In this episode, Erik sits down with Samo Burja, political scientist and founder of Bismarck Analysis. They discuss Samo's term "live player" and today's live players, including Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and George Soros. Make informed decision for high impact donations with GiveWell, which is offering Upstream listeners donation matching up to $100. To claim your match, go to https://www.givewell.org ➡️ pick “Podcast” enter "Upstream with Erik Torenberg" at checkout.
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RELATED PODCAST: @LivePlayerswithSamoBurja
Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today's most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more.
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SPONSORS:
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LINKS:
Samo’s Bismarck Brief: https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/
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X / TWITTER:
@SamoBurja (Samo)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)
@upstream__pod
@turpentinemedia
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(01:50) What are "live players?"
(05:05) Samo’s worldview
(10:35) Reflections on the energy transition
(15:35) Sponsor: Shopify | Givewell
(18:40) Sam Altman as a live player
(22:25) OpenAI’s culture vs Microsoft’s culture
(25:45) Sam Altman vs Elon Musk vs Peter Thiel
(30:35) Sponsor: Oracle
(31:40) Understanding different perspectives on capitalism
(32:45) The role of live players in society
(37:05) Can we train live players?
(42:20) The evolution of live players
(47:10) Philanthropists as live players: Bill Gates, the Kochs, etc
(54:50) The paradox of open society advocates
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Upstream is a production from Turpentine
Producer: Sam Kaufman
Editor: Graham Bessellieu
For guest or sponsorship inquiries please contact Sam@turpentine.co