Ben Averbook Podcast

Matt Bateman is a philosopher and founder of Montessorium, working on building Montessori schools enhanced with AI.What’s the difference between patiency and an agency?In this conversation, Matt explains why agency matters more than test scores, how AI can scale personalized learning, why education reform keeps failing, and what the world would look like if every child learned to be an agent instead of a patient.Follow Dr. Bateman on X: https://x.com/mbatemanFollow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbookCheck out Montessorium: https://montessorium.school/program(0:00) Would Maria Montessori Love AI or Hate It?(3:14) How AI Scales the Montessori Method(5:43) The Right Way vs Wrong Way to Use AI Tutors(7:23) Why Matt Bateman Believes Montessori Is the Best Education Philosophy Ever Created(9:45) Inside a Montessori Morning Routine: Students Running Their Own Day(14:20) What Is Agency and Why Does It Matter More Than Test Scores?(18:30) Traditional Schools Teach Kids to Be Patients, Not Agents(22:00) Can You Build Agency After 13 Years of Being Told What to Do?(24:45) Three Strategies for Developing Agency as a Young Adult(28:50) Why So Many Thiel Fellows Went to Montessori Schools(30:20) What the World Would Look Like If Everyone Had a Montessori Education(33:40) Can Montessori Scale to a Billion Kids?(36:10) Why Education Is Like Medicine Before Galen(37:50) Why Most Education Startups Die (And Why Khan Academy Weakened After Gates Foundation Money)(39:20) The Only Two Paths to Fixing Education: Build Schools and Make Arguments(41:18) School Choice and Free Market Dynamics(42:59) The Real Cost of Public vs Private Education(44:21) The Zombie Bureaucracy Blocking Education Reform(46:20) Teachers Unions Are the Biggest Problem in American Education This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

This is my conversation with Austen Allred.Austen is the founder of Gauntlet AI which is a 10 week in-person training that, if completed, guarantees a $200k+ AI engineering job at the end. Just to make it sound more crazy, it’s completely free.If selected, you do 2 weeks virtually and then if still in the cohort, they will fly you to Austin, TX, house you, and feed you, all at no cost to the student.Please enjoy.benaverbook.com/subscribex.com/austenx.com/benaverbookgauntletai.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

In this enlightening discussion, MacKenzie Price, founder of Alpha School, shares her mission to transform K-12 learning. She reveals how personalized AI tutoring can help students learn at incredible rates, outpacing traditional education. MacKenzie critiques outdated educational systems that stifle creativity and argues for the need for capitalism in education. She emphasizes the importance of mentorship over lectures and how fostering agency can turn students into passionate creators. Get ready to rethink what school can and should be!

This is a narration of the blog post written about lessons from Walter Isaacson's biography titled "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life".Subscribe to get all posts sent to you here: benaverbook.comFollow me on X: x.com/benaverbook This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

Episode DescriptionIn this solo episode, Ben dives deep into Salman Khan's groundbreaking book "Brave New Words," exploring how artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize education as we know it. From the fundamental flaws in our current education system to the transformative potential of AI tutors, this episode unpacks why the next decade could be the most consequential in human history for learning and human development.Book: "Brave New Words" by Salman Khan (May 2024)Platform: Khan Academy and Khanmigo AI tutorResearch: Benjamin Bloom's 1984 study on personalized tutoringPrevious Episode: Interview with Dr. David Ruth on AI in educationNotable Quotes"We're moving from passive consumption of information to active dialogue with the knowledge itself.""AI doesn't take your job. AI enables you to do any job.""This moment can be an existential risk or an existential opportunity for all of us."Connect with Ben:Follow me on XSubscribe on SubstackAvailable on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

Dr. David Ruth, Dean of STEM at the University of Austin, joins the podcast to detail UATX's mission to rebuild higher education around the fearless pursuit of truth. We explore their first-principles approach to curriculum (integrating "Homer and Python"), their controversial merit-based admissions, and why they believe traditional universities are failing. Dr. Ruth's commitment to open inquiry and empirical rigor offers a compelling vision for the future of universities. Highly recommend checking out the University of Austin: https://www.uaustin.org Find on all platforms here: https://benaverbook.com Follow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbook Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro / Dr. Ruth's Journey (00:03:10) - Why Start UATX? (00:07:25) - What Universities Get Right (00:12:30) - College vs. Working Right Away (00:19:08) - UATX STEM Vision / Homer & Python (00:24:07) - Building the STEM Program (00:33:51) - Ideology vs. Empiricism in Science (00:43:44) - Merit-Based Admissions (00:50:31) - Student Qualities (Curiosity & Humility) (00:56:05) - UATX Value & Network This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

Danielle Strachman joins the podcast to break down the flaws in traditional education pathways and explore how alternative approaches can unleash potential, particularly for young founders.Danielle is Co-founder & General Partner at 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm backing young founders often working outside traditional institutions. She previously helped build and run the Thiel Fellowship alongside Peter Thiel and has deep roots in alternative education philosophies inspired by Maria Montessori, homeschooling, and student-led learning.I felt Danielle was speaking directly to my own experiences wrestling with the traditional path. This conversation was a powerful reminder about making conscious choices, rejecting limiting labels, and the importance of finding work aligned with your core motivations – that "fire in the belly" she talks about.Find out more:This podcast on all platforms: https://benaverbook.com/subscribe1517 Fund: https://www.1517fund.com/Danielle Strachman on X: https://x.com/DStrachmanFollow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbookThe Thiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org/Mentioned: The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

My conversation with Jason Zhao, co-founder of Story Protocol. Jason breaks down the $61 trillion intellectual property market, explains how creators can better monetize their work, and shares a vision for making IP licensing as seamless as an API call. We explore the balance between incentivizing creation and enabling access, why AI training data should include compensation for creators, and how the future might revolutionize digital ownership.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Defining intellectual property and its $61 trillion market 00:04:33 - Is IP necessary? Historical origins and balancing incentives 00:09:18 - Where's the line between ideas and protectable IP? 00:11:11 - The Studio Ghibli AI controversy and style protection 00:12:05 - How licensing fees might impact virality and distribution 00:17:13 - Big names using Story Protocol (BTS, Blackpink, Sabrina Carpenter) 00:17:38 - How Aria works: bringing music IP on-chain with revenue and control rights 00:21:31 - Future of digital creators: more lucrative than Hollywood? 00:24:17 - How Mr. Beast could leverage Story Protocol for monetization 00:27:20 - AI training data and Jason's background at DeepMind 00:29:10 - Story Protocol's biggest challenges: the cold start problem 00:31:46 - Will licensing become a primary monetization vehicle for creators? 00:35:45 - Story Protocol in 10 years: the invisible infrastructure of creationCheck out Story Protocol here: https://www.story.foundation/Follow Jason on X: https://twitter.com/jasonzhao Follow me on X: https://twitter.com/benaverbookSubscribe to my channel if you haven't yet. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

My conversation with Augustus Doricko, founder of Rainmaker. Augustus shares his thoughts on higher education, what makes a successful founder, and his ambitious vision to "green the Great American Desert." Timestamps: 00:00:00 - College admissions issues and higher education 00:04:01 - Leaving college for better opportunities 00:05:10 - Upskilling and human capital concentration 00:05:48 - Fellowship experiences: Thiel Fellowship and Z Fellows 00:07:55 - Who should be a founder? Qualities needed 00:11:58 - Augustus's journey to water scarcity solutions 00:16:32 - Clarifying cloud seeding vs. other weather modification technologies 00:21:05 - History of cloud seeding technology 00:27:04 - American revival and re-industrialization 00:32:13 - Systemic issues pushing talent into finance over innovation 00:36:25 - Rainmaker's vision: from water utility to terraforming companyFollow Augustus on X: https://x.com/ADorickoFollow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbook This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

Ashley Rindsberg is the author of "The Gray Lady Winked: How the New York Times's Misreporting, Distortions and Fabrications Radically Alter History". In this episode he discusses how The New York Times has repeatedly misrepresented major historical events and why this matters. Timestamps: 00:00:20 - The discovery of The New York Times repeating Nazi propaganda in 1939 00:07:32 - Responding to criticism of judging historical reporting in retrospect 00:12:22 - The Sulzberger family's relative obscurity compared to other media owners 00:15:43 - Personal consequences faced for criticizing The New York Times 00:19:01 - Self-publishing models versus traditional media incentives 00:24:58 - Wikipedia's "invisible power structure" and information control 00:31:48 - The debate about pseudonymous figures versus real identities online00:35:34 - Jeff Bezos's statement about The Washington Post's direction Find the podcast on all platforms here: https://benaverbook.com Get Ashley’s book here - https://amzn.to/3EdrzTz Follow Ashley on X - https://x.com/AshleyRindsberg Follow me on X - https://x.com/benaverbook This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com