logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
55m 11s

Paul Graham on Ambition, Art, and Evalua...

MERCATUS CENTER AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
About this episode

Tyler and Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham sat down at his home in the English countryside to discuss what areas of talent judgment his co-founder and wife Jessica Livingston is better at, whether young founders have gotten rarer, whether he still takes a dim view of solo founders, how to 2x ambition in the developed world, on the minute past which a Y Combinator interviewer is unlikely to change their mind, what YC learned after rejecting companies, how he got over his fear of flying, Florentine history, why almost all good artists are underrated, what's gone wrong in art, why new homes and neighborhoods are ugly, why he wants to visit the Dark Ages, why he's optimistic about Britain and San Fransisco, the challenges of regulating AI, whether we're underinvesting in high-cost interruption activities, walking, soundproofing, fame, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded July 15th, 2023.

Other ways to connect

Photo credit: Dave Thomas

Up next
Jul 9
David Robertson on Conducting, Pierre Boulez, and Musical Interpretation
David Robertson is a rare conductor who unites avant-garde complexity with accessibility. After serving as music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez’s storied contemporary-music ensemble, he went on to rejuvenate the St. Louis Symphony. Robertson combines a ... Show More
59m 34s
Jun 25
Austan Goolsbee on Central Banking as a Data Dog
Austan Goolsbee is one of Tyler Cowen’s favorite economists—not because they always agree, but because Goolsbee embodies what it means to think like an economist. Whether he’s analyzing productivity slowdowns in the construction sector, exploring the impact of taxes on digital co ... Show More
58m 40s
Jun 18
Chris Arnade on Walking Cities
Most people who leave Wall Street after twenty years either retire or find another way to make a lot of money. Chris Arnade chose to walk through cities most travelers never truly see. What emerged from this approach is a unique form of street-level sociology that has attracted a ... Show More
58m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
10 Lessons from the Best Writer in Tech | Paul Graham | How I Write Podcast
Paul Graham is one of the most successful writers and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.Sure, he sold a company to Yahoo and co-founded Y Combinator, which has created hundreds of billions of dollars in value. But more than that, Paul is a renowned essayist and his thoughts on what ... Show More
1 h
Nov 2020
Austin Kleon on Writing, Creativity and The Importance of Idleness
This is an 'inbetweenasode' and features an interview Ali did with Austin Kleon as part of his Deep Dive series last month. Austin Kleon is the bestselling author of a trilogy of books about creativity and originality in the digital age. His three books - Steal Like An Artist, Sh ... Show More
2h 2m
Jan 2021
Book Discussion - The Tyranny of Merit
In this episode, we discuss Michael J Samuel's book the Tyranny of Merit, which talks about the problems with the ideals of Meritocracy. We take a look at the history of the Rhetoric of Rising, and end with a discussion about why praising people for their achievements feels probl ... Show More
1h 37m
Jan 2024
#349 — Generosity, Cynicism, and the Future of Doing Good
Sam Harris speaks with Chris Anderson about generosity in the age of the Internet. They talk about the new spirit of cynicism in tech and finance, the problems with DEI, the Coleman Hughes controversy at TED, the norm of color blindness, the science of generosity, the leverage of ... Show More
1h 3m
Oct 2022
Russ Roberts on Making Better Decisions
Ryan talks to economist and author Russ Roberts about his new book Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us, the tension between being ambitious and being a good person, strategies for reducing the fear and the loss of control that inevitably come when a wild proble ... Show More
58m 6s
Mar 2018
The Unexpected Sparks of Creativity, Confrontation & Office Culture
Adam Grant, Ph.D., a top-rated Wharton professor and the bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, has become an expert in what makes organizations and people really good at innovating. And it’s not what he expected. Why is criticism central to success? Can you see your ... Show More
37m 17s
Mar 2019
Jack Dorsey On Solitude, Self-Care & Shouldering The Health of Global Conversation
“There’s no path towards evolution and making something better unless we can talk about it.“Jack Dorsey  Imagine shouldering responsibility of one of the planet's largest social networks. Now imagine that's just one of your jobs, the second focused on reinventing the world's rela ... Show More
2h 26m
Sep 2023
Steven Bartlett on Mastering Business & Life: Outside The Box Lessons On Mindset, Ambition, Vulnerability & What Matters Most
Today we’re going to deep deep into the world of business leadership and personal development with a truly extraordinary person—entrepreneur, renowned speaker, investor, and the host of the UK’s No.1 podcast Diary of a CEO, Steven Bartlett. For the uninitiated, Steven is the co-f ... Show More
2h 28m
Nov 2020
Obsessions: Arlo Parks On What The Beat Generation Taught Her
Delving deep into the minds of our favourite people's deepest obsessions, this week we're joined by the INCREDIBLE Arlo Parks. The London based singer-songwriter, and one of our personal fave artists of 2020, is talking to us all about The Beat Generation. From discovering their ... Show More
25m 11s
Jul 2022
Talking Art with Russell Tovey and Robert Diament
The podcast “Talk Art [is] about is encouraging people to switch lanes, to take up space, and to embrace your interests,” says cofounder Russell Tovey. Since 2018, Tovey and Robert Diament have cohosted Talk Art, producing over 175 episodes with guests across all fields of art, f ... Show More
51m 5s