“I kept thinking about leverage—the mix of insight and access. Chappelle is exceptionally smart and perceptive, and his life has given him exposure to an enormous range of people and experiences. The point is that Chappelle has access and perspective. MAGA politicians and Trump have access, but not real insight.”
In this conversation, Rick Rosner walks Scott Douglas Jacobsen through his Temu and Alibaba adventures, where four-dollar floral purses and three-dollar brooches become raw material for art. He contrasts America’s lost costume-jewelry heyday in Providence with today’s China as “factory of the world,” an entrepreneurial dictatorship that rewards production while crushing dissent. Between critiques of U.S. militarism and Chinese industrialization, he describes building a bloodied-knees Jesus mosaic with Gorilla Glue and upcycling antique micromosaics into fake Elizabeth Locke-style pieces. Throughout, Carole hovers as recipient and muse, test audience for whether cheap Chinese goods feel like treasures or trash.
In this Thanksgiving conversation, Rick Rosner talks with Scott Douglas Jacobsen about the enduring genius of Mel Brooks, from Young Frankenstein to Get Smart, and the changing sophistication of television from Hill Street Blues to today’s streaming era. Rosner laments no longer working for Kimmel, where legends like Norman Lear once appeared, and reflects on how creative legacies still shape culture. He riffs on AI’s multimodal future, humanoid robots, and the risks of systems with agency. He revisits his “meta-primes” idea on twin primes and information in the number line, and recalls favourite reading like Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner move from film analysis to neuroscience, AI consciousness, and the developmental pathways of serial killers. Rosner discusses Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet, before examining research on the brain’s five cognitive “ages” and growing expert unease about dismissing AI consciousness outright. The discussion turns to how declining neural integration affects human awareness and how this contrasts with the “as-if” consciousness exhibited by large language models. The pair then explore common patterns among serial killers, including escalating fantasy, early behavioral problems, impunity, and heterogeneous backgrounds.
In this lively exchange, Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen riff on epigenetic longevity hacks, debating whether clustered or spaced-out workouts best trigger anti-aging benefits. They compare exercise to intermittent fasting, wander into botanical philosophy via aspens, willows, and backyard redwoods, and treat vegetables primarily as respectable butter-delivery systems. From sushi fish and popcorn to tiramisu, strawberry shortcake, and chocolate-heavy biscotti, Rosner maps his shifting sweet tooth onto the realities of aging. The result is a humorous meditation on bodies, habits, and small daily pleasures that keep life interesting, even as cheesecake loses its charm.
"This raises questions about pressures that first cause extinctions but also push some organisms—especially those with greater behavioral flexibility—toward rapid adaptation. In the fossil record there have been five major mass extinctions; today’s human-driven biodiversity decline is widely described as an ongoing sixth mass extinction. The Chicxulub asteroid impact about 66 million years ago eliminated roughly three-quarters of species, not ninety percent."
Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen discuss bargain housing from the Oklahoma Panhandle to Raton and St. Louis, contrasting sub-$100k fixers with Los Angeles’s high per-square-foot prices. Rosner explains credit card arbitrage —rolling 0% balance transfers, modest fees, and HELOC backups —while warning about post-teaser rates near 19%. They shift to media’s future as TV, games, VR, and AR converge, with AI generating personalized, believable content—think Is It Cake? Realism on demand. Rosner notes rising debt, stagnant wages, and how apps raise dating standards and shrink connections. Jacobsen frames a culture of immersive “second lives” monetized through subscriptions within favourite franchises.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen presses Rick Rosner on why Donald Trump’s approval is deflating amid cost of living strain, tariffs, and a long federal shutdown. Rosner, who places tiny prediction bets, expects support to hover in the low forties. He argues Trump’s chaos distracts from policy failures, with inflation near three percent and looming insurance hikes hurting households. He criticizes ICE’s accountability and leadership, citing broader abuses of power. On Wole Soyinka’s visa, he decries political vindictiveness. Addressing elevated stillbirths, he points to COVID’s long tail, deferred care from affordability barriers, and persistent racial inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes.
In this in-depth conversation, Rick Rosner reflects on how five years of watching well-written television with his wife, Carole, has sharpened his writing skills and ability to anticipate dialogue and plot twists. He shares insights on Noah Hawley’s upcoming Alien series, the evolution of science fiction horror, and the role of originality in storytelling. Rosner also discusses Mel Brooks’s creative longevity, his own struggles with writing about the future amid AI and political upheaval, and broader reflections on cosmology, intelligence, and scientific discovery. With humor and humility, he compares himself to Feynman, Gamow, and Darwin—highlighting the complexity of intelligence.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner discuss Gen Z’s deep reliance on digital devices, reduced face-to-face interaction, and declining sexual activity. Using the “hermit crab” analogy, Rosner suggests Gen Z feels vulnerable without phones but functions well in a tech-supported world. Data shows historic lows in partnered sex, masturbation, and romantic relationships among young people, driven by over-entertainment, anxiety, and social challenges. While this trend could lower birth rates and ease environmental pressures, it also raises economic concerns for consumer-driven capitalism. The conversation explores potential societal shifts, AI integration, and acceptance of future human modifications as adaptation strategies.
Rick Rosner 