Deep Dive: Burning Capitals, Borges’ Labyrinths, and the Thinking Arms of Octopus - August 24, 2025
Thomas Golding and Alexander Wilson examine the 1814 burning of Washington, D.C., unpack Jorge Luis Borges’s inventive narrative structures and librarian influence, and explore how octopus arms exhibit decentralized ‘thinking’ and control.
In this Deep Dive episode, our hosts discuss the burning of Washington in 1814, Jorge Luis Borges’s creative methods, and the autonomous processing of octopus arms.
- 📜 The hosts dissect the British attack on Washington, D.C. in 1814 — the deliberate burning of the White House and Capitol, its tactical and psychological impact on a young nation, and how targeting symbolic infrastructure disrupted communications, records, and administrative continuity.
- 🎂 A birthday spotlight on Jorge Luis Borges: conversation focuses on Borges’s role as an Argentine writer and librarian, how his experiences shaped Ficciones and The Aleph, and the engineering-like construction of his stories with nested structures, mirrors, labyrinths and conceptual paradoxes.
- 💡 Fact of the day — octopus arms can “think” for themselves: the hosts describe decentralized neural processing in octopus limbs, how autonomous arms function like independent control units, and the implications for coordination, parallel processing and biological control architectures.
---
🎧 Subscribe for more insights.
🎧 Subscribe for more insights.
Creators and Guests
Producer
Chad Thompson
Chad Thompson is the producer of Neural Newscast, bringing his expertise in technology, cybersecurity, media production, DJing, music production, and radio broadcasting to deliver high-quality, engaging news content. A futurist and early adopter, Chad has a deep passion for innovation, storytelling, and automation, ensuring that Neural Newscast stays at the forefront of modern news delivery. With a background in security operations and a career leading cyber defense teams, he combines technical acumen with creative vision to produce informative and compelling broadcasts. In addition to producing the podcast, Chad creates its original music, blending his technical expertise with his creative talents to enhance the show's unique sound. Outside of Neural Newscast, Chad is a dedicated father, electronic music enthusiast, and builder of creative projects, always exploring new ways to merge technology with storytelling.
