Today's Top Episodes
AI Bubble, Inflation, and the Limits of Monetary Policy | Jason Furman
Is AI fueling the next economic bubble, and can our financial institutions truly keep up?
Bitcoin Has All the Good News… So Why Isn’t It Going Up? w/ Scott Melker
Bitcoin's booming with good news, so why isn't it booming in price? Unpack the crypto paradox now!
Everything is gambling now
From news headlines to daily decisions, has everything become a bet? Explore the alarming rise of our gambling society.
Dwarkesh and Ilya Sutskever on What Comes After Scaling
The era of bigger AI models is over. What comes next for artificial intelligence, according to OpenAI's Ilya Sutskever?
Will This OpenAI Update Make AI Agents Work Better?
Discover how OpenAI's latest update is turning AI agents into digital super-connectors, accessing real-time data like never before!
Viewing Podcast: Podcast
AI
Arts
Business
Crypto
Finance
Health
History
Interviews
Investing
Macro
Misc
News
Politics
Product
Programming
Science
Social
Startups
Technology
VC
MeatEater's Steven Rinella on the Economic History of Hunting
Duration: 00:53:32
December 15, 2025
- Hunting and the use of animal products like deer skins and bear grease were foundational to the early American economy and colonial life, often more so than agriculture.
- The extensive hunting of buffalo for hides to support the Industrial Revolution led to their near extinction remarkably quickly due to efficient hunting methods and industrial infrastructure.
- Modern American hunting is a self-funded and highly regulated system, with sportsmen contributing through excise taxes and license fees to fund wildlife conservation.
D.A. Wallach Explains Why Biotech VC Is So Different
Duration: 00:50:05
December 12, 2025
- The U.S. healthcare system is incredibly complex and difficult to understand, with a significant challenge in balancing medicine and capitalism.
- Biotech investing is characterized by high uncertainty, with a low probability of success for individual drug candidates, requiring a portfolio approach to manage risk.
- China is emerging as a significant player in the global biotechnology market due to regulatory advantages and faster clinical trial processes, potentially creating a structural shift in the industry.
This Is What It Takes to Get a Data Center Financed
Duration: 00:45:55
December 11, 2025
- Data center projects face significant delays and complexities in grid interconnection, impacting their timelines and economic viability.
- The sheer scale of global data center investment, projected at $2.9 trillion by 2028, far outstrips current generative AI revenue, highlighting a substantial financing gap.
- Public pushback and concerns over water usage, electricity demand, and the rapid obsolescence of technology are increasingly shaping data center siting and regulatory environments.
Dan Ivascyn Is Excited About a New Era in Fixed Income
Duration: 00:57:57
December 8, 2025
- The post-GFC era has seen significantly higher returns from lower-quality credit compared to the pre-GFC period, indicating a shift in risk-reward dynamics.
- Policymakers are unlikely to bail out the same sectors twice, suggesting a strategic shift in regulatory focus after past financial crises.
- The tremendous growth and competition in private credit, coupled with tight spreads and weakened covenants, mean investors are not being adequately compensated for the risks taken compared to historical standards.
How Microsoft Excel Conquered Corporate America
Duration: 00:18:19
December 7, 2025
- AI's promise of answering questions from large datasets mirrors spreadsheet functionality, leading to the emergence of AI-native Excel competitors.
- Current AI tools are largely categorized as either direct Excel copycats or complementary assistants that still output Excel files.
- Despite AI being a significant platform shift, disruption to Excel's dominance is hindered by AI tools' current reliance on or replication of existing spreadsheet formats.
Affirm's Max Levchin Breaks Down How Buy Now, Pay Later Really Works
Duration: 00:53:17
December 5, 2025
- Affirm's business model differentiates itself from traditional credit cards by eliminating late fees and compounding interest, aiming for a transparent alignment of interests with borrowers.
- The company employs a technologically advanced, data-driven underwriting process that goes beyond traditional credit scores to assess individual cash flow and payment capability for each transaction.
- Affirm is a pioneer in reporting buy now, pay later data to credit bureaus, advocating for transparency and improved credit building for consumers, while competitors largely refrain from doing so.
AI Can Tell Us Something About Credit Market Weakness
Duration: 00:44:01
December 4, 2025
- The prevalence of "structural fortifications" in deal terms, such as anti-PetSmart and J.Crew blockers, indicates an increased focus on lender protections in response to market anxieties and potential distress.
- The use of AI, particularly large language models, is revolutionizing the analysis of complex financial documents, enabling the quantification of market terms and identification of trends that were previously difficult to track.
- The discussion highlights the growing complexity and circularity of modern financing structures, exemplified by off-balance sheet financing in data center deals and intricate AI-related transactions, which necessitate new deal terms and careful risk assessment.
Travis Kavulla Explains Why Electric Bills Shot Up
Duration: 00:57:15
December 1, 2025
- The increasing demand for electricity due to AI and data centers is straining the grid, leading to price concerns and the need for significant new generation and transmission capacity.
- The US electricity market is characterized by a complex and idiosyncratic patchwork of state and federal regulations, making it challenging to implement uniform solutions.
- The conversation highlights the inherent tension between market-based signals that encourage investment and the desire for stable, affordable electricity for consumers, with a particular focus on how to manage the risks and costs associated with rapid demand growth.
This Is Why Credit Card Interest Rates Are So High
Duration: 00:44:42
November 28, 2025
- High credit card interest rates are primarily driven by lender liability and the risk associated with unsecured debt, not corporate greed.
- Unsecured personal loans can offer significantly lower interest rates and a defined payoff term compared to credit cards, potentially saving consumers thousands in interest.
- Rewards credit cards are only beneficial if the balance is paid in full every month, otherwise, the interest paid on carried balances far outweighs any rewards earned.
Graham Allison on the Risks of a US-China War
Duration: 00:49:10
November 27, 2025
- The core concept discussed is the "Thucydides Trap," which describes the inherent tension and potential for conflict when a rising power threatens to displace a dominant established power, drawing parallels from ancient Greece to modern US-China relations.
- Historical precedents, such as the lead-up to World War I with the rise of Germany challenging Britain and the US expansion at the turn of the 20th century, are examined to illustrate the dynamics of power shifts and the fear they instill in existing powers.
- The conversation explores whether the US and China can avoid this trap through new forms of great power relations, focusing on factors for both pessimism and optimism, including economic competition, geopolitical rivalry, and the potential for learning from historical successes and failures.
...