Latest Interviews
Showing 5641–5655 of 6,114 interview transcripts.
- Y Combinator1h 4m
Cannabis Startup Founders David Hua and Vincent Ning on Legalization, Banking, and Industry Trends
David Hua, Vincent Ning, Craig Cannon
The cannabis industry is undergoing a rapid transformation driven by consumer demand for terpene-specific effects, the rise of microdosing, and the adoption of concentrates by expanding demographics including Baby Boomers. Despite regulatory fragmentation and high compliance costs in states like California, the market is shifting toward effect-based branding while facing consolidation threats from capitalized Canadian entities and federal limitations on interstate commerce. Simultaneously, social equity initiatives and local licensing hurdles continue to reshape the supply chain, creating a complex environment where smaller original advocates risk displacement by larger, well-funded operators.
- Goldman Sachs45 min
Stephen Pagliuca: Leadership in Business and Basketball
Steve Pelyuka leverages his background as a Duke basketball scholarship athlete turned accounting professional to co-found Bain Capital and drive its evolution from a mid-market buyout firm into a global leader emphasizing digital transformation and the "Double Impact Fund." As co-owner of the Boston Celtics since 2002, he orchestrated a championship turnaround by pioneering data analytics in player acquisition and establishing the Shamrock Foundation to generate over $1 million annually for local charities. Pelyuka also warns of impending fiscal crises driven by state-level healthcare costs while advocating for diversified investment strategies to navigate potential market instability.
- 80,000 Hours2h 45m
#43 - Daniel Ellsberg on the institutional insanity that maintains nuclear doomsday machines
In a 2023 podcast discussion, former nuclear analyst Daniel Ellsberg presents arguments from his book *The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner*, detailing how current US and Russian war plans risk triggering a global nuclear winter that would extinguish the vast majority of human life. Ellsberg contends that the maintenance of these arsenals is driven by the military-industrial complex's need for profit and political leverage rather than strategic necessity, and he recommends immediate policy shifts including the elimination of land-based ICBMs and a unilateral US "No First Use" declaration. Drawing on his historical precedent as the leaker of the Pentagon Papers, the interview concludes with Ellsberg urging those with access to classified information to consider whistleblowing as a necessary step to prevent catastrophic existential threats.
- 80,000 Hours2h 47m
#42 - Dr Amanda Askell on moral empathy, the value of information & the ethics of infinity
Philosopher Amanda Askell reflects on her six-and-a-half-year NYU PhD journey, highlighting the intense demands of US academic models and the precarious nature of the current tenure-track job market for philosophy graduates. Her research critically addresses "moral cluelessness" and the paradoxes of infinite ethics, arguing that high information value justifies experimental interventions despite long-term unpredictability. Currently pivoting toward AI ethics and policy, Askell advocates for an "explore/exploit" career strategy that prioritizes research freedom and moral empathy to navigate both the limitations of traditional academia and the complex challenges of high-impact global problems.
- 80,000 Hours2h 18m
#41 - David Roodman on incarceration, geomagnetic storms, & becoming a world-class researcher
David Roodman, Holden Karnofsky, Keiran Harris, Rob Wiblin
David Rude, a former theoretical mathematician turned independent researcher, specializes in replicating and reconstructing empirical studies on high-impact causes such as criminal justice, deworming, and geomagnetic storm risks. His methodology often challenges established conclusions, finding zero deterrence effect in harsh incarceration laws, identifying data artifacts in American deworming studies, and downplaying the probability of catastrophic solar events compared to public perception. Currently based at Open Philanthropy, Rude leverages his independence from academic incentives to scrutinize methodological robustness and advocate for policy shifts, such as prioritizing savings over microcredit loans.
- 80,000 Hours2h 12m
#40 - Katja Grace on forecasting future technology & how much we should trust expert predictions
Katja Grace, Keiran Harris, Rob Wiblin
Led by Katja Grace, the three-year-old research organization AI Impacts employs empirical methods to forecast artificial intelligence timelines, finding that experts medianly predict high-level machine intelligence in 45 years while identifying significant biases in how these estimates are framed. Their analysis of compute trajectories reveals that the cost of hardware equivalent to the human brain has dropped dramatically, yet experts remain skeptical of sudden "intelligence explosions" due to historical precedents of incremental technological progress. Consequently, the team advocates for increased investment in AI safety research and the development of diverse forecasting skills to navigate the uncertainty surrounding future AI impacts.
- 80,000 Hours2h 18m
#39 - Spencer Greenberg on the scientific approach to solving difficult everyday questions
Spencer Greenberg, Keiran Harris, Rob Wiblin
Spencer Greenberg updates the portfolio status of four Sparkwave-backed companies while presenting extensive research on intrinsic values, overconfidence calibration, and Bayesian evidence evaluation. His analysis distinguishes how political and demographic groups prioritize different core values and introduces a predictive model for identifying when individuals are likely to overestimate their skills or underestimate difficult tasks. Furthermore, Greenberg demonstrates practical applications of these frameworks through case studies on political collusion, nuclear disarmament, and scientific replication, ultimately advocating for a methodical approach to belief updating that balances prior probabilities with specific evidence.
- 80,000 Hours2h 0m
#38 - Prof Ng on anticipating effective altruism decades ago & how to make a much happier world
Prof Ng, Yew-Kwang Ng, Keiran Harris, Rob Wiblin
Yu-Kwang Ng, an economist who independently pioneered core effective altruism concepts in the 1990s, advocates for a hedonistic utilitarian framework that prioritizes subjective well-being as the sole intrinsic moral value to guide public policy. His research proposes specific interventions ranging from high progressive taxation to correct relative competition and environmental externalities, to the development of brain stimulation technologies and welfare biology for mitigating wild animal suffering and existential risks. By rejecting traditional deontological and capability-based ethical systems in favor of cardinal utility comparisons, Ng urges a global shift toward policies that maximize net welfare across current and future generations.
- 80,000 Hours1h 44m
#37 - GiveWell picks top charities by estimating the unknowable. James Snowden on how they do it.
James Snowden, Keiran Harris, Rob Wiblin
Founded a decade ago by Holden Karnofsky and Ellie Hassenfeld, GiveWell directs approximately $100 million annually to nine evidence-backed charities in international development after applying rigorous cost-effectiveness and transparency criteria. The San Francisco-based organization recently expanded its portfolio to include five new top recommendations while navigating internal ethical debates over suicide prevention and evolving its analytical models to account for leverage and funding effects. With a team of over 20 employees focused on an "epistemic culture," the group continues to explore policy interventions and speculative research opportunities beyond traditional direct service models.
- Y Combinator55 min
A Conversation with Elizabeth Iorns - Advice for Biotech Founders
Former University of Miami assistant professor Elizabeth Irins founded Science Exchange in 2011 to solve scientific market inefficiencies by creating a vetted B2B marketplace that manages over $100 billion in annual outsourced research spend. The platform mitigates information asymmetry and quality issues through rigorous provider vetting and a Reproducibility Initiative that validates experimental results for major pharmaceutical partners like Amgen. Currently serving as a Y Combinator partner, Irins leverages the company's transparent data infrastructure to reshape academic-commercial collaboration while advising a portfolio of hundreds of biotech startups.
- Y Combinator57 min
Running Your Company by Patrick Collison
Patrick Collison, Adora Cheung
Founded by brothers Patrick and John Collison, Stripe began its full-time development in 2010 to revolutionize internet commerce, ultimately securing a public launch in September 2011 after manually installing APIs for 100 production users. Today, the company employs 1,300 staff across nine global offices to process approximately 200 million daily API requests for millions of companies, reaching a $20 billion valuation. The organization has evolved from a consensus-driven model to a structured hierarchy where decision-making authority depends on passionate conviction, enabling it to scale infrastructure that facilitates global economic participation for entrepreneurs from Nigeria to New York.
- Y Combinator48 min
Mathilde Collin on Feature Prioritization and Employee Retention at Front
Mathilde Collin, Craig Cannon, Tuomas Grannas, Jordan Jackson, Tomas Granos, Mark Mandelmann, Gabrielle Tcheyani, KP
Front, a shared inbox collaboration platform founded by Gabrielle Tcheuyani and Laurent, transforms email into a team workflow tool by integrating individual inboxes and external applications like Salesforce and GitHub. The company achieved its initial market traction through content marketing and manual onboarding before securing product-market fit and reaching $1.5 million in ARR by the Series A round. Guided by a "Work Happier" mission, Front prioritizes radical transparency, employee well-being, and a unique product philosophy that discards legacy email structures in favor of fluid conversation threads and automation.
- Goldman Sachs19 min
Peter Fonagy: Combating a Mental Health Crisis
Peter Fonagy, drawing on his personal survival of childhood depression and evolutionary biology, argues that child development depends on community "alloparenting" rather than isolated maternal care, criticizing modern separation policies and industrial family structures. He contrasts these systemic failures with evidence that punitive parenting and excessive educational pressure undermine mental health, while advocating for sensitivity-based discipline and the public skills training necessary to replace current destigmatization efforts. This perspective is further applied to organizational settings where a disconnect between leadership perception and employee reality perpetuates anxiety, highlighting the urgent need for adults to actively regulate emotional environments across both domestic and professional spheres.
- Goldman Sachs9 min
"Catch-Up With David": Lloyd Blankfein
Lloyd Blankfein, David Solomon
Outgoing CEO David Solomon prepares his successor by urging the management of the transition chasm and a strict prioritization of stakeholder obligations over personal entitlement. Drawing on a decade of experience, he emphasizes that leadership demands constant engagement with difficult decisions and utilizes public platforms strictly to serve the firm's interests. Solomon steps down to facilitate a fresh vision, advising the incoming leader to sustain a marathon pace of humility and energy while anticipating his own future shift toward unrestrained personal expression.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Muffet McGraw: Winning in Women’s Sports
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw reflects on her eight Final Four appearances and two national championships while advocating for women in coaching and challenging media double standards. Drawing on her background as a seven-on-seven pioneer, she details a recruiting philosophy prioritizing character over talent and the strategic implementation of an all-female coaching staff to foster role modeling. Her insights further explore the resilience required to overcome severe team injuries and adversity, exemplified by the 2018 championship run, alongside her observations on the persistent scrutiny female leaders face regarding emotional expression and professional behavior.