American Optimist

Death is the one thing we all share in common, but no one wants to talk about. Check out some of Ryan's most poignant and moving lessons on Stoic philosophy. And don't miss the full conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQplPF6Gtdk ⏩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ⏪ Like this video and subscribe to the channel ➡️ http://tinyurl.com/xfjkadd4 00:00 Intro 00:27 A radical perspective on death 03:13 Stoicism's impact on America's Founding 05:03 Do heroes still exist? 08:40 Flaws of the Stoics 10:36 How the Stoics challenged inequality Ryan Holiday is a college dropout turned best-selling author and publisher of the world's largest podcast and newsletter focused on Stoic philosophy: the Daily Stoic. Check out the Daily Stoic: https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyStoic Subscribe to the Daily Stoic newsletter: https://dailystoic.com/ Read Ryan's latest book: https://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Destiny-Power-Self-Control-Virtues-ebook/dp/B09PB1SB72

Maureen Hillenmeyer is the Founder and CEO of Hexagon Bio, a cutting-edge biotech company whose mission is to harvest new drugs and cures from the natural world, beginning with fungi. In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin launched a new age of antibiotics derived from fungi. However, the process of discovery was slow and laborious. In this episode, Hillenmeyer explains how Hexagon is using genomic sequencing and artificial intelligence to analyze the millions of types of fungi on earth and uncover new drugs and cures for a host of diseases. She also issues an important warning about the looming crisis of antibiotic resistance and how Hexagon's work could avert a medical disaster. For permission to use any portion of this video, please contact us at info@americanoptimist.com

Secret police groups, illegal bio labs, and large-scale influence operations — China is engaged in these activities inside the United States today. How should we respond? Is economic divorce the answer? And are we destined for conflict, or is there a path toward peace and mutual prosperity? We discuss these pressing issues with Rep. Mike Gallagher, Congressman for Wisconsin's 8th District and Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A distinguished warrior-scholar, Chairman Gallagher served in the Marines and deployed to Iraq, earned two Master's degrees and a Ph.D., and now leads one of the most consequential committees in Congress. In this episode, he details some of the CCP's most nefarious activities within the U.S., and our government’s inadequate responses. We discuss the right strategy for addressing the CCP, including when and where economic decoupling makes sense. Chairman Gallagher also provides an update on new legislative efforts he believes will finally succeed at forcing a sale of TikTok, and he explains why China's economic woes and looming demographic crisis might make Xi Jinping more likely to take aggressive action. If you want to understand the extent of the CCP's malign actions and influence campaigns, follow the bipartisan work of Chairman Gallagher's committee.

“The chemotherapy failed and you have six months to live.” Denise Delatorre would never forget her doctor’s words. Multiple rounds of chemotherapy could not eliminate an aggressive form of lymphoma. The cancer had won. That is, until she enrolled in Kite Pharma’s clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy, a breakthrough technology that reprograms T cells (a type of white blood cell) to identify specific proteins on cancer cells and destroy them. Unlike the grueling process of chemotherapy, they simply drew her blood, reprogrammed the cells in a lab, and then injected them back into her body. Within weeks, Denise was confirmed as cancer free. She owes her recovery to a confluence of medical breakthroughs, notably gene editing, and a cast of entrepreneurs and scientists who have labored for decades to bring cell therapies to market. It's important to note that CAR T-cell therapy is not a silver bullet. It carries risks, like any innovative treatment, but has saved numerous lives and become an effective tool against previously incurable diseases. We are fortunate to feature one of the leaders in cell therapies in this film: Dr. Jeff Bluestone, the CEO and President of Sonoma Bio. A pioneer in the field, Dr. Bluestone explains the remarkable potential of cell therapies, which are currently effective in blood cancers and may soon work against solid tumors and autoimmune disorders. We also highlight the innovators working to bring this technology to the masses, such as Paul Dabrowski, co-founder and CEO of Synthego. Dabrowski and his team are building the bioengineering infrastructure around cell therapies so that entrepreneurs can deliver these bespoke treatments at scale and commercialize them for the general public. Finally, we feature 8VC Partner Francisco Gimenez, who explains 8VC’s role in the biotech revolution and the unique opportunity to invest in saving lives while also building companies that will reshape medicine for generations to come. America is in the midst of a renaissance in biological sciences that will transform medicine and improve countless lives. We are excited to share an important element of that story with the American public.

"Blockchain's turned every user into a root user." 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 clip, he explains how blockchain is changing the world as we know it. Check out Joe's full conversation with Balaji here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMuIyspn7s0

On the morning of October 7, Roni Eshel was stationed at a military base in Nahal Oz, not far from Gaza. The 19-year-old soldier was serving her second year of service in the Israel Defense Forces when Hamas stormed the base and set fire to the compound. Some soldiers escaped, some were killed, but Roni has not been found. Her family is desperately searching for her and fears the worst. Her uncle Elad Levy is speaking out in hopes of locating Roni and bringing awareness to the atrocities committed by Hamas. In recent days, we’ve seen shocking displays of pro-Hamas statements and demonstrations from student groups at "elite" universities, while many in the media cowardly display moral equivalence and fail to speak the truth about Hamas’ unspeakable actions. Elad hopes that out of this darkness comes a new moral clarity that will unite the free world behind Israel and make clear that Hamas will meet the same fate as the Nazis and ISIS: complete destruction.

Dr. Rick Klausner gives a masterclass on the breakthroughs in cell therapies for curing blood cancers and how this technology may soon unlock cures to solid tumors and finally put an end to cancer. Dr. Rick Klausner is the former director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, co-founder of Juno Therapeutics, GRAIL, and MindStrong Health, renowned scientist, and billionaire innovator. Check out Joe's full conversation with Dr. Klausner: https://rumble.com/vryrlr-dr.-rick-klausner-the-biotech-revolution-will-transform-the-world.html

Dr. Jeannette zu Fürstenberg is Co-Founder and General Partner of “La Famiglia”, a Berlin-based Venture Capital fund, and holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Entrepreneurship from the Free University of Berlin. She’s also a princess of one of Europe’s oldest royal families by marriage, as well as a thoughtful leader in the innovation and business world. In this episode, she traces the birth of entrepreneurship from the Renaissance and explains how breaking down the silos of guilds led to a creative explosion -- and how we can apply those lessons today. Dr. Fürstenberg specializes in connecting old and new world industries and discusses how to transform the 21st century by moving from incremental to disruptive innovation.

If America is a racist country why are so many people from all over the world desperately trying to come to America? Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes on the "woke" critique of America. 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. Check out the full conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2CpZTlTL1A Help us reach more people. Like this video and subscribe to the channel ► http://tinyurl.com/xfjkadd4

Joe's full conversation with Ashton Kutcher: https://youtu.be/Gri661zGfEk?t=1357

Daniel Lubetzky is the founder of Peaceworks, the OneVoice Movement, and the multi-billion dollar snack company KIND. He's also a regular host on the popular TV show Shark Tank. The son of a Holocaust survivor, Lubetzky’s upbringing inspired him to use business to bridge cultural and economic divides. He explains America’s unique role in the world and why we must work together to repair our social fabric and break out of our tribal instincts.

Bari Weiss reveals why she resigned from a prestigious position at the New York Times to launch her own independent newsletter. Check out Joe Lonsdale's full conversation with Bari: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBvUo2MSplM ⏩ SUPPORT AMERICAN OPTIMIST ⏪ Like this video and subscribe to the channel ➡️ http://tinyurl.com/xfjkadd4 If you're looking for more thought-provoking and informative conversations, check out these episodes: Historian Niall Ferguson: Why Great Civilizations Rise and Fall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAdUdrDaAqA&t=513s Dr. Rick Klausner: How the Biotech Revolution Is Changing the World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kFxWiL1Q2A&t=0s

Judge Glock is the Director of Research and Policy at the Cicero Institute and an expert on housing and homelessness in the U.S. In this episode, Glock dissects the root causes of America's affordable housing shortage and explains how the right incentives can jumpstart development and bring down home costs for working-class families. He also exposes how policies like “Housing First” encourage the homeless to live and die on the streets while waiting for free and permanent housing, which won’t solve the root of their problems: addiction and mental illness. Instead, Glock explains how cities like San Diego combine bridge shelters with treatment and accountability to reduce homelessness -- a recipe that other state leaders can use to save lives and bring healing to hundreds of thousands of people.

Over the past two decades, Palantir has prevented a large number of terrorist attacks, deployed the most advanced civil liberties data infrastructure throughout western countries, and changed the course of history. Today, its technology is most evident on the battlefield in Ukraine, where its software has provided the Ukrainians a devastating advantage over Russian forces. And now, Palantir is quickly becoming the leading AI platform in the world for large organizations. How did a small startup overcome overwhelming institutional resistance to become one of the most important software companies in the world? And what can we learn from its CEO, Dr. Alex Karp — How does he attract the very best engineering talent? How did his dyslexia and outsider upbringing impact his views on the world and how Palantir is designed? We cover these questions and more in a special conversation between two of Palantir's co-founders. Dr. Karp holds a B.A. from Haverford College, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, where he studied under Jürgen Habermas and other leading intellectuals. In this episode, we explore the impact of philosophy on his life and why he ultimately left academia to build. We share some of our favorite stories from Palantir's early days, discuss how to reform the Pentagon to improve its results, and look ahead to how AI is changing the nature of warfare. Dr. Karp is one of the wisest leaders I know, and you'll learn how his iconoclastic views on software, patriotism, talent, and innovation have been proven right over the past years, and what they mean for the future.

Pano Kanelos is the President of the University of Austin (UATX), the most ambitious new university venture in America in decades. Recognizing the plight of America's higher education system, Pano stepped down as the President of St. John's College to build a new institution rooted in the pursuit of truth, open inquiry, and educating the next generation of American leaders. In this episode, Joe (a founding trustee of UATX) and Pano discuss the failures of modern academia and why it's time to take on the bold task of building a new world-class university. Learn more about the University of Austin: https://www.uaustin.org/

Thomas Chatterton Williams is a writer, cultural critic, fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and author of two critically-acclaimed books on race in America, most recently "Self-Portrait in Black and White:Unlearning Race." In this episode, he discusses the dangers of Critical Race Theory and how to move beyond race-first, collectivist mindsets. He also discusses his forthcoming book, "Nothing Was the Same," which traces the recent rise of illiberalism and polarization in the U.S. Even though we may find certain ideas or theories (like CRT) noxious, Williams argues for more engagement and debate, not banning or censoring materials, as the best path toward progress. He also offers positive solutions, such as expanding access to high-quality early education, as a means to reduce inequality. [NOTE: This episode was recorded before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.]

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. He pulls back the curtain on the Chinese Communist Party, revealing the ways in which the CCP's strengths are exaggerated -- an important perspective and reminder as the world turns its attention to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.