Shows
Faster, Please! — The Podcast✨🔬 Acceleration though AI-automated R&D: My chat (+transcript) with researcher Tom DavidsonMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers in America and around the world:What really gets AI optimists excited isn’t the prospect of automating customer service departments or human resources. Imagine, rather, what might happen to the pace of scientific progress if AI becomes a super research assistant. Tom Davidson’s new paper, How Quick and Big Would a Software Intelligence Explosion Be?, explores that very scenario.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Davidson about what it would mean for automated AI researchers to rapidly improve their own algorithms, thus creating a self...
2025-11-2025 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 The trillion-dollar space race: My chat (+transcript) with journalist Christian DavenportMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,China’s spacefaring ambitions pose tough competition for America. With a focused, centralized program, Beijing seems likely to land taikonauts on the moon before another American flag is planted. Meanwhile, NASA faces budget cuts, leadership gaps, and technical setbacks. In his new book, journalist Christian Davenport chronicles the fierce rivalry between American firms, mainly SpaceX and Blue Origin. It’s a contest that, despite the challenges, promises to propel humanity to the moon, Mars, and maybe beyond.Davenport is an author and a reporter for the Washington Post, wher...
2025-11-0430 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖 Thoughts of a (rare) free-market AI doomer: My chat (+transcript) with economist James MillerMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,Some Faster, Please! readers have told me I spend too little time on the downsides of AI. If you’re one of those folks, today is your day. On this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with self-described “free-market AI doomer” James Miller. Miller and I talk about the risks inherent with super-smart AI, some possible outcomes of a world of artificial general intelligence, and why government seems uninterested in the existential risk conversation.Miller is a professor at Smith College where he teaches law and...
2025-10-2429 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🛑 Why progress stops : My chat (+transcript) with economist Carl Benedikt FreyMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,For most of history, stagnation — not growth — was the rule. To explain why prosperity so often stalls, economist Carl Benedikt Frey offers a sweeping tour through a millennium of innovation and upheaval, showing how societies either harness — or are undone by — waves of technological change. His message is sobering: an AI revolution is no guarantee of a new age of progress.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Frey about why societies midjudge their trajectory and what it takes to reignite lasting growth.Frey is a profe...
2025-10-0823 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖 AI risks and rewards: My chat (+transcript) with AI researcher Miles BrundageMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,Artificial intelligence may prove to be one of the most transformative technologies in history, but like any tool, its immense power for good comes with a unique array of risks, both large and small.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I chat with Miles Brundage about extracting the most out of AI’s potential while mitigating harms. We discuss the evolving expectations for AI development and how to reconcile with the technology’s most daunting challenges.Brundage is an AI policy researcher. He is a non-resident fellow...
2025-09-2630 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🛩️ Human aspiration and the legacy of 'To Fly!': My chat (+transcript) with filmmaker Greg MacGillivrayMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,In 1976, America celebrated 200 years of independence, democracy, and progress. Part of that celebration was the release of To Fly!, a short but powerful docudrama on the history of American flight. With To Fly!, Greg MacGillivray and his co-director Jim Freeman created one of the earliest IMAX films, bringing cinematography to new heights.After a decade of war and great social unrest, To Fly! celebrated the American identity and freedom to innovate. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with MacGillivray about filming To Fly! and its enduring me...
2025-09-1232 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast👶 Bracing for depopulation: My chat (+transcript) with 'After the Spike' coauthor Dean SpearsMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,Global population growth is slowing, and it’s not showing any signs of recovery. To the environmentalists of the 1970s, this may have seemed like a movement in the right direction. The drawbacks to population decline, however, are severe and numerous, and they’re not all obvious.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with economist and demographer Dean Spears about the depopulation trend that is transcending cultural barriers and ushering in a new global reality. We discuss the costs to the economy and human progress, and the in...
2025-08-2233 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast⚛️ Our fission-powered future: My chat (+transcript) with nuclear scientist and author Tim GregoryMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,Nuclear fission is a safe, powerful, and reliable means of generating nearly limitless clean energy to power the modern world. A few public safety scares and a lot of bad press over the half-century has greatly delayed our nuclear future. But with climate change and energy-hungry AI making daily headlines, the time — finally — for a nuclear renaissance seems to have arrived.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Dr. Tim Gregory about the safety and efficacy of modern nuclear power, as well as the ambitious energy goals...
2025-08-1327 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast✨ AI and the future of R&D: My chat (+transcript) with McKinsey's Michael ChuiMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,The innovation landscape is facing a difficult paradox: Even as R&D investment has increased, productivity per dollar invested is in decline. In his recent co-authored paper, The next innovation revolution—powered by AI, Michael Chui explores AI as a possible solution to this dilemma.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, Chui and I explore the vast potential for AI-augmented research and the challenges and opportunities that come with applying it to the real-world.Chui is a senior fellow at QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI unit, where he lea...
2025-07-3123 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast📊 The US economy at midyear: My chat (+transcript) with economic analyst Joey PolitanoMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,With tariff and immigration policies uncertain, and the emerging AI revolution continuing to emerge, there’s plenty to speculate about when it comes to the US economy. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I invite Joseph Politano to help us try and make sense of it all.He is the author of the popular Apricitas Economics Substack newsletter. Politano previously worked as an analyst at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.In This Episode* Trade and immigration headwinds (1:03)* Unpredictable trade policy (7:32)* Tari...
2025-07-2527 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🎇 An age of transformation: My chat (+transcript) with techno-futurist Peter LeydenMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,The 1990s and the dawn of the internet were a pivotal time for America and the wider world. The history of human progress is a series of such pivotal moments. As Peter Leyden points out, it seems we’re facing another defining era as society wrestles with three new key technologies: artificial intelligence, clean energy, and bioengineering.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I chat with Leyden about American leadership in emerging technology and the mindset shifts we must undergo to bring about the future we dream of.
2025-07-1131 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast✨ 🧬 When AI meets biotechnology: My chat (+transcript) with techno-futurist Jamie MetzlMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,Once-science-fiction advancements like AI, gene editing, and advanced biotechnology have finally arrived, and they’re here to stay. These technologies have seemingly set us on a course towards a brand new future for humanity, one we can hardly even picture today. But progress doesn’t happen overnight, and it isn’t the result of any one breakthrough.As Jamie Metzl explains in his new book, Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions will Transform our Lives, Work, and World, tech innovations work alongside and because of one anothe...
2025-06-2736 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 NASA and the New Space Age: My chat (+transcript) with James MeigsMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,America is embarking upon a New Space Age, with companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin ready to partner with NASA to take Americans to a new frontier — possibly as far as Mars. Lately, however, the world is witnessing uncertainty surrounding NASA leadership and even an odd feud between SpaceX boss Elon Musk and the White House. At a critical time for US space competition, let’s hope key players can stick the landing.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I chat with James Meigs about the SLS rocket, NASA r...
2025-06-1329 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖 Superintelligence and national security: My chat (+transcript) with AI expert Dan HendrycksMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,As we seemingly grow closer to achieving artificial general intelligence — machines that are smarter than humans at basically everything — we might be incurring some serious geopolitical risks.In the paper Superintelligence Strategy, his joint project with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Alexandr Wang, Dan Hendrycks introduces the idea of Mutual Assured AI Malfunction: a system of deterrence where any state’s attempt at total AI dominance is sabotaged by its peers. From the abstract: Just as nations once developed nuclear strategies to secure their survival, we now...
2025-05-0939 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🗽 America's immigration edge: My chat (+transcript) with policy expert Alex NowrastehMy fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,With the rise of American populist nationalism has come the rise of nativism: a belief in the concept of “heritage Americans” and a deep distrust of immigration. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Alex Nowrasteh about the ideology beneath this severe skepticism, as well as what Americans lose economically if we shut our doors to both low- and high-skilled immigrants.Nowrasteh is the vice president for economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author of his own Substack with David Bier...
2025-05-0225 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌾 Land of plenty: My chat (+transcript) with science journalist Charles C. Mann on the agricultural history you never learnedIn the 1960s, a deep anxiety set in as one thing became seemingly clear: We were headed toward population catastrophe. Paul Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb” and “The Limits to Growth,” written by the Club of Rome, were just two publications warning of impending starvation due to simply too many humans on the earth.As the population ballooned year by year, it would simply be impossible to feed everyone. Demographers and environmentalists alike held their breath and braced for impact.Except that we didn’t starve. On the contrary, we were better fed than ever.In his...
2025-04-1828 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Mars or bust! My chat (+transcript) with aerospace engineer Robert ZubrinIn his famous 1962 address to Rice University, President Kennedy declared,We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard . . .The current administration has chosen, among other things, to go to Mars. Some, Elon Musk included, are looking for a backup planet to Earth. For others, like Robert Zubrin, Mars is an opportunity for scientific discovery, pure challenge, and a revitalized human civilization.Today on Faster, Please — The Podcast, Zubrin and I discuss how to reorient NASA, what ou...
2025-03-2130 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast📈 Back to the Nineties? My chat (+transcript) with economist Skanda Amarnath on the 2020s productivity outlookThe American economy is growing, and, in many ways, it’s looking a lot like the 1990s. Upward trends in productivity growth and employment paired with downward trends in inflation are cause for optimism. The question is whether we will maintain this trajectory or be derailed by this emerging era of uncertainty.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Skanda Amarnath about trade policy, fiscal and monetary policy, AI advancement, demographic trends, and how all of this bodes for the US economy.Amarnath is the Executive Director of Employ America, a macroeconomic policy rese...
2025-03-1430 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌍 My chat (+transcript) with researcher Toby Ord on existential riskThe 2020s have so far been marked by pandemic, war, and startling technological breakthroughs. Conversations around climate disaster, great-power conflict, and malicious AI are seemingly everywhere. It’s enough to make anyone feel like the end might be near. Toby Ord has made it his mission to figure out just how close we are to catastrophe — and maybe not close at all!Ord is the author of the 2020 book, The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity. Back then, I interviewed Ord on the American Enterprise Institute’s Political Economy podcast, and you can listen to that e...
2025-01-3124 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖 My chat (+transcript) with journalist Nicole Kobie on why the future of tech still hasn’t arrivedMy 2023 book, The Conservative Futurist, is based on the idea that we, as a society, are failing to meet our potential: Inefficiency, overregulation, and an overabundance of caution is robbing us of the world we might be living in.Nicole Kobie shares some of my frustrations in her recent book, The Long History of the Future: Why tomorrow’s technology still isn’t here. She explores the evolutionary history of past technologies and why we just can’t seem to arrive at the future we’ve all been waiting for.Today on Faster, Please — The Podcast, I...
2025-01-2428 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast⚡ My chat (+transcript) with Virginia Postrel on promoting a culture of dynamismBig changes are happening: space; energy; and, of course, artificial intelligence. The difference between sustainable, pro-growth change, versus a retreat back into stagnation, may lie in how we implement that change. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Virginia Postrel about the pitfalls of taking a top-down approach to innovation, versus allowing a bottom-up style of dynamism to flourish.Postrel is an author, columnist, and speaker whose scholarly interests range from emerging technology to history and culture. She has authored four books, including The Future and Its Enemies (1998) and her most recent, The Fabric of Ci...
2025-01-1729 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌐 My chat (+transcript) with chaos theorist Doyne Farmer on our interconnected economyFarmer is the Baillie Gifford Professor of Complex Systems at Oxford's Institute for New Economic Thinking. Before joining Oxford in 2012, he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Santa Fe Institute, where he studied complex systems and economic dynamics. During the 1990s, he took a break from academia to run a successful quantitative trading firm using statistical arbitrage strategies.Farmer has been a pioneer in chaos theory and complexity economics, including the development of agent-based models to understand economic phenomena. His work spans from housing markets to climate change, and he recently authored Making Sense of...
2024-12-1926 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🎨 My chat (+transcript) with innovation expert Duncan Wardle on practical tips for corporate creativityThe future will be built on the big ideas we dare to conjure up today. We know that the most groundbreaking ideas often seemed ludicrous or simply impossible when first dreamed up, from the telephone, to human flight, to artificial intelligence. The key was a willingness to be creative and test the limits.While many of us might not consider ourselves creative people, Duncan Wardle assures us that we can take our ideas and brainstorms to the next level, no matter who we are or what we do. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, Wardle and I ex...
2024-12-1326 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast✨ My chat (+transcript) with tech policy expert Neil Chilson on regulating GenAIWashington’s initial thinking about AI regulation has evolved from a knee-jerk fear response to a more nuanced appreciation of its capabilities and potential risks. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with technology policy expert Neil Chilson about national competition, defense, and federal vs. state regulation in this brave new world of artificial intelligence.Chilson is the head of AI policy at the Abundance Institute. He is a lawyer, computer scientist, and former chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission. He is also the author of “Getting Out of Control: Emergent Leadership in a Complex World...
2024-11-2627 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🏘️ My chat (+transcript) with economist Bryan Caplan on density and housing deregulationHousing in the United States has come to be known as a panacea problem. Gone are the days when tossing the graduation cap meant picking up the keys to a front door, and the ripple effects of unaffordable housing stretch across society: poor social mobility, smaller families, worse retirement-readiness, just to name a few.Today on Faster, Please — The Podcast, I talk to Bryan Caplan about the seemingly obvious culprit, government regulation, and the growing movement to combat it.Caplan is a professor of economics atGeorge Mason University. His essays have been featured in the Ne...
2024-11-1528 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 My chat (+transcript) with space journalist Eric Berger on SpaceX and America's New Space AgeOn October 13, SpaceX and Elon Musk successfully launched their Starship rocket into low-Earth orbit. Then, in a milestone moment for space technology, they successfully captured the rocket’s Super Heavy booster with “chopstick” arms on the launch tower upon reentry, marking the first time a booster was ever caught in mid-air.The achievement is a mind-blowing feat of human engineering — one that hasn’t gotten nearly the recognition that it deserves. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with must-read space journalist Eric Berger about the role of SpaceX in the new, 21st-century Space Race, the significance...
2024-10-2327 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast💥 My chat (+transcript) with economist Eli Dourado on creating a fantastic futureEli Dourado is on a mission to end the Great Stagnation, that half-century period of economic and technological disappointment that began in the 1970s (what I refer to in my 2023 book, The Conservative Futurist, as the Great Downshift). If we want to turn the page on this chapter of slow progress and deserved skepticism, we’re going to have to accept some creative destruction.Dourado believes that the courage to embrace major change is key to meeting our potential. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Dourado about the future of the US job market and...
2024-10-1038 min
Hold These Truths with Dan CrenshawWhat Happened to the Flying Cars? | James Pethokoukis Sixty years ago, Americans could easily envision a not-too-distant future of vacations on Mars, miracle cures, clean and infinite energy, and, of course, flying cars. But the dream collapsed, we entered an era of technological and economic stagnation, and pop culture became fixated on catastrophizing the outcomes of scientific innovations. AEI's James Pethokoukis traces the origins of this "Great Downshift" in optimism and progress – largely due to 1970s regulatory decisions and changes in risk tolerance – and he gives us a roadmap for returning to the era of a risk-taking, future-oriented society. James Pethokoukis is the author of "The C...
2024-10-0437 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast☀️ My chat (+transcript) with economist Noah Smith on technological progressSome signs of tech progress are obvious: the moon landing, the internet, the smartphone, and now generative AI. For most of us who live in rich countries, improvements to our day-to-day lives seem to come gradually. We might (might), then, forgive some of those who claim that our society has not progressed, that our lives have not improved, and that a tech-optimist outlook is even naïve.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with economist Noah Smith about pushing the limits in areas like energy technology, how geopolitical threats spur innovation, and why a more fra...
2024-09-2732 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast📖 My chat (+transcript) with Mentava founder Niels Hoven on accelerating kids’ educationWhen it comes to sports, everybody is basically aligned that the goal here is helping every kid reach their potential. We celebrate talent, we give athletes the resources and personalized support they each need to develop their skills. We have varsity leagues, we have junior varsity leagues. We make sure that kids are challenged at the appropriate level for their current level abilities. And for some reason, when it comes to academics, we throw all of that out the window.Our progress as a society depends a lot on the brilliant ideas of our greatest...
2024-09-1322 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast⚠ My chat (+transcript) with BCG economist Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak on dealing with macroeconomic riskIn our highly globalized economy, exogenous shocks and unsettling headlines are everywhere. It makes sense that market forecasters should be biting their nails, but so often their prophecies of doom prove completely false. Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak is a proponent of “rational optimism.” He believes there’s a calmer, more measured way of going about financial and economic analysis that sets us up to be more flexible to the highs and lows of the economic events. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Carlsson-Szlezak about why an overreliance on models — and a tendency to assume the worst — can impair our ability...
2024-08-1529 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖🧠 My chat (+transcript) with Google DeepMind's Séb Krier on AGI and public policyIn a world of Artificial General Intelligence, machines would be able to match, and even exceed, human cognitive abilities. AGI might still be science fiction, but Séb Krier sees this technology as not only possible, but inevitable. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I chat with Krier about how our public policy should facilitate AGI’s arrival and flourishing.Krier is an AI policy expert, adviser, and attorney. He currently works in policy development and strategy at Google DeepMind. He previously served as Head of Regulation for the UK Government’s Office for Artificial Intelligence and was a S...
2024-08-0923 min
Foresight Institute RadioExistential Hope Podcast: James Pethokoukis | Conservatism Meets FuturismJames Pethokoukis is a senior fellow and the DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, where he analyzes US economic policy, writes and edits the AEIdeas blog, and hosts AEI’s Political Economy podcast. He is also a contributor to CNBC and writes the Faster, Please! newsletter on Substack. He is the author of The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised (Center Street, 2023). He has also written for many publications, including the Atlantic, Commentary, Financial Times, Investor’s Business Daily, National Review, New York Post, the New York Times, USA Today, and the Week. S...
2024-07-2551 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast⤵ My chat (+transcript) with investor Ruchir Sharma on where capitalist economies went wrong✈ A quick note: I will be traveling through the middle of the month and will be posting a bit less than usual and perhaps a bit shorter than usual.These days, it seems that critics of capitalism are more prevalent and more vocal than ever. But Ruchir Sharma, author of What Went Wrong with Capitalism, argues that the free market never let us down; our government did. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, Sharma and I discuss the American addiction to “pain management” — unnecessary economic intervention aimed at dulling the effects of the natural ups and downs of a free...
2024-07-1923 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖 My chat (+transcript) with Google economist Guy Ben-Ishai on seizing the historic AI momentArtificial intelligence may revolutionize the American economy, but whether we see that potential actualized depends on a few key factors: whether generative AI is a general purpose technology, whether the labor force makes a smooth pivot, how employers prioritize their resources, and whether the US chooses to take the lead in AI’s deployment. These are just a few of the topics I cover on the podcast today with Guy Ben-Ishai.Ben-Ishai is the head of economic policy research at Google. He previously served as a principal at the Brattle Group and as chief economist in the of...
2024-06-2831 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🏙 My chat (+transcript) with ... economist Jason Barr on the skyscrapers of tomorrowThe image of the skyscraper is the hallmark of the modern city. Futuristic depictions of urban landscapes nearly always feature towering structures high above the clouds. Today, however, developing countries seem to be putting the greatest effort into building the most impressive skyscrapers, from the Burj Khalifa in the UAE, to the future Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia. Whether you love them or hate them, it’s worth asking why we build skyscrapers and what their role will be in future cities. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I sit down with Jason Barr, author of Cities in the Sky...
2024-06-1429 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖🌈 My chat (+transcript) with Nick Bostrom on life in an AI utopiaThe media is full of dystopian depictions of artificial intelligence, such as The Terminator and The Matrix, yet few have dared to dream up the image of an AI utopia. Nick Bostrom’s most recent book, Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World attempts to do exactly that. Bostrom explores what it would mean to live in a post-work world, where human labor is vastly outperformed by AI, or even made obsolete. When all of our problems have been solved in an AI utopia . . . well, what’s next for us humans?Bostrom is a philosopher and...
2024-06-0630 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🤖 My chat (+transcript) with tech policy analyst Adam Thierer on regulating AIWhile AI doomers proselytize their catastrophic message, many politicians are recognizing that the loss of America’s competitive edge poses a much more real threat than the supposed “existential risk” of AI. Today on Faster, Please!—The Podcast, I talk with Adam Thierer about the current state of the AI policy landscape and the accompanying fierce regulatory debate.Thierer is a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, where he promotes greater freedom for innovation and entrepreneurship. Prior to R Street, he worked as a senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, president of the Prog...
2024-05-3025 min
Talk CocktailThe Conservative Futurist: A Conversation with James Pethokoukis
Like a shark, if we don't keep moving forward, we die. James Pethokoukis, a renowned economic policy expert, shares insights from his groundbreaking work, "The Conservative Futurist." Pethokoukis presents a captivating vision of a future where technological advancements and environmental preservation harmoniously coexist. Where the intersection of technology, culture, and politics, and discovery join to embrace a bold, future-oriented mindset. One that could lead us to a world of abundance and wonder.
2024-05-2332 min
Talk CocktailThe Conservative Futurist: A Conversation with James PethokoukisLike a shark, if we don't keep moving forward, we die. James Pethokoukis, a renowned economic policy expert, shares insights from his groundbreaking work, "The Conservative Futurist." Pethokoukis presents a captivating vision of a future where technological advancements and environmental preservation harmoniously coexist. Where the intersection of technology, culture, and politics, and discovery join to embrace a bold, future-oriented mindset. One that could lead us to a world of abundance and wonder.I count on word of mouth to grow TALK COCKTAIL. Please consider sharing it with a friend. Send them here. Get full a...
2024-05-2332 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 My chat (+transcript) with Charles Murray on Project ApolloProject Apollo was a feat of human achievement akin to, and arguably greater than, the discovery of the New World. From 1962 to 1972, NASA conducted 17 crewed missions, six of which placed men on the surface of the moon. Since the Nixon administration put an end to Project Apollo, our extraterrestrial ambitions seem to have stalled along with our sense of national optimism. But is the American spirit of adventure, heroism, and willingness to take extraordinary risk a thing of the pastToday on the podcast, I talk with Charles Murray about what made Apollo extraordinary and whether we...
2024-05-0327 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🦁 My chat (+transcript) with investment strategist Ed Yardeni on his optimism for a Roaring 2020sAs I often remind subscribers to Faster, Please!, predictions are hard, especially about the future. The economic boom of the 1990s came as a surprise to most economists. Equally surprising was that it ended so soon. Neither of these events caught Ed Yardeni off-guard. Some forecasters, Yardeni included, anticipated a new Roaring ’20s for this century… only to be interrupted by the pandemic. But is it too late for this prediction to become a reality? According to Yardeni, not at all.Ed Yardeni is president of Yardeni Research, and he previously served as chief investment strategist at a nu...
2024-04-1924 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast⚡⚛ My chat (+transcript) with Steve Obenschain of LaserFusionX on laser fusionAs private and government interest in nuclear fusion technology grows, an array of startups have arisen to take on the challenge, each with their own unique approach. Among them: LaserFusionX. Today on Faster, Please!—The Podcast, I talk with CEO Stephen Obenschain about the viability of fusion energy, and what sets his approach apart.Obenschain is the president of LaserFusionX. He was formerly head of the Plasma Physics Division branch at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.In This Episode* Viability of commercial fusion (0:58)* The LaserFusionX approach (7:54)* Funding the pr...
2024-04-1214 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast☢ My chat (+transcript) with Spencer Weart on the history of nuclear energy fearIn a world facing climate change and clean energy challenges, it’s starting to look like a nuclear energy renaissance is starting to happen. That is, if we can overcome our irrational fear of nuclear. In this episode of Faster, Please! - The Podcast, I talk with Dr. Spencer Weart about the cultural influences that shaped generations of anxiety around nuclear power, and how that tide may be turning.Weart holds advanced degrees in both Astrophysics and History. For over three decades, he served as Director of the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of...
2024-03-2931 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌐 My chat (+transcript) with John Bailey on the potential for AI in educationEducation was among the first victims of AI panic. Concerns over cheating quickly made the news. But AI optimists like John Bailey are taking a whole different approach. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with Bailey about what it would mean to raise kids with a personalized AI coach — one that could elevate the efficacy of teachers, tutors, and career advisors to new heights.John Bailey is a colleague and senior fellow at AEI. He formerly served as special assistant to the president for domestic policy at the White house, as well as deputy policy dire...
2024-03-0722 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌐 My chat (+transcript) with James Walker of microreactor startup NANO Nuclear EnergyReaders and listeners of Faster, Please! know how incredible the untapped potential of nuclear power truly is. As our society (hopefully) begins to warm to the idea of nuclear as an abundant, sustainable, and safe source of energy, a new generation of engineers and entrepreneurs is developing a whole new model of nuclear power: the microreactor.Here on this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I talk with James Walker, a nuclear physicist and CEO of NANO Nuclear Energy about the countless applications of his company’s under-development, mobile, and easily-deployable nuclear reactors.In This Epis...
2024-03-0117 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌐 My chat (+transcript) with defense policy analyst Todd Harrison on the US Space ForceThe US Space Force, the newest branch of the American military, takes national defense to a new frontier. Here on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I sit down with AEI senior fellow Todd Harrison to discuss the state of the Space Force and its evolving mission.Harrison has served as senior vice president and head of research at Metrea, a defense consulting firm, been a senior fellow for defense budget strategies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, directed the Defense Budget Analysis and Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and served as...
2024-02-0925 min
The Permanent ProblemHow to create the sci-fi world we were promised, with James Pethokoukis"We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters." Peter Thiel's famous complaint hearkens back to the middle of the 20th century, when high economic growth seemed unstoppable and the future was filled with visions of moon bases, nuclear energy too cheap to meter, and yes flying cars. But in the 1970s, economic growth slowed down and the future suddenly darkened, now menaced by threats of overpopulation and runaway pollution. Except for a few brief years during the internet boom of the 1990s, the old dynamism and optimism have never returned.
In his new book The Conservative Futurist, American Enterprise Institute...
2024-02-061h 05
Faster, Please! — The Podcast⚛ My chat (+transcript) with TAE Technologies CEO Michl Binderbauer on the future of fusionWhat if there were a way to generate massive amounts of affordable, carbon-free energy with minimal environmental or safety risk? Sounds too good to be true, but nuclear fusion just might be the kind of energy source that America—and the world—has been waiting for.Michl Binderbauer is the CEO of California-based TAE Technologies, a company trying to develop an aneutronic commercial fusion reactor. Michl joins us on this episode of Faster Please! — The Podcast to explain how his team is trying to make fusion power a real thing.In This Episode* Fusion...
2023-12-1528 min
Energy Thinks with Tisha SchullerThe Conservative Futurist: James PethokoukisTisha Schuller welcomes James Pethokoukis, senior fellow and the DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), to the Energy Thinks podcast. Listeners will hear James discuss the optimistic themes in his book, The Conservative Futurist (https://www.aei.org/research-products/book/the-conservative-futurist/), which will serve as inspiration to those who want to transcend the culture wars.James writes and edits the AEIdeas blog (https://www.aei.org/aeideas/) and hosts AEI’s Political Economy podcast (https://www.aei.org/tag/political-economy-podcast/). He also is the author of the Faster, Please! newsletter (https://fasterplease.substack.com/). James ha...
2023-12-0528 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌐 My chat (+transcript) with Andrew McAfee on how to upgrade any company like a geekScience. Ownership. Speed. Openness.These are the four pillars of Andrew McAfee’s observed structure for successful companies. It is the “geeks,” the leaders at the forefront of cross-industry innovation, who embrace these norms and have the potential to redefine business as we know it. In order to break ground and create the kind of future we dream of, organizational leaders need to banish the fear of failure, embrace mistakes, and accept hard feedback with open arms.Andrew is a best-selling author, Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and co-founder of MIT’s...
2023-12-0130 min
How Do We Fix It?Imaging a Better Future. How Doomers Prevent Progress. James PethokoukisYes, it's our 400th episode. But instead of looking back over the past eight-and-a-half years of our podcasts, we consider the future: How collective optimism or pessimism can have a huge impact on the economy, risk taking, and the acceptance of new technologies that spark growth and innovation.Our guest is scholar and journalist James Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute, author of "The Conservative Futurist: How To Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised."In this episode he argues that in the decades after World War Two and during the space race, America...
2023-12-0136 min
King of StuffJames Pethokoukis on 'The Conservative Futurist'The King welcomes James Pethokoukis to discuss his new book, The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised. America used to be a land of big dreams and bigger accomplishments. But as we moved into the late 20th century, we grew cautious, even cynical, about the future and our ability to shape it. Too many of us saw only the threats from rapid change and not the many benefits. James argues we can turn things around—if we, the people, choose to dream and act.Jim is a senior fellow and the DeWitt Wallace Ch...
2023-11-2337 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌐 My chat (+transcript) with Johan Norberg on the case for capitalism — and the myth of Swedish socialismJohan Norberg’s work revolves primarily around economic and intellictual history and attempting to learn lessons from past financial systems. In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, Johan takes us through his version of capitalism, giving an especially interesting perspective on the economic system of his home country. Johan is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of several books. His latest is The Capitalist Manifesto: In Defense of Global Capitalism, available now. In This Episode* “Capitalism” and its meanings (0:55)* The state of contemporary capitalism (2:34)* Coordinati...
2023-10-2725 min
From the New WorldJames Pethokoukis: The Case for Techno-OptimismJames Pethokoukis is the author of The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.Find James:https://twitter.com/JimPethokoukishttps://www.amazon.ca/Conservative-Futurist-Create-Sci-Fi-Promised/dp/1546005544Mentioned in the episode:https://www.fromthenew.world/p/marc-andreesen-the-time-to-fight#detailshttps://www.amazon.ca/iGen-Super-Connected-Rebellious-Happy-Adulthood/dp/1501151983https://www.amazon.ca/Two-Parent-Privilege-Americans-Stopped-Getting/dp/0226817784 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes...
2023-10-232h 34
The Realignment415 | James Pethokoukis: Conservative Futurism & Up Wing Politics - Building the Sci-Fi Future We We're PromisedSubscribe to The Realignment to access our exclusive Q&A episodes and support the show: https://realignment.supercast.com/REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comFoundation for American Innovation: https://www.thefai.org/posts/lincoln-becomes-faiJames Pethokoukis, AEI Senior Fellow and author of The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised, joins The Realignment. Marshall and James discuss his why he describes post-1970s America as suffering from the "Great...
2023-10-1349 min
Infinite LoopsJames Pethokoukis — The Conservative FuturistJames 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: Faster, Please! The Conservative Futurist WTF Happened In 1971? Tinkered Thinking — White Mirror The Great Reshuffle Bono On Nuclear Energy Our World in Data...
2023-10-121h 04
Discover This Vivid Full Audiobook And Feel The Difference.The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised by James PethokoukisPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/665559to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised
Author: James Pethokoukis
Narrator: Séan Marrinan
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hours 46 minutes
Release date: October 3, 2023
Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics
Publisher's Summary:
Discover the surprising case for how conservatism can help us achieve the epic sci-fi future we were promised. America was once the world’s dream factory. We turned imagination into reality, from curing polio to landing on the Moon to creating the internet. And we were confident that more wonders lay just over the horizo...
2023-10-0311h 46Discover The Full Audiobook Everyone Is Talking About — So Uplifting!The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised by James PethokoukisPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/665559to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised
Author: James Pethokoukis
Narrator: Séan Marrinan
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hours 46 minutes
Release date: October 3, 2023
Genres: Business & Career Development
Publisher's Summary:
Discover the surprising case for how conservatism can help us achieve the epic sci-fi future we were promised. America was once the world’s dream factory. We turned imagination into reality, from curing polio to landing on the Moon to creating the internet. And we were confident that more wonders lay just over the horizon: clean...
2023-10-0311h 46Download Best Full-Length Audiobooks in Business & Economics, Business & Career DevelopmentThe Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised by James PethokoukisPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/665559to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised
Author: James Pethokoukis
Narrator: Séan Marrinan
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hours 46 minutes
Release date: October 3, 2023
Genres: Business & Career Development
Publisher's Summary:
Discover the surprising case for how conservatism can help us achieve the epic sci-fi future we were promised. America was once the world’s dream factory. We turned imagination into reality, from curing polio to landing on the Moon to creating the internet. And we were confident that more wonders lay just over the horizon: clean...
2023-10-0311h 46Download Best Full Audiobooks in Non-Fiction, Current Affairs, Law, & PoliticsThe Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised by James PethokoukisPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/665559to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised
Author: James Pethokoukis
Narrator: Séan Marrinan
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hours 46 minutes
Release date: October 3, 2023
Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics
Publisher's Summary:
Discover the surprising case for how conservatism can help us achieve the epic sci-fi future we were promised. America was once the world’s dream factory. We turned imagination into reality, from curing polio to landing on the Moon to creating the internet. And we were confident that more wonders lay just over the horizo...
2023-10-0311h 46
Audiobooks in Non-Fiction, Current Affairs, Law, & PoliticsThe Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised by James PethokoukisPlease visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/665559 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised Author: James Pethokoukis Narrator: Séan Marrinan Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 11 hours 46 minutes Release date: October 3, 2023 Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics Publisher's Summary: Discover the surprising case for how conservatism can help us achieve the epic sci-fi future we were promised. America was once the world’s dream factory. We turned imagination into reality, from curing polio to landing on the Moon to creating the internet. And we were confident that more wonders lay just over the ho...
2023-10-0303 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌎 My chat (+transcript) with political scientist Francis Fukuyama on technological change and liberal democracy. Some sci-fi, too!More than 20 years ago, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama characterized the Information Technology revolution as "benign" but cautioned that "the most significant threat posed by contemporary biotechnology is the possibility that it will alter human nature and thereby move us into a post-human stage of history." From Twitter to CRISPR to ChatGPT, a lot has changed since then. In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, Dr. Fukuyama shares his thoughts on those developments and the recent advances in generative AI, as well as the cultural importance of science fiction.Dr. Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fe...
2023-09-2935 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🌎 My chat (+transcript) with climate scientist Zeke HausfatherIs climate change an impending existential threat, or a serious but manageable problem we can tackle with innovation and human ingenuity? Zeke Hausfather joins this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast to explain the basics of climate modeling and give a clear-eyed assessment of the risks we face and the measures we can take.Zeke is a climate scientist and energy systems analyst. He is the climate research lead for Stripe and a research scientist at Berkeley Earth.In This Episode* Human impact on the climate (1:11)* Global temperature forecasting (6:33)* Lo...
2023-09-1532 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #35As the cost to launch a rocket into orbit has come down over the past decade, a slew of startups have joined the emerging space economy. But is there enough business for all these companies? And what's the broad economic case for space? In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I'm chatting about those questions and more with Michael Sheetz.Michael is a space reporter for CNBC where he also writes the "Investing in Space" newsletter.In This Episode* The business case for space (1:05)* SpaceX, Blue Origin, and the other pl...
2023-09-0120 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #33Over the past 15 years, the cost to launch a rocket into orbit has declined dramatically thanks to SpaceX. Today, we're witnessing the launch of a new Space Age — one built around billionaires like Elon Musk, but also a flowering of smaller private ventures. To discuss the state of play in the emerging orbital economy, I've brought Ashlee Vance on this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast.Vance is the author of the new book, When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach. He previous wrote, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and...
2023-07-2828 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #31"The promise of eternal life has conventionally been the dangled carrot of religion. It is now the holy grail of Silicon Valley," writes novelist Lionel Shriver in a recent National Review cover essay. In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, Lionel joins me to discuss why some tech billionaires are chasing after immortality and the serious challenges that would accompany extended human lifespans.Lionel is a columnist for Britain's Spectator magazine. Her books include We Need to Talk About Kevin and Should We Stay or Should We Go.Faster, Please! is a reader-supported pu...
2023-07-1428 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #30Nuclear fusion holds the potential to provide the world with cheap, clean, virtually inexhaustible energy for the future. For decades, the technology was dismissed as sci-fi fantasy. But a series of recent technological breakthroughs — including a net-energy gain ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory last December — and spate of startups have made both government and investors increasingly optimistic. To talk about the state of the fusion industry, I’ve brought on Andrew Holland, chief executive officer at the Fusion Industry Association.In This Episode* The importance of recent fusion breakthroughs (1:17)* What should policymakers be doi...
2023-06-3021 min
What Could Go Right?A Better World with James PethokoukisDid anyone "win" the debt ceiling debate? Where is the economy headed, long-term? And what breakthroughs can be used to build a better world? James Pethokoukis, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in US economic policy, joins us to share his perspective on a brighter future. Plus, bacteria-fighting AI and tracking social progress.What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and The Podglomerate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2023-06-0759 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #29Many countries around the world have below-replacement fertility rates. And today’s today's guest says it's happening faster than we think, with world population on track to peak around 2060. That’s decades before the well-known UN model projection. What does that mean for the American and global economies, and what can we do about it — if anything? My AEI colleague Jesús Fernández-Villaverde joins this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast to discuss those questions and more.Jesús is a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as director of the Penn Initiativ...
2023-05-2629 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #28Does technological progress automatically translate into higher wages, better standards of living, and widely shared prosperity? Or is it necessary to steer the development of technological improvement to ensure the benefits don't accrue only to the few? In a new book, two well-known economists argue the latter. I'm joined in this episode by one of the authors, Simon Johnson.Simon is the Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT. He and Daron Acemoglu are authors of the new book Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity. Simon is also co-author with Jonathan Gruber of 2019's Jump...
2023-05-1926 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #27I have many times written about the importance of the story we tell ourselves about the future, especially in big-budget science fiction films. But does all the doom and gloom from Hollywood even matter? And is it driven from creatives at the top or by audience demand? To discuss those questions and more, I'm talking with Sonny Bunch.Sonny is the culture editor for The Bulwark, where he hosts The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood newsletter and podcast.In This Episode* Netflix’s upcoming $200 million techno-pocalyptic movie (1:06)* Why is Hollywood obsessed with dysto...
2023-04-2118 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #26The conventional narrative about the economic history of World War II says that new learning from wartime mobilization jumpstarted a postwar golden age of fast economic growth. But, economist Alexander Field writes in his 2011 book, A Great Leap Forward, "It was not principally the war that laid the foundation for postwar prosperity. It was technological progress across a broad frontier of the American economy during the 1930s." Field develops that argument in his new book, The Economic Consequences of U.S. Mobilization for the Second World War, released last fall. In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I'm joined...
2023-04-1427 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #25When it comes to Up Wing thinking, there's no better litmus test than nuclear power. Setting aside the regulatory barriers we've imposed on ourselves, the United States can tap a source of clean, reliable energy that overcomes the carbon emissions and geopolitical challenges of fossil fuels. Here to make the case for nuclear in this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, is Robert Zubrin.Robert is a nuclear engineer and the author of the new book, The Case for Nukes: How We Can Beat Global Warming and Create a Free, Open, and Magnificent Future.In This...
2023-04-0727 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #24As space enthusiasts and entrepreneurs look to expand human civilization to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, few stop to examine the geopolitical risks of space colonization or the opportunity costs of not fixing problems on Earth. While most Faster, Please! guests advocate further expansion into space, Daniel Deudney offers a different perspective. Deudney is a professor of political science, international relations, and political theory at Johns Hopkins University. He’s the author of several books, including Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity, released in March of 2020.This interview was first rel...
2023-03-0935 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #23Thanks to SpaceX, it’s getting cheaper and cheaper to launch stuff into orbit. But just imagine if instead of using rockets, we could send cargo and people to space on an incredibly tall elevator. This may sound like a total sci-fi idea, but it has some grounding in real-world physics. In theory, we could build a space elevator by putting a counterweight in geostationary orbit and attaching a cable between the satellite and Earth. An elevator could then climb the cable, delivering payloads to space at a fraction of the cost of propulsive rockets. As you can imagine, it i...
2023-03-0325 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #22"You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics," said Nobel laureate economic Robert Solow in 1987. A decade later, the '90s productivity boom was in full swing. Likewise, it took decades for electrification to have an impact on productivity growth in the early 20th century. Today, artificial intelligence can write a coherent paragraph or generate an image from a simple prompt. But when will AI show up in the statistics, boosting productivity and then economic growth? Avi Goldfarb joins Faster, Please! — The Podcast to discuss that question and more.Avi holds the Rotman Chai...
2023-02-2425 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #21It was only three decades ago that astronomers first discovered planets outside our solar system. Since then, astrophysicists have found more of these "exoplanets" — including some Earth-like worlds that exist in their star's habitable zone. Today, astronomy has moved far beyond pointing a lens at the night sky, so I've brought on Gioia Rau to describe her work on exoplanets, as well as how AI and recent declines in launch costs will change astronomy.Gioia is an astrophysicist and program scientist at Schmidt Futures. Previous to joining Schmidt Futures, Gioia was a research scientist at NASA’s Godd...
2023-02-1727 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #20On previous episodes of Faster, Please! — The Podcast and in my newsletter essays, I've argued for the importance of optimistic science fiction. But what exactly qualifies as future-optimistic fiction, and how is it different from utopian literature? To discuss one of my favorite science-fiction book and TV series, The Expanse, and to consider the importance of what fiction tells us about the future, I've brought on Peter Suderman.Peter is features editor at Reason magazine. He has written a number of fantastic pieces on science fiction including "The Fractal, Fractious Politics of The Expanse" in the December 2022 is...
2023-02-0332 min
Show-Me Institute PodcastThe Promise of ChatGPT with James PethokoukisSusan Pendergrass speaks with James Pethokoukis about why advancements in A.I. are cause for optimism, not hysteria.
James Pethokoukis, a columnist and an economic policy analyst, is the Dewitt Wallace Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he writes and edits the AEIdeas blog and hosts a weekly podcast, “Political Economy with James Pethokoukis.” He is also a columnist for The Week and an official contributor to CNBC.
Before joining AEI, he was the Washington columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, the opinion and commentary wing of Thomson Reuters, and the business editor and economics columnist for US News & World Report.
Mr...
2023-02-0227 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #19If humanity is to become a multi-planetary species, we can't forever remain dependent on Earth's resources. That's where space resource extraction comes in. So how would space mining work, what problems would it solve, and how long will we have to wait? To answer those questions, I'm joined in this episode by Kevin Cannon. Kevin is a professor of space resources and geology and geological engineering at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He's also author of the Planetary Intelligence newsletter on Substack.In This Episode* How mining in space could benefit Earth (1:13)
2023-01-2731 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #18It's been more than 50 years since humans last set foot on the lunar surface. But the recent success of NASA's Artemis I mission has put the US back on track to return man to the Moon. As the Artemis program proceeds, space enthusiasts remain skeptical of NASA's timeline and its expensive Space Launch System rocket — especially as the reusable SpaceX Starship rocket comes online. To find out more about the future for NASA as well as private companies like SpaceX, I'm joined today by Eric Berger.Eric is the senior space editor at Ars Technica and author of...
2023-01-2031 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #17Skeptics joke that nuclear fusion is the energy source of the future … and always will be. But when the Biden White House made a big announcement about the progress of fusion research last week, even diehard skeptics surely took note. My guest on this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast is Arthur Turrell, plasma physicist and author of 2021's excellent and must-read The Star Builders: Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet.In This Episode* The consequences of fusion’s latest breakthrough (1:06)* Where does fusion go from here? (3:55)* The best path...
2022-12-2226 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #16I often write about the need for Up Wing thinking. Despite the political drama that unfolds on cable news and social media, the key divide in America is not Left versus Right but Up versus Down. Up Wingers are all about acceleration for solving big problems, effectively tackling new ones, and creating maximum opportunity for all Americans. Down Wingers, on the other hand, are soaked in nostalgia, scarcity, and risk minimization. In this episode, I'm joined by Steve Fuller to discuss the political implications of Up Wing and Down Wing thinking.Steve holds the Auguste Comte Chair in...
2022-12-1633 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #15This month, December 2022, marks the 50-year anniversary of when man last stood on the Moon. NASA's Apollo missions were an awe-inspiring triumph of human achievement, but do people really care about space anymore? To discuss the wonder of space exploration, the virtues involved, and why robotic missions just aren't enough, I'm joined by Charles T. Rubin.Charles is a contributing editor at The New Atlantis, where he has published several excellent essays on space exploration, his latest being "Middle Seat to the Moon" in the fall 2022 issue. He's also a professor emeritus of political science at Duquesne U...
2022-12-0925 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #14➡ Reminder: I will be writing much less frequently and much shorter in November — and November only. So for this month, I have paused payment from paid subscribers.Also, I’m making all new content free without a paywall. In December, however, everything will be back to normal: typically three meaty essays and two enlightening Q&As a week, along with a pro-progress podcast like this one 👇 several times a month (including transcript). And, of course, a weekly recap over the weekends.Melior MundusHere at Faster, Please!, I write a lot about the need for o...
2022-11-1227 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #13➡ Reminder: I will be writing much less frequently and much shorter in November — and November only. So for this month, I have paused payment from paid subscribers.Also, I’m making all new content free without a paywall. In December, however, everything will be back to normal: typically three meaty essays and two enlightening Q&As a week, along with a pro-progress podcast like this one several times a month (including transcript). And, of course, a weekly recap over the weekends.Melior Mundus“Generations of people throughout the world have been taught to believe...
2022-11-0324 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #12We’ve all heard the stories and statistics about the supposed death of American manufacturing. But America's industrial sector never truly went away. Many, many companies are thriving, and today's guest argues we're experiencing an outright renaissance. In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I’m joined by Gaurav Batra, who previously co-led McKinsey & Company’s Advanced Electronics Practice in the Americas. Along with Asutosh Padhi and Nick Santhanam, he's the author of the new book, The Titanium Economy: How Industrial Technology Can Create a Better, Faster, Stronger America. This from the book:The Titanium Economy is the sec...
2022-10-2825 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #11When Japan suffered an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down, resulting in one of the worst nuclear accidents in history. In response, the Japanese government shut down all of its nuclear reactors. But subsequent economic research reveals that the unintended consequences of abandoning nuclear energy have been worse than the accident itself.In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I'm joined by Matthew Neidell, an economist in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. In 2021, Matt coauthored a paper on those unintended conse...
2022-10-2132 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #10Welcome to part two of my conversation with Michael Mandel, vice president and chief economist at the Progressive Policy Institute. In the last episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, we considered the capital investments and job-creating power of America's major tech companies. In this episode, we discuss the Biden administration's CHIPS and Science Act, industrial policy, and whether we should expect an uptick in US productivity growth.In This Episode:* Innovation and industrial policy (1:14)* Looking at productivity numbers (4:14)* How technology affects jobs (7:19)* The future of productivity (12:38)* Investing in...
2022-10-1422 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #9Technology and e-commerce companies have a reputation for being drivers of creative destruction, sometimes at great cost to local communities. Economic nostalgia tells us to lament those jobs and fear the changes that come with technological progress. But it's worth remembering that tech companies are also a major source of high-wage job growth in the US economy. On this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I'm joined by Michael Mandel to consider the role of tech companies in the American economy.Michael is vice president and chief economist at the Progressive Policy Institute. He's also the author of "...
2022-10-0422 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #8When does economic policy become industrial policy, and has the Biden administration crossed that line? In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I'm talking with industrial policy skeptic Scott Lincicome about the CHIPS and Science Act, how competition with China complicates the argument for free markets, and more.Scott is the director of general economics and the Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author of numerous reports on industrial policy and international free trade, including "The (Updated) Case for Free Trade" with Alfredo Carrillo Obregon and “Questioning Industr...
2022-09-1626 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #7In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I'm continuing last week's discussion with Robin Hanson, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of the Overcoming Bias blog. His books include The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life when Robots Rule the Earth and The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life.(Be sure to check out last week’s episode for the first part of my conversation with Robin. We discussed futurism, innovation, and economic growth over the very long run, among other topics. Definitely worth the listen!)In part t...
2022-08-2623 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #6Few economists think more creatively and also more rigorously about the future than Robin Hanson, my guest on this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast. So when he says a future of radical scientific and economic progress is still possible, you should take the claim seriously. Robin is a professor of economics at George Mason University and author of the Overcoming Bias blog. His books include The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life when Robots Rule the Earth and The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life.In This Episode:* Economic growth over t...
2022-08-1934 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #5Almost 50 years ago, in December 1972, the Apollo 17 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, marking the end of the Apollo program. In the half-century since, no crewed mission — not Americans nor anyone else — has ventured beyond low Earth orbit. Despite a series of presidential promises, NASA has yet to return to the Moon, let alone venture to Mars. And despite recent declines in launch costs, thanks in large part to SpaceX, NASA remains in many ways committed to the old, Apollo-style way of doing things. To learn more about why NASA's manned missions always seem to run over budget and...
2022-08-1231 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #3What if the Roman Empire had experienced an Industrial Revolution? That's the compelling hook of Helen Dale's two-part novel, Kingdom of the Wicked: Rules and Order. Drawing on economics and legal history, Helen's story follows the arrest and trial of charismatic holy man Yeshua Ben Yusuf in the first century — but one with television, flying machines, cars, and genetic modification.In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I dive into the fascinating world-building of Kingdom of the Wicked with Helen. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation.James Pethokoukis: Your Kingdom of the Wicked ...
2022-07-2245 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #2What is progress and how do we get more of it? It's a core question here at Faster, Please! and something Jason Crawford thinks a lot about. Jason is the founder of The Roots of Progress, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century. He writes about the history of technology and industry and the philosophy of progress.In this episode of Faster, Please! — The Podcast, Jason explains how progress is about more than just economic growth, discusses where it comes from, and distinguishes progress from utopianism. Below is an edited trans...
2022-07-1526 min
Faster, Please! — The Podcast🚀 Faster, Please! — The Podcast #1Ali Hajimiri is the Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. He is also co-director of the Space Solar Power Project, which is developing technology capable of generating solar power in space and beaming it back to Earth. Hajimiri and colleagues are designing solar arrays composed of hundreds of small photovoltaic tiles that would be linked together to form larger modules, and then those modules — flying together in formation like a school of fish — would form a hexagonal power station in space. These flexible arrays would be rolled up when launched and unfu...
2022-07-0822 min