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Patrick Blumenthal (@PatrickJBlum) interviews some of the world's leading economists, political scientists, and philosophers to discuss their ideas and what they mean for society, technology, and the economy.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Economics, monetary and trade policy • Technology/AI, crypto, innovation, venture capital • Defense and modern warfare (Ukraine/Russia, China deterrence, drones, electronic warfare) • Culture war, religion, philosophy, education • History and political institutionsThis podcast is a long-form interview series that uses conversations with economists, political scientists, philosophers, historians, technologists, investors, and other specialists to examine how ideas shape society, the economy, and technological change. Across episodes, discussions often connect abstract frameworks—such as political philosophy, metaphysics, and theories of institutions—to current policy debates and real-world outcomes.
A major thread is political economy and governance: how democracies function, how states succeed or fail, and how institutional design affects growth, legitimacy, and social cohesion. Related conversations explore welfare policy, immigration and migration politics, trade and protectionism, and debates within conservatism and the broader “culture war,” including questions about secularization, religion’s social role, and shifts in Western cultural and moral life.
Another recurring focus is technology’s interaction with power and policy. Guests discuss artificial intelligence, crypto and decentralized organizations, and the responsibilities and incentives shaping innovation. These themes are frequently tied to regulation, media narratives, and the relationship between Silicon Valley, national security priorities, and the defense establishment. The show also spends time on entrepreneurship and venture capital, including how founders build in constrained environments and how markets and regulators respond to shocks in the financial system.
Geopolitics and conflict appear as practical case studies of institutional and technological dynamics, with attention to modern warfare, command-and-control systems, electronic warfare, drones, and strategic deterrence.
The podcast also regularly steps back into historical and intellectual context, using topics such as ancient civilizations, Rome, late antiquity, and alternate history to think about state capacity, collapse, mobility, and communication over time. Complementing this are episodes on science and human understanding—consciousness, the limits of scientific inquiry, open science and replication, and the interplay between physics, morality, and humanism—along with examinations of psychotherapy culture and critiques of influential intellectual movements.
| Episodes: |
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Andrew Markoff of Smack on Deterring Conflict with China 2025-Aug-12 43 minutes |
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Corporal Dmytro on Serving on the Frontlines of Ukraine 2024-Oct-02 28 minutes |
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Brian Streem on Building a Startup in Ukraine 2024-Aug-27 27 minutes |
Marian Tupy on Superabundance, Innovation, and Doomerism2023-Nov-27 49 minutes |
Bilal Zuberi of Lux Capital on Bridging the Gaps Between Technology, Defense, and Policy2023-Oct-17 57 minutes |
Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber on the Future of AI and the Existential Risk of Safetyism2023-Jun-19 93 minutes |
Bill Martin of Raging Capital Ventures on SVB's Collapse and What Happens Next2023-Apr-11 43 minutes |
Michael Gibson on The Thiel Fellowship and The Future of Education and Innovation2022-Nov-28 54 minutes |
Eli Dourado and Austin Vernon on Energy Superabundance and Creating a Prosperous 21st Century2022-Oct-18 49 minutes |
Vitalik Buterin on the Future of Crypto and Technology2022-Sep-15 65 minutes |
Wes Yang on the Culture War2022-Apr-24 198 minutes |
Eric Cline on 1177 B.C. & The Late Bronze Age2021-Jan-22 59 minutes |
Ole Jacob Madsen on The Therapeutic Turn2021-Jan-22 81 minutes |
Stephen Hicks on Postmodernism2021-Jan-22 78 minutes |
Adrian Goldsworthy on Ancient Rome2021-Jan-22 55 minutes |
Deirdre McCloskey on Innovism vs. Capitalism2021-Jan-22 73 minutes |
Michael Millerman on The Relationship Between Politics and Metaphysics2021-Jan-22 77 minutes |
Patrick Wyman on Communication & Mobility Throughout History2021-Jan-22 57 minutes |
Bryan Ward-Perkins on Late Antiquity2021-Jan-22 50 minutes |
Rod Dreher on the Culture War2021-Jan-22 64 minutes |
Collin Hansen on the Decline of Christianity in Western Culture2021-Jan-22 36 minutes |
Kyle Sammin on American Conservatism2021-Jan-22 52 minutes |
Alexis Coe on George Washington & American History2021-Jan-22 57 minutes |
James K.A. Smith on How (Not) to Be Secular2021-Jan-22 64 minutes |
Rudyard Lynch on Alternate History2021-Jan-22 47 minutes |
Carl Trueman on The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self2021-Jan-22 60 minutes |
Matt Ridley on the Evolution of Everything2020-Feb-12 52 minutes |
Sean Carroll on the Questions of the Universe2020-Feb-12 57 minutes |
Geoffrey West on Scale & Exponential Growth2020-Feb-12 61 minutes |
Raghuram Rajan on Growth and Sustainable Development2020-Feb-12 56 minutes |
Donald Hoffman on The Illusion of Reality2020-Feb-12 57 minutes |
Jonathan Pageau on Religion & Society2020-Feb-12 65 minutes |
Gary Basin on How Trading Works2020-Feb-12 63 minutes |
John Horgan on Consciousness and the Upper Limits of Science2020-Feb-12 62 minutes |
Soumaya Keynes on the State of Trade2020-Feb-11 69 minutes |
Samuel Hammond on Welfare Policy2020-Feb-11 74 minutes |
Doug Irwin on Trade Policy2020-Feb-11 34 minutes |
Sevilla King on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance2020-Feb-11 67 minutes |
Buster Benson on the Art of Productive Disagreement2020-Feb-09 46 minutes |
Margaret Peters on the Politics of Immigration2020-Feb-09 45 minutes |
Agnes Callard on Reconciling Egalitarianism & Meritocracy2020-Feb-09 68 minutes |
Matt Prewitt on Radical Markets2020-Feb-09 56 minutes |
Daron Acemoglu on Government and Economy2020-Feb-09 56 minutes |
Brian Nosek on Open Science & The Replication Crisis2020-Feb-09 57 minutes |
Yuval Levin on the Past, Present and Future of Conservatism2020-Feb-09 57 minutes |
Scott Sumner on the History of Monetary Policy2020-Feb-09 50 minutes |
Dinny McMahon on the Chinese Economy2020-Feb-09 50 minutes |
Frederick Crews on the Legacy of Freud2020-Feb-09 67 minutes |
Bryan Cutsinger on Monetary Policy & the Gold Standard2020-Feb-09 55 minutes |
Jared Bernstein on the Fed & the Financial Crisis2020-Feb-09 62 minutes |
Daniel Kaufman on the Problems in Philosophy2020-Feb-09 70 minutes |
Carola Binder on the Policy of the Fed2020-Feb-09 47 minutes |
Donald Kohn on the History of the Fed2020-Feb-09 42 minutes |
Binyamin Appelbaum on How Economists Have Shaped the World2020-Feb-09 44 minutes |
Ioana Marinescu on the Future of Economic Policy2020-Feb-09 51 minutes |
John Mearsheimer on American Foreign Policy2020-Feb-09 76 minutes |
Crispin Sartwell on Aesthetics & Philosophy2020-Feb-09 56 minutes |
Massimo Pigliucci on Stoicism2020-Feb-09 55 minutes |