Latest Interviews

Look at who’s talking: divining Trump’s Middle East plans

Trump, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Greg Karlstrom, Andy Laidlaw, Tom Sass, Anne Lowe

Donald Trump's anticipated second term presents a complex Middle East dynamic where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks relief from diplomatic pressure while Iranian leaders brace for potential nuclear sanctions and a return to "maximum pressure" tactics driven by a fractured advisory circle. Concurrently, Western European nations face a severe prison overcrowding crisis, prompting British officials to reject the long-standing "prison works" ideology in favor of decarceration models proven effective in the Netherlands and select US states. The era is further marked by the passing of Quincy Jones at 91, whose career broke racial barriers in music and film while producing historic works like *Thriller* and the charity single "We Are The World."

America's New Consumer: CPG, Sports, Four-Wall | Jason Fiedler, Left Lane Capital

Jason Fiedler, Molly O'Shea

Left Lane Capital has pivoted its strategy to target high-growth physical and consumer brands in stagnant markets, leveraging a disciplined, data-driven framework inspired by SaaS metrics to evaluate opportunities in sectors ranging from beverage to sports. With assets exceeding $2 billion and a portfolio including leaders like Olipop and League One Volleyball, the firm actively sources minority stakes in Series A companies by combining aggressive outbound networking with rigorous unit economics analysis. Managing partners like Jason Fiedler prioritize businesses with strong defensibility and repeat purchase potential, aiming to capture value as legacy incumbents fail to adapt to shifting consumer preferences for healthier and more efficient solutions.

What Trump’s win means for markets and portfolios

Trump, Christian Mueller-Glissmann, Brian Garrett, Alison Nathan

Following Donald Trump's presidential victory, U.S. stocks, bond yields, and the dollar surged sharply as clients rapidly shifted from underweight to long positions in banks, technology, and energy sectors. Goldman Sachs analysts project a potential S&P 500 rally to 6,100 by mirroring 2016 post-election patterns, while noting that European equities and renewable energy stocks face immediate pressure from tariff fears and policy changes. Although the VIX dropped to historic lows due to suppressed hedging, the firm maintains an equity-overweight strategy with a neutral duration outlook, warning that sustained yield spikes or reflation frustration could eventually trigger market indigestion.

Do the after math: how Trump won

Trump, Jason Palmer, Dan Rosenheck, Slavia, Vishnu Padmanabhan

Kamala Harris conceded the 2024 election as Republicans secured a trifecta amid a broad repudiation of the Biden administration, while polling errors and a significant Latino voter realignment cemented Donald Trump's victory. Concurrently, experts are redefining ADHD as a spectrum of executive function rather than a binary disorder, urging a shift toward environmental accommodations and neurodiversity models over traditional medicalization. Meanwhile, India's religious sector is undergoing a massive digital transformation with fundraising surging to $51 million, driven by a cultural embrace of faith-tech and a projected religious market value exceeding $60 billion.

The Investing & Crypto Expert: "We Only Have 6 Years Until Everything Changes!" - Raoul Pal

Raoul Pal

Raoul Pal warns that rapid currency debasement and stagnant real wages are eroding traditional wealth vehicles like real estate and savings, necessitating a shift toward digital scarcity assets to preserve purchasing power. He advocates for a "building season" strategy focused on deep specialization in high-value skills, with capital allocated primarily to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana to capitalize on the projected transition from centralized banking to a decentralized financial system. This approach aims to secure generational freedom by aligning investment horizons with long-term macroeconomic cycles while avoiding leverage and prioritizing self-custody of assets.

The Winter 2025 application deadline is in less than a week! Apply at ycombinator.com/apply.

Y Combinator is accepting applications for its Winter 2025 batch by November 12th as it transitions to a four-batch annual schedule to capitalize on a unique twenty-year cycle of technological advancement. The program specifically targets early-stage technical teams with co-founders, emphasizing that hesitation is unnecessary given the organization's history of radically altering founders' trajectories even when applications began on a whim. By encouraging ambitious applicants to submit proposals immediately, YC asserts that the selection process offers a risk-free opportunity to fundamentally reshape the future course of their ventures.

Don of a new age: Trump’s decisive win

Trump, Jason, John Prudhoe, Charlotte Howard, Idris Kalloun, Tamara Gilkes-Boer, Adam O'Neill, Aaron Braun

Donald Trump is projected to secure the presidency and a unified Republican trifecta, becoming the only president since Grover Cleveland to win non-consecutive terms while defeating Kamala Harris across key swing states. The campaign's "base-first" strategy drove significant gains among working-class and cross-racial demographics, allowing Trump to potentially appoint new Supreme Court justices and pursue an unchecked legislative agenda. Conversely, the Democratic Party faces intense internal scrutiny over its nomination process and policy failures as Republicans prepare to leverage their control of Congress and the judiciary for a second term.

2024 Election Night Livestream with the Besties!

Chamath, David Sacks, Friedberg, Don Jr., Ro Khanna, Dean Phillips, Phil Hellmuth, Jason Kuhn, Shane Copeland, Newt Gingrich, Steve Bannon, Aaron Levy, Nick

Projected by Polymarket and major polling outlets as a decisive victory, Donald Trump secured the presidency by capturing key swing states and shifting demographics including young males and working-class minorities. Incoming administration strategists like Elon Musk and Don Jr. plan to establish a Department of Government Efficiency to slash federal deficits and bypass bureaucratic resistance, while Steve Bannon advocates for mass deportations as an immediate economic priority. Simultaneously, Democratic figures such as Dean Phillips and Ro Khanna are calling for an introspective party overhaul focused on economic pragmatism and the rejection of establishment narratives that alienated tech leaders and independent voters.

Marc & Ben on AI Policy, Safety, Censorship & Unexpected Risks

Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Satya Nadella, Brad Smith, Andy Ayrey, Nick Bostrum

Amidst the upcoming US presidential election, experts are urging policymakers to pivot from speculative existential risks to concrete threats like election-disrupting deepfakes and ideological capture within AI safety teams. The discussion highlights a strategic divergence between China's centralized state control and the United States' decentralized market innovation, arguing that regulation should criminalize specific harms while preserving the open internet required for technological superiority. By rejecting the precautionary principle for non-existent scenarios, speakers advocate for a policy framework that uses digital signatures to verify content authenticity without stifling the competitive engine driving American economic and military dominance.

Our very long-term future & other topics most politicians won’t touch | Andrew Yang (2021)

Andrew Yang, Rob Wiblin

Andrew Yang outlines a post-scarcity vision for humanity in 500 years, warning that climate change and authoritarianism driven by scarcity pose the greatest threats to this future. To mitigate long-term existential risks and structural political failures, he advocates for institutional reforms such as ranked-choice voting, term limits, and an AI Value Added Tax to fund universal basic income. Through his organization Humanity Forward, Yang promotes a strategic "utopian" political approach that combines preventative science funding, foreign aid expansion, and democratic innovations to bridge the divide between short-term incentives and multi-generational public good.

Vote! Our election-day special

Jason Palmer, Idris Kahloun, Aaron Braun

The 2024 U.S. presidential election will likely hinge on a razor-thin margin across seven swing states, with Pennsylvania serving as the critical tipping point for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump to reach the 270 electoral votes required for victory. While economic concerns drive voter sentiment, the outcome faces significant uncertainty due to heightened security threats, potential legal challenges, and a potentially split Congress where control of the House remains volatile. International allies are closely monitoring the result, as the winner's approach to trade, NATO commitments, and geopolitical stability will determine the trajectory of global affairs in the coming years.

How Clearlake Capital’s José E. Feliciano is finding value across private markets

José E. Feliciano, Michael Brandmeier

ClearLake Capital co-founders Jose Feliciano and Big Dog Ibali leverage an $80 billion asset base to execute distressed investments, restructuring, and sector-specific buyouts with a primary focus on technology and industrials. Their strategy targets a "15-year supply" of undervalued tech companies for transformation through their proprietary OPS operational framework, which integrates AI integration and business model pivots to drive recurring revenue and efficiency. Beyond financial returns, the firm actively deploys over $200 million to support underrepresented minority leaders and applies rigorous operational standards to unique assets like Chelsea FC to diversify revenue streams.

Sam Altman: What Startups Will be Steamrolled by OpenAI? Where is Opportunity?

Sam Altman, Harry Stebbings

OpenAI outlines a strategic roadmap prioritizing rapid advancements in reasoning and multimodal capabilities to drive scientific discovery, explicitly advising against building startups that rely on temporary patches for current model limitations. Leadership emphasizes a shift toward integrated AI agents capable of long-duration tasks and a compute-based pricing model, while acknowledging the competitive landscape involves both open-source collaboration and secure, scalable proprietary services. Looking five to ten years ahead, the organization forecasts an "unbelievably rapid rate of improvement" in technology and science, though significant societal changes are expected to be reserved for the distant future rather than the immediate term.

Last-ditch pitch: America’s campaigns conclude

Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Daniel Franklin, Piotr Zalewski, Anne Hanna, Zoe Bulsara

The 2024 U.S. presidential election remains a virtual tie in key swing states, characterized by intense rhetorical conflicts between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris that have intensified concerns regarding election integrity and democratic stability. Simultaneously, the Organization of Turkic States has evolved from a diplomatic forum into a strategic economic bloc of 89 nations, utilizing a shared alphabet and the Middle Corridor trade route to diversify away from Russian influence. In the UK, remote work trends have driven a 33% surge in canal boat residency as a housing solution, though this demographic shift faces mounting infrastructure risks due to insufficient government funding and rising maintenance costs.

Scott Galloway: "There Is A 33% Chance That Trump Dies In Office!"

Scott Galloway, Trump, Steven

Scott Galloway analyzes the 2024 U.S. election as a pivotal contest driven by a crisis of masculinity and economic disparity, arguing that young men are drifting from the Democratic Party due to a perceived lack of representation regarding male-specific struggles. He contrasts Donald Trump's aggressive, populist appeal with Kamala Harris's perceived vulnerabilities, highlighting how media fragmentation and algorithmic polarization have intensified political incentives while creating a "prosperity fissure" that isolates the youth demographic. Despite betting on a competitive outcome for financial gain, Galloway warns that the nation's future stability depends on addressing the root causes of male loneliness and the potential societal consequences of unchecked technological isolation and extreme political outcomes.