Best Sierra Thomas Podcasts (2024)

1
We're Not Nude Best Friends with Spencer Taylor 41:55

1h ago41:55

41:55

Andrew and writer/stand-up Spencer Taylor discuss massages and answer a few listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and watch the video of this episode at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Crucible Moments Returns for S2: The ServiceNow Story ft. CEO Frank Slootman & Founder Fred Luddy 42:53

1h ago42:53

42:53

On Training Data, we learn from innovators pushing forward the frontier of AI’s capabilities. Today we’re bringing you something different. It’s the story of a company currently implementing AI at scale in the enterprise, and how it was built from a bootstrapped idea in the pre-AI era to a 150 billion dollar market cap giant. It’s the Season 2 prem…

1
Sierra Co-Founder Clay Bavor on Making Customer-Facing AI Agents Delightful 1:12:31

31m ago1:12:31

1:12:31

Customer service is hands down the first killer app of generative AI for businesses. The reasons are simple: the costs of existing solutions are so high, the satisfaction so low and the margin for ROI so wide. But trusting your interactions with customers to hallucination-prone LLMs can be daunting. Enter Sierra. Co-founder Clay Bavor walks us thro…

1
I'd Do Well with a Time Machine with Andrea Jin 47:30

4h ago47:30

47:30

Andrew and comedian Andrea Jin discuss keeping secrets and answer listener questions. Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and watch the video of this episode at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Phaidra’s Jim Gao on Building the Fourth Industrial Revolution with Reinforcement Learning 50:33

17d ago50:33

50:33

After AlphaGo beat Lee Sedol, a young mechanical engineer at Google thought of another game reinforcement learning could win: energy optimization at data centers. Jim Gao convinced his bosses at the Google data center team to let him work with the DeepMind team to try. The initial pilot resulted in a 40% energy savings and led he and his co-founder…

1
Fireworks Founder Lin Qiao on How Fast Inference and Small Models Will Benefit Businesses 39:18

14d ago39:18

39:18

In the first wave of the generative AI revolution, startups and enterprises built on top of the best closed-source models available, mostly from OpenAI. The AI customer journey moves from training to inference, and as these first products find PMF, many are hitting a wall on latency and cost. Fireworks Founder and CEO Lin Qiao led the PyTorch team …

1
The Truffle Pig of Racism 34:45

1M ago34:45

34:45

Tawny and Andrew discuss Trump questioning Kamala's Blackness, if there's a light dimmer on the bridge, and Tawny's new Star Trek live action show! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke on Building Copilot, and the the Future of Software Development 1:07:34

24d ago1:07:34

1:07:34

GithHub invented collaborative coding and in the process changed how open source projects, startups and eventually enterprises write code. GitHub Copilot is the first blockbuster product built on top of OpenAI’s GPT models. It now accounts for more than 40 percent of GitHub revenue growth for an annual revenue run rate of $2 billion. Copilot itself…

1
Meta’s Joe Spisak on Llama 3.1 405B and the Democratization of Frontier Models 42:07

1M ago42:07

42:07

As head of Product Management for Generative AI at Meta, Joe Spisak leads the team behind Llama, which just released the new 3.1 405B model. We spoke with Joe just two days after the model’s release to ask what’s new, what it enables, and how Meta sees the role of open source in the AI ecosystem. Joe shares that where Llama 3.1 405B really focused …

1
And She's Very Famous with Jessica Gao 35:29

23d ago35:29

35:29

Tawny, Kevin and former CEO-current manager of the show Jessica Gao discuss Kamala Harris running for President before getting into some listener questions. Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski on Getting AI to Do the Work of 700 Customer Service Reps 51:35

1M ago51:35

51:35

In February, Sebastian Siemiatkowski boldly announced that Klarna’s new OpenAI-powered assistant handled two thirds of the Swedish fintech’s customer service chats in its first month. Not only were customer satisfaction metrics better, but by replacing 700 full-time contractors the bottom line impact is projected to be $40M. Since then, every compa…

1
Reflection AI’s Misha Laskin on the AlphaGo Moment for LLMs 1:07:04

28d ago1:07:04

1:07:04

LLMs are democratizing digital intelligence, but we’re all waiting for AI agents to take this to the next level by planning tasks and executing actions to actually transform the way we work and live our lives. Yet despite incredible hype around AI agents, we’re still far from that “tipping point” with best in class models today. As one measure: cod…

1
Doo-Doo Esquire 43:32

1M ago43:32

43:32

Tawny, Andrew and Kevin discuss country music recs and answer some listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on How Far Scaling Laws Will Extend 1:00:27

1M ago1:00:27

1:00:27

The current LLM era is the result of scaling the size of models in successive waves (and the compute to train them). It is also the result of better-than-Moore’s-Law price vs performance ratios in each new generation of Nvidia GPUs. The largest platform companies are continuing to invest in scaling as the prime driver of AI innovation. Are they rig…

1
Zapier’s Mike Knoop launches ARC Prize to Jumpstart New Ideas for AGI 55:12

2M ago55:12

55:12

As impressive as LLMs are, the growing consensus is that language, scale and compute won’t get us to AGI. Although many AI benchmarks have quickly achieved human-level performance, there is one eval that has barely budged since it was created in 2019. Google researcher François Chollet wrote a paper that year defining intelligence as skill-acquisit…

1
Karma's Revenge Body 41:11

2M ago41:11

41:11

Tawny and Andrew discuss Baby Yellowstone, a wild listener text and a few voicemails! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
9. A Wonderful Whale Tale: Drone's Eye View of Blue, Gray, & Humpback Giants w/ Daina Buchner 1:43:59

2M ago1:43:59

1:43:59

Hey everyone, and welcome back! In this episode of Planet People, we dive into the world of whales with conservation photographer and videographer Daina Buchner. Join us on this exciting and ocean-filled episode as Daina shares her inspiring journey from childhood memories by the ocean, to becoming a leading figure in the field of marine conservati…

1
Factory’s Matan Grinberg and Eno Reyes Unleash the Droids on Software Development 59:10

2M ago59:10

59:10

Archimedes said that with a large enough lever, you can move the world. For decades, software engineering has been that lever. And now, AI is compounding that lever. How will we use AI to apply 100 or 1000x leverage to the greatest lever to move the world? Matan Grinberg and Eno Reyes, co-founders of Factory, have chosen to do things differently th…

1
LangChain’s Harrison Chase on Building the Orchestration Layer for AI Agents 49:50

3M ago49:50

49:50

Last year, AutoGPT and Baby AGI captured our imaginations—agents quickly became the buzzword of the day…and then things went quiet. AutoGPT and Baby AGI may have marked a peak in the hype cycle, but this year has seen a wave of agentic breakouts on the product side, from Klarna’s customer support AI to Cognition’s Devin, etc. Harrison Chase of Lang…

1
Yo-driver 45:20

3M ago45:20

45:20

Andrew and Tawny discuss the Peabody Awards, the new Star Wars show and answer a few listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Introducing "Training Data" 1:26

3M ago1:26

1:26

Join us as we train our neural nets on the theme of the century: AI. Sequoia Capital partners Sonya Huang and Pat Grady host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to ask critical questions and develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications for technology, business and society. The content of this…

1
8. Orca Odyssey: Secrets of the Sea from SoCal to Alaska w/ Nicole Schriber 1:34:17

3M ago1:34:17

1:34:17

Welcome to Episode #8 of Planet People! In this episode, we interview killer whale expert Nicole Schriber, who studies these amazing whales as a marine biology student at UC San Diego. She also works as a naturalist specializing in orca research and educating wildlife enthusiasts who join the “Gone Whale Watching” boat tours in San Diego. The recen…

1
That's Why I'm Like This 42:22

3M ago42:22

42:22

Andrew and Tawny discuss questions about media literacy and the reaction to a broadcaster's social media post. Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
You Can't Allegedly Yourself 44:24

4M ago44:24

44:24

Tawny, Andrew and Kevin discuss B6 and answer a few listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
The Palm Springs of Canada (with Matt Apodaca) 49:59

3M ago49:59

49:59

Andrew, Kevin and Matt Apodaca discuss Gosling season, The Muppets and answer some listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Wake Me For Meals (with Jessica Gao and Sierra Katow) 52:30

3M ago52:30

52:30

Andrew chats with Jessica Gao and Sierra Katow talk about Sierra's new stand up special Funt and answer some listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
7. Save One Life Pt.2: Protecting Wildlife In Coastal California & Costa Rica w/ Amber Becerra 1:05:14

4M ago1:05:14

1:05:14

Welcome to Episode #7 of Planet People! In this episode, we continue our conversation from Ep. 6 with Amber Becerra, founder of Sol Sanctuary, Wildlife Protection Alliance, and former CEO of Marine Mammal Care Center. In this episode, we learn more about Amber’s eco-lodge and what it means to operate one through a sustainable approach to living amo…

1
Fine I Guess (with Jessica Gao) 40:56

3M ago40:56

40:56

Andrew, Kevin and the show's former CEO/current manager Jessica Gao discuss media literacy, protests throughout college campuses and answer a few listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
Make It Taste Good 36:49

4M ago36:49

36:49

Tawny and Andrew are talkin tofu, nicknames and checking bags while traveling! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
6. Save One Life Pt.1: Protecting Wildlife in Coastal California & Costa Rica w/ Amber Becerra 1:26:15

4M ago1:26:15

1:26:15

Welcome to Episode #6 of Planet People! In this episode, we introduce Amber Becerra, founder of Wildlife Protection Alliance and former CEO of Marine Mammal Care Center. We take you behind the scenes with Amber to learn more about her advocacy work and the challenges she faces as a conservationist. From rebuilding the Marine Mammal Care Center and …

1
What Has this Podcast Turned Into? with Ify Nwadiwe 48:13

5M ago48:13

48:13

Andrew and guest co-host Ify Nwadiwe discuss Boston Comic-Con, the importance of constantly checking yourself and answer a listener question! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
Came in with a Cattitude 38:29

5M ago38:29

38:29

Tawny, Andrew and Kevin discuss Beyoncé new album Cowboy Carter before answering a few listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Church Except You Can Swear with Jane Marie 36:21

4M ago36:21

36:21

Andrew chats with writer/podcaster Jane Marie (The Dream) about her new book Selling the Dream. They also talk about people saying the military is too woke and weird small talk at the dentist's office. Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listen…

1
French or Gambit? (with Cody Ziglar) 41:01

5M ago41:01

41:01

Andrew and guest co-host Cody Ziglar discuss Zig's time at Toronto Comic-Con, getting tattoos before doing your research and answer some listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
John Wick on the Bass (with Matt Apodaca) 48:22

6M ago48:22

48:22

Andrew, Kevin and special guest Matt Apodaca talk music and street food outside of stadiums before getting into some listener questions! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
March of the Alleged Penguins 41:27

5M ago41:27

41:27

Tawny and Andrew discuss if birds are real. Also, if you're having any issues getting the latest Yo, Can We Live or Sub-Optimal episodes, try re-adding the feeds from your suboptimalpods.com account! Call or text with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener…

1
5. Seal Society Stewards: The Sierra Club Seal Society & Protecting Seals and Sea Lions in San Diego w/ Robyn Davidoff and Carol Toye 51:26

6M ago51:26

51:26

Welcome to Episode #5 of Planet People! In this episode, we take you behind the scenes with the Sierra Club Seal Society to learn more about their advocacy work and the challenges they faced in safeguarding marine life in beautiful La Jolla, California. Robyn Davidoff and Carol Toye, the dedicated leaders of the Seal Society, share their experience…

1
Mark Twain? More Like Mark Together 46:08

6M ago46:08

46:08

The crew discuss the Star Trek cruise before answering a question about the election and others in the "how to not weird" category. Call OR TEXT with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
Naming a Restaurant Steve's Burgers (with Jessica Gao) 44:49

6M ago44:49

44:49

Andrew and enemy of the show/CEO Jessica Gao discuss an early Vegas trip together, the tofu hook-up, and answer a listener question. Leave a voicemail with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
Go Ahead, Ask My Mom 43:18

6M ago43:18

43:18

Tawny and Andrew discuss Rachel Dolezal back in the news, reactions to Beyoncé's country song and answer some listener questions! Leave a voicemail with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
The Super Bowl for People Who Met Recently 33:20

7M ago33:20

33:20

Tawny and Andrew discuss Valentine's Day before answering some listener questions! Leave a voicemail with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Model Majority (Live from SF Sketchfest with Sasheer Zamata and Alex Kliner) 1:15:48

7M ago1:15:48

1:15:48

Tawny and Andrew chat with special guests Sasheer Zamata and Alex Kliner live from San Francisco Sketchfest! Leave a voicemail with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Dramahound Stays Eating 30:19

7M ago30:19

30:19

Tawny and Andrew answer listener questions about white people celebrating Lunar New Year, tattoo regrets, and a book party Q&A. Get tickets to see Yo, Is This Racist live at San Francisco Sketchfest February 3rd here! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
4. Ray Rescuers and the Crux of Queer Ecology w/ Nicole & Angel Morris 59:17

7M ago59:17

59:17

Welcome to Episode #4 of Planet People! In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of rays, shedding light on their importance in marine ecosystems and their challenges in today's changing environment. Additionally, we explore the concept of queer ecology and its significance in the broader context of environmentalism and conservation. We …

1
A Significant Alarm Clock 43:35

7M ago43:35

43:35

Tawny and Andrew talk about the musicians' union ready to strike, Black women making Emmys history, and answer some listener questions! Get tickets to see Yo, Is This Racist live at San Francisco Sketchfest February 3rd here! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Tina Fondue: Tech Investor 32:29

8M ago32:29

32:29

Tawny and Andrew answer listener questions about white people doing the Black power symbol, more wild HR stories, and Google being Google. Get tickets to see Yo, Is This Racist live at San Francisco Sketchfest February 3rd here! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Racists Love Letters (Kevin Don't Title The Episode That) 41:27

8M ago41:27

41:27

Tawny and Andrew discuss pay inequities and answer some listener questions! Get tickets to see Yo, Is This Racist live at San Francisco Sketchfest February 3rd here! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Yo, Can We Live: The English are Coming or Whatever 32:26

8M ago32:26

32:26

Enjoy this un-paywalled episode of our bonus show Yo, Can We Live! Enemy of the show Jessica Gao has a lot of beef with this episode, and you can hear her performance review of it this Friday over at suboptimalpods.com! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
Sorry Man, Earth is Tough 25:36

8M ago25:36

25:36

Tawny and Andrew reflect on 2023 before getting into some voicemails! Leave a voicemail with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

1
The Jolly Curmudgeon 29:00

9M ago29:00

29:00

Tawny and Andrew record in person! They discuss the holidays and answer a few listener questions. Leave a voicemail with your questions at 323-389-RACE and subscribe to Tawny and Andrew's bonus podcasts at suboptimalpods.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Andrew Ti, Tawny Newsome

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Sierra Thomas Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

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