More info below. To apply directly, click here.
October 24-27, 2025
Too often we're distracted by work and life to set aside time for curiosity-driven exploration. As builders and thinkers we organize “hackathons” to build our most ambitious ideas, but rarely do we get together to ask and discuss the most interesting and pressing questions.
That's what Rabbitholeathon is for: taking the time to understand the world and ourselves better, and then integrating that broadened perspective into the things we build.
We're excited to announce that we're running our sixth rendition of Rabbitholeathon this fall: an intimate retreat where you can study, explore, and learn together. We'll be centering all the explorations on a specific theme: Disruption.
Disruption
We are living in a time of unprecedented disruption, from ever more powerful AI systems, to living in an era of climate change, to the rise of far-right authoritarianism. How do we understand the times we are experiencing and chart a path forward? This rabbitholeathon is about disruption: how it happens and how we relate to it.
Some thematic questions to inspire your rabbitholes:
- What are underexplored case studies of disruption in different fields (e.g. societal, cultural, technological, linguistic)? What are the effects of disruption on markets, on interpersonal relationships, or on technology?
- How does disruption happen? What are the drivers or triggers for disruption? How is disruption shaped by individuals, or is the direction and orientation of disruption inevitable?
- How have new mediums of communication, such as TikTok or podcasts, disrupted political communication? How might we understand these impacts in light of historical disruptions such as the introduction of radio and television?
- How do industries integrate new technologies, such as AI? How do those technologies reshape tasks for different jobs? What factors about a market or industry shape adoption, and how might we understand such disruption through historical precedents like the rise and decline of switchboard telecom operators?
- How do the disparate and delayed impacts of climate change disrupt local economies and traditional practices? How is climate change today shifting the balance of power and trade between nations, as some benefit from its effects while others are negatively impacted?
This list is not at all exhaustive (considering the breadth of the topic, far from it), we're excited to see all the different perspectives that y'all can bring.
PS – if you're impatient biased towards action like us and want to start diving into the topic already, here are some links that inspired us:
- Blockchain Chicken Farm
- Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation
- How the Labor Market Adjusted to Mechanizing Telephone Operations
- AI as Normal Technology
- The Process of Creative Destruction
- Innovator's Dilemma
- Age of Invention: The Coal Conquest
Retreat and Applying
To maintain an intimate atmosphere conducive to meaningful discussion, we plan to accept ~20 folks across a broad range of disciplines and interests. Applications are open now and close on July 4, 2025 11:59pm ET.
In particular, we're looking for curious, agentic and ambitious people who think critically about the world around them, and are excited to explore and learn about these topics with a like-minded community. Being a good builder, a good founder, a good researcher, etc. is all downstream of being a clear thinker; thinking is a muscle that needs to be continually exercised. And we want to provide the space for this.
Accommodation and food is provided for attendees, and we provide need-based travel grants. We want rabbitholeathon to be accessible to all, and are committed to ensuring that finances aren't a barrier for anyone to attend.
If this sounds exciting to you, we welcome you to apply here: rabbitholeathon.com/join. We also encourage you share this opportunity with any and all values-aligned folks who may be interested. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and will close on July 4, 2025 11:59pm ET.
More information can be found here on our full manifesto and our values. If you have any questions, please contact us at team@rabbitholeathon.com!
Rabbithole Nights in DC, SF, and NYC
In the leadup to our retreat in the fall, we're hosting a series of "mini-rabbithole nights" in multiple cities, to give you a chance to meet fellow rabbitholers and learn more about the retreat. You can join a rabbithole night in the following cities:
