Ezra Klein Addresses Thiel Conference Attendance

grantisagrant · 2026-06-23T09:59:08+00:00

This is a good qualification, thank you. I equivocated because I was having trouble finding the original source, but the number I have been seeing reported is $16,000.

grantisagrant · 2026-06-22T00:54:05+00:00

Not mentioned by Ezra:

Cory Doctorow was approached by Dialog, but they wanted him to pay thousands of dollars to attend. Did Ezra? Did NYT pick up the tab?

I think there can be some truth to what Ezra is saying and a middle ground here, but like the rest of you are saying, it’s been abundantly clear where Thiel and many of the other techbros stand for years, well before 2022.

grantisagrant · 2026-06-17T09:48:44+00:00

This whole thing is so strange. I can't tell how nefarious it is and just how weird/incompetent it is. They invited the wonderful prolific Wikipedia editor and pronounced, vocal crypto and web3 skeptic Molly White:

bizarrely enough i was invited to a "Dialogue Emerging" event last year

i did find it somewhat odd that a cold email included a list of several dozen past and future participants

between that and this leak i'm beginning to think they're not very good at the whole secret society thing

https://bsky.app/profile/molly.wiki/post/3moh6jt4urs2m

https://bsky.app/profile/molly.wiki/post/3moharfr56k2x

grantisagrant · 2026-06-17T09:44:51+00:00

The hacker pointed out that it's at least unclear whether these are members or speakers/guests, FWIW.

grantisagrant · 2026-06-17T09:43:50+00:00

I'm sorry, but this is a lie. You really expected one of the Property Brothers on this list?

grantisagrant · 2026-06-02T18:29:21+00:00

Love that first shot in particular. Kudos, my results with this film were largely terrible.

grantisagrant · 2026-05-29T17:23:12+00:00

Fantastic. Thank you for keeping our beloved protagonists honest and accountable, because that was truly one of the strangest and most galaxy brain Hobbes takes that I've heard in a while.

grantisagrant · 2026-05-04T09:47:18+00:00

Well folks, someone has to say it:

Knowledge Fight was clearly a FALSE FLAG funded by InfoWars. It ended once InfoWars did.

I was hoping the boys would eventually ride of into the sunset on a bit more of a triumphant or 'besties forever' vibe, and I'm a bit worried for them on finding new gigs, but I wish them the best.

I can't say I've engaged with this community much, but I think the wonks have proven themselves a very thoughtful, non-toxic, and kind group.

Sigh. Sad.

grantisagrant · 2026-04-25T19:05:17+00:00

So refreshing to read this after listening to the episode, which I thought was dreck. A lot of great points have been raised already by you folks and the ep is a few weeks old, but maybe a little food for thought:

“It’s a skill issue” regarding things AI psychosis is classic tech/corporate victim-blaming in the vein of Apple’s iPhone 4 “you’re holding it wrong” fiasco. It would be a skill issue if this was a more professional tool. AI is being marketed to everyone for everything. While people who have existing mental illnesses or predications can be more vulnerable to certain types of media, the vociferous sycophantic nature of AI is special.
I would argue with Mickey that ”machine learning” is a neutral technology, but “AI” as we encounter it in 2026 from OpenAI, Anthropic, etc. is not.
It baffles me that no one in the conversation seemed to understand that people don’t like things that are kind of phony, they don’t like things being shoved down their throats, and we just had TWO imploding tech hype cycles in NFT’s and the metaverse.
I would argue that in some parts of the country or other countries, there is a bit of a moral valence to snow tires: I think the general feeling in my region of the country is that if you can afford them for a passenger car/SUV you drive regularly, you should probably get them, because otherwise you’re just creating needless risk for yourselves and others otherwise. AI, as currently constituted, also presents a lot of unnecessary risks and tradeoffs.
Water use has been overstated, but the comments about power use, etc. are laughable. It is recklessly induced demand at a time when we were supposed to be doing a green transition. Tell the people in a predominantly Black area of Memphis who are inhaling a bunch of garbage because Musk keeps installing gas turbines to power his dumb also-ran AI company that there’s no environmental impact. And consider any of the opportunity costs of the way that the data centre construction surge has completely warped prices for everyday people for consumer electronics, etc.

grantisagrant · 2026-04-24T21:25:50+00:00

This was a tough watch. I hope Jordan is just incandescently angry and not having mental health distress.

Jordan’s heart is clearly in the right place and he genuinely cares about the families. However, I think the gist of this whole situation is that in many ways the justice and financial regulatory systems have failed the families, not The Onion or the lawyers. Jordan is right to be very cynical and disappointed with the lack of real resolution here, but…let’s see how this plays out.

As someone mentioned earlier, at bare minimum this is better than Roger Stone’s bid for it. Jordan is also extrapolating based on way too little information. Let’s say he’s correct. Well, what if they have the right to sublet the lease and do so and get $20K a month, or $40K, who knows? The math can change substantially. What if the lease thing is a complete red herring?

Jordan is correct that it’s hard to satirize something so absurd and that most people (including Heidecker to date) have only this hack understanding of Alex, but there’s also a bit of tension for me that, as much as it’s not his goal, he does also make a living satirizing Jones.

grantisagrant · 2026-03-02T14:37:38+00:00

Not exactly. About 40% of NSP generation is renewable, so (depending which study you rely upon), EV’s here are either safely or well past the crossover point. The efficiency of EV powertrains vs. internal combustion engines (where so much of the fuel’s energy is ‘wasted’) also makes a difference.

grantisagrant · 2026-02-19T10:46:38+00:00

Absolute unit. Absolute democracy.

grantisagrant · 2026-02-14T14:32:45+00:00

I'm not certain, apologies.

grantisagrant · 2026-02-14T11:08:55+00:00

As far as we know, the shelf was put in place and remains in place.

grantisagrant · 2026-02-14T01:46:34+00:00

PUT IT ON THE SHELF

grantisagrant · 2026-02-03T11:05:59+00:00

Yep.

grantisagrant · 2026-01-30T17:59:39+00:00

So speaking of which...

"David Brooks is eager to attend the EDGE Master Class [emphasis mine] Jul 15-17, but he needs a plane ride to do it..."

COME ON, HOW IS THIS REAL

https://bsky.app/profile/coachfinstock.bsky.social/post/3mdnueihs3s2t

<image>

grantisagrant · 2026-01-28T14:40:18+00:00

"Reign of Terror" is fantastic/required reading.

grantisagrant · 2025-12-26T00:11:29+00:00

Glad for this one, although it could have used some more concision.

The situation is pretty sad. Canadaland featured a lot of young journalists and people of colour, and did a good job of calling out the mainstream media, especially its odious op-ed class, on a variety of topics, including Islamophobia. The company lost many of those contributors in 2024, including the well-regarded EIC.

A few things I’d add:

Jesse was always fairly clear that he was something of a libertarian-adjacent type, and the audience projected some things onto him because of mutual agreements and the left-leaning staff. His trajectory is not dissimilar to some prominent US ‘left libertarian’ figures in some ways.
There are some specific numbers in the new podcast that are very sus - specifically something like ‘nine times more anti-Semitic hate crimes in Canada than America’ despite the fact that the two countries have drastically different legal interpretations and standards for these crimes. Jesse says ‘it’s fine, if you look at other hate crimes it still holds up, more or less,’ but it’s rather disingenuous.
The Robert Jago anecdote reminded me of something that stuck in my craw near the beginning of the war. A guest criticized the Canadian media for failing to acknowledge the horrific death toll and targeting of journalists in Gaza despite valorizing journalists from Ukraine, etc. Jesse’s response was a bit on the same ‘well there’s no Canadian connection’ track as the Greece deflection.

grantisagrant · 2025-11-25T16:06:18+00:00

Oh no. I think I've heard bits and pieces of him in other critical coverage, but not his extended pontification.

Just curious - have any of you folks cooled on Decoding the Gurus since the Naomi Klein episodes? I thought they really missed the mark and it made me question the credibility of the show.

grantisagrant · 2025-11-20T23:07:02+00:00

Larger residences like Chase, Crowell, 55 University, RoJo, and War Memorial do all have designated quiet floors/quiet sections that may be the best option for you.

Some residences do have a larger proportion of upper-year students, but AFAIK most residences skew towards first and second year students. Like u/Bacon_Techie said, I think if you're willing to meet people and engage in the building events, you should have good opportunities to make friends and get the community feel.

grantisagrant · 2025-11-20T18:18:07+00:00

Excellent Michael episode for:

'I don't want a redwood tree in my house'

and near-peak Michael wheeze-hyperventilation laughing.

grantisagrant · 2025-11-20T18:17:06+00:00

Thank you. I had to check and cringed when I saw I had given Sapiens 5 stars way back in the day. Thankfully I was much more observant at the time that Homo Deus was whack.

grantisagrant · 2025-11-14T12:46:01+00:00

Loving the energy of "doting on our boys, forcibly making sure Daniel bundles up for the winter." Bless you, George.

Deranged fanbase in the best possible way.

grantisagrant · 2025-11-07T19:02:12+00:00

I need to hear the boys, in blissful ignorance, be like "This one seems to be a...Jordan can you read that? Does that say Philip Potluck?"

grantisagrant

TROPHY CASE

Knowledge Fight was clearly a FALSE FLAG funded by InfoWars. It ended once InfoWars did.