Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist Joe Lonsdale

STEM (science, technology, engineering & math) education is the backbone of the innovation economy. Yet at many schools, it's become stodgy and irrelevant to solving real-world problems. Not surprisingly, many of the best minds forgo college or drop out. What would it look like to design a STEM program that is inspiring, cutting-edge, and grounded in timeless truths? And how do you educate the next generation of great entrepreneurs who are also citizens of virtue? 
This week, we discuss a better model for STEM with Dr. David Ruth, Dean of the Center for STEM at the University of Austin (UATX). Dr. Ruth is a retired U.S. Navy Captain who worked on a nuclear attack submarine, an aircraft carrier, and as a war planner in Asia, before teaching advanced mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy for 13 years. 
In this episode, Dr. Ruth lays out UATX's approach to 21st-century STEM: a curriculum that balances first principles with practical application and unparalleled industry engagement. (We're already partnering with The Boring Company and other leading companies in Texas!) Many STEM programs bog down students in unnecessary tasks; UATX is taking a different approach with "computation-enabled thinking" that combines what humans do best (abstracting, modeling, and interpreting) with what computers do best (computation). We also discuss how to safeguard science and math from identity politics, and the importance of making STEM exciting and challenging through innovative games and challenges. If you're a student pursuing a STEM education, we hope you'll check out what we're building at UATX. 


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In 1979, Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi was attending fighter pilot school in Lubbock, Texas when the Islamic Revolution overthrew his father's reign. A radical theocracy seized power and began extinguishing freedoms, persecuting minorities, and taking a pro-Western Iran back to the Middle Ages. Since then, the Crown Prince has lived in exile as a leading voice for a secular and democratic Iran. What is his view of the Revolution? Why does he believe regime change is possible today? And how should the U.S. and the West deal with Iran?
Given Iran's recent attack on Israel, we get a rare and timely perspective on the power dynamics within Iran and why the current regime is more fragile than we realize. The Crown Prince paints a picture of his homeland pre-and-post Revolution, and explains why many governments misunderstand the fanatical leadership of Iran. He lays out his strategy of "maximum support" and how combining sanctions and external pressure with internal support, such as internet access and financial resources for protestors, could someday topple the regime. And if it does, he details a post-regime strategy to transition the government toward a secular democracy. We also discuss the longstanding history between the Persian and Jewish people, and how, with the right leadership, the region could once again become dynamic and prosperous.
[NOTE: this conversation was recorded shortly before Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel.]



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India’s tech ecosystem has hit an indisputable inflection point in recent years. For decades, American corporations outsourced basic services to India, while India outsourced its top talent to Silicon Valley. But today, India’s tech economy boasts homegrown software giants and a flourishing startup scene.
This week, we get a front-row look into India’s startup evolution with one of its top talents: Sri Ganesan, Founder and CEO of Rocketlane. His first company, Konotor, was acquired into Freshworks, which went public in 2021 for $10 billion and became one of India's biggest wins. Now, Sri is building Rocketlane into a leading solution for SaaS deployment and professional services automation, with teams in the U.S. and India. By combining American know-how with Indian talent, Rocketlane represents an important dynamic for the future of tech and expanding key partnerships around the world. 
In this episode, we dive into the lessons learned from Freshworks's success and how it paved the way for greater entrepreneurial risk within India. We also explore Sri's journey in scaling Rocketlane, from finding product-market fit to positioning the company to take advantage of the AI wave. We discuss what India’s rise to become one of the world's most important economies means for the future of tech and global talent distribution, along with the cultural differences between India and the US, and what it's like building on two continents simultaneously. Finally, Sri guides us through the various tech hubs in India, from Mumbai to Bangalore and Chennai, even down to his favorite restaurant and must-visit destinations for anyone heading to India soon.


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Every year, more than 20,000 Americans receive a bone marrow transplant — a Nobel prize-winning procedure that saves many lives but also carries great risk. For leukemia patients, it's a choice of last resort, as nearly 20% die from the transplant. Ivan Dimov, co-founder & CEO of Orca Bio, and his team have created a novel cell therapy alternative that has already saved over 400 lives in clinical trials with virtually zero rejection!This week, we dive into Ivan's journey, the science behind Orca's cancer breakthrough, and the potential of cell therapies to cure a host of other diseases.  By discovering new, high-precision methods to manipulate cells, Orca is able to provide leukemia patients with a designer immune system that attacks the cancer while nearly eliminating rejection. By safely rebooting the immune system, Ivan and his team believe Orca also has the potential to cure autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis, and impact the lives of millions of Americans.Orca is currently seeking the first-ever FDA approval in this space, and since it's a unique one-time curative therapy, they are also commercializing the drug in-house — a rare move in biopharma. Ivan walks us through the path to bringing Orca's products to market, from collaborating with regulators to negotiating with insurance companies and scaling up its manufacturing. Though many challenges remain, you'll see why we're incredibly bullish on Ivan's leadership and Orca's potential to transform the future of medicine.


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What are the forces behind the scenes that drive financial markets? How do bubbles form — and are we in one now? What do the world's best investors understand and how do they consistently come out ahead? 
This week we dive into global finance with one of the sharpest minds in macro investing: Whitney Baker, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Totem Macro. Whitney previously worked at two of the world's leading investment firms, first in global macro & long/short strategies at Soros Fund Management and most recently as the Head of Emerging Markets at Bridgewater Associates. 
In this episode, Whitney lays out the principles behind macro investing and how credit flows, borrowing cycles, and monetary policy drive global finance. She traces our current-day situation back to the 1970s when President Nixon ditched the gold standard and opened trade with China. She explains how a new age of deficit spending combined with China entering the U.S. bond market paved the way for the dot com bubble, and ultimately where we are today. Whitney makes the case that inflation isn't going away soon and believes the Federal Reserve's actions over the past few decades have exacerbated inequality in America. Yet, despite these headwinds, Whitney believes technological progress can sustain the U.S. through these challenging times, so long as we set the right conditions for our best entrepreneurs to succeed. 
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U.S. e-commerce sales eclipsed $1 trillion last year and are expected to double or triple over the next decade. As online demand increases, how can small businesses compete with retail giants like Amazon and Walmart? What capabilities do they need? And can a new model help level the playing field? 
This week, we explore the future of logistics and e-commerce with Tyler Scriven, co-founder and CEO of Saltbox. Tyler was a star talent at Palantir for many years (his first job title was "Predictor and Crusher" on account of his ability to eliminate operational challenges) before applying his learnings to help entrepreneurs nationwide. He identified a key gap in the market: small businesses have great software tools, but need help in the physical world with supply chain and logistics to compete against large retailers with scale advantages. With a dozen locations in major metropolitan areas, Saltbox provides a unique co-warehousing model to elevate storage and shipping capabilities. 
In this episode, we discuss Tyler's most important lessons from Palantir and how to cultivate a mission-driven culture. We cover his entrepreneurial journey from Palantir to acquiring his own small business and discovering the logistical shortcomings that Saltbox is designed to solve. We also talk leadership lessons and Tyler's compelling perspective on "courage for normal people." 


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com