We got a fun one as we chat about a contemptuous profile of the fringe futurists, biohacker kooks, wealthy technocratics, and wannabe philosopher kings who have combined their vast resources and grand dreams to pursue a single mission: immortality.
••• How to Live Forever and Get Rich Doing It https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/11/how-to-live-forever-and-get-rich-doing-it
Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)
Let's be honest, oh mortals: history proves time and time again that one civilization's angels may become another civilization's demons. In Chapter Two of this three-part series on the Anunnaki, "Ben," Matt, and Noel explore the cultural and spiritual evolution of mysterious entities blamed for everything from the original discovery of fire to the provenance of original sin.
Aquinnah Wampanoag journalist Joseph Lee investigates the difficult subject of Indigenous identity in his new book, “Nothing More Of This Land“. He uses his own family’s story as a jumping off point, exploring the reality of the people who once greeted the Mayflower. The original Wampanoag homeland includes Martha’s Vineyard, the haven for wealthy elites that has become so expensive that at least three quarters of tribal members can no longer afford to live there. Lee branches out from there to find parallels among the Native people and places he’s covered — from Alaska to the halls of the United Nations. We’ll talk with Lee about his new book, journalism, and what it means to be Native in modern America.
YOU’RE NOT READY. But it’s time. Otters. Sea otters. River otters. Big beefy otters. Tiny otters. Giant river otters. Otters chasing you down the street. Dr. Chris J. Law, a professional Lutrinologist, shares tales about coastal vs. inland otters, otter terrorism, magical teeth, lustrous fur, rock pockets, kelp naps, otter terrorism, cautionary motherhood, toxic relationships, hand holding and why otters make you trust them, despite the fact that you should perhaps not trust an otter.
What did you think of John D Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, Sam Walton and Hetty Green?
These five titans of American industry include an oil tycoon, a motor magnate, an eccentric aviator, the founder of Walmart, and an unsung pioneer of value investment known as the ‘Witch of Wall Street’. They helped shape business in the United States, but were they good, bad, or just billionaires?
In Good Bad Dead Billionaire, BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng share their stories. Now we bring your verdicts in messages from across the world, including from Zambia, Ireland, Nigeria, Germany, the UK and Australia.
Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that explores the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. There are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. From iconic celebrities and CEOs to titans of technology, the podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility.
To contact the team, email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or send a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176. Find out more about the show and read our privacy notice at www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire.
As anyone who's worked in a kitchen or the hospitality industry can readily attest, there's an entirely different world behind the doors of every kitchen, a world that most diners and restaurant patrons never see. Join the guys as they sit down with world famous chefs Hugh Acheson and Richard Blais to learn more about what really happens behind the scenes in restaurants and cooking shows, as well as how the industry has been been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Santa Ana Pueblo is celebrating the return of a clay bowl that was stolen in 1984, but it’s only one out of nearly 150 irreplaceable items taken during a series of burglaries and never recovered. Investigators believe the items were eventually sold to collectors around the world and authorities never tracked them down. We’ll check in on the tribe’s renewed efforts to find and bring the items back home.
We’ll also get updates on other repatriation efforts, including tribes and lawmakers putting renewed pressure on the University of California over its failure to return remains and artifacts required by law.
GUESTS
Shannon O’Loughlin (Choctaw), chief executive and attorney of the Association on American Indian Affairs
Jack Potter Jr. (Redding Rancheria), chairman of the Redding Rancheria
Myron Armijo (Santa Ana Pueblo), Santa Ana Pueblo governor
Monica Murrell, tribal historic preservation officer and director of the Santa Ana Historic Preservation Department
Listener Erica commented: "Perhaps an idea for a bonus ep of Four Letter Word season would be one on two-letter words: there’s an established list that Scrabble nerds end up memorizing, and it’s full of weirdness." In fact, there are TWO established lists, NASPA, the North American Scrabble Players Association, which has currently 107 two-letter words, and Collins Scrabble Words, formerly known as SOWPODS, used by the rest of the world and contains at present 127 two-letter words.
And this episode, we're going to hear all those two-letter words. If you don't agree with their Scrabbular validity, don't blame me! Some of the inclusions were a surprise!
Visit theallusionist.org/two for more information about today's two-letter words, plus a transcript of the episode.
Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes info about every episode, livestreams where I read from my ever-growing collection of dictionaries, and the charming and nurturing Allusioverse Discord community, where we're watching the current season of Great British Sewing Bee and soon the new season of Great British Bake Off.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, on the unceded ancestral and traditional territory of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. The music is by Martin Austwick; download his songs at palebirdmusic.com and on Bandcamp, and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.
Find the Allusionist at youtube.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, @allusionistshow.bsky.social… If I’m there, I’m there as @allusionistshow.
Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk compellingly about your product, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:
• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online forever home. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.
Dana El Kurd outlines what is happening in higher education, how and why the Trump administration is attacking universities, and the role Palestine plays in all of this.
