{"podcast":{"title":"Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)","slug":"complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11-6944962","podcast_index_feed_id":6944962,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11","website_url":"https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/daBTNOHQVDwsyvBT5Y1dmtX8J3KGSjYDycHstNU2MOw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8zMzM5/OTY4ZTE5ODVjZjk0/MzhhZWEzMjRmZjdm/ZWNhYS5wbmc.jpg","author":"Patrick McKenzie","episode_count":97,"summary":"We live in a world where our civilization and daily lives depend upon institutions, infrastructure, and technological substrates that are _complicated_ but not _unknowable_. Join Patrick McKenzie (patio11) as he discusses how decisions, technology, culture, and incentives shape our finance, technology, government, and more, with the people who built (and build) those Complex Systems.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-16T16:19:13.615743+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11-6944962"},"episode":{"title":"APIs of evil: studying fraud as infrastructure","slug":"apis-of-evil-studying-fraud-as-infrastructure","published_at":"2026-02-12T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11-6944962/apis-of-evil-studying-fraud-as-infrastructure","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11-6944962","url":"https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/fraud-as-infrastructure/","audio_url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/media.transistor.fm/58566867/e7bdd1b1.mp3","summary":"Patrick McKenzie (patio11) reads an essay about \"industrial-scale\" fraud and why it should be treated as a professional business process rather than a series of isolated accidents. He explains how fraudsters leverage specialized supply chains—shared CPAs, incorporation agents, and \"least attentive\" banks—to loot public funds. Patrick argues that the government’s \"pay-and-chase\" model is fundamentally broken and suggests that simple \"proof of work\" functions, like a 30-second cell phone video of a workspace, could provide the visceral signal that paperwork lacks, and examines the state’s lack of \"object permanence\" regarding serial fraudsters and how scaled data provides the defense-side advantage needed to catch modern frauds. – Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/fraud-as-infrastructure/ – Presenting Sponsor: Mercury Complex Systems is presented by Mercury—radically better banking for founders. Mercury offers the best wire experience anywhere: fast, reliable, and free for domestic U.S. wires, so you can stay focused on growing your business. Apply online in minutes at mercury.com . Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. – Links: Bits about Money: https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/fraud-investigation/ Dan Davies on Complex Systems: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5QKxzgumJXSQuaWCmYAoM9 Jetson Leder-Luis on Complex Systems podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3NiC7x9edoxJXkNW9vRfAT Stripe’s Emily Sands on Complex Systems: https://open.spotify.com/episode/64Dyh6Gbg1lg4qUFwId0hc – Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (05:23) In which we briefly return to Minnesota (09:26) Common signals, methods, and epiphenomena of fraud (09:30) Fraudsters ar…","meta_description":"Patrick McKenzie (patio11) reads an essay about \"industrial-scale\" fraud and why it should be treated as a professional business process rather than a ser…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3081,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11-6944962/episodes/apis-of-evil-studying-fraud-as-infrastructure/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11-6944962/apis-of-evil-studying-fraud-as-infrastructure.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}