, such as isotopic readings from researchers like Gary Nolan, and use probabilistic reasoning to frame the phenomenon as real while remaining open about unresolved questions. In the nuclear arena, they highlight case studies illustrating possible interference. In 1964, Bob Jacobs, an Air Force photo‑instrumentation supervisor at Vandenberg, watched as a UFO allegedly wrapped a laser around a dummy warhead and the craft caused its deactivation, while two men in gray jackets ordered him to sign an NDA. In 1967, Echolight and later Malmstrom saw missiles go down while observers reported UFOs overhead. The 2010 FE Warren outage, described by eyewitnesses as tic‑tacs, prompted back‑channel reporting that Obama was briefed. The pattern, they argue, points to a potential nuclear‑grid vulnerability or monitoring, with the DOE and DOE secretive compartments. Turning to physics and propulsion, the discussion lingers on Towns and Brown, a mid‑century figure whose electrohydrodynamic experiments allegedly yielded thrust from a capacitor in a vacuum, interpreted by some as gravity manipulation. They connect this to work linked to the B2 stealth program and to claims that replication remains difficult, hindered by cost and risk. Skeptics invoke ionized air, while proponents note replication in vacuum would rule that out. The conversation also touches quantum sensing and the idea that future propulsion might require physics beyond Newton’s laws. Against this, AI governance and centralized control surface as counterpoints, provoking caution about humanity’s direction. Throughout, the speakers advocate epistemic humility and an ‘Oxford manner’—playful evaluation of ideas without dogmatic dismissal. They contrast renegade theorists with the priestly citadel of consensus, arguing that anomalies often herald scientific revolutions, even if most bold proposals fail. They discuss the risk of dogmatic skepticism and the need to test bold hypotheses while remaining appropriately cautious about claims. The dialogue ends with self‑consciously practical advice: nurture curiosity, test ideas, and keep perceptions open, even as you protect against wishful thinking. The goal, they say, is progress tempered by humility.

In recent years, skepticism about science has increased, prompting discussions about the trustworthiness of scientific conclusions based on incomplete data. Brian Keating engages with philosophers Anastasia Bendebury and Michael Shilo DeLay, hosts of the Demystified Science podcast, to explore these themes. They discuss the importance of believing in the scientific process rather than specific theories, emphasizing that scientific knowledge is provisional and subject to change. The conversation touches on the challenges scientists face in maintaining epistemic humility amidst personal biases and competitive environments. They highlight ongoing debates in cosmology, particularly regarding the Big Bang theory and the Hubble tension, where different methods yield conflicting estimates of the universe's age. The guests argue that scientific progress often involves paradigm shifts, driven by collective efforts rather than individual genius. They also note that while scientific theories evolve, they must be grounded in evidence and remain open to scrutiny. The discussion underscores the dynamic nature of science, where new discoveries can challenge established beliefs, reflecting the complex interplay between evidence, theory, and cultural influences.