Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist cover art

All Episodes

Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist — 160 episodes

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1

Ep 159: Aaron Cannon Is Building the Leading AI Customer Research Platform; It's About to Upend a $140B Industry

2

Ep 158: Nima Ghamsari on Blend's Comeback & the Power of AI Agents and Infinite Workforce

3

Ep 157: Scott Nolan on the AI Energy Crisis & America's Nuclear Renaissance

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Ep 156: Coleman Hughes Takes on America's Most Contentious Debate: the Legacy of Slavery

5

Ep 155: Eric Scott on the Biggest Missed Opportunity in Venture Investing

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Ep 154: Jacob Helberg on Pax Silica & the New Global Order in the AI Age

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Ep 153: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar on Heretics, AI Weapons, and Rebuilding the Arsenal of Democracy

8

Ep 152: Ben Black Runs America's $200B Foreign Investment Fund; Here's His Plan to Counter China & Rebuild American Influence

9

Ep 151: The Myth of Michael Milken with Richard Sandler

10

Ep 150: How AI Is Transforming Diligence, Decision-Making & the Future of Investing with John Melas-Kyriazi

11

Ep 149: Will Fry on the Small Business Succession Crisis & New Opportunities in the AI Age

12

Ep 148: JoeBen Bevirt, Founder & CEO of Joby Aviation — Flying Cars Have Arrived

13

Ep 147: Scott Wu & Russell Kaplan on the New Era of Software Abundance

14

Ep 146: Jake Paul & Geoff Woo on Building Anti Fund, the Future of the Creator Economy & How to Change the Culture

15

Ep 145: SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on Exposing Billions in Fraud & What AI Means for Small Business

16

Ep 144: Jared Isaacman's Bold Vision for Moon Bases, Nuclear Power in Space, and Returning NASA to Greatness

17

Ep 143: JD Ross on the New Invention Era & Building with AI in 2026

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Ep 142: Understanding the AI Wave with 8VC's Alex Kolicich & Jack Moshkovich

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Ep 141: AI Hackers Are Here; Cybersecurity Legend Kevin Mandia Is Building the Answer

20

Ep 140: SEC Chairman Paul Atkins on Making IPOs Great Again, Crypto's Comeback & New Rules for Retail Investors

21

Ep 139: Make Government Beautiful & Functional Again with America's Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia

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Ep 138: AI, Space-Based Interceptors & the Bleeding Edge of Warfare with Pentagon R&D Chief Emil Michael

23

Ep 137: Gov. Chris Sununu on AI vs Harvard, DOGE 2.0, and a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution

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Ep 136: OPM Director Scott Kupor on Launching the U.S. Tech Force & Bringing Merit Back to Government

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Ep 135: Philip Howard on Saving the American Spirit

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Ep 134: Inside the White House and the AI Race with OSTP Director Michael Kratsios

27

Ep 133: Matt Ridley on the Fight to Save the UK & How Extraordinary Ideas Evolve

28

Ep 132: Sen. Bill Hagerty on Saving Memphis & Designing Regulatory Frameworks for AI and Crypto

29

Ep 131: How AI + Incentives Can 10X Learning & Save American Education with Tech Legend Joe Liemandt

30

Ep 130: "Free speech is not enough" — UATX President Carlos Carvalho on Charlie Kirk, Fighting Communists & the Duty of a University

31

Ep 129: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Steps Up to Save Tulsa — and Prove What's Possible

32

Ep 128: Hollywood Star Zachary Levi on Speaking Out for Trump, AI vs the Arts, and His $100M Texas Studio Project

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Ep 127: Max Meyer, Arena Magazine, and the Battle for Truth, Beauty & Progress

34

Ep 126: Will AI Spark A New Logistics Revolution? Harish Abbott Helped Pioneer Next-Day Shipping — And He’s Betting Yes.

35

Ep 125: Sen. Eric Schmitt on Exposing Mass Censorship & Outsmarting the Far-Left

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Ep 124: The Fearless Adversary of Venezuela's Dictators - A Special Interview with Maria Corina Machado

37

Ep 123: The New Space Age with Palantir Alum & Apex Space CEO Ian Cinnamon

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Ep 122: The AI Services Revolution with Shreyas Parab & Anton Lin of DayDream

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Ep 121: Reid Hoffman on AI Optimism & How the Democratic Party Alienated Silicon Valley

40

Ep 120: OMB Director Russ Vought on the Big Beautiful Bill, Making DOGE Permanent & the Looming Battle over Impoundment

41

Ep 119: Former Waymo Leader Boris Sofman on Autonomous Construction & Bringing AI into the Physical World

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Ep 118: Marc Andreessen on AI, Robotics & America's Industrial Renaissance

43

Ep 117: Dave Rubin on the Woke Right, Free Speech vs Conspiracy Theories & His New Tequila Company

44

Ep 116: California — the Next Revolution? A Conversation with Steve Hilton

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Ep 115: Scott Wu, Devin, and a Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

46

Ep 114: Flying Cars Are About to Change the World — Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt

47

Ep 113: Why Sam Lessin Believes AI Isn't Disruptive & Venture Capital Is Fundamentally Changing

48

Ep 112: Peter Thiel on DOGE, Tariffs, Building Generational Companies & the Future of Civilization

49

Episode 111: Sen. Tom Cotton on DOGE, TikTok, and "Seven Things You Can't Say About China"

50

Ep 110: Dr. Mike Israetel on Miracle Drugs, the Aesthetic Revolution, Living to 200 & New Frontiers in AI-Powered Medicine

51

Ep 109: Anson Frericks on the Rise & Fall of Budweiser; Milton Friedman vs Klaus Schwab; and How to Save Corporate America

52

Ep 108: Tim Urban on Superintelligence, Mars, Fermi Paradox & How to Conquer a Society

53

Ep 107: Off-Road Autonomy & Saving Soldiers' Lives with Overland AI CEO Byron Boots

54

Ep 106: Zac Bookman on Advice for DOGE & Building OpenGov into a $1.8 Billion GovTech Leader

55

Ep 105: What Can Aristotle Teach Us About AI? Training "Philosopher Builders" with Brendan McCord of the Cosmos Institute

56

Ep 104: Will AI Replace Coders? Terminal Co-Founder & CEO Dylan Serota

57

Ep 103: Raj Bhakta Created WhistlePig; Now He's Reinventing the Whiskey Industry (Again)

58

Ep 102: "If You're Not Blowing Stuff Up, You're Not Innovating!" — Stanford Professor Steve Blank

59

Ep 101: Gov. Kevin Stitt — the Businessman Governor Standing Up to Special Interests

60

Ep 100: Why AI Is Underhyped with Elad Gil

61

Ep 99: The Myth of American Inequality with Senator Phil Gramm

62

Ep 98: How Wokeness Foments Antisemitism; a Conversation with ADL's Jonathan Greenblatt

63

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

64

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

65

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

66

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

67

Ep 93: Cold War II & the Race for Technological Supremacy with CrowdStrike Co-Founder Dmitri Alperovitch

68

Ep 92: High-Power Microwave & the Rise of Electronic Shields with Epirus CEO Andy Lowery

69

Ep 91: "I whooped his ass!" Legendary Investor & Home Depot Founder Ken Langone on Leadership, Courage & Defeating the Bad Guys

70

Ep 90: Ethan Penner on Choosing Greatness & Pioneering New Markets on Wall Street

71

Ep 89: Coleman Hughes on "The End of Race Politics" & the Worst Ideas Done in the Name of Diversity

72

Ep 88: A Conversation with MLK's Attorney & Speechwriter: Dr. Clarence Jones

73

Ep 87: Dr. Cliff Winston — Deregulate Lawyers, Deregulate Airlines, and Let Markets Correct Themselves

74

Ep 86: How to Design a STEM Curriculum for the 21st Century with Dr. David Ruth

75

Ep 85: The Path to Regime Change in Iran with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi

76

Ep 84: Sri Ganesan on Freshworks' Big Win, Building Rocketlane & India's Tech Boom

77

Ep 83: A New Cancer Breakthrough with Ivan Dimov of Orca Bio

78

Ep 82: Whitney Baker's Masterclass on Macro Investing & the State of the Economy

79

Ep 81: How Palantir Star Tyler Scriven Is Helping Small Businesses Compete Against Amazon

80

Ep 80: Leonard Leo's Winning Strategy to Rebuild Institutions, Accelerate Innovation, and Save Our Country

81

Ep 79: Bjorn Lomborg and the 12 Best Policies to Help the World

82

Ep 78: Emil Michael — the Master Dealmaker Behind Uber's Global Dominance

83

Ep 77: Mike Solana on Exposing Government Corruption, Saving San Francisco, and Building a New Media Empire

84

Ep 76: Accelerate or Die! Guillaume Verdon and the e/acc Movement

85

Ep 75: Leadership Lessons with Intuit Founder & Silicon Valley Legend Scott Cook

86

Ep 74: A Turning Point in Higher Education with Pano Kanelos & Niall Ferguson

87

Ep 73: How Candid Health Is Fixing the $280B Healthcare Billing Fiasco, With Lessons from Palantir

88

Ep 72: Illegal Chinese Bio Labs & Secret Police in the U.S.; Investigating the CCP with Congressman Mike Gallagher

89

Ep 71: Reinventing Community College with Tade Oyerinde, Chancellor of Campus

90

Ep 70: "The Geek Way" — Andrew McAfee's New Book on the Radical Mindset that Transformed the World

91

Ep 69: How a Builder Mindset Is Solving the World's Ocean Trash Problem; Boyan Slat & The Ocean Cleanup

92

Ep 68: How to Generate Alpha in Volatile Markets with Jacob Miller of Opto Investments

93

Ep 67: Brad Gerstner on the AI Supercycle & Restoring Faith in Capitalism with Invest America

94

A Missing Israeli Soldier & the Truth About Hamas

95

Ep 66: Bob McGrew — the Superstar Palantir Alum Leading OpenAI's Transformative Research Projects

96

Ep 65: Marc Andreessen and the Case for AI Optimism

97

Ep 64: The Palantir Interview with Dr. Alex Karp

98

Ep 63: Eddie Margain on Fleeing Mexico, Preserving Rule of Law & Building Austin FC

99

Ep 62: Ben Rubenstein on How to Hire Great Salespeople & Why Resumes Are Largely Useless

100

Ep 61: High School Dropout to Billion-Dollar Startup; How Guillermo Rauch Built Vercel

101

Ep 60: Dr. Rebekah Gee Is Reinventing In-Home Care With Nest Health

102

Ep 59: Adi Berlia on India's Remarkable Rise Out of Socialism & How to Strengthen U.S.-India Ties

103

Ep 58: Eliot Hodges on Democratizing Access to Private Markets & Expanding the Innovation Economy

104

Ep 57: Balaji Srinivasan on the Origins & Severity of the Bank Crisis, the Future of Bitcoin, and "Make America States Again"

105

Ep 56: A Philosopher in Construction? How Maria Davidson Is Reinventing the $250B Construction Materials Industry

106

Ep 55: Nathan Mintz on Directed Energy, a Driverless Future, and How He Attracts the Top Engineering Talent

107

Ep 54: Peter Attia on the Science of Longevity, Willpower vs Environment, and Why Americans Are Increasingly Unhealthy

108

Ep 53: Airbnb Co-Founder Joe Gebbia Transformed the Hospitality Industry; Learn What He's Building Next with Samara

109

Ep 52: An Orthodox Jew Building in Saudi Arabia! The Middle East's Modern Renaissance with Yitz Applbaum

110

Ep 51: Adm. Bill McRaven on Lessons from the bin Laden Raid, Why "Make Your Bed" Went Viral, and Addressing Russia & China

111

Ep 50: Legendary Music Manager Troy Carter on Making Lady Gaga a Superstar & Why He's Speaking Out for School Choice

112

Ep 49: Eboo Patel's Inspiring Journey from Social Activist to Social Entrepreneur

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Ep 48: Rahul Gandhi on Disrupting the $38 Billion Storage Industry

114

Ep 47: John Chambers & Pankaj Patel Changed the World with Cisco. Now They're Doing It Again with Nile.

115

Ep 46: Mike Pompeo on Negotiating with Tyrants, Spy Balloons (or UFOs?) & Why Trump Didn't Ban TikTok

116

Ep 45: John Mack — Wall Street Legend & Former Morgan Stanley CEO

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Ep 44: Dr. Clay Johnston Transformed Dell Medical School. Now He's Redesigning Primary Care.

118

Ep 43: Ryan Holiday on Stoicism, Virtue & Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life

119

Ep 42: Kimmy Scotti on How to Spot — and Build — the Next Big Thing

120

Ep 41: Iyinoluwa "E" Aboyeji — Africa's Great Tech Entrepreneur

121

Ep 40: Andrew Yang on Building a New Political Party & Using Incentives to Fix Dysfunction

122

Psychedelic Medicine, Value-Based Care & Why Medical School Is Broken with Sebastian Caliri

123

The Secrets to Building Great Products with Tony Fadell, Creator of the iPod, iPhone, & Nest Thermostat

124

Zach Latta: Building Hack Club & Inspiring the Next Generation of Coders

125

Gene Berdichevsky and Sila’s Game-Changing Battery Technology

126

Reprogramming Cells, Decentralizing Pharma, and Understanding the Biotech Revolution.

127

The New Age of Nuclear: Oklo’s Amazing Small Reactor That Reuses Nuclear Waste

128

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper: Why Russia’s Invasion Is Failing & How to Bring More Innovation to the Pentagon

129

Free Housing Won’t Solve Homelessness. Judge Glock Explains What Will.

130

How the Renaissance Sparked an Entrepreneurial Explosion with Jeannette zu Fürstenberg

131

How to Take on Big Healthcare & Other Entrenched Interests and Win with Jared Meyer

132

Unlearning Race and Restoring Liberalism with Thomas Chatterton Williams

133

Hayes Barnard Is Revolutionizing Solar Tech & Green Housing

134

Fast Grants, Faster Science, and Reviving a Culture of Innovation with Tyler Cowen

135

Building a New World-Class University with University of Austin President Pano Kanelos

136

Former UN Ambassador Kelly Craft: How to Deter Russian Threats to Ukraine & Hold China Accountable

137

Charles Koch Explains How His Love of Philosophy Built One of America’s Most Successful Companies

138

How to Defeat Special Interests & Cronyism with Florida’s Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls

139

Are Billionaires Bad? A Friendly Debate Over Income Inequality and Big Tech with Rep. Ro Khanna

140

The Power of Adversity with NFL Star Dhani Jones

141

Forget Free College —This Texas College Is the Future of Higher Ed

142

How to Fix Dysfunctional Government with Esper CEO Maleka Momand | Season 2 | Episode 19

143

Directed Energy, Force Fields, and the Future of Defense Tech with Epirus Co-Founder Bo Marr | Season 2 | Ep 18

144

How to Fix America’s Division with KIND Bar Founder Daniel Lubetzky

145

Maureen Hillenmeyer: Discovering New Life-Saving Drugs from the Natural World | Season 1| Ep 16

146

Ep 15: Whole Foods Founder & CEO John Mackey: Conscious Capitalism and Repairing America's Division

147

Jake Kloberdanz: Cause-Centric Commerce and the Art of Award-Winning Winemaking | Season 1 | Ep 14

148

Sal Churi, Keri Findley, and Wesley Chan: Innovators Changing Our World Right Now | Season 1 | Ep 13

149

Former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty: Courage, Accountability, Better Schools, and Safer Cities | Season 1 | Ep 12

150

Niall Ferguson: Why Civilizations Rise & Fall | Season 1 | Ep 11

151

Balaji Srinivasan: Bitcoin, China, the "Woke" Mob, and the Future of the Internet | Season 1 | Episode 10

152

NFL Legend Ronnie Lott: Grit, Leadership, and What America Means to Him | Season 1 | Episode 9

153

Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper: Rejecting Wokeness, Addressing China, and Defending Western Values | Season 1 | Ep 8

154

Sujay Jaswa: Billion Dollar Wins -- and Losses -- and Solving Silicon Valley's #1 Problem | Season 1 | Ep 7

155

Arthur Brooks on Finding Authentic Happiness and Making Poverty Escapable | Season 1 | Ep 6

156

Palmer Luckey on Creating Oculus Rift, Anduril, and Game-Changing Defense Tech | Season 1 Ep 5

157

Bari Weiss on Defending Western Civ and the New School Movement | Season 1 Ep 4

158

Kimbal Musk on Building Great Companies and Community | Season 1 Ep 3

159

Ashton Kutcher: China, TikTok, and Influencing American Minds | Season 1 Ep 2

160

Dr. Rick Klausner on the Biotech Revolution | Season 1 Ep 1