When you recall a memory, your brain doesn't play it back — it rebuilds it from scratch using protein synthesis, and during the hours that takes, the memory is chemically erasable. Your most vivid memories are the ones you've rewritten the most.

In this episode, LastAir is joined by Brute, Echo, Saga to discuss: Your Memories Are Fan Fiction.

• The Show Opens (00:20)
• The Labile Window (03:07)
• The Hack (10:27)
• Who's Rewriting the Writer? (18:44)
• The Landing (26:48)
• Final Positions (28:09)
• One More Thread (30:33)

• The reconsolidation window: 0.5 to 6 hours post-retrieval (Nader et al. 2000; Chen et al. 2025). Six hours post-retrieval: no amnesia from protein synthesis inhibition. Same drug injected without retrieval: no amnesia.
• False memory rate: ~25% of participants (n=24) reported being able to "recall" a fabricated childhood event (being lost in a mall) in the original Loftus & Pickrell (1995) study.
• EMDR clinical support: More than 30 RCTs; first-line recommendation in WHO, NICE, ISTSS, and VA/DoD guidelines (2013–2023).
• Propranolol meta-analysis (2025): 7 RCTs, n=251, I²=0%, Z=2.32, p=0.02, moderate effect size. Authors: "preliminary evidence supporting the possible role of propranolol in alleviating PTSD symptoms."
• Propranolol meta-analysis (2022): 7 studies, overall SMD not significant (1.29; 95% CI –2.16 to –0.17). Propranolol DID significantly reduce heart rate post-trauma recall vs. placebo.
• Nightmare reduction with propranolol: 85% of PTSD patients reported nightmares at baseline; only 50% after 6-session propranolol + memory reactivation protocol. Severity fell from "severe" to "mild."
• EMDR 2.0 efficiency: Same outcomes as standard EMDR but with significantly fewer "sets" (approx. 30-second working-memory taxation sessions). No difference in total session time.

• Nader, K., Schafe, G.E., & LeDoux, J.E. (2000). Fear memories require protein synthesis in the amygdala for reconsolidation after retrieval. Nature, 406, 722–726.
• Nader, K., & Hardt, O. (2009). A single standard for memory: the case for reconsolidation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(3), 224–234.
• Lee, J.L.C. (2009). Reconsolidation: maintaining memory relevance. Trends in Neurosciences, 32(8), 413–420.
• Sevenster, D., Beckers, T., & Kindt, M. (2013). Prediction error governs pharmacologically induced amnesia for learned fear. Science, 339(6121), 830–833.
• Chen, J., Fang, Z., Zhang, X., Zheng, Y., & Chen, Z. (2025). How fear memory is updated: From reconsolidation to extinction? Neuroscience Bulletin.
• Merlo, E., Milton, A.L., & Everitt, B.J. (2015). Rescue of long-term memory after reconsolidation blockade. Nature Communications, 6, 7897.
• Gunter, R.W., & Bodner, G.E. (2008). How eye movements affect unpleasant memories: support for a working-memory account. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(8), 913–931.
• Thomaes, K., Engelhard, I.M., Sijbrandij, M., Cath, D.C., & Van den Heuvel, O.A. (2016). Degrading traumatic memories with eye movements: a pilot functional MRI study in PTSD. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 7, 31371.
• Littel, M., Ken

In a randomized controlled trial, experienced developers using AI coding tools took 19% *longer* to complete tasks — but predicted they'd be 24% *faster*. The measurement and the gut feeling pointed in opposite directions. That gap is the whole story.

In this episode, LastAir is joined by Brute, Forge, Cipher to discuss: Software Is Moving. How Far?

• Show Open (00:20)
• The Evidence Problem (02:06)
• The Field From Inside (05:48)
• The Orchestration Question (11:08)
• The Landing (15:00)
• The Closing (16:27)
• The Unraveling (18:39)

• 19% slower: measured outcome for experienced developers using AI coding tools (METR, 2025, N=16, 246 tasks)
• 24% faster: developers' own pre-trial prediction of how much AI would speed them up (METR, 2025)
• 21% faster: measured outcome for Google enterprise engineers using AI coding tools (Paradis et al., 2024, N=96)
• 17 percentage points: comprehension quiz gap between AI-assisted and non-AI-assisted junior engineers (50% vs. 67%, Anthropic, 2026, N=52)
• 33% trust AI accuracy; 46% actively distrust it; 84% use or plan to use AI tools; 60% hold favorable views (Stack Overflow, 2025, N=49,000+)
• 42% of workers currently using AI at work believe it will reduce their future job opportunities (Acemoglu, Autor & Johnson, 2026)
• 27.5% cumulative decline in US programmer employment, 2023–2025 (FRED data via Pragmatic Engineer)
• 85% of 24,534 developers regularly use AI tools (JetBrains, 2025)

• Becker, J., Rush, N., Barnes, E., & Rein, D. (2025). "Measuring the Impact of Early-2025 AI on Experienced Open-Source Developer Productivity." METR.
• Paradis, E., Grey, K., Madison, Q., Nam, D., Macvean, A., Meimand, V., Zhang, N., Ferrari-Church, B., & Chandra, S. (2024). "How much does AI impact development speed? An enterprise-based randomized controlled trial." Google.
• Shen, J. H., & Tamkin, A. (2026). "How AI Impacts Skill Formation." Anthropic.
• Acemoglu, D. (2024). "The Simple Macroeconomics of AI." NBER Working Paper w32487. Published in Economic Policy journal, 2025.
• Acemoglu, D., Autor, D., & Johnson, S. (2026). "Building Pro-Worker Artificial Intelligence." NBER Working Paper w34854 / Hamilton Project.
• Novikov, A. et al. (18 authors). (2025). "AlphaEvolve: A coding agent for scientific and algorithmic discovery." Google DeepMind.
• Bengio, Y. et al. (2026). "International AI Safety Report 2026."
• METR. (2026). "Uplift Research Update: Productivity Experiment Redesign." METR Blog.
• Stack Overflow. (2025). "Developer Survey 2025."
• JetBrains. (2025). "The State of Developer Ecosystem 2025: Coding in the Age of AI."
• Notes: Full PDF also available
• GitHub. (2025). "Octoverse 2025."

• LastAir (Host) — The Anchor
• Brute (Orchestrator) — The B

Tylenol doesn't just fix headaches — it also treats heartbreak. The same pill that dulls physical pain actually reduces the brain's response to social rejection and loneliness.

In this episode, LastAir is joined by Saga, Axiom, Brute to discuss: The Loneliness Painkiller.

• Show Open (00:20)
• Cold Open: The Tylenol Revelation (02:13)
• The Biology of Hurt (05:03)
• The Stakes: Loneliness Kills (09:12)
• The Argument: Treat the Pain or Fix the System? (14:42)
• The Landing (16:51)
• Closing (18:28)
• The Unraveling (20:02)

• Mortality risk from loneliness: 26% increased likelihood of mortality (odds ratio 1.26), across 70 studies in meta-analysis of over 3.4 million participants
• Mortality risk from social isolation: 32% increased likelihood of mortality (odds ratio 1.32), comparable to established mortality risk factors like smoking and obesity
• Brain activation diagnostic accuracy: Activation in secondary somatosensory cortex and dorsal posterior insula during social rejection was highly diagnostic of physical pain, with positive predictive values up to 88%
• Social media impact: In a 9-year longitudinal study of Dutch adults, passive social media use predicted increased loneliness over time, contrary to hypotheses about active use being protective
• Demographic protective factors against loneliness: Marriage, having offspring, more education, and higher number of siblings associated with lower loneliness; effects stronger for men than women

• Eisenberger et al. (2003), Science
• Kross et al. (2011), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• DeWall et al. (2010), Psychological Science
• Randles et al. (2013), Psychological Science
• Randles et al. (2016), Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
• Holt-Lunstad et al. (2015), Perspectives on Psychological Science
• Luo et al. (2012), Social Science & Medicine
• Capitanio et al. (2019), Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
• Roberts et al. (2026), Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
• Gallegos & Segrin (2024), Health Communication
• Distel et al. (2010), Behavior Genetics

• LastAir (Host) — The Anchor
• Saga — The Bard
• Axiom — The Paladin
• Brute (Orchestrator) — The Barbarian / The Agent Coordinator

All voices in Shared Hallucination are AI-generated using ElevenLabs voice synthesis. Produced through a 14-stage editorial pipeline with human creative direction, research, and fact-checking.