For our very special 40th episode of Rabbithole, we're taking a break from our current series to interview our very own Pete Davis, who co-wrote, co-directed, and narrated the documentary "Join or Die," ahead of the film's premiere at SXSW this weekend. The documentary is an in-depth look at the works of political scientist Robert Putnam, whose works including 2000's "Bowling Alone" connect the decline in participation in clubs, religious groups, and other social organizations to the present crises in American democracy. In this episode, Dan and Sparky have a chat with Pete about what went into making the documentary, working with Bob, and why it's great to become a 'joiner.'

Learn more about 'Join Or Die' at https://putnamdoc.com. If you're in Austin, Texas this weekend, you can watch the film as part of the SXSW Film Festival. If you aren't, stay tuned for the film coming to a film festival or screening near you, or reach out to Pete about organizing a screening for your own club or community group!

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn (@danieljtvthorn) of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA, and it features theme music by Danny Bradley. If you liked the podcast, please consider supporting our investigators on our Patreon.

On today's episode, Pete and Dan talk with Jonathan Ben-Menachem, a sociology Ph.D student at Columbia University studying the politics of American criminalization, about his November 2022 essay "Effective Altruism is a political nightmare," and his critiques of the methods and assumptions behind 'effective' charities, based on his understanding of social science research methods.

Read Jonathan's essay on Effective Altruism on his Substack.

Follow Jonathan on Twitter at @jbenmenachem and visit his website for more information about his research and writing.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn (@danieljtvthorn) of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA, and it features theme music by Danny Bradley. If you liked the podcast, please consider supporting our investigators on our Patreon.

In today's episode, Pete and Dan speak with computer scientist Adly Templeton (@EigenGender on Twitter) about describing herself as 'Kinda EA,' and how her work with large language models and machine learning informs her opinions on today's discourse about 'longtermism' and AI risk as a focus area for many effective altruists.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn (@danieljtvthorn) of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA, and it features theme music by Danny Bradley. If you liked the podcast, please consider supporting our investigators on our Patreon.