Retrospective on 2024, with Sammy Cottrell

In this special episode, Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) and his EA/producer Sammy Cottrell examine the production function behind Complex Systems, from studio logistics to transcript annotation and guest selection. They reflect on their most memorable episodes while discussing the podcast's core mission of making complex systems more legible and ensuring valuable content remains freely available on the internet. The conversation explores the subjective best episodes from 2024, plans for the year ahead, and how LLMs might transform both the systems they study and how we write about them.
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Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/2024-year-in-review-sammy-cottrell/

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Links:

• Ricki Heicklen on Complex Systems: https://open.spotify.com/episode/11kEUYRn4gXZGju232hzcg
• Casey Handmer on Complex Systems: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GHegWgLSubYxvATmbWhQu
• Dan Davies on Complex Systems: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5QKxzgumJXSQuaWCmYAoM9
• Zvi Mowshowitz on Complex Systems: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4itdtJFLCpLQNd2g1zTtdD
• Ross Rheingans-Yoo on Complex Systems: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4GiO0KYqxJNCIdltCyhN6m
• Patrick’s talk at Manifest 2024 (Manifold): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfiiXq_bE1c
• Article mentioned - ‘50K in a Shoebox’: https://www.thecut.com/article/amazon-scam-call-ftc-arrest-warrants.html
• Copenhagen theory of culpability: https://laneless.substack.com/p/the-copenhagen-interpretation-of-ethics

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Twitter:
@patio11
@haththerescuer
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Timestamps:
(01:04) Introducing Sammy
(01:37) The offscreen symphony behind Complex Systems
(07:19) Production supply chain and transcript philosophy
(08:40) LLMs of choice
(15:11) Sponsors: Vanta | Check
(21:21) Favorite episodes
(25:49) Sponsor: GiveWell
(27:15) Beyoncé
(28:47) More subjectively favorite episodes
(32:34) Thesis of Complex Systems
(34:07) Canon in operations research
(40:51) Sabbatical mode
(48:52) Bits about Money and other writing in 2024
(51:22) On paywalls and not implementing them
(54:29) LLM plans for 2025
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Complex Systems is part of the Turpentine podcast network.