E35: Samo Burja on Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and George Soros

"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

In this episode, Erik sits down with Samo Burja, political scientist and founder of Bismarck Analysis. They discuss Samo's term "live player" and today's live players, including Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and George Soros.

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We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

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RELATED PODCAST

Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today's most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. Listen to Live Players: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers.

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SPONSORS:

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X / TWITTER:

@SamoBurja (Samo)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@upstream__pod

@turpentinemedia

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:50) What are "live players?"

(05:05) Samo’s worldview

(10:35) Reflections on the energy transition

(15:35) Sponsor: Shopify

(18:40) Sam Altman as a live player

(22:25) OpenAI’s culture vs Microsoft’s culture

(25:45) Sam Altman vs Elon Musk vs Peter Thiel

(30:35) Sponsor: Oracle

(32:40) Understanding different perspectives on capitalism

(33:45) The role of live players in society

(38:05) Can we train live players?

(43:20) The evolution of live players

(48:10) Philanthropists as live players: Bill Gates, the Kochs, etc

(55:50) The paradox of open society advocates

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [e-mail].

Producer: Sam Kaufman

Editor: Graham Bessellieu

For guest or sponsorship inquiries please contact [e-mail]