Talking Books

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For many years an atheist, C. S. Lewis vividly describes the spiritual quest that convinced him of the truth and reality of Christianity, in his famous autobiography. “In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God … perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Thus Lewis describes memorably the crisis of his conversion. ‘Surprised by Joy’ reveals both that crisis and its momentous conclusion that would determine the shape of Lewis’s entire life.

The "three rules of epidemics" (or the three "agents of change") in the tipping points of epidemics. The Law of the Few The Stickiness Factor The Power of Context

Models with Mark Manson

(0:00) Pre-show footage for the All-In Holiday Spectacular (3:00) Year in Review (10:45) Besties on stage and a drop-in from SantaCanis! (15:50) Besties introduce the format and the "Bestie" award (17:25) Biggest Winner - Business (18:35) Biggest Loser - Business (20:11) Biggest Surprise - Business (23:20) Biggest Winner - Politics (28:11) Biggest Loser - Politics (31:13) Biggest Surprise - Politics (37:19) Aaron Levie joins the besties! (43:50) Best CEO (not named Elon Musk) (46:42) Best Investor (49:18) Best New Tech or Product (52:01) All-In Short: Chamath's Perfect Episode (54:24) Alex Botez joins the besties! (57:26) Favorite Media (1:00:23) Best Startup (1:02:31) Biggest Flop (1:05:53) Sports Story of the Year (1:07:54) Moment of the Year (1:10:05) Reflecting on 2024

Something has gone really wrong in Britain.Our economy has tanked, our freedoms are shrinking, and social divisions are growing. Our politicians seem most interested in their own careers, and much of the media only make things worse. We are living in a country almost unrecognisable from the one that existed a decade ago. But whose fault is it really? Who broke Britain and how did they do it?

In We Who Wrestle with God, Jordan Peterson guides us through the ancient, foundational stories of the Western world, analyzing the Biblical accounts of rebellion, sacrifice, suffering and triumph that stabilize, inspire and unite us, culturally and psychologically. Adam and Eve and the eternal fall of mankind; the resentful and ultimately murderous war of Cain and Abel; the cataclysmic flood of Noah, the spectacular collapse of the Tower of Babel; Abraham’s terrible adventure, and the epic of Moses and the Israelites: What could such stories possibly mean? What force wrote and assembled them, over the long centuries? How did they bring our spirits and the world together, and point us in the same direction?It is time for us to understand such things, scientifically and spiritually; to become conscious of the structure of our souls and our societies – to see ourselves and others as if for the first time.Join Elijah as he discovers the Voice of God in the dictates of his own conscience, and Jonah, confronting hell itself, in the belly of the whale, because he failed to listen and act. Set yourself straight in intent, aim and purpose, as you begin to more deeply understand the structure of your society and your soul. Journey with Jordan Peterson through the greatest stories ever told.

(1:56) Ingo lays out the case for Adyen over Stripe (6:37) Building and scaling a tech company in Europe (11:43) Thoughts on stablecoins, financial deplatforming, expanding into India (17:50) AI in fintech, open-source solutions (20:31) Offering services in authoritarian countries, data in economic forecasting, working as a Co-CEO

(0:20) Joby Aviation Intro (2:01) Archer Aviation Intro (4:43) Wisk Aero Intro (8:31) The biggest consumer issues facing eVTOLs, liquidity, scalability, pro-eVTOL areas (15:57) Autonomous flight, redundancy, pilot necessity, edge cases (24:35) Acoustic issues, creating a network through scale, go to market decisions, batteries (32:49) When eVTOLS will be commercially available, working with the FAA

Sundar Pichai also emphasized the need to build AI responsibly and make it accessible to everyone, regardless of access to information or digital skills. Google's approach to AI includes focusing on improving next-generation models, making them accessible, and addressing ethical considerations. The conversation touched on the importance of multimodal models, energy consumption, and the need for a global framework for AI innovation and governance. Sundar Pichai expressed optimism about the potential of AI to revolutionize industries and transform human interaction.

(2:06) The obesity problem: a global chronic health epidemic (13:07) The history of discovering GLP-1s (20:38) Impact of GLP-1s on different human functions (27:09) Understanding the commercial aspect of drug discovery, pricing for GLP-1 drugs (33:11) Responding to criticism and research of GLP-1 dependency (40:04) Stock performance, dealing with political pressure related to successful drugs (47:19) Eli Lilly's portfolio of drugs outside of GLP-1s, what science Dave is excited about (56:09) Scaling and impacting culture at a 100+ year-old company

Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we're actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What's this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?), and social (Who are we?). If you don't know what kind of conversation you're having, you're unlikely to connect. Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing--and then matching--each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives--and how we see ourselves, and others--shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly.

Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte is a Spanish biochemist and developmental biologist. He is a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratories at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California since 1993. Izpisua Belmonte is a main catalyzer in one of today's most promising areas of biomedicine: regenerative medicine. His work may help to discover new molecules and specific gene/cell treatments to prevent and cure diseases affecting mankind both in the adult and embryonic stages, as well as inducing endogenous in vivo regenerative responses that may allow for tissue and organ regeneration in humans. It also may contribute to increase our knowledge of aging and aging-associated diseases, thereby leading to healthier aging and increased lifespan.

(2:04) Jake breaks down the business of Gecko Robotics (20:42) Jake explains the sales cycle at Gecko (23:08) The crippling infrastructure of the old world (27:34) How Jake thinks about the coming wave of humanoid robots

Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He is the world’s first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. Jon Batiste is a New Orleans-bred, New York-based musician, educator, and humanitarian, and the new band leader of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The two discuss the genius of jazz with Walter Isaacson.

Why do some conversations succeed while others stumble? The neurology and psychology of communication offer surprising explanations for why human connection goes right or wrong. Join in a live experiment — and explore how the right conversation, at the right moment, can change everything.

(3:04) Thomas presents "The State of the Unicorn Economy" (21:34) Venture capital's relative underperformance over the past decade (30:45) Fixing what's broken in startups and VC

(10:26) Woody and Friedberg demonstrate how far the Moon is from Earth (13:51) Artemis timelines, going back to the Moon after decades, how astronaut assignments work (17:39) How NASA will use the Moon as a training ground to get to Mars

(0:54) Thoughts on JD Vance, the importance of bipartisanship, civil disagreements, and independent thinking (6:21) Political pressure and growing toxicity in DC, Senator Sinema's controversial filibuster vote (12:21) Money in politics, following "The Machine," the cost of a competitive Senate race (15:10) Behind the scenes of Build Back Better (21:43) Chances of a viable third party, what's next for Senator Sinema, innovation in the private sector (25:43) Thoughts on Israel/Palestine, antisemitism on college campuses

(2:56) How to build great businesses, lessons from his time at Google (6:30) Lessons from working with Masa at SoftBank, risk tolerance (11:51) Scaling Palo Alto Networks, handicapping cybersecurity, M&A strategy (20:02) State of cyber threats (24:23) Age of AI: How agents will change consumer apps, how AI is impacting cybersecurity

(2:22) How Ovitz got started in Hollywood (10:06) Closing Palantir's first enterprise deal (15:56) AI's impact on film and TV, how streaming killed Hollywood's business model (23:11) Free speech and censorship in Hollywood, protecting creatives (28:11) Can Hollywood be recaptured by the auteurs?

Aaron Sorkin and David Brooks discuss their approaches to creating compelling characters. Sorkin emphasizes the importance of understanding a character's desires and obstacles, using examples from his own work like "The Social Network." David Brooks shares anecdotes about encounters that inspired his writing and the empathy required to portray complex characters. Both writers stress the significance of immersion in a character's experience and the importance of authentic dialogue.

🤖 AI is here, and it’s evolving faster than we ever imagined. How do we adapt when the rules of the game are shifting under our feet? Is the future one of abundance, or are we heading toward disaster? 🌍 Are we missing the warning signs again? The world is changing fast, faster than we can keep up. From the pandemic to AI advancements, it feels like we’re all being caught off guard. But are we paying attention? 🚀 We’re standing on the brink of something massive. Will we rise to the occasion and adapt, or will the future slip through our fingers?

Dr. Neal Barnard discusses the potential benefits of eliminating certain foods from the diet for various conditions. While not everyone is sensitive to gluten or dairy, some may find relief by avoiding these foods. He suggests looking into supportive foods that can help bring the body back into balance. Dr. Barnard provides tips for improving sleep hygiene, recommending organic food and a cast-iron pan when possible. He also discusses the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed animals and expresses skepticism towards the promotion of organic grass-fed beef. Dr. Barnard encourages people to focus on eating simple, whole foods and emphasizes the scientific evidence supporting their health benefits.

Jordan Peterson discusses the impact of technological revolutions on education and intellectual engagement, his motivation for writing his books, and his experiences with workplace unconscious bias training and the controversy surrounding his perceived transphobia. Peterson attributes his widespread influence to the technological transformation brought about by YouTube and podcasts, which have led to a significant demand for high-level intellectual dialogue and engagement. He also reflects on the importance of being careful with one's speech and the potential consequences of carelessness. Additionally, Peterson criticizes universities for their handling of free speech and inclusivity, and he is currently suing Wilfred Laurier University for slander. Throughout the interview, Peterson emphasizes the importance of understanding the differences between men and women and the need for discipline and order to overcome chaos and hopelessness. He also challenges the notion that socio-cultural constructs explain the differences between men and women, citing data on suicide rates, prison populations, and occupational segregation.

(2:19) Defining the polarizing forces in American society (5:11) How institutions like the New York Times were captured by radicals, giving up "the heroin needle of prestige" (16:39) Avoiding audience capture while building The Free Press (22:09) Sacks's strategy to find reliable media sources (27:26) Ideological capture of medicine, building a new institution

(1:43) Joining Waymo, breaking down their approach vs competitors (9:57) Focus on reducing deaths, impact on Uber, creating an AV ecosystem (16:44) Thoughts on Cruise's issues in SF, operating at scale, unit economics (22:09) Selling to carmakers, US focus vs international (27:51) Hardest challenge while leading Waymo

Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years--as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues--Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. Isaacson's portrait touched millions of readers. At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens have accumulated enormous power. But despite all our discoveries, inventions, and conquests, we now find ourselves in an existential crisis. The world is on the verge of ecological collapse. Misinformation abounds. And we are rushing headlong into the age of AI—a new information network that threatens to annihilate us. For all that we have accomplished, why are we so self-destructive?Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power. He explores how different societies and political systems throughout history have wielded information to achieve their goals, for good and ill. And he addresses the urgent choices we face as non-human intelligence threatens our very existence.Information is not the raw material of truth; neither is it a mere weapon. Nexus explores the hopeful middle ground between these extremes, and in doing so, rediscovers our shared humanity.

(2:27) What Travis is working on at Cloud Kitchens (12:32) Travis's operating playbook (16:16) Strategy at Uber: Competing with Lyft, surge pricing, dealing with bad press (26:12) Being a "War time CEO" and competing in China (34:09) Travis reflects on getting ousted as CEO of Uber and his future

(2:32) Funding Shinya Yamanaka's research (11:38) Marc on building philanthropy into Salesforce (17:15) AI's impact on enterprise software and the cloud (27:56) Salesforce's AI approach

(1:19) Succeeding as an independent media personality (8:11) Thoughts on trans issues (15:30) Handicapping Trump's chances in 2024 vs 2016 and Kamala Harris compared to Hillary Clinton (24:05) Thoughts on legal action against Trump (30:10) How politicians have changed; improving life in America through community

Dedicated to Lewis’s friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien... The narrative takes the form of a series of letters from Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior colleague engaged in his first mission on earth trying to secure the damnation of a young man who has just become a Christian. Although the young man initially looks to be a willing victim, he changes his ways and is ‘lost’ to the young devil.

Neither plant nor animal, they are found throughout the earth, the air and our bodies. They can be microscopic, yet also account for the largest organisms ever recorded. They enabled the first life on land, can survive unprotected in space and thrive amidst nuclear radiation. In fact, nearly all life relies in some way on fungi.These endlessly surprising organisms have no brain but can solve problems and manipulate animal behaviour with devastating precision. In giving us bread, alcohol and life-saving medicines, fungi have shaped human history, and their psychedelic properties have recently been shown to alleviate a number of mental illnesses. Their ability to digest plastic, explosives, pesticides and crude oil is being harnessed in break-through technologies, and the discovery that they connect plants in underground networks, the 'Wood Wide Web', is transforming the way we understand ecosystems. Yet over ninety percent of their species remain undocumented.

Until it was pulled down, the Walled City was Hong Kong's most foreboding territory. It was a lawless place, dominated by the Triads, and which the police hesitated to enter. Strangers were unwelcome. Drug smuggling and heroin addiction flourished, as did prostitution and pornography, extortion and fear.

Until it was pulled down, the Walled City was Hong Kong's most foreboding territory. It was a lawless place, dominated by the Triads, and which the police hesitated to enter. Strangers were unwelcome. Drug smuggling and heroin addiction flourished, as did prostitution and pornography, extortion and fear.

Exploring love in all its forms from romance, friendship, and parenting to grief and heartbreak. 

Atlas of the Heart maps out a series of human emotions and their meaning and explores the psychology behind a human's feelings and how they make up our lives.

A memoir by Lori Gottlieb highlighting the transformative power of therapy through Lori's personal journey and experiences working as a therapist.

(1:41) What Sergey is working on at Google (5:45) Is Google chasing a "God Model"? (8:49) Thoughts on the massive AI chip buildout (12:54) Future of human-AI interaction (14:58) Changing Google's conservative product culture (18:21) Is the "Race to AGI" overblown?

0:00 How This Conversation Happened 1:03 Simon and Trevor's Latest Obsession 2:40 The Sacrifice of Friendship for Success 6:15 Addiction and Community 8:20 Are You a Good Friend? 11:30 Maintaining Friendships While Traveling 14:18 The Power of Asking for Help 15:28 Do Women Understand Friendship Better Than Men? 16:25 The Rise of Angry, Isolated Men and The Global Crisis of Loneliness 19:21 Friendship vs. Success: Prioritizing People Over Work 22:01 How Ignoring Friendships Affects Romantic Relationships

(3:15) America's innovation problem (4:46) Thoughts on Trump (8:35) Would JD Vance have certified the election in 2020? (11:44) Increasing government efficiency, shrinking the deficit, Vance's role as VP, thoughts on EOs (19:17) Political realignment: Dick Cheney endorses Kamala Harris, winners and losers of the last 30 years (23:40) Thoughts on Lina Khan clamping down on tech M&A and her impact on the startup ecosystem (25:37) Fixing the Southern Border (31:58) How to practically approach deportations, who's coming in through the Southern Border? (36:33) Relationship with China

(4:01) The Battle of Free Speech (13:03) Potential government efficiency agency (30:23) SpaceX updates, overreaching regulations (38:48) Thoughts on Boeing's culture (41:05) The 80/20 AI Future (56:41) Elon and Jason share unaired SNL skits

(1:38) Leaving New York, Dave breaks down the 2016 Chernin deal (6:42) Barstool's explosive growth after 2016, how Dave evaluates talent (12:03) Breaking down the 2020 Penn deal (18:56) Dave's persona, how he's received by both sides (23:43) Thoughts on Trump and Kamala, moving forward as a society (31:56) Buying Barstool back from Penn for $1, going Founder Mode, lessons from CPG launches (42:41) Impact of sports betting, Dave's hot streak and gambling habits (50:40) Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese, how Clark is transcending the WNBA (55:24) Is cancel culture over? Future of Barstool

(1:10) What is the Deep State Party, and what are their goals? (13:35) Should America leverage its power against dictators? (21:45) The China threat: avoiding the escalatory path to nuclear war (35:47) India's growing role; are China's wounds self-inflicted? (46:45) Conflict in the Middle East and the path to peace

(1:03) Why he's not financially participating in the 2024 election (6:53) US relationship with China, is defending Taiwan worth risking WW3? (16:38) State of AI: Similar to the internet in 1999 (24:03) Innovation stagnation in the US (29:42) Thoughts on the current state of the US economy (32:50) The higher education bubble (39:09) Who will win AI, Nvidia's monopoly position going forward

“Nearly everything I know about love, I've learnt from my long-term friendships with women.”I know that love can be loud and jubilant. It can be dancing in the swampy mud and the pouring rain at a festival and shouting “YOU ARE AMAZING” over the band. It’s laughing until you wheeze. It’s walking along the street together on a Saturday night and feeling an entire city is yours.I also know that love is a pretty quiet thing. It’s lying on the sofa together drinking coffee, talking about where you’re going to go that morning to drink more coffee. It’s folding down pages of books you think they’d find interesting.I know that love happens under the splendour of fireworks and sunsets, but also happens when you’re lying on blow-up airbeds in a childhood bedroom, sitting in A&E or in the queue for a passport.Everything I Know About Love is a celebration of our female friendships, of our messy years, and of growing up together. Glittering with wit, heart, and humour, it’s a book to share with every woman you’ve ever been lucky enough to call a friend.

A journalist's twenty-year fascination with the Manson murders leads to "gobsmacking" (The Ringer) new revelations about the FBI's involvement in this "kaleidoscopic" (The New York Times) reassessment of an infamous case in American history. Over two grim nights in Los Angeles, the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people, including the actress Sharon Tate, then eight months pregnant. With no mercy and seemingly no motive, the Manson Family followed their leader's every order -- their crimes lit a flame of paranoia across the nation, spelling the end of the sixties. Manson became one of history's most infamous criminals, his name forever attached to an era when charlatans mixed with prodigies, free love was as possible as brainwashing, and utopia -- or dystopia -- was just an acid trip away. Twenty years ago, when journalist Tom O'Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up behind the "official" story, including police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents. When a tense interview with Vincent Bugliosi -- prosecutor of the Manson Family and author of Helter Skelter -- turned a friendly source into a nemesis, O'Neill knew he was onto something. But every discovery brought more questions: Who were Manson's real friends in Hollywood, and how far would they go to hide their ties? Why didn't law enforcement, including Manson's own parole officer, act on their many chances to stop him? And how did Manson -- an illiterate ex-con -- turn a group of peaceful hippies into remorseless killers?

Capitalism is dead. Welcome to technofeudalism.In his boldest and most far-reaching book, the visionary economist and number-one bestselling author Yanis Varoufakis shows how the owners of big tech became the world's feudal overlords – replacing capitalism with a fundamentally new system that enslaves our minds, defies democracy and rewrite the rules of global power.But as Varoufakis also reveals, technofeudalism contains new opportunities to thwart and overturn it, bringing into focus more clearly than ever the revolution we need to escape our digital prison.

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a kidnapping negotiator brought him face-to-face with bank robbers, gang leaders and terrorists. Never Split the Difference takes you inside his world of high-stakes negotiations, revealing the nine key principles that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed when it mattered the most - when people's lives were at stake.Rooted in the real-life experiences of an intelligence professional at the top of his game, Never Split the Difference will give you the competitive edge in any discussion.