How is it we've convinced ourselves sometimes that we like things that we don't really like?

This week, Jess and Joey talk about the big light, the beach, group vacations, going to the movies, nature bathing, and bad drinks. They don’t talk about Mr. Nice Guy.

references

• Rest easy, Brian Wilson
• Lord have mercy

What new rules should we have?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Irish Goodbye, music at the beach, phones on the train, zipper merging, gift obligations, and desire paths. They don’t talk about Dua Lipa or New Rochelle.

references

• Zipper Merging

How do y'all protect your sense of possibility?

This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about optimism, imagination, resilience, cultural technology, escape rooms, and rules. They don’t talk about the endless persistence of existential dread.

references

• A Thousand Miles to the Pink Pony Club
• Traitors
• Dinosaur Island
• Parkitect
• Monument Valley
• Royal Kingdom
• Hollow Night
• Thank Goodness You're Here
• Age of Empires II

What are the important analog activities in an increasingly digital world?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about luddites, handwriting, typewriting, mashing tomatoes, kinetic learning, and carbon dioxide. They don’t talk about Folkways Records.

references

• Taki Taki
• Luddites
• Study: Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom
• Rick Barry

In April, SYLVAIN released an open letter of resistance in response to the chaos of the moment we're in. This is a live reading of that letter, and a reminder that resistance is ongoing.

Too many in our industry have been quiet in the face of injustice and uncertainty. Too many important conversations have been relegated to back channels. So we put pen to paper, naming simple truths that have guided our company and actions for 15 years—and will continue to guide us.

Have a listen or read the open letter at impact.sylvain.co

What universal truths do you believe in?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about database shapes, LLMs, collective human intelligence, apple eating, folk wisdom, and Pi. They don’t talk about apple pie, though.

references

• West End Girls
• Ethan Mollic on the "universal geometry" of meaning
• The Platonic Representation Hypothesis
• Doctor Dillamond’s Classroom
• Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language
• Study: Association Between Apple Consumption and Physician Visits
• Honeycrisp apples

How do you feel about no-phone zones?

This week, Joey and Aaron talk about AI, parenting, over-responsibility, constant access, bluetooth speakers, and biking while texting. They don’t talk about Nowadays.

references

• Rabbit r1 AI agent
• The Humane AI Pin
• The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
• The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards
• The Bobiverse
• The Traitors
• Quad Press Release: "81% of Gen Z report wishing it was easier to disconnect from digital devices"

Do we need to create more with friends?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about consuming, the value cycle, parallel play, time horizons, water-based cooking, and Ciabatta. They don’t talk about Real Genius.

references

• Superstar
• "My grand theory of life is to just hammer the shit out of quadrant 4"