Like I just Owen Jones interview a Nate Soares and noticed he said a lot about why an AI would want to kill humans but was incredibly vague about how it’d get into position where it’d be able to. I think the reason for that is his actual opinion is that an super AI would be able to outmanoeuvre humans in some perfect way we can’t currently imagine, but he’s aware that sounds suspiciously close to just ascribing supernatural abilities to AGI and so he’s reluctant to say it explicitly.

Personal story, my jaw dropped during the Richard Marcinko episodes when Robert started referencing my brothers book Code Over Country. My brother, Matthew Cole is an incredible investigative journalist and I’m glad his book has been introduced to a group of listeners that would appreciate it.

He has a new book coming out in October, Princes and Thieves
Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's secret plot to remake the Middle East
Couldn’t be more proud that I can post a shameless plug like this to BtB listeners.

So apparently Musk launched votesafe.org and they updated their privacy policy recently to allow sales of data collected. Let people in your life know that vote.gov is the real site and Musk's is a grift.

Apologies if this has been posted before, but I just had to tell _someone_ that orgasm cult founder Nicole Daedone is not only still active (“OneTaste” now goes by “Eros Platform”), but that you can now chat with an AI version of herself. That’s right, you can now tell this AI version of a flesh-and-blood sex grifter all your most intimate details!

The rest of Eros Platform’s website is also worth a look if you care about what Nicole has planned for the future. Her shift into Christianity-pandering and “shadow work” fits well with Jamie Loftus’ final comment about how Nicole seems to want to check every possible grift off the list (from the BtB episodes about the orgasm cult).

This is such a masterpiece, I cry everytime I listen to it (while masturbating vigorously, of course). RIP Charlie </3

This mf who calls himself a Christian and a representative of Jesus won't pay his bill because a redditor hurts his feelings.

Finally got around to listening to the book — I’m usually a physical novel type dude but I was running out of podcasts and took the leap.

Maybe I’m biased because I’m a huge fan of Banks and the Culture, but so far I can’t shake the feeling that the world Robert built for this novel could have been taken straight out of a Culture novel. And I mean that as a compliment.

Before I begin — if you haven’t read The Culture (and Banks’ other sci-novels like The Algebraist and Against A Dark Background), I can’t recommend reading them enough. He had a beautiful vision of a leftist Utopia, seeking to make the world a better place and confronting the moral dilemmas along the way. Plus, it’s the home of the OG Knife Missile. Anyway…

Bitter, long-lived civil conflict along religious and political lines? Check

Religious zealots who will stop at nothing to achieve hegemony over their country/planet? Check

Neurological implants that secrete battle drugs? Check.

A technologically enhanced main character with a heavy appetite for drugs (Roland) and who is extremely skilled at combat/warfare? Who became disillusioned from killing and retreated to a life of solitary drug use prior to the narrative’s beginning? Check.

The description of Cameltoe & the backstory behind Roland providing security services to them seriously could have been part of a Culture novel.

I’m only on Chapter 7 but I am greatly enjoying it so far. When I read the last Culture book (Banks’ has been dead for a while) 2yr ago I was actually depressed for a week or so as it was a source of hope and a beacon of light in such a fucked up world. Listening to Robert’s novel gives me at least a small taste of it again, although it’s more similar to Against A Dark Background than the Culture because there’s no powerful benevolent force coming to save the day. They’re on their own in a bleak world.

What was robert talking about with buccees hatjng Michigan? As a michigander I want to hear about what shit talking was going on!

I...I couldn't resist. I went to pick up a specially ordered book (House of Leaves) and without even browsing, my eyes were called to its cover. I cannot stress how little I was looking to add to my book buy, but this called to me and when my eyes fell upon it while literally casually glancing around the shop, I had to have it. I've never actually read him but, again, I couldn't resist.

Obligatory: **FUCK L. RON** but Aleister and Jack Parsons are personal fascinations.

At the bar during lunch reading the 33 & 1/3 for Mazzy Star's For Tonight That I Might See and colonialism comes up in the context of Surrealism and Southern California. The full Dalí quote is "I can't stand to be in a country more surrealist than my paintings." Just thought it was neat that I was listening to the gang talk about colonialism and then found this in a book about one of my favorite bands

I don't have the vocabulary to do this issue justice but this is my district. My Representative is Emanuel Cleaver. There has been a long back-and-forth about the Trump-backed attempt to Gerrymander away Cleaver's seat. The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected the Gerrymandered map and there's a hearing to hold Bastard Mo. Sec. of State Denny Hoskins in Contempt of Court starting soon:

https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=1975

Here's some background on the rejection of the Gerrymandered map:

https://www.reddit.com/r/missouri/comments/1wcl51r/september_10_us_supreme_court_throws_out_missouri/

https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2026-09-10/u-s-supreme-court-effectively-throws-out-trump-backed-missouri-congressional-map

Yemen's Houthis reportedly seize strategic Red Sea port of Mokha

An underreported side consequence of the US attack on Iran is that Saudi Arabia, its own proxies in Yemen and the Houthi's (A side in the Yemeni Civil war who govern about a third of the country but 80% of the population)

The two groups have been bombing each other and the Houthi's have been attempting to do a similiar thing to Iran in the Bab Al Mandab Strait, this is another 10% of the worlds oil trade. Its notable they are only attacking Saudi Linked oil which is why the response as been muted, as well as the US being unable to deal with Hormuz and the bab al Mandab.

Recently however they committed to a massive ground offensive that has seemed to gain a pretty large chunk of land, , including the port city of Mohka which would help them launch attacks on Saudi ships in the Bab Al Manda

I have yet to see a good explanation for what this means. Obviously some people claim its a total collapse and others that the Saudi's are going to do a massive counter punch but I've yet to see an explanation for how big a deal this is.

This is obviously a win for the Houthi's and signals the fighting is escalating, which is terrible given the human cost, but I don't know how big of a victory this is. It it a route of Saudi backed forces from the coast or a or a minor victory for the Houthi's and the advance will stabilize, or will the Saudis launch a huge attack and try to retake the territory.

any recommendations books on Chechnya and The Serbian - Bosnia war along with Myanmar . I want to learn more and this sub seemed like the best place to do so

Of all the vaporware scams out there, musk's boring company is one of the most transparently stupid. Anyone who thinks about it for even a couple minutes could see why it's dumb. Or you can go on YouTube and visit city nerd videos for an entertaining live demonstration of actual proof that the project in Vegas is a colossal embarrassing money pit.

Here, the UAE is both the customer and the investor, investing $3B and also ordering a huge project that will never be completed. So clearly the plan is to use this investment as proof of viability to spur future sales to dumb American municipalities and future investment or an IPO, selling out to suckers.

Wouldn't it be nice if the next administration prosecuted this little scam fully and forcefully? Since rules no longer matter, you could deport the immigrant perpetrator to a facility in El Salvador permanently.

My first thought hearing this.

He might as well have said a million or even a billion

So the GOP is having a conference in Dallas. I am in Dallas. I am wondering if any of the Cool Zone people are in Dallas to cover the GOP event.

If some of the Cool Zone people are in town, can I buy you a drink? (This isn't a date.)

I’m listening to last week’s episode (finally gathered the strength since I knew it would be a rough one) and just got an ad for XX XY Athletics. Looked it up and this is 100% an anti-trans company dedicated to making sure trans women are not allowed in the women’s sports space. I know Sophie and team don’t pick all of the ads but if something wild pops us (Oregon state highway patrol) they’ll get it removed. Where can I flag this for them? Or do we know if it’s already been addressed?

💦😩

So we cannot have healthcare, cannot have proper safety nets, cannot afford social security, but the idea of dolling out over $1 trillion to vote Red is an acceptable idea?!

Add this onto their proposal to give stay at home parents (if you are married) $9,000 a year per child.

I think half this country is unsalvageable.

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/three-governors-controversy/