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Episodes

Dec. 12, 2024

E102: America’s Culture of Winning w/ Alex Karp and Jacob Helberg

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, and Jacob Helberg, discuss AI-enabled warfare, the importance of taking clear ethical stances, the evolution of Silicon Valley culture, and the integration of tech innovation into governmental defense systems at the Hill and Valley Forum in Washington, DC.

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Dec. 7, 2024

E101: Wokeism & Class w/ David Sacks, Trump’s AI Czar [Upstream Archive]

In this 2023 conversation between Erik Torenberg and David Sacks, they discuss David’s new role as Donald Trump's AI and crypto czar, the shift towards censorship and wokeness in Silicon Valley, particularly at companies like PayPal and Twitter, and the broader implications for free speech, public debate, and the future of liberalism.

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Dec. 3, 2024

E100: Marc Andreessen: How 2016 Broke My Mental Model of the World

Following Marc Andreessen's great conversation with Joe Rogan that introduced millions to his philosophical and political thinking, we wanted to share our in-depth discussion with Marc on Upstream from late 2022. This interview goes deeper into his intellectual evolution and quest to understand how the world really works, covering everything from how 2016 broke his mental model of politics, to his analysis of how billionaires get captured by elite institutions.

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Nov. 30, 2024

E99: This Era’s Inflection Points with Byrne Hobart | DOGE, Elon, OpenAI

This week on Upstream, Byrne Hobart discusses the potential impacts of the Department of Government Efficiency, insights from leaked OpenAI emails, Trump's and Elon Musk's policies and their economic implications, and the future of prediction markets in organizational decision-making.

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Nov. 28, 2024

E98: Solving America’s Problems with Joe Lonsdale

This week on Upstream, we’re releasing a conversation between Erik Torenberg and Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir and founder of the Cicero Institute, discusses his solutions for American healthcare, education, crime, homelessness, and inequality, emphasizing the need for accountability and nonpartisan approaches.

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Nov. 23, 2024

E97: Combining Biology and AI w/ Michael Levin and Dr. Leo Pio Lopez

This week we’re releasing an episode from the Cognitive Revolution, Nathan Labenz interviews Professor Michael Levin and Dr. Leo Pio Lopez about their groundbreaking research integrating multiple biological datasets using advanced AI techniques to predict new disease links, and discusses broader implications for AI in biology and future technologies.

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Nov. 21, 2024

E96: Rudyard Lynch and Samo Burja Talk The Left’s Future and Problems with Modernity

Today on Upstream, Rudyard Lynch and Samo Burja discuss the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election, the decline of French influence in Africa, the psychology of modernity, and the potential future of free versus controlled internet.

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Nov. 16, 2024

E95: Trump’s Potential Transportation Secretary on Growing Uber | Emil Michael

Emil Michael, formerly the Chief Business Officer of Uber, talked to Erik Torenberg and Jesse Genet about the most intense moments during Uber's meteoric rise. Its been reported that he's on the short list of Trump's picks for US Secretary of Transportation.

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Nov. 14, 2024

E94: Best of: AGI | Dario Amodei / Balaji Srinivasan / Marc Andreessen / Samo Burja / Michael Levin

This week, we’re featuring discussions with Dario Amodei, Balaji Srinivasan, Marc Andreessen, Michael Levin, and Samo Burja on AGI scaling laws, AI safety, and AI development, exploring themes such as the evolution of AI, economic implications, and philosophical aspects of intelligence.

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Nov. 9, 2024

E93: How Trump and Elon Could Rebuild the US Government

In this episode of Upstream, Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg discuss how Trump's victory signals a new alliance between right-wing politics and tech industry leaders like Elon Musk while exploring the challenges and opportunities of reforming government institutions through technological innovation.

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Nov. 7, 2024

E92: Curtis Yarvin’s Pre-Election Advice to Elon Musk

In this episode, Erik and Yarvin discuss media, power, and what Elon should do with Twitter.

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Nov. 2, 2024

E91: Why We Do Philosophy w/ Agnes Callard

In this episode, Erik sits down with Agnes Callard, a philosopher and essayist who specializes in ancient philosophy, ethics, and Socratic communication.

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Oct. 31, 2024

E90: Elites, Institutions, and Trump with Richard Hanania

Richard Hanania joins Erik Torenberg to discuss his upcoming book on elite human capital, the future of American politics, and his evolving views on culture war issues.

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Oct. 26, 2024

E89: Economics as a Science w/ Noah Smith

Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg tackle the shift in economic research from empirical studies to "big think" theories, critically examine Acemoglu's work on institutions and AI's impact on jobs, and debate the future of economics as a science.

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Oct. 24, 2024

E88: The Fertility Apocalypse w/ Samo Burja

This week on Upstream, Erik Torenberg and Samo Burja explore the global demographic crisis, examining plummeting fertility rates worldwide and their potentially catastrophic implications for humanity's future.

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Oct. 19, 2024

E87: Embodied Minds and Cognitive Agents with Dr. Michael Levin

In this episode, Dr. Michael Levin, Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University, joins Nathan Labenz of The Cognitive Revolution Podcast to discuss embodied minds, his research into limb regeneration and collective intelligence, cognitive light cones, and much more.

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Oct. 17, 2024

E86: Techno-capitalism with Bryan Johnson

Bryan Johnson joins Antonio Garcia Martinez and Erik Torenberg to discuss the deeper spiritual beliefs behind the "Don't Die" movement in the face of AI and the inadequacy of human clock speed.

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Oct. 12, 2024

E85: Analyzing Everything with Byrne Hobart and Patrick McKenzie

This week on Upstream, we’re releasing a conversation between Patrick McKenzie and Byrne Hobart where they navigate the compelling terrains of in-app purchases and restaurant economics.

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Oct. 10, 2024

E84: Let’s Fix Social Media with Jonathan Haidt

In this episode of Upstream, Erik Torenberg sits in with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt to discuss his book, 'The Anxious Generation.'

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Oct. 5, 2024

E83: How Patty McCord Built Netflix’s Culture

This week on Upstream, former Netflix HR executive Patty McCord sits down with Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich to dive deep into the creation and impact of Netflix's renowned culture deck, hailed as a pivotal document in Silicon Valley.

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Oct. 3, 2024

E82: America’s Future with Palmer Luckey

This week on Upstream, we revisit a 2023 conversation between Jacob Helberg, Delian Asparouhov, Christian Garrett and Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries and Oculus VR where they discuss the intersection of Silicon Valley and U.S. defense technology.

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Sept. 28, 2024

E81: Status, Sacred, and Neglected Truths with Robin Hanson

In this episode of Upstream, Erik Torenberg is joined by economist and futurist Robin Hanson.

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Sept. 26, 2024

E80: Financial Plumbing with Patrick McKenzie and Erik Torenberg

In this episode of Upstream, Erik Torenberg interviews Patrick McKenzie (patio11) about the intricacies of the financial system, focusing on banking, money laundering, and regulatory compliance.

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Sept. 21, 2024

E79: How Civilizations Cycle & Collapse | Samo Burja and Rudyard Lynch

This week on Upstream, we’re featuring a discussion between Samo Burja, Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg about the inherent differences between civilizations and their impact on history and politics.

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