Molson Hart is the CEO of Viahart, an educational toy company. He has deep experience selling products manufactured in China, using Amazon and other platforms. He produced a documentary about the challenges Amazon's market dominance creates for sellers and buyers worldwide. His recent video about a recent trip to visit factories in China went viral…

Jaan Tallinn is a billionaire computer programmer and investor. He was a co-founder of Skype, and has invested in companies like DeepMind and Anthropic. Tallinn is a leading figure in the field of existential risk, having co-founded both the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom and th…

Glenn Luk has worked as an investment banker, private equity investor, and startup founder. He has closely analyzed aspects of the Chinese economy, including its GDP and high speed rail system. Steve and Glenn discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (01:21) - Glenn Luk's Background: HK, Taiwan, China (07:59) - Evolution of Chinese Companies and Economy (14…

Casey Handmer (PhD, Caltech, general relativity) is the founder of Terraform Industries. He is one of the most capable and ambitious geo-engineers on planet Earth! Terraform Industries is scaling technology to produce cheap natural gas with sunlight and air. Using solar energy, they extract carbon from the air and synthesize natural gas, all at the…

Russell Clark is a hedge fund investor who has lived and worked in both Japan and China. He writes the widely followed Substack Capital Flows and Asset Markets: https://www.russell-clark.com/ Steve and Russell discuss: 0:00 Introduction 0:52 Russell's background and experiences in Japan 13:25 Hong Kong and finance 31:53 China property bubble 48:54 …

Stephen Grugett is the co-founder of Manifold Markets, the world's largest prediction market platform where people bet on politics, tech, sports, and more. Steve and Stephen discuss: 0:00 Introduction 0:52 Stephen Grugett’s background 5:20 The genesis and mission of Manifold Markets 11:25 The play money advantage: Legalities and user engagement 20:…

Raymond McGovern is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst, serving from 1963 to 1990. His CIA career began under President John F. Kennedy and lasted through the presidency of George H. W. Bush. McGovern advised Henry Kissinger during the Richard Nixon administration, and during the Ronald Reagan administration he chaired National Inte…

Steve discusses DNA and the origin of life on Earth, the Fermi Paradox (is there alien life?), AI and its implications for the Simulation Question: could our universe be a simulation? Are we machines, but don't know it? Slides: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CrWLiKYhLbDLG8yTOBySrsKrzAUbV-FES1toeJL-UWE/edit?usp=sharing Further discussion of the…

Sean Reyes is Utah’s Attorney General and a producer for the movie “Sound of Freedom.” Steve and Sean discuss his personal story, human trafficking, and the role of technology in law enforcement. More on Reyes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Reyes NOTE: Reyes has announced that he will not seek re-election as Utah AG: https://www.youtube.com/wa…

TP Huang returns for the third time to discuss the US-China strategic competition in terms of military technology. Previous episodes with TP include: China's EV Market Dominance and the Challenges Facing Tesla — #48: https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/chinas-ev-market-dominance-and-the-challenges-facing-tesla-48 Huawei and the US-China Chip War — #…

Louis-Vincent Gave of Gavekal discusses China's economic growth, its focus on education, and the global implications of its economic and political policies. https://research.gavekal.com/ Steve and Louis discuss: (00:00) - Early life - Gave as French infantry officer (14:42) - Founding Gavekal (23:50) - Understanding China economic growth (32:57) - …

Charles Miller is co-founder and CEO of Lynk. He is a serial space entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the space industry. Lynk - https://lynk.world/ Steve and Charles discuss: 0:00 Introduction and guest background 1:27 Miller's early passion for space 3:54 Evolution of commercial space 6:42 Impact of Elon Musk and SpaceX 8:01 The challeng…

TP Huang is a computer scientist and analyst of global technology development. He posts often on X: https://twitter.com/tphuang. 0:00 Introduction 2:21 How TP Huang became interested in electric vehicles 6:30 The perception and reality of Chinese products, future of Chinese auto market 9:24 The impact of Tesla on the Chinese electric vehicle market…

Taylor Ogan is Chief Executive Officer of Snow Bull Capital, based in Shenzhen, China. Follow him on X @TaylorOgan. Steve and Taylor discuss: 0:00 Introduction 1:02 Taylor's background and why he moved his firm to China 20:43 China post-pandemic and economic dynamism 33:43 China dominance in electric vehicles; LIDAR 56:55 Investment research: facto…

Bharat Karnad is an Emeritus Professor in National Security Studies at the Center for Policy Research in Delhi. He was a member of India's first National Security Advisory Board and has authored several books on nuclear weapons and Indian security. Karnad's blog: https://bharatkarnad.com/ Karnad on the death of Homi Bhabha and of other atomic weapo…

Yasheng Huang is the Epoch Foundation Professor of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His new book is The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline. Steve and Yasheng discuss: 0:00 Introduction 1:11 From Beijing to Harv…

TP Huang is a computer scientist and analyst of global technology development. He posts often on X: https://twitter.com/tphuang. Steve and TP discuss: 0:00 Introduction: TP Huang and semiconductor technology 5:40 Huawei’s new phone and SoC 23:19 SMIC 7nm chip production in China: Yield and economics 28:21 Impact on Qualcomm 36:08 U.S. sanctions sol…

Steve discusses 10 key graphs related to meritocracy and university admissions. Predictive power of SATs and other factors in elite admissions decisions. College learning outcomes - what do students learn? The four paths to elite college admission. Laundering prestige at the Ivies. Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1n-nwoeKe_DcA5tJxTwq…

Aella is a sex worker, sex researcher, and data scientist. Aella on X: https://twitter.com/Aella_Girl Interviews with ex-prostitutes on the pimp life (Las Vegas) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAlXdyjmWUo&ab_channel=PeterSantenello An earlier Aella interview with Reason: https://reason.com/podcast/2022/04/27/aella-libertarian-sex-worker-turned-dat…

Tim Dettmers develops computationally efficient methods for deep learning. He is a leader in quantization: coarse graining of large neural networks to increase speed and reduce hardware requirements. Tim developed 4-and 8-bit quantizations enabling training and inference with large language models on affordable GPUs and CPUs - i.e., as commonly fou…

Paul Huang is a journalist and research fellow with the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation. He is currently based in Taipei, Taiwan. Sample articles: Taiwan’s Military Has Flashy American Weapons but No Ammo (in Foreign Policy): https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/20/taiwan-military-flashy-american-weapons-no-ammo/ Taiwan’s Military Is a Hollow Shell (…

Steve Hsu, Richard Hanania, and Rob Henderson were scheduled for a June 2023 panel as part of the University of Austin (UATX) Forbidden Courses series. Steve missed the panel due to travel issues, but the three have gathered on this podcast to recreate the fun! They discuss: 0:00 Introduction 1:20 The University of Austin and forbidden courses 17:3…

The scientific approach to life has become routine to those of us living in the West. Imagination is lost, and attention is scarce. There is no more adventure to be had, people have become disillusioned with any meaningful spiritual pursuits. We are smarter than we’ve ever been, but more depressed than we’ve ever been before. A Zombie is said to be…

We live in a seemingly judgmental world; everyone appears to have something to say about any and everything. However, what if the only judgments that will last are the ones that God gives out? With this in mind, how should we live our lives now? Could what we do here have any effect on our future disposition? If so, only God can judge. Join us in o…

The whole thought of the “After-Life” is covered in mystery. Death & the grave seems to be a profound finality with no hope of anything coming after this. However; what if there is more to our life stories? Once our life is finished here on earth is that the end? Or is it simply to be continued? Join us in our next episode as we continue the journe…

Richard Sander is Jesse Dukeminier Professor at UCLA Law School. AB Harvard, JD, PhD (Economics) Northwestern. Steve and Richard discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling in Students For Fair Admissions vs Harvard and UNC. Sander has studied the structure and effects of law school admissions policies. He coined the term "Mismatch" to describe negativ…

The great Greek philosopher once quoted, “The hands are for the body, what the intellect is for the soul.” How the ancients viewed their hands is a sign to us that our hands were designed to be used to transfer, gifts, authority, power, and blessing from one person’s life to the next. Join us in our next episode as we continue the journey of giving…