Jim O'Shaughnessy is a superstar investor and venture capitalist who leads O'Shaughnessy Ventures and hosts the popular Infinite Loops podcast. He's also the coauthor of the new collection Two Thoughts, which compiles provocative quotes from figures ranging from Sam Adams and Ludwig von Mises to Frank Zappa.
O'Shaughnessy chats with Reason's Nick Gillespie about the power of free minds and free markets to improve the world, why societies thrive or perish, and how to build a better "bullshit detector" in an age of information overload. They discuss what went wrong during Joe Biden's presidency, particularly in relation to COVID-19 and AI policy, and what might go right under President Donald Trump's second term, especially if special interests are kept at bay.
1:17—Two Thoughts: A Timeless Collection of Infinite Wisdom
6:30—We're living through "The Great Reshuffle"
8:53—Thinkers vs. provers: Don't reach conclusions too quickly
13:43—Big plans fail better
25:58—Live your life, not just perform it
32:22—Using AI to stress test arguments
40:00—Bernays' rebranding of propaganda as identity
41:25—Free markets deliver through persuasion
44:59—Regulatory capture and crony capitalism
54:36—O'Shaughnessy's podcast Infinite Loops
1:12:12—Biden's economic legacy
1:17:35—Trump could possibly be better for innovation
1:20:24—How to curb rent-seeking from billionaires
