🇺🇸 United States Episodes

Niti Bhan studies business strategy for Africa's informal markets: the small shops and stands, skilled craftspeople and laborers who are the invisible engine that keeps the continent's economy running. It's tempting to think of these workers as tax-dodgers, even criminals -- but Bhan makes the case that this booming segment of the economy is legitimate and worthy of investment. If we do, she says, we might create thousands more jobs. "These are the fertile seeds of businesses and enterprises," Bhan says. "Can we start by recognizing these skills and occupations?" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben & David cover the proposed largest tech M&A deal of all time, and in the process dive into the evolving dynamics of the industry that started everything in Silicon Valley—silicon. Just when VCs thought innovation was dead in semiconductors, a new wave of startups and large companies are redrawing the lines of competition in an industry dominated for a half-century by the “Wintel” duopoly of Intel and Microsoft.Sponsors:Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierraSentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryAnthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Vanta: https://vanta.com/acquired More Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCTopics Covered Include:Innovation and disruption in the semiconductor industry over the past two years Intel’s acquisition of Nervana Graphcore and other ML-focused semiconductor startupsCDMA and the telephone network effect Qualcomm’s early cell phone handsets Vertical integration + commoditization in smartphone chipsets The Carve Out:Ben: The de-watering of Niagara FallsDavid: Big Daddy’s AntiquesBonus: The Mystery Show

New York Times columnist, political pundit and bestselling author David Brooks reveals how we can discover and build a stronger, more meaningful moral character and deeper inner life. David shares his personal and well-researched path on the road to “save his own soul.” He takes listeners on a journey through history, sharing examples of people who cultivated their own character with self-sacrifice and honor. David also shares his thoughts on vulnerability, the importance of believing in yourself and gaining strength from those around you.

There's a new C-level role in town: the CCO, or Chief Customer Officer. This episode (based on a previous event) is all about the rise of this new role, why it's so important -- and what the actual scope and function of the role should be. a16z's Ma...

Kayla Briët creates art that explores identity and self-discovery -- and the fear that her culture may someday be forgotten. She shares how she found her creative voice and reclaimed the stories of her Dutch-Indonesian, Chinese and Native American heritage by infusing them into film and music time capsules. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With warmth and grace, Beth Malone tells the deeply personal story of her dad's struggle with frontotemporal lobe dementia, and how it changed her idea of death (and life). A moving talk about a daughter's love -- and of letting go and finding peace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Carlin is an amateur historian and former radio talk show host. He now hosts two popular podcasts available on Spotify: "Common Sense" and "Hardcore History". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Rogan sits down to discuss Pettis/Poirier, Holloway/Aldo, Conor McGregor, Stipe Miocic, Colby Covington, the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Military leaders have known for millennia that the time to prepare for a challenge is before it hits you, says scientist and retired US Navy officer David Titley. He takes us from the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria to the icy shores of Svalbard to show how the military approaches the threat of climate change, in a refreshingly practical, nonpartisan take on climate preparedness. "The ice doesn't care who's in the White House. It doesn't care which party controls your congress. It doesn't care which party controls your parliament," Titley says. "It just melts." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prolific TV show creator, writer and executive producer Shonda Rhimes reflects on her memoir “Year of Yes.” The force behind the hit shows "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder," Shonda explains how saying “yes” for one year allowed her to live a more awakened life. She also shares the one sentence to use when you want to say “no” without feeling rude.

In your company’s darkest moment, remember: You CAN pivot from failure to success. But only if you slash and burn everything that isn’t working. Slack’s co-founder and CEO, Stewart Butterfield, has twice navigated this kind of Big Pivot. He launched two different game companies, which both (surprise!) turned into game-changing communications platforms: Flickr and Slack. Hear the thinking behind making a hard left turn —and bringing your team along with you.Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/stewart-butterfield-the-big-pivot/Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian Regan is one of the top stand-up comedians working today. His new Netflix special "Nunchucks and Flamethrowers" comes out on November 21, and you can find him touring all over the country at BrianRegan.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Freek Vermeulen, an associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the London Business School, argues that too many companies are following so-called best practices that are actually holding them back. They do it because of deep-seated industry tradition—and because it’s hard to know how seemingly successful business models will hold up over the long term. That’s why, he says, organizations should avoid benchmarking and instead routinely test their business practices before there’s a problem. Vermeulen is the author of “Breaking Bad Habits: Defy Industry Norms and Reinvigorate Your Business.”

What do you think would happen if you invited an individual with mental health issues who had been homeless for many years to move directly from the street into housing? Loyd Pendleton shares how he went from skeptic to believer in the Housing First approach to homelessness -- providing the displaced with short-term assistance to find permanent housing quickly and without conditions -- and how it led to a 91 percent reduction in chronic homelessness over a ten-year period in Utah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gender should be the least remarkable thing about someone, but transgender people are still too often misunderstood. To help those who are scared to ask questions or nervous about saying the wrong thing, Jackson Bird shares a few ways to think about trans issues. And in this funny, frank talk, he clears up a few misconceptions about pronouns, transitioning, bathrooms and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest this week is unique. As you will hear early and often, he is programmed to go his own way, to, as he says, go one way when everyone else is going another. His name is Dhani Jones, a name I knew as a Notre Dame football fan, because he won a championship with our arch-rivals, the University of Michigan, in the late 90’s. Dhani went on to a long and successful career in the NFL, but even more interesting has been his many pursuits in business and investing outside of football. Like my conversation with Tim Urban, I’ll remember this conversation as a reminder to use a first principles mindset. Dhani seems to have this fresh mindset baked into his character, and as you’ll hear this has led to many a great adventure. Please enjoy my conversation with athlete, businessman, investor, philanthropist, movie buff, and bowtie wearer, Dhani Jones.                                                For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. To get involved with Project Frontier, head to InvestorFieldGuide.com/frontier. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag   Show Notes 1:30 - (First Question) –  A introduction into Dhani Jones and everything he’s done 5:35 – How did Dhani change throughout his football career 9:55 – The power of your mind in every aspect of life 10:34 – Most memorable experience in the NFL 13:10 – Making the transition from the NFL to the business world 18:20 – Looking at Bowtie Cause 22:40 – The role of creative agencies in Dhani’s ventures and why story telling is so important for him 26:48 – Looking at some of the TV stuff that Dhani has done, particularly around travel 28:21 – Dhani’s favorite movie 30:35 – Back to the joy of travel and “Dhani Tackles the Globe.” 36:54 – How does Dhani think about risk 38:56 – Some of the other sports and activities Dhani did while filming his show 41:45 – The psychological benefit of travel in your personal and business life 44:41 – Looking into the business part of Dhani’s career 51:19 – How to expand diversity in the financial world 54:56 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Dhani   Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.  Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag

Iliza Shlesinger is a comedian, host, and writer. She was the 2008 winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing and went on to host the dating show Excused and also Separation Anxiety on TBS. Her new book "Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity" is available now on Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2011, Teresa Njoroge was convicted of a financial crime she didn't commit -- the result of a long string of false accusations, increasing bribe attempts and the corrupt justice system in her home in Kenya. Once incarcerated, she discovered that most of the women and girls locked up with her were also victims of the same broken system, caught in a revolving door of life in and out of prison due to poor education and lack of economic opportunity. Now free and cleared by the courts of appeal, Njoroge shares how she's giving women in prison the skills, tools and support they need to break the cycle of poverty and crime and build a better life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Vice President Joe Biden reflects on his political career and his personal tragedies. The vice president shares how his faith informed his toughest moments, including his decision not to run for president and the death of his beloved son Beau. He also discusses a time in his life when he lost his faith and describes the journey to get it back.

Hiring a VP of Product -- especially as the founder of the company -- can almost feel like handing over your baby to someone else to hold, observes a16z executive talent team partner Caroline Horn, who hosted an event on this topic earlier this year ...