Twitter: @MoZ_Podcast | YT: @MomentofZenPodcast

Season 1

April 1, 2023

E16: AI open letter debate, "pausers", and what we're all scared of w…

Anton Troynikov of Chroma, Flo Crivello of Lindy AI, and Nathan Labenz of Waymark and co-host of The Cognitive Revolution podcast join Erik Torenberg for a timely debate on the issues raised in the AI open letter which advocates for …

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April 7, 2023

E17: Mike Solana on SF Politics, Tech & Media fights, Tik Tok policy,…

Our guest this week is Mike Solana, founder and editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires (Piratewires.com). We discuss the broken local politics of San Francisco, tech and media fights, how we should handle Tik Tok,and why AI enthusiasts are losing. We record …

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April 22, 2023

E19: Michelle Tandler on how to fix San Francisco

San Francisco advocate Michelle Tandler (@michelletandler on Twitter) joins Erik and Dan to discuss how Twitter has impacted her life, the state of SF politics, and how she would address the homeless crisis in San Francisco.

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April 28, 2023

E20: On Founders, Seriousness, and American Dynamism

Katherine joins Erik, Antonio, and Dan to discuss the hidden forces that shape founders, major divides in tech, and whether she should join our show as a cohost.

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May 6, 2023

E21: Ben Smith of Semafor on tech-media hostility, and the past, pre…

Ben Smith is the co-founder of Semafor and author of the forthcoming book Traffic joins Erik Torenberg and Antonio Garcia Martinez for a discussion about the hostility between tech and media, what digital media startups got wrong, analysis of institutions …

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May 14, 2023

E22: Twitter’s new CEO, Elon’s strategy vs Sam Altman’s strategy, Lib…

Dan and Erik discuss how Elon got coded right-wing, why liberals are more depressed than conservatives, crime and prisons.

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May 19, 2023

E23: Liel Leibovitz on Israel and US politics, the Palestinian confli…

Journalist and author Liel Leibovitz joins Antonio and Erik for a deep discussion that “solves all outstanding Israel issues once and for all.” They discuss what’s going on with Israeli and US politics, Israel’s foundational choice ahead, and why wokeness …

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May 26, 2023

E24: Mike Solana on Twitter under Elon, Sam Altman's PR strategy, pol…

Erik and Dan are joined by special guest Mike Solana, Editor-in-Chief of Pirate Wires (https://www.piratewires.com/) to discuss the recent AI congressional hearings, political polarization, Elon’s reign at Twitter, and much more.

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June 3, 2023

E25: Apple and Facebook, Crypto and VR, Open vs Closed Ecosystems

Dan and Erik discuss Apple's upcoming release, VR, the debt deal, nuclear energy and more.

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June 10, 2023

E26: Clash of Elites with Nadia Asparouhova

t Nadia joins Erik, Dan and Antonio to debate the different movements in tech and determine what they should be doing to achieve the impact they want to have.

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June 15, 2023

E27: [Bonus] Marc Andreessen and Anton Troynikov on Why AI Will Save …

Today, we have a special bonus episode: a discussion between the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, and the founder of AI database company Chroma, Anton Troynikov.

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June 17, 2023

E28: Katherine Boyle and Mike Solana on Liberal Arts Debate, Tech Cul…

Katherine Boyle and Mike Solana join Erik, Dan, and Antonio to discuss whether a liberal arts degree is worth it and how to save San Francisco.

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June 24, 2023

E29: Brokenism, The Borg, and Bravery with Alana Newhouse

Alana Newhouse, the Editor in Chief of Tablet Magazine, joins Erik and Antonio on this week's episode.

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July 2, 2023

E30: Affirmative Action, the Administrative State, and The Right's Vi…

In this episode, Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg discuss the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision, the administrative state, and the right's victory in the courts.

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July 10, 2023

E31: Threads vs Twitter, Zuck vs Elon, and Silicon Valley’s Civil War…

Fan favorite Mike Solana, Editor in Chief of Pirate Wires, joins Erik, Dan, and Antonio this week to discuss Meta’s Threads, status, and the future of social media Moment of Zen is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. To...

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July 18, 2023

E32: Twitter, Threads, and Remote Work with Eugene Wei

Writer and technologist Eugene Wei joins Dan, Erik and Antonio to talk about Twitter, Threads, and his views on remote work.

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July 23, 2023

E33: News News Yum Yum with Marc Andreessen

Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz returns to discuss his recent essays on AI, violence, and much more including: San Francisco, mandatory military service, Vogelin, and life extension.

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July 29, 2023

E34: Noah Smith on YIMBYism, California Land Use, and the Best Run Ci…

Economist and writer Noah Smith returns to the podcast to talk to Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg about housing, politics, land use and policing in California and beyond.

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Aug. 6, 2023

E35: Alex Kaplan on the LK-99 Superconductor: the Drama, Democratizat…

Alex Kaplan shot to fame on Twitter last week for his thread on the LK-99 superconductor, and why it has the potential to be the most important physics discovery of our lifetime. Today he joins Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg …

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Aug. 14, 2023

E36: Religion, Canceled Thinkers, LARPing Liberalism, and The End of …

Antonio Garcia Martinez is back from his travels, and joins Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg to dive into his current theory of ‘The End of History’. They also discuss the cancellation of intellectual figures like Richard Hanania, contrast the political …

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Aug. 21, 2023

E37: Mike Solana on Peter Thiel, the Ideal Presidential Candidate, an…

Mike Solana joins Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, and Antonio Garcia Martinez to track the rise and ‘vibe shift’ away from the woke industrial complex, from social media algorithms and anon accounts, to media disruptions like Substack and Gawker.

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Aug. 26, 2023

E38: Crypto Hour and IQ, the Next Great Culture War Issue

Dan Romero and Erik Torenberg discuss what is exciting in Crypto right now, covering friend.tech, Forecaster’s updates, PWAs, superchain 2a, and the challenges of a crypto winter.

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Sept. 8, 2023

E40: Balaji Srinivasan on the Tribal Lens, America’s Blunder, and His…

Balaji Srinivasan joins Erik Torenberg and Dan Romero on the Moment of Zen podcast to share his new theory of the Tribal Lens, why cognitive territories will gain increasingly more power than land-defined territories, why the US is no longer …

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Sept. 10, 2023

E41: Balaji on How the Tech Tribe Can Save Our Cities - Part 2

Balaji Srinivasan returns to go deeper into his theory of the Social Lens – dividing the world into Red, Blue, and Gray tribes and offering a roadmap to the next era where Gray can take control.

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