Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Patrick Blumenthal (@PatrickJBlum) interviews some of the world's leading economists, political scientists, and philosophers to discuss their ideas and what they mean for society, technology, and the economy.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Economics, growth, trade, monetary policy • Technology, AI, crypto, defense innovation • Geopolitics and war: China, Ukraine, Russia • Culture war, religion, secularism • History, philosophy, consciousness, science incentives • Education reform, institutions, immigration, welfare, democracyThis podcast features long-form interviews with economists, political scientists, philosophers, historians, and technology and finance leaders about ideas shaping society, the economy, and emerging technologies. Conversations frequently connect theory to real-world institutions—governments, markets, universities, media, and the military—and examine how incentives and governance structures influence outcomes.
A substantial thread centers on geopolitics and national security, including modern warfare, deterrence, and defense innovation. Discussions touch on command-and-control, electronic warfare, drones, urban combat, and the practical challenges of operating in contested environments, alongside how startups and investors interact with defense needs and policy constraints.
Technology is treated as both an economic force and a governance problem. Guests explore artificial intelligence’s potential impacts on labor, inequality, information integrity, and regulation, as well as the relationship between incumbents, startups, and public perception. Crypto and blockchain are examined through questions about institutional change, state power, and whether innovation is substantive or primarily regulatory arbitrage.
Economic and policy episodes range from macro and monetary history to trade, welfare, immigration, and development. Topics include central banking and financial crises, protectionism and the future of global trade rules, China’s economic trajectory, and debates over growth models and sustainable prosperity. Energy and industrial policy also appear through arguments about abundance—how cheaper, more reliable energy could reshape climate, production, and long-run living standards.
The show also devotes attention to culture, religion, and intellectual history. Interviews examine secularization, therapy culture, postmodernism, and contemporary culture-war dynamics, alongside deeper dives into metaphysics, consciousness, and the limits of scientific explanation. Historical conversations—spanning ancient civilizations through modern political development—are used to contextualize institutional change, social cohesion, and the rise and fall of complex systems. Across domains, the common emphasis is on big-picture frameworks and how ideas translate into policy, strategy, and societal direction.
| Episodes: |
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Andrew Markoff of Smack on Deterring Conflict with China 2025-Aug-12 43 minutes |
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Corporal Dmytro on Serving on the Frontlines of Ukraine 2024-Oct-02 28 minutes |
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Brian Streem on Building a Startup in Ukraine 2024-Aug-27 27 minutes |
Marian Tupy on Superabundance, Innovation, and Doomerism2023-Nov-27 49 minutes |
Bilal Zuberi of Lux Capital on Bridging the Gaps Between Technology, Defense, and Policy2023-Oct-17 57 minutes |
Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber on the Future of AI and the Existential Risk of Safetyism2023-Jun-19 93 minutes |
Bill Martin of Raging Capital Ventures on SVB's Collapse and What Happens Next2023-Apr-11 43 minutes |
Michael Gibson on The Thiel Fellowship and The Future of Education and Innovation2022-Nov-28 54 minutes |
Eli Dourado and Austin Vernon on Energy Superabundance and Creating a Prosperous 21st Century2022-Oct-18 49 minutes |
Vitalik Buterin on the Future of Crypto and Technology2022-Sep-15 65 minutes |
Wes Yang on the Culture War2022-Apr-24 198 minutes |
Eric Cline on 1177 B.C. & The Late Bronze Age2021-Jan-22 59 minutes |
Ole Jacob Madsen on The Therapeutic Turn2021-Jan-22 81 minutes |
Stephen Hicks on Postmodernism2021-Jan-22 78 minutes |
Adrian Goldsworthy on Ancient Rome2021-Jan-22 55 minutes |
Deirdre McCloskey on Innovism vs. Capitalism2021-Jan-22 73 minutes |
Michael Millerman on The Relationship Between Politics and Metaphysics2021-Jan-22 77 minutes |
Patrick Wyman on Communication & Mobility Throughout History2021-Jan-22 57 minutes |
Bryan Ward-Perkins on Late Antiquity2021-Jan-22 50 minutes |
Rod Dreher on the Culture War2021-Jan-22 64 minutes |
Collin Hansen on the Decline of Christianity in Western Culture2021-Jan-22 36 minutes |
Kyle Sammin on American Conservatism2021-Jan-22 52 minutes |
Alexis Coe on George Washington & American History2021-Jan-22 57 minutes |
James K.A. Smith on How (Not) to Be Secular2021-Jan-22 64 minutes |
Rudyard Lynch on Alternate History2021-Jan-22 47 minutes |
Carl Trueman on The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self2021-Jan-22 60 minutes |
Matt Ridley on the Evolution of Everything2020-Feb-12 52 minutes |
Sean Carroll on the Questions of the Universe2020-Feb-12 57 minutes |
Geoffrey West on Scale & Exponential Growth2020-Feb-12 61 minutes |
Raghuram Rajan on Growth and Sustainable Development2020-Feb-12 56 minutes |
Donald Hoffman on The Illusion of Reality2020-Feb-12 57 minutes |
Jonathan Pageau on Religion & Society2020-Feb-12 65 minutes |
Gary Basin on How Trading Works2020-Feb-12 63 minutes |
John Horgan on Consciousness and the Upper Limits of Science2020-Feb-12 62 minutes |
Soumaya Keynes on the State of Trade2020-Feb-11 69 minutes |
Samuel Hammond on Welfare Policy2020-Feb-11 74 minutes |
Doug Irwin on Trade Policy2020-Feb-11 34 minutes |
Sevilla King on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance2020-Feb-11 67 minutes |
Buster Benson on the Art of Productive Disagreement2020-Feb-09 46 minutes |
Margaret Peters on the Politics of Immigration2020-Feb-09 45 minutes |
Agnes Callard on Reconciling Egalitarianism & Meritocracy2020-Feb-09 68 minutes |
Matt Prewitt on Radical Markets2020-Feb-09 56 minutes |
Daron Acemoglu on Government and Economy2020-Feb-09 56 minutes |
Brian Nosek on Open Science & The Replication Crisis2020-Feb-09 57 minutes |
Yuval Levin on the Past, Present and Future of Conservatism2020-Feb-09 57 minutes |
Scott Sumner on the History of Monetary Policy2020-Feb-09 50 minutes |
Dinny McMahon on the Chinese Economy2020-Feb-09 50 minutes |
Frederick Crews on the Legacy of Freud2020-Feb-09 67 minutes |
Bryan Cutsinger on Monetary Policy & the Gold Standard2020-Feb-09 55 minutes |
Jared Bernstein on the Fed & the Financial Crisis2020-Feb-09 62 minutes |
Daniel Kaufman on the Problems in Philosophy2020-Feb-09 70 minutes |
Carola Binder on the Policy of the Fed2020-Feb-09 47 minutes |
Donald Kohn on the History of the Fed2020-Feb-09 42 minutes |
Binyamin Appelbaum on How Economists Have Shaped the World2020-Feb-09 44 minutes |
Ioana Marinescu on the Future of Economic Policy2020-Feb-09 51 minutes |
John Mearsheimer on American Foreign Policy2020-Feb-09 76 minutes |
Crispin Sartwell on Aesthetics & Philosophy2020-Feb-09 56 minutes |
Massimo Pigliucci on Stoicism2020-Feb-09 55 minutes |