E130: What Happens When No One Has Kids Anymore? - w/ Robin Hanson

Rob Lalka, Tulane professor and author of The Venture Alchemist, explores how big tech used venture capital and surveillance to convert profits into political and societal power.Guest Bio: Rob Lalka is a Professor of Practice at Tulane University, where he leads the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. A former senior advisor at the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and staffer at the U.S. Department of State, Lalka is the author of The Venture Alchemist: How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power.Topics Discussed:The roots of big tech’s power in government partnerships and VC incentivesThe evolution of surveillance capitalism post-9/11 and the Patriot ActVenture capital’s hidden influence on founders and startupsUber, Palantir, Facebook, and Google as case studies in privatized powerThe blurring lines between government and Silicon ValleyThe role of Saudi wealth, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel in shaping tech empiresAlternatives to the VC model and stories of ethical entrepreneurshipThe political ascent of J.D. Vance and the networked power of tech elites 📺Watch Full Episode YouTube https://youtu.be/1rbqtg0kKxI 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

24 Aug 20241h 1min

Award-winning professor Hatim A. Rahman joins the podcast to discuss Inside the Invisible Cage, exploring how algorithms and AI shape modern work, from gig platforms to corporate offices.Guest Bio: Dr. Hatim A. Rahman is an assistant professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. His research examines the intersection of technology, work, and organizational control. His latest book, Inside the Invisible Cage: How Algorithms Control Workers, investigates how opaque digital systems influence careers, autonomy, and fairness in the modern economy.Discussed Topics:The "invisible cage" vs. the "iron cage" in modern workplacesAlgorithmic control on gig and freelance platformsRating inflation, Goodhart’s Law, and trust in digital metricsParallels to historical labor changes and the rise of bureaucracyRemote work, surveillance, and the future of hybrid officesConsumer responsibility, regulation, and the ethical use of AICareer advice for students entering an algorithm-driven job marketTop Quote:“People are not products, people are not bathrooms, people are not movies… yet we keep applying the same rating systems to them—and then pretend we’re measuring something real.” 📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/vxXRA2l7DX0 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

19 Aug 202459min

Harvard’s Shane Greenstein breaks down the Google antitrust ruling, the future of search, and why the biggest tech companies may be due for a reckoning.👤 Guest Bio: Shane Greenstein is the Martin Marshall Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a leading expert on the economics of technology and innovation. His research explores how digital transformation reshapes business, markets, and society.🧠 Topics Discussed:The August 2024 antitrust ruling against GoogleThe economics of default search contracts and market powerComparisons to the Microsoft antitrust caseInvestor implications and possible remediesThe role of AI in reshaping searchStudent use of AI tools like ChatGPT and ClaudePublic sentiment shifts toward big techOnline advertising auction mechanics and Google's conduct💬 Top Quote:"You can't do that unless you've got market power… They raised prices 20% year in, year out—and didn’t lose any advertisers. That’s pretty persuasive." 📺Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5rZIYiJZvGA 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

16 Aug 202442min

Mark P. Mills explains how the convergence of AI, robotics, material science, and cloud computing is driving a new industrial revolution and economic boom akin to the Roaring 1920s.Guest Bio: Mark P. Mills is a physicist, venture advisor, and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He serves as Executive Director of the National Center for Energy Analytics and is the author of The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and a Roaring 2020s.Discussed Topics:The physical infrastructure of the cloud and its hidden energy demandsWhy the 2020s mirror the innovation explosion of the 1920s3D printing of organs, robotics, and the future of manufacturingThe energy reality behind AI and data centersCollege advice, skilled trades, and workforce transformationsThe enduring importance of natural gas and the slow rise of nuclearHow synthetic biology and personalized education could shape the futureTop Quote:“AI chips are to computing what the jet engine was to aviation—a knee in the curve that changes everything.” 📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/4I266VrMzyg 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

10 Aug 20241h 13min

Watch the full episode on YouTube 📺https://youtu.be/4tyqIhQwCDA 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

1 Aug 20241h 15min

Dr. Emanuel Maçiori, author of Silicon, exposes how the tech industry wastes capital, hoards idle workers, and creates hype cycles built on fake problems and misaligned incentives.Guest Bio: Dr. Emanuel Maçiori is a software engineer and researcher specializing in artificial intelligence. He is the author of Smart Intell Dumb and Silicon: How the Tech Industry Solves Fake Problems, Hoards Idle Workers, and Makes Doomed Bets with Other People’s Money. His work critiques inefficiencies in both AI development and the venture capital ecosystem.Topics Discussed (in order):Viral blog post on doing no work at a prestigious tech jobOrigins of Silicon and tech idleness cultureTwitter layoffs and the illusion of productivityAgile methodology and infantilization of tech workersPointless jobs, “planning poker,” and bloated task estimatesVC incentives, 2% management fees, and questionable fund performanceProfitless companies and the illusion of growth (Uber, Spotify, etc.)Founder bootcamps and “recipe-driven” startup factoriesHype cycles, survivorship bias, and inflated valuationsZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) and the rise of fake innovationAI investment hype vs. business case realityDiminishing returns on LLMs and data exhaustionGovernment startup grants and the illusion of job creation“Moonshot” bias in VC funding vs. solving real-world problemsFinal message: be boring, solve real problems, and aim for sustainable businessesTop Quote:“Let’s go back to boring. The most successful people I’ve met lately solved a real problem they understood deeply—and built boring companies that actually work.” 📺Watch the full episode ➡️https://youtu.be/dGg1PF67knM 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

23 Juli 20241h 30min

Maureen Callahan joins to expose the dark legacy of the Kennedy family through the lens of the women whose lives they damaged or destroyed.Guest bio: Maureen Callahan is an award-winning investigative journalist and author. Her work spans pop culture and politics and has appeared in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, Spin, and The New York Post. She currently writes for the Daily Mail and is the author of Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed.Discussed topics (in order):The 25th anniversary of JFK Jr.’s fatal plane crashJFK Jr.’s recklessness and death wishThe failure of George magazine and his troubled personal lifeThe mythmaking of the Kennedy dynasty beginning with Joe Kennedy Sr.Rosemary Kennedy’s lobotomy and hidden life in WisconsinChallenges publishing the book and media complicity with the Kennedy mythThe role of women like Jackie Kennedy and Carolyn BessetteThe stories of interns and mistresses like Mimi AlfordMarilyn Monroe’s entanglement with both JFK and RFKTed Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incidentMedia whitewashing of Kennedy scandals and parallels to current politicsPushback against the book and Callahan’s motivation for writing itThe deaths and trauma inflicted on women like Martha Moxley, Mary Jo Kopechne, and Pam KelleyFinal reflections on the women’s strength, historical amnesia, and reclaiming the narrative 📺Watch full episode on YouTube ➡️ https://youtu.be/RUBFMQGdfu8 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

16 Juli 202451min

Peter S. Goodman, global economics correspondent for The New York Times, discusses his book How the World Ran Out of Everything, exploring how the pandemic exposed the fragility, complexity, and monopolization of the global supply chain.Guest Bio: Peter S. Goodman is the global economic correspondent for The New York Times and author of How the World Ran Out of Everything and Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World. He has previously reported from China, London, and Washington, covering globalization, trade, and economic inequality.Topics Discussed (in order):Introduction to the global supply chain and pandemic-induced shortagesStory of Glow, a Mississippi startup navigating China-based manufacturingThe complexity of building simple products and iPhonesOverdependence on China and difficulties in diversificationThe resilience and brittleness of just-in-time manufacturingRole of government and Wall Street in shaping supply chainsSemiconductor shortages and the Arizona TSMC plantHistorical context: Henry Ford and vertical integrationCorporate financialization and buybacks vs. reinvestmentShift toward treating supply chains as national securityThe role of microchips in defense and economic powerTrade, offshoring, and consequences for U.S. laborMcKinsey and the consulting industry's influenceTrucking industry realities and labor conditionsLabor shortages and deteriorating job qualityCurrent disruptions: Houthi attacks and Suez reroutingOrigins of globalization via containerizationAutomation, AI, and future of logisticsDavos Man and elite influence on policyLobbyists, consultants, and systemic self-interestMonopoly power, antitrust, and future reformsWill vertical integration return? Toyota vs. Ford modelsFinal thoughts and how to find Peter’s workTop Quote:"We should get over this idea that billionaire interests are our interests... We can’t step away from democracy—we still have to have a say over the conditions that shape the marketplace."📺Watch on YouTube ➡️https://youtu.be/5Eu6nGGqdGA 🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us. Thanks for listening!

8 Juli 202449min