Introduction to The Portal

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In July of 2019, Eric Weinstein launched The Portal Podcast. Its name taking inspiration from "portal story" motifs in literature, the show aims to bring its audience into contact with the most fundamental and transcendent aspects of reality, to break the almost-universal intellectual stasis that pervades our institutions, to foster individual sense-making, and to galvanize the search for a more hopeful, transformative future. Since launch, the podcast has released 43 episodes: 36 interview episodes, 6 solo episodes, and 1 special. Other content, such as 36 Instagram livestreams and 7 standalone YouTube videos, have been released since the start of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The content listed on this page has been selected for its direct relevance to The Portal's central ideas, and should serve as good beginnings for new listeners.

Selected Portal Content

Listed are podcast episodes that cover central themes of The Portal.

The Portal Clips also has select clips from the podcast and community-made videos on recurring themes, such as this video on the Twin Nuclei Problem, and this video on the N^2 revolution. For a comprehensive list of Portal content, see All Episodes of The Portal Podcast and Content by Eric Weinstein.

Edge Essays

Some of the earliest discussion of the The Portal Podcast's core ideas occur in Eric Weinstein's edge.org essays. These are brief essays in response to an annual question posed by Edge.

Question Answer Year
What is the Last Question? The Last Question 2018
What Scientific Term or Concept Ought to Be More Widely Known? Russell Conjugation 2017
What Do You Consider the Most Interesting Recent (Scientific) News? What Makes It Important? Anthropic Capitalism And The New Gimmick Economy 2016
What Scientific Idea Is Ready for Retirement? M-theory / String Theory is the Only Game in Town 2014
What *Should* We Be Worried About? Excellence 2013
What is Your Favorite Deep, Elegant, or Beautiful Explanation? Einstein's Revenge: The New Geometric Quantum 2012
What Scientific Concept Would Improve Everybody's Cognitive Toolkit? Kayfabe 2011
How is the Internet Changing the Way You Think? Go Virtual Young Man 2010