Best Manifoldone Podcasts (2025)

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Patrick McGee: Apple In China — #88 59:33

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6d ago59:33

59:33

Patrick McGee is a longtime FT business reporter with extensive experience reporting on China. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Apple in China: the capture of the world's greatest company. Steve and Patrick discuss the history of Apple and its impact on technology development in China. “The best book about Apple ever written, one of the bes…

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GODZILLA DOWN! India-Pakistan Clash and Chinese Military Technology with TP Huang — #87 1:02:24

20d ago1:02:24

1:02:24

Steve and TP discuss the implications of the recent air battle between India and Pakistan, which involved over 100 fighter jets and took place entirely beyond visual range (BVR). What is sensor fusion, and have the Pakistanis achieved it with Chinese technology? Does the PL-15 outrange and outperform Western air-to-air missiles? What are the implic…

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Robots, Small Models, and RL with DeepSeek Alumnus Zihan Wang — #86 1:07:22

1M ago1:07:22

1:07:22

Zihan Wang is an AI researcher at Northwestern University, where he works on vision-language models, robotics, and reinforcement learning. Previously, he interned at DeepSeek, contributing to projects like DeepSeek-V2. Zihan's homepage: https://zihanwang314.github.io/ (00:00) - Introduction (01:13) - Zihan's Background, CS and AI Research in China …

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Dan Collins: Tariffs and the Future of US Manufacturing — #85 1:18:03

2M ago1:18:03

1:18:03

Dan Collins is Founder of Tyrell Chemical. He studied at Tsinghua University and spent 20 years working for companies like General Motors in China, helping to localize automotive manufacturing. Dan and Steve discuss tariffs, deindustrialization in America, the Go-Go days of rapid economic growth in PRC, and the future of the US-China relationship. …

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Seeking Truth From Facts: AI, China, Tariffs, Geopolitics — #84 45:42

2M ago45:42

45:42

This episode is a co-release with the podcast Seeking Truth From Facts: https://seekingtruthfromfacts.substack.com/ (00:00) - Introduction (01:11) - China AI (02:30) - DeepSeek (04:21) - Redirecting Human Capital from finance (08:42) - US Policy and Financial Incentives (12:54) - China Meritocracy (24:24) - Trump's Tariffs and China (37:12) - Europ…

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Incels, Evo Psych, and Modern Literature with ARX-Han — #83 1:25:16

3M ago1:25:16

1:25:16

Steve speaks with ARX-Han, an anonymous writer, about his book "Incel." (00:00) - Introduction (02:09) - Discussing the Novel 'Incel' (06:08) - Character Analysis and Literary Influences (13:32) - Themes of Evolutionary Psychology and Nihilism (18:38) - Historical Context and Modern Inceldom (26:18) - Impact of Dating Apps on Modern Relationships (…

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Callum Williams: Economics, AI, and Technological Progress — #82 1:46:14

3M ago1:46:14

1:46:14

Callum Williams is a senior economics writer for The Economist. He was educated at Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge, and is the author of The Classical School: The Birth of Economics in 20 Enlightened Lives. (00:00) - Introduction (02:07) - US-Russia Relations (03:18) - Trump and US Foreign Policy (05:30) - Sanctions and Their Impact on Russia (09:28…

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Misha Laskin, Reflection.ai — From Physics to SuperIntelligence 53:48

3M ago53:48

53:48

Misha Laskin is CEO of Reflection.ai. He was trained in theoretical physics at Yale and Chicago before becoming an AI scientist. He made important contributions in Reinforcement Learning as a researcher at Berkeley, Google DeepMind, and on the Google Gemini project. https://x.com/MishaLaskin Steve and Misha discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (00:47) -…

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Taylor Ogan, Snow Bull Capital: China's tech frontier, the view from Shenzhen, Part 2 1:25:38

4M ago1:25:38

1:25:38

Taylor Ogan is Chief Executive Officer of Snow Bull Capital, based in Shenzhen, China. His firm invests in Chinese technology companies, with a focus on areas such as clean energy, AI, and automation. Part 1 of this discussion, from November 2023: https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/taylor-ogan-snow-bull-capital-chinas-tech-frontier-the-view-from-sh…

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Ken Liu: Art in the Age of AI — #79 1:07:05

4M ago1:07:05

1:07:05

Ken Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Liu has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his novel translations and original short fiction. Liu's short story "The Paper Menagerie" is the first work of fiction, of any length, to win all of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. Besides his original work, Liu's t…

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US-PRC Tech War: DeepSeek AI and 6th Generation Fighters — #78 2:01:54

5M ago2:01:54

2:01:54

(00:00) - Introduction: AI, Miltech, and Balance of Power (00:32) - DeepSeek AI R1 model (02:36) - DeepSeek: top performance, 30x efficient compute (10:37) - DeepSeek technical innovations (15:38) - The AI Race: U.S. vs. China (34:20) - Fighter Jets and Military Technology (42:54) - Fifth to Sixth Generation Fighter Programs (46:13) - Technology of…

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Jim Haslam: Covid Origins and Coronavirus Genetic Engineering — #77 1:55:32

5M ago1:55:32

1:55:32

Relevant links: Jim Haslam on X: https://x.com/jhas5 Jim's Substack: https://jimhaslam.substack.com/ Jim's book, "COVID-19: Mystery Solved," on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/COVID-19-Mystery-Solved-leaked-Chinese-ebook/dp/B0DPVT9LWV?ref_=ast_author_cp_dp Chapters: (00:00) - A quick note on my interview with Jim Haslam (03:40) - Introducing Jim Has…

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Joscha Bach: Consciousness and AGI — #76 1:21:42

6M ago1:21:42

1:21:42

Joscha Bach is a German cognitive scientist, AI researcher, and philosopher known for his work on cognitive architectures, artificial intelligence, mental representation, emotion, social modeling, multi-agent systems, and the philosophy of mind. Links of interest: http://bach.ai/ https://x.com/Plinz Steve and Joscha discuss: (00:00) - Introduction …

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Adventures in Physics, Trump, and more, with the Information Theory podcast — #75 1:19:03

6M ago1:19:03

1:19:03

This episode is an interview I did with the new podcast Information Theory. The host of Information Theory is an anonymous technologist trained in physics and machine learning. Information Theory Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InformationTheoryPod Information Theory Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PbxeOYInRuH4DBXOAO…

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Pascal Lottaz: Neutrality, Geopolitics, and International Conflict — #74 1:37:13

7M ago1:37:13

1:37:13

Pascal Lottaz is Associate Professor at Kyoto University’s Faculty of Law & Hakubi Center. His research area is Neutrality Studies - the study of neutrality as a concept in international relations, sociology, international law, diplomacy, political science, security, and history. Follow Pascal on X @Plottaz Pascal's YouTube channel: https://www.you…

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Letter from Shanghai: Reflections on China in 2024 — #73 59:51

7M ago59:51

59:51

(00:00) - Overview: 3 weeks in China (02:33) - The China knowledge problem: Grappling with Reality (06:54) - Physics seminars in Shanghai and Beijing (15:54) - Chinese academia, challenges in scientific culture (22:43) - Yu Min: Two Bombs, One Satellite (27:02) - He Jiankui and gene editing, plus the future of biotech in China (33:32) - China's AI …

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Letter from Beijing, with Han Feizi — #72 1:02:09

8M ago1:02:09

1:02:09

Han Feizi is the pseudonym of a columnist for Asia Times, who covers the Chinese economy, technology, and US-China competition. The author lives in Beijing, and has an extensive background in finance and investment banking. Han Feizi's articles for Asia Times: https://asiatimes.com/author/han-feizi/ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to the guest: Han Fe…

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Seeking Truth From Facts: Israel and Iran, Missile Defense, China Economic Development 1:05:02

8M ago1:05:02

1:05:02

This is a crossover episode with the Seeking Truth From Facts podcast. (00:00) - Iranian missile attack vs Israel and missile defense (13:10) - Is there potential for a 1973-style oil crisis? (21:41) - Is NATO getting tired of the proxy war in Ukraine? (25:43) - Why has Europe declined relatively since 2008 and what are the consequences of said dec…

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Samo Burja: Intellectuals, Culture. and the Technosphere — #70 1:37:03

9M ago1:37:03

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Samo Burja founded Bismarck Analysis, a consulting firm that investigates the political and institutional landscape of society. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Political Science at the Foresight Institute where he advises on how institutions can shape the future of technology. Since 2024, he has chaired the editorial board of Palladium Magazine, …

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Deus Ex Machina: A Man, Machines, and God 1:30:15

9M ago1:30:15

1:30:15

This is a crossover episode in which https://x.com/loubohan interviews me for his podcast Deus Ex Machina. I was obviously in an exuberant mood for this interview - it's one of my favorites! Deus Ex Machina podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7mXUfNJdNnOjGfu6VGactr?si=Y3j1OZG4QsGdPhXd8dKsrw… Timestamps: (00:00) - Growing up in Iowa. Athletics…

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Seeking Truth From Facts: Alf & Steve Hsu — #68 55:06

10M ago55:06

55:06

This is a crossover episode in which Alf of the Seeking Truth from Facts podcast interviews Steve Hsu about the Chinese economy and political system, and US-China competition. Seeking Truth From Facts podcast: https://substack.com/@seekingtruthfromfacts/p-148705853 Steve and Alf discuss: (00:00) - Introduction to the Podcast Collaboration (00:48) -…

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Letter from Reykjavik: Genomics, Chess, Hyperscaling genAI, and Quantum Black Holes — #67 35:30

10M ago35:30

35:30

This is a short episode recorded at the end of a trip to Caltech (LA), Frankfurt, and Reykjavik. Black hole information and replica wormholes at Caltech (talk slides): https://stevehsu.substack.com/p/black-hole-information-and-replica 00:00 Intro: summer in Iceland 02:04 deCODE genetics 05:52 Chess: Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik 11:56 Hyperscaling gen…

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Robin Hanson: Prediction Markets, the Future of Civilization, and Polymathy — #66 1:20:47

10M ago1:20:47

1:20:47

Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He has worked in a variety of fields, including Physics, AI, Economics, and Futurism. Follow him at https://x.com/robinhanson "When the typical economist tells me about his latest research, my standard reaction is 'Eh, maybe.' Then I forget about it. When Robin Hanson tells me abo…

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China Today: Myths and Realities — #65 1:21:47

11M ago1:21:47

1:21:47

Steve discusses China myths and realities with Victor, a tech founder who ran a company in Beijing for 7 years. Among the topics covered: economic growth, real estate bubble, technology innovation, human capital, freedom of expression, Confucianism and Culture. 00:00 Introduction 02:02 Post-COVID economy and bursting of the real estate bubble 08:25…

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Ivy League Anonymous: Great Awokening and Campus Radicals — #64 1:11:52

11M ago1:11:52

1:11:52

Earlier episode, Harvard Veritas: https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/harvard-veritas-interview-with-a-recent-graduate-anonymous-18 Chapter markers: (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (02:12) - Campus Protests and Media Perception (06:29) - Student Political Views and Academic Freedom (21:44) - Intellectual History of Wokeism (35:46) - STEM vs…