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 challenges of early stage startups 11:26 The birth of Lynk, its technical challenges, and breakthroughs 33:11 Use cases for satellite connectivity 35:20...

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 14:41 Buying a car in China 27:05 China dominates with electric vehicle batteries 30:44 The challenges facing Tesla in China 40:11 The evolution...

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 Introduction1:02 Taylor's background and why he moved his firm to China20:43 China post-pandemic and economic dynamism33:43 China dominance in electric vehicles; LIDAR56:55 Investment research: factory and site visits1:06:52 US-China competition - the future of innovation is in China Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream...

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 weapons scientists:https://bharatkarnad.com/2020/12/06/kill-scientists-disrupt-n-weapons-programmes/ An excellent documentary film on the life of Indian...

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 Introduction1:11 From Beijing to Harvard in the 1980s15:29 Civil service exams and Huang's new book, "The Rise and Fall of the EAST"37:14 Two goals: Developing human capital and...

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 solved the coordination problem for China semiconductor companies 42:48 5G modem and RF chips: impact on Qualcomm, Broadcom, Apple, etc. 47:14 5G and...

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_DcA5tJxTwqTeZBEY7nObxkujKLxVfAzRAY/edit?usp=sharing CLA and College Learning...

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-data-scientist/ Steve and Aella discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (01:22) - Aella's background and upbringing (12:45) - Aella's experiences as a...

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 found in home gaming rigs. Tim and Steve discuss: Tim's background and current research program, large language models, quantization and performance,...

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 (Foreign Policy): https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/15/china-threat-invasion-conscription-taiwans-military-is-a-hollow-shell/ Steve and Paul...

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 Introduction1:20 The University of Austin and forbidden courses17:37 Will woke campus culture change anytime soon?29:57 Common people vs elites on affirmative action35:42 Why it’s uncomfortable to disagree about...

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 negative consequences resulting from large admissions preferences. 0:00 Introduction 1:09 Richard Sander’s initial reaction to the Supreme Court...

In this episode, Steve talks to three AI engineers from his startup SuperFocus.AI. 0:00 Introduction 1:06 The Google memo and open-source AI  14:41 Sparsification and the size of models: AI on your phone? 30:16 When will AI take over ordinary decision-making from humans? 34:50 Rapid advances in AI: a view from inside 41:28 AI Doomers and Alignment Links to earlier episodes on AI and LLMs. Artificial Intelligence & Large Language Models: Oxford Lecture — #35:...

David Paul Goldman is an American economic strategist and author, best known for his series of online essays in the Asia Times under the pseudonym Spengler with the first column published January 1, 2000. Steve and David discuss: 0:00 Introduction 2:22 David’s background in music, finance, and Asia 16:55 Looking back at the financial crisis 23:04 Rise of the Chinese economy 29:44 How Huawei’s strength is tied to China’s economic power 36:49 Competition in the global electric vehicles...

This week's episode is based on a lecture Steve gave to an audience of theoretical physicists at Oxford University. The topic is artificial intelligence and large language models. Lecture slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xiMeeRMVpB-_W66BnyRyUAtrLlUwQNlndqbVcguKK8U/edit?usp=sharing Chapter markers: 0:00 Introduction 2:31 Deep Learning and Neural Networks; history and mathematical results 21:15 Embedding space, word vectors 31:53 Next word prediction as objective function 34:08...

In collaboration with her husband Malcolm Collins, Simone is an author (The Pragmatist's Guide to Life, Relationships, Sexuality, Governance, and Crafting Religion), education reform advocate (CollinsInstitute.org), pronatalism activist (Pronatalist.org), and business operator (Travelmax.com). Note: the YouTube version of this interview includes video of Steve and Simone. Steve and Simone discuss: 0:00 Introduction 1:49 Simone's IVF journey, and embryo screening 40:02 Dating; girl...

Katherine Dee is a writer, journalist, and internet historian. Steve and Katherine discuss: 0:00 Introduction 1:15 Katherine’s early life and background 21:52 Mass shootings, Manifestos, Nihilism, and Incels 59:35 Trad values, Sex negativity vs Porn and Fleshlights 1:28:54 Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter 1:33:00 TikTok 1:41:41 Adderall 1:44:07 AI/GPT impact on writers and journos 1:49:30 Gen-X generation gap: are the kids alright? References: Katherine’s Substack:...

Marc Martinez is the director of Dream Big, a documentary about Gold's Gym and the golden age of bodybuilding in Venice and Santa Monica in the 1970s. Steve and Marc discuss: (01:34) - Marc's background in bodybuilding (05:36) - Reflections on bodybuilding in Southern California (26:03) - Setting the record straight on steroid use (33:52) - Frank Zane (38:33) - Robby Robinson (40:32) - Butler, Gaines, and Arnold (42:46) - "Dream Big" (48:18) - Pumping Iron (59:44) - Hypersexuality in...

Gilles Saint-Paul is Professeur à l'Ecole Normale Supérieure. He is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique in Engineering and received his PhD from MIT in Economics. Gilles and Steve discuss the French elite education system, the Yellow Vest movement, French politics and populism, and Saint-Paul’s paper on marriage markets and hypergamy. 0:00 Introduction 1:43 Gilles Saint-Paul's background and education 6:31 French and American higher elite education 14:44 The Yellow Vests 41:46 Mating and...

Steve discusses the competition between Microsoft and Google, the competition between the U.S. and China in STEM, China’s new IVF policy, and a Science Magazine survey on polygenic screening of embryos. 00:00 Introduction 02:37 Bing vs Bard: LLMs and hallucination 20:52 China demographics & STEM 34:29 China IVF 40:28 Survey on embryo screening in Science References: Bing vs Bard and Hallucination  https://twitter.com/hsu_steve/status/1625222378383876119 China demographics and...

Steve discusses Large Language Model AIs such as ChatGPT.

Dominic Cummings' time in No. 10 Downing Street as Boris Johnson's Chief Advisor was one of the most interesting and impactful periods in modern UK political history.

Sahil Lavingia founded Gumroad at the age of 19 and built it into a leading digital commerce platform. He is the author of The Minimalist Entrepreneur and an investor in early-stage startups.