Latest Interviews

6 BEST Pieces Of Business Advice That Made Me Millions | E103

Daniela, Chloe, Steve Bartlett

In a live "Diary of a CEO" tour and Q&A session, the speaker outlines a strategic framework for business success centered on singular focus, the "someday shelf" concept for idea evaluation, and the necessity of self-belief, resilience, and humility throughout the entrepreneurial lifecycle. Addressing psychological barriers, the event reframes imposter syndrome as a growth indicator while detailing a specific protocol for securing mentorship through empathy and value exchange. The presentation concludes by emphasizing that sustainable motivation relies on combining worthwhile, challenging goals with loved ones, alongside evidence-based validation of market fit.

Carl Hart: Heroin, Cocaine, MDMA, Alcohol & the Role of Drugs in Society | Lex Fridman Podcast #233

Carl Hart, Lex Fridman

Psychiatrist Carl Hart challenges the conventional "War on Drugs" by presenting empirical research suggesting that drug outcomes depend primarily on environmental context and psychological state rather than the substances' inherent toxicity. He advocates for a comprehensive policy shift toward legalizing and regulating all adult-use drugs to eliminate black market dangers while replacing prohibition with education on responsible use. This approach aims to dismantle the economic and political incentives of the current system, which Hart argues perpetuates stigma and diverts attention from the socioeconomic root causes of addiction.

The hidden cost of black hair

The event examines the $4 billion to $9 billion U.S. ethnic hair care market, highlighting severe health risks from unregulated chemicals and historical biases that have long marginalized natural Black hairstyles. It details how Black entrepreneurs, exemplified by Rachel Tumasi-Cawson and Joycelyn Maté, are disrupting this landscape by launching health-focused brands that address specific needs like traction alopecia while navigating a regulatory environment with minimal federal oversight. Furthermore, the discussion tracks the cultural and legislative shifts driving the natural hair movement, including the declining sales of relaxers and the recent passage of "Crown Act" legislation to ban hair discrimination in professional settings.

Business: go woke or go broke?

Henry Trix

Modern corporations are shifting from pure profit maximization to ESG-driven models where investor pressure, consumer ethics, and younger demographics force the adoption of technologies like GHGSat sensors for methane detection and molecular tagging for supply chain transparency. While AI tools now help verify these environmental and social claims, leaders face a strategic tension between meeting stakeholder expectations for diversity and ethical sourcing and maintaining short-term financial returns. Consequently, the market rewards verified stewardship with stronger performance metrics but punishes perceived grandstanding or opaque governance, making genuine responsibility a critical component of business viability.

Melissa Bradley, Founder, 1863 Ventures

Melissa Bradley

Economist Amanda Bradley argues that systemic racism has cost the U.S. economy $16 trillion and urges leveraging the demographic shift of Black and Brown populations as the "new majority" to boost global GDP competitiveness. Her analysis highlights critical barriers such as the $250,000 capital gap facing diverse entrepreneurs and critiques traditional venture capital biases, leading her to advocate for tax credits and direct cash mechanisms over intermediary grants. Bradley points to Goldman Sachs' "One Million Black Women" initiative as a pivotal model for aligning capital allocation with economic returns, asserting that restructuring the capitalist paradigm to treat these groups as asset holders is essential for future national prosperity.

Louise Hulland, broadcaster and journalist

Louise Hulland, Lisa Donnelly

The 2015 Modern Slavery Act, championed by Theresa May, consolidated UK laws to address a £120 billion industry driven by "county lines" networks that exploit vulnerable British nationals. While Section 54 mandates supply chain transparency for large businesses, the legislation notably lacks specific statutory support for victims, leaving their adjudication to the Home Office and complicating immigration status resolution. Despite these legal frameworks, rising risks from Brexit, the pandemic, and climate displacement continue to expand the pool of targeted populations, even as younger generations drive growing corporate accountability.

David Gandy: Highest Paid Male Model Opens Up About Insecurities & Imposter Syndrome | E102

David Gandy, Stephen Bartlett

Supermodel David Gandy attributes his two-decade success to strategic career pivots, most notably the deliberate shift from commercial work to editorial modeling that secured his landmark Dolce & Gabbana partnership. Building on this business acumen, he launched the sustainable Wellwear brand in late 2023, which combines scientific research on comfort with a mission to combat fast fashion addiction while aiming to become a top UK loungewear label. Beyond his entrepreneurial ventures, Gandy candidly discusses overcoming childhood bullying and professional imposter syndrome to achieve his current status as a designer and creative director prioritizing mental well-being.

Alex Gladstein: Bitcoin, Authoritarianism, and Human Rights | Lex Fridman Podcast #231

Alex Gladstein, Lex Fridman

Gladstein delineates a stark global landscape where authoritarian regimes, encompassing 53% of the population, utilize state censorship and falsified economic data to suppress negative rights while masquerading as providers of positive entitlements. He identifies Bitcoin as a critical technological counterforce that undermines these dictatorships by offering sovereign savings against inflation, enabling sanction evasion, and functioning as a "Trojan horse" that erodes state power through the greed of its adversaries. To sustain this resistance, the discussion advocates for decentralized infrastructure and federated social protocols that shift data ownership to individuals, thereby aligning self-interest with the preservation of human liberty.

E51: Supply Chain Shortages, Inflation, DeSantis, Ted Sarandos Netflix Memo, Cancel Culture, Fan Q&A

DeSantis, Ted Sarandos, Chamath, Calacanis, David Sacks, Daniel, Maddie, David Friedberg

David Sacks and David Friedberg analyze a looming stagflationary crisis driven by port labor disputes, structural wage inflation, and geopolitical fragility, arguing that the Federal Reserve faces a fiscal dilemma where raising interest rates could trigger a debt spiral exceeding 140% of GDP. To address these supply chain constraints, the speakers advocate for skills-based immigration reforms and accelerating automation through quantum computing and biomanufacturing to reduce reliance on volatile global logistics. The discussion further covers regulatory crackdowns on opaque stablecoin operations like Tether, the scientific rationale behind shifting FDA guidelines, and the economic incentives sustaining free speech defenses in the face of cancel culture.

Who should fix climate change?

Sasha Nauta, Katrine Braik, Oliver Morton

The discussion establishes that democratic governments must lead climate action through policy intervention, citing Germany's solar subsidies as proof that state support is essential for market transformation where laissez-faire approaches fail. Corporate leaders are expected to integrate climate strategies into core business models rather than relying on individual goodwill, a shift exemplified by Tesla's high-margin entry strategy and Microsoft's commitment to offsetting its entire historical carbon footprint. By coupling sharp emissions reductions with economic growth, the event argues that prioritizing long-term systemic protection for vulnerable populations is the only viable path to a sustainable future.

Kelsi Sheren: War, Artillery, PTSD, and Love | Lex Fridman Podcast #230

Kelsi Sheren, Lex Fridman, Jocko, Yeonmi Park

Former Canadian Forces artillery gunner Kelsey Sharon, a 2009 Afghanistan deployment veteran who suffered severe PTSD, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and suicidal ideation, founded the for-profit enterprise "Brass in Unity" to fund rehabilitation for first responders and veterans. After years of unsuccessful conventional treatment, Sharon underwent psychedelic therapy in 2021 which facilitated a profound psychological shift from trauma-induced hatred to mindfulness, enabling her to transition from a life of numbness to one of advocacy. Her business model diverts profits to organizations like Heroic Hearts and Honor House while she publicly critiques systemic failures in veteran care and government accountability regarding the Afghan conflict.

How Small Business Owners Are Dealing With Worker Shortages, Inflation and Supply Chain Delays

Joe Wall, Allison Nathan, Ruby Bugarin, Kari Parker, Rosemary Swirk

Goldman Sachs' "10,000 Small Businesses Voices" initiative released September survey data revealing a sharp 29-point decline in small business optimism driven by the Delta variant, inflation, and severe workforce shortages. The report details how specific sectors face record operating costs and supply chain delays, while Black-owned businesses struggle with lower capital confidence and depleted cash reserves compared to the broader market. In response to these challenges, the organization is calling for a permanent low-interest loan program and federal procurement reforms to address the systemic lack of representation and resource disparity.

The Happiness Expert That Made 51 Million People Happier: Mo Gawdat | E101

Mo Gawdat

Former Google Executive Mo Gawdat synthesizes his personal tragedy following his son Ali's death with data analysis to propose a mathematical formula for happiness that challenges modern expectations. He outlines a practical framework for emotional resilience while warning that humanity's collective moral choices will ultimately determine whether artificial intelligence becomes a utopian ally or a dystopian threat by 2055. Gawdat's "One Billion Happy" movement and his philosophical shift toward balancing ambition with acceptance aim to retrain the human mind for gratitude and ethically guide the future of sentient technology.

Richard Wrangham: Violence, Sex, and Fire in Human Evolution | Lex Fridman Podcast #229

Richard Wrangham, Lex Fridman

This presentation synthesizes evolutionary primatology to explain the "Goodness Paradox," where suppressed reactive aggression enables human cooperation while proactive coalitionary warfare persists. It details how biological adaptations like cooking facilitated brain expansion and how social structures evolved when beta-male coalitions systematically removed alpha leaders to enforce tolerance. Finally, the analysis examines the historical roots of modern patriarchal power, the statistical decline in violence, and the speculative future risks posed by unchecked human aggression and habitat destruction.

Kimberly Bryant, Founder and CEO, Black Girls Code

Kimberly Bryant, Asahi

Founded by engineer Kimberly Bryant after witnessing her daughter's isolation in a Stanford computer science program, Black Girls Code has evolved from a local initiative into an international nonprofit with 15 chapters dedicated to empowering girls of color as entrepreneurial technology leaders. Supported by Goldman Sachs, the organization addresses the sharp decline in female computer science graduates and the severe underrepresentation of Black women in executive tech roles by fostering specific communities where participants develop the skills to become architects of economic equity. Following a strategic pivot to global virtual training during the pandemic that attracted nearly 1,000 registrants in 24 hours, Black Girls Code continues to scale its mission of transforming young women into change agents capable of reshaping the industry.