From co-founding PayPal and Palantir to writing the first check into Facebook and investing early in SpaceX, AirBnB, and numerous other unicorns, Peter Thiel has shaped the American technology world for over 25 years. Dozens of our most talented leaders have been inspired by Peter, and as a major influence on how we understand the world, he’s also helped to shape the future of the West. Peter likes exploring clever ideas and wisdom, and loves to win.

What's next for our civilization? How should talented people decide what to focus on? And where are the best opportunities amid our myriad challenges? There's no one better than Peter at understanding broken systems, recognizing civilizational currents, and charting a contrarian course. We begin with his mental framework for building in dysfunctional areas, and why Palantir proved more difficult than we ever thought. Peter reveals his worst investments of the past few decades and why broken sectors are often impervious to change. He explains the talent, philosophy, and timing necessary to build a truly generational company.

We also cover DOGE, President Trump's trade policy, and why Peter is more optimistic about the new administration in Washington than at any point since President Reagan. We discuss whether the vibe shift in Silicon Valley is real, and Peter's theory for how Meta (where he served on the board for 17 years) was captured by the woke mind virus. Lastly, he explains the precursors for cultural revolutions, i.e., the woke backlash, and why he's uncharacteristically bullish on the DOGE movement and new opportunities for lasting political change.

00:00 Episode intro

01:40 UATX vs Harvard

04:45 What should talented people focus on?

07:40 Peter's thesis behind Palantir

11:05 Why Palantir sued the Army

14:30 Optimism vs pessimism

17:10 Peter's worst investment areas

20:30 Peter's perspective on Trump & DOGE

25:45 Trump's trade policy & how to deal with China

30:40 New opportunities in broken areas?

35:10 Los Angeles, Austin, and broken cities

40:25 Is the Silicon Valley vibe shift real?

45:45 Cultural revolutions and why speech codes backfired

Sen. Tom Cotton is a key leader on Capitol Hill, standing up to cronyism and grift at home and our adversaries abroad. Does he think DOGE can effect lasting change? What can we do about activist judges blocking the new administration? And how do we stop the Chinese Communist Party from infiltrating our government, undermining American innovation, and targeting our kids with synthetic and digital drugs, i.e. fentanyl and TikTok?

Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and member of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Cotton plays a vital role in shaping our nation's foreign policy. He also knows the impact of policy firsthand, having deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in the U.S. Army after graduating from Harvard and Harvard Law school. His new book sounds the alarm on America's capitulation to the CCP and is appropriately titled "Seven Things You Can't Say About China."

As the first elected official to publicly defend the lab leak theory, Sen. Cotton courageously challenged the CCP and our own establishment media, reinforcing his reputation as a bold fighter on issues foreign and domestic. We begin with DOGE and a key legislative mechanism he believes Republicans can use to remove waste, fraud, and abuse in the budget for good. He also explains why the Supreme Court needs to weigh in on activist district judges issuing nationwide injunctions. Next, we dive into his new book and the seven areas of the CCP's malfeasance, including its influence over the Panama Canal, what's going to happen with TikTok, and whether the U.S. is serious about stopping the "reverse opium war" and taking out the Mexican cartels. There are many in Hollywood, academia, corporate America, and even Washington D.C. who downplay or cave to Chinese influence; Sen. Cotton is not one of them!

00:00 Episode Intro

03:05 DOGE & activist judges

08:40 Lab leak theory and exposing lies

11:27 Seven Things You Can't Say About China

15:47 Was Pres. Trump right about China and Panama Canal?

20:06 How China infiltrated Hollywood

25:50 What's going to happen with TikTok?

29:36 The CCP's reverse opium war

38:55 Is there optimism for a free China?

Dr. Mike Israetel is one of the most influential voices in health and fitness. What are the "miracle drugs" he thinks will upend modern medicine? Why is he outspoken on AI and the coming "aesthetic revolution"? And what does he think of Bryan Johnson and living to 200?

We discuss some of the most interesting developments in health science with Dr. Mike, co-founder of Renaissance Periodization, his health and strength lab for training athletes and professionals, while sharing his insights with millions online. He earned a PhD in Sport Physiology from East Tennessee State University and later taught at Lehman College, Temple University, and the University of Central Missouri. He also pushes his own body to the limits as a competitive bodybuilder and professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grappler.

How did Dr. Mike become a leading authority on strength training? By following the science, he says, and debunking common myths and faulty logic. Learn about the most common misconceptions and why he believes nearly all of health and fitness boils down to a few fundamental principles. Next, Dr. Mike outlines the science behind everyday issues — sleep, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, testosterone — before diving deep into GLP-1s, steroids vs peptides, cutting-edge drug discovery, and why living to 200 is not as far-fetched as we think. Finally, he explains his journey into AI and philosophy, and why he believes the coming aesthetic revolution will transform the world for the better starting in the 2030s.

Check out Dr. Mike's newest nutritional product, Genius Shot, here.

0:00 Episode Intro

01:32 Debunking fitness myths

04:23 Health Science that will change your life

07:44 Health Impacts: Alcohol, Sleep, Caffeine, and Nicotine

14:44 Testosterone Decline

16:41 Why Dr. Mike Is Obsessed with AI

21:00 AI Misuse, Threats, and Capabilities

24:27 Aesthetic Revolution, Modern Drugs, and Anti-Aging Technologies

32:48 Bryan Johnson and Longevity

37:28 Biggest Potential for Fitness & Nutrition Startups

41:10 Cybernetics, Prosthetics, and the Future of Human Enhancement

Budweiser was the undisputed king of American beers, until one controversial ad campaign erased $40 billion in market cap and thousands of jobs. How did this happen? Where did top-down frameworks like ESG and DEI originate? And how can we get corporate America back on mission?

This week we're joined by Anson Frericks, a former president at Anheuser-Busch and author of the new book: “Last Call for Bud Light: The Fall and Future of America’s Favorite Beer." He recently founded Athletic Capital and co-founded Strive Asset Management with Vivek Ramaswamy.

After graduating from Yale and Harvard Business School, Anson quickly ascended the ranks at AB InBev, which acquired Anheuser-Busch in 2008. But he began to notice the beer brand straying from its all-American roots. The culture shifted dramatically after InBev moved sales and marketing from St. Louis to New York City, and Budweiser became emblematic of a decades-long battle over the purpose of a corporation dating back to Milton Friedman's shareholder primacy theory versus the World Economic Forum's embrace of stakeholder theory. Anson explains how the latter captured boardrooms across Europe, spread to America, and led to the proliferation of ESG and DEI within our largest financial institutions.

He details how BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard wield their outsized influence to force stakeholder theory on corporate America, and explains why, shortly before Bud Light's historic collapse, he left to launch Strive Asset Management as an alternative asset manager focused solely on maximizing returns for shareholders. Anson provides an important case study in what went wrong on Wall Street and in boardrooms across the country, and more importantly, how we can get back on track.

00:00 Episode Intro

1:57 The rise & fall of Bud Light

08:50 What is the purpose of a corporation?

10:48 Milton Friedman vs Klaus Schwab

13:50 How BlackRock manipulates investors & companies

16:15 What went wrong at Bud Light

19:00 Costco doubling down on DEI

23:35 How to fight back

28:10 Why Anson left to start Strive

35:38 How to save corporate America

My friend Tim Urban is one of the most influential writers and public intellectuals of the past decade. In 2015, his predictions about the coming AI wave shaped how many builders thought about the future. What happens next in the AI revolution? What new possibilities is he excited about and what concerns him the most? And why, despite technological progress, has our culture and politics descended into tribalism?

We explore these questions and more with the writer and illustrator of the popular "Wait But Why" blog and author of "What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies." Tim's unique illustrations translate complex, technical topics in ways that are accessible and insightful to everyone from the layperson to our country’s top innovators.

After studying government at Harvard, Tim noticed a glaring hole in online discourse: content was everywhere, but quality was lacking. So he began to write in-depth about pressing intellectual questions and debates. What is the nature of intelligence? Why does Mars matter? What does the Fermi Paradox teach us about the universe? His research led him to viral success and carved out his reputation as one of the most forward-thinking writers online, followed by Elon Musk and millions more. After exploring these themes, he noticed a troubling trend: technology was progressing but our culture and politics were not. He then dedicated six years to writing "What's Our Problem?" and developed powerful frameworks for understanding human nature, political dysfunction, and how illiberal movements conquer institutions. And he doesn't just diagnose our collective ailments, but also offers an antidote for how we can all draw from the higher aspects of our mind to transcend tribalism and move society forward. Tim's writings have been instrumental in the country's "vibe shift" and restoring sanity and intelligence to our national discourse.

00:00 Episode Intro

01:35 From Harvard to blogging

04:57 Understanding the Fermi Paradox

09:46 How Tim predicted the AI revolution

13:30 Narrow vs general intelligence

17:30 Should we pause AI research?

26:00 What's Our Problem?

31:00 Higher-rung vs lower-rung thinking

34:20 America vs wrecking balls

41:50 How to conquer a society

51:20 Tim's $10k bet on Mars & optimism for the future

Self-driving is an immensely complex challenge; Tesla, Waymo, and others are locked in a years-long race. But equally challenging, and less known, is the race to develop off-road self-driving. How do you build systems that can navigate unmapped terrain, dodge boulders, and see behind trees — all at high speeds? And how can our military deploy this technology to enhance lethality and save soldiers' lives?

We discuss these exciting breakthroughs with Byron Boots, Co-Founder & CEO of Overland AI — one of the most exciting new U.S. defense companies. Byron holds a PhD in machine learning from Carnegie Mellon and also teaches machine learning and robotics at the University of Washington.

We begin with Byron's background as a philosopher-builder, and how he created the top ground autonomy research group in partnership with the Department of Defense. We dive into the engineering challenges of off-road self-driving, and Byron reveals what sets Overland apart from the competition. Next, we cover the strategic significance of Overland's work and how it will abstract humans from dangerous ground operations, like breaching, and transform warfare. If Overland is successful, thousands of autonomous vehicles, each with an elite operator controlling his own smart fleet, could replace the traditional ground campaigns of tanks, infantrymen, and heavy casualties — and that's something we can all be optimistic about.

00:00 Episode Intro

01:30 Byron’s Philosopher Builder Background

05:32 DARPA challenge & Overland origin story

08:15 On-road vs off-road self-driving

13:08 How ground autonomy changes warfare

18:59 Engineering challenges in off-road autonomy

23:30 AI-enabled swarming & the future of warfare

29:03 Building with the Pentagon

32:37 Optimism for the future

In 2012, Zac Bookman and I set out to bring efficiency and transparency to state and local governments using the best of Silicon Valley technology. Some said we were naive; others laughed when we tried to raise money from them. Over a decade later, OpenGov is a govtech leader, recently acquired by Cox Enterprises for $1.8 billion. And now, government efficiency, namely DOGE, is all the rage!

What does it take to bring government out of the stone ages and into the cloud? And how can DOGE and the new administration seize upon this cultural and political sea change? We discuss this and more with OpenGov co-founder and CEO Zac Bookman. A litigator by training, Zac fought corruption as a Fulbright fellow in Mexico and as an advisor to General McMaster in Afghanistan. As we launched OpenGov, Zac was recruiting candidates on his cell phone from NATO HQ — reflective of his intense work ethic and leadership.

We start with Zac's entrepreneurial journey and key lessons from Afghanistan, before diving into the make-or-break moments in building OpenGov. We also discuss his remarkable M&A track record and strategy of buying tiny govtech companies and helping them scale. Next, we explore Zac's advice for DOGE and how to effect meaningful and lasting change within government. Finally, Zac outlines how OpenGov is harnessing AI and the new possibilities for more functional and responsive governments around the country.

00:00 Episode intro

01:45 Zac's story

07:10 Fighting corruption in Afghanistan

11:30 The origins of OpenGov

19:35 Make-or-break moments

26:35 Understanding how local government works

28:10 Zac's unique M&A strategy

32:24 Advice for DOGE

37:35 Pivoting OpenGov to AI first

44:45 Biking across America & optimism

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

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

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