Switchup — Leo Wyatt

Homay's demo features all three libraries from 2019's Ton Collection: 
British Drama Toolkit
eDNA Earth
Orchestral Grand Piano
Buy now for £100 / 100€ / $100: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/the-ton/

For What It's Worth — Homay Schmitz (The Ton Collection 2019)

Award-winning author Edwin Black joins us to discuss "Newgenics" and the Chinese-style "Social Credit Score" system which he believes will ultimately come to every nation on earth and which has been greatly accelerated by Covid-19. He describes how a person within such a system will become relegated to the "Algorithm Ghetto" with a "Non-Entity" or "Zombie" status. He looks at what this means for the future and what, if anything, individuals or nations can do to mitigate such a dystopian scenario.

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Show Notes
“Digital ghetto,” “cashless society” pose threats even beyond Orwell, journalist contends https://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/2018/04/15/digital-ghetto-cashless-society-pose-threats-even-beyond-orwell-jewish-journalist-contends
'Living In a Algorithm Ghetto' https://soundcloud.com/glennbeck/living-in-a-algorithm-ghetto-4
Lecture on Nazi Eugenics: Hitler's Idea for a Master Race was Born in the USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkq0SEtWPC8
Q & A on the Algorithm Ghetto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jbdF_iWL2I
The Edwin Black Show Episode 1: Nuremberg for COVID-19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BAjpMJl--I

Websites
Edwin Black https://edwinblack.com
The Edwin Black Show https://theedwinblackshow.com
Twitter https://www.twitter.com/EdwinBlackBook

About Edwin Black
Edwin Black is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling international investigative author of 200 award-winning editions in 20 languages in 190 countries, as well as scores of newspaper and magazine articles in the leading publications of the United States, Europe and Israel. With more than 1.6 million books in print, his work focuses on human rights, genocide and hate, corporate criminality and corruption, governmental misconduct, academic fraud, philanthropy abuse, oil addiction, alternative energy and historical investigation. Editors have submitted Black's work thirteen times for Pulitzer Prize nomination, and in recent years he has been the recipient of a series of top editorial awards. He has also contributed to a number of anthologies worldwide.

*Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Edwin Black: The Algorithm Ghetto, Cashless Society & Newgenics  #149

Many dream of leaving the city and all its tethers and obligations and creating a simpler, more independent life farther from the mainstream population and entirely off the grid. But how do you go from that daydream to making such a move a reality?

My guest walks us through the process today. His name is Gary Collins, he made the leap himself and now lives off the grid in Northeast Washington, and he's the author of several books on off grid living as well as simplifying your life. We begin our conversation today with why Gary decided to leave his conventional, urban, 9-5 existence to find a freer lifestyle, and how he defines being off the grid. We then get into why Gary thinks you should make the move to living off the grid in a series of steps, the first of which is to simplify your existing life in three main ways. Gary then makes the case for why living in a RV should be the next step in your journey, before discussing the process of finding land for your off grid home, and the factors to consider in picking a locale. From there we get into how those who live off the grid take care of water, sewage, power, and internet, how they construct the house itself, and what to know about the start-up costs involved. We end our conversation with a discussion of getting off the grid in a more metaphorical way by quitting social media, and why Gary thinks you should pull the plug on those platforms, even if you're an entrepreneur.

Get the show notes at aom.is/offgrid.

#622: How to Simplify Your Life and Get Off the Grid

When someone is struggling with a seemingly easy problem, someone else might say, "Come on, it's not rocket science!" The inference being that rocket science represents the pinnacle of complexity.

But my guest today argues that the study of rocket science contains some simple, overarching principles that cannot only be universally understood, but universally applied to all kinds of problems and decisions. His name is Ozan Varol, he served on the operations team for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers project, and he's the author of the book Think Like a Rocket Scientist. We begin our conversation discussing why Ozan went from studying astrophysics to going to law school, and how his scientific background has influenced his legal career. We then dig into ways that the same thought processes that enable spacecraft to travel millions of miles can also be applied to moving forward in work and life. Ozan explains how scientists deal with uncertainty and why you have to constantly question the way things are done to get better results. We end our discussion by talking about how to use thought experiments to solve problems, how to test ideas, and how to actually learn from your failures.

Get the show notes at aom.is/rocketscientist.

#623: How to Make Better Decisions by Thinking Like a Rocket Scientist

We typically don't think much about how we structure a conversation. We just sort of wing it and hope for the best. But my guest today argues that all conversations -- even the small and mundane -- can impact our ability to lead, influence, and connect, and ought to be approached with thoughtfulness and intention. 

His name is Daniel Stillman, he's a consultant, author, and podcaster, and in his book Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter, he draws on his background in design to show how we can use the principles of design thinking to improve the quality of our exchanges. Daniel and I kick off our discussion by unpacking the defaults of conversation people often fall back on. Daniel compares the structure of conversation to an operating system, and we turn to how we can improve this conversational OS, beginning with the way we invite people into a conversation with us, and why we shouldn't just ask, "Can we talk?" We then get into how we can improve the "interface" of our conversations, by recognizing the influence that space and place have on them, and choosing the right environment for a particular dialogue. We end our conversation with the options you have for responding when it's your turn to talk and how to deal with the gaffes we all make during conversations, and the feelings of regret that frequently follow.

Get the show notes at aom.is/conversationdesign.

#634: How to Design Conversations That Matter

In an age where endless streams of data, options, and information are available, it can feel like every choice -- from what TV show to watch to how to invest our money -- ought to be optimized, and yet making any choice, much less an ideal one, can seem completely overwhelming. How do we figure out what to do? Much of the time, we don't. Instead, we outsource our thinking to technology, experts, and set protocols. This, my guest today says, is where some real problems start.

His name is Dr. Vikram Mansharamani and he's a Harvard lecturer who studies future trends and risks, as well as the author of Think for Yourself: Restoring Common Sense in an Age of Experts and Artificial Intelligence. Today on the show, Vikram explains how our increasingly complex lives have led us to increasingly rely on algorithms, specialists, and checklists to make decisions, even though experts are best suited to untangling complications rather than complexities. We then discuss the issues that can therefore arise in relying on expert advice, including the siloing of information and the application of misdirected focus. Once we diagnose the problem (and how the problem can, for one thing, muddy medical diagnoses), we turn to the solution, and how we can harness the good that technology and experts can provide, without undermining our ability to still think for ourselves, by doing things like asking experts about their incentives, knowing our own goals, triangulating opinions, and crossing silos. We end our conversation with how the serendipitous discovery of perspectives that can come from flipping through a magazine and browsing a bookstore can be part of restoring self-reliant thinking in the 21st century.

Get the show notes at aom.is/thinkforyourself.

#649: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Outsourced Expertise

The kitchen of a busy restaurant can be a chaotic, frenetic environment. But the best chefs create a kind of personal eye in this storm, from which they can efficiently craft meal after meal without ever moving their feet. The system they use to do this is called mise-en-place -- a French word that means "to put in place," and signifies an entire lifestyle of readiness and engagement.

My guest today spent years interviewing over a hundred chefs and other culinary professionals about the mise-en-place philosophy and then translated it into a system that can be used outside the kitchen in a book called Everything in Its Place: The Power of Mise-En-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind. His name is Dan Charnas and we begin our conversation with how Dan, a writer, realized that mise-en-place was something that could be used by everyone, and the system's three general principles and ten tools. We then unpack some of those tools, both in how they're used by cooks in the kitchen, and how they can be applied by regular folks at home and the office. We begin with the importance of squaring your checklists with your calendar and the one organizing process Dan most recommends: something called the 30-minute "meeze." We then discuss how to arrange your physical working space for greater efficiency and the importance of working clean. From there, Dan explains what he thinks Stephen Covey's famous idea of putting first things first doesn't take into consideration, and why it's important to understand the difference between what Dan calls "process time" and "immersive time." At the end of our conversation, we discuss the tension between perfection and delivery, the way the "call and call back" communication system used in kitchens creates teamwork and respect, and the fact that the success of any organizational system rests on daily commitment.

Get the show notes at aom.is/workclean.

#652: Chefs' Secrets for Organizing Your Life

ABOUT THIS ALBUM:
“Sketches” is a fully improvised solo piano album.  Several of the songs were completely improvised during the recording process for this album and several were inspired by my “Monday Morning Improvisations” series on YouTube.  This was a very challenging album project for me and it was a lot of fun improvising and writing songs on the fly for this album.  It was also fun to relearn some of the previous improvisations and let those evolve during recording.  I hope you enjoy the music on this album as it comes from my inner well of creativity and straight from the heart.  

My “Monday Morning Improvisations” series is a collection of improvs that are recorded “first try, first take”, where I record and release an improvisation on the spot every week.  The entire collection of “Monday Morning Improvisations” can be found on the Michele McLaughlin YouTube channel.


SONG CREDITS: 
1.  At First Sight - (inspired by Improvisation #1)
2. Hope - (improvised and created during recording)
3. One Life - (inspired by Improvisation #15)
4. Waiting - (improvised and created during recording)
5. The Traveler - (improvised and created during recording)
6. Farewell Little Love - (inspired by Improvisation #75)
7. Forever Yours - (improvised and created during recording)
8. The Right Choice - (inspired by Improvisation #8)
9. The Long Night - (inspired by Improvisation #76)
10. Relief - (improvised and created during recording)
11. Home At Last - (inspired by Improvisation #68)
12. Lost - (inspired by Improvisation #28)
13. Unshakeable - (inspired by Improvisation #25)

SPECIAL THANKS:
To all my listeners and fans, friends and family, and those who personally helped with this project… thank you!  You mean everything to me.

TECHNICAL CREDITS:
All songs improvised, composed, produced and performed by Michele McLaughlin michelemclaughlin.com 
Piano & Recording:  Michele's Home Studio in Salt Lake City, UT on her Fazioli F278 9' Concert Grand
Mastering & Engineering:  Joe Bongiorno at Piano Haven Studio in Sedona, AZ pianohaven.com 
Album Design:  Matt Strieby at New Leaf Design newleafdesign.com
Manufactured at Diskmakers www.diskmakers.com
Copyright ©2020 All Rights Reserved (ASCAP)
www.michelemclaughlin.com

#622: How to Simplify Your Life and Get Off the Grid

The Art of Manliness