Talking Books

Aaron Sorkin and David Brooks discuss their approaches to creating compelling characters. Sorkin emphasizes the importance of understanding a character's desires and obstacles, using examples from his own work like "The Social Network." David Brooks shares anecdotes about encounters that inspired his writing and the empathy required to portray complex characters. Both writers stress the significance of immersion in a character's experience and the importance of authentic dialogue.

🤖 AI is here, and it’s evolving faster than we ever imagined. How do we adapt when the rules of the game are shifting under our feet? Is the future one of abundance, or are we heading toward disaster? 🌍 Are we missing the warning signs again? The world is changing fast, faster than we can keep up. From the pandemic to AI advancements, it feels like we’re all being caught off guard. But are we paying attention? 🚀 We’re standing on the brink of something massive. Will we rise to the occasion and adapt, or will the future slip through our fingers?

Dr. Neal Barnard discusses the potential benefits of eliminating certain foods from the diet for various conditions. While not everyone is sensitive to gluten or dairy, some may find relief by avoiding these foods. He suggests looking into supportive foods that can help bring the body back into balance. Dr. Barnard provides tips for improving sleep hygiene, recommending organic food and a cast-iron pan when possible. He also discusses the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed animals and expresses skepticism towards the promotion of organic grass-fed beef. Dr. Barnard encourages people to focus on eating simple, whole foods and emphasizes the scientific evidence supporting their health benefits.

Jordan Peterson discusses the impact of technological revolutions on education and intellectual engagement, his motivation for writing his books, and his experiences with workplace unconscious bias training and the controversy surrounding his perceived transphobia. Peterson attributes his widespread influence to the technological transformation brought about by YouTube and podcasts, which have led to a significant demand for high-level intellectual dialogue and engagement. He also reflects on the importance of being careful with one's speech and the potential consequences of carelessness. Additionally, Peterson criticizes universities for their handling of free speech and inclusivity, and he is currently suing Wilfred Laurier University for slander. Throughout the interview, Peterson emphasizes the importance of understanding the differences between men and women and the need for discipline and order to overcome chaos and hopelessness. He also challenges the notion that socio-cultural constructs explain the differences between men and women, citing data on suicide rates, prison populations, and occupational segregation.

(2:19) Defining the polarizing forces in American society (5:11) How institutions like the New York Times were captured by radicals, giving up "the heroin needle of prestige" (16:39) Avoiding audience capture while building The Free Press (22:09) Sacks's strategy to find reliable media sources (27:26) Ideological capture of medicine, building a new institution

(1:43) Joining Waymo, breaking down their approach vs competitors (9:57) Focus on reducing deaths, impact on Uber, creating an AV ecosystem (16:44) Thoughts on Cruise's issues in SF, operating at scale, unit economics (22:09) Selling to carmakers, US focus vs international (27:51) Hardest challenge while leading Waymo

Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years--as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues--Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. Isaacson's portrait touched millions of readers. At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens have accumulated enormous power. But despite all our discoveries, inventions, and conquests, we now find ourselves in an existential crisis. The world is on the verge of ecological collapse. Misinformation abounds. And we are rushing headlong into the age of AI—a new information network that threatens to annihilate us. For all that we have accomplished, why are we so self-destructive?Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power. He explores how different societies and political systems throughout history have wielded information to achieve their goals, for good and ill. And he addresses the urgent choices we face as non-human intelligence threatens our very existence.Information is not the raw material of truth; neither is it a mere weapon. Nexus explores the hopeful middle ground between these extremes, and in doing so, rediscovers our shared humanity.

(2:27) What Travis is working on at Cloud Kitchens (12:32) Travis's operating playbook (16:16) Strategy at Uber: Competing with Lyft, surge pricing, dealing with bad press (26:12) Being a "War time CEO" and competing in China (34:09) Travis reflects on getting ousted as CEO of Uber and his future

(2:32) Funding Shinya Yamanaka's research (11:38) Marc on building philanthropy into Salesforce (17:15) AI's impact on enterprise software and the cloud (27:56) Salesforce's AI approach