HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons hosts the most downloaded sports podcast of all time, with a rotating crew of celebrities, athletes, and media staples, as well as mainstays like Cousin Sal, Joe House, and a slew of other friends and family members who always happen to be suspiciously available.
…
continue reading
MP3•Episode home
Manage episode 515365005 series 3364758
Content provided by LessWrong. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by LessWrong or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://staging.podcastplayer.com/legal.
If you want to understand a country, you should pick a similar country that you are already familiar with, research the differences between the two and there you go, you are now an expert.
But this approach doesn’t quite work for the European Union. You might start, for instance, by comparing it to the United States, assuming that EU member countries are roughly equivalent to U.S. states. But that analogy quickly breaks down. The deeper you dig, the more confused you become.
You try with other federal states. Germany. Switzerland. But it doesn’t work either.
Finally, you try with the United Nations. After all, the EU is an international organization, just like the UN. But again, the analogy does not work. The facts about the EU just don’t fit into your UN-shaped mental model.
Not getting anywhere, you decide to bite the bullet and learn about the EU the [...]
---
First published:
October 21st, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/88CaT5RPZLqrCmFLL/eu-explained-in-10-minutes
---
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
---
…
continue reading
But this approach doesn’t quite work for the European Union. You might start, for instance, by comparing it to the United States, assuming that EU member countries are roughly equivalent to U.S. states. But that analogy quickly breaks down. The deeper you dig, the more confused you become.
You try with other federal states. Germany. Switzerland. But it doesn’t work either.
Finally, you try with the United Nations. After all, the EU is an international organization, just like the UN. But again, the analogy does not work. The facts about the EU just don’t fit into your UN-shaped mental model.
Not getting anywhere, you decide to bite the bullet and learn about the EU the [...]
---
First published:
October 21st, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/88CaT5RPZLqrCmFLL/eu-explained-in-10-minutes
---
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
---
Images from the article:


Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.
665 episodes