Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell — Beyond the Telepathy Tapes (EP.271)
Infinite Loops
Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, neuropsychiatrist and author of "The ESP Enigma," joins me for a mind-bending exploration of consciousness, savant abilities, and the limitations of materialist science. Trained at Johns Hopkins under a neurologist-turned-psychiatrist, Diane has spent decades investigating phenomena that challenge our fundamental assumptions about how the brain works. We dive deep into why the scientific establishment reacts so emotionally to consciousness research, her fascinating work with autistic savants, and why she believes the brain functions as a navigation tool for...
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Todd Rose — Are We Living in the Truman Show? (EP.270)
Infinite Loops
Todd Rose, co-founder and CEO of Populace and author of books including "Collective Illusions" and "The End of Average," joins the show to discuss the science behind collective illusions and their impact on society. We explore why so many Americans self-silence, the dangers of conformity, and how one person can spark change. Todd and I are simpatico on… pretty much everything! So this was a fun one. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!,” check...
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Charles Beames — Welcome to the Second Space Race (EP.269)
Infinite Loops
Aerospace investor and York Space Systems chairman Chuck Beames joins me for a fascinating discussion on the commercial space revolution and the future of satellite security. A retired Air Force colonel with over 20 years experience as a space and intelligence officer, Chuck brings unparalleled expertise to our conversation about what many are calling "the second space race”. We explore how America can leverage her free-market strengths, why ‘zero trust’ protocols could revolutionize cybersecurity, the military origins of GPS, and why Space Force needs a streamlined procurement approach....
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Natasha Joukovsky — On Recursion, Status Games & Manufactured Nonchalance (EP.268)
Infinite Loops
Strategy consultant turned writer Natasha Joukovsky joins me to discuss why bourgeois comfort is more conducive to writing than you think, why choice-plots make for better fiction, the eyerolling prevalence of manufactured nonchalance, our shared distaste for Atlantis Bahamas, and MUCH more! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our . Important Links: Show Notes: “You can do everything, just not at the same time”...
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Tiago Forte — Unlocking the Power of the Annual Review (Ep. 267)
Infinite Loops
I’ve said before that one of the best parts of hosting Infinite Loops is the chance to connect with people who consistently make me think differently — and few do that quite like Tiago Forte. Tiago Forte joins Infinite Loops for the first time, and within minutes we closed the door on his best-selling “Building A Second Brain” and were off to the races: from digitizing 50,000+ words of personal data to build an AI-powered life coach, to the emotional intelligence hiding inside envy, to the surprising lessons he learned walking through a tiny historical museum in Coconut Grove. We also...
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Nir Eyal — The Psychology of Addictive Products (EP.266)
Infinite Loops
Author, speaker, founder, investor and behavioral design maestro Nir Eyal joins me for his second appearance on the show. Today, we dig into Nir’s first book, “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.” We also discuss the difference between coercion and persuasion, AI’s use case as our personal Jiminy Cricket and MUCH more! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our . Important Links: Show Notes: What...
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Nathan Baschez — On AI Writing, Thought Design & Solo Foundership (EP.265)
Infinite Loops
Nathan Baschez is the cofounder and CEO of Lex, an AI word-processor. He also cofounded Every, was the first employee at Substack AND co-created Product Hunt. Suffice to say, Nathan knows a thing or two about building on the internet. He joins the show to discuss how AI is changing writing, why it’s time to rethink the article, the rise of solo founders and MUCH more. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our . Important...
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Tommy Potter — Building the CIA for Entrepreneurs (EP.264)
Infinite Loops
Young, polymathic, and full of energy — Tommy Potter is on a quest to build a “CIA for Entrepreneurs.” He calls it “The Power Hour” — a startup community in Michigan that hosts dropouts, undergrads and PhDs across many industries: enterprise, consumer, CPG, aviation, gaming, robotics and AR/VR, as they work together to build cool projects. I had a great time chatting with Tommy as we spoke about non-linear career paths, embracing authenticity, working with dazzling, delusional people and more! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode...
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Alex Danco — On Strollers, Slop & Citizen Kane (EP.263)
Infinite Loops
Shopify Product Director Alex Danco returns for his NINTH appearance on the show — and he comes in hot. As you’ll hear, I didn’t even get a chance to introduce him before he launched into his take on what everyone gets wrong about Citizen Kane. We also unpack the performance art of parenting, why dinner parties are the new status signals, the difference between meme and slop culture and MUCH more. Unsurprisingly, this was a fun one. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out...
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Vizi Andrei — The Way of the Tinkerer (EP.262)
Infinite Loops
My guest today is my former teammate Vizi Andrei, founder of The Sovereign Artist program and author of Sovereign Artist: Meditations on Lifestyle Design. Vizi’s journey has been anything but conventional. After dabbling in various creative projects, he realized that the internet offers a unique opportunity: the freedom to take countless small risks without catastrophic consequences. He built The Sovereign Artist program to help creators step away from the toxic hustle culture and build sustainable, meaningful lives rooted in creativity, deep work, and sacred leisure. His insights into Slow...
info_outlineThere’s a quote I heard a long time ago that goes something like this - “India has consistently disappointed both the optimists and the pessimists”.
It is equal parts pithy and profound, and does a somewhat passable job of summarising the multitudes contained in 21st century India. It’s a quote that was brought to life for me numerous times in my conversation with this week’s guest on Infinite Loops - Sajith Pai.
Sajith is a GP at Blume Ventures, one of India’s largest homegrown VC firms. He's known for his prolific writing and sharp frameworks that have become part of Indian startup canon over the past decade.
In 2018, he swapped a long-time career as a media executive for one as a venture capitalist. This changing of lanes, relatively late in his professional life, has given him a refreshingly nuanced perspective on the Indian startup ecosystem (which he’s bestowed with the moniker of ‘Indus Valley’, as a nod to both Silicon Valley as well as the Indus Valley Civilisation, one of the cradles of the ancient world and the ancestral civilisation of the Indian people).
His most compelling insight? That India isn't the monolithic 1.5-billion-person market that many Westerners believe. Instead, it's three distinct "countries" hiding in plain sight. There's India One: 120 million affluent, English-speaking urbanites (think the population of Germany) who love their iPhones and Starbucks. Then comes India Two: 300 million aspiring middle-class citizens who inhabit the digital economy but not yet the consumption economy. Finally, there's India Three: a massive population with a similar demographic profile to Sub-Saharan Africa, that’s still waiting for its invitation to join India’s bright future.
‘India 1-2-3’ is one amongst many pearls of wisdom that Sajith gifted me over our conversation, that also touched on India as a "digital welfare state", India as a ‘low trust society’; the emergence of a new class of ‘Indo-Anglians’; how cultural nuances in India shape everything from app design to payment systems; and much, much more.
Whether you're an investor, founder, or just curious about where the next decade of innovation might come from, this conversation is your crash course to understanding India in the 21st century. Sajith likes to say that ‘India is not for beginners’. Well, if you are a beginner on India, this week you’re in luck.
For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack.
Important Links:
Show Notes:
- The Three Indias
- Navigating India in the 21st century
- India as a ‘low trust’ society
- Touring ‘India 2’
- The States and the Union
- Caste and Class in Modern India
- Governance and the Government
- Brain Drain
- The English Tax
- The Rise of the Indo-Anglians
- I, Writer
- On Media and Markets
- India as a Digital Welfare State
- The Virtues of Leapfrogging
- Sajith, The Emperor of the World
Books and Articles Mentioned:
- The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid; by C. K. Prahalad
- Supercommunicators; by Charles Duhigg
- Career Advice; by Scott Adams
- The Indus Valley Report 2024; by Blume VC