Todd Nief's Show

Todd Nief's Show

Todd Nief

Todd Nief's Show is about unpacking the models that people use to think about the world and solve problems in complex areas like fitness, business, nutrition, music, and academia.

1 hour 22 minutes

Paul Bearer (Sheer Terror | Joe Coffee)
Paul Bearer is the vocalist for one of the most influential and underrated New York Hardcore bands of all time: Sheer Terror. Sheer Terror came out of the very strange New York Hardcore scene of the 80s — before the music became codified into the metallic, bouncy mosh parts we think of as NYHC today. While Sheer Terror is certainly no stranger to blending metal and punk, their sound is much more Tom G. Warrior plus Oi! rather than syncopated, single-string riffs. Nothing against bouncy mosh parts, but Sheer Terror is much more my cup of tea, personally.

Paul and I talk not only about the weird world of punk and hardcore in New York in the 80s, but also about Paul’s cooking and his aggressive and comical pet Russian tortoises.
Learn more from Paul and Sheer Terror here:
- Instagram: @djdontlikeu | @officialsheerterror
- Facebook: @sheerterror | @joecoffeeband
- Merchandise: Dead City Merchandise | Socks at Omerta Mia
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.

Many of these interviews are posted in video format on YouTube as well.
Show Notes:
- [02:36] Paul’s DJing and the dangers of developing a habit collecting Northern Soul records
- [13:36] How to get into Northern Soul. And, artists finding out they’re unexpectedly famous.
- [27:20] The difficulty of being creative during the pandemic. And, Paul burned all his old, unused lyrics notebooks.
- [37:42] Paul’s specialty dishes
- [43:51] Obsessive music collecting and getting into punk. Plus a meditation on aging and hard living.
- [56:19] Paul’s thoughts on fitness (Don’t miss this…)
- [58:50] New York was a weird place during the 80s and New York Hardcore was a weird scene. Plus, the violent, sketchy world of skinheads and the evolution of anti-establishment politics.
- [1:15:51] New Sheer Terror music and how to buy Sheer Terror socks
Links and Resources Mentioned:
27 September 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 20 minutes

Christopher M. Russo (Mercatus Center) on Monetary Policy, The Fed, and Inflation
Monetary policy is confusing. What even is The Fed? How do they control interest rates? Is The Fed different than the Treasury? Why do different cities have different feds? And, most importantly, do people with laser eyes on Twitter actually know anything about inflation?

These are all things that I've wondered about — fortunately, my friend Chris Russo is a post-graduate research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and an expert on monetary policy. And, he lifted some weights at South Loop Strength & Conditioning while pursuing his education at the University of Chicago.

Chris does a great job of breaking down how monetary policy impacts our daily lives, and gives an enlightening explanation of some of the plumbing that keeps our monetary system functioning. Plus, we discuss a zoomed out perspective on how to think about the inflation numbers in the news.
Learn more from Chris here:
- Website: www.russoecon.com | Mercatus Profile
- Twitter: @RussoEcon
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [02:06] What is the US Treasury? What is The Fed? What do the Treasury and the Fed have to do with inflation?
- [13:36] A history of the organization of The Fed including: why cities have their own Fed, how the fed regulates monetary policy, and what it means to “print money”
- [27:44] How does the money supply impact prices and inflation? And, the importance of the equation of exchange: MV = PQ
- [33:10] Paul Krugman’s babysitter club analogy and how it explains monetary policy
- [45:40] Why does The Fed target 2% inflation?
- [51:02] Interest rates, full employment and the Fed’s mechanisms for inflation targeting
- [01:02:11] How should people think about inflation numbers in the news?
- [01:12:11] Summary of key takeaways on monetary policy
Links and Resources Mentioned:
15 September 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 7 minutes

Spenser Mestel on Voting Rights, Election Reform, and Writing a Book with Mat Fraser
I first encountered Spenser’s work through his writing for the Morning Chalk Up, and at some point I clicked on enough links to realize that the majority of his work is on voting rights and election reform.

I’ve been a subscriber to Spenser’s voting rights newsletter, so I wanted to get his take on how things went with New York City’s experiment in ranked choice voting in their Democratic mayoral primary.

While election fraud and voter suppression are hot-button culture war issues, there are also a lot of low-hanging fruit for bipartisan election reforms. Spenser’s understanding of the voting rights landscape is deep and nuanced, so I’m thrilled that he decided to indulge my questioning.

We also discuss Spenser’s forthcoming book with Mat Fraser, in which Mat finally spills the beans about his training, his injuries (that he didn’t want competitors to know about), and more. You can pre-order Hard Work Pays Off here.
Learn more from Spenser here:
- Substack: spensermestel.substack.com
- Website: www.spensermestel.com
- Book: “Hard Work Pays Off” by Mat Fraser and Spenser Mestel
- Twitter: @SpenserMestel
- Instagram: @spensermestel
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [02:35] How has ranked choice voting gone in the New York mayoral primary? And, what’s the deal with the New York Board of Elections?
- [10:57] Did any of the theoretical benefits of ranked choice voting show up when it was tested in New York?
- [27:42] What is the “steelman” case for voting rights restrictions? What is the prevalence of voter fraud?
- [34:02] There is a history of political machines and electioneering. How concerned should we be with these kinds of manipulations?
- [39:32] What’s the deal with voter ID requirements? And gerrymandering?
- [52:50] Writing a book with 5 time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser — and the mental challenges of being an elite athlete
- [1:05:55] Learn more from Spenser and subscribe to Spenser’s Super Tuesday
Links and Resources Mentioned:
23 July 2021, 9:00 am
57 minutes 5 seconds

Dave Bland (Full of Hell | Jarhead Fertilizer)
Dave Bland is one of the most creative drummers currently playing extreme music. While technical wherewithal with blindingly fast blast beats is always appreciated, the ability to adapt to the varied styles present on Full of Hell records as well as the more straightforward death metal of Jarhead Fertilizer requires much more perspicacity.

I first met Dave over 10 years ago when he was a high school student who left to go on tour with Full of Hell without his parents’ permission. Since then, Full of Hell has grown into one of the best bands in extreme music, and Dave’s drumming has become unbelievably impressive.

Dave’s death metal project Jarhead Fertilizer finally released their debut full length album this year on Closed Casket Activities after letting it marinate for several years.

In this interview, Dave discusses his difficult upbringing as well as his late father’s run ins with the law — and how those experiences shaped him as well as proving inspiration for Jarhead’s music.

Dave also discusses his best tips for smoking meats (he works as a chef while not touring) and whether he prefers small or big sunglasses.
Learn more from Dave, Full of Hell, and Jarhead Fertilizer here:
- Bandcamp: Jarhead Fertilizer | Full of Hell
- Instagram: @davebland | @fullofhell | @jarhead_fertilizer
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [02:10] Dave’s tips for smoking meats and wearing shades
- [10:54] The evolution of Jarhead Fertilizer
- [13:51] Dave’s late father’s wild life story — and how that comes out in Jarhead’s lyrical content.
- [26:00] Lessons learned from Dave’s upbringing
- [33:50] Meeting Spencer and joining Full of Hell as a child
- [41:40] Dave’s skills as a guitar player and how he writes Jarhead Fertilizer songs
- [46:00] Dave’s forthcoming solo record — and how he things about collaboration, improvisation, and writing songs with a focus on drums
- [56:20] Creating a cohesive vision from disparate influences
- [01:06:30] All of Dave’s upcoming releases — and starting a YouTube channel
Links and Resources Mentioned:
18 June 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 11 minutes

Matthew O. Jackson, PhD on Human Networks and Microfinance
Humans have an intuitive sense for who is important and well-connected. We like knowing “movers and shakers,” and we regularly engage in complicated social machinations — conscious or otherwise — to position ourselves close to the seat of influence.

But what about the formal study of the spread of information through human networks? Matthew O. Jackson is a professor of economics at Stanford, and his book “The Human Network” is a fantastic primer on the complex dynamics of human relationships. He’s also done fascinating work on the spread of microfinance in southern India with Arun Chandrasekhar and Nobel Laureates Abhijit Bahnerjee and Esther Duflo.

In this podcast, we discuss the spread of microfinance in villages in rural India — as well as some unintended consequences that that came as a result of disrupting the social structures of these villages. And, as sometimes happens, we also had a brief detour to discuss Frank Herbert’s “Dune.”
Learn more from Matthew here:
- Website: Stanford Homepage
- Books: The Human Network | Social and Economic Networks
- Twitter: @jacksonmmatt
- Coursera: Instructor Page
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [02:08] “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
- [05:56] The spread of microfinance in southern India provides a natural experiment for tracking the flow of information through social networks — and the consequences of altering the social graph in communities.
- [20:17] How did companies try to spread loans in India? What types of people best spread information about microfinance in their communities?
- [26:30] Information spread “decays” the further out in the network it gets. What causes this?
- [38:00] A quick detour into Dune and Lord of the Rings
- [42:26] The consequences of microfinance on the social networks in villages — and externalities on those who already have week social ties
- [55:40] Does disrupting the social networks of rural villages cause any positive externalities like less caste segregation?
- [01:00:17] Using “policy cocktails” to help counteract the unintended consequences of interventions.
- [01:10:00] How to learn more from Matthew, follow his research, and purchase his books.
Links and Resources Mentioned:
1 June 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 22 minutes

Kayhan Vaziri (Yautja)
Yautja plays lurching, uncomfortable music, so it is fitting that their new album is called “The Lurch.” I first met Kayhan back in approximately 2010 when I was on tour with Weekend Nachos and we stayed at Kayhan’s place in Birmingham, Alabama. At the time, Kayhan was in a band called Legion (funny enough), and since then has gone on to play in several excellent hardcore and metal projects like Coliseum, Die Young, and — of course — Yautja.

Yautja’s most recent record is fantastic, so I wanted to get Kayhan on the podcast to discuss how they write such weird but catchy songs. The conversation also took a detour into some of Kayhan’s wild experiences working at his family’s convenience store during a pandemic, so stick around for that as well.
Learn more from Kayhan and Yautja here:
- Bandcamp: yautja.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: @yautjagram
- Facebook: @YautjaTN
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [01:29] The power of naming things “Legion”
- [06:50] Being viewed as an off-the-rails weirdo due to an interest in extreme music — and the differences between music, sci-fi, and fantasy fandoms
- [15:04] Getting into hardcore and punk, and the benefits of a mid-sized scene on creativity in Birmingham, Alabama
- [20:28] Straddling genre lines with Yautja and being the misfit band on most concert bills
- [29:17] The impacts of the country music industry on the Nashville underground music scene
- [35:07] Yautja’s songwriting process — and the importance of rhythm, variations, and other subtleties in their compositions
- [47:17] Yautja plays difficult and weird riffs, but is not really a “technical” band
- [57:55] Yautja’s plans as the US emerges from the pandemic
- [01:03:29] Kayhan’s comical and frustrating experiences working in his family’s convenience store during a pandemic
- [01:14:14] How to purchase “The Lurch” and support Yautja
Links and Resources Mentioned:
21 May 2021, 9:00 am
22 minutes 28 seconds

Simple Solutions to Complex Problems [Solocast]
I’ve often spoken on the Legion Strength & Conditioning podcast about the desire for “simple solutions to complex problems.”

I figured I’d reframe and refine that discussion for a solocast based upon the cynefin decision-making framework, Julia Galef’s great new book “The Scout Mindset,” and some marketing intuition from years of running a small business.

Over years of creating content for a fitness audience, I’ve learned that the things that resonate with people are often not the things that are actually correct. Understanding the difference between a “complicated” environment and a “complex” environment has helped me clarify what’s going on here.

People tend to listen to podcasts, read articles, and buy coaching products to solve problems that they know they have. Most people intuitively frame things as “complicated” problems — meaning that there is established expertise out in the world that, messy as it may be, can come up with a flow chart or system that will guarantee an outcome if followed correctly.

Instead, most real-life things are complex — meaning that outcomes are only loosely coupled with the “correctness” of inputs, nonlinearities, emergent phenomena, and threshold effects dominate, and it’s really hard to extract signal from noise.

So, if I were being more parsimonious in my statement, I could rephrase it as “people want complicated solutions to complex problems.” Here’s why the best way to market yourself as a coach is not the best way to actually coach.

If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [00:13] Introduction to the cynefin framework — Obvious | Complicated | Complex | Chaotic
- [05:14] Moving from the realm of the complicated to the complex in real life environments like training, coaching, and business
- [11:40] The Scout Mindset — and the weakness of epistemic humility when marketing to people thinking in a “complicated” not a “complex” way
- [16:10] The prestige trap — and the desire to copy what successful people do under the misconception that there is a linear path to accomplish what they’ve accomplished (like people complaining that Mat Fraser’s new programming doesn’t show exactly what he did leading into his final CrossFit Games championship)
Links and Resources Mentioned:
4 May 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 13 minutes

Bryan James, PhD on Alzheimer’s and Epidemiology
At some point in the last year or so, I started listening to the Epidemiology Counts podcast. I was thrilled to learn that the host, Bryan James, is a Chicago local at Rush University — and he’s a CrossFitter at Goose Island CrossFit. Bryan and I recently collaborated on an article for BarBend about controlling the spread of Covid in gym, as well: COVID In Gyms: What The Research Says About Mitigating Spread.

In his day job, Bryan’s research focuses on the epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease, so I wanted to get his take on some common misconceptions about Alzheimer’s. Most of us have a family member who has been touched by Alzheimer’s or dementia, and my family is no different. Bryan’s work focuses on population-level analysis of some of the things that give us “buffering capacity” to delay the onset of dementia, as well as some of the hidden costs of Alzheimer’s and dementia that don’t always show up in our statistics.

In Bryan’s role as a podcast host, he is also an expert communicator about nuanced epidemiological topics and public health. There’s a lot to talk about with the litany of public health communication catastrophes we’ve seen through the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the descent into epistemic nihilism playing out daily on our social media feeds. Bryan has been wrestling with some of these problems in his own work, so his insight here is invaluable.
Learn more from Bryan here:
- Podcast: Epidemiology Counts | Episode 1: Why should I trust that new health study?
- Website: Rush Profile
- Twitter: @bryandjames | @rushalzheimers
- Selected Publications: Late-Life Social Activity and Cognitive Decline in Old Age | Contribution of Alzheimer disease to mortality in the United States
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [01:51] The difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia — and the role of cognitive reserve capacity in preventing dementia
- [13:36] How to determine causality in a multifactorial complex system — and the changes in “prevalence” and “incidence” of Alzheimer’s over time
- [24:50] What does epidemiology tell us about developing cognitive reserve capacity?
- [33:29] Bryan’s paper on the correlation between social activity and Alzheimer’s
- [41:47] Controlling for reverse causality and potential outside causes in epidemiological research
- [50:04] The challenges in public health communication and the flaws in the way epidemiology research is presented in the media.
- [01:03:24] Misinformation, publicly communicating nuanced topics, combatting epistemic nihilism, and restoring trust in institutions that have made public mistakes
- [01:10:10] The Epidemiology Counts podcast and properly weighting the information from observational studies
Links and Resources Mentioned:
19 April 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 2 minutes

James Pligge (Harm's Way) Round II
James Pligge is back by popular demand. This time, we talk about some of the many misconceptions that people have about James and Harm’s Way — as well as James’s ill-fated attempt to make a protein shake with Coca-Cola.

To be honest, talking about making a protein shake from Coca-Cola probably doesn’t do a lot to correct any of those popular misconceptions about James…

Either way, this is a hilarious conversation. James explains why Harm’s Way is more influenced by The Jesus Lizard than by Madball and also ridicules contemporary powerlifting culture.
Learn more from James and Harm's Way here:
- Website: www.harmsway13.com | Bandcamp
- Twitter: @harmsxway
- Facebook: @harmsxway
- Instagram: @harmsway13
These interviews are also posted on YouTube with video. Check out my channel here.

If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [01:19] The challenges of remote learning (and teaching)
- [10:25] James’s hatred of metalheads in high school
- [15:20] The tribalism of adjacent subcultures
- [22:20] James’s tough guy reputation
- [28:23] Misconceptions that people have about Harm’s Way — and the challenges of making your art legible to an audience that doesn’t share the same background
- [37:33] Powerlifting has become embarrassing
- [47:40] James’s Coca-Cola protein shake
- [52:15] Writing music in quarantine for the next Harm’s Way album
- [01:06:40] The artistic direction of new Harm’s Way material
- [01:16:45] How to follow Harm’s Way online. And the importance of Interpunk and No Idea Records mailorder on our development years.
Links and Resources Mentioned:
5 April 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 18 minutes

John Caution (Weekend Nachos)
I feel like I say this about a lot of my friends that I have on the podcast, but John Caution is one of the weirdest and funniest people I know. I’m happy to talk to John endlessly about funny things that people we both know did 15 years ago, but, in this interview, we talk about the legacy of Weekend Nachos.

We talk about the trolling instinct, the impulse to create — either in riff form or otherwise, and being in a band that defined the identity of a lot of angry but funny social misfits.

I laughed pretty hard during this interview, and I laughed even harder while relistening to it. John’s instinct for saying hilarious things and pushing people’s buttons remains as strong as ever, even as a suburban father.

John is currently working on a book detailing the history of Weekend Nachos, so wish him happy and painless writing on that endeavor.
Learn more from John here:
- Bandcamp: Weekend Nachos | Sawblade | Ledge
- Twitter: @weakenednachos
If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [01:03] Spontaneous experimental trolling — and how the trolling instinct helped create Weekend Nachos
- [13:57] How Weekend Nachos incorporated both anger and humor into their music
- [19:30] Creating a blend of different styles of music that sounds cohesive
- [23:58] Having a brain that is constantly full of riffs — and the social consequences thereof
- [35:20] John is a suburban dad now and will call the cops on any local punk shows.
- [44:17] Does John want his daughter to get into punk? And how extreme music helps people channel aggressive emotions.
- [50:20] John’s experiences with therapy, marriage counseling, and dealing with negative emotions as an adult with a family
- [01:05:10] The forthcoming book on the history of Weekend Nachos
Links and Resources Mentioned:
22 March 2021, 9:00 am
1 hour 31 minutes

Matt Parlmer (General Fabrication)
Speaking with Matt is like being blasted with a firehose of information. He is entwined in the worlds of politics, database engineering, and 3D printing, and he speaks in dense, reference-laden paragraphs. This is thrilling to me, since I love information. I also feel empathy for folks who have been subject to my own tendencies to speak in dense, reference-laden paragraphs, since it’s not always easy to keep up.

While infrastructure isn’t exactly a sexy topic, we’ve seen a lot of institutional failings over the last few years, so I wanted to get Matt’s take on why we see so much bureaucratic rot and ineptitude — and what we can do about it.

I also wanted to get his significantly more optimistic take on the future of small-scale manufacturing, since he is starting a new company with plans to democratize 3D printing. The costs and infrastructure required to make small runs of products in your own home are plummeting, and we will likely see a revolution in direct-to-consumer businesses because of it.

Enjoy this conversation with the always fascinating, always reference-laden Matt Parlmer.
Learn more from Matt here:
- Website: Substack | General Fabrication
- Twitter: @mattparlmer
Enjoy this conversation with the always fascinating, always reference-laden Matt Parlmer.

If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show.

You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list.
Show Notes:
- [01:45] Is it “time to build”? And, why have we seen so many institutional and infrastructural failures since the 1970s?
- [10:47] Matt’s take on the Texas power grid failure
- [19:24] The engineering parable of the construction of the London sewers
- [27:10] Why are we better at digital infrastructure than physical infrastructure?
- [34:34] Lessons from the iterative development practices of technical infrastructure that can be applied to physical infrastructure
- [41:54] Matt’s nuclear power pitch — and how the regulatory state has failed on nuclear
- [56:53] The coming transition from “needing a warehouse full of equipment” to “at home manufacturing”
- [01:06:45] What is changing that will cause massive cost reductions in small-scale manufacturing and electrochemical machining
- [01:16:17] General Fabrication, 3D printing farms, and the “direct from producer” business model
- [01:28:30] How to learn more from Matt and why you should really reach out to him about manufacturing and 3D printing
Links and Resources Mentioned:
11 March 2021, 10:00 am
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