Best Joseph and Theodore Podcasts (2025)

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The Life and Times of Theodor Joseph Kundtz 37:10

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8d ago37:10

37:10

In this episode of The Disruptor, host John M. Kundtz takes listeners on a personal and historical journey into the remarkable life of his great-grandfather, Theodor Joseph Kundtz, an immigrant craftsman whose vision helped shape Cleveland and Lakewood at the turn of the 20th century. From his humble beginnings in Metzenseifen (today Medzev, Slovak…

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Steven Pinker on Coordination, Common Knowledge, and the Retreat of Liberal Enlightenment 45:58

1h ago45:58

45:58

Steven Pinker returns to Conversations with Tyler with an argument that common knowledge—those infinite loops of "I know that you know that I know"—is the hidden infrastructure that enables human coordination, from accepting paper money to toppling dictators. But Tyler wonders: if most real-world coordination works fine without recursively looping …

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David Commins on Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Future of the Gulf States 51:07

7d ago51:07

51:07

David Commins, author of the new book Saudi Arabia: A Modern History, brings decades of scholarship and firsthand experience to explain the kingdom's unlikely rise. Tyler and David discuss why Wahhabism was essential for Saudi state-building, the treatment of Shiites in the Eastern Province and whether discrimination has truly ended, why the Saudi …

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Seamus Murphy on Photographing Patterns Across Cultures 54:41

21d ago54:41

54:41

Seamus Murphy is an Irish photographer and filmmaker who has spent decades documenting life in some of the world's most challenging places—from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to Nigeria's Boko Haram territories. Having left recession-era Ireland in the 1980s to teach himself photography in American darkrooms, Murphy has become that rare artist who …

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How to WOW Customers for Life: Disney Secrets for Main Street Businesses 29:38

22d ago29:38

29:38

What if your business could deliver Disney-level customer experiences—without Disney’s budget? In this episode of The Disruptor Podcast, host John Kundtz sits down with Vance Morris, a former Walt Disney World leader turned entrepreneur and customer experience authority. From cast member to carpet cleaner to consultant, Vance has built a career pro…

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David Brooks on Audacity, AI, and the American Psyche (Live at 92NY) 1:10:18

1M ago1:10:18

1:10:18

David Brooks returns to the show with a stark diagnosis of American culture. Having evolved from a Democratic socialist to a neoconservative to what he now calls "the rightward edge of the leftward tendency," Brooks argues that America's core problems aren't economic but sociological—rooted in the destruction of our "secure base" of family, communi…

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Don’t Build for Your Dog: The Case for Human-Centered Design in a World Obsessed with AI 26:37

1M ago26:37

26:37

When founders design products for themselves, or worse, for their “dog,” failure is almost inevitable. In this episode of The Disruptor Podcast, host John Kundtz sits down with Oksana Kovalchuk, founder and CEO of ANODA. This leading UX/UI design agency has guided more than 200 startups through Techstars and beyond. From writing her first line of c…

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Nate Silver on Life’s Mixed Strategies 1:03:43

1M ago1:03:43

1:03:43

In his third appearance on Conversations with Tyler, Nate Silver looks back at past predictions, weighs how academic ideas such as expected utility theory fare in practice, and examines the world of sports through the lens of risk and prediction. Tyler and Nate dive into expected utility theory and random Nash equilibria in poker, whether Silver's …

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Annie Jacobsen on Nuclear War, Intelligence Operations, and Conspiracy Realities 57:38

2M ago57:38

57:38

Annie Jacobsen has a favorite word for America's nuclear doctrine: madness. It's madness that any single person has six minutes to decide the fate of civilization, madness that we've built weapons capable of ending the world in 72 minutes, and madness that everything hangs by the thread of deterrence. But to Tyler, life is "a lot of different kinds…

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Design Thinking Meets Nonprofit Leadership: A Practical Guide 7:19

2M ago7:19

7:19

John Kundtz introduces his new book, "The Five-Step Not-for-Profit Strategy Blueprint," designed to help executive directors strengthen collaboration, governance, and growth. This interview-style review examines how nonprofits can transform strategic planning from static documents into dynamic processes that drive meaningful impact through stakehol…

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Helen Castor on Medieval Power and Personalities 1:07:18

2M ago1:07:18

1:07:18

Helen Castor is a British historian and BBC broadcaster who left Cambridge because she wanted to write narrative history focused on individuals rather than the analytical style typical of academia. As someone interested in individual psychology and the functioning of power, Castor finds medieval England offers the perfect setting because its sophis…

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Rethinking ERP: AI-Driven Workflow Innovation 26:50

2M ago26:50

26:50

In this episode of The Disruptor Podcast, host John Kundtz sits down with Harish Chandramowli, founder of Flaire Software, to explore how AI is revolutionizing traditional ERP systems. Drawing on his background in cloud security at MongoDB and Bloomberg, Harish shares how his deep technical expertise and hands-on experience led him to create Flaire…

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David Robertson on Conducting, Pierre Boulez, and Musical Interpretation 59:34

3M ago59:34

59:34

David Robertson is a rare conductor who unites avant-garde complexity with accessibility. After serving as music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez’s storied contemporary-music ensemble, he went on to rejuvenate the St. Louis Symphony. Robertson combines a fearless approach to challenging scores with a deep empathy for audien…

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Austan Goolsbee on Central Banking as a Data Dog 58:40

3M ago58:40

58:40

Austan Goolsbee is one of Tyler Cowen’s favorite economists—not because they always agree, but because Goolsbee embodies what it means to think like an economist. Whether he’s analyzing productivity slowdowns in the construction sector, exploring the impact of taxes on digital commerce, or poking holes in overconfident macro narratives, Goolsbee is…

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Chris Arnade on Walking Cities 58:55

3M ago58:55

58:55

Most people who leave Wall Street after twenty years either retire or find another way to make a lot of money. Chris Arnade chose to walk through cities most travelers never truly see. What emerged from this approach is a unique form of street-level sociology that has attracted a devoted following on Substack. Arnade's work suggests that our most s…

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Any Austin on the Hermeneutics of Video Games 1:05:48

4M ago1:05:48

1:05:48

Any Austin has carved a unique niche for himself on YouTube: analyzing seemingly mundane or otherwise overlooked details in video games with the seriousness of an art critic examining Renaissance sculptures. With millions of viewers hanging on his every word about fluvial flows in Breath of the Wild or unemployment rates in the towns of Skyrim, Aus…

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Is Design Dead? Saving Design in the Modern Enterprise 18:32

4M ago18:32

18:32

Design isn't dead, but it's evolving fast Nick Cawthon, the founder of Gauge, a San Francisco–based consultancy, joins John on this episode of The Disruptor Podcast to explore why traditional enterprise design often fails and how smarter strategies can bridge the gap between creativity and business value. Highlights Why commoditization pushed Nick …

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John Arnold on Trading, Energy, and Evidence-Based Philanthropy 1:04:45

4M ago1:04:45

1:04:45

John Arnold built his fortune in energy trading by surrounding himself with smart people, maintaining emotional detachment, sensing market imbalances through first-principles analysis, and focusing with laser intensity on a single niche until he dominated it completely. Now he's applying that same analytical rigor to philanthropy, where he's discov…

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Theodore Schwartz on Neurosurgery, Consciousness, and Brain-Computer Interfaces 57:34

4M ago57:34

57:34

Get tickets to the CWT live show at 92NY with David Brooks! Theodore Schwartz stands at the pinnacle of neurosurgical expertise. With over 500 published articles, 200 pieces of commentary, and 5 patents to his name—effectively producing a scholarly work every two weeks for three decades—Schwartz spent most of his career at Weill Cornell Medicine, w…

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Mainframe Modernization: From Black Box to Clarity 22:08

5M ago22:08

22:08

Welcome to another edition of The Disruptor Podcast! This is part two of our two-part series. In this episode, Zengines CEO Caitlyn Truong returns to reveal how her team simplifies the high-stakes challenge of mainframe modernization. She also discusses the challenges of mainframe modernization and how Zengines helps enterprises de-risk legacy syst…

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Jack Clark on AI's Uneven Impact 1:02:40

5M ago1:02:40

1:02:40

Few understand both the promise and limitations of artificial general intelligence better than Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic. With a background in journalism and the humanities that sets him apart in Silicon Valley, Clark offers a refreshingly sober assessment of AI's economic impact—predicting growth of 3-5% rather than the 20-30% touted by …

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Kenneth Rogoff on Monetary Moves, Fiscal Gambits, and Classical Chess 1:00:34

5M ago1:00:34

1:00:34

Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff approaches global finance with the same strategic foresight that made him a chess grandmaster. Author of the new book Our Dollar, Your Problem, Rogoff doesn't sugarcoat America's future: he foresees a significant inflation shock within a decade, far more severe than the post-COVID bout. When this second wave hits, h…

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Disruption in Data: Why Digital Migrations Fail and How to Succeed 21:58

5M ago21:58

21:58

Welcome to another edition of The Disruptor Podcast! In this episode, your host, John Kundtz, interviews Caitlyn Truong, CEO and Co-founder of Zengines. This is part one of our two-part series. Today's show explores how Zengines disrupts organizations' efforts to automate the end-to-end data conversion process. Caitlyn shares information from her b…

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Chris Dixon on Blockchains, AI, and the Future of the Internet 1:02:51

5M ago1:02:51

1:02:51

Chris Dixon believes we're at a pivotal inflection point in the internet's evolution. As a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and author of Read Write Own, Chris believes the current internet, dominated by large platforms like YouTube and Spotify, has strayed far from its decentralized roots. He argues that the next era—powered by blockchain te…

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The Tariff War 1:01:13

5M ago1:01:13

1:01:13

Joe and Theo Examine the ongoing Tariff War that America has imposed globally.

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Ian Leslie on McCartney, Lennon, and the Greatest Creative Partnership of All Time 59:22

5M ago59:22

59:22

It’s Beatles day! In this deep dive into one of music's most legendary partnerships, Ian Leslie and Tyler unpack the complex relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Leslie, whose book John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs examines this creative pairing, reveals how their contrasting personalities—John's intuitive, sometimes chaotic approa…

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Jennifer Pahlka on Reforming Government 54:08

6M ago54:08

54:08

Jennifer Pahlka believes America's bureaucratic dysfunction is deeply rooted in outdated processes and misaligned incentives. As the founder of Code for America and co-founder of the United States Digital Service, she has witnessed firsthand how government struggles to adapt to the digital age, often trapped in rigid procedures and disconnected fro…

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Indo Pacific War - The Next Cold War 1:07:27

6M ago1:07:27

1:07:27

Joe and Theo look at the indo Pacific situation, the links between china and USA, Taiwan and USA, and the overall situation in Indo Pacific

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Sheilagh Ogilvie on Epidemics, Guilds, and the Persistence of Bad Institutions 59:11

6M ago59:11

59:11

Sheilagh Ogilvie has spent decades examining the institutional structures that shaped European economic history, challenging conventional wisdom about everything from guilds to marriage patterns. In her conversation with Tyler, she reveals how studying pandemic responses from the Black Death to COVID-19 provides a unique lens for understanding deep…

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Ezra Klein on the Abundance Agenda 1:08:40

6M ago1:08:40

1:08:40

What happens when a liberal thinker shifts his attention from polarization to economic abundance? Ezra Klein’s new book with Derek Thompson, Abundance, argues for an agenda of increased housing, infrastructure, clean energy, and innovation. But does abundance clash with polarization—or offer a way through it? In this conversation, Ezra and Tyler di…

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Carl Zimmer on the Hidden Life in the Air We Breathe 51:43

7M ago51:43

51:43

Carl Zimmer is one of the finest science communicators of our time, having spent decades writing about biology, evolution, and heredity. His latest (and 16th) book, Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe, explores something even more fundamental—how the very air around us is teeming with life, from pollen to pathogens to microbes floa…

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The Canadian State of the union 2:23:49

7M ago2:23:49

2:23:49

Joe and Theo, take a look at the political Landscape unfolding in north america and what this might mean moving forward for Canadians.

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Gregory Clark on Social Mobility, Migration, and Assortative Mating (Live at Mercatus) 1:23:14

7M ago1:23:14

1:23:14

How much of your life’s trajectory was set in motion centuries ago? Gregory Clark has spent decades studying social mobility, and his findings suggest that where you land in society is far more predictable than we like to think. Using historical data, surname analysis, and migration patterns, Clark argues that social mobility rates have remained la…

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Ross Douthat on Why Religion Makes More Sense Than You Think 1:13:38

8M ago1:13:38

1:13:38

Sign Up for the Boston Listener Meet Up For Ross Douthat, phenomena like UFO sightings and the simulation hypothesis don't challenge religious belief—they demonstrate how difficult it is to escape religious questions entirely. His new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious makes the case for religious faith in an age of apparent disenchant…

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Ukraine-Russia Conflict 1:43:44

8M ago1:43:44

1:43:44

Join Joe and Theo as they take a deep dive into the Russia-Ukraine Conflict. who are the parties involved the allies the enemies, whos winning this war in the public eye and politically, and what is next to come

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Joe Boyd on the Birth of Rock, World Music, and Being There for Everything 1:00:42

8M ago1:00:42

1:00:42

Sign Up for the Boston Listener Meet Up Joe Boyd was there when Dylan went electric, when Pink Floyd was born, and when Paul Simon brought Graceland to the world. But far from being just another music industry insider, Boyd has spent decades exploring how the world's musical traditions connect and transform each other. His new book And the Roots of…

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Transforming Board Dynamics: Strategies for High-Impact Non-Profit Leadership 6:46

9M ago6:46

6:46

Chapter 5: Defining High-Performance in Nonprofit Boards In this episode of Board Room Bound, host John Kundtz takes you through what makes a nonprofit board high-performing. Drawing on The Board Builder’s Blueprint, John explains the essential traits distinguishing exceptional boards. Episode Highlights Actionable strategies for aligning board gov…

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The Luigi Mangione Story 1:19:34

9M ago1:19:34

1:19:34

Joe and Theo analyze the situation surronding Luigi Mangione and what has transpired since early december 2024.

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Scott Sumner on Monetary Rules, Blooming Late, and the Death of Cinema 1:08:14

9M ago1:08:14

1:08:14

Scott Sumner didn't follow the typical path to economic influence. He nearly lost his teaching job before tenure, did his best research after most academics slow down, and found his largest audience through blogging in his 50s and 60s, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Yet this unconventional journey led him to become one of the most influe…

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Chapter 4: The Crucial Role of High-Performing Boards 4:06

9M ago4:06

4:06

In this episode of Board Room Bound, host John Kundtz discusses the importance of cultivating high-performing nonprofit boards. Drawing from Chapter 4 of his book, The Board Builder’s Blueprint: A Strategic Guide to Creating Exceptional Nonprofit Leadership, John explores how capable boards ensure mission success and organizational sustainability, …

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The Syrian Conflict, the Fall of an empire 1:42:23

9M ago1:42:23

1:42:23

Join Joe and theo as they take a look into the current state of affairs in Syria, and what should be expected now that the HTS has gained control of a land many syrians never believed would return to them.

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Conversations with Tyler 2024 Retrospective 58:05

9M ago58:05

58:05

Donate to Conversations with Tyler Give Crypto Other Ways to Give On this special year-in-review episode, Tyler and producer Jeff Holmes look back on the past year in the show and more, including covering the most popular and underrated episodes, fielding listener questions, reviewing Tyler’s pop culture picks from 2014, mulling over ideas for what…

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Chapter 3: Identifying the Beneficiaries of Board Insights 4:04

9M ago4:04

4:04

In this episode of Board Room Bound, host John Kundtz takes you inside Chapter 3 of The Board Builder's Blueprint to uncover a critical element of nonprofit leadership: understanding who benefits from your board’s insights and how to ensure those benefits are maximized. Drawing from over 30 years of board experience, John outlines five key groups n…

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Chapter 2: Lessons from the Boardroom: The High-Performance Journey 3:08

9M ago3:08

3:08

In this episode of Board Room Bound, a subseries of The Disruptor Podcast, host John Kundtz outlines the essential steps for transforming your nonprofit board into a high-performance entity. Drawing on over 35 years of board experience and insights from his book The Board Builder's Blueprint: A Strategic Guide to Creating Exceptional Nonprofit Lead…

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Paula Byrne on Thomas Hardy’s Women, Jane Austen’s Humor, and Evelyn Waugh’s Warmth 54:42

10M ago54:42

54:42

Donate to Conversations with Tyler Give Crypto Other Ways to Give What can Thomas Hardy’s tortured marriages teach us about love, obsession, and second chances? In this episode, biographer, novelist, and therapist Paula Byrne examines the intimate connections between life and literature, revealing how Hardy’s relationships with women shaped his por…

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Overcoming Overwhelm: Finding Calm in Chaos 1:49:39

10M ago1:49:39

1:49:39

In this episode, we dive into the overwhelming challenges of modern life and explore practical strategies for finding calm amidst the chaos. From managing stress and anxiety to creating healthy boundaries, we’ll discuss tools and techniques to help you regain balance and clarity. Whether you're navigating a hectic schedule or dealing with unexpecte…

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Stephen Kotkin on Stalin, Power, and the Art of Biography 1:26:25

10M ago1:26:25

1:26:25

Donate to Conversations with Tyler Give Crypto Other Ways to Give In his landmark multi-volume biography of Stalin, Stephen Kotkin shows how totalitarian power worked not just through terror from above, but through millions of everyday decisions from below. Currently a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution after 33 years at Princeton, Kotkin brin…

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Transforming Not-for-Profit Governance: From Boardroom Innovation to Sustainable Impact 3:46

10M ago3:46

3:46

Join host John Kundtz, a veteran with over 35 years of nonprofit board experience, as he shares invaluable insights from his journey in transforming nonprofit governance. Drawing from his extensive experience serving on multiple boards and his latest book, "The Board Builder's Blueprint," John reveals the essential elements of building and maintain…

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America Decides: Dissecting the 2024 Election 1:50:40

10M ago1:50:40

1:50:40

The 2024 U.S. election has shaped up to be one of the most pivotal in modern history. Join us as we dive into the candidates, controversies, and critical issues that could shape America's future. From hot takes to expert insights, we’re breaking down was at stake and what it all means for you. Whether you’re a political junkie or just trying to mak…

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Russ Roberts on Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate 1:01:41

10M ago1:01:41

1:01:41

In this crossover episode with EconTalk, Tyler joins Russ Roberts for an in-depth exploration of Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate, a monumental novel often described as the 20th-century answer to Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Russ and Tyler cover Grossman’s life and the historical context of Life and Fate, its themes of war, totalitarianism, freedom, and…

Joseph And Theodore Podcasts