Kishore Mahbubani is a distinguished Singaporean diplomat, academic, and author, renowned for his incisive commentary on global geopolitics and the rise of Asia. He served in the Singapore Foreign Service as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN, where he was President of the UN Security Council in 2001 and 2002. He was also the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy from 2004 to 2017 and his bestselling books include The Great Convergence and Has China Won? Currently a Distinguished Fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute, Mahbubani is celebrated as a leading voice on Asia’s growing influence, earning accolades like inclusion in Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers.(01:24) The US-China rivalry
(13:44) The Taiwan issue
(17:10) Global hegemony vs. domestic stability
(22:42) Will China ever democratize?
(24:35) Why poverty is a lack of freedom
(25:14) China's political evolution
(26:38) Pros & cons of democracy
(29:34) The future of US-China relations
(32:07) Evaluating Xi Jinping's Leadership
(34:44) The importance of diplomacy
(41:05) Lessons from Lee Kuan Yew
(46:15) Paths to peace & cooperation
(47:36) Advice for American citizens
This is a "book club" solo episode where I summarize & comment on a nonfiction book as part of the Due Diligence Book Club (Patreon available here). This episode is on All The Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer published in 2003 about Operation Ajax, the CIA overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh, the prime minister of Iran.
In this episode, I delve into the fascinating history of Silicon Valley with Margaret O'Mara, a professor of American History at the University of Washington and a leading historian of Silicon Valley.
We explore the relationship between the public and private sectors that fueled the growth of Silicon Valley, debunking the myth of the lone entrepreneur and highlighting the significant role of Cold War defense spending.
Margaret shares insights from her celebrated book "The Code" which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the people who built Silicon Valley and shaped Big Tech. We also discuss the impact of elections on tech policy, the evolving influence of tech in Washington, and the rise of AI.
We also discuss the parallels between today's tech landscape and the Gilded Age, the importance of historical perspective, and the future of tech innovation amid increasing US-China tensions and energy concerns.
(00:00) Introduction
(04:18) From Politics to Tech History
(06:02) The Cold War Origins of Silicon Valley
(08:30) The Human Storytelling Behind Tech
(11:18) Is Silicon Valley A Meritocracy?
(17:38) Tech's Political Influence
(22:13) The Emergence of the Tech Right
(23:01) A New Gilded Age
(26:47) Antitrust & Regulation
(31:06) What Democrats Need
(36:10) Future of AI and Crypto
(36:38) The 2024 Elections
(39:37) China and the New Cold War
(40:23) US Government Spending and Innovation
(42:01) Defense Tech
(45:45) The Role of Universities and Big Tech
(52:27) The Rise of AI
(56:56) Energy Concerns in AI
(01:03:20) The Value of History
In this episode, I sit down with Glory Liu, author of Adam Smith's America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism. We delve into her book which examines the intellectual history and evolving interpretations of Adam Smith's ideas in America. Liu, Assistant Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University, discusses how Adam Smith's works have been understood and often misunderstood throughout history. Our conversation covers how economic ideas, power, Milton Friedman and capitalism.
Links & resources:
Adam Smith's America (book)
Glory Liu'swebsite
Mark Blyth is a political economist and the William R. Rhodes Professor of International Economics at Brown University. He is the author of several books including Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (named one of the best books of the year in 2013 by the Financial Times and Bloomberg), Angrynomics, and a new book coming out in May 2025 called Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers.
His research is in international & comparative political economy and focuses on the political power of economic ideas, how institutions change, and the political economy of rich democracies. Mark is a native of Scotland and received his PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1999 and taught at the Johns Hopkins University from 1997 to 2009 before joining the Brown faculty in 2009. (04:34) What is political economy?
(06:10) Mark's academic journey
(08:28) How economic consensus is formed
(11:01) What is inflation?
(13:23) Good vs. bad inflation
(17:55) The four main inflation "stories"
(18:51) Which story prevails currently
(20:57) How will tariffs affect inflation?
(26:23) The tariff narrative
(28:58) Capitalism 2.0 vs. 3.0
(29:43) The "hardware" & "software" of capitalism
(34:23) The "bug" in our current system
(37:13) The legacy of inflation in the 1970s
(44:41) The Federal Reserve's toolkit
(47:41) The Fed before the 1970s
(49:27) Hyperinflation in Germany and Argentina
(54:16) The structural causes of hyperinflation
(56:19) Economic indicators of political unrest
(59:01) The role of technological progress
(01:02:40) What should capitalism 4.0 be?
Pre-order Mark's book on inflation here
Keith Rabois is a cofounder of OpenStore, a platform connecting shoppers and merchants to create the ultimate decentralized "department store" of the internet. Keith is also a General Partner at Founders Fund, one of the top venture firms in the world. He is cofounder and executive chairman of OpenDoor, served on the boards of Yelp and Reddit, was Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, and COO at Square. Keith was an early employee at PayPal and has invested in legendary Silicon Valley startups like YouTube, Airbnb, Palantir, Eventbrite, Lyft, Quora, Yammer and Wish. He was named #8 on the Midas List in 2022 globally and #4 in the U.S.
Learn about OpenStore
Sign up for Gorgias
Sophia Amoruso is a serial entrepreneur who founded fashion retailer Nasty Gal and media startup Girlboss. She is also the NYTimes bestselling author of Girlboss, a business memoir that sparked a movement, inspired a Netflix show, and became solidly part of our entrepreneurial vernacular. She is now the founder of online course Business Class and VC fund Trust Fund.
What we discuss:
Resources
Female Founder World (podcast)
My first interview with Sophia in 2015
Business Class (online course)
Michael Maslansky is a communication strategist and language expert who teaches companies how to effectively connect with customers. As the CEO of Maslansky + Partners, his emotionally savvy coaching has helped numerous Fortune 500s like Pfizer, Starbucks, Bank of America and Microsoft find their footing in times of crisis.
His firm’s polling methodologies and in-depth focus groups have frequently been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, 60 Minutes, Nightline and PBS’s Frontline, among others.
In this episode we discuss:
Recommended resources:
The Language of Trust: Selling Ideas in a World of Skeptics by Michael Maslansky
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
Samyr Laine is an investor, Olympian, and operator with a background in sports & entertainment. He is currently GP of Freedom Trail Capital, SVP of The Creator Project at Raptive, former SVP of Operations & Strategy at Westbrook, and former Senior Director of Operations at Roc Nation. Prior to working on celebrity ventures for Will & Jada Pinkett Smith and Roc Nation, Samyr worked in the sports industry at Major League Soccer and Monumental Sports & Entertainment. He also competed in the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the triple jump representing Haiti after getting degrees from Georgetown Law & Harvard University.
Rich Antoniello is the founder and former CEO of Complex Networks, a youth culture brand and media company that was founded in 2002 and sold in 2015 to Hearst and Verizon and later in 2021 to BuzzFeed.
Find Rich on Twitter and LinkedIn
Mentioned in the episode:
Ahad Khan is the CEO of Kajabi, the leading knowledge commerce platform for creators to monetize their expertise.
Check out Kajabi
Ankur Nagpal is the founder of Teachable which he started in 2013 and sold for a reported $250M to HotMart in 2020. He is also the founder of Vibe Capital, an early-stage venture fund, and most recently Ocho, a fintech startup on a mission to help business owners and creators build wealth.
Brian Sugar is the co-founder and former CEO of PopSugar, a women's media company acquired by Group Nine (which was later acquired by Vox Media). He is now the Managing Partner of Sugar Capital where he invests in DTC brands like Feastables, Kinship, Caraway, Brightland, Omsom, Starface, and Kinship as well as tech companies enabling commerce like Archive, Bounty, EcoCart, Tydo, Fondue, and Cogsy.
Brian's Twitter
Sugar Capital website
Rebecca Minkoff is a designer and the founder of the iconic fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff. Ali Koplar Wyatt is an executive & operator with a background in media from Elle to Refinery29 to Goop and Girlboss. Together they are cofounders of The Female Founder Collective, a community & platform for women entrepreneurs.
Join Female Founder's Day on March 23rd in Los Angeles
Peter Brack is a Managing Partner at Hypothesis Ventures, an early-stage VC fund investing in mission-driven companies outside of Silicon Valley. Peter was previously a Venture Partner at Mucker Capital in Los Angeles and before that started & exited two media companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after starting his career in media at Time Warner and Time Inc. building the Asia operations. Peter is also a startup coach in addition to being an investor and advisor in startups.
Michaeline DeJoria is the CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems, the largest privately-owned hair company in the world. She became CEO in 2021 to run the globally respected brand started by her father, John Paul DeJoria, in 1980 with just $700 and three products.
Tyler Tringas is the founder and general partner of Calm Fund. Prior to starting Calm to invest in software companies looking to grow sustainably & profitably, Tyler started and sold Storemapper.
Michelle Goad is an Operating Partner at The Chernin Group, a growth equity firm that invests in iconic media & commerce brands like Barstool Sports, Hello Sunshine, Food52, The Athletic, and more. Prior to that Michelle led Nike's entry into social commerce after selling her conversational commerce startup, PS Dept., to the multibillion dollar brand in 2017. Michelle started her career in fashion where she has had various roles at fashion & retail brands like Donna Karan, Barney's, and Marc Jacobs.
Michael Ma is the founder & CEO of CreatorDAO, a decentralized community that accelerates creators with capital & technology. He is also a VC and founded Liquid 2 Ventures alongside legendary football player Joe Montana after helping First Round Capital launch Dorm Room Fund in Boston. Prior to venture capital, Michael got his MBA at Harvard Business School and before that sold his startup TalkBin to Google 7 months after cofounding the company with Qasar Younis.
In this conversation we discuss:
Amy Errett is the founder & CEO of Madison Reed, a hair color brand that sells direct-to-consumer and offline through third-party retail stores like Ulta and through over 50 of their own hair color bars around the U.S. They have raised over $200M in venture capital including most recently from Sandbridge and Marcy Venture Partners, Jay Z's venture firm. Amy Errett is a partner at True Ventures and prior to founding Madison Reed was a general partner at Maveron, a consumer fund founded by Dan Levitan and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in 1998.