Perhaps the most interesting episode so far. Byrne Hobart writes at thediff.co , analyzing inflections in finance and tech. He explains: * What happened at FTX * How drugs have induced past financial bubbles * How to be long AI while hedging Taiwan invasion * Whether Musk’s Twitter takeover will succeed * Where to find the next Napoleon and LBJ * & ultimately how society can deal with those who seek domination and recognition Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any oth...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 30 min
Edward Glaeser is the chair of the Harvard department of economics, and the author of the best books and papers about cities (including Survival of the City and Triumph of the City ). He explains why: * Cities are resilient to terrorism, remote work, & pandemics, * Silicon Valley may collapse but the Sunbelt will prosper, * Opioids show UBI is not a solution to AI * & much more! Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcrip...
Nov 28, 2022•57 min
I had a fascinating discussion about Robert Moses and The Power Broker with Professor Kenneth T. Jackson . He's the pre-eminent historian on NYC and author of Robert Moses and The Modern City: The Transformation of New York . He answers: * Why are we so much worse at building things today? * Would NYC be like Detroit without the master builder? * Does it take a tyrant to stop NIMBY? Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript he...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 33 min
It was a pleasure to welcome Brian Potter on the podcast! Brian is the author of the excellent Construction Physics blog, where he discusses why the construction industry has been slow to industrialize and innovate. He explains why: Construction isn’t getting cheaper and faster, “Ugly” modern buildings are simply the result of better architecture, China is so great at building things, Saudi Arabia’s Line is a waste of resources, Environmental review makes new construction expensive and delayed a...
Oct 27, 2022•2 hr 26 min
It was a fantastic pleasure to welcome Bryan Caplan back for a third time on the podcast! His most recent book is Don't Be a Feminist: Essays on Genuine Justice . He explains why he thinks: - Feminists are mostly wrong, - We shouldn’t overtax our centi-billionaires, - Decolonization should have emphasized human rights over democracy, - Eastern Europe shows that we could accept millions of refugees. Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Read the ful...
Oct 20, 2022•2 hr 5 min
It was my great pleasure to speak once again to Tyler Cowen. His most recent book is Talent, How to Find Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Across the World . We discuss: - how sex is more pessimistic than he is, - why he expects society to collapse permanently, - why humility, stimulants, & intelligence are overrated, - how he identifies talent, deceit, & ambition, - & much much much more! Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Read the...
Sep 28, 2022•1 hr 35 min
Charles C. Mann is the author of three of my favorite history books: 1491 . 1493 , and The Wizard and the Prophet . We discuss: * why Native American civilizations collapsed and why they failed to make more technological progress * why he disagrees with Will MacAskill about longtermism * why there aren’t any successful slave revolts * how geoengineering can help us solve climate change * why Bitcoin is like the Chinese Silver Trade * and much much more! Timestamps (0:00:00) -Epidemically Alterna...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 31 min
Austin Vernon is an engineer working on a new method for carbon capture, and he has one of the most interesting blogs on the internet, where he writes about engineering, software, economics, and investing. We discuss how energy superabundance will change the world, how Starship can be turned into a kinetic weapon, why nuclear is overrated, blockchains, batteries, flying cars, finding alpha, & much more! Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Re...
Sep 08, 2022•2 hr 24 min
Steve Hsu is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Michigan State University and cofounder of the company Genomic Prediction . We go deep into the weeds on how embryo selection can make babies healthier and smarter. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here . Follow Steve on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. Timestamps (0:00:14) - Feynman’s advice on picking up women (0:11:46) - Embryo selecti...
Aug 23, 2022•2 hr 21 min
Will MacAskill is one of the founders of the Effective Altruist movement and the author of the upcoming book, What We Owe The Future . We talk about improving the future, risk of extinction & collapse, technological & moral change, problems of academia, who changes history, and much more. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website + Transcript here . Follow Will on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. S...
Aug 09, 2022•56 min
Joseph Carlsmith is a senior research analyst at Open Philanthropy and a doctoral student in philosophy at the University of Oxford . We discuss utopia, artificial intelligence, computational power of the brain , infinite ethics , learning from the fact that you exist, perils of futurism, and blogging. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , etc. Episode website + Transcript here . Follow Joseph on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter . Subscribe to find out about future episodes! Time...
Aug 03, 2022•1 hr 31 min
Fin Moorhouse is a Research Scholar and assistant to Toby Ord at Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute . He co-hosts the Hear This Idea podcast, which showcases new thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism . We discuss for-profit entrepreneurship for altruism, space governance, morality in the multiverse, podcasting, the long reflection, and the Effective Ideas & EA criticism blog prize. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , etc. Episod...
Jul 27, 2022•2 hr 20 min
Alexander Mikaberidze is Professor of History at Louisiana State University and the author of The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History . He explains the global ramifications of the Napoleonic Wars - from India to Egypt to America. He also talks about how Napoleon was the last of the enlightened despots, whether he would have made a good startup founder, how the Napoleonic Wars accelerated the industrial revolution, the roots of the war in Ukraine, and much more! Watch on YouTube , or listen on Spot...
Jul 13, 2022•1 hr 23 min
I flew to the Bahamas to interview Sam Bankman-Fried , the CEO of FTX! He talks about FTX’s plan to infiltrate traditional finance, giving $100m this year to AI + pandemic risk, scaling slowly + hiring A-players, and much more. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website + Transcript here . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes Subscribe to find out about future episodes! Timestamps (00:18) - How inefficient is the world? (...
Jul 05, 2022•45 min
Agustin Lebron began his career as a trader and researcher at Jane Street Capital, one of the largest market-making firms in the world. He currently runs the consulting firm Essilen Research, where he is dedicated to helping clients integrate modern decision-making approaches in their business. We discuss how AI will change finance, why adverse selection makes trading and hiring so difficult, & what the future of crypto holds. Watch on YouTube , or listen on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or any...
Jun 23, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Ananyo Bhattacharya is the author of The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann . He is a science writer who has worked at the Economist and Nature. Before journalism, he was a medical researcher at the Burnham Institute in San Diego, California. He holds a degree in physics from the University of Oxford and a PhD in protein crystallography from Imperial College London. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website her...
May 11, 2022•55 min
Stephen Grugett is a cofounder of Manifold Markets, where anyone can create a prediction market. We discuss how prediction markets can change how countries and companies make important decisions. Manifold Markets : https://manifold.markets/ Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website here . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. Timestamps: (0:00:00) - Introduction (0:02:29) - Predicting the future (0:05:16) - Getting Accur...
May 05, 2022•51 min
Today I talk to Pradyu Prasad (blogger and podcaster) about the book "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan" by Herbert P. Bix. We also discuss militarization, industrial capacity, current events, and blogging. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Podcast website here . Follow Pradyu on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. Follow Pradyu's Blog: https://brettongoods.substack.com/ Timestamps: (0:00:00) - Intro (0:01:59) ...
Apr 27, 2022•1 hr 39 min
Razib Khan is a writer, geneticist, and blogger with an interest in history, genetics, culture, and evolutionary psychology. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Podcast website here .Follow Razib on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes Thanks for reading The Lunar Society! Subscribe to find out about future episodes! Time Stamps (0:00:05) Razib's Background (0:01:34) Dysgenics of Intelligence (0:04:23) Endogamy and Geneti...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Jimmy Soni is the author of The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website here . Follow Jimmy on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes! Timestamps: (0:00:00) - Bell Labs vs PayPal (0:05:12) - Scenius in Ancient Rome and America's Founding (0:07:02) - Girard at PayPal (0:15:17) - Thiel almost shorts the Dot com bubble (0:19:49) - Does Z...
Apr 16, 2022•1 hr 8 min
I interview the economist Bryan Caplan about his new book, Labor Econ Versus the World , and many other related topics. Bryan Caplan is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author. His most famous works include: The Myth of the Rational Voter , Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids , The Case Against Education , and Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration . Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platfor...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Richard Hanania is the President of the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology and the author of Public Choice Theory and the Illusion of Grand Strategy: How Generals, Weapons Manufacturers, and Foreign Governments Shape American Foreign Policy. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website here . Follow Richard on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. Read Richard's Substack: https://richardhanania.subs...
Feb 24, 2022•1 hr 2 min
David Deutsch is the founder of the field of quantum computing and the author The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality . Read me contra David on AI . Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript with helpful links here . Follow David on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future podcasts. Timestamps (0:00:00) - Will AIs be smarter than humans? (0:06:34) - Are intelligence differences immutable / heritable? (0:...
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 24 min
Byrne Hobart writes The Diff, a newsletter about inflections in finance and technology with 24,000+ subscribers. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website here . The Diff newsletter: https://diff.substack.com/ Follow Byrne on Twitter . Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes! Thanks for reading The Lunar Society! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Timestamps: ( 0:00:00 ) - Byrne's one big idea: sta...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 12 min
David Friedman is a famous anarcho-capitalist economist and legal scholar. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website + transcript here . David Friedman's website: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/ Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. Timestamps: ( 0:00:00 ) - Dating market ( 0:12:15 ) - The future of reputation ( 0:27:30 ) - How Friedman predicted bitcoin ( 0:35:35 ) - Prediction markets ( 0:40:00 ) - Can regulation stop p...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Sarah Fitz-Claridge is a writer, coach, and speaker with a fallibilist worldview. She started the journal that became Taking Children Seriously in the early 1990s after being surprised by the heated audience reactions she was getting when talking about children. She has spoken all over the world about her educational philosophy, and you can find transcripts of some of her talks on her website. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website ...
Jun 04, 2021•58 min
Michael Huemer is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado. He is the author of more than sixty academic articles in epistemology, ethics, metaethics, metaphysics, and political philosophy, as well as eight amazing books. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Podcast website here . Buy Knowledge, Reality, and Value and The Problem of Political Authority . Read Michael’s awesome blog and follow me on Twitter for new episodes. Timesta...
May 28, 2021•1 hr 37 min
Robert Martin (aka Uncle Bob) is a programming pioneer and bestselling author or Clean Code. We discuss the prospect of automating programming, spotting and developing coding talent, occupational licensing, quotas, and the elusive sense of style. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Listen to his fascinating talk on the future of programming: https://youtu.be/ecIWPzGEbFc Read his blog about programming: http://blog.cleancoder.com/ Buy his books o...
Nov 28, 2020•46 min
Scott Aaronson is a Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin, and director of its Quantum Information Center. He's the author of one of the most interesting blogs on the internet: https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/ and the book “ Quantum Computing since Democritus”. He was also my professor for a class on quantum computing. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Episode website here . Follow me on Twitter to get updates o...
Nov 20, 2020•1 hr 27 min
Scott is the author of Ultralearning and famous for the MIT Challenge, where he taught himself MIT's 4 year Computer Science curriculum in 1 year. I had a blast chatting with Scott Young about aggressive self-directed learning. Scott has some of the best advice out there about learning hard things. It has helped yours truly prepare to interview experts and dig into interesting subjects. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Podcast website here . ...
Nov 16, 2020•1 hr 39 min
