In this episode of Infinite Loops, Jim O'Shaughnessy sits down with Angus Fletcher, Professor of Story Science at Ohio State University's Project Narrative and author of multiple books at the intersection of narrative theory, psychology, and brain science.

Angus' research challenges one of the most widely accepted ideas in modern culture: that the human brain works like a computer. Drawing on his work with U.S. Army Special Operations, he argues that humans think not in equations, but in actions and stories — and that modern education systems are failing to cultivate the kinds of intelligence needed to navigate the real world.

Jim and Angus explore the difference between probability thinking and possibility thinking, why standardized education may be suppressing creativity, how stories shape strategy and leadership, and why the most successful innovators think like explorers rather than optimizers.

Important Links:

Read Angus' book — Primal Intelligence: The New Science of How We Think: https://www.amazon.com/Primal-Intelligence-New-Science-Think/dp/0593712974

Angus' Harvard Business Review Article — Your Brain Doesn't Work the Way You Think It Does: https://hbr.org/2025/01/your-brain-doesnt-work-the-way-you-think-it-does

Learn more about Angus here: https://www.angusfletcher.co/

In this episode of Infinite Loops, we sit down with author Jonathan Tepper to discuss his extraordinary childhood.

In 1985, when Jonathan was seven, his missionary parents moved the family to San Blas — then the heroin capital of Europe — to start a drug rehabilitation center. Jonathan and his brothers grew up alongside former bank robbers, prison survivors, and people living through the AIDS epidemic. These recovering addicts became like older siblings to them. What began with one man in a small apartment grew into a global movement operating in 20 countries.

Jonathan's memoir, Shooting Up: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Addiction, is out now and published in the US by Infinite Books and in the UK by Little, Brown Book Group.

Important Links

Buy Shooting Up: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Addiction: https://www.infinitebooks.com/books/products/shooting-up

Read the first chapter for free: https://infiniteloops.substack.com/p/give-them-to-anyone-who-looks-like

Learn more about Jonathan here: https://jonathan-tepper.com/

Fresh off releasing one of the most beautiful hardcover books we've ever seen, Paul Millerd returns alongside Infinite Books CEO Jimmy Soni for a deep dive into the broken incentives of traditional publishing, why the industry breeds "cynicism at scale," and how the internet is powering a second Renaissance for creators.

We get into what it means to build a creative life on your own terms, the Taoist approach to growing an audience, how to navigate financial uncertainty while raising a family, and why seemingly boring daily routines fuel extraordinary creative work.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, "Hmm, that's interesting!," check out our Substack.

Important Links:

• Paul's Website
• Paul's X
• Paul's Substack
• The Pathless Path Premium Hardcover
• Good Work
• Infinite Books
• Jimmy's X

Show Notes:

• Make Books Beautiful
• Why Paul Turned Down Penguin
• Creative Work Should Inspire More Creative Work
• Cynicism at Scale in the Publishing Industry
• The Long Tail of Book Marketing
• Why Paul Launched a Hardcover Pathless Path
• Dre, Spielberg & Chappelle: Design Your Own System
• Playing Probabilistic Games
• How to Live a Pathless Life With a Family
• The Creative Perks of a Boring Life
• "What If I Do Less?"
• Books Are Win-Win
• Paul as World Emperor

Books Mentioned:

• The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life; by Paul Millerd
• Good Work: Reclaiming Your Inner Ambition; by Paul Millerd
• The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley; by Jimmy Soni
• What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy
• How to Retire Rich; by Jim O'Shaughnessy
• Walden (Steel Brothers reimagined edition); by Henry David Thoreau
• Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective; by Kenneth O. Stanley
• The Work Is the Win; by Billy Oppenheimer (forthcoming)
• Reclaim the Book; by Paul Millerd (essay)
• Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World; by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
• The Chronic; by Dr. Dre (album)
• Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing); by Lao Tzu