Today's Top Episodes
10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)
Discover the secrets behind a decade of podcasting success, featuring insights from the legendary Michael Lewis!
Russian Soul, American Life: A Conversation with Ignat Solzhenitsyn | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution
Explore the complex tapestry of Russian soul and American life through the eyes of Ignat Solzhenitsyn, a journey from exile to musical mastery.
Dwarkesh and Ilya Sutskever on What Comes After Scaling
The era of simply scaling AI is over. What comes next for artificial intelligence? Hear from Ilya Sutskever on the critical new frontier!
MeatEater's Steven Rinella on the Economic History of Hunting
Uncover the untold economic story of America, from colonial survival to modern conservation, all through the lens of hunting.
Is Privacy A Winnable Battle? | Andy Yen, Founder of Proton
Can we win the battle for privacy in an AI-driven world? Proton's founder reveals how AI could either tear us apart or bring us together.
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Why humans are AI’s biggest bottleneck (and what’s coming in 2026) | Alexander Embiricos (OpenAI Codex Product Lead)
Duration: 01:25:13
December 14, 2025
- Humans are currently the biggest bottleneck for AI development, limiting its full potential.
- AI agents like Codeex are accelerating software development by writing, reviewing, and assisting in coding.
- The future involves AI operating with minimal prompting, revolutionizing various sectors like work, education, and innovation.
The 100-person AI lab that became Anthropic and Google's secret weapon | Edwin Chen (Surge AI)
Duration: 01:10:31
December 7, 2025
- Surge AI achieved remarkable success by bootstrapping their company, reaching a billion dollars in revenue with a small, elite team, and eschewing the traditional Silicon Valley VC funding model.
- The company emphasizes an exceptionally high standard for data quality, differentiating themselves by meticulously defining and measuring what constitutes "good" and "bad" data, moving beyond simple checks to a deeper understanding of nuance and subjective excellence.
- The speaker critiques the current direction of AGI development, arguing that many labs are optimizing for superficial metrics and user engagement ("AI slop") rather than genuine advancement and societal benefit, potentially leading to models that chase dopamine instead of truth.
Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders” | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)
Duration: 01:07:32
December 4, 2025
- LinkedIn is piloting a "full stack builder" model that empowers individuals to take products from idea to market, blending human creativity with AI capabilities.
- Significant skill shifts are occurring, with 70% of job skills predicted to change by 2030, necessitating a reimagining of product development to enhance adaptability and speed.
- The success of AI integration hinges on more than just tools; it requires investing in platform infrastructure, custom agents, and critically, fostering a culture that supports and incentivizes this new way of working.
A guide to difficult conversations, building high-trust teams, and designing a life you love | Rachel Lockett
Duration: 01:45:19
November 23, 2025
- Leaders often assume they need all the answers, but great leadership involves equipping your team to solve problems rather than solving them for your team.
- To avoid burnout and foster energy, prioritize spending time in your natural gifts and strengths, as it's your responsibility to navigate your career and find fulfillment.
- Effective conflict resolution focuses on creating mutual understanding rather than proving one person wrong, utilizing tools like active listening and asking powerful questions.
Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield
Duration: 01:30:35
November 20, 2025
- Focus on creating comprehension for users rather than solely reducing friction or the number of clicks.
- Emphasize craftsmanship and user experience by considering the "tilt your umbrella" metaphor—small courtesies create significant advantages and emotional connections.
- Prioritize known valuable work by ensuring clear directives and avoiding "hyperrealistic work-like activities" that consume resources without tangible benefit.
The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li
Duration: 01:19:34
November 16, 2025
- The development of AI, particularly through the creation of large datasets like ImageNet, was crucial in overcoming the "AI winter" and sparked the current AI revolution.
- AI is inspired by, created by, and impacts people, making human responsibility paramount in shaping its future, as technology is a double-edged sword.
- World models represent a significant advancement beyond language models, enabling AI to understand, interact with, and reason about 3D spatial environments, with applications in robotics, gaming, virtual production, and scientific discovery.
“Dumbest idea I’ve heard” to $100M ARR: Inside the rise of Gamma | Grant Lee (CEO)
Duration: 01:53:54
November 13, 2025
- Gamma achieved significant growth and profitability by focusing on micro-influencer marketing and building authentic relationships, rather than relying on large, scripted endorsements.
- The company's breakthrough in product-market fit occurred after fundamentally revamping their onboarding experience to be "magical" within the first 30 seconds, leading to exponential organic growth.
- Gamma prioritizes hiring generalists and "player-coach" leaders who can adapt, wear multiple hats, and maintain a high quality bar, fostering a lean and efficient team culture.
"Sell the alpha, not the feature": The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR | Jen Abel
Duration: 01:21:35
November 9, 2025
- Enterprise sales is an art form that requires deal crafting and building strong relationships, not just selling to a problem.
- Prioritize tier-one logos early on, as these early adopters are essential for gaining market validation and direction.
- Focus on selling opportunity and vision (alpha) rather than specific problems, positioning your offering as a catalyst for future success.
The woman behind Canva shares how she built a $42B company from nothing | Melanie Perkins
Duration: 01:06:10
November 2, 2025
- Embracing "Column B" thinking involves starting with a dream of the ideal future and working backward to achieve it, rather than being constrained by current limitations.
- The "two-step plan" guides Canva's mission: build one of the world's most valuable companies, and use that success to do the most good possible.
- The company actively integrates AI across its product suite, focusing on genuinely helping users achieve their goals with minimal friction.
How Block is becoming the most AI-native enterprise in the world | Dhanji R. Prasanna
Duration: 01:26:41
October 26, 2025
- AI agents are significantly boosting productivity, with engineering teams reporting 8-10 hours saved per week, and the overall company trending towards a 20-25% reduction in manual hours.
- Block has developed an open-source AI agent called Goose, which acts as a general-purpose tool that can perform tasks like writing software, automating workflows, and even generating reports by interacting with various enterprise systems.
- A surprising key takeaway is that non-technical individuals are benefiting greatly from AI agents and programming tools, enabling them to build software and optimize their specific tasks and workdays.
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