E22: Vivek Ramaswamy on his Presidential Run, Intellectually Oppressive Culture, Otherism

Aug 25, 2023

Erik Torenberg interviews Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate rapidly rising in the polls. They discuss his ideas about the culture war, affirmative action, and climate science. Vivek shares his journey from Silicon Valley founder to political candidate and explores his radical policy proposals. They also touch on topics like free speech, empathy in Silicon Valley, and the concept of 'woke'.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Transition to Fighting Cultural Cancer

02:20 • 13min

Overlapping with and Differing from Silicon Valley

15:33 • 5min

Examining the Transition and Disagreements in Silicon Valley

20:06 • 4min

Merit-based Policies and Representation

23:44 • 8min

Understanding and Aligning with Corporate Mission

31:48 • 23min

Defining 'Woke' and Building a Campaign

54:56 • 4min

Erik Torenberg sits down with Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican presidential candidate rapidly rising in the polls. Vivek recorded this interview with us in late march. Given the attention from his performance at the first GOP debate this week, we decided to re-run it. We go deeper on many of the soundbites that have been popping up this summer, including his ideas about the culture war, affirmative action, and climate science. We also cover his ambitious transformation from Silicon Valley founder to political candidate, and discuss his radical policy proposals. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

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X/TWITTER:

Erik's Twitter: @eriktorenberg

Vivek's Twitter: @VivekGRamaswamy

Podcast Twitter: @Upstream__Pod

Erik's Substack: eriktorenberg.substack.com

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Episode Preview

(03:03) When Vivek set his sights on running for president

(09:02) Vivek’s presidential platform: Affirmative action, Climate, Fed, Drug crisis

(15:35) Sponsors: Vanta, NetSuite

(16:36) Where Vivek overlaps/differs with Silicon Valley: free speech, DEI, SVB

(24:19) How Vivek conceptualizes a meritocracy

(30:25) How to remove politics from corporations

(41:00) Silicon Valley should empathize more with the rest of the country?

(42:24) Cultural otherness

(55:06) Defining “woke”

(56:22) What’s it like to run a presidential campaign

This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.