10: Josh Wolfe - Illuminating Tomorrow

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Feb 25, 2025

Josh Wolfe, co-founder of Lux Capital, dives into the fascinating intersection of science and storytelling. He explores how narratives shape our understanding of technology and the influence of cultural beliefs on innovation. Josh reflects on America’s competitive edge in science, emphasizing the need for a new generation of thinkers. He shares personal anecdotes illustrating the power of belief in personal growth and the importance of emotional intelligence in relationships. With childlike curiosity, he encourages embracing both ambition and authenticity.

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INSIGHT

Stories and Human Nature

Stories shape us, and we shape our stories in an endless cycle.
Technologies, markets, and governments change, but human nature remains constant.

ANECDOTE

Startup Drama

Josh Wolfe recounts a startup's near-failure and subsequent internal conflict after securing funding.
This illustrates predictable human drama, emphasizing the value of learning from stories.

INSIGHT

Progress and Narrative

There's a directional arrow of progress in technology, but cultural narratives influence the timeline.
Nuclear power's decline illustrates how stories and cultural movements can impact technological adoption.

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Josh Wolfe (Website, X) is co-founder and Managing Partner of Lux Capital, a venture firm focused on emerging science and technology at the outermost edges of what is possible.

Josh is a masterful storyteller who moves seamlessly between science, culture, and markets. As an investor, he seeks the counter-narrative—what others aren't talking about—and has backed countless breakthrough companies in AI, space, biotech, robotics, defense, and beyond. Beyond investing, Josh founded Coney Island Prep charter school and is a trustee at the Santa Fe Institute.

Our conversation explores the interplay between science and storytelling, the power of belief in both doubters and advocates, patterns in creative rebels, and what makes someone both "arrogant" enough to assert a new reality while remaining grounded enough to see reality clearly. We discuss America's scientific competitiveness, the value of competition in institutions, Josh's voracious appetite for the new, and his personal journey with control, trust, and family.

Josh is one of my favorite examples of someone who is radically unhedged on himself: he leans into his genius—and thus sometimes, disfunction—in ways that make him authentically effective. Throughout the episode, he demonstrates his rare combination of wisdom and childlike curiosity, competitive drive, and deep care for the things that matter to him. His ideas on storytelling, science, and human nature offer a guide for thinking about bringing new things into the world.

Episode transcript.

Timestamps

(2:12): Science & Stories
(6:30): Are technology outcomes and timelines determined or variable based on cultural movements, societal reaction, and stories?
(11:14): Who is Imagining the Future of Tomorrow?
(16:34): Originality, AI, and Everything is a Remix
(20:52): Improving as a Storyteller
(23:55): Secrets & Magic
(31:35): Josh's Biggest Believers
(34:20): Belief Beyond Capital, Motivation, and Fuel
(37:53): Patterns in Creative Rebels
(40:53): "Arrogance of the Highest Order" in Entrepreneurs, Asserting Reality, Great Men of History, and Elon
(47:02): US Exceptionalism and Celebrating Science & Technology
(55:23): Institutions, Academia, Government, and Competition
(1:00:56): Josh: Accomplished Yet Childlike - Finding the Edges
(1:04:07): Breadth and Depth: a Heat-Seeking Ability to Go Deep
(1:12:03): Managing Dowsides and Lessons that Could Have Been Learned Sooner
(1:15:58): Control, Past, and Future
(1:19:57): Learnings from Mom
(1:20:57): Trust and learning from Optimistic Partners
(1:22:54): Legacy

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