Best The Circle Of Competence Podcast Podcasts (2025)

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What Generals Really Say About Trump and Hegseth 44:27

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4h ago44:27

44:27

David Rothkopf, the Daily Beast's unmissable columnist, lifts the lid on what's really going on at Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth's "pep rally" this week for generals and admirals. Rothkopf, CEO of The Rothkopf Group and a Clinton administration veteran, tells executive editor Hugh Dougherty tells what his own sources are warning the meeting signifi…

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Irene’s Entropy: Coffee as Courage and Ritual as Repair 1:03:46

18h ago1:03:46

1:03:46

In this episode of Cults, Culture & Coercion, I had the pleasure of speaking with Irene of Irene’s Entropy. Irene is a mechanical engineer turned musician, storyteller, pilot, and entrepreneur. Raised in a strict Mormon household where she underwent the experience of a recruitment mission, she left in her early 20s. She began documenting the honest…

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20VC: OpenAI and Anthropic Will Build Their Own Chips | NVIDIA Will Be Worth $10TRN | How to Solve the Energy Required for AI... Nuclear | Why China is Behind the US in the Race for AGI with Jonathan Ross ... 1:21:29

1d ago1:21:29

1:21:29

Jonathan Ross is the Founder & CEO of Groq, the AI chip company redefining inference at scale. Under his leadership, Groq has raised over $3B from top investors. The company has reached a valuation of nearly $7B, positioning itself as one of NVIDIA’s most formidable challengers. Previously at Google, Jonathan led the team that built the first Tenso…

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I Saw Trump's Brazen Cash for Pardons Scam: Lawyer 40:15

2d ago40:15

40:15

Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer joins the Daily Beast’s Joanna Coles to reveal how Donald Trump dismantled the Justice Department’s pardon process and replaced it with a pay-to-play system. Oyer explains how career experts were sidelined on Trump’s first day, leaving space for clemency to be sold to the highest bidder and reserved for the well…

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20Product: Revolut Business $1BN Revenue: Five of the Biggest Product Lessons | How Revolut Structures Product and Design Teams | How Revolut Experiments and Invests in New Product Bets | How Revolut Ships ... 54:15

4d ago54:15

54:15

James Gibson is Head of Revolut Business. Under his leadership, Revolut Business now processes over $33 billion in monthly transaction volume and generates more than $1BN in annualised revenue. AGENDA: 04:10 Is Consulting the Worst Background for Aspiring PMs 07:09 How Revolut Hires for it’s Product Team 17:21 How Revolut Sets Goals: What Works, Wh…

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Why Dems Finally Have Leverage Over Trump: Wolff 36:46

4d ago36:46

36:46

Michael Wolff, author of ‘All Or Nothing,’ joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles to parse the looming threat of a government shutdown. Wolff outlines how Democrats are in a position stop Trump’s dismantling of the government while Trump winds up to command attention and leverage chaos. From his relentless playbook of confrontation to the ripple effects of…

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20VC: NVIDIA Invests $100BN Into OpenAI | Is Triple, Triple, Double, Double Dead | Navan Files to go Public & Notion Hits $500M ARR | The Impact of H1B Visas on Startups in the US 1:19:34

5d ago1:19:34

1:19:34

AGENDA: 00:00 Why I am 100% Equities and 0% Cash 04:35 Nvidia's Massive $100BN Investment in OpenAI 08:39 Is Anthropic Negatively Positioned by OpenAI Gaining NVIDIA Investment 27:30 Is Triple, Triple, Double, Double Dead 44:00 Navan Files to Go Public at $8BN 49:31 Lockup Periods and Liquidity 50:35 Impact of H-1B Visa Changes on Startups 01:02:42…

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Why Trump's Blatant Corruption Hurts Us All: Reich 44:50

5d ago44:50

44:50

Robert Reich, Co-founder of Inequality Media and President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor, joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles to warn us that the U.S. is sliding into authoritarianism. He lays out how Trump’s White House distorts economic data, bullies CEOs, corrupts crypto markets, and undermines global alliances, while billionaires and media titan…

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How Trump Just Proved He's an Idiot: Wolff 35:15

6d ago35:15

35:15

Trump chronicler Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to examine a week where Trump’s world collides with scandal, faith, and science. From Epstein’s secret photo stash and Kash Patel’s embarrassing congressional testimony, to Trump’s jarring rage at Charlie Kirk’s memorial, Wolff dissects the cracks in MAGA’s political and spiritual future. Erika Kirk…

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115 - Don't Do This Alone! The Importance of Community for Creating Sustainable Change 49:32

7d ago49:32

49:32

In this episode, Sharona and Boz dive into the essential role of community in grading reform. They reflect on their own journeys—Boz beginning with a supportive colleague and PLCs in K-12, and Sharona starting out largely on her own in higher ed—and how those experiences shaped their perspectives. Together, they explore why building communities of …

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What Trump's Rant About 'Hate' Tells Us: Swisher 47:45

7d ago47:45

47:45

Kara Swisher, veteran tech journalist and co-host of the 'Pivot' podcast, joins the Beast's Joanna Coles to unpack Trump’s sordid appearance at Charlie Kirk’s funeral, where campaign politics overshadowed mourning. They explore Erika Kirk’s sudden prominence as a potential Trump running mate, Larry Ellison circling TikTok, Disney’s retreat on Jimmy…

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Compassion Over Conversion: Continuing Science-based Research for Queer and Trans Health with Matthew D. Skinta PhD ABPP 59:30

8d ago59:30

59:30

Compassion, empathy, and science have all been under rapid-fire attack during the second Trump Administration. This is especially true towards Queer and Transgender communities, though other minority communities within the United States are also being targeted. Dr. Matthew D. Skinta, PhD, ABPP, is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Affiliated…

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20VC: General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja on The Future of Venture Capital: Chanel vs Walmart | Lessons Scaling GC to $40BN in AUM | Investing $5BN+ Into Stripe Over 14 Rounds | Investing Hundreds of Millions ... 1:27:19

8d ago1:27:19

1:27:19

Hemant Taneja is the CEO and leader of General Catalyst, the firm he has scaled over the last decade into one of the largest with over $40BN in AUM. He has been one of the most influential investors of the past two decades, leading early bets in Stripe, Snap, Gusto, Samsara, Grammarly, and Canva. He also played a pivotal role in Livongo’s $18.5B me…

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This is What Proves Trump’s Dementia: Psychologist 42:17

9d ago42:17

42:17

Dr. John Gartner, former Johns Hopkins professor and co-host of the podcast ‘Shrinking Trump,’ joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles to deliver a chilling diagnosis: Donald Trump is showing signs of dementia layered on top of malignant narcissism. Drawing on decades of clinical expertise, Dr. Gartner explains how Trump’s declining language, erratic gait, …

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20VC: Why 90% of Founders Build Startups Wrong | Why AI Growth Rates are Sustainable & Remote Work is BS and the AI Talent War | Competing with Brett Taylor and Sierra: Who Wins the Customer Service War ... 59:59

11d ago59:59

59:59

Jesse Zhang is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Decagon, the conversational AI platform for customer experience. As one of the fastest growing companies in the valley, they have raised over $230M at a last round price of $1.5BN. Prior to Decagon, Jesse founded Lowkey (acquired by Niantic), studied CS at Harvard, and worked at places like Google, HRT, Citad…

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Real Reason ABC Bowed to Trump on Kimmel: Wolff 36:32

11d ago36:32

36:32

Trump chronicler Michael Wolff joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles to explain why Donald Trump has chosen now to formalize his assault on the media. From the president’s feud with Jimmy Kimmel and Disney’s quiet capitulation, to Wolff’s surreal late-night ice cream with Trump in Beverly Hills, and even his own face projected onto Windsor Castle, this ep…

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20VC: Opendoor's CEO on The Greatest Turnaround in Tech | OpenAI and Oracle: How Can Either Afford to Do This | How Anthropic Could Lose 50% of Their Revenue Overnight | Replit Raises at $3BN | Figure ... 1:24:20

12d ago1:24:20

1:24:20

AGENDA: 00:00 Opendoor's Potential and Market Valuation 03:32 Why Did Kaz Leave $300M on the Table to Join Opendoor 04:44 Why Does Kaz Believe OPEN Can Be a Good Business When the Market Doesn’t 06:34 How does Kaz Feel About OPEN Becoming a Meme Stock? 17:25 Kaz’s $0 Salary but $1BN Stock Based Compensation 23:41 Oracle and OpenAI Partnership: WTF …

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Trump Raging at Epstein Ruining U.K. Visit: Wolff 41:19

12d ago41:19

41:19

Trump chronicler Michael Wolff and the Beast’s Joanna Coles unpack the president’s awkward state visit to Britain. From King Charles’ white-tie dinner with Trump and Rupert Murdoch, to the firing of U.K. ambassador Peter Mandelson over his own Epstein entanglements, to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s desperate attempt to turn the trip into a political…

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114 - Grading What Matters: Leveraging Extrinsic Motivation to Grow Students in Multiple Dimensions 59:24

14d ago59:24

59:24

In this week's episode, Sharona and Boz sit down with Marc Aronson, Dean of Academics at Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, CT. This fascinating conversations begins with grading what matters but goes into innovation ways of approaching honors classes, using authentic assessments in the form of final demonstrations of learning, and finding ways to use t…

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How Trump is Turning Kirk Tragedy into Power Grab 49:05

14d ago49:05

49:05

Star columnist David Rothkopf joins the Daily Beast’s Joanna Coles and Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty to discuss Trump’s week of cascading crises. From Kash Patel’s reckless tweets and FOX News appearances that have corroded FBI trust, to the internal purges and morale collapse that now haunt the Bureau, the hosts probe how Trump’s allies are weap…

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Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR with John Andrew Collins 1:02:13

15d ago1:02:13

1:02:13

Radicalization, and the Minnesota Murder Cases John Collins grew up inside William Branham’s “Message” world, left it, then spent years mapping how the theology and network morphed into today’s authoritarian ecosystems. I welcomed him back to The Influence Continuum to speak about the murders and share his knowledge surrounding the twisted networks…

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20VC: Mercor: From $1M to $500M in 17 Months: The Fastest Growing Company in the World | How to Think About Margins and Revenue Sustainability in AI | Why Evaluation Benchmarks in AI are BS Today with ... 1:01:16

15d ago1:01:16

1:01:16

Brendan Foody is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Mercor, the fastest growing company in history. The company solves talent allocation in the AI economy and they have scaled from $1M to $500M in revenue in just 17 months. With a rumoured new funding round pricing the company at a whopping $10BN, the company has the likes of Benchmark, Felicis, Emergence, a…

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This Is Why Trump Lost It After Kirk Murder: Wolff 37:11

16d ago37:11

37:11

Trump chronicler Michael Wolff joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles to unravel Donald Trump’s response to Charlie Kirk’s killing. They examine how Trump rushed to blame the left before facts were known, appears to have dodged any real grief, and may still be haunted by his own brush with assassination. From a Trump’s droopy face appearing at this week’s …

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Why Fading Trump, 79, Just Keeps Losing: Rothkopf 34:40

17d ago34:40

34:40

The Daily Beast's unmissable columnist David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to dive into what he calls one of Donald Trump’s most chaotic weeks yet. The 79-year-old president has been jeered at by protesters across a dining table, faced mounting health concerns, dealt with the assassination of his acolyte, Charlie Kirk, while abroad, his foreign polic…

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Reconstructing Inclusion S3E1: Ingrid Hu Dahl on Finding Belonging in a (Mixed) Racialized World 42:34

17d ago42:34

42:34

Welcome to Season Three of Reconstructing Inclusion! This season focuses on opening dialogue about who we are rather than what we ascribe to one another—shifting patterns and practices in the diversity and inclusion space with fresh eyes. In our Season Three premiere, host Amri Johnson sits down with Ingrid Hu Dahl, leadership coach, consultant, an…

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20VC: Why AI SDRs are BS and Do Not Work | How to Use AI in Your Sales Team and Process to Win Today | What Skills Do All New Reps Need to Have in an AI First World with Amit Bendov, CEO @ Gong 1:06:20

18d ago1:06:20

1:06:20

Amit Bendov is Co-Founder & CEO of Gong, the leading AI-sales platform. The company has raised over $600 million from some of the best in the world including Sequoia, Thrive, Salesforce and more. Gong has surpassed $300M in ARR, serves thousands of customers (including multiple Fortune 10s), and is valued at over $7BN. AGENDA: 00:00 – Why CRM Was A…

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20VC: Musk's $TRN Pay Package Broken Down | Ramp Hits $1BN ARR and Brex Hits $700M: Who Wins | OpenAI's $10BN Secondary Sale | Atlassian Buys The Browser Company for $610M | ASML Lead Roun into Mistral ... 1:27:56

19d ago1:27:56

1:27:56

AGENDA: [00:05] Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package: The Breakdown? [00:15] Scale, Windsurf: Are Founders Just Mercenaries Chasing Cash Today? [00:21] Ramp at $1B ARR, Brex at $700M — Is AI Causing All Boats To Rise? [00:26] Sierra at $100M ARR Worth $10B — Bubble or Brilliant Bet? [00:30] Kleiner Perkins Invests $100M into Anthropic at $183BN… WTF? [00…

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Truth About Claim Trump Ratted Out Epstein: Wolff 44:16

20d ago44:16

44:16

Trump chronicler Michael Wolff and the Beast’s Joanna Coles unearth Donald Trump’s bizarre entanglements with Jeffrey Epstein. From a birthday book signed by Trump to a shady mansion deal, to an $83 million judgment and claims of FBI informants, the hosts unpack the evidence, denials, and contradictions. They explore how Trump’s excuses collapse un…

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113 - Experience First, Formalize Later: How switching to standards-based grading schoolwide enabled drastic change in the classroom, with Jen Smielewski 57:16

21d ago57:16

57:16

In this episode, Sharona and Boz sit down with Jen Smielewski, a math teacher at Avondale High School. Jen works with Doug Wilson, the principal at Avondale High School who was a guest on episode 101 about visionary leadership. In this episode, Jen shares the "experience first, formalize later" methodology that the entire math department has adopte…

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Trump Is Sicker Than They’re Telling Us: Don Lemon 47:18

21d ago47:18

47:18

Independent journalist Don Lemon joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles for a wide-ranging conversation unpacking Trump’s health issues, the MAGA movement’s big problem, and the night RFK Jr. had dinner with Don Lemon. The two dive into Trump’s public appearance at the U.S. Open and ask what the mysterious blue object clenched in his mouth, seen in a candi…

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The Much More Dangerous Case of Donald Trump with Dr. Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div. 1:03:16

22d ago1:03:16

1:03:16

The attack on experts and science itself is part of the mind control strategy to control citizens. Before Trump came to power, the media would regularly call on me and top experts like Dr. Lee to shed light on issues concerning mental health and public health. This authoritarian control of information forces citizens concerned with the public good …

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20VC: ElevenLabs Hits $200M ARR: The Untold Story of Europe's Fastest Growing AI Startup | The Real Cost of AI from Talent to Data Centres | How US VCs are in a Different League to Europeans | The Future ... 1:14:06

22d ago1:14:06

1:14:06

Mati Staniszewski is the Co-Founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, the world’s leading AI voice platform. Since launching in 2022, ElevenLabs has raised over $350M, most recently at a $3.3BN valuation, making it one of Europe’s fastest AI unicorns. The company counts Andreessen Horowitz, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Sequoia Capital among its backers. To…

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Epstein Made Me Dress Like a Sexy Nurse for Trump: Model 40:56

23d ago40:56

40:56

Australian model Cleo Glyde sits down with the Beast's Joanna Coles to share her extraordinary, unsettling memories of New York in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At just 22, she was living the height of the fashion world, signed to Ford Models, immersed in the club scene, and swept into the orbit of Jeffrey Epstein. She recalls meeting him through…

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20Growth: Meta CMO Alex Schultz on How All Founders Have to Change Their Marketing Playbook in a World of AI | Is AI Plateauing, What it Means if China Wins the AI Race and Why Zuck is a Generational Leader ... 1:10:09

24d ago1:10:09

1:10:09

Alex Schultz is the Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Analytics at Meta, where he has spent nearly two decades shaping the company’s growth and marketing strategy. He has been instrumental in scaling Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to billions of users worldwide. Alex is is also the author of Click Here: The New Rules of Marketing, the definitive…

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Trump Going off His Rocker as Judges Say No: Wolff 31:57

25d ago31:57

31:57

Trump chronicler Michael Wolff joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles to go inside the rage-filled White House where Trump is reacting to blows from judges—including to his tariffs. They explore what happens when judges say no to Trump. And they examine how tariffs have become a unilateral tool of punishment and power, why the courts are pushing back, and …

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20VC: Anthropic Raises $13BN | Why Canva Will Not Direct List | OpenAI Buys Statsig for $1.1BN All Stock | Lovable Raising at $4BN + Vercel at $9BN: Justified or Not | Quarterly Results from SNOW, Mongo ... 1:14:22

26d ago1:14:22

1:14:22

Agenda: 04:00 – Anthropic Raises $13BN: The Analysis? 19:00 – Is Zuck’s $14BN Scale bet the biggest blunder in AI? 27:00 – Lovable Raising at $4BN and Vercel at $9BN: Justified or Madness? 36:00 – Quarterly Results for Snowflake, Mongo, Okta, Zoom Skyrocket: Is B2B SaaS back from the dead? 48:00 – Is Jensen Huang right there will be $4TRN in AI gai…

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This is How Trump Just Got Triply Humiliated 33:09

26d ago33:09

33:09

The Daily Beast’s brilliant columnist David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to examine Donald Trump’s disastrous week on the world stage. From being overheard on a hot mic talking about deals with Vladimir Putin, to Modi undercutting his peacemaker myth, to world leaders gathering in China without him, Trump finds himself without a seat on the world st…

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Why Trump Won't Tell Truth About His Health: Wolff 34:16

27d ago34:16

34:16

Donald Trump’s health is suddenly the biggest mystery in politics. After disappearing for more than three days, whispers about his wobbly legs and his puffy presentation have swept through The President’s inner circle. Hosts Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff pull apart the rumors and ask whether Trump’s latest health scare is just another online chatt…

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112 - Squaring the Circle: Excellence vs Expertise with Jeff Anderson 1:08:24

27d ago1:08:24

1:08:24

In this episode, Sharona and Boz welcome Jeff Anderson back to the pod to talk about power, excellence, expertise, and how to work within grading structures that we are no longer comfortable with. This fascinating conversation touches on everything from analyzing the existing power structures within education and how our individual grading policies…

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Why Trump Won't Tell Truth About His Health: Wolff 47:12

28d ago47:12

47:12

Comedian and actor Matt Friend joins Joanna Coles for a sharp, funny look at Donald Trump’s complicated relationship with comedy. Friend shares his spot-on impressions of Trump, Obama, Bernie Sanders, Mitch McConnell and more. From his early obsession with comedy to performing at the White House Correspondents Dinner, Friend shares the secrets behi…

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Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler with Anne Nelson 1:05:55

29d ago1:05:55

1:05:55

Anne began our discussion by dispelling the myth that everyone in Nazi Germany simply went along with Hitler’s plans. She examined these resisters in her book Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler. When I read the book, it didn’t become clear to me how vitally important it was that there wa…

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20VC: Cohere Founder on How Cohere Compete with OpenAI and Anthropic $BNs | Why Counties Should Fund Their Own Models & the Need for Model Sovereignty | How Sam Altman Has Done a Disservice to AI with ... 1:07:50

29d ago1:07:50

1:07:50

Nick Frosst is a Canadian AI researcher and entrepreneur, best known as co-founder of Cohere, the enterprise-focused LLM. Cohere has raised over $900 million, most recently a $500 million round, bringing its valuation to $6.8 billion. Under his leadership, Cohere hit $100M in ARR. Prior to founding Cohere, Nick was a researcher at Google Brain and …

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Trump’s Ugly Scheme to Exploit RFK Jr.: Wolff 39:48

29d ago39:48

39:48

Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff jump in for an emergency podcast to unpack the twisted story of how Donald Trump brought Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into his administration, despite his history of drug abuse, womanizing, and a long career of anti-vaccine activism. They explore how Trump’s desperation to shore up his MAGA base on vaccines led to RFK Jr. ru…

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Will and Harry Could Take Feud to Diana’s Grave 40:49

1M ago40:49

40:49

Long-time British Royals Journalist and Author Tom Sykes, and Joanna Coles, revisit Princess Diana’s death and why he believes there was foul play. From her troubled marriage and rivalry with Camilla to the tainted blood samples, the missing Fiat Uno, and Diana’s own letter predicting an “accident,” they dig into the questions that still haunt the …

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20Product: Why Most CPOs are Bad | Why You Do Not Need PMs in a World of AI | Why the Design Stage is Dead and How to Use Vibe Coding to Replace It | The Three Roles All Founders End Up Firing on Repeat ... 53:48

1M ago53:48

53:48

Jason James is the Co-Founder of Tezi and one of the leading product minds in the valley. Prior to Tezi, Jason was the VP Product at Instacart and before that was Head of Product and Design at Thumbtack. AGENDA: 00:00 Product lessons scaling Instacart to $40B – what really moves the needle 02:15 Why “quick optimizations” won’t build billion-dollar …

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The Sleazy Reason Trump Can’t Quit Ghislaine Maxwell 37:22

1M ago37:22

37:22

Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff dig into Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison interviews with Trump’s DOJ, Epstein’s lingering influence on Trump, and Trump’s presidential culture of copious pardons for nefarious American characters. They examine how rich criminals and political allies maneuvered for Trump's favor, and how loyalty, leverage, and money shaped …

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20VC: Anthropic's $10BN Round | Klarna's IPO Broken Down | Inside a16z's 72 Deal Seed Investment Machine | Martin Casado: Is Consensus Investing the Only Game | Why Satya is Chatting S*** on SaaS Apps ... 1:11:40

1M ago1:11:40

1:11:40

AGENDA: 00:00 – Marc Benioff vs Snowflake, Databricks & Palantir: Who Wins the Data Cloud War? 05:10 – Does Benioff Feel The Need to Buy AI Talent Like Zuck Is? 09:00 – What Salesforce has Learned From Palantir on Forward Deployed Engineers? 18:00 – Will SaaS apps disappear in an AI world? Why Satya is Chatting S*** 23:40 – Are SDRs really screwe…

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Why Trump Is The Real Danger to the Economy: Ruhle 29:18

1M ago29:18

29:18

MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle joins Joanna Coles to unpack Donald Trump’s power moves against the Federal Reserve's governors. From his campaign against Fed chairman Jerome Powell to saying he has fired Black governor Lisa Cook, the conversation reveals a president at war with the independent central bank. The two explore how Trump leans on Wall Street C…

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White House Raging at Trump Health Crisis: Wolff 36:50

1M ago36:50

36:50

Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff dig into the explosive Trump DOJ transcripts of Ghislaine Maxwell’s meeting with Todd Blanche and what they reveal about Jeffrey Epstein’s finances, Donald Trump’s anxieties, and more. From the talk in the White House of Trump “keeling over” and the President’s obsession with Ghislaine Maxwell, the conversation unpack…

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111 - Getting Unstuck from the Grade Wrap-Up: The Importance of Purpose Redux 54:49

1M ago54:49

54:49

In this episode, Sharona and Boz look at another common area where instructors get stuck when redesigning a course to use alternative grading - the fourth decision of the grading architecture: wrapping up into a final grade. From too many choices to the issues with complexity, Sharona and Boz breaks things down and provide concrete ideas when looki…