Programming at Metaviews begins with a simple conviction: dialogue is not a
delivery mechanism, it is an emergent phenomenon.
When people think together in public—across difference, uncertainty, and
incomplete information—new forms of knowledge appear that cannot be produced
alone or in advance. Events, conversations, and gatherings are not containers
for ideas; they are generators of insight. Programming is how we design the
conditions for that emergence.
This work takes many forms: public speaking, moderation, facilitation,
hosting, and event design. What distinguishes Metaviews is not format but
intent. We do not script outcomes or manage consensus. We create spaces where
intelligence can surface—where disagreement is productive, narratives are
contested, and participants leave seeing the world differently than when they
arrived.
Programming is also an act of storytelling. Not fiction, but framing: deciding
which questions matter, which voices belong in the room, and how complex
realities can be made legible without being simplified. Good programming
provokes thought. Great programming inspires action by reshaping how people
understand their own agency within a system.
We take seriously Douglas Rushkoff’s warning to
program or be programmed, as well as the earlier call to hack
the planet. Literacy, agency, and intelligence are not abstract values for
us—they are the means of production. Programming is where those means are
exercised in real time, in front of real audiences, under real conditions.
This is where method meets madness. Where research collides with lived
experience. Where media stops being something you consume and becomes
something you participate in.
In this episode, Jesse Hirsh explores how Ontario can lead the next era of agri-food innovation through openness, foresight, and resilience. Drawing on his keynote for the Agri-Food 2050 event, he argues that disruption is no longer a storm...
In this Metaviews salon, our motley crew dove deep into the wild and wondrous terrain of language—its power, its peril, and its paradoxes. We summoned thinkers like George Lakoff, Noam Chomsky, and Walter Ong to help frame the discussion, b...
Jesse Hirsh introduces the season 3 premiere of Metaviews with a compelling discussion about the intricate concept of "the nature of nature." The episode delves into how the term "nature" has become a catch-all reference point in discussion...
In the final episode of Season 2, Metaviews pauses to reflect—on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going. Titled Chrysalis, this episode marks a moment of transformation. Season 2 was about finding our rhythm, tuning our instr...
In an insightful episode of Metaviews, Jesse Hirsh engages Ted Whetstone in a thought-provoking conversation that meanders through personal anecdotes, societal critiques, and philosophical musings. Jesse begins by sharing his unique ritual...
Jesse Hirsh and Jeremiah Patterson engage in an insightful dialogue that delves deep into the intricacies of news, attention, and power dynamics in contemporary society. The episode unfolds with Hirsh's reflections on the spontaneous nature...