Latest Interviews
Showing 511–525 of 3,244 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist9 min
How Trump’s Venezuela raid is helping China's Taiwan battle plans
Following a U.S. strike on Venezuela, Chinese military leadership is analyzing the operation to refine "decapitation" capabilities against Taiwan's leadership, a strategy intensified by lessons from Russia's Ukraine campaign. Although Beijing has expanded a mock-up of Taiwan's government complex in northern China and conducted massive "Justice Mission 2025" drills to simulate precise sanctions, the PLA acknowledges current gaps in joint operational integration required for such complex attacks. This strategic evaluation aims to prepare for a full capability target date of 2027 while assessing whether the U.S. raid might distract American focus from containing Beijing's long-term ambitions.
- a16z34 min
Ben Horowitz on Investing in AI: AI Bubbles, Economic Impact, and VC Acceleration
Andreessen Horowitz structures its General Partners as self-directed experts within small, vertically aligned teams to accelerate investment quality and preserve decision-making dynamics. The firm explicitly prioritizes financial returns and specific technological excellence over broad ESG criteria, exemplified by its American Dynamics vertical focused on defense and energy gaps. Simultaneously, the organization is adapting its accelerator strategy to leverage AI tools for earlier-stage founders while maintaining high-ownership stakes to capture the economic potential of the emerging computing platform.
- Goldman Sachs26 min
Goldman Sachs Exchanges: Outlook 2026 | Episode 1: The Big Picture
Jan Hatzius, Dominic Wilson, Alison Nathan
Goldman Sachs projects 2026 global growth to reach 2.7%, driven by the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," German fiscal easing, and the fading impact of 2025 tariffs. The firm forecasts a 2.5% expansion for the U.S. economy alongside expected Federal Reserve rate cuts that aim to lower inflation and address labor market stagnation. While equities are anticipated to deliver low double-digit returns, analysts warn of recession risks tied to the "SOM Rule" and elevated valuations that may trigger significant market volatility.
- The Economist9 min
Why Israel is closely watching the Iran protests
Anshel Pfeffer, Jason Palmer, Eva
Following a twelve-day war in June, intensified protests and economic instability in Iran threaten to shatter the regime's hold on power while prompting leadership concerns over potential external retaliation to divert attention. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is maintaining a low-profile strategy of strategic patience, allowing internal Iranian dynamics to unfold rather than launching immediate military strikes. This approach aims to facilitate long-term geopolitical shifts, including the eventual erosion of Iran's proxy network and the potential for a future strategic alliance that could end decades of hostility.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Turning $700 into a Billion-Dollar Brand: John Paul DeJoria
John Paul DeJoria, Meena Flynn
John Paul Mitchell founded John Paul Mitchell Systems and successfully launched the Patrón tequila brand by leveraging resilience and a partnership-based management philosophy derived from his Navy service and humble childhood. The company operates under a 360-year trust structure that prevents sale and ensures all proceeds benefit the beauty industry and its partners, while Mitchell continues to prioritize anonymous philanthropy focused on homelessness and food insecurity. Through strategic pivots from hair care to premium spirits, Mitchell transformed a bootstrapped startup into the world's largest privately owned salon hair care company and executed the largest liquor business sale in history.
CEO Vlad Tenev on Robinhood's Record Year (+200%, ~$100B Market Cap)
Robinhood has successfully pivoted to a diversified, all-weather business model with eleven revenue streams exceeding $100 million annually, driven by the expansion of its margin book, the surge in net interest from tens of billions in custody assets, and a gold subscription base of four million. Simultaneously, the firm is modernizing investor engagement through web-based prediction markets, AI-powered trading assistants like Robinhood Cortex, and tokenized stock offerings in Europe, while CEO Vlad Tenev leads strategic initiatives into institutional markets and the development of mathematical superintelligence via his role at Harmonic. This comprehensive transformation aims to transition the company's long-term revenue composition toward non-retail and international sources, reducing historical reliance on volatile retail trading cycles.
- All-In Podcast1h 31m
All-In's 2026 Predictions
Chamath, Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, David Sacks
A group of prominent tech investors and founders, including David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapiti, and David Friedberg, discussed their 2026 economic, political, and business forecasts following Sacks' relocation to Austin amid concerns over California's proposed wealth tax. The panel projects a 4.5% to 6% U.S. GDP growth driven by the "Trump Boom" and productivity surges while predicting significant market disruptions such as the collapse of traditional SaaS models and a surge in IPOs for private giants like SpaceX and Stripe. Additionally, the conversation addressed emerging trends in deal-making and media, with participants anticipating a shift toward IP licensing agreements, the rise of citizen journalism, and potential geopolitical resolutions in Ukraine and Iran.
- The Economist6 min
Binyamin Netanyahu on how Israel justifies its war in Gaza
Binyamin Netanyahu, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Edward Carr
In a strategic discussion regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends Israel's military conduct as a necessary defense of modern civilization against radical Islam while disputing casualty ratio claims by citing specific urban warfare constraints. Conversely, the dialogue highlights a growing international backlash regarding civilian losses and presents a counter-narrative warning that Israel's operational approach risks long-term isolation and reputational damage in Western democracies. The exchange concludes by contrasting Israel's successful hostage recovery operations with allegations of Hamas atrocities, framing the dispute as a fundamental clash over global security values and the legitimacy of proportional force.
- Milken Institute29 min
Conversation with His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud | Middle East & Africa Summit
Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, Hadley Gamble
Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef advocated for a 21st point to the U.S. peace plan demanding immediate Palestinian statehood while characterizing Israel as the primary regional threat compared to a diminished Iran. He detailed the Gulf Cooperation Council's strategic self-defense efforts and called for a comprehensive Middle East nuclear-free zone with UN Security Council guarantees. The Prince further urged expanding global counter-terrorism cooperation to address root political causes and highlighted Turkey's constructive recalibration as a key partner for future stability.
- The Economist11 min
Why Trump’s Venezuela oil gamble won’t pay off
Trump, Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Ethan Wu, Mike Bird
Analysts warn that restoring Venezuelan oil production to historical levels requires over $100 billion in investment and sustained global prices above $80 per barrel, conditions currently unmet by market forecasts and compounded by decades of legal instability following expropriations in the 1970s and 2000s. While U.S. Gulf Coast refineries could benefit from a short-term influx of heavy crude, industry experts argue that such a strategy is economically obsolete given America's status as a net energy exporter and the global shift toward decarbonization and renewable technologies. Consequently, the initiative faces a critical divergence between the administration's desire for immediate geopolitical wins and the oil sector's need for long-term property rights security and viable return horizons.
- Goldman Sachs9 min
Emerging Markets Could Keep Surging
Stratford Dennis, Chris Hussey
Goldman Sachs projects MSCI Emerging Markets equities to deliver 15% returns in 2026, driven by attractive valuations, a weaker dollar, and a strategic preference for broad diversification over concentrated bets on China. The firm highlights Latin America, particularly Brazil, as a primary growth engine ahead of anticipated interest rate cuts, while also championing an "EM AI" sector expected to outperform US peers with 30% earnings growth. Analysts Stratford Dennis and Chris Hussey advise investors to monitor upcoming US employment data for Federal Reserve clarity while positioning portfolios in Taiwan, Korea, and Brazil to capture these specific opportunities.
- All-In Podcast1h 27m
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026
The Commerce Department, led by Howard Lutnick, is executing a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the national trade deficit by replacing universal tariffs with a "staircase" negotiation model that extracts massive foreign investment, such as Japan's $550 billion commitment to US infrastructure. This approach simultaneously integrates aggressive pharmaceutical pricing reforms and a high-barrier immigration program to curb welfare dependency while restructuring the CHIPS Act to prioritize national security and equity stakes in major domestic firms. The administration projects this shift will drive 4% to 6% annual GDP growth by prioritizing vocational labor and eradicating federal fraud, creating a revenue cycle designed to reduce the $26 trillion deficit.
- Y Combinator16 min
Inside The Startup Building Reusable Rockets
Aaron Epstein, Andy Lapsa, Tom Feldman
Stokes Space, founded in 2019 by former Blue Origin engineers Andy and Tom, is developing the Nova two-stage rocket to achieve full reusability for both orbital stages and drastically reduce launch costs. Backed by nearly $1 billion in funding and operating from a 168,000-square-foot factory in Kent, Washington, the company plans to execute its first orbital launch later this year from Historic Complex 14 in Florida. The team aims to establish daily launch cadence and ubiquitous space access by integrating in-house manufacturing with a proprietary software platform to manage rigorous testing and FAA-regulated operations.
- The Economist7 min
Will humans still fight in future wars?
Helsing co-founder Torsten Reil argues that European defense must pivot rapidly toward autonomous systems to counter enemy swarms in future human-free battlefields, citing Russia's successful adaptation and the threat of being outmatched without immediate action. This strategic urgency is reinforced by Germany's tenfold increase in effective spending power and a broader shift in European manufacturing confidence, which positions the continent to lead in counter-swarm innovation despite political volatility in key nations like France and the UK. Consequently, defense investments are increasingly targeting mass autonomous deployments to ensure machines fight machines, thereby eliminating the ethical dilemma of sending personnel into no-go zones while securing European sovereignty.
- a16z1h 21m
Marc Andreessen's 2026 Outlook: AI Timelines, US vs. China, and The Price of AI
Marc Andreessen, Jen Kha, Eric Torenberg
Andreessen Horowitz is aggressively deploying capital across contradictory AI strategies, betting that a bifurcated future will feature elite proprietary "God models" alongside a vast market of rapidly catching up open-source alternatives. This approach addresses a global duopoly dynamic where Chinese open-source breakthroughs like DeepSeek and Kimmy challenge US dominance, prompting a shift in US policy toward maintaining competitiveness rather than restricting development. By leveraging massive deflation in input costs and value-based pricing models, the firm positions its portfolio to capitalize on unprecedented revenue growth and a historical pattern of rapid adoption despite public skepticism.