American Optimist

Niall Ferguson is a renowned historian, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and prolific author of more than a dozen best-selling works on economics, culture, and politics. His newest book, "Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe,” examines how our leaders and societies have dealt with disasters, including pandemics, and how we must learn from the past to better manage future crises. In this episode, Ferguson explains why the rise and fall of civilizations do not fit into predictable patterns and cycles. He does not see American decline as inevitable and holds out that America’s best days may yet be ahead -- if it can stay on the right path. Ferguson also pulls back the curtain on the Chinese Communist Party, revealing the ways in which the CCP's strengths are exaggerated and why the United States’ support for smart policy and innovation will bolster its dominance in the years ahead. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

Balaji Srinivasan is a bold and forward-thinking writer, investor, and entrepreneur, who was formerly the Chief Technology Officer of Coinbase and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Currently, he's launching innovative ventures, such as his 1729 Project, while also advocating for cryptocurrency and the larger decentralized finance movement. In this episode, Srinivasan explains how to understand the world by looking through the lenses of three competing factions: the Chinese Communist Party, the "woke" mob, and cryptocurrency maximalists. He also discusses topics ranging from decentralized social media and startup cities to network states and what makes him optimistic on aspects of American innovation. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

From 2006 to 2015, the Right Honorable Stephen Harper served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. His premiership confronted challenges ranging from a global recession to the war against ISIS, but his smart and courageous leadership increased Canadian prosperity and bolstered security. Small businesses surged, while tech hubs from Waterloo to Toronto to Ottawa cemented their place as global centers of talent and investment. In this episode, Harper offers lessons from his tenure as Prime Minister, from how global leaders should address the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic to the challenges of a new multipolar world. Looking ahead, Harper leaves us with clear warnings about the threats posed by China— including a potential invasion of Taiwan. But he notes there are also bright spots in the international landscape, such as the historic Abraham Accords, bringing with them the potential to transform the Middle East for the better. Harper established his legacy by championing the principles that have made the West exceptional. Together, we discuss the importance of defending Western principles and the responsibility of great leaders to fight for our shared values. Note: this episode was recorded before the recent rise in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

How do you transform a startup into a household name? Ask Sujay Jaswa. When he joined Dropbox in 2010, the company had 16 million users. By the time he left in 2015, hundreds of millions of people relied on Dropbox for their daily web storage needs. As head of the business side of Dropbox and later CFO, Jaswa had a leading role in this transformation, building the business team from scratch and raising over a billion dollars. Today, Jaswa serves as Founder and Managing Partner at the investment firm WndrCo and lectures on entrepreneurship at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). In this conversation, he discusses the keys to his success with Dropbox, Aura, and other winning ventures, while also reflecting on lessons learned from WndrCo's role with Quibi, a media venture led by his partner Jeffrey Katzenberg that raised over $1.75 billion but sold its assets after struggling to gain traction. Jaswa also describes how the COVID vaccines are proof of American greatness, how he prefers to work with those with the courage to take intellectual risks, and why he believes affordable housing remains the biggest impediment to keeping Silicon Valley as the global tech hub. He speaks out against the top-down regulations that create artificial scarcity and calls for allowing denser housing to be built wherever possible, including in his own neighborhood. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

The United States is the most prosperous and advanced nation in the history of humanity—but it's currently facing a crisis of happiness. What went wrong? Arthur Brooks, Harvard professor, best-selling author, and renowned social scientist, has dedicated himself to tackling America's satisfaction deficit, and in this episode, he reveals his four keys to authentic happiness. (Not on the list: riches, power, or fame). Tempted to make a bucket list to get as much as possible out of life? Brooks shows how this, along with other popular ideas about how to feel more satisfied, can actually produce the opposite effect. One of the biggest drags on happiness in society is poverty. Having spent years seeking the best way to combat this curse as former president of the American Enterprise Institute, Brooks shares insight on why America's War on Poverty has failed. Could the key to transforming lives lie in shifting our approach from making poverty bearable, to making it truly escapable? For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

Palmer Luckey is as close as it gets to a real-life Iron Man. As a teenager, he worked on virtual reality headsets until he eventually created the Oculus Rift, the most groundbreaking VR headset ever assembled. After single-handedly shaping the field of virtual reality, and selling Oculus to Facebook, he founded Anduril, one of the fastest-growing defense companies in America today. While some American tech companies refuse to work with the U.S. military, Anduril is unabashed in its efforts to develop and deploy artificial intelligence, drone technology, and other advanced systems to defend America and its allies. In this conversation, Palmer discusses Anduril’s latest game-changing technologies, innovative ideas that can change the world, his favorite sci-fi novel — and the Fermi paradox! For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

This moment in our culture was made for a writer and thinker like Bari Weiss. What can Americans do to beat back the wave of illiberalism currently sweeping through our institutions? Bari Weiss took her stand last summer, resigning from the New York Times to launch her own Substack newsletter. Her courage has since inspired others to defend free speech, diversity of thought, and other core American values. In this episode, she explains what's at stake today. Left unchecked, "woke" intolerance and groupthink result in real harm to individuals and society—as indicated by many factors, including a recent, worrying rise in anti-Semitic violence. Weiss lays out the case for building new schools, media outlets, and institutions that protect the values that make our republic exceptional. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

When Kimbal and Elon Musk immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa to start their first company, they couldn't afford both an apartment and an office—so, unbeknownst to their employees, they slept in the office. The brothers have come a long way from their humble origins. Today, Kimbal is a highly successful entrepreneur and investor who serves on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX — and in this episode he provides exciting updates for each company. But along the way, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed his life forever. Kimbal explains how cooking for firefighters at Ground Zero awakened a passion for creating community through food. He now owns and operates restaurants around the country, while his Million Gardens Movement brings home-grown food to inner-city areas. Joe supports Kimbal's nonprofit and encourages others to do the same (link below). Million Gardens Movement: https://give.biggreen.org/campaign/fundraiser-million-gardens-movement/c331055 NOTE: This episode was recorded before many restaurants had fully reopened. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

More than 70 percent of child sex trafficking happens online. When Hollywood superstar Ashton Kutcher first heard this statistic, he knew he had to do something to stop it. His efforts took him to Silicon Valley—where, hoping to enlist leading tech entrepreneurs in the fight against online trafficking, he first met Joe. Through their work together, Kutcher's organization, Thorn, has built software and processes that have enabled governments to rescue thousands of children from sexual abuse. Ashton is an innovative technology investor, an extraordinary family man, and a philanthropist. In this episode, he discusses the dangers that face children online, and makes the case for why tech companies should do more to help law enforcement protect the vulnerable. He also weighs in on the future of social media and explains how China could use TikTok to influence the minds of Americans in an anti-U.S. propaganda effort. Finally, he details how his upbringing, with its focus on hard work and perseverance, propelled him from modest origins to his career as a world-famous actor and model. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

Curing cancer, eliminating diseases, reprogramming cells to help 80-year-olds feel like they're 30 -- could it all be possible in our generation? America is in the midst of a biotech revolution that is transforming modern medicine and will save countless lives. At the forefront is Dr. Rick Klausner, former director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, co-founder of Juno Therapeutics, GRAIL, and MindStrong Health, renowned scientist, and billionaire innovator. Dr. Klausner has played a pivotal role in this movement on a number of fronts, not least by discovering how to treat previously incurable end-stage cancers -- and then founding companies that do just that, already saving tens of thousands of lives. And he is just getting started. In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Klausner explains how these remarkable breakthroughs occurred, giving a rundown on the science of cell therapies and their remarkable potential, alongside other new possibilities. As he charts the future of medicine, he also draws upon his wealth of historical knowledge and hints at how modern science could harness recent Nobel-Prize winning breakthroughs to discover the source of youth that eluded sixteenth-century explorer Juan Ponce de León. [Joe briefly confuses Ponce de León with Vasco de Gama].