Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

American Optimist, hosted by Joe Lonsdale: entrepreneur, investor, and founder of four multi-billion dollar companies and other mission-driven organizations. American Optimist is an alternative to the fear, cynicism, and zero-sum thinking in mainstream media. Learn from the innovators and leaders who are solving our nation’s most pressing challenges, and doing it in a way that will lift everyone up. Hope should dominate our discourse, and American Optimist will show you why. blog.joelonsdale.com

  1. 14/12/2024

    Ep 105: What Can Aristotle Teach Us About AI? Training "Philosopher Builders" with Brendan McCord of the Cosmos Institute

    AI is transforming our world. Yet many people building these technologies have no grounding in the principles of Western Civilization. With the wrong ideas, we could hurtle toward an authoritarian, dystopian future. But with the right values, AI could unleash freedom and prosperity in ways never imagined. What are the philosophical frameworks needed to harness AI for good? And how do we train a new generation of philosopher builders? We explore these timely issues with Brendan McCord, founder and chair of the Cosmos Institute, a new nonprofit equipping technologists with pro-liberty values. After graduating from MIT and Harvard Business School, Brendan served on Arctic submarine missions for the Department of Defense and later authored its first AI strategy. He went on to build and lead two AI startups that were acquired for $400 million. Now, he's educating our best and brightest minds in the timeless wisdom of Western Civilization and preparing them for the serious ethical questions that AI poses. We begin with the importance of philosophy throughout history in harnessing emerging technologies for freedom or control. Next, Brendan breaks down the four dominant approaches to AI — doomsayers, accelerationists, regulators, and techno-authoritarians — and where each falls short. Alternatively, he offers three principles and their philosophical roots for harnessing AI for human flourishing: reason (John Stuart Mill), decentralization (Alexis de Tocqueville), and human autonomy (Aristotle). We also cover legitimate versus illegitimate concerns with AI and conclude with how the Cosmos Institute is putting these principles into action, from its Fellowship programs to its new AI lab at Oxford University. 00:00 Episode intro 02:04 Submarines to Building AI Companies 06:00 Why Philosopher Builders are needed 13:20 Why AI poses unique challenges 20:50 Doomsayers vs Accelerationists 25:50 Philosophical frameworks for human flourishing 30:10 Regulators & Techno-authoritarians 37:34 AI running for political office? 40:07 LLMs don't know how to reason 42:30 Purpose of the Cosmos Institute This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    50 min

  2. 06/12/2024

    Ep 104: Will AI Replace Coders? Terminal Co-Founder & CEO Dylan Serota

    How is AI augmenting software developers? Will it replace or commoditize certain roles? And how should aspiring engineers prepare for the future? This week, we're joined by Dylan Serota, co-founder and CEO of Terminal, to discuss AI's impact on one of the most important aspects of company building: talent. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Dylan headed to Silicon Valley, where he helped build and scale global teams for Eventbrite. After seeing the flaws in traditional outsourcing firms, he set out to build Terminal — a new model for a global talent platform. Behind the scenes, Terminal is enabling some of the fastest-growing tech companies, like Hims&Hers, Chime, and NextDoor, to hire and manage teams around the world. We start our conversation with global hiring trends and how AI is transforming the competition for talent. Specifically, we discuss how new AI tools are augmenting coding and impacting demand for high-skill versus entry-level developers. We also tackle the challenges in building global teams and why some companies are reverting to face-to-face interviews and tests. Next, we explore the misaligned incentives in traditional outsourcing models and how Terminal differentiates itself. Finally, Dylan offers his advice to young engineers on how they should prepare for the AI age. 00:00 Episode Intro 02:00 The state of global talent 05:00 Why is Nike hiring thousands of engineers? 9:00 Will AI replace coders? 13:30 AI screening vs in-person interviews 18:00 Why is traditional outsourcing broken? 22:20 How Terminal helps startups scale 26:00 Advice for young engineers This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    28 min

  3. 29/11/2024

    Ep 103: Raj Bhakta Created WhistlePig; Now He's Reinventing the Whiskey Industry (Again)

    Raj Bhakta is best known as the founder of Whistlepig Whiskey. But he also served in the Marines, rode an elephant across the Rio Grande while running for Congress, won a spot on The Apprentice with Donald Trump, recently purchased a college, and is reinventing the whiskey game (again). He's a patriot and creator of one-of-a-kind spirits — with a personality to match. The son of immigrants, Raj grew up learning his father's hotel business before setting out on his own. After adventures in investment banking, reality TV, and politics, he saw an opening in high-end American whiskey — and he seized it. WhistlePig quickly became one of the premier craft whiskeys. After exiting in 2019, he secured one of the world's oldest stashes of Armagnac and launched his newest ventures: Hogsworth and Bhakta Spirits. Raj recently acquired the now-defunct Green Mountain College in Vermont, where he plans to build a new university grounded in our Founding values, along with a world-class spirit library. We sample his newest whiskeys, joke about religion and politics, and learn from a great American entrepreneur. 00:00 Episode intro 01:44 Why Raj bought a college 03:32 Riding an elephant across Rio Grande 08:49 Origin story of WhistlePig 11:32 Growing up in America; joining Marines 18:32 Acquiring world's biggest stash of Armagnac 23:20 Building Hogsworth / how to blend whiskey 24:13 Catholicism vs Judaism 29:11 Working with Trump on The Apprentice 32:03 Bhakta Spirits & why drink Armagnac 39:40 Why Raj is building a new college 44:35 Advice for entrepreneurs 51:25 Bullying and adversity This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    55 min

  4. 22/11/2024

    Ep 102: "If You're Not Blowing Stuff Up, You're Not Innovating!" — Stanford Professor Steve Blank

    In World War II, the U.S. government embraced a radical idea: putting scientists and technologists in charge of building advanced weapons. The rest, as we say, is history. What are the radical ideas we need today? And what can we learn from the history of Silicon Valley?  This week, we talk with Steve Blank — serial entrepreneur, Stanford professor, and influential author who created concepts that define today's innovation ecosystem. After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, Steve landed his first job at William Perry's now-famous Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory. He went on to launch several companies, from taking on Intel in microprocessor manufacturing to building early versions of CRM. His book, "Four Steps to the Epiphany," is credited as the intellectual backbone of the lean startup movement. He has also studied the Pentagon for decades, served on the Defense Business Board, and co-founded Stanford's Gordian Knot Center.  We start with Steve's entrepreneurial journey and the evolution of Silicon Valley over the past 50 years, from helping end the Cold War to pioneering the computer and internet age. We also examine the devolution of government and its decline from the engine of technology and research in the 20th century to today's slow, bloated bureaucracy.  Steve outlines his bold ideas for reforming the Pentagon and outpacing China in the technology race; he also breaks down the difference between execution and innovation and how the best organizations, like SpaceX, can manage both simultaneously.  Finally, we discuss why Steve had called for a pause in AI research and, given his concerns over China, if we can afford to pause.  00:00 Episode Intro 01:40 "Bill Perry was my first boss"  7:43 The Secret History of Silicon Valley 12:14 How US govt fell behind SV 17:05 SpaceX vs NASA 22:00 Radical ideas for Pentagon  26:28 Execution vs Innovation 31:13 Lean startup vs fat startup  40:11 Does industrial policy work?  43:40 Why did Steve call for AI pause?  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    50 min

  5. 15/11/2024

    Ep 101: Gov. Kevin Stitt — the Businessman Governor Standing Up to Special Interests

    What does political courage look like in action? What does it mean to stand up to special interests? And what are the fights we must take on — and win — to keep America free and prosperous?  I recently interviewed Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt at the Cicero Institute's 2024 Courage Awards, where we recognized him and other bold leaders from across the country for taking on cronyism and corruption in the face of great opposition.  Stitt considers himself a businessman governor: he started Gateway Mortage with $1,000 and a computer before scaling it into a national company. He never sought public office before running for governor, and since he's taken charge, he's run it like a business: balancing budget shortfalls, streamlining permitting, and slashing regulations. More impressively, he's demonstrated real courage in standing up to powerful special interests, like the homelessness industrial complex, and others you might not expect, like the police union.  Learn how he succeeded in getting real help to the homeless and mentally ill, and why he vetoed a pension increase for police officers. Stitt also explains how woke nonsense and cronyism manifest even in a deep red state — and how to fight it; why politics shouldn't be a career profession; and how he succeeded in passing one of the boldest school choice programs in the nation. Oklahoma has become one of the nation's fastest-growing states under his leadership, and you'll see why.  00:00 Episode Intro 01:58 Entrepreneur to governor 05:29 Passing school choice 8:33 Taking on the homeless industrial complex 12:20 Vetoing police pension increase 15:45 Slashing regulations 19:05 Fixing the nursing shortfall / workforce readiness 22:13 Limiting the growth of government This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    25 min

  6. 02/11/2024

    Ep 100: Why AI Is Underhyped with Elad Gil

    For Episode 100, we have a special conversation with Elad Gil, one of Silicon Valley's great thinkers, builders, and investors. Elad has been involved with many of the leading technology companies of the past 20 years — and likely the next 20 years. Learn how he's backed dozens of unicorns, why he thinks AI is underhyped, and where he sees investment opportunities amid this new wave of disruption.  An early leader at Google, Elad helped build the initial mobile team, before founding MixerLabs, which was acquired by Twitter in 2009. Elad stayed on as VP of Corporate Strategy and became a key "fixer" during Twitter's hypergrowth phase. Later, he co-founded Color Health, a genetic testing company specializing in cancer detection. Over the past decade, he's backed nearly 40 unicorns, including Airbnb, Coinbase, Figma, Instacart, and Stripe. He's also invested in Harvey, Mistral, Perplexity, Pika, and other leading AI startups.  In this episode, Elad takes us behind the scenes of the early days of Google and Twitter, and how Silicon Valley culture has evolved. He explains his three categories of exceptional founders and how he positioned himself to become one of the top angel investors. We also dive deep into AI, from the trajectory of LLMs to frameworks for investing in the AI value stack. Finally, we discuss AI's impact on education and the most exciting possibilities for the decade ahead.  00:00 Episode intro 01:16 Building Google’s mobile team 06:01 Early days at Twitter 11:37 Building Color Health 15:57 How he’s backed dozens of unicorns 21:52 How small clusters of talent change the world 25:20 Where are the young people in government? 27:25 Where are the young startup founders? 30:17 Why AI is underhyped 36:40 Will LLMs get exponentially better? 39:10 Investing in the AI value stack 41:33 AI and the future of education This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    50 min

  7. 26/10/2024

    Ep 99: The Myth of American Inequality with Senator Phil Gramm

    The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. The wealthiest among us don't pay their fair share in taxes. The American Dream is disappearing... Are these claims true? What data are they based upon? And does it stand up to scrutiny? This week, we analyze the debate over income inequality and mobility in America with economist and former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm. In his book, "The Myth of American Inequality" (winner of the 2024 Hayek Prize), Gramm lays out the oft-cited data for widening inequality and exposes where it falls short. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the top 20% of earners possess 16.7 times the income of the bottom 20%. However, Gramm reveals that this data excludes nearly all government transfer payments to the poor, like food stamps, and fails to subtract the high taxes paid by top earners. Adjusting for these factors, inequality drops from 16.7X to 4X! Gramm also points out that benefits to the poor have increased from $9,700 per household in 1967 (adjusted for inflation) to nearly $50,000 today. He argues that we suffer, not from extreme inequality, but from welfare-driven equality that encourages huge numbers of low-and-middle income Americans to drop out of the workforce. Senator Phil Gramm served in Washington D.C. for 25 years, first as a Congressman and later as a three-term Senator from Texas. He's an economist by training who taught at Texas A&M before entering public service. His book is a must-read for understanding the inequality debate, the truth about the super-rich, and the state of the American Dream. 00:00 Episode intro 03:32 Is inequality extreme and growing? 10:45 Elon Musk and the super-rich 16:19 Is Warren Buffet cheating the government? 22:55 Industrial Revolution — setting the record straight 29:35 Do billionaires pay their fair share? 33:40 Is the American Dream dying? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    42 min

  8. 18/10/2024

    Ep 98: How Wokeness Foments Antisemitism; a Conversation with ADL's Jonathan Greenblatt

    Founded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League has played an important role in protecting the Jewish community and fighting for civil rights. But in recent years, many believe it has lurched too Left and promoted content that ends up harming Jews. I sat down with its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, to discuss what the ADL has gotten right and debate where it's gone wrong. Jonathan started his career in President Clinton's administration before finding success as an entrepreneur and later returning to the Obama White House. We don't align on politics, but we have mutual respect and I visited him at the White House during Obama's tenure to discuss policy issues. Many of the ADL's core activities are noble: report illegal threats against Jews, push back aggressively on anti-Semitism, and provide legal assistance for Jewish students harmed or threatened on college campuses. But recently, many on the Center and Right have taken serious issue with some of the ADL's actions, including its pressure campaigns against social media platforms and embrace of progressive politics that may be making Jews more vulnerable. In our candid discussion, I challenged Greenblatt on ADL's Left-wing stances and its promotion of critical race theory and Ta-Nehisi Coates' earlier work. I was encouraged to hear about the ADL's aggressive actions against Harvard, Penn, and other institutions after October 7; his agreement that oppressor vs oppressed frameworks foment hate against Jews; and his call for regime change in Iran, not appeasement. I’d like to see the ADL stop demonizing many on the Right and promoting woke nonsense on their site, distracting from its core purpose of fighting the actual enemies of Jews. But Jonathan and I agree that the ADL is an organization with a storied history and a valuable role to continue to play, especially given the pressing need to combat antisemitism today. 00:00 Episode Intro 02:15 Jonathan's background 05:14 ADL's History 08:39 Lessons from October 7 15:33 Have things improved on college campuses? 17:20 Iran funding antisemitism in the US 20:20 Has ADL gone hard Left? Does ADL teach CRT? 24:00 Will ADL stop promoting Ta-Nehisi Coates? 28:36 How wokeness causes antisemitism This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

    36 min
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About

American Optimist, hosted by Joe Lonsdale: entrepreneur, investor, and founder of four multi-billion dollar companies and other mission-driven organizations. American Optimist is an alternative to the fear, cynicism, and zero-sum thinking in mainstream media. Learn from the innovators and leaders who are solving our nation’s most pressing challenges, and doing it in a way that will lift everyone up. Hope should dominate our discourse, and American Optimist will show you why. blog.joelonsdale.com

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