Podcast · 113 episodes
Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist
by Joe Lonsdale · English
American Optimist, hosted by Joe Lonsdale: entrepreneur, investor, and founder of four multi-billion dollar companies and other mission-driven organizations. American Optimist is an alternative to the fear, cynicism, and zero-sum thinking in mainstream media. Learn from the innovators and leaders who are solving our nation’s most pressing challenges, and doing it in a way that will lift everyone up. Hope should dominate our discourse, and American Optimist will show you why. blog.joelonsdale.com
Latest episodes
Ep 163: John Jovanovic on Turning Around the U.S. Export-Import Bank, Trump’s $12B Critical Mineral Reserve, and "Revenge of the Physical World"John Jovanovic, president/chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, explains Ex-Im’s turnaround and its role in Trump-era reindustrialization: returning the bank to profitability, supporting jobs,…29 Sep 2026 · 44 min
Ep 162: Brian Chau Built an AI That Uncovers Fraud — It Just Found a $21 Billion Racial Wealth TransferBrian Chow (Effort.News) explains using AI to query long-running U.S.18 Sep 2026 · 45 min
Ep 161: Generalist CEO Pete Florence on the Robot Revolution & Bringing General Intelligence to the Physical WorldGeneralist CEO Pete Florence argues robotics is entering a “GPT-3 era,” where foundation models trained on massive physical-interaction data can be rapidly adapted to new tasks, enabling general…24 Aug 2026 · 37 min
All episodes
Ep 163: John Jovanovic on Turning Around the U.S. Export-Import Bank, Trump’s $12B Critical Mineral Reserve, and "Revenge of the Physical World"John Jovanovic, president/chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, explains Ex-Im’s turnaround and its role in Trump-era reindustrialization: returning the bank to profitability, supporting jobs,…29 Sep 2026 · 44 min · 23 chapters
Ep 162: Brian Chau Built an AI That Uncovers Fraud — It Just Found a $21 Billion Racial Wealth TransferBrian Chow (Effort.News) explains using AI to query long-running U.S.18 Sep 2026 · 45 min · 23 chapters
Ep 161: Generalist CEO Pete Florence on the Robot Revolution & Bringing General Intelligence to the Physical WorldGeneralist CEO Pete Florence argues robotics is entering a “GPT-3 era,” where foundation models trained on massive physical-interaction data can be rapidly adapted to new tasks, enabling general…24 Aug 2026 · 37 min · 22 chapters
Ep 160: Box CEO Aaron Levie on Silicon Valley's AI Problem, Evidence for AI Job Creation & What Doomers and Accelerationists Get WrongSilicon Valley’s AI “problem,” why AI will create jobs via market adaptation, and why doomers/accelerationists misread the timeline; also how AI diffusion into real enterprise workflows is the main…30 Jul 2026 · 43 min · 21 chapters
Ep 159: Aaron Cannon Is Building the Leading AI Customer Research Platform; It's About to Upend a $140B IndustryOutset’s AI-moderated research platform replaces low-quality surveys and unscalable one-on-one interviews with AI-led, one-on-one customer interviews that scale “infinitely” while preserving…2 Jul 2026 · 40 min · 22 chapters
Ep 158: Nima Ghamsari on Blend's Comeback & the Power of AI Agents and Infinite WorkforceNima Ghamsari (Blend CEO) discusses Blend’s “Act 2” comeback, the mortgage industry’s shift from manual verification to digital workflows, and how agentic AI “Autopilot” creates an “infinite…18 Jun 2026 · 39 min · 17 chapters
Ep 157: Scott Nolan on the AI Energy Crisis & America's Nuclear RenaissanceScott Nolan argues the “AI energy crisis” is really a grid expansion and, especially, electricity-cost problem.5 Jun 2026 · 40 min · 14 chapters
Ep 156: Coleman Hughes Takes on America's Most Contentious Debate: the Legacy of SlaveryColeman Hughes argues that America should study the legacy of slavery without turning it into a partisan “weapon” that assigns moral worth by race.29 May 2026 · 50 min · 22 chapters
Ep 155: Eric Scott on the Biggest Missed Opportunity in Venture InvestingEric Scott (Overlook Capital) argues venture is missing “economically invisible” opportunities: many fast-growing, high-PMF companies solving major problems (finance, healthcare, education, etc.) are…22 May 2026 · 30 min · 12 chapters
Ep 154: Jacob Helberg on Pax Silica & the New Global Order in the AI AgeUndersecretary Jacob Helberg discusses “Pax Silica,” an AI-era economic security coalition aimed at securing critical supply chains (minerals, energy, logistics) and boosting allied growth to compete…19 May 2026 · 34 min · 20 chapters
Ep 153: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar on Heretics, AI Weapons, and Rebuilding the Arsenal of DemocracyPalantir CTO Shyam Sankar (Sean Sankar) discusses “heretics” in defense innovation, AI-enabled targeting via faster OODA loops, and rebuilding the U.S.8 May 2026 · 44 min · 24 chapters
Ep 152: Ben Black Runs America's $200B Foreign Investment Fund; Here's His Plan to Counter China & Rebuild American InfluenceBen Black, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), explains DFC’s $205B reauthorization and strategy to use private-capital-style investing to advance U.S.30 Apr 2026 · 39 min · 16 chapters
Ep 151: The Myth of Michael Milken with Richard SandlerRichard Sandler argues that the “myth” around Michael Milken’s 1980s prosecution is built on repeated, inaccurate claims, and uses the case to warn about how government power and media narratives can…24 Apr 2026 · 41 min · 19 chapters
Ep 150: How AI Is Transforming Diligence, Decision-Making & the Future of Investing with John Melas-KyriaziHow AI is changing private-market investing—especially diligence, decision-making, and portfolio/LP workflows—via “technical co-pilots,” agent-driven reporting, and benchmarked data.17 Apr 2026 · 35 min · 14 chapters
Ep 149: Will Fry on the Small Business Succession Crisis & New Opportunities in the AI AgeSmall business succession crisis (“silver tsunami”) and how AI can boost revenue for service businesses rather than eliminate jobs; American Operator’s model for turning employees into owners and…9 Apr 2026 · 35 min · 18 chapters
Ep 148: JoeBen Bevirt, Founder & CEO of Joby Aviation — Flying Cars Have ArrivedJoby Aviation’s progress toward FAA-certified electric VTOL “flying cars,” rollout plans via the U.S.3 Apr 2026 · 38 min · 22 chapters
Ep 147: Scott Wu & Russell Kaplan on the New Era of Software Abundance“New era of software abundance” driven by AI coding agents, especially Cognition’s Devin, and how it changes engineering workflows and society (including government modernization).27 Mar 2026 · 53 min · 26 chapters
Ep 146: Jake Paul & Geoff Woo on Building Anti Fund, the Future of the Creator Economy & How to Change the CultureIn this episode of *American Optimist*, Joe Lonsdale hosts Jake Paul, a prominent social media influencer, entrepreneur, and boxer, alongside Geoff Woo, co-founder of Anti Fund.19 Mar 2026 · 36 min · 18 chapters
Ep 145: SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on Exposing Billions in Fraud & What AI Means for Small BusinessIn this episode, Joe Lonsdale interviews Kelly Loeffler, the Small Business Administrator, discussing her role in supporting small business ownership and her efforts to combat fraud in federal…13 Mar 2026 · 31 min · 22 chapters
Ep 144: Jared Isaacman's Bold Vision for Moon Bases, Nuclear Power in Space, and Returning NASA to GreatnessIn this episode, host Joe Lonsdale interviews Jared Isaacman, a successful entrepreneur, pilot, and the current head of NASA.3 Mar 2026 · 32 min · 12 chapters
Ep 143: JD Ross on the New Invention Era & Building with AI in 2026In this episode of *American Optimist*, host Joe Lonsdale engages JD Ross, a notable entrepreneur and founder of several successful companies, including Opendoor and his current venture, WithCoverage.27 Feb 2026 · 36 min · 18 chapters
Ep 142: Understanding the AI Wave with 8VC's Alex Kolicich & Jack MoshkovichIn this episode, Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur and investor, engages in a deep conversation with his partners at 8VC, Alex Kolicich and Jack Moshkovich, about the implications of the rapid advancements…17 Feb 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 34 chapters
Ep 141: AI Hackers Are Here; Cybersecurity Legend Kevin Mandia Is Building the AnswerCybersecurity amidst rising AI threats, Kevin Mandia's journey, and insights on how to defend against cyberattacks.4 Feb 2026 · 39 min · 18 chapters
Ep 140: SEC Chairman Paul Atkins on Making IPOs Great Again, Crypto's Comeback & New Rules for Retail InvestorsPaul Atkins, Chairman of the SEC26 Jan 2026 · 46 min · 24 chapters