Best Andrew Xu Podcasts (2025)

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

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10m 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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Cal Newport: Cognitive Athleticism and Why Elite Performers Protect Their Attention 1:06:33

10m 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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Eric Barker: The Science of Relationships and Why Playing Well with Others Matters More Than You Think 1:21:50

30m 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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Lakshya Jain on How Democrats Can Win 53:31

1h ago53:31

53:31

Lakshya Jain is a political data analyst and co-founder of Split Ticket, a data journalism project known for its sharp election modeling and nonpartisan vote breakdowns. He currently leads the polling operation over at The Argument, a magazine devoted to making the persuasive case for liberal democracy—not by avoiding political conflict, but by eng…

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Cursor Head of Design Reviews Startup Websites 35:34

4d ago35:34

35:34

Cursor Head of Design Ryo Lu has spent his career at the intersection of design and engineering—from building fan sites as a kid to designing products at Stripe, Asana, and Notion. Now he's rethinking how software itself gets made. On this episode of Design Review, Ryo joins YC's Aaron Epstein to break down how great product websites communicate wh…

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

6m 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

6m 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

2h 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

6d 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

7m 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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Elizabeth Bruenig on the Agony and Beauty of Faith 47:41

7d ago47:41

47:41

Elizabeth Bruenig is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. She is one of the rare journalists today whose work moves seamlessly between politics, theology, and ethics, and grief—without flattening any of them. There’s a line of hers I keep coming back to: Beauty tells you where to look. That's how…

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Inside The Startup Launching AI Into Space 12:55

11d ago12:55

12:55

Starcloud recently made history by launching a satellite with an NVIDIA H100 into orbit — the first time a GPU that powerful has ever operated in space. It's the first step toward building AI data centers in orbit, powered by continuous sunlight and cooled by radiating heat into deep space.Their approach could one day rival the world's biggest data…

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

15m 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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Ayelet Fishbach: The Science of Motivation, Why Fantasies Fail, and Balancing Abstract Goals with Concrete Plans 1:07:21

12d 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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Daniel Stillman: The Architecture of Conversations and Why Every Interface Shapes What We Say 1:18:27

23m 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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GSB at 100: "The Spirit" 24:30

12d ago24:30

24:30

This week on [If/Then or View From The Top] we’re sharing an episode of GSB at 100, a limited audio series created especially for Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Centennial. GSB at 100 presents a scrapbook of memories, ideas, and breakthroughs as Stanford GSB celebrates its first century and looks around the corner to what the next 100 years…

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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

38m 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

14m 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

15m 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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How To Recruit The Best Engineers And Sales Reps 43:20

17d ago43:20

43:20

Most founders think hiring is about interviewing. But it's actually about selling.For Startup School, Juicebox co-founder & CEO David Paffenholz joins YC's Harj Taggar to share how early-stage founders can find, pitch, and close top engineering and sales talent— from crafting better outreach to winning great hires from Big Tech— even when you're an…

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Coming Soon on Frames of Space... 22:59

4d ago22:59

22:59

I talk about the past, present, and future of this show. Show Notes Frames of Space Listenership Survey Frames of Space Substack Newsletter Check out my Patreon hereBy Andrew Xu

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

12d 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

18d 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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Andrew Bustamante: Inside the Mind of a Spy — Tradecraft, Trust, and the Cost of Secrecy 1:10:20

1d 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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Chris Fussell: Systems, Mindset, and Leading at the Edge 56:27

7d 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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Carlos Adell: From Drug Dealer to Industrial Engineer to Finding True Success Through Strategic Environment Design 52:37

20d 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

24d 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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John Epstein: Testing Acast Sync and Update Functionality 51:45

12d 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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What's Your Problem: "Teaching Computers to See" 27:03

26d ago27:03

27:03

This week on If/Then, we’re sharing an episode of What’s Your Problem?, a show from Pushkin Industries where entrepreneurs, engineers, and scientists talk about the future they’re trying to build—and the problems they must solve to get there. Hosted by former Planet Money co-host Jacob Goldstein, each conversation explores the challenges and breakt…

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

24d 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 …

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From Idea to $650M Exit: Lessons in Building AI Startups 39:24

9d ago39:24

39:24

Jake Heller is the co-founder & CEO of Casetext, the AI legal startup behind CoCounsel, which was acquired by Thomson Reuters for $650 million.In his talk at AI Startup School on June 17th, 2025, he shared how his team did it—from picking the right idea to building AI products that actually work—and how founders can turn a cool demo into a reliable…

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Francis Fukuyama on Liberal Democracy at a Crossroads 57:26

19d ago57:26

57:26

Francis Fukuyama is a Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He is known for his book The End of History and the Last Man, which argued that liberal democracy represented the endpoint of humanity's ideological evolution. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with him about whether his end of hi…

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Transformers: The Discovery That Sparked the AI Revolution 9:18

14d ago9:18

9:18

Nearly every modern AI model, from ChatGPT and Claude to Gemini and Grok, is built on the same foundation: the Transformer.In this video, YC's Ankit Gupta traces how AI learned to understand language — from early RNNs and LSTMs to attention mechanisms and the breakthrough 2017 paper Attention Is All You Need — the discovery that unlocked the modern…

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David Brooks: Seeing People Deeply in a World of Shallow Interactions 56:45

16d ago56:45

56:45

New York Times columnist and bestselling author **David Brooks** joins Srini Rao to unpack what it really means to know and see another person — and how our ability to connect deeply has deteriorated in a world dominated by distraction, paradigmatic thinking, and judgment. Drawing from his latest book *How to Know a Person*, Brooks explores emotion…

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YC Partners Answer Your Questions | Office Hours 38:32

23d ago38:32

38:32

Every founder faces moments where they’re not sure what to do next — such as how to go to market with AI products, when to pivot, and who/when to hire. In this episode of Office Hours, YC partners Pete Koomen, Brad Flora, Nicolas Dessaigne, and Gustaf Alströmer answer real questions from founders and share stories about how great teams build convic…

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Damon Centola: Why Change Spreads from the Edges—Not the Influencers 56:51

17d ago56:51

56:51

Damon Centola, sociologist and author of *Change: How to Make Big Things Happen*, dismantles the myth of the influencer and introduces a radically different model of how ideas and behaviors actually spread. In this thought-provoking conversation, Centola explains why change doesn’t come from social media stars with massive followings—but from dense…

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Jennifer Wallace: Raising Resilient Kids in a Culture That Says They're Never Enough 51:53

20d ago51:53

51:53

Jennifer Wallace is a journalist, researcher, and mother of three who set out to answer one of the most pressing questions in modern parenting: *Why do our kids feel like they're never enough — and what can we do about it?* Drawing on insights from her book *Never Enough* and years of reporting, Wallace explains how achievement culture, status anxi…

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Laura Huang: Creating an Edge in a World That Won’t Hand You One 1:05:42

1M ago1:05:42

1:05:42

In this powerful and perspective-shifting episode, Harvard Business School professor and author **Laura Huang** shares a deeply human and practical roadmap for transforming disadvantage into advantage. Drawing from her book *Edge*, she breaks down the four-part EDGE framework—Enrich, Delight, Guide, and Effort—showing how each of us can flip bias, …

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Emily Fletcher: The Science and Simplicity of Unlocking Human Potential Through Meditation 46:52

25d ago46:52

46:52

Emily Fletcher, founder of Ziva Meditation and a former Broadway performer, shares how her journey from the stage to spiritual leadership reshaped her understanding of success, fulfillment, and mental resilience. In this candid and practical conversation, Emily explains the science behind stress, its impact on performance, and how meditation can tr…

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What Everyone Is Getting Wrong About AI And Jobs 8:00

29d ago8:00

8:00

For years, we've heard two major narratives about AI. One predicting the end of human work, the other dismissing it as hype. The truth is more nuanced, and more hopeful.From radiology to software engineering, the pattern repeats: as technology makes tasks cheaper and faster, demand for human creativity and judgment grows.YC's Garry Tan explores wha…

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How To Design Products That Truly Stand Out 35:49

1M ago35:49

35:49

Karri Saarinen is the co-founder and CEO of Linear, the issue tracking tool used by thousands of high-growth companies. Before Linear, he was the first designer at Coinbase and later a lead designer at Airbnb.On Design Review with YC's Aaron Epstein, Karri shares how his design background shaped Linear’s product philosophy, why quality and craft ma…

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Marshall Kosloff on Why Liberalism Needs New Stories 1:22:14

2M ago1:22:14

1:22:14

Marshall Kosloff is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center and the host of the podcast The Realignment. His work covers the nature of coalitional change in American politics since the rise of Donald Trump, and how Democrats can accomplish the policies of the Abundance agenda at the state level. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with him abou…

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The World's First Commercial Mobile Carbon Capture Device 12:46

1M ago12:46

12:46

Paul Gross and his team at Remora are trying to do something that’s never been done before. They're building mobile carbon capture devices for commercial trucks and trains—capturing CO2 from moving vehicles before it enters the atmosphere, then turning those emissions into revenue by selling it to customers that can turn the liquified CO2 into new …

2M ago53:38

53:38

Steve Teles is a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University, and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center. He is one of the main advocates of the abundance agenda, which champions supply-side solutions to many of the problems of modern economies, including housing unaffordability, clean energy, public infrastructure, and more. In this ep…