In June, a gentleman named Kolja Spöri published a book called Dr. Dangerzone. I have known Kolja — virtually — for several years. He is an anarcho-capitalist, but more importantly, he is one of the most-traveled people in the world! I suppose it’s all relative, as there are actually several hundred people that can claim this title, but according to the site Most Traveled People, there are just under 200 registered individuals who have traveled to the 193 United Nations-recognized countries. Extrapolating a bit, that could mean a total of 500 people in the world.

The interview, conducted in the last few days, lasts just under an hour, and covers a range of topics, namely around travel, but also taking a glance at geopolitics. Below is an image of the book, and here is the Amazon link.

I think this was a great first podcast. Would love to hear any and all feedback! Below is the Spotify link — in time, I intend to have this on YouTube and Apple as well:

Regards,
John

“We wanted flying cars; instead we got 140 characters.” - Peter Thiel, 2011

The science fiction genre — Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, George Lucas — created a sense of wonder between the ‘50s and the ‘70s. Robots, flying cars, interstellar travel. I grew up in the ‘90s watching the Jetsons, which featured video conferencing, smart home technology, robots, and handheld digital devices. Additionally, I watched Luke Skywalker transform from a (somewhat annoying) rural farmer on Tatooine to a space-traveling heroic Jedi. And finally, The 6th Day starring Arnold Schwarzenegger featured self-driving cars! So where is all that technology that science fiction creatives have been obsessing over for decades? Why did Elon Musk buy Twitter and rename it to X, when he could be working on some real technological advancements? Well, while it’s still unknown to many, it looks like the technology is here. Apparently Elon has engaged in numerous simultaneous science projects. And so have others.

A Retrospective on Human Progress

1. Money — While we can argue very clearly that we have gone backward in terms of progress on the technology of money (government-issued fiat is the equivalent of toilet paper with an official stamp on it), we can indeed see plenty of progress from barter to the use of gold and bitcoin for commerce. In What Has Government Done to Our Money?, Murray Rothbard summarizes the complications of barter:

So barter was used — exclusively — as far back as 6000 BC by the Mesopotamians, and as recently as 1,000 AD throughout Western Europe. There are still certain times and places in which barter is used in the developed world, but the development of money helped usher in the Commercial, Scientific, and Industrial Revolutions. Rothbard again:

The invention and progress of money truly humbles the student of ancient Greek and Roman history.

2. Abundance — Julian Simon, an economist known for his book The Ultimate Resource (published in 1981), wrote extensively on the topic of human abundance. People like Thomas Malthus, Paul Ehrlich, and Al Gore have promoted the idea of mass scarcity and population control for years. Simon, on the other hand, saw clearly that if people could pursue the accumulation of resources, uninhibited by government intervention, they’d find that resource scarcity is a myth. Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley, economists and authors of the book Superabundance, also maintain a popular website called Human Progress. Together they developed the Simon Abundance Index, with which they show that over time, resources are not just sufficient, but in fact are abundant.

Since 1980, we can see that, overall, humans are far better off today than they were 45 years ago. In free-market economics circles, comparisons are frequently made between the average human today versus King Luis XIV of France in the late 17th century. While Luis XIV had castles and commanded a large empire, he didn’t have access to electricity, the internet, or an iPhone. He didn’t have a car, either! While we tend to take it for granted, we have access to things and own things that Luis XIV couldn’t have ever imagined.

The Era of Autonomous Driving

I started investing as a ‘formal hobby’ when I started my career in the steel industry in 2014. I knew that fiat money sitting in some bank account earning some wimpy amount of interest was not a recipe for success, so I took what my dad had taught me about investing and started small with ETFs to ‘diversify.’ Over time, I became fascinated with how many different choices I had for investment. That led me to reading different kinds of financial newsletters over time: The Motley Fool, Stansberry Research, Bill Bonner’s Diary, Casey Research… and on and on and on. It opened my eyes to not just what my options were, but to many groundbreaking technologies that were on the horizon. I don’t remember when, but at some point I started reading about autonomous driving several years ago. Reading about the development of an upcoming technology can be exciting, but if you really dive in — going down the rabbit hole, per Lewis Carroll — you will find that progress on this kind of thing can take much longer than you’d expect, sometimes due to necessary research, sometimes due to government regulation, and often due to simply finding the right technological solutions.

Eventually, I understood that there were two technology “systems” that would be competing with one another in the autonomous driving space; those two technologies have been established by Tesla and Waymo. In short, Tesla uses 8 external cameras and a ‘neural network,’ while Waymo uses 29 cameras, 5 LiDAR sensors, and 6 radar units. On top of that, there are two sets of distinctions between both companies and cars today. Waymo operates as a fully autonomous car service — it retrofits Jaguars and takes you from point A to point B for a fee; this is done in the Uber app in Austin, but in its native Waymo app in Houston. Waymo is now deployed in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Tesla, on the other hand, has been manufacturing its own vehicles for over a decade. Its software now allows drivers to engage what it calls “Full Self-Driving,” or FSD. On top of that, Tesla is conservatively rolling out the Robotaxi and Cybercab in Houston. In addition to Houston, Tesla’ Robotaxi is available in Austin, Dallas, Miami, and San Francisco.

Safety

While the following information is provided by Tesla and Waymo, respectively, it’s pretty clear that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology is far safer than a human being with normal driving competence and reflexes.

The Year 2026

I went to Austin a few times in the last 12 months, including a trip at the beginning of June this year. Austin is far from my favorite city — lots of homeless people, lots of strange smells, and lots of colorful hair. However, there are a few reasons to visit on occasion. When I went almost a year ago to see the comedian Dave Smith perform at the Comedy Mothership, I got to experience Waymo for the first time. I’d heard that driverless cars were around, but I didn’t realize that my Uber app would give me the option to use it, just like that! Here’s a link to the video that I took during that first ride — it really changed how I view cars.

After having experienced autonomous driving in several Waymos in both Austin and Houston, as well as two Tesla Robotaxi rides in Austin, it was clear to me that car technology had reached an inflection point. No longer do we have to put ourselves on the road to be at the mercy of the whims of other drivers. Constant focus on the road ahead and our rearview mirrors can now be irrelevant factors of the past. Just last month, I made the decision to buy a Tesla Model Y.

As of today, over 12 billion miles have been driven using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving. In just over two weeks, I’ve driven almost 500 miles using Full Self-Driving. It has been incredible. I actually look forward to getting in the car now, knowing that I have an extremely safe and aware companion while I’m on the move.

Where do we go from here? In fact, I’m eagerly awaiting the deployment of the Tesla Cybercab in Houston. In the future, I’ll be able to purchase this 2-seat vehicle and allow it to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It will pick up commuters, visitors, and bar-hoppers to get them from place to place. What Uber and Lyft did to taxis, I expect these autonomous vehicles to do to the ride-share companies. And, theoretically, this will open up additional opportunities for not just current drivers of these companies, but also entrepreneurs and associated maintenance operations. Call me an optimist!

Regards,
John

Longevity, biohacking, and an attitude change in the realm of health has taken the United States by storm. But Americans aren’t the only ones interested in it! Per the Wall Street Journal,

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his quest to stave off decline a state priority… Russia’s longevity initiative is spearheaded by two figures close to Putin: his daughter Maria Vorontsova, an endocrinologist overseeing state-backed genetics programs, and physicist Mikhail Kovalchuk, head of the Kurchatov Institute, the Soviet-era nuclear research center.

The Russian government is spending $26 billion on a program called Новые технологии сбережения здоровья, or “New Health Preservation Technologies.”

More from the Wall Street Journal:

Russian state scientists appointed by Putin have focused on two key technologies: bioprinting, or 3D-printing living tissue, and xenotransplantation, or growing human organs inside mini-pigs, a porcine breed deemed genetically compatible to humans. Russian scientists working with government agencies claim to have bioprinted human cartilage tissue and a mouse thyroid gland, with the aim of achieving human organ replacement by 2030. A similar timeline has been discussed for growing organs inside pigs.

I imagine people would read this and double down on the notion that Putin is crazy and is Hitler 2.0. However, reading this reminded me of the American company Organovo, now called VivoSim Laboratories, which tried to 3D-print whole transplantable organs. Back in the day, this sounded not just ground-breaking, but quite promising. Apparently, it’s harder than people think, probably due to not just bureaucracy in the medical/health field, but also the moral roadblocks.

Creepy? Sure. Worthwhile? Maybe not. Thought provoking? Absolutely! The Wall Street Journal piece ends up throwing shade not just at Joe Rogan and RFK, Jr., but also at different Russian “longevity” scientists from history, who died far earlier than intended. A strange dismissal of research, but it makes one wonder just how far one can take science to improve health.

Covid-19 and the Health Revolution

I’m not sure how big the current health revolution really is, but ever since the Wuhan lab leak, or, since the pangolin hung out with humans, or the bats went off trying to create Batman or whatever, there has been a significant increase in health awareness and alternative medicine. The emergency lockdowns of society, followed by the collusion between governments and Big Pharma, was shocking to observe. Particularly when you take a step back and notice that it seemed that everyone was freaking out about the flu. In the end, something like 0.1% of the world’s population “died of Covid” — meaning they supposedly tested positive for it either upon arrival at the hospital or postmortem. In the end, the United States was the epicenter — the country full of noncompliance and death. What did the CDC find, then?

For over 5% of these deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned on the death certificate. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 4.0 additional conditions or causes per death.

So, using the numbers provided by hospitals to governments around the world, 17% of the deaths globally came from the United States. Factoring in the statistic above, 95% of deaths in the United States occurred in people with 4.0 additional conditions or causes. The point I am making is not about who deserves to live or who deserves to die — I am not a eugenicist like Bill Gates — but rather an acknowledgment that the global tyranny that took place was not just immoral, but completely pointless (other than granting a whole lot of power to government and widening the scope of work for many NGOs).

So much has been written about Covid-19 in the last six years, and I am far from an expert on the topic, but I think it’s important to address these things that seem to have been memory-holed prior to making the case for human beings pursuing longer, healthier lives for themselves. For the resource page I created about Covid-19, click here.

On to the health revolution. What Putin is interested in ranges from fundamental health principles to biohacking and perhaps transhumanism. I studied these subjects a bit in 2020 and 2021 — very interesting stuff, and I believe most of the content to be scientifically accurate and practically possible, but in the end I gravitated more to ‘life extension’ and improvement by natural means. Meaning proactive healthcare. Meaning eating good food, exercising, and eliminating toxic sh*t from life. I have found that not only is it relatively simple stuff, but a lot of the ‘solutions’ tend to be what our grandmothers taught us as we were growing up. The “old wives’ tales” seem to be backed up by science! And my sincere belief is that all of the sickness and “early” death can be completely prevented with simple changes in lifestyle.

I’m going to go into further detail below, but if you’re eager for some ideas now, I created a health resource page a while back. Click here to access it. It’s pretty simple stuff, but remarkably controversial depending on your perspective! Sneak preview: I have links to content on seed oils, meat and organs, resveratrol, green tea, water, protein, fasting, vaccines… Each time I find another fascinating topic that I think goes against what your doctor might say, but is backed up by science, I include it in the list!

Thankfully, there are so many resources available — websites, podcasts, books, doctors, scientists, researchers, trials, studies, etc. — that we don’t have to be guineapigs, either. All we have to do is be exposed to the information, and from there we can do our own research! As much as the medical industry may not like this perspective, I don’t have to go see my doctor to know that I am fat, or get prescribed medicine for a runny nose.

On top of that, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who just ten years ago was considered a nutjob and anti-vaxxer, is currently the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The world went from locking down, masking up, and jabbing to RFK Jr. running for president, then being selected to lead “health stuff” in the Executive Branch of the United States. This is a big deal. And what are some concrete changes in America since he’s taken over?

1. There is a new food pyramid prioritizing meat and protein in general, and minimizing whole grains (image above); a recommendation, not a mandate.

2. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps) no longer covers junk food and soda.

3. FDA has stated that it would “phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply;” it’s understood that the food industry will follow this guidance.

4. The childhood vaccine schedule has been reduced; a recommendation, not a mandate.

5 Easy Steps to Take Today That Don’t Involve Adrenochrome

There are many, many things that a person can do to improve their lifespan and general quality of life, however, these ten things are simple changes that can be implemented now — as long as you have the desire and the willpower.

1. Eliminate the consumption of seed oils, like canola oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil. They lead to countless diseases and they are in most foods you eat outside of your house.

2. Start intermittent fasting. For most people, this means creating a larger gap between dinner and breakfast — if you continue eating breakfast at all! Fasting benefits include autophagy and a reduction in calories consumed. Trust me, obesity is far more common than being “big-boned.”

3. Follow the new food pyramid. It’s not perfect, but it’s 1,000% better than the previous one. Look at where rice, bread, nuts, and oatmeal are on the pyramid — replace these calories with protein, like eggs, beef, fish, milk, yogurt, etc. Yes, carbohydrates give humans energy, but most of us are far exceeding the quantity required in order to sit on a couch and look at our cell phones.

4. Increase the red meat in your diet, specifically grass-fed & grass-finished beef. Grass-fed & grass-finished beef contains vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

5. Ignore your doctor. Yes, yes, very controversial. But stop getting vaccines and other “shots,” and don’t bother paying attention to comments on “good” and “bad” cholesterol. Insult to injury is when your doctor is overweight and giving you health advice. When is the last time your doctor told you to go outside, in the sunlight, for some exercise?

Even if this administration doesn’t succeed in MAHA (Mak[ing] America Healthy Again), at least we can try to improve health on a person-to-person basis.

By the way, my latest implementation is ditching my toxic polyester clothing for linen and pima cotton. Life is far more expensive and complicated this way, but I suspect that my future self — call him John at 85 years old — will appreciate this! On top of that, it keeps me quite cool in the Houston summer.

Regards,
John

There is an active — brutal — campaign against Thomas Massie. Donald Trump has been actively campaigning against him. He endorsed his opponent months ago. And AIPAC — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — and associated Israeli-oriented organizations have funded Massie’s primary challenger over $10 million. Per Axios in a piece published this week, between both candidates, it is “more than $25.6 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact, which makes the fight between Massie and Gallrein the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.”

Trump — who I have gone back and forth on over the last eleven years, but who finally ‘was not my president’ when he decided to bomb Iran last summer — has always been about loyalty. He doesn’t have much of a political or governing philosophy, besides the ambiguous “Make America Great Again.” Really, this boils down to pushing for policies and taking actions that are quite subjective, but that he believes are improving circumstances for the nation-state of the United States of America. Thomas Massie, on the other hand, is something of a child of the Ron Paul movement, and he therefore has a rather strict philosophy. At its core, it focuses on individual rights and individual liberty, which in practice means focusing on the limits of the American Constitution, and voting against any bill that expands the size and scope of government.

So what is it that Thomas Massie believes, what does he push for, and how does he vote? And why should anyone care about some member of the House that represents less than a million people in northern Kentucky? And why are the powers that be working so, so hard to unseat him?

Beliefs and Congressional Voting Record

The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), founded in 1991, releases an annual “Liberty Index” so that freedom-loving American citizens can actively review which members of Congress are pursuing their interests. Per the RLC,

“The Liberty Index scores Republican members of Congress on 20 key votes from 2025 that either advanced or undermined core RLC principles: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, fiscal responsibility, and an America First, non-interventionist foreign policy.”

As proud as I am of Thomas Massie, it is disappointing to see that the U.S. House of Representatives — out of 435 members — has only one Congressman who consistently defends liberty. Having said that, I will grant Marjorie Taylor Greene some grace, as she realized toward the end of her Congressional career how the American government — and the world — really operates.

For those interested in the specific bills that went into determining the scores above, below are the 22 bills that the Republican Liberty Caucus considered. Of note are the 4 highlighted bills: (1) Marjorie Taylor Greene’s amendment that would have halted foreign aid to Ukraine and would have cut $500 million to Israel; (2) NDAA, which appropriated billions of dollars to Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel, for which Massie voted against; (3) the bill to release the Epstein Files — as Marjorie Taylor Greene recently said, Trump flat out stated to her that he didn’t want to expose his friends; and (4) directive to remove troops from Venezuela unless there is a declaration of war from Congress. Along with Thomas Massie’s rhetoric and public statements, these four votes are likely what contributed to both President Trump’s ire and also the Israel lobby’s heavy participation in this wee Kentucky primary.

And most recently — adding insult to injury, from the perspective of the Trump administration and Zionists in general — is Massie’s view on the war in Iran:

Massie’s Relevance and His Uphill Battle

It’s clear enough why Trump and his ilk don’t like him, but Massie is only 1 of 435 in the House of Representatives. So what gives? Well, he uses logic and defends his positions emphatically. Believe it or not, this works to convince not just constituents, but also people across the country, who in turn push their respective congressmen to support similar legislation. And who knows, perhaps Massie even succeeds in bring over a few of his colleagues in the swamp. 15 years ago, people either hadn’t heard of libertarians, or if they had, they simply laughed them off as irrelevant. That has drastically changed, and this particular primary is evidence of it. On top of that, the people in favor of the war in Iran are quite limited — it’s Trump, some very loud neoconservatives (supported strongly by the Israel lobby, of course), and perhaps people who work in the oil and gas industry, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven oil prices way up.

In terms of what he’s up against — lots of money from the establishment, which coincides strongly with the Israel lobby. Thomas Massie has received zero — in the same way that Ron Paul never received anything — while his Primary challenger has received almost $12 million from the lobby (AIPAC and associated groups, along with Miriam Adelson, who incidentally donated over $100 million to Trump in 2024).

Conclusion

In my lifetime, I’ve donated a total of twice. Once was to Ron Paul in 2012 — I was in college, and I think I donated $10 or $20. Back then it seemed like I was really contributing! As of this week, I donated to a second politician, and that was to Thomas Massie — a somewhat more substantial amount. Do I live in Kentucky? Nope — although I did about a decade ago. This donation was to do the most that I could to try to keep a voice that promotes freedom — no matter the political pressures — in Washington.

At the time of publication (Friday, May 15, afternoon), Massie is favored to win.

Good luck, Congressman!

Regards,
John