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Recent Episodes
Ep 157: Scott Nolan on the AI Energy Crisis & America's Nuclear Renaissance
In 2010, the U.S. and China were at parity in electricity generation. Today, China boasts triple our capacity. We’re at the vanguard of the AI revolution but falling dangerously behind in energy…
Ep 156: Coleman Hughes Takes on America's Most Contentious Debate: the Legacy of Slavery
Is America’s national wealth built on slavery? Are disparities between races today attributable to past injustices? Will we ever overcome race politics? These difficult questions are at the heart of…
Ep 155: Eric Scott on the Biggest Missed Opportunity in Venture Investing
As a former Principal at Founders Fund, Founding Partner at SciFi VC, and 8VC advisor, Eric Scott has invested in and helped build numerous technology leaders. He’s launching his new fund, Overlook…
Ep 154: Jacob Helberg on Pax Silica & the New Global Order in the AI Age
Jacob Helberg is leading the State Department's efforts to secure critical supply chains and win the global AI race. How is the U.S. shifting from dependency on China to building new partnerships…
Ep 153: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar on Heretics, AI Weapons, and Rebuilding the Arsenal of Democracy
Shyam Sankar is one of my favorite American innovators. As CTO of Palantir, he's been a key leader for over 20 years and built much of what the company stands for. He's also a patriot, and recently…
Ep 152: Ben Black Runs America's $200B Foreign Investment Fund; Here's His Plan to Counter China & Rebuild American Influence
Ben Black is the CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Backed by a $205 billion budget, his mandate is to invest in U.S. strategic interests, build new markets, and…
Ep 151: The Myth of Michael Milken with Richard Sandler
Michael Milken revolutionized American finance and democratized access to capital for thousands of companies that Wall Street had previously written off. Yet he was unjustly attacked in the 1980s in…
Ep 150: How AI Is Transforming Diligence, Decision-Making & the Future of Investing with John Melas-Kyriazi
John Melas-Kyriazi is the co-founder and CEO of Standard Metrics, which powers portfolio management for more than 150 venture capital firms and 10,000 companies. He runs a high-growth SaaS company at…
Ep 149: Will Fry on the Small Business Succession Crisis & New Opportunities in the AI Age
In the coming years, over two million small businesses will change hands or close their doors as Baby Boomers retire. Will Fry, Founder and CEO of American Operator, is on a mission to save Main…
Ep 148: JoeBen Bevirt, Founder & CEO of Joby Aviation — Flying Cars Have Arrived
Last year, JoeBen Bevirt joined the show to discuss the vision behind Joby Aviation and bringing air taxis to life. Now, he's back to talk execution and getting to market this year! What states will…
Ep 147: Scott Wu & Russell Kaplan on the New Era of Software Abundance
Scott Wu and Russell Kaplan, co-founders of Cognition, are leading one of the fastest-growing, talent-dense AI companies. Their mission: make expert software engineering ubiquitous. What does a world…
Ep 146: Jake Paul & Geoff Woo on Building Anti Fund, the Future of the Creator Economy & How to Change the Culture
Jake Paul is a social media influencer-turned-entrepreneur and boxer. He’s not only one of the most popular figures on the planet among Gen Z, but also an outspoken patriot, capitalist, and builder.…
Ep 145: SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on Exposing Billions in Fraud & What AI Means for Small Business
Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler is playing a pivotal role in our nation on two fronts: supporting the next generation of small business owners, while exposing and combating billions of…
Ep 144: Jared Isaacman's Bold Vision for Moon Bases, Nuclear Power in Space, and Returning NASA to Greatness
As a teenager, Jared Isaacman built a billion-dollar payments company. He then pursued aviation, acquiring the world's largest private air force and creating “Top Gun as a service,” before commanding…
Ep 143: JD Ross on the New Invention Era & Building with AI in 2026
JD Ross is one of my favorite entrepreneurs. I hired him out of college at Addepar where he quickly became Head of Product. He went on to co-found Opendoor with Keith Rabois and is now building…
Ep 142: Understanding the AI Wave with 8VC's Alex Kolicich & Jack Moshkovich
Advances in AI are occurring at a pace we haven’t seen before in Silicon Valley. How do we know what’s real versus hype? What does it mean for large software incumbents? And how are the top investors…
Ep 141: AI Hackers Are Here; Cybersecurity Legend Kevin Mandia Is Building the Answer
When Kevin Mandia’s phone rings, it’s often a Fortune 500 CEO or government leader with a billion-dollar problem. How did he become the go-to expert in cybersecurity? What new threats from AI led him…
Ep 140: SEC Chairman Paul Atkins on Making IPOs Great Again, Crypto's Comeback & New Rules for Retail Investors
America’s capital markets are the envy of the world, but in recent years, misguided policies have driven innovation offshore and stifled the number of companies going public. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins…
Ep 139: Make Government Beautiful & Functional Again with America's Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia
First, he digitized the entire federal retirement process, cutting it from six months to a few days. Now, he’s overhauling the U.S. government’s online presence, one website at a time. And Joe Gebbia…
Ep 138: AI, Space-Based Interceptors & the Bleeding Edge of Warfare with Pentagon R&D Chief Emil Michael
Emil Michael directs the U.S. military’s research and development of advanced technologies. Previously, he led global business growth for Uber — one of the fastest moving organizations in Silicon…
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Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist has published 158 episodes since June 2021, covering topics in Business, Technology.
Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 37m.
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