Komal Mirani

Today, we're unveiling the all-new acquired.fm. It's been 8 months in the works, hand-crafted to represent what Acquired has become today. Enjoy :)

The technical layer of the agentic world is being built incredibly well. What's missing is the culture layer; the context, the taste, the narrative. I'm building that. Here's my pitch for VibeCon. @emergentlabs @mukundjha @ycombinator

in all seriousness the @tbpn acquisition displays the importance of being likeable. if @johncoogan and @jordihays were in any way portrayed as sketchy or unlikeable by even a few, the surface area for bad press and QT dunks from this deal would be immense. the truth is they are likeable guys on and off camera. i get texts of encouragement from john every month and it means a lot to me. they deserve all the success. they have built an awesome product in a way that is cool and honest. no ragebait needed. no hit pieces needed

Celine Nguyen says intellectual discovery is our birthright: "reading and writing are the most dignified and worthy activities that anyone can do—and, in fact, are activities that everyone should do." I talked to @mynameisceline about changing your life by writing online, expanding the market for what you love, and starting somewhere, even if it requires pure impulse. Celine writes personal canon, a newsletter focused on taking your intellectual development seriously long after you leave school or academia. This includes literary criticism and many more interdisciplinary thoughts across art, culture, design, and technology. She doubles as a product designer in her professional life. We discuss: - leisurely research and creating a curriculum for your growth long after you graduate: "who do I want to be at the end of the season?" - why literary classics can be thrilling rather than dutiful, how you can expand the market for what you love, and why you should read Proust - using parasociality to psyop people into doing things that are good for them - how studying historical contexts makes us smarter about the present, and how to root yourself in epistemic humility about the now - why note taking systems must be a means to an end, and how her best "systems" are inefficient handwritten journals and actual published work - becoming the “Venkatesh Rao for tumblr girls” - how learning makes you live "longer" - that many will wait a lifetime for someone to give them permission to do what they've always hoped to do Timestamps: 1:35 - Intro to Celine 6:18 - Start: Pursuing a Life of the Mind, Personal Curriculum, and Contextualizing the Present in History 24:53 - Research as a Leisure, Self-Cultivation, and Calibrating Rigor 39:59 - Effectiveness, Tools & Process, and Letting Output Drive Your Learning 59:35 - Parasocially Influencing People to Do Good Things (Like Reading and Writing) 1:09:39 - Drawing the Reader in and Expanding the Market for What You Love (and for Proust) 1:24:07 - Aspiration, Posing, and Pretending Your Way into Enthusiasm 1:34:37 - Preparation is Not Progress 1:46:07 - Copying, Writing Process, Mechanics, and Design 1:57:25 - Commitment, Finishing, Substack, Life Extension and Closing @dialecticpod Ep. 42: Celine Nguyen - Nurturing Your Mind in Public - is available below and on all platforms.