Episode notes
Michael Saylor is the creator of the first Bitcoin treasury company, Strategy. He joins Balaji to discuss his new Digital Assets Framework, where he unveils a plan for how the US becomes dominant in digital assets. If these ideas interest you, we're advancing digital assets at Network School. You can apply online at ns.com .
Podcast
The Network State Podcast
ns.com · Tech & Science · English
What comes after Google, Facebook, Bitcoin, and Ethereum? Perhaps it's the startup country — the network state. Balaji interviews tech founders and policymakers from around the world on managing billions of dollars and millions of people, as well as what it might take to start a new kind of state.
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S1 · E18 · 16 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 40 min
#17 - Claire Lehmann
Claire is the founder of Quillette.com, a digital magazine covering tech, culture, and centrist politics. We cover the rise of China, why Australia may indeed be this century's lucky country, and the realist take on American Empire. If you're interested in these topics, you'll be interested in Network School. Apply online at https://ns.com .
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S1 · E17 · 16 Jul 2025 · 2 hr 4 min
#16 - Benedict Evans
Benedict Evans is a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz and runs a newsletter with ~200k subscribers. We discuss smart glasses, amplified intelligence, robot dogs, the decentralization of media, and how AI is disrupting the very concept of user interfaces. If these ideas interest you, we're working on this kind of technology at Network School. You can apply online at https://ns.com .
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S1 · E16 · 16 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 13 min
#15 - Jeremy Howard
Jeremy Howard is the creator of fast.ai, perhaps the best way to get a running start in modern deep learning. We talk about AI research, decentralizing education, and funding the world's dark talent. If you're interested in these ideas, especially regarding AI-first education, come to Network School. You can apply online at https://ns.com.
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S1 · E14 · 16 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 15 min
#14 - Vitalik on Ethereum
Vitalik Buterin is the co-founder of Ethereum and Zuzalu. We had a fireside chat on the state of Ethereum, defi, prediction markets, AI, biotech, stablecoins, the Abundance Agenda, San Francisco, Zuzalu, and startup societies. If these ideas interest you, this discussion was held live at Network School. You can apply online at ns.com .
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S1 · E13 · 16 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
#13 - Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis is the co-host of All-In and one of Silicon Valley's most successful angels. We discuss Network School, startup societies, voting with your feet, and strengthening democratic rights in a digital age. If these ideas interest you, we're building startup societies at Network School. You can apply online at https://ns.com .
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S1 · E11 · 19 Mar 2025 · 1 hr 37 min
#11 - Applied History with WhatIfAltHist
Rudyard Lynch runs the popular YouTube channel WhatIfAltHist. We're both into applied history — namely, studying the past to forecast the future — and everything we spoke about fell under that rubric. We cover alchemy vs technology, left vs right, nature vs nurture, China vs America, communism vs wokeness, and (of course) networks vs states.Our overarching goal with the pod is to learn about the world to build new startup societies. If these ideas interest you, we're putting theory into practice at Network School, so do apply at https://ns.com. OUTLINE 00:00 - Intro to WhatifAltHist and…
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S1 · E10 · 28 Jan 2024 · 41 min
#10 - The Crypto Islands
Where do you legally set up your DAO or web3 organization? You might check out the Marshall Islands. They recently passed a new bill that's a model for global crypto regulation. The Decentralized Autonomous Organizations Act of 2023 has several major features: it allows DAOs to be set up in 30 days, limits DAO liability for open-source, and makes clear that governance tokens are not securities. Joining Balaji today are the architects of the DAO law as well as the founder of MIDAO (https://midao.org), an organization which allows anyone to set up a DAO in the Marshall Islands. OUTLINE 00:00 -…
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S1 · E9 · 28 Jan 2024 · 1 hr
#9 - Joe Lonsdale on Everything
Joe Lonsdale is one of the most prominent investors in technology. He's the co-founder of Palantir, 8VC, Addepar, and the Cicero Institute — and one of Balaji's longtime friends. We have fun talking about education, longevity, space, and the little matter of completely reforming all governments with the internet. OUTLINE: 00:00 - How Silicon Valley got expensive 09:18 - Tech founders as philosophers 17:39 - 100% Democracy and .01% Democracy 28:51 - Internet Values vs Western Values 36:05 - How Academics Become Capitalists 46:40 - Red States, Purple States, Foreign States for AI 58:11 -…
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S1 · E8 · 28 Jan 2024 · 1 hr 30 min
#8 - The Solana Phone
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, joins Balaji to talk about the new Solana Phone (https://solanamobile.com). The idea of the crypto phone is one where balances, encryption, privacy, and property rights are built into the very fabric of the operating system. Anatoly talks about how they did it. OUTLINE 0:06 - The Solana Phone 2:08 - Anatoly's Origin Story 6:03 - Solana Proof-of-History Algorithm 12:10 - Hardware Scales Global Consensus 16:13 - Different Chains Do Different Things 19:55 - A Self-Custody Phone 30:38 - Instant Bank Accounts 38:20 - Any OEM Can Make a Solana Phone 43:26 -…
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