Infinite Loops

Arjun Khemani is a 17-year-old writer and podcaster who dropped out of high school to help lead support at Airchat, the social network co-founded by Naval Ravikant.

As the host of the Arjun Khemani podcast, Arjun has spoken to a wide range of guests including David Deutsch, David Perell and Naval Ravikant. His Substack, Progress Good, “serves as a defense against the anti-Enlightenment tradition, exploring progress, rationality, and optimism.”

Arjun joins the show to discuss why education should be voluntary, the moral case for selfishness, the pessimism of ultimacy and MUCH more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Eddy Elfenbein is an OG finance blogger, ETF manager, and FinTwit legend, with over 25 years of experience working in and around Wall Street.

Eddy joins the show to discuss the story behind his longtime blog - Crossing Wall Street (CWS), the origins of his famous Buy List, his ETF journey, his philosophy as an investor, and much more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Friend-of-the-show Anna Gát returns to discuss… well… pretty much everything!

On April 13th, O’Shaughnessy Ventures and Interintellect are co-hosting a Future of Publishing event at the beautiful Pratt Mansion in NYC.

We’re bringing together established publishers, online writers, new publishing houses, journalists, technologists, authors and more to rethink and reimagine how ideas are spread in our changing world. Confirmed speakers include Coleman Hughes, Tara Isabella Burton, Tamara Winter, Sahil Lavingia and many more!

Here’s the best part - we want YOU to be there! To buy in-person tickets and for more information on live-streaming, scheduling, speakers, and more, just follow this link.

We hope to see you there!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

The inimitable Visakan Veerasamy returns for a characteristically wide-ranging discussion…

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books & Articles Mentioned:

Brendan McCord is the founder of Cosmos Institute — a non-profit dedicated to exploring the intersection of AI and philosophy.

Brendan joins the show to discuss Cosmos’ origins, the pursuit of philosophy as a technologist, the different schools of thought in AI, complex adaptive systems and MUCH more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Alex Komoroske has spent his career studying, writing about, and working in complex adaptive systems. He has published multiple essays on topics like Schelling points in organizations, why debate should be collaborative, and how to ensure resilient growth in harsh environments. Alex has also worked as a product manager and in corporate strategy at Google and Stripe.

Alex joins the show to discuss how to escape busyness, why heroism is overrated, the different types of magic, and MUCH more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books and Articles Mentioned:

Cedric Chin is a writer, researcher and operator whose Commoncog newsletter is dedicated to finding useful, practical ways to accelerate business expertise. He joins us to discuss some of the most potentially transformative concepts he’s uncovered, from the business expertise triad to naturalistic decision making.

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books and Articles Mentioned:

Devon Eriksen always wanted to be a writer. As a child, he was persuaded to abandon his aspirations in favor of a career in software engineering. Two decades later, he retired to finally fulfil his ambition to write imaginative hard-science fiction in the vein of authors like Asimov, Heinlein and Niven. He self-published his first novel, Theft of Fire, last year to an excellent reception.

Devon joins the show to discuss why his book incorporates alien technology, the role of patronage in the digital era, his unusual approach to obtaining feedback, and MUCH more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books and Articles Mentioned:

Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder of Acumen, a nonprofit impact investment fund “changing the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders and ideas.”

As well as founding Acumen in 2001, Jacqueline is a public speaker and best-selling author. She also sits on multiple philanthropic boards. Her latest book Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, “reveals 12 leadership practices for anyone eager to build a better world.”

Jacqueline joins us to discuss how to create a high-trust society, the difference between moral righteousness and moral leadership, why the opposite of poverty is dignity, and MUCH more.

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of 9 books and over 100 scientific papers. A critic of what he sees as the scientific establishment’s dogmatic dedication to materialism, he is perhaps best known for his theory of “morphic resonance,” via which information and activity can be transferred across space and time. Rupert joins the show to discuss being branded a heretic, how to test for telepathy, his advice for young scientists, and MUCH more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books & Articles Mentioned:

Friend-of-the-show Rob Henderson returns to discuss his powerful, moving and important debut book, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class (published TODAY). We discuss Rob’s experience of the American foster care and adoption system, the life-changing impact of the military, the rise of Luxury Beliefs, the benefits of standardized testing, and MUCH more.

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books and Articles Mentioned:

Alec Stapp is the co-founder of the Institute for Progress, a non-partisan innovation policy think tank aiming to “accelerate scientific, technological and industrial progress while safeguarding humanity’s future.” He joins the show to discuss how to achieve change in the age of lobbying, why bipartisanship is underrated, why US immigration policy is so slow-moving and MUCH more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books and Articles Mentioned:

Essayist, tinkerer, and author Rohit Krishnan returns to discuss his book, Building God: Demystifying AI for Decision Makers. Important Links:

For this milestone 200th (yes, TWO HUNDREDTH) episode of Infinite Loops, regular guest and Infinite Media head Liberty RPF joins writer & researcher Ed William to turn the tables on Jim O’Shaughnessy. Stay tuned for Jim’s dream podcast guests, his advice to parents, a diabolical spin on his trademark closing question, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Lisa Wehden and Minn Kim are the founders of Plymouth Street, which guides talented individuals through the US immigration process. Its aim is to accelerate innovation through faster and more transparent immigration services. Lisa & Minn join the show to discuss the pitfalls of the current system, how Plymouth Street is injecting agency into the immigration process, the importance of storytelling, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Alice Albrecht is the founder and CEO of re:collect, a company dedicated to “enhancing human intelligence by augmenting memory, perception, and synthesis utilizing AI.” Alice started her career in psychology and academia, obtaining a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Yale University. She joins the show to discuss how to become more creative, why she believes that nothing is true, how to boost evolution and MUCH more! Important Links:

Guy Spier runs the Aquamarine Fund, an “investment partnership closely modeled on the original Buffet Partnerships.” He is also a podcast host, YouTube creator, author of The Education of a Value Investor and the host of the annual investment gathering VALUEx. He describes his life’s project as “a quest for wealth, wisdom and enlightenment.” Guy joins the show to discuss the differences between Switzerland and the US, how to unlock the British class system, what he learned from Warren Buffett, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Jared Dillian is a writer, strategist, financial expert, public speaker, and author of four books, including No Worries: How To Live a Stress-Free Financial Life (out this month!). He joins us to discuss why you should never loan money to your friends or family, why the FIRE movement is a fast track to a miserable life, the hidden costs of being cheap, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and master of mental models, George Mack, returns to discuss the top 0.1% of ideas he’s ever come across, from treating life as a video game to spotting high-agency individuals. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Eric Jorgenson is (deep breath) an author, investor, writer, podcast host, online course creator, and the CEO of Scribe Media (breathe out). He joins the show to discuss the death of the marketing department, the changing nature of business-to-creator economics, the most impactful thing he learned from Balaji, the future of the publishing industry, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Arkady Kulik is a founding partner of rpv, a deep tech venture fund that aims to “drive tangible advancements in the well-being of humankind” by focusing on early, scientifically intensive ventures. He has over 15 years of experience in the IT sector as a C-level executive, a master’s degree in physics, and an MBA from INSEAD. Arkady joins the show to discuss how to evaluate a deep tech deal, why more scientists don’t become entrepreneurs, the ultimate goal of science, the two types of human motivation, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Alex Lieberman is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Morning Brew, the cofounder of Storyarb and the host of 60 Second Startup & Founder’s Journal. Alex joins the show to discuss why hiring a Voice Editor contributed to Morning Brew’s success, how to spot a writing unicorn, how he learned to follow his intrinsic motivation and MUCH more! Important Links:

Tim Beiko, who runs the core protocol meetings for Ethereum, teams up with writer and consultant Venkatesh Rao to discuss their “Summer of Protocols” research program. This initiative brought together 33 researchers with a wide range of expertise to investigate protocols across several domains. Join us for an in-depth exploration of protocols: understanding what they are, their importance, why they can go wrong, and much more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books & Essays Mentioned:

Will Schoder is a video essayist who explores a diverse range of topics including psychology, meaning, re-enchantment, metamodernism, mortality, and satire. Initially known for his short-form videos, his latest series is a trilogy of fascinating long-form deep dives into the nature, foundations, and secrets of happiness. Will joins the show to share his insights on the evolving significance of curation, the future of the creator economy, how to obtain deep happiness and MUCH more. Important Links:

Ben Westhoff is a best-selling investigative journalist focusing on culture, drugs, and poverty. Ben’s book Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Created the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic was the culmination of a four-year investigation into the worst drug crisis in American history, an investigation that included Ben making an undercover visit to Chinese drug factories. His latest book, Little Brother: Love, Tragedy, and My Search for Truth tells the story of Ben’s search for his little brother’s killer. Ben is currently working on a documentary, Antagonist, about naltrexone, an opioid treatment medicine that some have called a “wonder drug.” Ben joins the show to discuss the failure of the War on Drugs, the role played by Big Pharma, how he speaks to his children about drugs, what most Americans misunderstand about poverty, and MUCH more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

AI researcher, memelord extraordinaire, and techno-optimist Roon joins the show to discuss coming up with the shape rotator vs. wordcel meme, what an AGI world could become, and why Tenet is Christopher Nolan’s best movie. Important Links:

Katherine Dee is a writer, journalist, and internet culture reporter. A contributor to publications such as UnHerd, Tablet, and Blaze Media, she is also the proprietor of the Default Wisdom Substack, where she writes about a wide range of topics, including internet history and culture, digital communities, millennial nostalgia, and online fandom. Katherine joins the show to discuss why you’re never leaving Twitter, how to escape the nostalgia trap, whether it’s possible to heal our attention spans, and MUCH more! Important Links:

The inimitable Derek Sivers returns for Part Two of our conversation. Important Links:

Over the years, Derek Sivers has been a musician, circus performer, computer programmer, author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. In the 2000s, he sold his business, CD Baby, for $22 million and gave the proceeds to charity. Derek has optimized his life “for creating and learning” and spends as much of his time as he can (often 12 hours a day, 6 days a week) passionately pursuing his interests. Known for his ability to compress complex ideas into succinct insights, he has written four books and is currently working on his fifth. This conversation was so much fun that Derek immediately asked to return for a sequel, which we will be releasing this Thursday (26 October). Stay tuned! Important Links:

John Fio is an inventor and entrepreneur who has bootstrapped four products that have collectively generated hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. He joins the show to discuss why ideas are harder than execution, what he learned from being Justin Bieber’s intern, what most people get wrong about Kanye West, why magic is real, and what the success of Barbie and Taylor Swift can tell us about the future.  Enjoy! Important Links:

James Pethokoukis is a policy analyst, official CNBC contributor, and Dewitt Wallace Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also the creator and writer of the Faster, Please! newsletter, which is dedicated to “discovering, creating, and inventing a better world through technological innovation, economic growth, and pro-progress culture.” James joins the show to discuss his new book, The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Bojan Tunguz is a senior systems software engineer at NVIDIA, quadruple Kaggle grandmaster, former top 10 Amazon reviewer, and former physicist. He joins the show to discuss the problems that LLMs can’t solve, the speed of AI progress, why he homeschools his kids, how to win Twitter, and more! Important Links:

Julie Fredrickson is a former founder and the Managing Partner of Chaotic Capital, an “early stage fund for companies that adapt our lives and systems to the opportunities that chaos brings.” She joins the show to discuss the Great Weirding, becoming a playable character, how the market provides a muse, the power of preparation, and more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Danny Miranda’s ambition is to sell out Madison Square Gardens for a live edition of his podcast. Now, on episode 402 (and counting), he is getting closer to that goal every week. He joins the show to discuss the art of interviewing, why he’s attracted to the light, his favorite questions, and more. Important Links:

Dror Poleg is an author, speaker, and researcher investigating technology’s impact on the way people work, live, and invest. He joins us to discuss the relationship between AI and remote work, how cities are going to change, the internet’s role as a matching engine, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Our previous episode with Trung & Rob included the bombshell reveal that Rob had never watched Apocalypse Now. Nearly one year later, Rob and Trung make their triumphant return to the show to discuss the themes of the film, the lessons aspiring creators can draw from its troubled production history, the role of the Vietnam War in American cinema, and a whole lot more. Important Links:

"Who is America’s best-known banker? That would be Jamie Dimon. But who is the richest? That would be Andy Beal, with an estimated net worth of $9 billion." Friend-of-the-show Frederik Gieschen joins us for an impromptu conversation about his article on the life and work of Andy Beal, the richest banker in America. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Dr. Julie Gurner is a doctor of psychology and executive performance coach to top percentile executives, primarily in finance and technology. She is also the proprietor of the Ultra Successful newsletter, which delivers a weekly challenge pulled from global business leaders and designed to ”help you unleash your power.” Dr. Gurner joins the show to discuss the merits of being unreasonable, why your business should not be your identity, why niceness is overrated, and more! Important Links:

Board Certified hypnotist & Goodwin Hypnosis founder Todd Goodwin joins us for his second appearance to discuss why we should treat the mind like a garden, why revelation is not the same as resolution, why labels can be counterproductive, and much more!

Important Links:

Goodwin Hypnosis

Goodwin Hypnosis’ YouTube

Todd’s first episode

Luca Dellanna’s episode

Our episode on Dr John Sarno

Show Notes:

Treating the symptoms vs treating the cause

Gardening the mind

“Revelation is not resolution”

Why aren’t hypnosis & NLP more popular?

Could Todd’s work be filmed?

Why labeling conditions can be counterproductive

Clearing the emotional charge from traumatic memories

Top-down vs. Bottom-up solutions

Hypnosis as a way of reclaiming agency

How we are shaped by childhood experiences

Why we need a more compassionate criminal system

MORE!

Books Mentioned:

Healing Back Pain; by John E. Sarno

Why is hard work a form of laziness? Why should we be wary of short-term success? How can imagining parallel worlds help us make better decisions? Author, management advisor, and researcher Luca Dellanna joins us to discuss these questions and more!

Important Links:

Luca’s Website

Luca’s Twitter

Show Notes:

Ergodicity: survival is king

Why sample size matters

The two types of competitors

Teaching by signaling

The parallel worlds approach to decision-making

Racing to the bottom

Why working hard can be a form of laziness

The three things managers should prioritize

Why desiring change isn’t enough

Fighting avoidance with actionable small steps

“Mixed values produce mixed results”

Thinking by writing

What Luca has learned from living in multiple countries

Luca as Emperor of the World

MORE!

Books Mentioned:

Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder; by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy

Ergodicity: Definition, Examples, And Implications, As Simple As Possible; by Luca Dellanna

The Control Heuristic: The Nature of Human Behavior; by Luca Dellanna

100 Truths You Will Learn Too Late; by Luca Dellanna

Designer, entrepreneur and Visualize Value founder Jack Butcher joins us for his second appearance on the show to discuss how to get closer to reality, the differences between the US & the UK, whether vision can be taught, and MUCH more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Dan Runcie is the Founder of Trapital, a company focused on music, media, and entertainment. Trapital’s output includes a podcast, weekly newsletter, and deep-dive essays breaking down trends in the music industry. Dan joins us for his second appearance on the show to discuss how AI will transform the music industry, whether the age of the superstar is over, how artists become billionaires, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Dr. William Zeng is founder and President of the Unitary Fund, a non-profit dedicated to developing the quantum ecosystem to benefit the most people. He previously led initial development of Rigetti Computing’s quantum cloud platform, and is co-inventor of the Quil quantum instruction language. He was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 in the Science category for his work on quantum computing. Dr. William was one of the first recipients of an O’Shaughnessy Fellowship, which is a one-year program for ambitious people who want to build something great. Fellows receive a $100,000 grant and access to OSV’s network of founders, investors and experts to support them in bringing their projects to life. Dr. William is using his fellowship grant to study how emerging quantum technologies can explore foundational questions in quantum mechanics. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Jack Raines is an online writer and LinkedIn provocateur, whose newsletter Young Money has already amassed 30,000 readers. Jack joins the show to discuss the importance of travel, the upsides of authenticity, risk, luck, and much, much more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Richard Craib is the Founder & CEO of Numerai, a new kind of hedge fund where data scientists around the world collaborate to predict equity returns using artificial intelligence. Richard joins the show to discuss Numerai’s origins, how it embraces the spirit of open source, why it has its own cryptocurrency and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

The scientist, researcher, analyst, connector, thinker, and doer Brian Roemmele joins us for his second Infinite Loops appearance to discuss the decline of wisdom and how we can save it, why LLMs are the modern version of Plato’s cave, we need locally run AI models and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Dr. Pippa Malmgren is an economist, founder, keynote speaker & award-winning author. She served President George W. Bush as Special Assistant to the President and on the National Economic Council. She was responsible for financial market issues during the Enron crisis, and was responsible for assessing terrorism risks to the economy after 9/11. She has also advised the US Cabinet. Dr. Pippa’s most recent book, the Infinite Leader, won the International Press Award for the Best Book on Leadership for 2021. Dr. Pippa joins the show to discuss why leadership has gone wrong, what she thinks of the recent UFO news, why we’re already in World War III, and a whole lot more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

mgren is an economist, founder, keynote speaker & award-winning author. She served President George W. Bush as Special Assistant to the President and on the National Economic Council. She was responsible for financial market issues during the Enron crisis, and was responsible for assessing terrorism risks to the economy after 9/11. She has also advised the US Cabinet. Dr. Pippa’s most recent book, the Infinite Leader, won the International Press Award for the Best Book on Leadership for 2021. Dr. Pippa joins the show to discuss why leadership has gone wrong, what she thinks of the recent UFO news, why we’re already in World War III, and a whole lot more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Ethan Mollick is an Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies and teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. He also leads Wharton Interactive, an effort to democratize education using games, simulations, and AI. When Ethan started his Substack One Useful Thing in November last year, he was planning on writing about a different management paper every post. Then, in Ethan’s words, the arrival of ChatGPT turned him from “an AI-skeptic to an AI-believer.” Over the last few months, Ethan has been explaining the rapid developments in the AI industry, documenting how he has incorporated AI into his teaching, and providing practical guides to how we can use AI in our daily lives. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Chen Qiufan (AKA Stanley Chan) is an award-winning science fiction writer, screenwriter, creative producer, and columnist. He is the president of the World Chinese Science Fiction Association and the founder of the content development studio Thema Mundi.     Chen joins the show to discuss his latest novel, AI 2041: Ten Visions for the Future, which he co-wrote with former Google China president Kai-Fu Lee.     Part science fiction, part science forecasting, over ten short stories AI 2041 imagines the different ways, good and bad, that AI will impact our society. The central thesis? AI will transform our lives, but we remain masters of our fate.     Important Links:

Todd Goodwin is the founder of Goodwin Hypnosis, a hypnosis center based in North Carolina. He is a Board Certified Fellow of the National Guild of Hypnotists, a designation earned by only one in every 500 hypnotists. As well as working with thousands of clients since opening Goodwin Hypnosis in 2007, Todd has co-facilitated hypnosis certification courses, created a book and accompanying 30-day hypnosis system designed to stop people from smoking, and given numerous presentations on hypnosis to physicians, students, and medical staff. Todd joins the show to discuss some of the common myths & misconceptions around hypnosis. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Nat & Martha Sharpe have been a creative team for over a decade. Nat was a film school graduate and Martha a storytelling enthusiast. They fell in love while filming a musical parody of "Beowulf" with their friends. After another comedy and two documentaries, they started having children. Focus shifted from art to survival. Together, they learned to code, got off food stamps, and traveled around America in an RV. Today, Nat and Martha homeschool their 5 kids and are eager to explore alternative education, expand their comfort zones, and—as always—make movies. Nat & Martha were the first recipients of an O’Shaughnessy Fellowship, which is a one-year program for ambitious people who want to build something great. Fellows receive a $100,000 grant and access to OSV’s network of founders, investors and experts to support them in bringing their projects to life. Nat & Martha are using their fellowship grant to study and make documentary films of alternative childhood education schools. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Jason Crawford is the founder & president of The Roots of Progress, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century. Jason has written well over 100 essays on the history of technology and the philosophy of progress, and given numerous talks and interviews on the same. He joins the show to discuss whether humans deserve progress, how to make progress cool, the two types of optimism, and more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

David Pinsof is an evolutionary social scientist and a co-creator of the game Cards Against Humanity. He holds a PhD in Psychology from UCLA, where he studied the evolutionary origins of political bullshit, and has written a handful of academic papers, one of which has been cited 152 times and another of which was quoted in the New York Times.     David is the author of the ‘Everything Is Bullshit’ Substack, which aims to poke holes in the stories we tell ourselves. He joins the show to discuss why happiness & morality are bullshit, the difference between bullshit & lying, why we conceal the status monkey, and more!     Important Links:

David’s Twitter David’s Substack; Everything is Bullshit Cards Against Humanity The Execution Hypothesis; by Richard Wrangham Discordianism Our podcast with George Mack Our podcast with Will Storr

What is bullshit? The difference between bullshitting and lying Why moralizing is bullshit Concealing the status monkey The origins of Cards Against Humanity How are status games changing? Why happiness is bullshit Happiness as a status symbol How can we escape bullshit? Why we’re driven by negative emotions How to become more positive The role of humor in calling out bullshit MUCH more!

On Bullshit; by Harry G. Frankfurt Propaganda; by Edward Bernays Influence: Science and Practice; by Robert Cialdini The Moral Animal: Why We Are The Way We Are; by Robert Wright The Status Game: On Social Position and How We Use It; by Will Storr The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History; by Howard Bloom Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Happy; by Derren Brown Tao Te Ching; by Lao Tzu Gödel, Escher, Bach; by Douglas Hofstadter

Dylan O’Sullivan is a writer and media specialist based in Cork, Ireland. Dylan’s work has been published in magazines such as The Spectator and Areo. He is also the creator of Essayful, a Substack dedicated to becoming “a new home for writing.” Following his participation in David Perell’s Write of Passage course last year, Dylan joined us as an intern at O’Shaughnessy Ventures. He joins the show to discuss the problem with traditional education, the blurry border between fiction & nonfiction, how AI is going to impact writing, why Ireland has such cultural influence, and more! Important Links:

After starting his career on a market stall in Essex, John Sills has spent the last twenty-five years working to make the world a better place for customers. John is the Managing Partner at the customer-led growth company The Foundation, and his writing has also been featured in publications such as The Guardian and Management Today. He joins the show to discuss his thought-provoking and timely new book The Human Experience: How to make life better for your customers and create a more successful organization. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Billy Oppenheimer is a researcher for Ryan Holiday. He is also known for his viral long-form tweets and Six at 6 on Sunday newsletter. Billy is insatiably curious. He is a master at drawing lessons from anecdotes from the worlds of sports, music, comedy, business, and more. He joins the show to discuss how to cultivate good taste, whether everything is a remix, why he learns through introjection, and a whole lot more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Friend-of-the-show (and new O’Shaughnessy Ventures team member) Liberty RPF joins Jim and fellow friend-of-the-show Jimmy Soni to discuss the current state of the publishing industry and the new opportunities emerging for current and aspiring authors. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Alex Danco returns for his seventh (yes, SEVENTH) appearance on Infinite Loops to discuss, as usual, pretty much everything other than the topics we had prepared in advance. This week, we discuss: The two types of lawyers, what Alex learned from reading Don Quixote, Elon the Reply Guy, the psychology of Seinfeld, the best Wall Street Movies, and much more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Gurwinder Bhogal is a writer and programmer who writes about the myriad ways in which technology and psychology conspire to fool us and how we can withstand the covert assault on our senses. Gurwinder is known for his epic Twitter ‘Megathreads’ which set out a series of powerful concepts for understanding the world. He joins the show to discuss our tendency to narrativize information, how to overcome the bandwidth tax, why Wikipedia is the world’s largest source of misinformation, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

This week, we’re delighted to welcome Ed Latimore back for his second Infinite Loops appearance.

Ed is a best-selling author, former professional heavyweight boxer, competitive chess player, Physics graduate, father, and husband. He joins us to discuss stoicism, progress & pain, demonstrating authenticity, being liked vs. being respected, and a whole lot more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Edward Rooster is one of our favourite writers. His themes include the future, mythology, time and history. He has written two books, Box of Stars and Harvest, and he is currently working on a third. Edward joins the show to discuss embracing uncertainty, avoiding becoming Icarus, unsticking yourself from time, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Venkatesh Rao is a writer, consultant, and author. He has been writing about indie consulting for years and has recently published The Art of Gig, Volumes 1 & 2, which together take an in-depth look at the gig economy. Venkatesh joins the show to discuss tragic luck, becoming slightly nonsensical, the advantages of mediocrity, and a whole lot more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Ananyo Bhattacharya is the author of The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann, a brilliant biography of one of the most prolific and influential scientists to have ever lived. He joins the show to discuss von Neumann’s contributions to quantum physics, game theory, the Manhattan Project, and much more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Michael Breitenbach is Senior Vice President within the Chief Investment Office at Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management, where he is responsible for leading development of quantitative infrastructure and machine learning models for evaluating both internally and externally covered investment offerings. He is also the man behind an extremely popular anonymous Twitter account that many of you will be familiar with (see if you can guess which one…) Michael joins the show to discuss the FTX fallout, the current state of the crypto industry, the rise of AI compliance, and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Visakan Veerasamy is a prolific thinker, writer & creator. As well as being the author of the books ‘Introspect’ and ‘Friendly Ambitious Nerd’, he is known for weaving huge, interconnected Twitter threads and for his mission to build “the greatest social graph of friendly, ambitious nerds that the world has ever seen.” Important Links:

Friends-of-the-show David Senra & Liberty RPF return for a characteristically wide-ranging conversation. Enjoy! Important Links

Dwarkesh Patel is the host of The Lunar Society podcast, where he interviews scientists, historians, economists, intellectuals, & founders about their ideas. He also writes about tech, progress, talent, science, and the long-term over at his Substack. Dwarkesh has been described as “one of the best young podcasters alive”, and his Substack has been praised by the likes of Jeff Bezos, Paul Graham and Tyler Cowen. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

David Ha is the Head of Strategy at Stability AI, and one of the top minds working in AI today. He previously worked as a research scientist in the Brain team at Google. David is particularly interested in evolution and complex systems, and his research explores how intelligence may emerge from limited resource constraints. He joins the show to discuss the advantages of open-source models, modelling AI as an emergent system, why large language models are bad at maths and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Jesse Michels is an investor at Thiel Capital and the creator and host of ‘American Alchemy’, a Youtube channel dedicated to highlighting the most heretical thinkers and ideas of our time. He joins the show to discuss the transmission theory of consciousness, whether mushrooms are aliens, the reawakening of the Boomers and MUCH more! Important Links:

Mark Nelson is the Managing Director of Radiant Energy Group, a consultancy which advises governments, nonprofits and industry about nuclear energy. He joins the show to discuss Chernobyl the memes vs Chernobyl the molecules, introducing nuclear festivals, adopting an abundance mindset, and a whole lot more. Important Links:

Author, CEO of VUDU Marketing and digital nomad Sam McRoberts returns for his second appearance on Infinite Loops. This week, Sam and Jim discuss Sam’s latest book ‘The Grand Redesign’. Part science-fiction, part operating manual for upgrading human OS, ‘The Grand Redesign’ touches on a number of recurring Infinite Loops themes, and is available for free online (see ‘Important Links’ section below). Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Cliff Asness is the Founder, Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer at AQR Capital Management. Prior to co-founding AQR Capital Management, he was a Managing Director and Director of Quantitative Research for the Asset Management Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Cliff joins the show to discuss FTX, AMC , why hedge funds aren’t hedging, the role of index funds and a whole lot more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Ben Tossell writes Ben’s Bites, a daily newsletter on AI that’s read by over 15,000 others from Google, a16z, Sequoia, Amazon, Meta and more. He previously founded Makerpad, a no-code education side which was acquired by Zapier in March 2021. Important Links:

Show Notes:

We’ve landed. After 3 months of stealth mode, sneak-peeks, and surprise announcements, we have finally hit launch day. In this special episode of Infinite Loops, hosted by Patrick O’Shaughnessy, Jim chats through the rationale behind founding OSV, the positive impact he wants it to have on the world, and the ways you can get involved. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Tom Morgan returns for his third appearance on Infinite Loops with Jim, Infinite Loops’ own Ed William and special guest Brett Andersen, an evolutionary psychology PhD student at the University of New Mexico. We discuss the implications of the ideas presented in Brett’s fantastic essay ‘Intimations of a New Worldview’, whether the rise of anti-heroes is a challenge to Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, the influence of conscious vs unconscious design, and much more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Brom Rector is the founder of Empath Ventures, a VC fund that in invests in early-stage psychedelics startups. Prior to founding Empath, Brom sent several years as a portfolio manager and quantitative researcher. Brom joins the show to discuss the current state of the psychedelics industry, the lessons learned founding a VC fund, the differences between psychedelics and cannabis, and a whole lot more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Ahead of the release of the next episode of his lecture series on René Girard, Johnathan Bi returns for his second appearance on the show. He and Jim discuss Girard, prestige, innovation, AI, and much more. Enjoy! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Rohit is a VC and essayist who writes fascinating, thought-provoking essays on complexity, progress, innovation and technology over at Strange Loop Canon. He joins the show for a second time to discuss the lessons learned from the FTX meltdown, why there isn’t a philosophy of business, creating an AI picture book, and a whole lot more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Julia is the co-founder of Rosetta Analytics Inc, “an alternative asset manager that is pioneering the use of advanced artificial intelligence to build and actively manage liquid investment strategies.” Prior to co-founding Rosetta, Julia served as President of Wilshire Consulting and was a member of Wilshire’s Board of Directors and Consulting Investment Committee. Julia joins the show to take a deep dive into deep reinforcement learning and Rosetta’s pioneering work using AI as the basis of its investment strategies. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Creator and curator Liberty RPF returns for his second appearance on Infinite Loops. He and Jim discuss the art of curation, the opportunities and risks of AI, the curse of creativity, the future of learning, and MUCH more!

Title:  Description: Lulu Cheng Meservey is the Chief Communications Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Activision Blizzard. She joins Infinite Loops to provide us with a masterclass in communications for startups. A must-listen for current and aspiring founders. Important Links:  • Lulu’s Twitter  • Lulu’s Substack Show Notes:  • Why people write hit pieces  • The insurgency framework  • How to access your audience’s neural real estate  • How to develop a spontaneous elevator pitch  • Tips for becoming better at reading the room  • Speak directly and take the hits  • Defining business objectives  • Learning from other industries  • Personalising your message  • Overcoming resistance to the unknown, what Christianity can teach us about comms  • Escaping corporate jargon  • How comms resembles rugby  • Taking ownership of comms  • Moving to a new model of comms  • “Don’t let things happen to you. Go and happen to things.” Books Mentioned:  • The Network State: How To Start a New Country; by Balaji S. Srinivasan  • The Hero with a Thousand Faces; by Joseph Campbell

“With enough curiosity, self-confidence is irrelevant.” Tinkered Thinking is a writer, artist, author and creator. He is also the worthy winner of our ‘White Mirror’ competition. His writing includes a series of ‘Lucilius Parables’, short stories dispersed throughout time and space designed to help readers reconceptualise their experience of being alive. He joined the show to discuss writing, technology, curiosity, optimism and MUCH more! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Edward Slingerland is a University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. He has authored a number of books, including ‘Trying Not to Try’ and ‘Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization’. He joins the show to discuss the paradox of effortless action, the history of Chinese philosophy, the benefits of alcohol, and a whole lot more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Jeremiah Lowin is the founder & CEO of Prefect, a dataflow automation company. Jeremiah joins Jim for his second appearance on Infinite Loops to discuss executing, storytelling, artificial intelligence and, of course, puns. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Herbert is a writer and editorial director who has been writing online since he was 15. He is the editor of 'The World According to Kanye' and has written for publications such as Forge, TIME and Quartz. Herbert joins the show to discuss his book 'Creative Doing: 75 Practical Exercises to Unblock Your Creative Potential in Your Work, Hobby, or Next Career', and to share some practical, actionable methods of harnessing the creative impulses that lie inside us all. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Emad Mostaque is the founder and CEO of Stability AI, the company behind Stable Diffusion. Emad joins Stability AI’s recently announced Executive Chair of the board of directors Jim O’Shaughnessy to discuss the future of AI, the benefits of open source software, and much more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

“To get me stop, they’re going to have to pry the microphone out of my cold dead hand”. Hot on the heels of his hugely popular appearance on ‘Invest Like The Best’, David Senra joins a marathon episode of Infinite Loops to discuss obsession, education, optimism, podcasting, and so much more. Unsurprisingly, this one is not to be missed. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Dr Michael Donnino is the founder/director of the Psychophysiologic Research Group, and the first person in the country to complete a residency/fellowship program leading to board certification in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and critical care. Liz Wallenstein is a licensed mental health counselor who has trained in, among other areas, the methodology of ‘TMS Mind Body-Connection’. Liz and Dr Michael join the show to discuss the profound influence of Dr John Sarno on their lives, and the potentially transformational power of ‘Mind-Body’ therapies. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

The brilliant Kyla Scanlon returns for her second appearance on Infinite Loops. As well as being a prolific creator, curator and writer, Kyla is the founder of the financial education company Bread. Kyla joins the show to discuss the vibecession, her plans for Bread, the creator economy, and much more. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Is this the greatest crossover event in history? Fresh from their individual appearances on Infinite Loops, Trung Phan and Rob Henderson join forces to discuss TV, film, and why Rob still hasn’t seen Apocalypse Now. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

TV Shows and Films Mentioned:

Nick Gillespie is the host of the Reason Interview and an editor at large at Reason. Nick is one of the most interesting libertarian thinkers in America, and has been described by the New York Times as being to libertarianism “what Lou Reed is to rock ‘n’ roll, the quintessence of its outlaw spirit". Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Will Storr is an award winning journalist and author. His book ‘The Status Game’ transforms our understanding of human nature by demonstrating how our unconscious desire for status ultimately drives our behaviour. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Vitaliy Katsenelson is the CEO of a value investment firm IMA, author of two books on investing, and a recently published non-investing book named “Soul In The Game”. Known for his uncommon common sense, Forbes magazine called him "The New Benjamin Graham." Vitaliy loves to read, listen to classical music, play chess, and write about life, investing, and music. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Dennis McKenna is the founder of the McKenna Academy and has conducted research in ethnopharmacology for over 40 years. He is a founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute, and was a key investigator on the Hoasca Project, the first biomedical investigation of ayahuasca. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

David Perell is prolific writer and online educator, who runs a writing school called “Write of Passage”. David also hosts the “The North Star Podcast” featuring interviews with writers, athletes, and entrepreneurs. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Shreyas Doshi is a startup advisor who has formerly worked in the product teams of tech firms like Stripe, Twitter, Google, Yahoo. He regularly writes about product, strategy, org psychology, leadership, and life! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Our recurring guest (who rarely recurs these days), Alex Danco, comes back for his sixth appearance on Infinite Loops! Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Johnathan Bi started out getting trained in Mathematics, and then eventually went on to study Philosophy and Computer Science at Columbia. He hosts a lecture series on René Girard’s Mimetic Theory and is also a founding member of Lonsdale Investment Technology. Important Links:

Show Notes:

Books Mentioned:

Dan McMurtrie is the Portfolio Manager at Tyro Partners, an asset management firm for institutions and HNWIs; and the General Partner at Anchorless Bangladesh, an early stage venture fund focused on Bangladeshi startups. Links:

Show Notes: