It's rare for complex global systems to sit in stable equilibrium. The world just ain't like that. But guard this secret closely, because plenty of neoclassical economists build their models on exactly that assumption, along with that of the perfectly average consumer (who is definitely not called Mikey).

In this episode of DangerMouth: Darrell, Shana and Mikey talk with author/philosopher George Cooper, whose book Money, Blood and Revolution (now Fixing Economics) borrows Thomas Kuhn's ideas on scientific revolutions to explain why he thinks economics is still a pseudoscience.

Paradoxically the old economic theories seem to be much more stable than the real economy.

Special guest Blandine Anderson joins the trusty trio to talk around her new book The Wood & The Clay. The truth of imperfection, childhoods lost and found and presisted, day dreams, vivid dreams and accidental eyes are all revealed under a canopy of metaphorical trees.

Buy the book here: South West Makers

Fasten your seatbelts, this conversation moves through a great many concepts without pause for breath: -

• The AI Illusion & Explicit Knowledge
• Exaptation
• Estuarine Mapping & The Adjacent Possible
• Swarm Intelligence
• Redefining Leadership
• Have a listen and get Googling.

https://thecynefin.co/team/dave-snowden/

The cover illustration is taken from this book:

Some people play golf when they retire. Some people make it their business to inspire a generation. Kalyan Banerjee is firmly in the latter category.

Enjoy along with us a conversation with someone whose enthusiam and creativity has only matured with age.

Mix mythology, ecology, craftology, farmology, with a forest, a field and the sea and you are approaching the foothills of Blandines fractal mindscape. A complex weave of wonder that she manifests in a very material way.

Worth a listen, if only for the jerboa.

John Bicheno has dedicated his career to the subtle Art of Lean, nurturing a complex and nuanced philosophy that is habitually eroded when passed through the reductionist, monetizing filters that drive Western consultancy.

Under his care that seed grew from a car centric creed to encompass wider horizons.

In this episode he looks back on his legacy with a wry smile.

His legacy lives on in the 6th edition of The Lean Toolbox: A Handbook for Lean Transformation.

Bio Prof John Bicheno, Emeritus Professor

In this episode of Danger Mouth, Darrell Mann, Mike Conroy, and Shana Finnegan dive into the polarizing spectrum of AI—from the hype-fueled "snake oil" promises to the potential for total human economic redundancy.

The trio explores why AI currently excels at simple sorting but stumbles over the "Three C’s": Complexity, Counterintuition, and Causality. Using a botched train itinerary as a starting point, they discuss why the "human in the loop" remains vital for navigating systems that AI cannot yet model.

The conversation takes a deep turn into "Toxic Capitalism," examining how companies at the top of their S-curves often externalize harm to vulnerable customers to maintain growth. They argue that the future isn't about AI replacing us, but about a "bifurcation" of society: those who use AI to avoid thinking, and those who collaborate with it to solve deep systemic contradictions and usher in a new "Age of Meaning".

In this episode of Danger Mouth, hosts Darrell Mann, Mike Conroy, and Shana Finnegan sit down with Dr. Gopichand (Gopi) Katragadda, a man who might just be one of the last true polymaths on the planet. From his high-octane career as the CTO of the Tata Group and Managing Director at GE’s Jack Welch Research Center to his current ventures in AI and theater, Gopi shares a masterclass on balancing the rigor of engineering with the fluidity of the arts.