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E2: Balaji Srinivasan on His Past and Future predictions, the Future of the Left and Right, and Why Tech Can’t Escape Politics

E2: Balaji Srinivasan on His Past and Future predictions, the Future of the Left and Right, and Why Tech Can’t Escape Politics

From"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg


E2: Balaji Srinivasan on His Past and Future predictions, the Future of the Left and Right, and Why Tech Can’t Escape Politics

From"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

ratings:
Length:
99 minutes
Released:
Mar 31, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Balaji Srinivasan, author of The Network State and co-founder of Counsyl, talks to Erik Torenberg about his past and future predictions, the future of the left and right, and why tech will never be able to escape politics. 


TIMESTAMPS:
(0:00) Preview of episode
(2:30) Why are the scariest words in the English language “Balaji was right”
(7:06) When to reform vs start a new institution
(9:50) Are ideas weapons?
(13:31) Sponsors
(15:30) You don’t start with a tech company anymore, you start with a tech community
(18:58) Internet nationalism
(22:06) What "political" means
(26:20 ) Activist movements are like “pump and dumps”
(29:40) What the sovereign individual misses
(41:03) Bitcoin is still the flag of technology
(45:38) Democrats will move to the right on immigration
(57:20) Tech America vs Woke America
(58:00) Why are tech people so woke?
(1:03:39) The left will flip on diversity
(1:05:00) The left is shifting from wokeism to statism
(1:15:17) Bitcoiners will take over the right wing party
(1:21:28) Elon

SOCIAL LINKS:
Erik’s Twitter: @eriktorenberg
Balaji’s Twitter: @balajis
Podcast Twitter: @Upstream__Pod
Erik’s Substack: eriktorenberg.substack.com

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Released:
Mar 31, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (61)

Upstream is where host Erik Torenberg goes deeper with the world's most interesting thinkers to map the constellation of ideas that matter across tech, culture, and politics. Ask yourself, what’s upstream of what you believe? On this season of Upstream, you'll hear from Marc Andreessen, David Sacks, Balaji Srinivasan, Ezra Klein, Joe Lonsdale, Katherine Boyle, and more.