Episodes
Published 12/12/20
In this episode, we talk to Sean Pawley, a young American who founded a bank in Rwanda called Seshat Bank. We talk about Rwanda’s long-term vision of being the “Singapore of Africa,” China’s influence on the African continent, and why he thinks there are big opportunities for fellow American investors.
Published 12/12/20
In this episode, we talk to Byrne Hobart, the mind behind The Diff, a Substack newsletter that covers inflections in finance and tech. We discuss the state of legitimacy and the 2020 election, how our perceptions of legitimacy is changing, and whether we are poised for a legitimacy reset.
Published 12/05/20
In this episode, we talk to John Fiorentino, a serial entrepreneur who created wildly popular consumer products for sleep, stress and anxiety: Gravity Blanket, Moon Pods, and Moon Pals. He’s also the creator of personalized astrology candles called Birthdate Candles. John shares with us the philosophical insights he found on his journey to success. We discuss the two questions you should ask yourself before starting a company, the one path to greatness, what money actually represents, why we...
Published 11/14/20
In this episode, we talk to Anna Gat, founder of the InterIntellect (otherwise known as I.I.), a global online community of public intellectuals. Anna has created what she calls a “city of minds,” where seekers of thoughts and ideas are connected through their mental energy. The community hosts online salons that spur some of the most interesting conversations on the internet. We talk to Anna about how to solve the supply problem of public thinkers, how hosting salons can change social...
Published 11/14/20
In this episode, we talk to Geoff Shullenberger, writer and lecturer at New York University. He is also the creator of Outsider Theory, a blog that explores academic theories, conspiracy theories and the concept of the outsider. We discuss the two-fold scapegoating dynamic embodied in Donald Trump, the digital version of sacrificial rituals and how we can forgive and forget in the online world.
Published 10/31/20
In this episode we talk to Mike Solana, Vice President of Founders Fund, a venture capital firm investing in companies that build revolutionary technology. He's also the creator and host of two podcasts: Anatomy of Next and Problematic. Not only that, he writes a newsletter called Pirate Wires on Substack. Our conversation here revolves around an essay he wrote titled “Fire in the Sky: UFOs, Government Conspiracy and Conquering the Barrier Belief” We discuss the mental blocks that appear...
Published 10/23/20
In this segment, Josh Lekach, host of Wrong Opinion, tells us the story of his bottled water company Sadwater and why Coca-Cola has a problem capturing the Gen Z market. Listen in to find out what Gavin McInnes said about his pilot episode and how that led to the popularity of his podcast today.
Published 10/21/20
In this episode we talk to Andrew So, whose latest project is a documentary film called Silicon Valley Dropouts, which details the stories of ambitious young techies who came out to the Bay Area in the early 2010s with the hopes of building their empires. We delve into strange living situations, the distinction between achievements and adventures, how cold emails are underrated and why Silicon Valley has never been successfully recreated elsewhere.
Published 10/17/20
In this episode, we chat with Josh Lekach, host of Wrong Opinion – a podcast that blends pop culture, viral videos, politics, humor and deep philosophical musings. Josh tells us about his red pill moment, why he's Gen Z's favorite internet dad, who would get his vote between Trump and Kanye, what makes him feel the presence of God, and why men should never wear flip flops.
Published 10/10/20
In this segment, we chat with our friend Dryden Brown, CEO of Bluebook Cities, about the book that made him want to change the world, the importance of getting incentive structures right, looking at charter cities as a soft power weapon and how meeting a talented child on a flight to Ghana inspired him to think bigger.
Published 08/22/20
In this episode, we talk to Anton Howes, historian-in-residence at The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and author of "Arts and Minds: How the Royal Society of Arts Changed a Nation." He is also the head of innovation research at The Entrepreneurs Network, a UK-based think tank. We discuss the improving mentality, what we can learn from Britain's 300-year period of technological advancement, why innovators should also be cultural entrepreneurs and how...
Published 08/14/20
In this bonus episode with Ryan Peterson, we go deeper on the philosophy of democracy, his university life vs. learning on his own, what enables productive discourse, how he processes information with ADHD, and if he’s planning to stay in L.A.
Published 08/07/20
In this episode, Michael Gibson, General Partner of 1517 Fund, talks about the “pay it forward” mentality in Silicon Valley, why his Venice Beach bungalow has turned into a personal library, and reminisces about where he spent the most time when he was at Oxford University. He even lets us take a peek into 1517’s shadow portfolio. Oh, and he almost became a CIA agent!
Published 08/06/20
In this episode, we talk to Anthony Hennen, Cofounder of Expatalachians, an Appalachia-focused journalism project. He is also the Managing Editor at The James G. Martin Center for Academic renewal, a higher ed think tank in Raleigh, North Carolina. With his upbringing in Appalachia and time spent living in the Czech Republic, Anthony has interesting insights about the rise of regionalism. We talk about how the pandemic has spurred regional consortiums in the U.S., the dilution of communities,...
Published 07/31/20
In this episode, we talk to Dryden Brown, the CEO of Bluebook Cities. Listen as he shares his thoughts on the process of building a new city, why charter cities are required in the 21st century, and the challenges that come with reimagining the way we live.
Published 07/17/20
In this episode, we talk to Ryan Peterson, better known by his Twitter handle @ResonantPyre. Ryan is a 19-year old freshman at the University of Chicago, currently on leave from his studies due the coronavirus pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped him from learning. Ryan continues to read on his own and brilliantly marries the fields of philosophy and politics in his insightful and eloquently composed tweets. We talk to him the tragedy of modern life, creating public digital goods,...
Published 07/06/20
In this episode, we talk to Michael Gibson, General Partner of 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in the earliest stages of a startup. Previously, he ran the Thiel Fellowship where he oversaw the selection of the world’s youngest and brightest minds. Listen as he shares his thoughts on finding the lost Elons, what the alpha-gamma quality is, why he’s thinking of the Counter-Enlightenment now, and the importance of inspiring future generations.
Published 06/20/20
Conservative Curious is thrilled to launch our first podcast episode with Bradley Davis, the founder and editor-in-chief of his newly launched online magazine Athwart. We discussed his journey from the most liberal college in America to his time in Morocco, where he uncovered his faith and was inspired to revive the wisdom captured in Ancient Greek thought while engineering a new dialogue in modern conservatism.
Published 06/05/20