In Vivo

What if your startup, your dreams and the universe itself are all running on the same code? MIT computer scientist, entrepreneur and game maker Dr. Rizwan Virk joins Tim to talk about his new book The Zen Entrepreneur and the Dream, a memoir of living a double life during the dot-com boom: running a venture-backed startup by day and chasing lucid dreams, swamis and synchronicities by night. We connect it all to his best-known work, The Simulation Hypothesis, and ask how close Google's Genie 4 and today's AI world models bring us to the "simulation point."Along the way: the sci-fi feedback loop from Jules Verne to HAL 9000, Prompt Theory and AI characters who believe they are real, dream yoga, the Book of Clues, Steve Jobs connecting the dots, parallel lives from The Simulated Multiverse, Snakes and Ladders as a spiritual video game, and why your recurring patterns are dragons you learn to ride.About the guestDr. Rizwan "Riz" Virk is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, video game pioneer, investor and author. He holds a computer science degree from MIT, a master's from Stanford's Graduate School of Business, and a Ph.D. in Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology from Arizona State University, where he researches how science fiction shapes technology. He founded Play Labs @ MIT, is a venture partner at Griffin Gaming Partners, and is the author of The Simulation Hypothesis, The Simulated Multiverse, Zen Entrepreneurship, Wisdom of a Yogi and The Zen Entrepreneur and the Dream.Research and articles mentionedDr. Rizwan Virk, "ChatGPT and the movie 'Her' are just the latest example of the 'sci-fi feedback loop'" (The Conversation, 2024): https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-and-the-movie-her-are-just-the-latest-example-of-the-sci-fi-feedback-loop-232784Dr. Rizwan Virk, paper on religion and the simulation hypothesis (Journal for the Study of Religious Experience): https://rerc-journal.tsd.ac.uk/index.php/religiousexp/article/view/142Vernor Vinge, "The Coming Technological Singularity" (1993): https://edoras.sdsu.edu/~vinge/misc/singularity.htmlGoogle DeepMind, Genie 4 world model (Oct 2026): https://deepmind.google/blog/genie-4-a-new-generation-of-world-simulation/Hashem Al-Ghaili, "Prompt Theory" (made with Google Veo 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buKJQBExUy8Daily Mail on simulation theory and Christianity: https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-15960417/mit-scientist-simulation-theory-christianity.htmlSteve Jobs, Stanford commencement address (2005): https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2005/06/youve-got-find-love-jobs-saysDr. Michael Newton, Journey of Souls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_of_SoulsParamahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_a_YogiDr. Rizwan VirkWebsite: https://www.zenentrepreneur.comX: https://x.com/rizstanfordLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rizvirkASU profile: https://search.asu.edu/profile/3849579The Zen Entrepreneur and the Dream (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781954872066The Simulation Hypothesis (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Simulation-Hypothesis-Computer-Scientist-Quantum/dp/0983056900The Simulation Hypothesis, 2nd ed. (Penguin Random House): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774523/the-simulation-hypothesis-by-rizwan-virk/The Simulated Multiverse (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Simulated-Multiverse-Scientist-Simulation-Hypothesis/dp/1954872038Wisdom of a Yogi (HarperCollins India): https://www.harpercollins.co.in/product/wisdom-of-a-yogi/In Vivo PodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InVivoPodcastX: https://x.com/InVivoPodOnXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-vivo/id1775578563

Philosopher and historian of science Dr. Justin Garson joins me to unpack The Madness Pill: One Doctor’s Quest to Understand Schizophrenia, the mid-century hunt for a pill that could temporarily induce schizophrenia so scientists could reverse-engineer a cure.Garson opens with his father’s journey: diagnosed in 1973, treated for a time with talk therapy and no meds, then caught in the post-1980s biomedical turn of hospitals, antipsychotics, and side effects. The episode then centers Solomon Snyder, opiate receptor, dopamine receptor, grind-and-bind assays, and the arc from an LSD ego-death to amphetamine psychosis to the dopamine hypothesis that helped flip psychiatry toward chemical-imbalance models. Also: Hearing Voices Network, pathology vs purpose, and Garson’s Substack Reclaim Your Inner Life.Dr. Justin GarsonWebsite: www.justingarson.comX: x.com/justin_garsonSubstack: www.reclaimyourinnerlife.comAmazon (The Madness Pill): www.amazon.com/Madness-Pill-Doctors-Understand-SchizophreniaIn Vivo on X - https://x.com/InVivoPodOnXIn Vivo on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@InVivoPodcastIn Vivo on Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-vivo/id1775578563In Vivo on Amazon Podcasts - https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/1ac4dbec-df46-4d1f-b0a1-742e9656ef44/in-vivoThe opinions in this episode are those of the speakers. They do not represent the official views of any college, university, company, or other institution I may work for.

Dr. Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, joins me to unpack autonomous labs, what they are, why biology’s bench tooling barely moved in 20 years, and why the right analogy isn’t a subway or a car, but a Waymo. Is the biology singularity around the corner?Kelly traces his path from Jurassic Park–era genetic engineering dreams and failing to clone one gene as a freshman, through Drew Endy’s “DNA is code” vision at MIT, to bootstrapping Ginkgo for four years before becoming Y Combinator’s first biotech. Along the way: cells as atom-movers vs computers as bit-movers, why we’re still the “first batter” mastering biology, GPT-5 designing real wet-lab experiments on Ginkgo’s platform, and why US–China competition makes lab automation a national-security issue, including his work on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology and Genesis Mission / NSF autonomous-lab builds.Dr Kelly: https://x.com/jrkelly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrkelly2 Ginkgo: https://www.ginkgo.bio In Vivo on X - https://x.com/InVivoPodOnXIn Vivo on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@InVivoPodcastIn Vivo on Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-vivo/id1775578563In Vivo on Amazon Podcasts - https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/1ac4dbec-df46-4d1f-b0a1-742e9656ef44/in-vivoThe opinions in this episode are those of the speakers. They do not represent the official views of any college, university, company, or other institution I may work for.

Cathy Tie (founder, Origin Genomics) and Prof. Jiang Xueqin (Predictive History) join me for a wide-open conversation on germline gene editing, the science, the ethics, and the geopolitics.Cathy walks through why heritable gene correction at the embryo stage may solve delivery problems that plague adult gene therapies, what Origin Genomics is doing under US IRB oversight, and how newer tools like base and prime editors change the safety conversation. Prof. Jiang zooms out: US 0-to-1 vs China 1-to-100, techno-utopianism, aging demographics, and why, from a game-theory lens, biotech may reshape power more than nuclear weapons or AI.Controversial, fast-moving science. This episode is for education and discussion, not medical or legal advice.Cathy Tie / Origin Genomics:https://x.com/CathyTiehttps://x.com/OriginGenomicshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cathytiehttps://www.origingenomics.comProf. Jiang Xueqin (Predictive History)https://www.youtube.com/@PredictiveHistoryhttps://predictivehistory.substack.comIn Vivo on X - https://x.com/InVivoPodOnXIn Vivo on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@InVivoPodcastIn Vivo on Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-vivo/id1775578563In Vivo on Amazon Podcasts - https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/1ac4dbec-df46-4d1f-b0a1-742e9656ef44/in-vivo

Jason Verbelli, founder of Galilean Variance and CEO/Lead Engineer at SEG Magnetics, argues that Einstein left a written test for his own theory: if the speed of light depends even a little on the motion of the source, relativity and Einstein’s theory of gravitation are false. In this interview we start from first principles and work up through John Searl, magnetic waveforms, free energy vs over-unity, the double-slit experiments, the Casimir effect, and what that would mean for energy, technology, and space travel.At SEG Magnetics in San Diego, Verbelli and his team are engineering a magnetic motor-generator based on Searl’s layered rings, orbiting rollers, and magnetic waveforms — an open-system device meant to harvest ambient energy and eventually power homes, industry, and vehicles without conventional fuel. The working image he uses is an electric car you never have to plug in.Verbelli is the surviving apprentice of the late Professor John Searl and author of a four-book series: Light, Gravity, Time, and Coherence. He rejects Lorentz invariance in favor of Galilean Variance and Dr. Edward Dowdye’s Extinction Shift Principle — primary waves extinguished and re-emitted by local matter.0:00 Intro — Who is Jason Verbelli?0:56 SEG Magnetics and the unplugged electric car3:53 John Searl’s origin story7:18 The generator lifts off — radios blast on9:06 The BBC Levity Disc claim11:19 How Verbelli met Searl13:15 The 1982 confiscation and court case18:57 Four books: Light, Gravity, Time, Coherence19:55 What is Galilean Variance?25:08 Einstein’s 1913 letter25:43 Dowdye’s Extinction Shift Principle42:00 Four double-slit experiments — not one50:18 The mini Geiger counter / which-path setup59:08 Free energy vs over-unity1:04:27 Magnetic waveforms and the undulating Bloch wall1:07:34 Electron pairs, SEG layers, hydroelectric analogy1:11:11 Not anti-gravity — competing emissions of gravity1:14:07 How the generator actually makes electricity1:30:17 Device walkthrough — electrons through the four layers1:35:05 Bob Lazar, inertia, and space travel1:39:43 Pushback, debates, and advice to students1:47:51 Where to find the books, website, and socialsFollow Jason Verbelli X: https://x.com/TheRealVerbzFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasonverbelliInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/verbzbayarea/Website: https://galileanvariance.comSEG Magnetics: https://segmagnetics.comIn Vivo on X - https://x.com/InVivoPodOnXIn Vivo on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@InVivoPodcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/5GBvPPvSx52O6ILuam4LoX?si=6c903566ae7b4761&nd=1&dlsi=254f9f5e78194002In Vivo on Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-vivo/id1775578563In Vivo on Amazon Podcasts - https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/1ac4dbec-df46-4d1f-b0a1-742e9656ef44/in-vivo