Best Eric Yang Podcasts (2026)

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Want to make change? Let young people tell their stories | Anshul Tewari 15:12

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24h ago15:12

15:12

As a teenager, social entrepreneur Anshul Tewari didn’t see young voices represented in the conversations that mattered. His solution? A simple blog that has since transformed into Youth Ki Awaaz (Voice of the Youth): India’s largest citizen media platform, where more than 200,000 young people write about underrepresented issues every month. From s…

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The Future of Work with Zoom CEO Eric Yuan and Reid Hoffman 25:11

1d ago25:11

25:11

Eric Yuan is the founder and CEO of Zoom. Reid Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn. Both are luminary LPs at Village Global. They joined Village GP Ben Casnocha to discuss the future of AI agents, digital twins in the workplace, selling AI to enterprise, and what it takes to build companies that endure. Takeaways: Digital twins will handle meetin…

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Peter Krask: From PhD Dropout to Hollywood Producer—Building Myth Merchant and Finding Creative Freedom 1:01:46

7h ago1:01:46

1:01:46

Peter Krask, creator of Myth Merchant and former Hollywood producer, shares his journey from quitting grad school to producing reality TV to building a business around storytelling and mythology. After realizing a PhD wasn't his path, Krask dove into the entertainment industry, learning the business side of creativity—budgets, staff, international …

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[Highlight] Airtable's Howie Liu on What Founders Get Wrong About Building Product 5:41

4d ago5:41

5:41

This is a short excerpt from our full conversation with Airtable founder and CEO Howie Liu. Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCR-zFXiXKA&t=2s Howie spent 2.5 years building Airtable before launching – and only talked to about a dozen customers in that time. In this clip, he explains why that approach made sense for a pla…

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Oliver Burkeman: Why Positive Thinking Fails and the Paradox of Pursuing Happiness 54:08

3d ago54:08

54:08

Oliver Burkeman, author of "The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking," dismantles the self-help industry's obsession with optimism and goal-setting. Raised as a Quaker with pro-social parents, Burkeman explores why chasing happiness often makes us miserable, how negative visualization (imagining worst-case scenarios) bui…

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Michelle Gielan: How Small Shifts in Communication Create Big Changes in Happiness and Resilience 45:22

17h ago45:22

45:22

In this powerful conversation, former CBS news anchor and positive psychology researcher Michelle Gielan unpacks how we can rewire our communication habits to shape more resilient, empowered, and optimistic lives — both personally and collectively. Drawing on research from her book *Broadcasting Happiness*, Gielan shows how small shifts in the way …

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What happens in your brain when you pay attention? w/ Dr. Sasha Hamdani | from TED Health 35:18

8h ago35:18

35:18

Attention isn't just about what we focus on -- it's also about what our brains filter out. By investigating patterns in the brain as people try to focus, computational neuroscientist Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar hopes to build computer models that can be used to treat ADHD and help those who have lost the ability to communicate. Hear more about this ex…

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Breaking Free from the Plan: How Decision Engineering Can Transform Your Life with Michelle Florendo 43:51

2d ago43:51

43:51

Michelle Florendo shares her journey from following the immigrant dream of Stanford, an MBA, and a "good job" to discovering she was miserable and needed to chart her own path. As a decision engineering expert, she reveals the three essential elements of every decision (options, objectives, and information), explains why we confuse decision quality…

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What 2025 Taught Us—And Where 2026 Is Taking Us 55:34

15d ago55:34

55:34

What do foot massage parties, otters, and AI robot tutors have in common? To find out, tune into our special end-of-year conversation featuring the hosts from TED Talks Daily, TED Radio Hour, TED Business, and TED Tech! Elise Hu, Manoush Zomorodi, Modupe Akinola and Sherrell Dorsey got together to share the biggest ideas dominating their industry a…

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Justin McRoberts: Mortality, Meaning, and Giving Away Everything You've Got 48:13

16d ago48:13

48:13

Justin McRoberts, musician, pastor, and author of "It's What You Make of It," shares how confronting death early in life shaped his approach to creativity and faith. Having attended over 20 funerals by age 25, McRoberts explains why understanding mortality is essential to living fully and why the cultural narrative of imperviousness keeps people fr…

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Dr. Joy Buolamwini | from Design Matters 1:03:29

22d ago1:03:29

1:03:29

Dr. Joy Buolamwini is a computer scientist and a poet of code who uses art and research to illuminate the social implications of artificial intelligence. She joins to discuss her career as the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, her best-selling book Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines, and her featured r…

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Power, Narrative, and Influence: Van Jones and Promise CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins 41:36

23d ago41:36

41:36

Van Jones is a political commentator, author, and former Obama White House advisor. Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is founder and CEO of Promise, a software company transforming how governments deliver services to people in need. They joined the Village Global team to discuss what founders building in complex sectors need to know about power, narrative, and…

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The multidimensional magic of modern maps | Peter Wilczynski 8:26

29d ago8:26

8:26

Maps have long helped us understand the world — now, they can help us shape it. Digital cartographer Peter Wilczynski introduces the Living Globe: a real-time, data-rich digital twin of Earth that fuses satellite imagery, sensor data and AI. Watch for a glimpse of the future of maps — and learn how these new tools can help us build the future witho…

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Scaling in the AI Era with PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada 47:07

30d ago47:07

47:07

Jennifer Tejada is CEO of PagerDuty, a public company serving 30,000+ customers worldwide. She joined Village Global GP Ben Casnocha for a masterclass on scaling in the AI era, followed by live feedback sessions with four founders building AI-native companies. Takeaways: Enterprise sentiment has shifted from “fear of missing out” to “fear of gettin…

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Jeff Wald: Navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Why Personal Responsibility Defines the Future of Work 51:27

1M ago51:27

51:27

Jeff Wald, author of The End of Jobs and CEO of WorkMarket, examines how robots and AI are creating the fourth industrial revolution—a massive power shift from workers to companies that mirrors past technological upheavals. Drawing from labor history, on-demand platforms, and regulatory battles like California Prop 22, Wald reveals why the lifetime…

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Jeff Spencer: The Champion Blueprint and the Eight Inevitable Steps to Peak Performance 42:41

1M ago42:41

42:41

Jeff Spencer, former Olympic cyclist and performance coach to Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and Olympic gold medalists, breaks down the precise architecture of champion-level achievement. From losing his father at age 10 to competing in the Munich Olympics to coaching nine Tour de France victories, Jeff reveals the eight sequential steps every prol…

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Jason Naylor: The Psychology of Color and Why Bright Hues Unlock Positivity, Memory, and Human Connection 49:27

1M ago49:27

49:27

Jason Naylor, artist and author of Live Life Colorfully, shares how growing up as the second of seven children in a Mormon family in Salt Lake City shaped his caretaker personality and his eventual escape to New York where he discovered creative liberation. Naylor reveals the symbiotic relationship between color and messaging in his work—the more p…

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Is AI ruining music? | Dustin Ballard 13:08

1M ago13:08

13:08

What makes music “real” — is it the instruments, the voice, the creator’s intention or something else entirely? Dustin Ballard, the creative force behind the viral channel “There I Ruined It,” explores the weird, wonderful and sometimes unsettling ways AI is reshaping music. With fiddle solos and AI-powered mashups of your favorite songs, he invite…

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Jacob Sager Weinstein: The Memory Palace Method and Why You Cannot Synthesize What You Do Not Remember 51:29

1M ago51:29

51:29

Jacob Sager Weinstein, comedy writer for Dennis Miller and author of How to Remember Everything, shares how growing up in privileged Washington DC where the vice president's daughter was in his debate club gave him confidence to walk into any room but delayed his understanding that not everyone has equal access to opportunity until he reached Princ…

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Hillary Weiss: The Danger of Just Mindset and Why Imitation Is a Trap for Finding Your Golden Thread 53:21

1M ago53:21

53:21

Hillary Weiss, brand strategist and positioning coach, reflects on growing up in suburban South Florida where attending the same school for 14 years meant everyone remembered who peed their pants in pre-K yet created lifelong friendships that watched her evolve from emo to punk rock to professional white woman. Weiss challenges the dangerous mindse…

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Tech Solutions (#4): How organizations can grow in a post-aid world (with Jacqueline Novogratz) 29:16

1M ago29:16

29:16

When the Trump administration dismantled USAID, it was the beginning of a post-aid era, says philanthropist and social entrepreneur Jacqueline Novogratz. Aid may not be coming back but in its place Jacqueline hopes creative solutions will emerge to provide independence and dignity at the community level. Jacqueline is the CEO of Acumen and has help…

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Gautum Mukunda: The Paradox of Leader Selection and Why Unfiltered Presidents Are a Dangerous Gamble 58:48

1M ago58:48

58:48

Gautum Mukunda, Harvard professor and author of Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter, reveals the paradox at the heart of leadership selection: the more effort you put into picking a leader, the less it matters who you pick. Drawing from decades of presidential history, Mukunda introduces the concept of filtered versus unfiltered leaders—Georg…

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Cal Newport: Why Social Media Is Big Tobacco Not Big Oil and the Steam Whistle Theory of Attention 1:06:33

2M ago1:06:33

1:06:33

Cal Newport, computer science professor and author of Digital Minimalism, argues that the better analogy for social media is not big oil that must be broken up because it's vital to society but big tobacco that must be culturally rejected because it's unhealthy and dispensable—people don't care if you tell them to leave Facebook for six months but …

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Cal Newport: Cognitive Athleticism and Why Elite Performers Protect Their Attention 1:06:33

2M ago1:06:33

1:06:33

Computer science professor and bestselling author Cal Newport explains why cognitive fitness matters as much as physical fitness for elite performance. Drawing from his work with NBA teams and hedge fund managers, Newport breaks down the connection between attention control and exceptional achievement. He challenges the myth that social media grows…

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Ethan Kross: Mastering Your Inner Voice Before It Masters You 55:06

2M ago55:06

55:06

Psychologist and bestselling author Ethan Kross breaks down the science of *chatter*—the internal voice that can either empower or paralyze us. Drawing on decades of research in neuroscience and emotion regulation, Kross explains how introspection, while powerful, can often backfire, leading to rumination, anxiety, and impaired performance.In this …

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Eric Barker: The Science of Relationships and Why Playing Well with Others Matters More Than You Think 1:21:50

2M ago1:21:50

1:21:50

Eric Barker, bestselling author of Barking Up the Wrong Tree and Plays Well with Others, reveals what decades of social science research says about relationships, friendship, love, and meaning. From his journey through Hollywood screenwriting to the video game industry to running one of the most-read personal development blogs, Eric explains his ob…

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Tech Solutions (#3): How one of China’s biggest tech companies is tackling carbon removal (with Xu Hao) 22:28

2M ago22:28

22:28

Tencent is one of China’s biggest tech companies, running the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat and the world’s largest video game vendor. Now, it’s also an up-and-coming force in the field of carbon removal. Xu Hao, the vice president of Sustainable Social Value at Tencent, oversees two of those initiatives: the Carbon Neutrality Lab and Carbon…

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Brea Starmer: Redefining Work Around Highest and Best Use, Not Hours Logged 45:18

2M ago45:18

45:18

Brea Starmer, founder of Lions and Tigers, challenges the outdated workplace model that measures face time over impact. Drawing from her experience as a mother of three running a company during COVID-19, she introduces the concept of "highest and best use"—a real estate framework adapted to human potential that prioritizes outcomes over hours logge…

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Dylan Beynon: Building Mindbloom and the Science of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy 54:09

2M ago54:09

54:09

Dylan Beynon, founder of Mindbloom, shares the deeply personal story behind building the first at-home ketamine therapy platform. After losing his mother and sister to severe mental illness, Dylan became determined to bring psychedelic medicine into mainstream healthcare. He explains the neuroscience of how ketamine creates neuroplasticity—allowing…

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Douglass Vigliotti: Wrestling with Conviction and Why Creative Work Demands Uncomfortable Honesty 57:05

2M ago57:05

57:05

Douglass Vigliotti, author and creative, explores the tension between doubt and conviction that defines the creative process. Drawing from his parents, his father relentless drive and his mother empathy, Douglass reflects on what it means to pursue creative work when society constantly asks if you want more. This conversation examines the uncomfort…

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Donny Jackson: The Internalized Stains of Slavery and Why Empathy Cannot Develop Without Interaction Across Racial Lines 51:58

2M ago51:58

51:58

Donny Jackson, poet and psychologist, reflects on growing up as a working-class black kid in Pittsburgh where his father was a postal worker for 35 years and his mother was a nurse's aide—parents who instilled work ethic, integrity, and honor while navigating a world not built for young black children. Jackson traces the roots of American racism to…

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Bjorn Ryan-Gorman: Coming Out as Gay in the Snowboarding World and Reclaiming Masculinity on Your Own Terms 45:23

2M ago45:23

45:23

Bjorn Ryan-Gorman, professional snowskater and LGBTQ+ advocate, shares his journey from hiding his sexuality behind aggressive board sports to building a life of authenticity in Portland. Growing up in Montana as a sponsored snow athlete, Ryan-Gorman used snowboarding and skateboarding as outlets for self-hatred and denial, pushing himself to dange…

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Tech Solutions (#2): How to balance the AI boom and environmental responsibility (with Juan M. Lavista Ferres) 18:55

2M ago18:55

18:55

The environmental impact of AI is a growing concern. In this episode, Sherrell sits down with Juan M. Lavista Ferres, the Chief Scientist and Lab Director of Microsoft’s AI for Good Research Lab, to discuss his work in using AI for conservation and sustainability. Whether it’s using AI to measure methane gas leaks or allowing AI to optimize healthc…

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David Epstein: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World 51:45

2M ago51:45

51:45

David Epstein, author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, dismantles the myth that early specialization is the only path to excellence. Drawing from research on elite athletes, musicians, and scientists, David reveals how individual variability in learning means there is no one-size-fits-all approach to skill development. He r…

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Alfie Amayo - Academic Escapee, Gin Distiller, and Student of Life 40:25

2M ago40:25

40:25

Alfie Amayo began his journey in London, where he was surely going to become a doctor, until delivering a baby made him realize he wanted to do something else entirely. Long story short, he dropped out and built an award-winning gin distillery from scratch in Cambodia. In today’s episode, we talk about cocktail lore, being in your "yes" phase, and …

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Daniel Stillman: The Architecture of Conversations and Why Every Interface Shapes What We Say 1:18:27

2M ago1:18:27

1:18:27

Daniel Stillman, author of Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter, reveals how conversations are designed—whether we realize it or not. Drawing from his background in design thinking and facilitation, Daniel breaks down the components of conversational architecture: openings, turns, power dynamics, and interfaces. He explains why physic…

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Ayelet Fishbach: The Science of Motivation, Why Fantasies Fail, and Balancing Abstract Goals with Concrete Plans 1:07:21

2M ago1:07:21

1:07:21

Ayelet Fishbach, motivation researcher at University of Chicago, dismantles the fantasy-driven approach to New Year's resolutions and goal-setting. Drawing from data spanning multiple years, she reveals that while temporal landmarks like New Year work for initiating goals, only 20% of people still pursue them by November—the difference comes down t…

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Dandapani: Mastering Your Mind as an Operating System, Sexual Energy Transmutation, and the Monastic Path to Unwavering Focus 1:07:07

2M ago1:07:07

1:07:07

Dandapani, former Hindu monk who lived monastically for 10 years, shares teachings from his guru on treating the mind as an operating system that must be understood before it can be mastered. He explains the critical distinction between a focused life (giving undivided attention to whoever/whatever you're engaged with) and a purpose-focused life (w…

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Cal Newport: Slow Productivity, Escaping Pseudo Productivity, and the Three Principles for Sustainable Knowledge Work 1:40:53

2M ago1:40:53

1:40:53

Cal Newport unpacks his framework for Slow Productivity, built on three core principles: doing fewer things, working at a natural pace, and obsessing over quality. He introduces "pseudo productivity"—the toxic heuristic that emerged in mid-20th century knowledge work when visible activity became a proxy for useful effort because traditional product…

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Alan Stein Jr: The Performance Gap Between Knowing and Doing, and What Elite Athletes Teach Us About Execution 1:05:31

2M ago1:05:31

1:05:31

Alan Stein Jr, former basketball performance coach to Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and other NBA superstars, reveals why knowledge without execution is worthless and how the world's highest performers bridge the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. Drawing from decades working with elite athletes, Stein explains that performance gaps…

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Tech Solutions (#1): The affordable tech that will revolutionize farming (with Samir Ibrahim and Josephine Waweru) 23:42

2M ago23:42

23:42

When entrepreneur Samir Ibrahim asked farmers in Kenya what problem they most needed solved, the answer was simple: reliable access to water to irrigate their farms year-round. Samir is the CEO of SunCulture, a company replacing diesel- and petrol-powered water pumps with more affordable solar-powered ones. He sits down with Sherrell Dorsey, host o…

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Christy Tennery-Spalding: Building Political Homes and Redefining Self-Care Beyond Capitalism 48:12

2M ago48:12

48:12

Christy Tennery-Spalding, activist and organizer, shares how growing up near Washington D.C. shaped her oppositional stance to power structures and led her to find a “political home” in San Francisco’s activist community. She introduces the concept of informed consent in organizing—ensuring participants feel safe, informed, and empowered rather tha…

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Andrew Yang: Universal Basic Income and the Automation Crisis Remaking America 44:31

2M ago44:31

44:31

Andrew Yang traces his path from failed entrepreneur to 2020 presidential candidate driven by a single realization: automation has already destroyed millions of American jobs, and the next wave will be exponentially worse. Through his work with Venture for America, he witnessed firsthand the economic devastation in Detroit, Ohio, and the Midwest—wh…

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Chris Fussell: Systems, Mindset, and Leading at the Edge 56:27

2M ago56:27

56:27

Former Navy SEAL and leadership strategist Chris Fussell reveals how elite teams operate under pressure—and how those principles can be applied far beyond the battlefield. Drawing from years of operational experience and his work with General Stanley McChrystal, Fussell explains how systems thinking, decentralized decision-making, and shared consci…

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Andrew Bustamante: Inside the Mind of a Spy — Tradecraft, Trust, and the Cost of Secrecy 1:10:20

2M ago1:10:20

1:10:20

Former CIA field operative Andrew Bustamante pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to recruit spies, run intelligence operations, and navigate a life built on secrecy, loyalty, and manipulation. In this riveting and wide-ranging conversation, Bustamante shares stories from his military training at the Air Force Academy, his time at “The Fa…

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Carlos Adell: From Drug Dealer to Industrial Engineer to Finding True Success Through Strategic Environment Design 52:37

2M ago52:37

52:37

Carlos Adell shares his unconventional path from growing up in a small Spanish town with limited resources to running a six-figure drug dealing business while simultaneously working as a DJ and industrial engineer. After nearly dying from a heart attack at 29 while working in corporate, Adell discovered that he had been living other people’s dreams…

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Alison Shcraeger: The Economics of Risk and What a Las Vegas Brothel Taught Me About Uncertainty 45:46

2M ago45:46

45:46

Alison Shcraeger, economist and author of An Economist Walks Into a Brothel, explains how risk really works and why most people misunderstand it. From studying sex workers in Nevada to analyzing probability theory, Alison reveals that humans are not naturally wired to process probabilities—but we can learn. She introduces the concept of natural fre…

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When AI Cannibalizes Its Data | NPR's Short Wave 14:12

2M ago14:12

14:12

Today, we’re featuring an episode from NPR’s science podcast Short Wave. In it, host Regina G. Barber talks to computer scientist Ilia Shumailov about maybe the buzziest topic around: AI. I’m sure you know AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT are trained on millions of examples of human-written text. Nowadays, a lot of content on the Internet is written…

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John Epstein: Testing Acast Sync and Update Functionality 51:45

2M ago51:45

51:45

This is a test episode to verify that our Acast sync system works correctly. We will upload this episode with a far-future publish date, then update the midroll timestamp to confirm that the PATCH endpoint successfully syncs changes from our local index to Acast without re-uploading the audio file. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in…

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Akshay Nanavati: Finding Bliss Through Suffering, Silence, and the Edge of Human Endurance 49:36

2M ago49:36

49:36

Akshay Nanavati is not your typical adventurer — he’s a former Marine, a survivor of war-induced PTSD, and a seeker of what he calls the “crucible of suffering.” In this deeply introspective and intensely raw conversation, Akshay explores how pain, guilt, and darkness became vehicles for transcendence in his life. From confronting suicidal despair …