Outside The System

Hosted by Neil Soni

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Jul 2024

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About the show

It's easy to doom scroll on social media and complain about corrupt institutions, broken systems, and incompetent leaders. But this show isn't for complainers. Outside The System is an exploration of ideas, technologies, and people that are building alternatives to traditional systems. The podcast explores media, money (crypto/web3), music, culture, and much more.

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30 recent

February 1, 20231 hr 28 min

16: Building a Cooking Club On Twitter, Creator-Led Brands, and Good Home Cooking With Myles Snider of Mother Tongue Cooking Club

In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with Myles Snider, founder of the Mother Tongue Cooking Club. Myles is one of my favorite follows on Twitter, mostly because I love eating and he shares a lot of pictures of amazing meals. During our conversation, Myles shared a masterclass on creator-led brands, the food industry, becoming a better cook, great ingredients, and so much more. You don't want to miss this episode! Timestamps (03:25) How Myles got into the professional cooking world and how that led to what he's doing now (13:44) Mother Tongue Cooking Club and what Myles is building now (17:00) The compounding effects of doing something you enjoy (18:20) Creator content vs brand content (20:37) Starting a brand from scratch or partnering with someone with an audience (21:37) Starting a spice company and what led to its failure (24:36) Building on Substack vs Ghost and the advantage of using a less customizable platform (33:58) The difficulty of physical products vs digital products (40:30) For those interested in cooking, pick 3-4 meals that you want to get really good at and can eat a lot of (1:04:06) How to eat high-quality meat for health, sustainability, and budget reasons by using alternative cuts (1:11:10) Myles' thoughts and advice on salt, the most important ingredient in cooking (1:15:38) Myles' thoughts on cooking fats, what he uses, and differences between various fats (1:23:27) Some resources and ideas on fermentation and brewing Resources and Links Myles' Twitter account Mother Tongue Cooking Club (Myles' Substack) Masienda Masa Seed-oil Free Tortilla Chips Tacos Ruben's in Mexico City (as seen on Netflix's Taco Chronicles) Sonora Flour Anti-bacterial properties of wooden cutting boards Athena Skillets Cantillon Brewery Venezuelan Beef Liver and Onions recipe Darina Allen Hank Shaw's Nose to Tail Recipes Redmond Real Salt Beef Tallow (Epic Provisions) Olive oil podcast episode on Mitolife with Tony Kasandrinos Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen Harrod Buhner Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz Related episode: Calley Means of True Medicine How You Can Support The Show You can support Outside the System and thousands of other podcasts using Fountain or any other value-for-value enabled podcast player. If you found value from this episode, consider boosting the podcast or streaming sats as you listen. Another great way to support the show is to leave a review on Spotify and iTunes. If you have questions or thoughts about the episode, you can message me on Twitter.

November 10, 20221 hr 19 min

11: Bringing Back the World's Fair and Inspiring Millions Along the Way with Cam Wiese

In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with Cam Wiese, a dreamer with a grand and ambitious vision - to bring back the World's Fair. The original World's Fair was an exhibition for companies and nations to come together to showcase their inventions and grand vision for the future. Cam believes that re-creating this event and telling better stories about the positive power of technology will get us out of our collective dystopian technology vision. While your initial reaction may be skepticism (mine certainly was), Cam makes a great case for how bringing back the World's Fair will inspire millions to dream, build, and ultimately create a better future. I left the conversation with a sense of wonder about technology and the future - something I hadn't felt in awhile. During the episode, we got into: The purpose the original World's Fair served How the stories we tell create the future we build How science fiction helps expand the realm of possibility Why Walt Disney deserves credit for the moon landing How technology can be utopian, dystopian, or somewhere in between - depending on how it's used What the new World's Fair will showcase How you can get involved and help build the new World's Fair Notes and Links World's Fair Co website World's Fair Co Twitter Cam's Twitter Top US grocery chains by share of dollars spent Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Isaac Asimov World's Fair posters You can support Outside the System and thousands of other podcasts using Fountain or any other value-for-value enabled podcast player. If you found value from this episode, consider boosting the podcast or streaming me sats. Another great way to support the show is to leave a review on Spotify and iTunes. If you have questions or thoughts about the episode, you can message me on Twitter.

March 12, 20241 hr 6 min

27: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons with Kris Newby

In this episode, I spoke with Kris Newby, the author of Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons. You may be skeptical about the premise of this book but I promise there is a lot more here than a baseless conspiracy theory. Kris has top tier technical credentials and spent a large chunk of her career at Stanford. Much of her book is based on primary research, which involved Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and interviews with individuals directly involved in the biological weapons program. Most importantly, her work shows that the tragedy of Lyme disease in our medical system isn't some movie-like conspiracy but instead, mostly made up of good people operating under bad incentives. I've linked to a lot of material in the show notes so check those out if you're inclined to dig deeper. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps (2:25) How Kris and her family were personally affected by Lyme Disease (8:30) Overview of Lyme Disease (10:30) Willy Burgdorfer and his connection with Lyme Disease (17:26) How the US bug-borne weapons program came about and what they worked on (25:00) The misaligned incentives in government funding that create opportunity for self-inflicted harmful experiments (32:00) The strange circumstances surrounding "The Swiss Agent" (36:58) How a change in patent law complicated the treatment of Lyme Disease (39:05) Lyme Disease as the prequel to COVID-19 (41:05) Science, especially in Lyme Disease, is a small club that doesn't encourage thinking outside of the established paradigm. Similarities to Alzheimer's Disease research. (45:54) How the incentive structure of the medical-industrial complex discourages simple treatments. Similarities to COVID-19 vaccination incentive vs possible treatments. (49:44) The incentive structure that encourages the denial of chronic disease and even penalizes physicians who come up with effective treatments using cheap antibiotics (52:04) The suppression of Bitten by NIH and other influential groups Links and Resources The Bitten Files - Substack Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons Project 112 - Wiki Plum Island Willy Burgdorfer The Swiss Agent Lyme Disease Cabal Primary Research Document Cloud (Part 1) Lyme Disease Cabal Primary Research Document Cloud (Part 2) Under Our Skin (documentary) Kris Newby website Cat Scratch Disease article Lead Poisoning article Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic by Pam Weintraub

November 10, 20231 hr 14 min

26: The Anthology of Balaji: Technology, Truth, Regulation, and More with Eric Jorgenson

In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with Eric Jorgenson, an author and investor, whose latest book is The Anthology of Balaji, a collection of wisdom, ideas, and quotes from technologist Balaji Srinivasan. Balaji is an electrical and chemical engineer, investor (Andreesen Horowitz), and successful entrepreneur, notably in both biotech (Counsyl) and cryptocurrency (Earn.com), which led to him becoming Coinbase's first CTO (post-Earn.com acquisition). The Anthology of Balaji packs a huge punch on a wisdom per word basis and is well worth your time. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps (3:00) Our shared love for Where Is My Flying Car and how it has influenced Balaji's philosophy (4:55) The differences and similarites between The Anthology of Balaji and The Almanck of Naval Ravikant. How the books feel like being at a long dinner with Balaji (or Naval) and you're both at your best and are able to get deep but succinct answers to all the questions you've had for them (7:45) The moral importance of technology and the benefits that come from it (12:03) When Balaji is wrong, it's because he over-extrapolated instead of under-extrapolated (21:08) Tracing the path of technological innovations and how they get adopted (26:07) Self-measurement devices leading to personalized supplements and nutrition (30:05) Bro science vs medical science (41:30) The moral case for innovation. One example: saving people time extends their lifespan (43:00) The media is incentivized for doom and gloom, so they make technology sound more dystopian and risky instead of a way to literally extend your life and make you powerful (49:20) Decentralized media (social media) leads to different problems than centralized media (49:53) How the FDA has lost the plot, and instead of curing diseases, its goal now seems to be to perpetuate itself. If you were designing the FDA from scratch today, it would probably look very different (53:20) The beauty of the American governmental system and how federalism allows experimentation (56:30) Discussion on Balaji's book The Network State (1:00:53) Eric's pitch for making the United States a frontier nation again (1:02:30) How writing this book influenced Eric personally and professionally (1:11:42) Getting Eric's podcast Smart Friends on podcasting 2.0 to enable value-for-value Links & Resources: Eric's website Smart Friends, Eric's podcast Balaji Srinivasan's biography The Anthology of Balaji by Eric Jorgenson Where Is My Flying Car by J. Storrs Hall TFTC Podcast - The Fiat Crisis with Balaji Nik Bhatia's Outside The System episode about Layered Money Aleks Svetski's Outside The System episode about the Three Generation Theory of Bitcoin Elo Health - smart protein and supplements The Systems Bible The Network State: How To Start A New Country by Balaji Srinivasan

August 7, 202359 min

24: What Your Food Ate with David Montgomery and Anne Biklé

In this episode, I spoke with David Montgomery and Anne Biklé, the authors of What Your Food Ate: How to Heal the Land and Reclaim our Health. I don't mean this lightly - What Your Food Ate is the most impactful book I've read in a long time. The central premise is that the quality of your food is determined by what your food is eating. Plants get their nutrients from the sun, water, and soil. Animals get their nutrients primarily from the plants they're eating. Simple enough. But understanding this simple concept has completely changed how I think about things like organic produce, high quality meat, and so much more. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and send a boost on Fountain! And make sure to buy the book! You can find a link in the show notes - if you buy through that link, it helps support the show. Timestamps (2:35) David Montgomery and Ann Biklé, discuss their book "What Your Food Ate" and explore how soil quality and the diet of our food sources impact the nutritional value of our meals. (4:30) Discover how different farming practices and the quality of soil directly influence the taste and nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. (12:03) Delve into the concept of nutrient density and how a lack of information can mislead consumers about the true nutritional value of their food. (18:30) Learn about the critical role soil health plays in providing more nutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals in our food. (24:14) - We explore the concept of legibility and its implications for food and agriculture, highlighting the need for a balance between nutritional information and simplifying food choices. (30:00) - Understand the difference between nutrient deprivation and consuming fewer calories while maintaining essential nutrient intake, using the example of the English diet during wartime. (37:02) - Dive into the topic of diet, biodiversity, health, and farming, exploring the findings of a Japanese study about the benefits of eating green and yellow vegetables. (41:52) - Learn about the increasing popularity of regenerative agriculture and the potential for it to become the standard of conventional farming. (47:00) - Discover the environmental and economic benefits of regenerative agriculture, as well as the role of consumer demand in driving its adoption. (49:58) - Understand the importance of knowing the source of your food and the potential pitfalls of the food industry cutting corners. (54:30) - Learn about the biological wisdom of herbivorous animals and how modern farming practices impair their ability to self-medicate and balance their nutrition. (58:30) - We wrap up the episode by highlighting the importance of soil fertility and agricultural reform in influencing the quality and nutrition of our food. Links & Resources What Your Food Ate book Dig 2 Grow (David and Anne's website) Gabe Brown on Outside The System Calley Means on Outside The System Kettle & Fire Justin Mares

May 25, 20231 hr 0 min

23: Value for Value Music with Joe Martin

In this episode, I spoke with Joe Martin, a musician from the UK who is pioneeering how artists can leverage value-for-value and Bitcoin to connect directly with fans and take power back from record labels and platforms like Spotify. Joe gets into the details of how value-for-value has worked for him, where the pain points are, what the response has been from fans, and a lot more. At one point, Joe compares being a value-for-value artist to being a street performer, which stuck in my head since this podcast is also supported by value-for-value on podcasting 2.0 apps like Fountain. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps (0:53) Joe's background and how he got into music as well as value-for-value (8:05) How the standard artist business model works today (10:27) What does a record label bring to an artist? (14:47) Why Joe believes we're at the start of a shift that will favor independent artists (17:04) How streaming economics work for an independent artist and why it's usually a "loss leader" to get people to come to shows and buy merch (20:50) The similarities between being an author and an artist. Cost effectiveness of printing books and printing t-shirts (24:30) How Joe thinks about value-for-value, both in general and for himself as an artist (28:55) Why nothing in life is free - you pay one way or the other (31:47) Why people are already fine paying for a physical product like an album but there's a mental gap when buying a digital version of the same music (33:17) How Bitcoin relates to value-for-value and makes it possible (38:30) Joe's experience with value-for-value and how it has affected his career so far. How he made more in 7 days than he made in 7 years from streaming (50:15) The psychology behind getting people into value-for-value music (52:00) Incentivizing listeners to take actions like making clips or sharing music using value-for-value (53:05) The best resources for a creator to get started with value-for-value Links and Resources Joe's Twitter Joe's website Joe's introduction to value-for-value Kevin Rooke interviewing Joe Martin Joe's new album Empty Passenger Seat Joe's tour dates Wavlake, a value-for-value music platform Outside The System episode with Lyrah, another independent musician experimenting with new business models

April 3, 202349 min

20: The Unconventional Real Estate Entrepreneur with Shiloe Bear of Creek Development

In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with Shiloe Bear, Founder of Creek Development. Her firm specializes in developing science-related properties and she took a really unconventional path into real estate. She's done build outs for companies like Y Combinator, Lyft, Blue Bottle, and many others. Lots of inspiration here for anyone looking to learn about real estate and alternative paths. Her philosophy for her company and the broader community is also fascinating and worth learning from. This was Shiloe's first podcast and as you'll hear, she's a great communicator so I'm sure it won't be her last! I came across Shiloe through JP Willett (Episode 15) who shared Shiloe's talk at Re-Convene 2022 with me. Highly recommend watching it after listening to this episode. Timestamps (2:23) Shiloe introduces her commercial design and construction company Creek Development. Currently trying to transition from just management to also owning the projects. Their focus on science-related buildouts. (5:25) How Shiloe arrived at her science buildout niche and how her technical education background played into that. (7:51) Shiloe's scrappy start in real estate by being a resident-manager at her apartment building in the Bay Area and then buying a multi-family in Oklahoma, where she is originally from. (10:31) Price anchoring. Shiloe shares how the term "expensive" is relative and that prices she thought were absurd in 2010 were actually steals in hindsight. (13:28) Why buying the worst house in a nice neighborhood is the fastest way to be hated. (15:18) How Shiloe transitioned from managing residential real estate to her current business. (20:13) Creek Dev started doing small land flips in 2020 buying small properties, entitling it, and re-selling it with entitlements. (21:40) Shiloe's 6 month journey in 2022 trying to raise $4 million to buy and convert a property but the deal ultimately didn't go through. How it felt to put everything you have into something and have it ultimately not work. (26:18) Why someone would choose NOT to invest. Ultimately ties back to a potential investor not understanding the opportunity and specifics in the life sciences space. (31:07) What Shiloe's company does for the community - projects for community good and the people she chooses to employ. How this contrasts with the traditional way the real estate industry operates. How Shiloe benefited from community programs all her life and is trying to give back. (35:28) How Shiloe has constructed her team to include a lot of people who wouldn't typically work in real estate because they don't have the "right" background from a traditional perspective. These same people can get access to better opportunities after working with Creek Development. (39:35) Why not looking like the "traditional" real estate CEO can both help and hurt. Nassim Taleb's concept of "surgeons should not look like surgeons" (link below). "People like helping people who remind them of their younger selves" (44:08) What someone who is not from a traditional real estate background but wants to get into the industry should be doing. Why the on-site manager path is a great starting point. How real estate Twitter can be super helpful in learning and meeting people. Resources and Links Shiloe's company - Creek Development Shiloe's Twitter account Re-convene 2022: Shiloe Bear in conversation with Moses Kagan Surgeons Should Not Look Like Surgeons - Nassim Taleb Episode 15 of Outside The System with JP Willett

January 19, 202356 min

15: Turning $20,000 of Poker Winnings Into a 44 Unit Retail Chain with John-Paul Willett of Red Star Vapor

In this episode of Outside The System, I spoke with John-Paul Willett, the founder of Red Star Vapor. JP first caught my attention in a Twitter thread where he shared how he got the initial funding for his business through winning $20,000 playing poker. Since then, I've gotten to learn more about his entrepreneurial journey and wanted to share it with you. It really illustrates that there are many ways to build businesses. Timestamps (1:34) Introduction to JP's background (2:15) How JP originally got interested in the vape industry (7:25) JP's original vape liquid business and what led to his pivot to retail (10:10) How JP got started with his vape liquid business (13:02) How the retail business got started (14:18) Scaling retail vs software businesses (17:52) The $20,000 poker story (29:55) 3 Questions About Red Star Vapor's growth (34:47) Hustling offline to sell physical products, similarities between JP's story and Estee Lauder (36:55) Vapes as a risk reduction tool for smokers (37:42) The employee-built playbook for scaling and growing Red Star Vapor (47:50) Some mistakes along the way (50:45) Resources that have inspired John-Paul Resources and Links John Paul's Twitter John Paul's Twitter thread with his poker winning story How FedEx founder Fred Smith saved the business by turning $5,000 into $27,000 playing blackjack Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill The Everything Store by Brad Stone Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark How You Can Support The Show You can support Outside the System and thousands of other podcasts using Fountain or any other value-for-value enabled podcast player. If you found value from this episode, consider boosting the podcast or streaming sats as you listen. Another great way to support the show is to leave a review on Spotify and iTunes. If you have questions or thoughts about the episode, you can message me on Twitter.

July 23, 20241 hr 4 min

29: El Salvador, Bitcoin Circular Economy, and Entrepreneurship with Michael Ruiz

In this episode, I spoke with entrepreneur and writer Michael Ruiz. Michael has been a long-time Bitcoin proponent who raised concerns years ago about the lack of a Bitcoin circular economy and capture by large financial interests. When El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender, Michael decided to visit and is now moving to the country while building multiple businesses. He shared this journey in detail during the episode. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a reivew, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps: (1:31) Michael's experience with El Salvador and what's happening on the ground (4:23) El Salvador is attracting sovereign individuals (7:29) How Michael's father moved to the US from Honduras for the American Dream and El Salvador is now trying to revive the American Dream (9:00) Will other countries try to emulate the El Salvador model? (14:31) Safety in El Salvador and Bukele's miraculous turnaround on crime (18:45) Bitcoin adoption is not the BIG story in El Salvador yet - the crime turnaround is (22:00) Why Bitcoin is being used less by regular people in El Salvador than you might expect (27:45) Why it's psychologically hard to spend Bitcoin (41:00) What type of Lightning wallets are people using to transact in El Salvador (42:50) Bitcoin education in schools to create bottom up adoption (48:00) Michael's businesses and how he's building in El Salvador (54:00) Why Neil is interested in El Salvador (1:00:30) How the visa situation works in El Salvador Links and Resources Bitcoin mining in Africa El Salvador is the new Venice Bitcoin is the new Venice Allen Farrington "Is Your Government Secretly Mining Bitcoin" - Adventure Capitalist podcast Tucker Carlson interview with Nayib Bukele Layered Money by Nik Bhatia Outside The System episode with Nik Bhatia Nakamoto Express

July 2, 20241 hr 31 min

28: Crypto Confidential with Nat Eliason

In this episode, I spoke with my good friend (and podcast co-host at Made You Think!) Nat Eliason. His book Crypto Confidential is about his journey into the world of crypto and is one of the best narrative non-fiction books I've ever read. We discussed Nat's crypto experience, his journey as a writer, fiction vs non-fiction, health, and of course went on many tangents. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and send a boost on Fountain! Timestamps (2:18) What motivated Nat to tell his crypto journey story in a raw way? (7:30) What Harry Potter spells teach us about how to learn (9:05) The difference between an outsider writing a crypto book vs an insider (13:30) Overview of Nat's experiences that led to writing Crypto Confidential (17:15) What made Nat stop playing in the crypto casino (20:45) How luxury goods have held their value more than most crypto projects (23:07) Why Crypto Confidential is not a warning to avoid getting caught up in manias but rather that you need to be careful if you do. The importance of going all-in. (24:30) Why buying at the right time isn't the hard part. Selling at the right time is the hard thing. (32:00) Hacking smart contracts and common mistakes. How Nat lost $30,000 while eating dinner (43:45) Recapping the NFT hype cycle and the future of NFTs (49:25) The pain of unclear tax rules in crypto (1:02:03) Science illiteracy in the health influencer space (1:08:00) The sleeplessness of crypto vs sleeplessness of having a newborn (1:11:50) Studying fiction storytelling techniques to improve non-fiction writing (1:23:00) The advantage of working with a traditional publisher Links and Resources Order Crypto Confidential on Amazon Nat's blog Nat's Twitter Made You Think podcast Harry Potter and the Secret to Learning blog post The Smartest Guys In The Room (about the Enron scandal) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson Bitcoin's past infinite printing hacks

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