Eureka

Alexander Mikaberidze, author of The Napoleonic Wars

October 08, 2022 10:23 - 1 hour - 92.1 MB

How did Georgia, with its unique language, survive sandwiched among empires? Georgian histography and the origins of the Georgian language How has the perception of Napoleon change over time Is history fake? Did Napoleon only eat one meal at the academy so that he could afford to buy himself books? Napoleon, Jørgen Jørgensen, Mehmet Ali (Albanian founder of modern Egypt): the charisma and power of the outsider Mamluks and the prominent roles of Georgians, their continued involvement w...

SolChicks and the leap from Finance to Crypto-Gaming

March 14, 2022 06:12 - 1 hour - 54.4 MB

Lewis Grafton left private equity to cofound and raise US$55m for a pre-launch crypto-native game (SolChicks) I have profound admiration for anyone who takes the leap to start something new, and I was excited to talk to Lewis to see how he did it. Cherry on top: he’s expecting his second baby with his wife shortly. We speak about: What is SolChicks What’s special about gaming on the blockchain How do you back yourself as finance guys to build a winning game experience Working remotely ...

God, rascality, and the search for meaning with Antonio García Martínez

December 04, 2021 08:42 - 50 minutes - 40.1 MB

We cover a lot: the immigrant impulse rascality as a temperament fatherhood Judaism unchosen obligations as the nexus to a meaningful life the intellectual life as respite to depression + more

Genetics and the History of the Jews, with Razib Khan

November 20, 2021 22:14 - 1 hour - 63.4 MB

The history of the Jews, including Ashkenazim, Sephardim and smaller communities like Greek, Yemenite, Moroccan, and Chinese Jews, and how their experiences diverged around the world. Plus, the miracle of modern genomics. “I’m imagining a future where genomics gives us a window onto the biochemical metabolic processes that are going on. We shall be as gods. We are biting of the apple” “The first human genome was $3bn. In 2010 the human genome was $20,000, and now it’s $200.”

Noah Smith: “It is what it is, and if necessary we’ll shoot it”

November 06, 2021 09:50 - 1 hour - 66.9 MB

Noah as a Lithuanian yeshiva student American growth and decline Critical Race Theory How the left dominates academia and has cut off the right’s head 2020 riots and how we know anything Noah's conversion out of Judaism and into 90s gamer culture Cultural preservation, including Judaism Christian revivalism The misguided fixations of the right and the left The fertility crisis Noah’s cultural composition: Jewish, Texan and Japanese What Noah invests in + Much more

Jerry Neumann on Investing, Humility and Legacy

October 02, 2021 12:01 - 1 hour - 75.9 MB

On life as an angel, failure and success, humility, portfolio construction, what we can know East Coast vs West Coast Differentiation in a world of cheap capital What a restructuring background can teach you and why he didn’t pursue private equity This moment in technological and political history What he’s reading Whether you should become a VC today Why he teaches “The biggest mistake most new angels make is they invest in things where they know it’s going to succeed”

A Rabbi, a Philanthopist and a Putz discuss Shame and Online Mobs

August 19, 2021 22:07 - 44 minutes - 36.8 MB

A special episode for the Sydney Cremorne Jewish community, everyone welcome to listen in

Feminisation of Society with Richard Hanania

August 07, 2021 12:13 - 1 hour - 56.2 MB

This conversation picks up on a strand that I’ve been thinking a lot about. Diana Fleischman in my conversation with her said: Institutions are increasingly reflecting the values of middle aged women. Tyler Cowen often writes about the feminization of society at Marginal Revolution. In addition to feminisation we discuss: Growing up with another language Richard’s folkways American culture as a dissolvent Impact of immigrant background Money, fame or power? What is the source of GOP ...

How to Train Your Boyfriend (and other Sorcery) with Diana Fleischman

July 24, 2021 10:39 - 1 hour - 68.1 MB

Diana's writing a book called “How to Train Your Boyfriend” – so, there’s a lot of that. We also discuss: The mating market and the downstream effects of untangling sex from marriage Big lies in the open today Things that don’t work if you name them Feminisation of society and how, in her words, institutions are increasingly reflecting he values of single middle aged women Sorcery and witchcraft The problems of knowledge in evolutionary psychology And a lot more. Including tangents. ...

Genghis Khan and the Mongols with Razib Khan

July 18, 2021 02:05 - 1 hour - 88.3 MB

Razib and I discuss “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford, which Razib had recommended. We deep dive on the book, read extracts and discuss the Mongols and related history. We discuss: The profound achievements and impact of the Mongols Potential relationship between the founding story of the Mongols and the story of Genesis Cultural and political aspects Military tactics and brutality How they seem somewhat liberal and globalist in a surprisingly modern...

Space factories 🚀 with Delian Asparouhov

June 26, 2021 11:35 - 55 minutes - 93.3 MB

Fun conversation with Delian Zebulgar, who is both a full time VC investor at Founders Fund and a co-founder of space manufacturing startup Varda. What better excuse to speak to a guy? I discover the space economy is much closer and bigger today than most people think. Also pleased and surprised to learn that Australia and New Zealand are up there in terms of pushing the space frontier - yet another reason to be bullish the region. We talk about: Space factories! What a mature space ec...

"We need the eggs": Nicholas Gruen on Public Policy, Jokes and Loss

June 13, 2021 11:47 - 1 hour - 84.5 MB

Nicholas is a prominent Australian economist, and has chaired various Australian government groups and initiatives as well as Kaggle, where he was an early investor. Lindsay Tanner has described him as "Australia's foremost public intellectual". We cover: Toyota, Tech and Isegoria Problems with technological scale vs human-centred design Our inability to solve child abuse and indigenous disadvantage Corporate value phoniness The surreal waste of government programs Mentorship Interes...

Big Lies, Babies and Dad Energy with Alex Kaschuta

May 30, 2021 02:13 - 1 hour - 68.3 MB

In this conversation Alex and I discuss: The Big Lies we are told about relationships, family and meaning and the personal and social derangements that surround these issues today Romania, where Alex lives, and the liminal space between Eastern and Western Europe Individual optimisation vs group optimisation Alex: “I’m here to bring the dad energy. Here are the facts of life. Place your bets” We end on a bleak note: our society may be dominated by childless smart people filled with ennu...

Australian Defence with Rory Medcalf

May 01, 2021 13:01 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MB

Professor Rory Medcalf, Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University and author of Contest for the Indo-Pacific. We cover a lot to do with Australian defence including China, nuclear weapons for Australia, political interference in defence procurement, where he sees potential for technology obsolescence in the next war, lessons from his time as diplomat in India, and much more including his book recommendations. What is the importance of steering Australian de...

All things finance with Byrne Hobart

April 04, 2021 10:57 - 1 hour - 65.7 MB

Byrne generates one of the highest insights per unit of speech or writing I’ve come across. Some of what we covered + highlights: Interest rates and bubbles Why interest rates have been declining over the long run Low interest rates and private / public market valuations Structural sellside optimism Are Google and Facebook undervalued Signs we might be in a bubble This was recorded months before the Gamestop fiasco (!): “so you can find people on wall street bets who are just insane...

Portrait of an Effective Altruist as a Young Man (my conversation with Rob Wiblin)

February 03, 2021 08:54 - 1 hour - 53.6 MB

Rob Wiblin is a founder and leader of the modern Effective Altruism movement…. and one of my oldest friends! This conversation is different because there’s not much about Effective Altruism – there’s Rob’s excellent podcast and prolific writing for that. This conversation is a chat between old mates, and it tries to track our intellectual development since we were teens. Is that self-indulgent? Maybe! But it’s the conversation I was excited to have with Rob. We cover a lot: What Rob learn...

Georgian language and history

January 16, 2021 11:15 - 1 hour - 80.3 MB

The Georgian language has one of the most beautiful scripts I have come across. Unique to Georgia, tucked away between the Russian, Persian and Ottoman empires, and unrelated to any other language in the world, I’ve always wanted to know how it came to be. I got to ask that and more in this conversation. Transcript at www.mishasaul.com

Investing and Fatherhood with Daniel Gulati

December 22, 2020 10:53 - 1 hour - 116 MB

Daniel Gulati is one of the most all-round impressive people I know: brought up in Wollongong, NSW, he’s founded and exited 4 startups and launched his own VC fund, Forecast Fund, in the US. We kick off this conversation with fatherhood, a subject close to both our hearts, and then cover what opportunities he’s looking for, why he’s bullish on Australia, building his VC business, the role of a Board member and much more. Topics we cover and great quotes: “I'm interested in…the anti-Amazon...

Building a Brand Engine with Tim Doyle

November 24, 2020 10:23 - 1 hour - 55.9 MB

Speaking to Tim is like drinking from a firehouse: singularly the most impressive growth marketing person I know, he seems to have seamlessly transitioned to company building. I love the way he thinks deeply about product and company strategy, building his team and capability, and the trade offs involved. But it’s really the insights that you get when he talks about his marketing craft, that you really won’t get anywhere else. Transcript at www.mishasaul.com

Agnes Callard on Philosophy of Aspiration, Family and Jewishness

October 13, 2020 09:11 - 1 hour - 70.1 MB

I got to ask Agnes Callard questions about her work as well as on philosophical topics I’ve been pondering for years. I also appreciated her personal insights into family and Jewishness. “There's something thin and insubstantial about tech optimism” Full transcript at www.mishasaul.com

Building cities with Mark Lutter

September 13, 2020 10:50 - 1 hour - 84.1 MB

I had a wide ranging conversation with Mark Lutter covering The impact of US riots on the future of cities Mark’s role in helping Hong Kong citizens find a new home Why mature societies stop building new cities Population growth in the US vs Australia NIMBYs and why they might be right (or not) Importance of culture How to measure institutional decline and progress How you can help And much more!

Introducing Eureka!

September 06, 2020 10:35 - 6 minutes - 6.34 MB

Sifting for insight in an ever changing world with host Misha Saul www.mishasaul.com

Episodes