Best Matthew Cheng Podcasts (2025)

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Ed Stack: Lessons from Dick’s Sporting Goods [Outliers] 1:20:14

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1d ago1:20:14

1:20:14

Ed Stack built Dick’s Sporting Goods from a struggling family store into an empire of more than 800 stores and billions in sales. Along the way he nearly lost everything. Multiple times. This episode is the story of what he did, how he did it, and the lessons you can learn. ----- Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (02:48) Part 1: A Cookie Jar and a Cag…

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From Periscope to Macroscope: Kayvon Beykpour’s Vision for AI-Powered Development 1:02:51

8d ago1:02:51

1:02:51

In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with Kayvon Beykpour, co-founder and CEO of Macroscope, which launches today, and the former co-founder of Periscope. They dive into how Macroscope will serve as an “understanding engine” for software companies, giving leaders real-time visibility and saving engineers t…

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Lulu Cheng Meservey: How To Build A Cult 1:49:21

8d ago1:49:21

1:49:21

Lulu Cheng Meservey is one of the sharpest minds in communications and strategy. She has helped some of the best leaders through their hardest moments.We talk about why trust and conviction are contagious, how to win attention in a noisy world, and how to handle attacks without losing ground.-----About Lulu:Having been CCO and EVP of Corporate Affa…

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Why We Need Stories in Times of Crisis: ETGAR KERET on Healing, Connection & Creativity in the Age of AI - Highlights 19:13

15d ago19:13

19:13

“I feel that when you don't tell your story, it's as if you have a limited existence. We can always have some kind of choice, but I'm saying that the story we choose may be the most crucial choice that we make, because this story will affect all the other choices.” Etgar Keret is one of the most inventive and celebrated short story writers of his g…

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Finding Humanity Through Storytelling with Author & Filmmaker ETGAR KERET 1:08:23

15d ago1:08:23

1:08:23

“When I write my stories, I don't want to solve things in life. I just want to persuade myself that there is a way out. Maybe I am in a cell, maybe I'm trapped. Maybe I won't make it, but if I can imagine a plan for escape, then I'll be less trapped because at least in my mind, there is a way. I think that my parents are survivors. They always talk…

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Fred Smith: The Story of FedEx [Outliers] 52:10

15d ago52:10

52:10

Fred Smith founded FedEx on an idea everyone told him would fail and built it into an $88 billion empire that changed how the world moves. In this episode, we dive into how he built FedEx and the lessons he learned along the way. This story proves that impossible is just another word for opportunity. ----- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:36) P…

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Benedict Evans: The Patterns Everyone Else Misses 1:13:24

23d ago1:13:24

1:13:24

Benedict Evans has been calling tech shifts for decades. Now he says forget the hype: AI isn't the new electricity. It's the biggest change since the iPhone, and that's plenty big enough. We talk about why everyone gets platform shifts wrong, where Google's actually vulnerable, and what real people do with AI when nobody's watching. Evans sees patt…

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Small Town Billionaire: How John Bragg Built 3 Empires [Outliers] 1:08:00

1M ago1:08:00

1:08:00

One man controls half the world's wild blueberries, built North America's largest private telecom, and did it all without ever leaving his hometown of 1,100 people. In this episode, we decode the counterintuitive playbook of patient capital, rural advantage, and why Bragg's refusal to sell a single share made him unstoppable. My interview with John…

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Walk & Talk Episode: Semil Shah on AI Superteams, Meta’s Bold Moves, and Apple’s Missed Shots 56:31

1M ago56:31

56:31

In this special episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano talks with Semil Shah, founder and partner of Haystack VC and partner at Lightspeed. Together, they have a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation on the state of AI, venture capital, and the future of media. They get into everything from Meta’s high-stakes AI talent spree …

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The Science of Lasting Love with Dr. Sue Johnson 2:10:25

1M ago2:10:25

2:10:25

This conversation will change how you handle your relationship starting tonight. The late Dr. Sue Johnson basically gave me a cheat code for relationships that not only last but amplify. She breaks down the real signals to look for in a partner. Why people actually cheat (not what you think) and how to spot it coming a mile away. Plus she offers a …

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Sol Price: The Retail Legend Who Taught Bezos & Walmart Their Secret Playbook [Outliers] 58:17

1M ago58:17

58:17

The most influential retailer you’ve never heard of. How Sol Price invented the warehouse club and a philosophy that still runs Costco and Amazon. Have you ever wondered why you can still buy a hot dog and soda for $1.50 today at Costco? We can thank Sol Price for that. To him, keeping promises to customers mattered more than profit margins. Sam Wa…

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From 'Bee: Wild' to the 'Kiss the Ground' Regenerative Agriculture Documentary Trilogy - Highlights 15:03

2M ago15:03

15:03

"For the last two decades, I've made over 20 films about the environment, starting with oil and carbon emissions. Those films, Kiss the Ground and now Common Ground, talk about how we can stabilize the climate, reverse climate change, grow nutrient-dense food, and help farmers make a profit through biodiversity and regenerative practices and princi…

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All About Bees, Soil & Regeneration with Documentary Filmmaker REBECCA TICKELL 1:00:46

2M ago1:00:46

1:00:46

“I didn't really appreciate bees until I became a farmer, and then I started to understand how essential bees are for our food. They pollinate 70% of our food, and that feeds 90% of the world. There's a whole world of insects that creates the color in our food; it's what creates the flavor in our food. It's part of our biodiversity, and it's essent…

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Ryan Petersen: Building Flexport 1:40:59

2M ago1:40:59

1:40:59

Build the system behind the system. Flexport founder Ryan Petersen shows how to turn messy, multi‑party operations into a simple, scalable system that compounds growth without sacrificing trust. He explains: The iPhone clue: using public shipping data to predict launches—and create pull from zero Retention is destiny: the equilibrium math that caps…

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Art, Empathy & Resilience with CADY McCLAIN, Actor, Director, Writer, Artist, Musician - Highlights 11:20

2M ago11:20

11:20

“I had to become the father of my family very young because my parents divorced when I was 12. My situation was a little bit unusual in that my father kind of disappeared, and I had been making a fair amount of money as a kid, doing commercials and television and film. We needed money, and I kind of became the breadwinner. But I had this amazing wo…

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A Life in Acting with Emmy Award-winning Actor, Director, Writer CADY McCLAIN 1:06:02

2M ago1:06:02

1:06:02

“I won my first Emmy when I was 21, which was the result of absolutely devoting myself day and night for two years to doing all the scene work. I attended classes simultaneously and did plays until my mother died. I studied with Michael Howard for eight years. Even when I was so tired I couldn't get up to do a scene, he would say, "Get up and do a …

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Katharine Graham: The Woman Who Took Down a President [Outliers] 57:36

2M ago57:36

57:36

When Katharine Graham took over the Washington Post in 1963, she was a shy socialite who'd never run anything. By retirement, she'd taken down a president, ended the most violent strike in a generation, and built one of the best-performing companies in American history. Graham had no training, no experience, not even confidence. Just a newspaper bl…

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Rahul Vohra: Building AI Tools That Save Us Time 43:14

2M ago43:14

43:14

In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with Rahul Vohra, founder of the email client Superhuman, to unpack the future of AI-powered productivity. Rahul shares the origin story of Superhuman, how game design principles shaped its blazing speed and keyboard-first UX, and why time—not email—is the real problem …

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Daniel Kahneman: Algorithms Make Better Decisions Than You 1:12:52

2M ago1:12:52

1:12:52

Daniel Kahneman won the Nobel Prize for proving we're not as rational as we think. In this timeless conversation we discuss how to think clearly in a world full of noise, the invisible forces that cloud our judgement, and why more information doesn't equal better thinking. Kahneman also reveals the mental model he discovered at 22 that still guides…

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Scott Belsky & Steve Jang: From AI Chatbots to Copilots 45:47

2M ago45:47

45:47

In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with two co-investors: Steve Jang, Co-Founder and Partner at Kindred Ventures, and Scott Belsky, Partner at A24 and founder of A24 Labs. Together they explore the current state and future of consumer AI, from why most products still look like chatbots, to what’s next in…

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Les Schwab: Why Real Ownership Outperforms Experience, Capital, and Credentials [Outliers] 58:42

2M ago58:42

58:42

They weren’t employees. They were partners. Les Schwab didn’t build a company. He built a culture. This episode reveals how one small-town tire dealer scaled to $3 billion by turning customers into evangelists and employees into owners. Somewhere between changing his first flat tire and opening his 410th Les Schwab Tire Center, Les discovered somet…

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Inside AI Policy with FAI’s Chief Economist Sam Hammond 41:29

2M ago41:29

41:29

In this episode, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with the Foundation for American Innovation’s Chief Economist Sam Hammond to talk AI policy. Sam breaks down the key infrastructure needed for AI developments and how policymakers are adapting to rapid technological change. He also shares insights on AI training data and fair use, workfo…

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Exploring The Sympathizer, America's Forever Wars & Challenging Power w/ Author VIET THANH NGUYEN 1:02:34

3M ago1:02:34

1:02:34

“What I've discovered as a writer is that fear is a good indicator that there is a truth. To speak the truth in a society is oftentimes an act that requires some courage. Those processes of being an other for me in the United States were obviously very fundamental to shaping who I am as a person and as a writer. It was very difficult to undergo, bu…

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Harley Finkelstein: You Must Requalify for Your Role, Every Year 1:47:56

3M ago1:47:56

1:47:56

Shopify’s Harley Finkelstein reveals the one standard that actually scales your career and your family. Harley shares why stepping down as COO was his hardest choice, the family motto that guides his daughters, and what makes someone good at storytelling. They discuss AI's real advantage, the calendar system that keeps him accountable, and how he m…

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On Borges, Gore Vidal, Robert Frost & The Writing Life with Author & Filmmaker JAY PARINI 30:47

3M ago30:47

30:47

“Poetry is the prince of the literary arts to me. It's at the very top because it's language refined to its apex of memorability. I am interested in poetry as memorability and poetry as something you live by. These are the words you live by. These words stay in your brain and guide your life. That's what I am interested in. My memoir slash autofict…

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Julie Bornstein: Building the Future of Fashion with AI 43:46

3M ago43:46

43:46

In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano sits down with the former Stitch Fix COO and founder of The Yes, Julie Bornstein. They talk about Julie’s latest venture: Daydream, an AI-powered fashion discovery engine built for the LLM era. Julie shares how her decades at Nordstrom, Sephora, and Pinterest shaped her vision, w…

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Jimmy Pattison: Building a $16B Empire Without Connections, Capital, or Credentials [Outliers] 1:11:12

3M ago1:11:12

1:11:12

Jimmy Pattison still runs his $16 billion empire personally at 96 years old. He’s built The Pattison Group over the last 63 years without outside capital or a college degree. He owns 100% of car dealerships, grocery stores, billboards, radio stations and even Ripley’s Believe It or Not—with a philosophy of: "No partners, no shareholders, no relativ…

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Bucky Moore: The Next Decade of AI Infrastructure 48:17

3M ago48:17

48:17

This week, Lightspeed Partner Mike Mignano sits down with his colleague Bucky Moore, a fellow partner at Lightspeed to explore the rapidly shifting landscape of AI and infrastructure. They unpack the evolution from hardware to cloud to AI-native architectures, the growing momentum behind open-source models, and the rise of AI agents and reinforceme…

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Indra Nooyi: Lessons from the Top of PepsiCo—and the Cost of Getting There 1:34:38

3M ago1:34:38

1:34:38

On her first day as CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi fired her general counsel. Then rehired him before dinner. It wasn’t a stunt. It was a signal. She ran a $200 billion empire the same way she ran her life: with surgical precision, uncompromising standards, and an allergy to corporate theater. But here's what separates this conversation from every oth…

Matthew Cheng Podcasts

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Matthew Cheng

Matthew Cheng

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Film & TV, The Creative Process: Acting, Directing, Writing, Cinematography, Producers, Composers, Costume Design, Talk Art & Creativity

Acting, Directing, Writing, Cinematography Producing Conversations: Creative Process Original Series

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The Knowledge Project

Shane Parrish

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Generative Now | AI Builders on Creating the Future

Lightspeed Venture Partners

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SVU POD: Especially Heinous

Tasha & Gabe

1
Ed Stack: Lessons from Dick’s Sporting Goods [Outliers] 1:20:14

1
From Periscope to Macroscope: Kayvon Beykpour’s Vision for AI-Powered Development 1:02:51

1
Lulu Cheng Meservey: How To Build A Cult 1:49:21

1
Why We Need Stories in Times of Crisis: ETGAR KERET on Healing, Connection & Creativity in the Age of AI - Highlights 19:13

1
Finding Humanity Through Storytelling with Author & Filmmaker ETGAR KERET 1:08:23

1
Fred Smith: The Story of FedEx [Outliers] 52:10

1
Benedict Evans: The Patterns Everyone Else Misses 1:13:24

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Small Town Billionaire: How John Bragg Built 3 Empires [Outliers] 1:08:00

1
Walk & Talk Episode: Semil Shah on AI Superteams, Meta’s Bold Moves, and Apple’s Missed Shots 56:31

1
The Science of Lasting Love with Dr. Sue Johnson 2:10:25

1
Sol Price: The Retail Legend Who Taught Bezos & Walmart Their Secret Playbook [Outliers] 58:17

1
From 'Bee: Wild' to the 'Kiss the Ground' Regenerative Agriculture Documentary Trilogy - Highlights 15:03

1
All About Bees, Soil & Regeneration with Documentary Filmmaker REBECCA TICKELL 1:00:46

1
Ryan Petersen: Building Flexport 1:40:59

1
Art, Empathy & Resilience with CADY McCLAIN, Actor, Director, Writer, Artist, Musician - Highlights 11:20

1
A Life in Acting with Emmy Award-winning Actor, Director, Writer CADY McCLAIN 1:06:02

1
Katharine Graham: The Woman Who Took Down a President [Outliers] 57:36

1
Rahul Vohra: Building AI Tools That Save Us Time 43:14

1
Daniel Kahneman: Algorithms Make Better Decisions Than You 1:12:52

1
Scott Belsky & Steve Jang: From AI Chatbots to Copilots 45:47

1
Les Schwab: Why Real Ownership Outperforms Experience, Capital, and Credentials [Outliers] 58:42

1
Inside AI Policy with FAI’s Chief Economist Sam Hammond 41:29

1
Exploring The Sympathizer, America's Forever Wars & Challenging Power w/ Author VIET THANH NGUYEN 1:02:34

1
Harley Finkelstein: You Must Requalify for Your Role, Every Year 1:47:56

1
On Borges, Gore Vidal, Robert Frost & The Writing Life with Author & Filmmaker JAY PARINI 30:47

1
Julie Bornstein: Building the Future of Fashion with AI 43:46

1
Jimmy Pattison: Building a $16B Empire Without Connections, Capital, or Credentials [Outliers] 1:11:12

1
Bucky Moore: The Next Decade of AI Infrastructure 48:17

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Indra Nooyi: Lessons from the Top of PepsiCo—and the Cost of Getting There 1:34:38