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.
Viewing Podcast: Podcast
AI
Arts
Business
Crypto
Finance
Health
History
Interviews
Investing
Macro
Misc
News
Politics
Product
Programming
Science
Social
Startups
Technology
VC
Inside Anduril: Exclusive HQ Tour w/ Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Matt Grimm & Trae Stephens
Duration: 00:38:54
December 15, 2025
- The defense industry is shifting from prioritizing technologically superior, expensive capabilities to emphasizing rapid production, affordability, and software innovation to meet current geopolitical demands.
- A significant portion of the defense budget is consumed by personnel and sustaining legacy technologies, with procurement budgets at historic lows, indicating a need for greater efficiency and a shift in spending priorities.
- Companies like Anduril are innovating in defense by adopting product-based development and leveraging advanced manufacturing to deliver new capabilities quickly, as demonstrated by their rapid development of autonomous systems and international collaborations.
Inside General Catalyst’s $1.5B AI Roll-Up Machine
Duration: 00:51:32
December 5, 2025
- General Catalyst is transforming into a company that builds businesses for the long term, including those through incubation and acquisition.
- The firm is heavily investing in and incubating AI-native companies, particularly those focused on "AI-enabled rollups" in fragmented industries.
- The core thesis is that applying AI automation can significantly increase margins and revenue in traditional services industries, enabling them to achieve software-like profitability.
What Travis Kalanick Taught Bradley Tusk, & Why He Closed His VC Fund
Duration: 01:12:18
November 29, 2025
- The massive AI infrastructure investment is questioned, with a suspicion that it's driven by short-term stock prices rather than long-term economic needs, potentially leading to inflated valuations and excessive debt.
- The discussion explores the significant capital allocation towards data centers, GPUs, and energy infrastructure for AI, highlighting the potential for nuclear energy to become a more viable and necessary power source.
- A key theme is the shift from traditional venture capital fund models to an "equity for services" approach, where specialized skills are exchanged for ownership, offering greater upside potential for service providers.
Inside Thrive Capital: Investing in OpenAI, Wiz, Cursor, Nudge, Physical Intelligence
Duration: 00:57:43
November 24, 2025
- The rapid acceleration of AI, likened to "speed chess" compared to the internet era's "chess," is compressing development timelines and fundamentally changing how entire disciplines and work are executed.
- There is a growing opportunity and attractiveness in hardware investing due to decreasing input costs, advancements in software simplifying development, and a new generation of experienced founders emerging from successful tech companies.
- Concentrating capital on exceptional, "life's work" founders is a core strategy to foster deep alignment and capture disproportionate value from the power law in venture investing, particularly in foundational technologies like AI.
Why Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, & David Ulevitch Launched American Dynamism
Duration: 00:28:06
November 18, 2025
- The "American Dynamism" initiative, initially a meme, has evolved into a significant movement and fund, attracting substantial private capital such as JP Morgan's $1.5 trillion commitment, reflecting broad recognition of the need to invest in foundational US industries.
- The podcast highlights a shift in venture capital focus towards sectors like defense, space, and public safety, driven by technological advancements (AI, autonomy), changing geopolitical landscapes, and a recognized need for domestic production and supply chain resilience.
- Private capital is presented as a more efficient alternative to government funding for R&D in these critical sectors, with investors capable of better identifying and backing promising technologies and startups, while the government's role shifts towards committing to purchasing finished solutions.
Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir: Exclusive Interview Inside PLTR Office
Duration: 00:40:57
November 11, 2025
- Palantir's software enables governments and financial firms to analyze vast datasets, finding "needles in haystacks" to identify threats and malfeasance.
- The company emphasizes transparency in data usage, allowing citizens to understand government actions and ensuring data isn't used inappropriately in legal cases.
- The democratization of cyber espionage through technology poses a significant threat, requiring entrepreneurial talent to counter sophisticated adversaries.
How Ryan Serhant Sold $20B in Real Estate
Duration: 01:02:53
November 3, 2025
- A city should be managed like a business, led by a CEO focused on eliminating inefficiencies and finding opportunities for improvement.
- The speaker has achieved over $20 billion in sales and significantly increased efficiency through 12,000 automated tasks, saving substantial human work hours.
- A reality TV show features Venture Capitalists and follows the fundraising process, with a major investment from Left Lane Capital.
Alfred Lin on Airbnb, DoorDash, OpenAI & Citadel Securities
Duration: 00:44:28
October 30, 2025
- Airbnb saw its growth rate steadily decline to negative as COVID-19 spread in early 2020.
- Sakori prefers the term "velocity" over "speed" to emphasize direction and alignment.
- Sequoia Capital persistently pursued a partnership with Citadel Securities, eventually convincing Ken Griffin by highlighting their expertise in company building beyond market making.
Inside Sequoia’s Strategy: Alfred Lin on Company Building & Partnering Long-term
Duration: 00:34:55
October 27, 2025
- Sequoia's approach to startups involves being a shock absorber during difficult times and a sparring partner during good times, focusing on outlier founders and their unique insights.
- The quality of revenue matters more than the speed of growth, emphasizing sustainable, subscription-based models over one-time or experimental revenue.
- Founders must prioritize underlying input metrics like engagement and retention over just output metrics like revenue, and be intellectually honest about product-market fit.
Inside Coatue: $70B Hedge Fund’s AI & Retail Strategy
Duration: 01:06:46
October 23, 2025
- The first use case of AI is significantly accelerating revenue growth in digital advertising businesses, with companies like Meta and Applovin demonstrating substantial improvements.
- The rapid evolution of AI is leading to the automation of many computer-based jobs, creating both new revenue opportunities and potential job displacement concerns.
- Identifying true AI "winners" requires a deep understanding of practitioners and real-time data, as market dynamics and company valuations shift daily based on perceived AI impact.
...