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Pick your topic and join me for an episode of "Can I Ask You a Question?"

Once you submit this form, I'll send you an email to schedule a time to chat! Episodes will be recorded via Skype. All you need is a solid internet connection, a relatively quiet space, and regular headphones with a mic. If you're located in Toronto, and want to record in person, I'd be happy to do that. Episodes can take up to one hour to record.

What's this podcast all about?

I really enjoy chatting with people one-on-one to hear their views on topics I'm interested in. I figured this podcast would be a great way to motivate myself to engage in deep conversations, meet new people, and give people like you a platform to share your thoughts. I previously called this the Change My Mind podcast, but re-branded it after realizing that I wanted the episodes to be a conversation as opposed to an argument or debate.

Here is a list of questions I'm currently pondering. Which of these questions would you be most interested in discussing?

What do you think is more likely to happen first; we cure aging or go extinct?

Should we try to colonize Mars?

Does big data pose a significant threat to liberal democracies?

How should we value/weigh an animal's life relative to a human's life (i.e. how many cows' lives = 1 human's life)?

Do you think human-influenced climate change is real?

Do you think that climate change, nuclear warfare, and artificial intelligence all pose existential risks?

Should we avoid claiming that we are 100% sure of anything?

Are there any cases in which you think abortion should not be permitted?

Are prisons too focused on punishment for the sake of punishment?

How likely do you think it is that augmented reality glasses replace smartphones in the near future?

Assuming the person is being genuine, do you think there is such a thing as a stupid question?

Should we be worried about the future of the advertising industry?

Does today's advertising industry need more regulation?

What are your thoughts on Yuval Harari's views?

Will machines eventually become more intelligent than humans are today?

Do you agree that healthy conversation is the key to a healthy relationship?

Is it possible that professional sports will lose their appeal in the future as prediction becomes more accurate (i.e. it's potentially not as exciting to watch if we know will a high degree of certainty which team will win based on advanced analytics)?

Should the NFL consider moving to flag football given the head injuries associating with tackling?

Should the NHL consider making all forms of hitting illegal?

Once a person's basic needs (i.e. food, water, clothing, shelter, education, healthcare, internet) are met, do you think more money can still increase happiness?

What are your thoughts on veganism?

What are your thoughts on effective Altruism?

What's your favourite book and why?

What are your thoughts on universal basic income?

How concerned are you about the direction the world is heading?

Do you think we will create artificial general intelligence, and if so, when?

Who are your favourite thinkers?

What is something that 99% of people wouldn't agree with you on?

What are the most important life lessons you've learned?

Do you think travelling is key to happiness?

How do you balance being happy with what you have, and the desire for a better life?

Why do you think people report having less close friends than in the past?

What are your thoughts on emailing people for work-related matters outside of 9-5?

What are your favourite phone apps?

Is it okay to withhold truth for the greater good?

Is withholding truth lying?

If we lived in a world where everyone was truthful and could therefore trust each other, could something like Hiroshima still happen?

How do you think lying first developed?

Would we be better off in a world where humans never developed the ability to lie?

When thinking about for-profits, how do you view the relationship between "what is good for customers" and "what is good for the business?"

What's your view on exploration vs. exploitation?

What can we do to improve your mood?

If you polled people on what they think are the biggest problems in the world, do you think there would be much agreement?

How should countries think about which services to privatize vs. keep public?

Why is there no non-profit social network?

How likely do you think it is that there is other life out there?

How likely do you think it is that we will ever encounter extraterrestrial life?

How likely do you think it is that an encounter with extraterrestrial life would be peaceful?

How much time should I spend on social media each day?

What should be considered crossing the line in comedy?

What's better for productivity - open concept offices or cubicles?

Do you think the vast majority of animal suffering will be eliminated in the near future due to the introduction of more ethical alternatives like plant-based meats and clean meats?

How do you determine whether a life lived is a net positive or net negative existence?

What are your thoughts on CRISPR and gene editing?

Should you donate anonymously or with your name attached?

Are you in a good mood because you worked out, or did you work out because you were in a good mood?

How can we encourage people to spend less time on their phones, and more time interacting with others face to face?

If we cured aging and could live forever in good health, how would our lives/world change?

Do you think there is a misalignment of incentives for practitioners like dentists and psychologists whose earnings depend on how often you come back?

Would you rather live for 500 years or forever?

If it eventually make more sense to grow babies inside an artificial incubator than in wombs, what sorts of psychological effects could this have on humans (especially mothers)?

Given that roughly 1.25 million people around the world currently die in car accidents each year, what number will self-driving cars have to drop this number too before the technology is widely-accepted?

Do you think recreational drugs and alcohol have had a net positive or net negative impact on society?

Are there any messages we might want to send back to our ancestors in the year 1700 that would have made history likely to go in a better direction than it did?

How much time should I spend listening to podcasts vs listening to audiobooks?

Where should I donate my money?

How much of my money should I donate?

Should I use duckduckgo as my primary search engine?

If someone owns my data, do they own a part of me?

If we solve mortality in the future, do we have to worry about us losing motivation to do things (i.e. if I have unlimited time, might I lose motivation to do things)?

In a future where all work has been automated, how likely is it that people loss their sense of purpose?

If you could choose to live a normal lifespan or live forever, which would you choose and why?

What problem area do you think needs more attention by the EA community?

How much of our time should we spend thinking about the past vs present vs future?

How much is a reasonable amount of money to spend on art?

What's an opinion you have that most people wouldn't agree with?

What life lesson took you a while to learn?

What are your thoughts on dominant assurance contracts?

What are your thoughts on socialism, communism, and/or egalitarianism?

Should we ban plastic water bottles in developed countries where everyone has access to safe tap water?

What law would you like to see changed?

What's one life lesson or piece of advice you'd want to share?

How can companies improve their hiring processes?

What inventions do you feel have had a net negative effect on the world?

Would you consider signing up to be frozen (cryonics) when you die?

Do you find any questions on this list to be offensive?

Which question on this list surprised you most?

Which question on this list were you most uncomfortable with?

Do you think it's possible to write a book composed of only questions?

What are your thoughts on the free-culture movement?

Why have sports been so successful at bringing people and countries together?

Is deterrent punishment ethical?

Why can you legally buy cigarettes?

What would you do with your time if money wasn't an object?

What information should be classified by the government, and what information should be public?

Are we becoming more or less divided?

Should we be concerned about lead in our water, and if so, what can we do about it?

Which person has influenced you most in life?

Should I use a non-proft browser like Firefox instead of using Chrome?

How can we improve people's trust in each other across the world?

How can we make social media more healthy?

What are the pros and cons of having conversations in public via podcast records like this, vs. having conversations in private?

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Once you submit this form, I'll send you an email to schedule a time to chat! Episodes will be recorded via Skype. All you need is a solid internet connection, a relatively quiet space, and regular headphones with a mic. If you're located in Toronto, and want to record in person, I'd be happy to do that. Episodes can take up to one hour to record.

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