Samantha Peszek is a retired Olympian, an NBC Olympic Broadcaster, and founder of Beam Queen Bootcamp.

Last year, we sat down for a conversation with Sam where we touched on her move to Austin, her delusional 5-year old dreams of one day becoming an Olympian, the windy path getting there, retiring at such a young age, her post-athletic career, and more.

Samantha's Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthapeszek/
• Beam Queen: https://www.beamqueen.com/ 

WML Links

• WML Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madness_lies/
• WML X: https://x.com/wheremadness

Etan Ilfeld is a London-based entrepreneur, author, venture partner at Remagine Ventures, and the owner and managing director of Watkins Books, Watkins Media, and the Mind Sports Olympiad.

In our conversation, we discuss games, Etan's investing philosophy, geopolitics and exhausted ideologies, AI's approach to morality and ethics, and more.

Etan's Links

• X / Twitter: https://x.com/EtanIlfeld
• The Etan Ilfeld Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-etan-ilfeld-podcast/id1500914118
• Watkins Publishing: https://watkinspublishing.com/
• Remagine Ventures: https://www.remagineventures.com/

WML Social

• WML Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madness_lies/
• WML X / Twitter: https://x.com/WMadnessLies

PETERMAX is the creative force behind both The Powder Room & Manny's in Austin, Texas. He has designed spaces with various industry leaders such as MGM International, RH, Starwood Capital, ARIA Hotel, The Light Group and most recently Lobos Hospitality.

In this conversation, we discuss the ups and downs of Peter's career so far, how trends follow the convicted, Kelly Wearstler and the Proper Hotel, the importance of operating beyond your comfort zone, storytelling and his process for designing luxury spaces, and more.

Peter's Links

• Peter's Website
• Peter's Instagram
• Powder Room

James Phelps is an actor best known for playing Fred Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise from 2001 to 2011. James is an autodidact with passions ranging from astronomy to history. In this conversation, we discussed what it was like being cast in one of the biggest film franchises of all time, a few of his other projects (including a horror comedy that Aaron produced called Patchwork), the travel series he starred in alongside his brother, Oliver, and more.

We recorded this episode last summer while traveling in Europe.

Joe Lonsdale has built several multi-billion dollar companies. He's a prolific entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. 

We discussed why he dislikes the title of our show (Where Madness Lies), his path from PayPal to Palantir, his frustration over the abundance of incompetent cowards in government, lessons from his father and some childhood anecdotes, what it was like being so successful at such a young age, his awkward teenage years, why he moved to Texas, his framework for cultivating talent, getting in trouble on social media, and more.

Joe's Links:

• Joe's Twitter: https://twitter.com/JTLonsdale
• Joe's blog: https://blog.joelonsdale.com/
• Joe's podcast - https://www.americanoptimist.com/
• 8VC - https://www.8vc.com/

Where Madness Lies:

• instagram.com/madness_lies
• https://www.youtube.com/@WhereMadnessLies

Christian is the Hereditary of Prince of Fürstenberg. This was the first episode we recorded back in July 2023 while traveling to Schloss Heiligenberg, his family's historic castle in Germany.

We discussed what it was like to grow up in an aristocratic family and why royalty still matters, the difficulty being an individual within the context of a prominent family, raising his children with his family's traditions, Catholicism, the Holocaust and German guilt, art philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and why Christian is bullish on South Africa.

We hope you enjoy.

WML SOCIALS:

• https://www.instagram.com/madness_lies
• https://twitter.com/AaronWebman

(This conversation was recorded before October 7, 2023)

Rabbi Dan Ain moved to Austin from San Francisco during COVID due to toxic lockdown culture and policy in California.  

In this conversation, we discuss the negatives of Baby Boomer Judaism, the impact of X/Twitter and the importance of free speech, anti-Semitism, problems with the ADL, and much more. 

#judaism #babyboomer #podcast #1980s

Rabbi Dan's Links:

• https://twitter.com/rabbidan?lang=en
• https://www.instagram.com/rabbiain/
• Moontower Minyan

Where Madness Lies on Social Media:

• https://www.instagram.com/madness_lies
• https://twitter.com/AaronWebman

Alexandra Sasha is an entrepreneur and one of the youngest politicians in Denmark (the 1st Deputy to the Danish Parliament). She's Passionate about technology, education, sustainability, and mental health. 

In this episode, we discuss Alexandra's childhood, Danish cultural idiosyncrasies, what it was like running her first political campaign at 24 years old, her goal to make Denmark more attractive for entrepreneurs, maintaining her social life, dealing with the occasional stalker, Soviet era cinema, the social media landscape, and more.

We recorded this episode in August 2023 while traveling in London. We hope you enjoy. 

Alexandra's Links:

• https://www.instagram.com/alex0sasha/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-sasha/

Alexandra's Fashion Brand:

https://lavacopenhagen.com/

Where Madness Lies on Social Media:

• https://www.instagram.com/madness_lies
• https://twitter.com/AaronWebman

A few years ago, Blake Brickman and several of his colleagues went to the FBI to report the criminal wrongdoings of their boss, Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General. Blake was unceremoniously fired and attacked by Paxton's supporters.

Our initial conversation was in October, but recent events have prompted an Addendum.

Beyond the political drama, we explore Blake's personal journey, from his childhood, his relationship with his grandfather - the former Governor of Kentucky, and his passion for the rule of law and truth.

Blake's Bio

Blake Brickman is the Chief Operating Officer at Lonsdale Enterprises and also an Advisor at the Cicero Institute. Blake’s previous roles include Chief of Staff to a United States Senator, Chief of Staff to the Governor of Kentucky, Deputy Attorney General in Texas, attorney in private practice, and law clerk to a federal judge.

Jimmy Song is an expert on Bitcoin. He's a developer, educator, and entrepreneur, and his mission is to bring sound money to the world. He's been on hundreds of podcasts and TV shows to explain the inner workings of Bitcoin, but in this episode, we actually get a look into Jimmy's personal journey and understand why he has devoted so much of his life to Bitcoin.

We discussed: Bitcoin as a religious construct (Bitcoin as the word of God, Fiat is Satan, False Idols are AltCoins), Sam Harris is basically a Vulcan from Star Trek, what it was like immigrating from Korea as a child, Jimmy's awkward middle school years, cultural Marxism and the denigration of Christianity, faux-libertarians, the joy of parenthood, how Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban are Altcoin sellouts, and much more. This was a really fun conversation.

We hope you enjoy.

JIMMY'S LINKS

• Programing Bitcoin (Jimmy's Organization)
• Jimmy's Books
• Jimmy's Twitter
• Jimmy's Substack

WML SOCIALS

• https://www.instagram.com/madness_lies