Weekend Reading & Selected Links
1 min read
Happy weekend! Here are some links to things I've been reading or watching that you might also enjoy:
- 'Death by a thousand roundtables', a recent article by Alex Chalmers and Anastasia Bektimirova.
- Tim Gowers records himself solving a new problem. (And Part 2 and Part 3.)
- The New Atlantis' new issue on progress.
- Niko McCarty's response to Dario Amodei's essay.
- Thank you to the 181 people who've responded to my audience survey so far. I'll close the survey after this weekend. If you are one of the extra-special people who's generously promised to share an endorsement of my podcast, a reminder to send that to joe@jnwpod.com, ideally by the end of this weekend. It will help me with sponsorships. Thank you.
Have a great weekend,
Joe
This weekend's newsletter is sponsored by Blackbird Foundation.
I had the pleasure of collaborating with the folks at the Foundation earlier this year, when I interviewed Lucy Turnbull at Blackbird's Sunrise festival. The Foundation is attached to Blackbird Ventures (Australia's largest VC fund), and does excellent work unleashing the ambition of young Aussies and Kiwis.
Blackbird Foundation is giving away 30x $1000AUD grants to young Aussies and Kiwis aged 18-25 through their Protostars program.
I'm a big believer in fast/micro grants initiatives, and think we need much more experimentation with such alternative funding mechanisms. (I was lucky enough to receive a couple of Emergent Ventures grants from Tyler Cowen to support my podcast, and I've found the main benefit of these grants programs is less about providing money and more about raising aspirations.) Blackbird Foundation's Protostars program was partly inspired by Emergent Ventures, and to my knowledge there's nothing else like it in Australia or New Zealand.
If you're a young Aussie or Kiwi, I strongly encourage you to apply. There's no downside, and you might win $1000 and get the support of Blackbird Foundation and a cohort of ambitious peers.
All you need is a passion project. Applications close on Sunday 3 November, 11:59 PM AEST. Click here for more information or to apply.
(Know someone who'd be perfect? Forward them this link: https://www.blackbird.foundation/protostars.)
I had the pleasure of collaborating with the folks at the Foundation earlier this year, when I interviewed Lucy Turnbull at Blackbird's Sunrise festival. The Foundation is attached to Blackbird Ventures (Australia's largest VC fund), and does excellent work unleashing the ambition of young Aussies and Kiwis.
Blackbird Foundation is giving away 30x $1000AUD grants to young Aussies and Kiwis aged 18-25 through their Protostars program.
I'm a big believer in fast/micro grants initiatives, and think we need much more experimentation with such alternative funding mechanisms. (I was lucky enough to receive a couple of Emergent Ventures grants from Tyler Cowen to support my podcast, and I've found the main benefit of these grants programs is less about providing money and more about raising aspirations.) Blackbird Foundation's Protostars program was partly inspired by Emergent Ventures, and to my knowledge there's nothing else like it in Australia or New Zealand.
If you're a young Aussie or Kiwi, I strongly encourage you to apply. There's no downside, and you might win $1000 and get the support of Blackbird Foundation and a cohort of ambitious peers.
All you need is a passion project. Applications close on Sunday 3 November, 11:59 PM AEST. Click here for more information or to apply.
(Know someone who'd be perfect? Forward them this link: https://www.blackbird.foundation/protostars.)