"Moment of Zen"

Beff Jezos, the anonymous co-founder of the e/acc movement (effective accelerationism) had his identity revealed on Friday night by Forbes reporters. He gives the inside story to Antonio Garcia Martinez, Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, his e/acc cofounder bayeslord, and The Cognitive Revolution podcast host Nathan Labenz. They discuss anonymity, the media, and the role of journalism in our society. Sell and grow with Shopify: Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen – SPONSORS: SHOPIFY | VANTA SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/zen for $1000 off Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @bayeslord  @basedbeffjezos @dwr (Dan) @antoniogm (Antonio) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Live Players With Samo Burja Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. Think: Elon, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, George Soros and more. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers – LINKS: Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/12/01/who-is-basedbeffjezos-the-leader-of-effective-accelerationism-eacc/?sh=5b172e3a7a13 PirateWires article: https://www.piratewires.com/p/thot-police-forbes-has-doxed-beff -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:45) Binance (07:25) Antonio joins (10:05) Beff is face doxxed (11:45) The inside story (13:55) Sponsor: Shopify (15:50) How did Beff's identity get revealed by these reporters? (22:55) Why should journalists get to decide who gets to be anon? (26:35) Beff's academic background in quantum computing (28:55) Why Beff started the anon account (31:15) Sponsor: Vanta, MasterClass (33:40) How Beff bootstrapped his anon account (38:55) What's next for e/acc (44:05) Overcentralization of AI (46:25) Where the alpha is (56:25) Decels and the rebellion (01:02:45) Why is big tech so bad & 2024 elections (01:04:55) AI Leaderboards (01:07:45) Crypto and AI crossover (01:12:25) Decentralizing the AI supply chain (01:18:25) Hardware & Extropic technology (01:23:25) Utility of e/acc (01:28:55) What is the e/acc gospel (01:40:20) What is the near term for AI?

Erik Torenberg and Antonio Garcia Martinez sit down with political strategist + former chief adviser to Boris Johnson's right hand Dominic Cummings who is known for architecting Brexit. They discuss whether Brexit actually saved Britain from the far right, the San Francisco homelessness complex, the 2024 election, educational polarization, & more. Sell and grow with Shopify: Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen – SPONSORS: SHOPIFY | VANTA | MASTERCLASS SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen VANTA: Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen MASTERCLASS: https://masterclass.com/zen get two memberships for the price of 1 Learn from the best to become your best. Learn how to negotiate a raise with Chris Voss or manage your relationships with Esther Perel. Boost your confidence and find practical takeaways you can apply to your life and at work. If you own a business or are a team leader, use MasterClass to empower and create future-ready employees and leaders. Moment of Zen listeners will get two memberships for the price of one at https://masterclass.com/zen – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @Dominic2306 (Dominic) @antoniogm (Antonio) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. - TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:19) Introduction (04:57) Inspiration for Brexit (13:00) Extreme parties in US vs UK  (15:46) SPONSOR: VANTA (16:41) Francis Fukuyama’ and Walter Kaufmann on liberalism (22:05) European wokeness explosion (26:48) The fix SF movement (31:08) SPONSOR: VANTA (32:46) SF homeless industrial complex (34:05) Techies in politics (38:29) Elon and Israel (40:56) SPONSOR: MASTERCLASS (41:49) Israel’s PR will never win in the west (52:42) New elitism (59:15) Appealing in the 2024 election (01:10:24) Abortion laws (01:00:13) British royals (01:24:26) Educational and political polarization (01:35:02) A reformed republican Party (01:39:41) Can we fix SF?

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg discuss their takes on why liberals become conservatives, diversity in tech, and debrief the OpenAI debacle that happened this past week. – SPONSORS: SHOPIFY | MASTERCLASS | NETSUITE SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen MASTERCLASS: https://masterclass.com/zen get two memberships for the price of 1 Learn from the best to become your best. Learn how to negotiate a raise with Chris Voss or manage your relationships with Esther Perel. Boost your confidence and find practical takeaways you can apply to your life and at work. If you own a business or are a team leader, use MasterClass to empower and create future-ready employees and leaders. Moment of Zen listeners will get two memberships for the price of one at https://masterclass.com/zen NETSUITE: http://netsuite.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff – RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. – TIMESTAMPS: h/t @zohaibaallii on YouTube (00:43) New Argentinian president and rise of global populism (06:21) The appeal of populist leaders to the working class (15:07) Policy differences between Biden and Trump administrations (24:11) Does Trump poses a threat to democracy? (30:55) Is the political right or left has been more authoritarian? (36:53) Corporate "norms" under Biden vs Trump (43:45) Predictions on 2024 presidential election (50:33) Recap of the OpenAI / Sam Altman saga (01:00:00) The "feminine" nature of the OpenAI situation (01:10:30) On diversity and inclusion (01:22:20) On inequality between groups in society (01:25:20) Aspirations vs. reality of equality

Dan Romero, Antonio Garcia Martinez and Erik Torenberg discuss their takes on Sam Altman's ouster from OpenAI, his legacy, and his comparative significance vis-à-vis figures like Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk. This is a developing story. This podcast was recorded on Sunday Nov 19th at 12pm PST. – SPONSORS: SHOPIFY | MASTERCLASS | NETSUITE SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen MASTERCLASS: https://masterclass.com/zen get two memberships for the price of 1 Learn from the best to become your best. Learn how to negotiate a raise with Chris Voss or manage your relationships with Esther Perel. Boost your confidence and find practical takeaways you can apply to your life and at work. If you own a business or are a team leader, use MasterClass to empower and create future-ready employees and leaders. Moment of Zen listeners will get two memberships for the price of one at https://masterclass.com/zen NETSUITE: http://netsuite.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @dwr (Dan) @antoniogm (Antonio) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. – TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (00:14) Napoleon and the power of memes (02:05) The Intricacies of Coups in Latin America (02:59) The Role of Microsoft in OpenAI (03:33) Analyzing Sam Altman's Influence in Silicon Valley (05:12) The Potential Fallout from OpenAI Controversy (05:51) The Battle of EA vs e/acc  (05:59) Sam Altman's Impact on Silicon Valley (07:42) The Future of OpenAI (08:38) The Legal Complexities of OpenAI's Structure (12:26) The Influence of Elon Musk and Microsoft on OpenAI (15:20) Sponsor: Shopify (16:44) The Future of AI and OpenAI (33:55) The Role of Energy in Computing (34:30) Sponsors: MasterClass | NetSuite (36:00) The Game of Capital and Access to Compute (38:12) Predicting the Future of OpenAI (40:30) The Betting Odds on Sam Altman's Future (43:00) The Challenges of Leading OpenAI (48:50) Discussing Sam Altman's Background and Achievements

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg discuss whether San Francisco can be exited or reformed, how to impact local politics, and what it would take to get talented, innovative people to live in the same city. Wherever and whatever you’re selling, get Shopify for $1/month trial period using code https://shopify.com/momentofzen – SPONSORS: SHOPIFY | MASTERCLASS | NETSUITE SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen MASTERCLASS: https://masterclass.com/zen to get two memberships for the price of one. Learn from the best to become your best. Learn how to negotiate a raise with Chris Voss or manage your relationships with Esther Perel. Boost your confidence and find practical takeaways you can apply to your life and at work. If you own a business or are a team leader, use MasterClass to empower and create future-ready employees and leaders. Moment of Zen listeners will get two memberships for the price of one at https://masterclass.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. –  TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (00:02:23) SF is back  (00:05:08) SF can be cleaned up pretty fast (00:08:47) Who runs for office? (00:16:07) Sponsor: Shopify (00:17:43) You can buy a city (00:25:11) Elites don’t move (00:28:57) Analyzing the success of charter city state movements (00:34:34) Sponsor: MasterClass | NetSuite (00:36:13): Can we get people to move to SF and change the city? (00:44:30) Tech is politically absent at the local level (00:50:45) Talent wants to agglomerate (00:57:00) Educational challenges

Dan Romero, Antonio Garcia Martinez and Erik Torenberg discuss the US reaction to the Israel-Hamas War. If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta for $1000 off: https://www.vanta.com/zen – SPONSORS: SHOPIFY | VANTA | MASTERCLASS | NETSUITE SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/zen Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen MASTERCLASS: https://masterclass.com/zen get two memberships for the price of 1 Learn from the best to become your best. Learn how to negotiate a raise with Chris Voss or manage your relationships with Esther Perel. Boost your confidence and find practical takeaways you can apply to your life and at work. If you own a business or are a team leader, use MasterClass to empower and create future-ready employees and leaders. Moment of Zen listeners will get two memberships for the price of one at https://masterclass.com/zen NETSUITE: http://netsuite.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @dwr (Dan) @antoniogm (Antonio) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff –  TIMESTAMPS : (00:00) Episode Preview (00:05) What would be different if Trump were in office? (09:10) Information and misinformation sources from the war (12:36) Sponsor: Shopify | Vanta (17:30) Apple’s Slack rebellion (19:26) Paul Graham (20:56) Trusting reported deaths (24:22) Does Israel even care about the West? (32:57) Sponsor: Masterclass | NetSuite (37:15) Living in the society of spectacle (39:15) Showy narcissism (38:50) The psychoanalysis of narcissism (42:00) The irredentist philosophy (43:39) The underlying sentiment that Israel shouldn't exist (45:40) There is no international community (49:40) Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity (52:20) US support for Israel 15 years from now (55:00) Will Hamas be eliminated? (58:00) It seems like Israel's got it all worked out (01:01:00) Just ban TikTok

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg are joined by Packy McCormick of Not Boring and Julia DeWahl (founder of Antares, ex-SpaceX) to talk about the past, present, and future of nuclear energy. Packy and Julia co-host a new narrative series called Age of Miracles ( If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta for $1000 off: https://www.vanta.com/zen SUBSCRIBE TO AGE OF MIRACLES: Podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/ageofmiracles | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@age-of-miracles – SPONSORS: VANTA | NETSUITE Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @packym (Packy) @juliadewahl (Julia) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. –  TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:46) Why the interest in nuclear energy? (05:45) Why does energy matter? (09:10) Greta Thunberg and environmentalism as religion replacement (12:08) Why France got it right in the 70s (14:48) Sponsors: Vanta and NetSuite (17:04) Myth-busting: nuclear waste and disasters (22:33) Why has the anti-nuclear movement been so potent? (26:46) Breaking down the incentives at play in regulation and the free market (39:00) How do you change the perception and safety?  (47:50) The opportunities to build in the nuclear space (56:50) Applying Elon’s frameworks to building in the nuclear space (01:00:45) Safety culture and accountability (01:08:20) Opportunity for SMR companies from Microsoft and congress (01:10:20) Are we overestimating nuclear’s impact versus other energy sources? (01:16:05) Capital markets and idea maze problem (01:23:00) How to get involved in opportunities in nuclear if you have no background

Antonio Garcia Martinez, reporting live from Israel, joins Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg to share his firsthand perspective on the ground, discussing the unfolding events, and potential outcomes for Israel and Gaza. If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta for $1000 off: https://www.vanta.com/zen Discussion recorded on October 22, 2023.  – SPONSORS: VANTA | NETSUITE Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – NEW SHOW FROM TURPENTINE: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics –  Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. – TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:40) Antonio’s describes traveling to the south of israel (06:10) How Israel is unifying and mobilizing (09:05) Hostage situation sentiments (12:14) Sponsors: Vanta | NetSuite (19:05) Antonio’s predictions (28:00) What happens next in Gaza (36:00) What’s happening in the North with Hezbollah? (37:30) How the Israeli secular left do not understand the Western left’s reaction (40:30) The biblical echoes of the double standards placed on Israel (46:05) Intra-Israel civil war (52:40) Can there be a happy ending here?

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg discuss the history of Israel, Gaza, and Iran and what happens next in this war on the ground. They also discuss the schism in the public discourse and the downstream political implications in the US. If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta for $1000 off: https://www.vanta.com/zen – SPONSORS: VANTA | NETSUITE Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ –  X / TWITTER: @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @antoniogm (Antonio) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – SELECT LINKS: -Wikipedia : List of Jewish Nobel Laureates https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_Nobel_laureates - Book: Rise and Kill First https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_and_Kill_First - Iranian Agent - Robert Malley Spy Ring story https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/iran-spy-ring-robert-malley-lee-smith & Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/06/rob-malley-iran-security-clearance-investigation/ -Econ 102 episode where Noah Smith discusses the War in Israel and economic causes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW1coCYfapA -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (03:50) Israel, Gaza and Mood affiliation (07:55) The New York Times front page (13:00) The schism in the current thing (15:30) Moral equivalence in this conflict (19:00) Inconsistencies on the far left (23:00) History of the conflict and borders (25:00) Thanks to our sponsors: Vanta, NetSuite (27:00) Why are Jews so successful and disliked? (36:00) Argumentative Jews (40:00) Going deeper into the historical roots (45:45) Understanding Israel, Iran, and neighbors' nuclear programs (57:10) Would Palestinian economic prosperity solve this conflict? (01:06:00) Biggest concerns (01:10:00) Israel's next move (01:15:45) Pendulum swing back to Trump?

Dan Romero, Erik Torenberg and Antonio Garcia Martinez are joined by journalist Jacob Siegel to discuss disinformation, the evolving narrative between tech and political power, and geopolitics. This episode was recorded on October 1st, before Hamas' attack on Israel. If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta for $1000 off: https://www.vanta.com/zen – SPONSORS: VANTA | NETSUITE Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff – X / TWITTER: @jacob__siegel (Jacob) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @antoniogm (Antonio) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – SELECT LINKS: Jacob Siegel, 'Hoax of the Century: 13 Ways of Looking at Disinformation', Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/guide-understanding-hoax-century-thirteen-ways-looking-disinformation Jacob Siegel, 'Data Driven Defeat: Information versus Interests in Afghanistan', American Affairs https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2020/05/data-driven-defeat-information-versus-interests-in-afghanistan/ Antonio Garcia Martinez, 'Among the Protesters', Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/among-the-protesters-antonio-garcia-martinez Jay Solomon, 'Inside Iran’s Influence Operation', Semafor https://www.semafor.com/article/09/25/2023/inside-irans-influence-operation – TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:48) Jacob on Balaji’s Gray - Red - Blue tribe framework (03:38) How to make the Gray tribe inspiring (06:30) E/acc and tech with grandeur (08:27) Abundance agenda vs administrative state (14:20) Bernie Sanders (15:55) Sponsors: Vanta | NetSuite (18:10) Elon Musk relationship with Obama-era Whitehouse (22:28) Private markets vs Government subsidized innovation (24:00) Ideal balance between protectionist policies and free markets (29:45) Jacob on Israel over-leveraging its tech sector (36:00) Tracing the narrative of tech and democratic political power (42:30) Hybrid warfare since 2014 (46:20) Antonio joins the conversation (51:00) Gamergate as a pivotal event (01:03:00) Plato’s cave reflections of American domestic political neurosis (01:08:40) Ukraine, Russia, and Biden’s strategic logic (01:18:30) Can there be a happy ending in Israel? (01:24:00) The threat of Iran (01:34:30) US should end the Israeli Subsidy (01:45:00)The fight over the soul of the nation (01:51:00) Predicting the future of Israel in 30-40 years

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg talk about the ongoing border crisis, the history of immigration to the US, and the case for and against immigration. If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta for $1000 off: https://www.vanta.com/zen – SPONSORS: VANTA | NETSUITE Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff RECOMMENDED PODCAST: LIVE PLAYERS Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today’s most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. LIsten and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. – Sign up for our free newsletter to receive full shownotes with book and article recommendations: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ – X / TWITTER: @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik Torenberg) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:31) The American dream (05:37) Why does Elon Musk care about what's happening at the border? (10:44) The history of immigration in the US (13:30) H1-B visas and temporary protected status (18:04) Sponsors: Vanta | NetSuite (19:37) Immigration under Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump (20:02) Sponsors: Vanta & Netsuite (24:51) No place for nuance (28:21) Asylum seeking (31:38) Current state: complete failure (37:15) Arguments for and against immigration (45:04) Polling on immigration issue (49:01) Basic rule of law (56:18) Fringe theory: the great replacement theory (59:21) Dan’s proposal: voter ID (01:03:13) Does a country have a right to determine its demographics? (01:12:02) Do immigrants assimilate? (01:21:39) Pro-immigration but anti gentrification (01:25:11) Is it feasible for Balaji's gray tribe to take back San Francisco? (01:33:20) Dan’s optimistic take on a potential deal (01:35:31) Immigration and innovation

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg talk about their intellectual evolution, why San Francisco is back, and the ideas finding new momentum because of the thorny politics in tech the last few years. If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta for $1000 off: https://www.vanta.com/zen – SPONSORS: VANTA | NETSUITE Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at: https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. – RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff – Sign up for our newsletter to receive the full shownotes: https://momentofzen.substack.com/ – SELECT LINKS: Dan’s reference: the most interesting new city project in San Francisco: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html James Portnoy, Founder of Barstool, going on the offensive against a Washington Post reporter writing a hit piece: https://deadline.com/2023/09/barstool-sports-owner-dave-portnoy-confronts-washington-post-reporter-1235554436/ Most important blog: Scott Alexander’s https://slatestarcodex.com/ which is now Astral Codex Ten https://www.astralcodexten.com/ Curtis Yarvin: https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/, https://graymirror.substack.com/ – X / TWITTER: @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik Torenberg) @moz_podcast @TurpentineMedia – TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (05:00) Why San Francisco’s Network Effects, like Twitter, is futile to leave (Network Effects are a bitch) (13:40) Tech reclaiming a political voice (15:30) Sponsors: Vanta | NetSuite (17:40) Media losing ground after taking too many shots during the last administration (20:35) Mood affiliation & social justice policies in tech companies (23:05) In this economy? (30:41) Balaji Srinivasan (34:25)The Borg (39:10) Social Supply Chain (40:21) Curtis Yarvin (59:40) Bring your whole self to work (01:03:00) The clear pill: winning by losing (01:10:00) Good ideas, bad UI (01:16:35) Newspapers are a mood affiliation business (01:19:24) Right and Left wing, who loses in the long arc of history? (01:26:30) Dan’s thinking around the next successful candidate (01:33:05) Threshold for changing your thinking

Dan Romero, Antonio Garcia Martinez, and Erik Torenberg sit down with Professor Walter Russel Mead, an American academic, author, WSJ- and Tablet-contributor, and podcast host to discuss the shape of the next era after our information age. Moment of Zen is part of Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff TIMESTAMPS: (01:00) Episode Preview (03:30) What is the American Crisis right now? (08:00) New social model for the information age (11:24) Sponsors: Vanta | NetSuite (16:30) A(brahamic) bomb and revolutionary change in human society (22:40) Has religion peaked or is the world getting more religious? (28:00) Who believes in happy endings? (30:30) Israel vs. American Jews (33:00) Israeli-Palestinian conflict still matters, just not to Israelis in power (36:40) Characterizing American foreign policy (45:00) Nation states vs Network States h/t Balaji (54:20) Defining the next era of Post Liberalism (1:01:00) Populists, Plutocrats, Technocrats, and the Intelligentsia (1:11:00) Israel’s future and what’s at stake (1:24:00) Could California be Republican again? (1:30:00) Golda Meir and female power (1:33:50) Arafat and a jasmine-scented night in Gaza LINKS: -What Really Matters podcast: https://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/what-really-matters -Walter Russell Mead, The A(braham) Bomb: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/abraham-bomb-via-meadia-walter-russell-mead -Antonio Garcia Martinez, Among the Protestors: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/among-the-protesters-antonio-garcia-martinez -Go back and listen to our Moment of Zen episodes with Tablet’s Editor in Chief Alana Newhouse (E29), Nadia Asparouhova (E26) and Liel Leibovitz (E23) X / TWITTER @wrmead (Walter) @WRMpod (What Really Matters) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @antoniogm (Antonio) @dwr (Dan) @moz_podcast (Moment of Zen) SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.

Balaji Srinivasan returns to go deeper into his theory of the Social Lens. Balaji, Erik, and Dan discuss the tactics the Gray tribe can use to create, identify, grow, and scale their power, how the tribal lens maps to geopolitics, the Blue playbook through the last several decades of world history, and more. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen Note: This is an unfiltered discussion that functions as an early draft for an essay and video Balaji plans to release soon. RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. Together they host HR Heretics with a lineup of industry vets and experts, diving deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) - Episode Preview (02:20) - You can found a tribe just like you can found a startup (10:30) - Exit vs Reform (16:42) - Sponsors: Vanta, NetSuite (19:05) - Any statement can be problematized (29:00) - Can you presume societal stability? Not if you’re thinking like a CEO (34:00) - Strength of network effects (52:20) - Inequality has decreased (55:15) - Japanese vs Chinese economic model for innovation (01:07:45) - Asia is rising, the US is in relative decline (01:30:15) - How Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Garry Tan respond to Blue or reform it from within (01:38:00) - The Market for Revolutionaries: Myanmar, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Hong Kong and China (01:48:00) - Blue is a business model (01:57:00) - Charity is dependency. Investment is independence. (02:06:00) - Who defines democracy, and where is the term going? (02:27:00) - Grays attract the smartest defectors (02:36:30) - How the Gray territory gets built on land (02:49:49) - What is the highest belief and ideology of each tribe? (02:56:00) - Parallels with the Soviet Union and India (03:15:00) - Mapping the advantages to Blue and Gray (03:28:50) - How Gray beats Blue for control of cities (03:33:00) - Gray pride parade (03:40:00) - Winning the police (03:50:00) - How the Grays in San Francisco will organize themselves (03:55:30 - The power of Elon renaming Twitter (03:57:00) - Small business owners and the working class (04:00:00) - The CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) in reverse (04:17:00) - AI will help expedite the Gray cause (04:20:00) - Can this really happen? X / Twitter @balajis (Balaji) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.

Balaji Srinivasan joins Erik Torenberg and Dan Romero on the Moment of Zen podcast to share his new theory of the Tribal Lens, why cognitive territories will gain increasingly more power than land-defined territories, why the US is no longer a beacon in the world, and Balaji strategy to fix San Francisco. Make sure you're subscribed to https://link.chtbl.com/moz to get notified when we release Part 2. RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics RECOMMENDED PODCAST:  Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff RECOMMENDED PODCAST: ECON 102 w/ Noah Smith Subscribe: https://link.chtbl.com/Econ102 Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co TOPICS DISCUSSED: (00:00) Episode Preview (07:50) Cloud Cartography: If you don't control the cognitive territory. you don't control the lands (13:30) Sponsors: Vanta, NetSuite (17:30) Why people don't take the internet seriously? (22:30) The US is not a nation state (23:45) A civilization state (25:17) Why Americans should learn about India's history / India and the US are converging (30:50) Why a civil war doesn't seem realistic to people now (38:55) Where else should a talented person move? (41:35) Asia is the new global center, (47:10) Internet first, not America first (01:01:45) Software vs. Hardware (01:05:45) Elon and the Grey Strategy (01:16:40) Israel is looking away from the US for partners (01:19:00) The Tribal lens integrates both domestic and foreign politics (01:21:00) Will blue always win?  (01:23:43) Making sense of the China meltdown story (01:34:55) How to fix San Francisco (01:50:30) Irrationality is an advantage (01:57:00) Building gray turf (02:03:00) Mapping the blues, reds, and grays in San Francisco (02:05:20) Dan and Erik debrief X / Twitter @balajis (Balaji) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.

On this episode, Erik Torenberg and Dan Romero analyze what Vivek Ramaswamy’s rise in the polls really means, where he goes from here, and we air Erik’s full interview with Vivek from this spring. Vivek discusses his transformation from founder to candidate, his views on Silicon Valley, his concept of meritocracy, depoliticizing corporations, and lays out his policy proposals. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics TOPICS DISCUSSED: (00:00) Episode Preview (02:23) What is the excitement about Vivek really about? (05:00) Why don’t democrats nominate business people? (06:28) Who is Vivek’s constituency? (08:18) What happens in a world where Trump doesn’t exist? (10:20) Immigration stance differences between Trump and Vivek (14:57) Vivek’s anti woke platform vs DeSantis’ anti woke legislations (16:50) Vivek as a right wing Elizabeth Warren Civility (19:15) Is there a way for a republican to be cool? (22:45) Republicans want an attack dog (24:00) 2028 and beyond (29:55) Interview: When Vivek set his sights on running for president (36:20) Vivek’s presidential platform: Affirmative action, Climate, Fed, Drug crisis (44:11) Where Vivek overlaps/differs with Silicon Valley: free speech, DEI, SVB (51:20) How Vivek conceptualizes a meritocracy (58:00) How to remove politics from corporations (01:05:32) Silicon Valley should empathize more with the rest of the country? (01:16:35) Defining “woke” (01:22:40) What’s it like to run a presidential campaign X / Twitter @VivekGRamaswamy (Vivek) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg discuss what is exciting in Crypto right now, covering friend.tech, Farcaster’s updates, PWAs, superchain 2a, and infrastructure improvements for more use cases. If you’re building a business and need compliance for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA, head to www.vanta.com/zen for $1000 off. RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Founding a business is just the tip of the iceberg; the real complexity comes with scaling it. On 1 to 1000, hosts Jack Altman and Erik Torenberg dig deep into the inevitable twists and turns operators encounter along the journey of turning an idea into a business. Our first episode with Eric Glyman of Ramp is out now: https://link.chtbl.com/1to1000 Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co TOPICS DISCUSSED: (00:01:36) How Dan is building Farcaster (00:02:39) Using Ethereum is expensive (00:04:14) Crypto and climate change (00:05:38) Moving Farcaster over to the L2 (layer 2) Ethereum ecosystem (00:06:50) Dan's goal to abstract away the complexity of crypto (00:07:49) Dan's take on the buzzy new friend.tech (00:12:27) Friend.tech's smart use of a PWA + impressive growth (00:17:11) Coinbase has its own blockchain now (00:18:23) Debating the crypto has no use case critique (00:21:47) Are SPACs worse than Crypto's scammy retail stuff (00:24:21) Chamath and accountability (00:30:24) How will crypto get to a billion users? (00:39:11) The case for Farcaster and the future of social media (00:47:55) Where will the influential parts of crypto Twitter go? (00:52:25) How much value can be captured by subscaled social networks? (00:56:51) Why we'll see startups move away from venture-backed business models (00:58:24) Billionaires that dominate niches (00:59:26) Most successful media company of the past decade (01:03:59) Crypto's regulations are a gray cloud over financial innovation (01:08:08) Opportunities to expand upside for people, from businesses to UBI (01:09:12) Crypto is not politicized (01:14:40) Genetics and IQ (01:24:04) The Sam Harris + Ezra Klein Charles Murray debate (01:32:48) Why this is the next major culture war issue RELATED EPISODES: Upstream w/ Erik Torenberg ft/ Sam Harris Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0DeR2VZOjpnE9pQ9b3Om9S?si=u662cEDUTt6D27D09Jnk0w Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e10-sam-harris-on-populism-polarization-and-his-beef/id1678893467?i=1000614749192 Upstream with Erik Torenberg ft/ Ezra Klein Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/36vTPPcpisMVXSgq9bnj1w?si=WEysQWc4RouTxd1hzNl1iw Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e3-ezra-klein-on-supply-side-progressivism-polarization/id1678893467?i=1000607892890 LINKS: Farcaster: https://www.farcaster.xyz/ friend tech: friend.tech Vox debate and article: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/9/17210248/sam-harris-ezra-klein-charles-murray-transcript-podcast and https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/27/15695060/sam-harris-charles-murray-race-iq-forbidden-knowledge-podcast-bell-curve X / Twitter @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite Vanta Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.

Mike Solana joins Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, and Antonio Garcia Martinez to track the rise and ‘vibe shift’ away from the woke industrial complex, from social media algorithms and anon accounts, to media disruptions like Substack and Gawker. They discuss Peter Thiel's economic, political, and religious ideas and discuss his legacy. They also debate if the left really has lost control of culture or whether we’re just more siloed in 2023, and which GOP candidates draw on upstream intellectual ideas. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Founding a business is just the tip of the iceberg; the real complexity comes with scaling it. On 1 to 1000, hosts Jack Altman and Erik Torenberg dig deep into the inevitable twists and turns operators encounter along the journey of turning an idea into a business: https://link.chtbl.com/1to1000 Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co CHECK OUT RELATED EPISODES: Erik's Upstream interview with David Sacks: Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e4-david-sacks-on-his-intellectual-and-political-journey/id1678893467?i=1000609099148 Spotify -https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fUUdrqbHuOHB285yKO3tD?si=fJ9pSctmQFCvHch8x598LQ TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (05:25) Behind the scenes of Mike’s Peter Thiel interview (13:00) Mike’s hypothesis behind the waves of woke culture dominance since 1995 until today (15:36) Sponsors: Vanta, NetSuite (17:41) What explains the vibe shift away from identity politics today, if it is actually in decline. (25:51) Substack materially changed the discourse, i.e. Richard Hanania (29:32) The Feminist Critique of Snow White discourse on TikTok (31:50) Anon accounts (33:37) Has culture changed or are we just more siloed? (36:00) Hunter Biden discredits mainstream culture on the left and the right (39:27) The rise and (maybe?) fall of DEI in tech (41:47) Thiel's stance on economics, science and technology, politics, and faith (45:33) Is Thiel's religious argument based on a misread of the bible? (52:43) Do the neo-Nietzscheans actually have a constituency? (55:18) Which GOP nominees, if any, are influenced by intellectual movements? (1:01:31) How do intellectual ideas actually drive political power in the US? (1:03:31) What do people want in a political candidate (1:05:13) Autoerotic self-pardoning (1:08:00) Is Thiel backing away from the anti-woke cause (1:14:35) World War meme (1:15:30) Thiel's legacy LINKS: Peter Thiel: The Diversity Myth, A Retrospective, Pirate Wires https://www.piratewires.com/p/peter-thiel-the-diversity-myth-a Peter Thiel, The New Criterion https://newcriterion.com/issues/2023/6/the-diversity-myth René Gerard, I See Satan Fall Like Lightning https://www.amazon.com.au/See-Satan-Falling-Like-Lightning/dp/1570753199 X: @micsolana (Mike) @antoniogm (Antonio) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.

Antonio Garcia Martinez is back from his travels, and joins Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg to dive into his current theory of ‘The End of History’. They also discuss the cancellation of intellectual figures like Richard Hanania, contrast the political situation in Israel with political polarization in the states, and discuss liberalism vs. religion. Towards the end, they talk about social media, crypto, Elon vs Zuck, and Sam Bankman-Fried. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (02:13) Elon Musk vs. Dustin Moskovitz (05:00) Decarceration in SF (07:53) What problems should we focus on for the biggest impact? (12:05) Waiting for Antonio and reflecting on his conversion (15:30) Moment of Zen: Who’s listening and why?  (18:00) Behind the scenes at Turpentine network (19:43) Updates: Spindl and Antonio’s travels to France and Israel (21:27) Sponsors: Vanta | NetSuite (26:04) Mapping the left and the right in Israel vs in the US (34:15) End of history (37:10) Is Richard Hanania canceled? (39:50) The new Right (41:35) Liberalism LARPing (43:20) LindyMan (44:50) The movies (46:40) Why hasn’t there been new religions? (52:20) Christian vs Jewish narrative (56:08) Is Modernity a death cult? (57:10) How do we fix the birth rate? (01:04:40) Updates: Farcaster and Dan’s take on how we usher in a new era for social media (01:08:00) Crypto infrastructure companies (01:13:00) The underrated impact of Apple’s app store  (01:15:10) What our interest in Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg at the Coliseum reveals about us (01:18:10) The story about SBF (01:20:00) Shkreli season (check out In The Arena) LINKS: Bruno Maçães, History Has Begun: https://www.amazon.com.au/History-Has-Begun-Bruno-Macaes/dp/1787383016 Patrick Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Liberalism-Failed-Politics-Culture/dp/0300223447 Dara Horn, People Love Dead Jews: https://www.amazon.com/People-Love-Dead-Jews-Reports/dp/B09CFYVY3F/ X: @antoniogm (Antonio) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @MOZ_Podcast SPONSORS: Vanta | NetSuite Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/ZEN and download your own customized KPI checklist.

Alex Kaplan shot to fame on Twitter last week for his thread on the LK-99 superconductor, and why it has the potential to be the most important physics discovery of our lifetime. Today he joins Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg to dig deeper into the LK-99 saga and its broader implications: why the material is so hard to replicate, the citizen journalist aspect and the democratization of science, condensed matter physics, a call for scientific ambition, and more. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:13) Introduction to Alex Kaplan, and how his superconductor tweet took over the internet (03:32) Why is the LK-99 compound so difficult to replicate? (06:52) The breakdown of superconductor properties (diamagnetism vs. superconductivity) (10:44) How does one even go and invent a new material? (13:53) Tracing the drama of how Lee, Kim, and Kwon published their papers (15:06) Sponsor: NetSuite (16:15) Cont. story of Lee, Kim, and Kwon (19:25) Andrew and Iris live-tweeting their replication efforts (22:08) The citizen journalist aspect (24:21) The democratization of science (25:41) Condensed matter physics (29:38) What’s most exciting about the LK-99 discovery (32:08) Observing the tangible impacts of virality on Twitter (34:23) The (im)precise process of creating the LK-99 compound (35:57) What are the implications, if LK-99 is a real superconductor? (42:06) What if superconductors made more efficient quantum computers? (44:03) A potential Kardashev scale civilization (45:23) The most interesting thing about the LK-99 saga for Alex (46:49) Comparable physics discoveries to the LK-99 (49:18) Alex's request for scientific ambition: where should we be looking? LINKS: Alex’s viral X / Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/alexkaplan0/status/1684044616528453633  LK-99 Paper (submitted by Kwon): https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12008  LK-99 Paper (submitted by Lee and Kim): ​​https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12037  X / TWITTER: @alexkaplan0 (Alex) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast SPONSOR: Vanta | NetSuite Are you building a business? If you’re looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.