Marc Andreessen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) returns to Moment of Zen to discuss Trump's new administration, the political vibe shift for Silicon Valley, why San Francisco may be the cultural center of the universe, and what comes after wokeness.

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Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. Founders Fund's Delian Asparouhov and researcher Nadia Asparouhova kick off the series with an unfiltered conversation about their relationship evolution.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod

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X / TWITTER:

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HIGHLIGHTS

The Unraveling of Preference Falsification
Opening discussion about “winning”
Examples of preference falsification unwinding
Commerce Secretary’s comments on innovation
Democrats shifting positions
The Brendan Eich Case Study and Origins of Cancel Culture
Mozilla controversy as inflection point
Historical context of 2008 politics
Impact on tech industry
Personal reflection on not speaking up
The Future of “Soft Authoritarianism”
Discussion of whether wokeness is truly ending
Role of bureaucracies and institutions
Legal embedding of policies
Cultural vanguard vs institutional power
The Corporate Dismount from DEI
Legal challenges to DEI policies
Role of Civil Rights Division
Corporate strategies for policy changes
Supreme Court impact
Culture Wars and Comedy
Evolution of counterculture to culture
Role of humor in cultural power
Late night comedy’s transformation
Discussion of “laughter vs. claptor”
Changes in entertainment industry
The Secret Networks and Information Flow
Role of WhatsApp groups and Signal
Modern samizdat comparison
Evolution of private communication networks
Impact on preference falsification
Elon Musk’s role in cultural shift
Hollywood and Entertainment Transformation
Dad shows phenomenon
Top Gun success as cultural indicator
Bob Iger and Disney’s pivot
Entertainment industry adaptation
San Francisco as cultural bellwether
Technology and Political Engagement
Silicon Valley’s political evolution
Software vs. hardware innovation
Regulatory challenges to tech
Response to criticism of tech involvement
“Politics is interested in you”
The New Administration’s Team
Quality of appointments
Comparison to historical administrations
Getting to Mars
Marc's thoughts on the appointments

BOOKS MENTIONED:

"Private Truth, Public Lies" by Timur Kuran: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674707580
"The Power of the Powerless" by Václav Havel: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Powerless-Vaclav-Havel/dp/178487504X
"Why are Jews Liberal" by Norman Podhoretz: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Jews-Liberals-Norman-Podhoretz/dp/0307456250
"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand: https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191145
Pew Research Survey: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/03/15/americans-feel-more-positive-than-negative-about-jews-mainline-protestants-catholics/

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