- 200: Thoughtfully Thoughtless Q&A [Tao Te Ching Ch.41]
Ask, and you shall receive the opinions of socks. In this Q&A session, Bartleby and Artemus examine knowledge as an emotion, explore what a verb would do if it had a body, and explain why everything effing sucks. Making up one-fifth of a grand occasion, it's the two hundredth of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
1h 6m - Oct 25, 2026 - 199: New Mind, New Cosmos [Tao Te Ching Ch.40]
Starting a whole new era for Meta-Cosmos, Bartleby presents Meta-Cosmos 3. We begin with a how-to guide to reducing negative thinking. Reset your mind, and you will reset your world in this best episode yet of the best era yet of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
39m - Oct 18, 2026 - 198: The Tao of a Happy Economy [Tao Te Ching Ch.39]
A good economy is like the Tao, if everyone isn't happy, it's not a good economy. For those taking advantage of a broken economy, suffering is a feature, not a bug. It turns out that Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is just as subject to interpretation as any of important text in another thought churning episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
23m - Oct 11, 2026 - 197: Unverifiable Virtue [Tao Te Ching Ch.38]
Beginning the second part of the Tao Te Ching, our favorite pair of socks examine the virtue of hierarchy, or at the least they look at the illusions of virtue. Slowly but gradually, Bartleby is questioning one translation of the Tao Te Ching altogether. Calling out all ego everywhere, it's another exposing episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
32m - Oct 4, 2026 - 196: To-Do List Without Doing [Tao Te Ching Ch.37]
Life is a proverbial scavenger hunt! It is happening whether we choose to participate or not, but through the Tao, we accomplish all of our tasks without doing anything at all! While checking off their to-do list, Bartleby and Artemus discover the joy of multitasking with silliness in a very productive episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
20m - Sep 27, 2026 - 195: Shrink and Grow and Shrink and Grow [Tao Te Ching Ch.36]
It turns out, life seeks to shrink as much as it seeks to grow, but it would never admit to it. Bartleby and Artemus dip their little sock toes into the subject, but only just get started in a very short episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
15m - Sep 20, 2026 - 194: Tastes Like Nothing At All [Tao Te Ching Ch.35]
Giving in to the Tao and moving with it is nothing to brag about. In practice, it might appear boring, like the kind of boring that leads Bartleby to finally keep an episode short for once. It's a refreshing draught of wisdom in another best episode yet of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
19m - Sep 13, 2026 - 193: Empathy Crisis {Tao Te Ching Ch.34]
What happens when a nation cuts its food supply chain to spite its face? Unfortunately, we might just find out. Thankfully, the Tao Te Ching offers some basic self-awareness principles to help us cope in another concise episode of Meta-Cosmos
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
28m - Sep 6, 2026 - 192: When the Center Is Not the Middle [Tao Te Ching Ch.33]
What is the difference between the center and the middle, and how do centrists enable fascism? Maintaining the status quo to keep us on the precipice of disaster, centrists are far from walking the Buddha's Middle Path. Flowing with the Tao, it's another inspiring episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
27m - Aug 30, 2026 - 191: Provisional Reality [Tao Te Ching Ch.32]
Talking about the Tao, Bartleby and Artemus touch on the transitory nature of reality. By stepping back and reading between the lines, they realize that all the institutions and the words used to describe them are all temporary. With an extra bit of Doylist Dread and Watsonian Desire, they pull together another episode of ever-dawning lucidity on Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
29m - Aug 23, 2026 - 190: The Boobiest of Boobytraps [Tao Te Ching Ch.31]
Banned from his usual hijinks, Bartleby brings their RPG adventure to new heights, allowing Artemus to showcase how motion pictures desensitize us to violence. The whole adventure makes a perfect example of Lao Tzu's 31st chapter. It's two parts wisdom and one part nonsense in another mystifying episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
32m - Aug 16, 2026 - 189: The Wayside of the Way [Tao Te Ching Ch.30]
Are we a part of the Tao or aren't we? Bartleby and Artemus try to figure out where the line is between what is in flow with the universe and whether it's even possible for something to go against the flow. The answer isn't so clear, but the way to get there is worth taking in another thoughtful episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
29m - Aug 9, 2026 - 188: The People's Ice Cream [Tao Te Ching Ch.29]
Talking about the definition of weaksauce, we examine moderate politics and its penchant against progressive ideals. It's all about the chocolate, in this false dichotomy with vanilla, where we learn that not all allegories are created equal. Bartleby gives us the ice cream the people crave, in another metaphorical episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
40m - Aug 2, 2026 - 187: Where Did the Magic Go? [Tao Te Ching Ch.28]
From Middle-Earth to Avalon, access to magic is ever on decline, but what are the alternatives? Examining fantasy literature and humanity's relationship to magic, our favorite pair of socks look for answers in science fiction, but find there's something magical about realism. It's another best episode with minor spoilers yet of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
48m - Jul 26, 2026 - 186: The Billionaires Won't Save Us [Tao Te Ching Ch.27]
Not counting on any saviors, we recommend you save yourself. Also, save anyone else you can uplift along the way. In a world full of teachers, teachers everywhere, and not a drop to learn, we open our minds and drink in another inspiring episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
36m - Jul 19, 2026 - 185: The Open Source Truth Shall Set you Free
Solving wealth inequality will take more than just welfare. Considering that knowledge is power, Artemus envisions the role that education and open-source data play in humanity's future. Lifting the bar on intelligence might just be our only hope in another perspective-expanding episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
28m - Jul 12, 2026 - 184: Adaptably Inappropriate [Tao Te Ching Ch.25]
Examining what makes an adaptation appropriate or not, we examine the retelling of stories in different media. Ranging from Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Orchid Thief, and True Grit, to Dracula and Supergirl, Bartleby and Artemus offer insight into what makes an adaptation sink or sing and how all this relates to AI and corporations. By analyzing Nicholas Cage's interpretation of Charlie Kaufman, through a haze of spoiler-warnings, we get the longest yet episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
57m - Jul 5, 2026 - 183: You People: Divided & Conquered [Tao Te Ching Ch.24]
Even when nuance is right in front of us, it is hard to see when we view any group as a monolith. How we avoid the pitfall might come down to how well we vibe with what is. It might be easier than you think in another Tao-tastic episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
42m - Jun 28, 2026 - 182: The Dunning-Kruger Counter Effect [Tao Te Ching Ch.23]
It turns out that we are all over-estimating our own ability to understand the limits of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Artemus exposes the reality of the matter while Bartleby goes out of his way to misunderstand. Meanwhile, they read another chapter of the Tao Te Ching in another humbling episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
30m - Jun 21, 2026 - 181: Harmless Conspiracies [Tao Te Ching Ch.22]
Examining the most harmless of conspiracies, Bartleby and Artemus examine suspicions surrounding the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, Starbucks, Area 51, and the Butler Pennsylvania shooting. What makes a conspiracy harmless all depends on how you define harmless. We find out the Tao Te Ching can be a helpful guide for navigating conspiracies in another helpful episode of Meta-Cosmos!
…Hosted by Bartleby and Artemus Neehi.
…Produced by Isaac Bluefoot.
…Theme Music by Royal Jelly.
41m - Jun 14, 2026
