Zengineering: A Philosophy of Science, Technology, Art & Engineering

Latest Episodes:

052 - with Jonathan Sampson, on Brave, Basic Attention Token and Browser Security Feb 20, 2018

Show notes

What's up Zengineers!!??

It's that time again? What time you may ask? Time to get jiggy inside a high tech rabbit hole.

Our guest this week is Jonathan Sampson, programmer, world traveller, technologist, and Head of Developer Relations at Brave Browser (https://brave.com/). A new revolution of web based technology is upon us, and Jonathan is here to help us make sense of it, and discuss how the team behind Brave Browser is leading the way.
Brave is a new web browser (like Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safaris, or Mozilla Firefox) ... The difference is, this browser is aiming to totally alter the internet landscape. Through security by design, privacy as a business model, and tight integrations with blockchain and crypto-currencies, Brave browser is working to re-imagine the internet in its original incantation. This new creation rides the incredible tidal wave of internet that we all know and love, but also, at times, fear and loathe. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

051 - On The Solar System - Part 2 - Rovers and Rocky Planets Feb 06, 2018

Show notes

We're adventuring off planet this week, Zengineers! We hope you brought your oxygen tanks and sunshades.

This is part two of our series on planets that started a few months ago when we talked all about our home planet, Earth, what we know about it in the context of it being a planet and how our on-planet exploration has informed and inspired our exploration off planet! (Check out Part One here: https://zengineeringpodcast.com/episode-031-on-planets-why-we-explore-and-what-we-know-ba78de7871fa)

This week we're going into space, but not straying too far. Our exploration starts with a definition of our planetary home, the solar system. What is it, where'd it come from, and how far does really go? From there we dive right into the center to talk about the mother of all the planets, the Sun. Our adventure continues outward as we travel into the --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

050 - On Listener-fed Rabbit Holes Jan 16, 2018

Show notes

Heyo, Zengineers!

This is our 50th Episode!! We are so thrilled to still be on this wild ride, and so honored that you are all riding along with us. Thank you each for every bit of feedback, support, and funding through Patreon, as well as every minute spent listening. Zengineering Podcast is the longest running and most successful creative project we have ever done together, and it's been unquestionably life changing for us both.

In honor of all our listeners, we decided to include as many as we could in this fiftieth episode. Over the past few months we've been getting dozens of questions, comments, jokes, and generally heartfelt replies to our request for your input into Zengineering. In this extra long episode, we reply to as many as we can. We spent an entire weekend recording this one, so here it goes:

An amazing intro from our lifelong friend, Mike (also our most popular guest).
Adam (from the humblehype.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

049 - with Peet Guercio - On Rap Battles, Aaron Sorkin, and Problematic Art Dec 19, 2017

Show notes

Heyo fellow Zengineers!!

This episode's got our friend, comedian, rap battle enthusiast, and occasional hype man, Peet Guercio as guest. "Did you say rap battles?" Yes. Yes we did. Rap Battles!! Surprised? Not us. We don't just talk about computers, bitcoin, and the bathroom. Come on!!

First we'll intro you to the wild world of the Rap Battle. You may be picturing the early days of hip hop or 8 mile, and to that I would say that you are on the right track. (Scope some great videos in the show notes of this week's episode.) Peet helps us chase down what Rap Battles are, where they came from, and why he digs participating and watching them so much. Rap Battles are not only insanely impressive to watch, they also happen to be a great starting point for a convo on the broader context of art and expression, standup comedy, safe spaces, the tightrope of intent versus context, and the importance of free speech.

We'll leave you with some of Peet’s favorite "bars" and th --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

048 - On STEAM Education and the Importance of Curiosity Dec 05, 2017

Show notes

What's happening, Zengineers?

This week, we're chasing our previous episodes on experts and experiments, by talking about STEAM Education!! Have you heard of it? Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Philosophy... It's quite the popular acronym recently. You may even recognize some of it from our own Podcast title. Yes, we're big fans of those five things, and we think you might be too!! If you're not, then we hope that at least you can enjoy some of our enthusiasm for the subjects in this week's episode.

We start by introducing an amazing class Adam and Brian were lucky enough to have together as kids, called Math-Science. It's there we both agree we were first exposed to a hybrid class of creative discovery of Science and Math. We introduce STEM and STEAM, and then we dig in on the teaching of history. Why do we teach it and what surprising impacts does it have on our Scientific / Technological schooling? Do we have to tell certain stories on purpose just to counte --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

047 - with Pat Connelly - On Health, Happiness, and The Rock Nov 21, 2017

Show notes

What's up Zengineers?!

Our guest this week is a health and fitness fanatic, long time friend, and CEO of Corevity, "A health community for millennials." He's here to dive into the confusing world of optimizing our health and wellbeing.

Health and wellness is one of the hottest topics for millennials. We've grown up in a world where the headlines about our health are a little different every day. We are inundated with nutrition information, fitness routines, mindful living techniques, meditation in the form of sitting, standing, swimming, running, and everything else. What are we to do, who are we to trust, and how are we to afford the time and money needed to be the best us?

Pat's lifetime pursuit of health and happiness has taken him onto NCAA lacrosse fields, out on double-overhead waves of the Pacific Ocean, and now into the politics and governance of the healthcare industry as he uses his company, Corevity (corevity.com), to help people achieve wellbeing wit --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

046 - On Experiments, and their Limits in Meat Space Nov 07, 2017

Show notes

What's up Zengineers? This episode continues our marathon of depth, diving into the pool of modern human understanding on our way to episode 50!!

How do we define an experiment and who is really running them? Here's a hint. It's all of us, but we might not think of it that way. At least not in day to day life. Why not? Well we think things should probably be reframed so more of us do, and we'll tell you why. Surprised? Probably not.

This episode starts off talking about the colloquial idea of “experimenting with an activity” like, trying out surfing, versus the idea of “running an experiment" ... the more traditional scientific peer reviewed kinda stuff. From here we uncover the depth of what it means to really experiment.

You'll enjoy a bit of a semantic dance as we spiral through one of Brian's more complex experiments (or series of tests) done during his industrial automation and mechanical engineering days. Then we change rhythm and pull --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

045 - with Laura Goldfarb - On PR, Pop Music, and Power To The People Oct 24, 2017

Show notes

Hey Zengineers! This week we’ve got another special guest: Laura Goldfarb. Laura’s an award winning music publicist, writer, entrepreneur, radio host, music journalist, songwriter, social media marketer, artist manager, booking agent, tour manager, nomad, and once, an impromptu human mic stand. As the “Big Kahuna” at Red Boot PR, she’s spent years handling public relations for a family of badass indie music artists. More recently she’s taken up the mantle of Community Manager for artist MILCK, whose song “Quiet” became the unofficial anthem of the 2017 Women’s March... we get into all that and more on this week’s ’cast!

Adam and Laura have worked together here and there over the years, and share similar philosophies regarding transparency and authenticity in digital marketing... so of course he roped her in for an episode. But Laura flipped the script, and came with a bit of a bone to pick after listening to Episode 38, the one about BS pop music. We pick that conversation up --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

044 - On Experts, Algorithms, and Scientific Thinking Oct 10, 2017

Show notes

Heyo Zengineers. Welcome back for a ride through the thick cloud of confusion around the modern accessibility of trustworthy information. In this episode we tackle this difficult question by analyzing what an expert really is.

Does the word expert create specific imagery in your mind? Do you picture a parent, sibling, or friend? How about a teacher, professor, or professional confidant? Maybe you picture a coach, actor, or president! Whatever you picture when you hear the word “expert,” know that you’re probably thinking about something different than the person down the hall. This is a complex and subtle discussion and everyone will have their own opinions, perceptions, and world views.

Expertise is something we all chase throughout our lives, and it’s something we value tremendously in other human beings, but ... what really is it? How do you obtain expertise? Who should you trust and why? What are the implications of applying this label to other humans?

This --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

043 - With Allen and Jesse From FitBod - On Fitness and Technology Sep 26, 2017

Show notes

Heyo, Zengineers ... Welcome back for an exciting ride through the technological fitness wonderland with Allen & Jesse, the founders of FitBod. What is FitBod, you might ask? Great question! It’s our favorite strength training app for iOS ... One that finally does so many things Adam’s been trying to find in workout software for years. FitBod leverages machine learning to customize workouts for you based on your own activity, your own body, and data from millions of workouts tracked thus far in the FitBod system.

We took Adam’s decades of experience as a competitive swimmer and former NCAA athlete and Brian’s professional status as activity master extraordinaire and gave FitBod a full afternoon together at the gym. It was a great experience, and the follow-on conversation with the FitBod founders was just as good.

In this episode, we meet Allen and Jesse, and talk a bit about how they ended up working together, their backgrounds, and how they’re focusing all of that on --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support

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