Best John Collison Podcasts (2024)

1
Patrick McKenzie - How a Discord Server Saved Thousands of Lives 2:01:34

20d ago2:01:34

2:01:34

I talked with Patrick McKenzie (known online as patio11) about how a small team he ran over a Discord server got vaccines into Americans' arms: A story of broken incentives, outrageous incompetence, and how a few individuals with high agency saved 1000s of lives. Enjoy! Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platf…

1
Tony Blair - Life of a PM, The Deep State, Lee Kuan Yew, & AI's 1914 Moment 52:52

2M ago52:52

52:52

I chatted with Tony Blair about: - What he learned from Lee Kuan Yew - Intelligence agencies track record on Iraq & Ukraine - What he tells the dozens of world leaders who come seek advice from him - How much of a PM’s time is actually spent governing - What will AI’s July 1914 moment look like from inside the Cabinet? Enjoy! Watch the video on You…

1
Francois Chollet, Mike Knoop - LLMs won’t lead to AGI - $1,000,000 Prize to find true solution 1:33:53

2M ago1:33:53

1:33:53

Here is my conversation with Francois Chollet and Mike Knoop on the $1 million ARC-AGI Prize they're launching today. I did a bunch of socratic grilling throughout, but Francois’s arguments about why LLMs won’t lead to AGI are very interesting and worth thinking through. It was really fun discussing/debating the cruxes. Enjoy! Watch on YouTube. Lis…

1
Interview with Brian Sheng, CEO of Aquaria 28:54

2M ago28:54

28:54

Aquaria produces Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) that create clean drinking water out of thin air.By Scott Amyx

1
Leopold Aschenbrenner - China/US Super Intelligence Race, 2027 AGI, & The Return of History 4:31:18

2M ago4:31:18

4:31:18

Chatted with my friend Leopold Aschenbrenner on the trillion dollar nationalized cluster, CCP espionage at AI labs, how unhobblings and scaling can lead to 2027 AGI, dangers of outsourcing clusters to Middle East, leaving OpenAI, and situational awareness. Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the …

1
Interview with Petri Laakso, CEO of Soletair Power 23:28

2M ago23:28

23:28

Soletair Power enables buildings to capture carbon dioxide from air by retrofitting HVAC with direct air capture technology.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Blaine Collison, Executive Director of the Renewable Thermal Collaborative 30:35

3M ago30:35

30:35

Renewable Thermal Collaborative is the leading coalition for organizations committed to scaling up renewable heating and cooling at their facilities and cutting carbon emissions.By Scott Amyx

1
John Schulman (OpenAI Cofounder) - Reasoning, RLHF, & Plan for 2027 AGI 1:36:30

3M ago1:36:30

1:36:30

Chatted with John Schulman (cofounded OpenAI and led ChatGPT creation) on how posttraining tames the shoggoth, and the nature of the progress to come... Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. Timestamps (00:00:00) - Pre-t…

1
Interview with Tim Weiss CEO of Optera 28:43

3M ago28:43

28:43

1
Interview with Kimberly Ann Flynn, President at XA Investments 27:41

3M ago27:41

27:41

XA Investments LLC is a Chicago-based investment manager to pursue a single goal: provide investors with access to institutional-caliber alternative investments.By Scott Amyx

1
Mark Zuckerberg - Llama 3, Open Sourcing $10b Models, & Caesar Augustus 1:17:54

4M ago1:17:54

1:17:54

Mark Zuckerberg on: - Llama 3 - open sourcing towards AGI - custom silicon, synthetic data, & energy constraints on scaling - Caesar Augustus, intelligence explosion, bioweapons, $10b models, & much more Enjoy! Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Human edited transcript with helpful links here. Timest…

1
Interview with Alison Malmqvist, Director, Sexual & Reproductive Health, Climate Health Lead, PSI Global 34:58

4M ago34:58

34:58

Today I am joined by Alison Malmqvist, Director, Sexual & Reproductive Health, Climate Health Lead, PSI Global. She has 20 years of experience developing and leading integrated public health programs in Africa and the Caribbean with a focus on designing, implementing, managing and monitoring social marketing and health communication programs for se…

1
Interview with Stefan Schwab, CEO of Enlighted 26:54

4M ago26:54

26:54

Enlighted, a Siemens company, integrates cognitive environmental IoT sensors and lighting controls connecting to intelligent workplace experience apps, offering a scalable, interoperable solution to address a spectrum of building, space, and productivity needs.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Dr. John J. Berger, Environmental Science and Policy Specialist 33:28

4M ago33:28

33:28

Dr. John J. Berger, Ph.D. is an environmental science and policy specialist, prize-winning author, and journalist.By Scott Amyx

1
Sholto Douglas & Trenton Bricken - How to Build & Understand GPT-7's Mind 3:12:21

5M ago3:12:21

3:12:21

Had so much fun chatting with my good friends Trenton Bricken and Sholto Douglas on the podcast. No way to summarize it, except: This is the best context dump out there on how LLMs are trained, what capabilities they're likely to soon have, and what exactly is going on inside them. You would be shocked how much of what I know about this field, I've…

1
Interview with Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network 31:45

5M ago31:45

31:45

Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), released her new book The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis. The dominant cultural worldview is based upon extraction and exploitation practices that have brought us to the precipice of social, enviro…

1
Interview with Michael Azlen, CEO of Carbon Cap Management 29:15

5M ago29:15

29:15

Carbon Cap Management is an alternative asset management firm operating in the global carbon and environmental markets. Their mission is to provide solutions directly related to the capping and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Dr. Ethan Cohen-Cole, CEO of Capture6 32:28

5M ago32:28

32:28

Capture6 is a technology that removes CO₂ from the atmosphere while producing additional freshwater for local communities.By Scott Amyx

1
Demis Hassabis - Scaling, Superhuman AIs, AlphaZero atop LLMs, Rogue Nations Threat 1:01:34

6M ago1:01:34

1:01:34

Here is my episode with Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind We discuss: * Why scaling is an artform * Adding search, planning, & AlphaZero type training atop LLMs * Making sure rogue nations can't steal weights * The right way to align superhuman AIs and do an intelligence explosion Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any oth…

1
Patrick Collison (Stripe CEO) - Craft, Beauty, & The Future of Payments 1:54:47

6M ago1:54:47

1:54:47

We discuss: * what it takes to process $1 trillion/year * how to build multi-decade APIs, companies, and relationships * what's next for Stripe (increasing the GDP of the internet is quite an open ended prompt, and the Collison brothers are just getting started). Plus the amazing stuff they're doing at Arc Institute, the financial infrastructure fo…

1
Interview with Elizabeth Whitlow, Executive Director at Regenerative Organic Alliance 35:15

6M ago35:15

35:15

Regenerative Organic Alliance manages the Regenerative Organic Certified program, a groundbreaking certification for food, fiber, and personal care products. Integrating USDA Organic, Fair Trade, and high-bar animal welfare standards, it surpasses current criteria, setting global benchmarks for soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness.…

1
Interview with Frank Pao, Chair of Industrial Advisory Board on Center of Energy Harvesting Material & Systems 26:47

6M ago26:47

26:47

Frank Pao, Chair of Industrial Advisory Board on Center of Energy Harvesting Material & Systems, The National Science Foundation.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Jan Skjoldhammer, CEO of NoviOcean 27:47

6M ago27:47

27:47

NoviOcean is a wave energy developer that uses ocean waves to generate electricity.By Scott Amyx

1
Tyler Cowen - Hayek, Keynes, & Smith on AI, Animal Spirits, Anarchy, & Growth 1:42:22

7M ago1:42:22

1:42:22

It was a great pleasure speaking with Tyler Cowen for the 3rd time. We discussed GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?, especially in the context of how the insights of Hayek, Keynes, Smith, and other great economists help us make sense of AI, growth, animal spirits, prediction markets, alignment, central planning,…

1
Interview with Stéphane Germain, President & CEO of GHGSat 31:26

7M ago31:26

31:26

GHGSat monitors emissions from space, using its satellites and aircraft sensors to measure greenhouse gas emissions directly from industrial sites, providing actionable insights to businesses, governments, and regulators.By Scott Amyx

1
Lessons from The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro [Narration] 36:32

7M ago36:32

36:32

This is a narration of my blog post, Lessons from The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro. You read the full post here: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/lyndon-johnson Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on Twitter for updates on future posts and episodes. Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkesh…

1
Will scaling work? [Narration] 25:43

7M ago25:43

25:43

This is a narration of my blog post, Will scaling work?. You read the full post here: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/will-scaling-work Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on Twitter for updates on future posts and episodes. Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkeshpatel.com/subscribe…

1
Jung Chang - Living through Cultural Revolution and the Crimes of Mao 1:31:15

9M ago1:31:15

1:31:15

A true honor to speak with Jung Chang. She is the author of Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (sold 15+ million copies worldwide) and Mao: The Unknown Story. We discuss: - what it was like growing up during the Cultural Revolution as the daughter of a denounced official - why the CCP continues to worship the biggest mass murderer in human histor…

1
Andrew Roberts - SV's Napoleon Cult, Why Hitler Lost WW2, Churchill as Applied Historian 1:18:49

9M ago1:18:49

1:18:49

Andrew Roberts is the world's best biographer and one of the leading historians of our time. We discussed * Churchill the applied historian, * Napoleon the startup founder, * why Nazi ideology cost Hitler WW2, * drones, reconnaissance, and other aspects of the future of war, * Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Ukraine, & Taiwan. Watch on YouTube. Listen on…

1
Dominic Cummings - COVID, Brexit, & Fixing Western Governance 2:34:13

9M ago2:34:13

2:34:13

Here is my interview with Dominic Cummings on why Western governments are so dangerously broken, and how to fix them before an even more catastrophic crisis. Dominic was Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister during COVID, and before that, director of Vote Leave (which masterminded the 2016 Brexit referendum). Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcast…

1
Interview with Ryan Lupberger, CEO of Cleancult 34:25

9M ago34:25

34:25

Cleancult is a zero plastic waste packaging household cleaning brand.By Scott Amyx

1
Paul Christiano - Preventing an AI Takeover 3:07:01

10M ago3:07:01

3:07:01

Paul Christiano is the world’s leading AI safety researcher. My full episode with him is out! We discuss: - Does he regret inventing RLHF, and is alignment necessarily dual-use? - Why he has relatively modest timelines (40% by 2040, 15% by 2030), - What do we want post-AGI world to look like (do we want to keep gods enslaved forever)? - Why he’s le…

1
Interview with Joseph Kane, a Fellow at Brookings Metro 32:07

10M ago32:07

32:07

Today I am joined by Joseph Kane, a Fellow at Brookings Metro, a program of The Brookings Institution. His work focuses on a wide array of built environment issues, including transportation and water infrastructure. Within these areas of research, Kane has explored infrastructure’s central economic role across different regions as well as its relat…

1
Shane Legg (DeepMind Founder) - 2028 AGI, New Architectures, Aligning Superhuman Models 44:19

10M ago44:19

44:19

I had a lot of fun chatting with Shane Legg - Founder and Chief AGI Scientist, Google DeepMind! We discuss: * Why he expects AGI around 2028 * How to align superhuman models * What new architectures needed for AGI * Has Deepmind sped up capabilities or safety more? * Why multimodality will be next big landmark * and much more Watch full episode on …

1
Interview with Dr. Joe Romm Senior Research Fellow University of Pennsylvania 32:03

10M ago32:03

32:03

1
Interview with Robert Koenen Chief Revenue Officer Boxed Water Is Better 30:40

10M ago30:40

30:40

1
Grant Sanderson (3Blue1Brown) - Past, Present, & Future of Mathematics 1:31:20

10M ago1:31:20

1:31:20

I had a lot of fun chatting with Grant Sanderson (who runs the excellent 3Blue1Brown YouTube channel) about: - Whether advanced math requires AGI - What careers should mathematically talented students pursue - Why Grant plans on doing a stint as a high school teacher - Tips for self teaching - Does Godel’s incompleteness theorem actually matter - W…

1
Sarah C. M. Paine - WW2, Taiwan, Ukraine, & Maritime vs Continental Powers 2:24:33

11M ago2:24:33

2:24:33

I learned so much from Sarah Paine, Professor of History and Strategy at the Naval War College. We discuss: - how continental vs maritime powers think and how this explains Xi & Putin's decisions - how a war with China over Taiwan would shake out and whether it could go nuclear - why the British Empire fell apart, why China went communist, how Hitl…

1
Interview with Mary Alice Lee, Director, NYC Playgrounds Program, Trust for Public Land 27:03

11M ago27:03

27:03

Since 1996, Trust For Public Land—alongside countless partners—has helped transform well over 200 schoolyards into thriving parks and playgrounds, getting the absolute most of the space available and giving the gift of social connection and nature play back to the communities.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Sanchali Pal founder CEO of Commons 29:25

11M ago29:25

29:25

1
Interview with Maria Korsnick, Nuclear Energy Institute, President & CEO 34:44

11M ago34:44

34:44

The Nuclear Energy Institute is the policy organization of the nuclear technologies industry, based in Washington, D.C.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Scott Sabin, CEO of Plant With Purpose 32:57

12M ago32:57

32:57

Plant With Purpose works at the nexus of poverty and environmental degradation to transform the lives and land of farming communities through environmental restoration, economic empowerment, and spiritual renewal.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Diz Petit, Founder and CEO of LiquiDonate 32:08

12M ago32:08

32:08

LiquiDonate provides the simplest donation method for retailers, businesses, downsizing organizations, and anyone with excess items.By Scott Amyx

1
Dario Amodei (Anthropic CEO) - Scaling, Alignment, & AI Progress 1:58:43

1y ago1:58:43

1:58:43

Here is my conversation with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Dario is hilarious and has fascinating takes on what these models are doing, why they scale so well, and what it will take to align them. Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Follow me on Twitter for updates on …

1
Interview with Dr. David Scheel, Professor of Marine Biology at Alaska Pacific University 36:42

1y ago36:42

36:42

David is a field-oriented ecologist with experience in remote and wilderness settings in Africa and Alaska. At Alaska Pacific University, he teaches courses in marine biology, aquarium husbandry, and animal behavior.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Dr. Thomas McInerney, International Lawyer and Strategist 35:23

1y ago35:23

35:23

Thomas McInerney is the Executive Director of the Rule of Law for Development Program at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he teaches courses relating to international law, development finance, and institutional reform.By Scott Amyx

1
Interview with Charles Yhap, CEO, Clean Robotics 28:29

1y ago28:29

28:29

Clean Robotics revolutionizes waste and resource recovery. The company's flagship product, TrashBot, uses Al, robotics, and machine learning to identify and sort waste at the time of disposal, eliminating human error and diverting more circular materials from landfills.By Scott Amyx

1
Andy Matuschak - Self-Teaching, Spaced Repetition, & Why Books Don’t Work 2:22:40

1y ago2:22:40

2:22:40

A few weeks ago, I sat beside Andy Matuschak to record how he reads a textbook. Even though my own job is to learn things, I was shocked with how much more intense, painstaking, and effective his learning process was. So I asked if we could record a conversation about how he learns and a bunch of other topics: * How he identifies and interrogates h…