WSCFriedman gets to the core of what HPMOR is ACTUALLY about, and finally pinpoints why we love it so much, in his essay Harry Potter And The Methods Of Rationality Is A Disney Movie About A Serial Killer.

LINKS
Audio version of HPMOR is A Disney Movie About A Serial Killer, from AskWho
William’s blog, “As Our Days”
ACX Non-Book Review 2025 Winners Post
Just HPMOR substack, and Spotify playlist
Why the AI Water Issue Has Nothing to Do With Water (and audio version here, again from AskWho)
Money is Life
Eneasz’s post on InkHaven

Inkhaven.Blog – apply today!

Paid Bonus content for the week – Preshow chatter (audio, video), Full Show Video

00:04:33 – Announcements & Feedback
00:27:24 – Eneasz’s Podcast Meta-Worries
00:28:21 – HPMOR Is A Disney Movie About A Serial Killer
01:28:17 – Guild of the Rose
01:31:18 – Thank the Supporter!

Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack

Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong?
We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out.

LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode:

on hiatus, returning soon

Discussing Ben Pace’s recent post on the Rationalist Vices.

LINKS
The Seven Vicious Vices of Rationalists (includes AI audio version)
Lightcone Fundraiser!
2025 LessWrong Census/Survey
Simone & Malcom Collins vs Reporter on whether genes exist
MIRI is hiring
Slime Mold Time Mold’s long-delayed Lithium response
If Anyone Builds It Everyone Dies
Dear Grom by Eneasz

Paid Bonus content for the week – Preshow chatter (audio, video), Full Show Video

00:00:05 – Announcements
00:23:05 – InkHaven reflections
00:31:29 – The Seven Vices of Rationalists
01:38:36 – Guild of the Rose
01:41:05 – Thank the Supporter!

Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack

Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong?
We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out.

LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode:

on hiatus, returning soon

A short story by Ben Pace. Original can be found here. Donate to the fundraiser here!

Harry sings karaoke here. Happy New Year.

A short story by Prerat. Original can be found here. Merry Xmas!

Hello and happy holiday season to you all! Eneasz is back and we’re here to say hi and give a shoutout to Skyler’s awesome annual LessWrong survey and Lighthaven’s fundraising event. See the links below for more details.

LINKS

• The LessWrong survey will remain open from now until at least January 7th, 2026.
• Lighthaven is once again seeking support. If you’re inclined to help, check out all of the details here.
• Related, our interview with Oliver from last year.

Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack

Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch)
We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out.

LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode:

on hiatus, returning soon

Join me as I sit down with Alex and David, both previous guests on the show and both cofounders of the Guild of the Rose. Together, we go over the core – the heart – of what we consider to be the Rationalist tradition. The 12 Virtues are an awesome distillation of what the rest of the sequences build on.

Be sure to check out the Guild of the Rose. If our constantly pitching it to you hasn’t been enough to persuade you to check it out, hopefully hearing two more of the founders discuss Rationality in general and giving their own pitches for the Guild will tip the scales.

LINKS

• The Twelve Virtues
  • Abridged Version
• Alex and David have been on more than a couple of times, but I’ll limit myself to one episode from each of them
  • 189 – AI Bloomer David Youssef
  • 192 – Absurdism and the Meaning of Life, with Alex
  • And the episode with both of them, the original announcement for the Guild
• Also, Alex’s dating profile! In all sincerity, I’d date him if I was a woman.

00:00:05 – Introduction and The 12 Virtues
01:41:50 – Guild of the Rose

Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack

Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch)
We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out.

LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode:

on hiatus, returning soon

Matt Freeman has been cohosting several media analysis podcasts for over a decade. He and his cohost Scott have been doing weekly episodes of the Doofcast every Friday and they cover movies, books, and TV shows. Matt and Scott’s analysis podcasts have made me love stories even more and have equipped me with tools to enhance my ability to think more deeply about the stories I consume and enjoy them even more.

My hope is that this meta-conversation will encourage anyone who hasn’t listened to the Doofcast or anything else Doof! Media has put out to give it a shot and see what you’ve been missing out on. Unfortunately, we were unable to coordinate a time for Matt’s cohost Scott to join us so hopefully I did an ok job making this entertaining and fun with only one expert guest.

Shoutout to Skyler Crossman, the Less Wrong community organizer extraordinaire!

LINKS

• Doof! Media, the home of Matt’s other podcasts!
• The Magnus Archives
• Bob Ross on AI Slop
• East Coast Mega Meetup

00:00:05 – Diving into stories
01:47:42 – Interlude with Eneasz about the East Coast Mega Meetup!
01:52:31 – Guild of the Rose

Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack

Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch)
We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out.

LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode:

on hiatus, returning soon

Booker is a long-time attendee and one of the coordinators of the Denver area Less Wrong community. Community engagement isn’t just a background task for him – he’s taken real steps to get involved with and improve his community and you can too! He’s here to tell us about the things he’s done and give some guidance on how you all can get involved and help make your community more like the place you’d want to live.

Colorado Reagan Club

An article he wrote making the case why you should join

An article about Vacancy Committees