E11: What Byrne Hobart Thinks about Nearly Everything (Part Two)

This week's episode is the second part of Erik's March 2020 interview with Byrne on Venture Stories from Village Global. Erik and Byrne about generalists vs specialists, how the work of Rene Girard can be used to understand financial bubbles, the role of pseudonyms, why duopolies exist, and more. The Riff is sponsored by Shopify: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period. --- The Riff is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: https://turpentine.co --- Check out Erik's new show Request for Startups featuring a rotating cast of founders and investors sharing their requests for startups they want to exist in the world, and also their stories of navigating the idea maze in different sectors so founders don’t have to reinvent the wheel anymore. The first episode is out now - we cover better dating apps, references as a service, and WeWork for productivity Watch and Subscribe on Substack: https://requestforstartups.substack.com/p/receipt-based-dating-reference-checks Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/request-for-startups-with-erik-torenberg/id1728659822 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/739L1LR32QI2XyoZlRh5nv --- We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com. --- Thanks to our sponsor: SHOPIFY Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen --- LINKS: Byrne's writing: https://thediff.co --- X / TWITTER: @eriktorenberg (Erik) @byrnehobart (Byrne) @turpentinemedia (Turpentine) --- TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (00:01:10) The fox-hedgehog dichotomy and specialists vs generalists (00:11:09) Finance as a metaphor for everything (00:21:48) Sponsor | Shopify (00:23:22) Darwinian metaphors for relationships (00:27:06) Does everything move left over time? (00:41:26) The role of Christianity in the West (00:46:35) Girardian analysis of financial bubbles (00:52:17) Austrian economics & the legacy of Alan Greenspan (01:00:21) The future of homeschooling (01:04:41) The role of pseudonyms & the future of identity (01:17:50) Why is there so much political polarization? (01:24:36) The role of government in Wall Street (01:44:31) Understanding social capital (01:48:58) How to think about financial bubbles (01:55:45) Comparing text and audio content (02:01:08) Byrne on Samo Burja (02:03:24) The tyranny of the long generation (02:08:01) Silicon Valley's approach to politics (02:16:49) Why are there so many duopolies? (02:25:01) What Byrne was thinking about in March 2020 --- The Riff is a production from Turpentine Producer: Sam Kaufman For guest or sponsorship inquiries please contact [email protected]