Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

Joe Lonsdale
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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. 10 HR AGO

    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

  2. 2 NOV

    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

  3. 26 OCT

    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

  4. 18 OCT

    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

  5. 3 OCT

    Ep 97: Jimmy John Built a Restaurant Empire; Government Almost Destroyed It

    At 19 years old, Jimmy John Liautaud dropped out of college to start his own sandwich shop. He spent 10 years perfecting his first 10 stores, before franchising his model and scaling to nearly 3,000 Jimmy John's locations nationwide. Then the government almost destroyed it. This week, we sit down with the billionaire sandwich king to discuss his remarkable journey, the impact of government policy, and the consequences of elections. We dive into the business model that made Jimmy John's a national success, and how the Department of Labor under President Obama changed the regulations, sued his stores, and eventually caused him to sell the business. He now encourages business leaders to stand up and speak out, and explains why he's backing President Trump in the upcoming election. He shares a wealth of lessons learned, including the qualities he looks for in managers and how he can tell if a restaurant will succeed or fail by looking at the front door. Along with his personal success, he's also created hundreds of millionaires within the company, including many who started as sandwich makers, and he donates millions to wildlife preservation and scholarships for disadvantaged youth. Jimmy loves his country, his family, and his community; he's a true American success story and you'll see why. 00:00 Episode Intro01:40 The first Jimmy John's store05:05 How Jimmy scaled nationwide07:03 How government almost ruined his business13:17 Why every election matters18:39 Want to win? Nail the details21:10 Turning around failing stores23:59 Minimum wage & AI + robots29:49 Final advice for entrepreneurs 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

    30 min

  6. 20 SEPT

    Ep 96: Harvard Economist Roland Fryer on the Truth Behind Police Shootings & Using Data to Supercharge Meritocracy

    Roland Fryer is a profile in courage; the Harvard economist follows the data where it leads, no matter the outcome. He studied the impact of paying kids for positive behaviors. He demonstrated how charter school best practices can transform even the worst public schools. And most controversially, he conducted a comprehensive study of police use of force, finding that racial discrimination exists at low levels of force but not in shootings. His colleagues at Harvard pressured him to shelve the study; he received death threats. Learn why he didn't cave and why says he would do it again tomorrow.  Roland is not only a leading public intellectual but also a builder. In 2020, he co-founded Sigma Squared, which uses data science and new AI tools to help employers find the best talent for the job, or as he says, supercharge meritocracy. His goal: bring HR into the AI age and take the hiring process from a well-educated guess to a precise science. Roland's accomplishments are even more impressive considering his upbringing: his father went to prison and his mother walked out. Yet, he fell in love with economics and worked his way through college — including stints at McDonald's and Golden Corral —  to become the youngest tenured black professor in Harvard's history! Roland personifies American optimism, and you'll see why.  Learn more about Roland's research and read his study on charter school best practices here. 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

    39 min

  7. 12 SEPT

    Ep 95: Navy SEAL & Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas on the Race for Autonomous Ships and Naval Dominance

    The U.S. Navy dominated in World War II, not because we had the most advanced ships, but because our industrial capacity was unmatched. When we lost a ship in battle, we could instantly replace it with two or three new ones. Our enemies couldn't keep pace. But today, our shipbuilding is a shell of its former self. In 1943, we built over 18,000 ships. Last year, we built eight (and retired 12). China, on the other hand, is producing hundreds of ships and now boasts 250 times the U.S. shipbuilding capacity! How can the U.S. Navy maintain deterrence? One answer is autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) and harnessing new possibilities in AI to field and simultaneously coordinate hundreds or thousands of unmanned vessels. That's why Dino Mavrookas and his team are building Saronic Technologies — the leading ASV manufacturer. Saronic is the only company engineering the hardware, software, and AI to create modular platforms that can be produced economically at scale. They currently offer three classes of vehicles that can be fitted with various sensors and weapons (including the possibility of torpedoes!). Dino believes the push into unmanned, attritable systems is our generation's space race. He served 11 years as a Navy SEAL with eight combat tours before working as a private equity technology investor. He partnered with 8VC through its Build program to launch Saronic in 2022, and it has quickly become one of the fastest-growing defense technology companies. Saronic recently closed a $175 million Series B, making it the newest defense unicorn. Its advisors include former admirals and other naval leaders, and did we mention it's being built right here in Austin, Texas! 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

    29 min

  8. 30 AUG

    Ep 94: A Conversation with Turnaround King & U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross

    Wilbur Ross is one of the great turnaround artists in modern finance. Dubbed the "King of Bankruptcy," he restructured over $400 billion of assets, saving companies — and jobs — in distressed industries like steel, coal, and textiles. In 2016, he went to Washington as U.S. Commerce Secretary to take on a similar mission and defend American companies and workers in high-stakes trade negotiations, particularly with China. We were privileged to host Wilbur for a conversation about his storied career and new book: “Risks and Returns: Creating Success in Business and Life."  We began with his investment philosophy and how he reshaped Wall Street, including his close relationship with Mike Milken and the inception of leveraged buyouts.  Wilbur also recalls going head-to-head with Donald Trump during the bankruptcy negotiations for the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, and explains how that interaction led him to become one of the first Wall Street leaders to support Trump's candidacy for president.  Next, we dive into his tenure as Commerce Secretary and the ongoing debates over U.S. trade policy. He shares his favorite Trump story — an early interaction with Chinese President Xi Jinping — as well as the accomplishments he's most proud of, like regulatory relief, and what he wishes the administration had done differently: act faster and more boldly! Wilbur is a patriot and leader we can all learn from, and hope you'll check out his new book.  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

    44 min
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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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