Why did 10% of white Americans join the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, and how did President Harry Truman become a secret member? Dr. Kristofer Allerfeldt, University of Exeter historian and author of The Full History of the Ku Klux Klan, reveals shocking truths about America's most notorious hate group, from its 1865 founding to its decline in the digital age.

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You’ll Learn:

–Why the 1920s Ku Klux Klan attracted 4-5 million members and operated like a mass fraternity, not a fringe terror group

–How President Harry Truman joined the KKK for 3-4 years in the 1920s and what his membership reveals about American politics

–The truth about why the Klan uniform became so sinister—it wasn't about intimidation, it was about profit

–How the 1915 film Birth of a Nation resurrected the Klan and turned it into America's first pyramid scheme

–Why the Klan's anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant agenda in the 1920s mirrors modern political scapegoating tactics

–The FBI's dirty tricks campaign (COINTELPRO) that finally destroyed Klan power in the 1960s

–How social media could be weaponized to prevent white supremacist movements from ever gaining power again

–What receiving a death threat from a Klansman taught Dr. Allerfeldt about researching America's darkest history

00:00 The Persistence of Hate: Understanding the KKK

08:10 The Origins and Evolution of the KKK

16:07 The KKK's Influence and Political Ambitions

23:52 Violence and Atrocities: The Dark Side of the KKK

31:30 Cultural Impact: Birth of a Nation and the KKK's Revival

39:39 The KKK's Legacy and Modern Implications

52:41 Patriotism and Immigration Perspectives

53:46 The Challenges of Publishing and Cultural Sensitivity

55:28 The KKK: Historical Context and Modern Implications

58:10 FBI Infiltration and Covert Operations Against the KKK

01:01:09 Media Representation and the KKK's Evolution

01:03:30 Civil Rights Movement and KKK Violence

01:06:00 The KKK's Modern-Day Presence and Activities

01:08:13 Future of White Supremacy and Hate Groups

01:10:43 Modern Slavery: Definitions and Implications

01:14:19 The Role of Technology in Modern Slavery

01:18:31 Exploring Dark Topics and Human Nature

01:20:29 Personal Reflections and Life Lessons

01:23:59 The Intersection of Religion and Morality

01:27:24 Final Thoughts on Life and Legacy

RESOURCES / LINKS

Dr. Kristofer Allerfeldt's Book: The Full History of the Ku Klux Klan

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ku-Klux-Klan-American-History/dp/1803990163/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 (Available on Amazon UK, NOT published in the USA)

University of Exeter Faculty Page: https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/1199-kristofer-allerfeldt

Team

Chief Editor: Chloe Breheret

Chief Automation Officer: Jack McDuff

Jacob’s Work

Podcast blueprint (Skool): https://www.skool.com/remote-pro-podcast-blueprint-8385

Website: https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com

If we give AI rights because we think it's conscious, we lose the ability to control it… the dangerous illusion explained by a consciousness expert.

Professor Anil Seth is one of the world's leading neuroscientists, Co-Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, and author of Being You, which challenges everything you thought you knew about perception, reality, and what it means to be conscious.

0:00 Overestimating AI and underestimating ourselves

0:43 Why we project consciousness onto ChatGPT and Claude

2:09 How AI metaphors diminish our view of biological intelligence

3:25 Can AI become conscious? The truth between zero and 100%

5:05 Why consciousness requires life: metabolism, biology, substrate

6:00 Brain organoids vs GPT—which should worry us more?

7:28 Consciousness: more like digestion or flight?

8:29 Why brains are NOT computers when you look inside them

11:10 Intelligence vs consciousness: doing vs feeling

12:35 Why conscious AI would be terrible—even if it's just an illusion

14:33 The alignment problem: can't control AI if we give it rights

17:18 Social media's lessons: unintended consequences of "move fast"

20:07 The moral circle problem: caring about AI means less for animals

21:35 Descartes' error: rationality requires embodied emotion

27:32 Bayesian reasoning: brains make best guesses, not optimal solutions

30:37 The frame problem: why AI can't know what's NOT relevant

33:33 Unconscious vs subconscious: Freud vs modern neuroscience

37:00 Predictive processing: perception as controlled hallucination

38:01 What consciousness is good for: integration and fast learning

41:47 Mental time travel and scrub jays planning futures

45:19 The space of possible minds: dogs, flies, octopuses

48:11 Octopuses see with their skin for predator vision

53:27 Thomas Nagel: "What is it like to be a bat?"

55:13 Human echolocators: blind people navigating by sound

58:54 Perception as controlled hallucination: never experiencing reality directly

1:02:24 Color requires a mind; the spectrum from physics to social construction

1:06:05 Why simulation theory fails if consciousness isn't computation

1:08:28 Why we dream: preventing overfitting and simulating threats

1:12:37 Sleep cycles and why dreams fade instantly

1:15:26 Lucid dreaming: knowing you're dreaming without waking

1:17:50 Derealization: when reality feels unreal even though it is

1:19:08 Final advice: control what you can, find balance and purpose

Professor Anil Seth's Work:

Official Website: https://www.anilseth.com

Books: Being You: A New Science of Consciousness (Sunday Times Bestseller)

https://www.anilseth.com/being-you/

Latest Essay: "The Mythology of Conscious AI" - NoEmer (Free to read online)

Academic Profile: Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science (Co-Director)

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/research/centres/sussex-centre-for-consciousness-science/

Team

Chief Editor: Chloe Breheret

Chief Automation Officer: Jack McDuff

Jacob’s Work

Website: https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com

Neuroscientist and physical therapist Dr. Lara Boyd explains why there is no such thing as a “normal brain,” how neuroplasticity reshapes us across life, and why struggle and sleep are the real drivers of change in our brains. In this episode, she and Jacob explore neurodivergence, learning, stroke recovery, genetics, and what it actually takes to rewire your brain on purpose.

0:00 The French civil servant with “half a brain” and what neuroplasticity can do

1:05 How many of us are actually neuro-atypical? Defining (and questioning) “normal”

2:15 Why there is no clear definition of “neurotypical”

3:05 UK Biobank genetics: ADHD, autism, anxiety and overlapping gene profiles

4:35 Are we over-diagnosing or mis-grouping neurodivergent conditions?

5:35 Evolutionary upsides of ADHD and autism: hyperfocus, sentry attention, solo hunting

6:22 Why autism diagnoses are rising: broader criteria and better recognition in girls

7:30 ADHD and autism as “differences,” not defects — and examples like Elon Musk and Bill Gates

9:05 Lara’s winding path: English major → physical therapist → neuroscientist

10:30 The 1990s shift: from “fixed brain” to lifelong neuroplasticity

12:20 How the brain actually changes: myelin, pruning, and wiring into the mid-20s

16:20 Why young men take more risks: late-maturing prefrontal cortex

18:40 Genes vs environment, epigenetics, and why nature vs nurture isn’t a debate anymore

21:10 APOE4 and dementia risk — and how exercise can change outcomes

22:20 Big data, AI, and decoding brain–gene interactions

24:00 The stroke patient that made Lara feel like a “car mechanic who didn’t understand the engine”

27:20 The landmark monkey stroke study: forced use, reorganization, and recovery

31:00 Redundancy, “silent” neurons, and spare real estate in the brain

33:20 How dendrites, brain chemistry, and BDNF drive neuroplasticity — and why exercise helps

38:20 Why consciousness and self are still “unsolved problems”

39:40 The motor homunculus: why your hands, lips, and tongue dominate your cortex

41:40 Why some people learn in 50 hours and others need 500 — and Lara’s quest to understand variability

44:15 Biomarkers, stroke recovery, and who responds best to brain stimulation

46:05 Could we one day time school topics to each child’s brain readiness?

47:40 Visual vs auditory learners and what brain scans reveal about reading and math readiness

49:30 Stuck in bad habits or a failing career? Why you’re not trapped — and why struggle is your brain changing

52:00 Why we hate struggle even though it’s exactly when neuroplasticity happens

52:55 Sleep as neuroplastic “glue”: deep sleep for motor, REM for cognitive learning

54:05 Naps, aging, and how much sleep we really need

55:10 Lara’s advice to her 20-year-old self: stay curious, practice hard, sleep well

RESOURCES / LINKS Dr. Lara Boyd – UBC Faculty of Medicine profile https://www.med.ubc.ca/researchers/lara-boyd-physical-therapy/

UBC Physical Therapy – Brain Behaviour Laboratory https://physicaltherapy.med.ubc.ca/2022/10/11/lara-boyd/

Website: ⁠https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com⁠