Substack Live: Learn about the 2026 Blog-Building Intensive Fellowship

Episode Overview

• This episode explores the emerging field of "Progress Studies," which systematically examines how human history, science, technology, and society have advanced, why this acceleration took so long to begin, and how to sustain it.
• The conversation details a fellowship program designed to build a "canon of progress" by developing intellectual entrepreneurs, writers, and policy influencers who can effectively communicate ideas that shape society.
• The narrative details how structural writing frameworks, community building, and strategic public communication serve as powerful levers for real-world policy and societal impact.
• It helps listeners decide if they want to improve their persuasive writing, understand the balance between material progress and human flourishing, or learn how to cultivate decentralized intellectual movements.

Key Concepts

• The Philosophy of Progress Studies: Progress is a vital lens for analyzing human history and development. The field seeks to answer why human advancement accelerated so rapidly in recent centuries and how society can intentionally maintain this upward trajectory.
• The "Canon of Progress": Every major intellectual movement requires a robust, expansive body of literature to establish its foundations. Progress studies actively works to build a dedicated canon of written works, similar to established academic and social disciplines.
• Intellectual Entrepreneurship and Decentralization: Traditional think tanks often enforce a rigid organization-wide perspective. A modern, decentralized approach—encouraging writers to build personal equity on platforms like Substack—preserves intellectual integrity and allows for constructive public disagreement.
• Writing as an Epistemic and Structural Tool: Writing is not merely a method for presenting finished thoughts; it is a rigorous process of thinking. Utilizing specific expository structures (such as "steel-man rebuttals" or "way forward essays") helps writers clarify complex ideas, bypass creative blocks, and build trust with their audience.
• The "Ambassador" vs. "Firebrand" Spectrum: Public writers fall between two major archetypes: the Firebrand (bold, polarizing, and rallying to existing supporters) and the Ambassador (empathetic, analytical, and focused on bridging gaps with skeptical audiences through deep understanding of opposing views).
• Progress Measured by Human Flourishing: While scientific, industrial, and technological advancements are critical, they are not ends in themselves. Material progress must be intentionally steered and judged by how effectively it improves human life, agency, and well-being.

Quotes

• At 0:02:13 - "If you care about humanity, and I do, then you should really kind of ask, 'How did this happen? Why did it take so long to start happening? And how can we keep it going into the future?'" - Jason Crawford, explaining the three animating questions of his life's work in progress studies.
• At 0:04:51 - "The ultimate goal of this fellowship is to help create the canon of progress. I think every intellectual movement needs a canon of writing... we need just as many books about progress studies." - Jason Crawford, outlining his vision for the program as a tool to establish the literary foundation for the progress movement.
• At 0:06:21 - "A lot of [product development] is all about really understanding your audience, what their problems are, and what solutions you can offer." - Heika, explaining how her background in Silicon Valley tech startups helped shape the customer-centric design of the fellowship program.
• At 0:11:01 - "One of the learnings for us in the beginning was how much the biggest value for folks is just joining a community and getting connected to the peer group." - Jason Crawford, reflecting on how isolation at the "edges of the network" makes the fellowship's community aspect so valuable for writers.
• At 0:13:54 - "We want our fellows to do writing that changes the world and that changes their lives." - Emma, describing the dual-purpose mission of the writing curriculum: achieving external impact while driving personal transformation.
• At 0:25:08 - "Writing is so creative and personal... it’s not like turning out widgets." - Emma, emphasizing that writing cannot be treated as a standardized, assembly-line process; it requires creative freedom and personal voice.
• At 0:25:24 - "Through the curriculum, you can start to identify different forms and understand when you might want to use one form or the other to express your ideas. It's a little bit like knowing the difference between like a cha-cha and a waltz." - Emma, explaining how understanding different essay structures empowers writers to choose the right vehicle for their message.
• At 0:26:07 - "We're not going to teach you what to write about, we're going to teach you how to write about the things that you already know a lot about and are very passionate about." - Heika, clarifying that the program focuses on sharpening communication and rhetorical skills rather than providing subject-matter expertise.
• At 0:31:31 - "The archetypes in my head are sort of the Ambassador and the Firebrand... You can be a real Firebrand and just get out there with the most bold, brash, hard-hitting statement of something with absolutely no sympathy for anybody who disagrees with you... or you can be the Ambassador who is constantly trying to understand everybody who doesn't agree with them and bridge gaps." - Jason, defining the core spectrum of public intellectual styles.
• At 0:32:59 - "Ultimately, technology is a means to that end... we ultimately judge scientific, technological, and industrial advancement by the standard of how much does it drive human life." - Jason, explaining the relationship between material progress and human flourishing.

Takeaways

• Match your writing format (explainer, steel-man rebuttal, or personal narrative) directly to your communication goals to maximize persuasion and clarity.
• Foster high epistemic standards and constructive feedback within professional peer networks rather than demanding ideological conformity.
• Emulate the "Ambassador" approach in debates by accurately representing and respecting opposing arguments, which builds durable credibility and persuades uncommitted audiences.
• Publish under your own name and build direct relationships with audiences on decentralized platforms like Substack to secure long-term career resilience and intellectual freedom.
• Leverage the strategy of "learning in public" by transparently writing about what you do not know yet, building trust and community engagement around your intellectual journey.
• Connect isolated thinkers in your field to high-density peer networks to rapidly accelerate idea development and achieve measurable real-world policy impact.