Arjun Khemani Podcast

My conversation with Aubrey de Grey, a biomedical gerontologist, founder of the LEV Foundation, and author of Ending Aging.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Timestamps0:00 - SENS vs. the Hallmarks of Aging2:47 - The Robust Mouse Rejuvenation experiment5:48 - Is SENS falsifiable?7:12 - CMLase and extracellular matrix damage10:28 - VEGF and extending lifespan in mice11:37 - Why longevity studies rarely get replicated13:05 - Michael Levin, bioelectricity & aging as information loss15:03 - Is partial reprogramming overhyped?17:32 - The most neglected areas of longevity research18:56 - Longevity escape velocity explained20:28 - Will people alive today live long enough?23:42 - How far are we from dramatically extending mouse lifespan?24:54 - What happens to society if we solve aging?27:20 - How longevity could reshape the global economy28:44 - Does mortality give life meaning?30:00 - Aubrey on the “pro-aging trance”31:34 - What Aubrey would do after solving aging This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

My conversation with Michael Levin, a biologist at Tufts University whose research explores bioelectricity, regeneration, morphogenesis, and how cells collectively process information to build and repair bodies.Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Timestamps0:00 - Causes and downstream effects of aging3:31 - Bioelectric patterns and memory in regeneration9:30 - Cracking the bioelectric code12:10 - The boredom theory of aging23:11 - The germline is ageless25:45 - Bioelectricity and epigenetic reprogramming27:15 - What experiment could falsify Mike’s ideas?29:13 - The role of aging clocks and biological age31:06 - Top-down control in biological systems39:09 - Consciousness and its implications48:25 - Changing human goals and preferences51:30 - The future of medicine This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Karl Pfleger is the founder of agingbiotech.info and an investor in several rejuvenation startups.Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Timestamps0:00 - Why lifespan is the wrong metric for aging progress7:28 - Is the hallmarks of aging expanding a problem?11:36 - Structures vs. processes: the key distinction in aging targets16:14 - Why Karl favors divide-and-conquer rejuvenation over slowing aging22:07 - Whole-body replacement and organ/cell-level rejuvenation26:56 - Is partial epigenetic reprogramming the kill-shot for aging? 35:24 - CMLase and reversing crosslink damage40:57 - Can AI just solve aging automatically?46:57 - Funding misallocation and the case for more aging biotech companies/VC57:28 - Objections to eliminating aging — and why none hold up1:01:27 - Karl critiques Bryan Johnson’s “Don’t Die” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

David D. Friedman is an anarcho-capitalist economist. He is the author of The Machinery of Freedom, Future Imperfect, and several other books. Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Timestamps0:00 – The economics of longevity8:05 – Epigenetic reprogramming12:37 – Overpopulation and the “ultimate resource”16:33 – Fluid vs. crystallized intelligence, aging and political power20:46 – Cryonics24:35 – AI, open source, and the surveillance state28:29 – Zcash, privacy, and cryptocurrency41:12 – Taxes, government, and money supply50:27 – A poem about tyranny and benevolence56:42 – Education and its resistance to change1:05:42 – Argentina, Milei, and planning for an uncertain future This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Sean Bowe is a core cryptographer and engineer who played a major role in building Zcash’s technology.Dev Ojha, also a cryptographer, is the founder of Osmosis. He is now working on helping Zcash scale and go post quantum.Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Timestamps0:00 - Why Dev’s working on Zcash12:24 - AI is surveillance’s ultimate weapon13:33 - Encrypted money must scale15:49 - Compliant “privacy” is an oxymoron19:25 - PIR for scaling Zcash36:35 - How Tachyon and PIR work hand in hand43:47 - Quantum recoverability47:18 - Is quantum the last cryptography problem?51:41 - Easier coinholder voting process1:03:15 - Zcash roadmap1:17:34 - What Zcash looks like at scale This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

Sean Bowe and Jack Grigg aka str4d are both cryptographic engineers working on the Zcash protocol. Sean’s latest project is Tachyon, intended to bring encrypted money into the hands of 8 billion people. Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Timestamps0:00 - Project Tachyon10:20 - Privacy can’t be an afterthought for a protocol15:24 - Encrypted Bitcoin22:11 - Soundness bug in original sprout pool30:15 - Sapling33:00 - A decade of progress39:04 - Zcash’s anonymity set51:29 - Using private money as a passthrough doesn’t work56:04 - The importance of ledger indistinguishability58:30 - The ultimate privacy stack1:05:58 - Tachyon removes all cryptographic bottlenecks of encrypted money1:08:16 - What’s next after Tachyon?1:15:25 - Weightless blockchains?1:18:24 - Ragu1:19:44 - What the next 12 months look like for Jack and Sean1:31:22 - “Everything worth doing is worth doing on ambitious timelines.” — Sean1:32:16 - Sean’s advice for young engineers1:34:18 - What got Sean and Jack into Zcash? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

My conversation with Samo Burja, founder of Bismarck Analysis. He chairs the editorial board of Palladium Magazine.Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Click here to support my work.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:18 - Live players5:41 - Great Founder Theory11:20 - Our material technology rests on our social interactions14:23 - Optimism, pessimism, and human agency23:21 - Operationalized knowledge25:22 - Lost and dead traditions of knowledge27:34 - Tradition of criticism29:36 - The most important piece of knowledge to preserve32:27 - Common features of declining societies39:18 - Are the Spartan warriors overrated and just had very good PR?42:07 - DOGE and bureaucracy in America45:28 - The machinery of freedom47:43 - Tech Samo is most excited about over the next 5 years50:10 - Curtis Yarvin and the orbital authority55:01 - Samo’s advice for young peopleFollow me on X.Follow Samo on X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

My conversation with Zooko Wilcox and Josh Swihart on unstoppable private money.Zooko Wilcox is a legendary cypherpunk and one of the founders of Zcash—private, digital money.Josh Swihart is the CEO of Electric Coin Company, the team behind the Zcash protocol and the Zashi wallet app.Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Timestamps0:00 - Maya Protocol integrates with Zcash3:52 - Coinbase social engineering attack7:43 - Private money negates capital controls14:13 - Privacy comes from money at rest18:24 - The Zashi effect and future roadmap25:11 - Project Tachyon39:10 - Zcash’s anonymity set doesn’t depend on the number of its users45:37 - Turnstiles in Zcash and the 2018 inflation bug57:28 - “ZK” has become a marketing stunt among crypto projects59:48 - On Binance delisting ZEC1:01:35 - A transition toward using crypto as it was originally intended1:04:52 - Should exchanges use transparent addresses?1:17:38 - Coin holder voting in Zcash1:23:38 - Sci-fi influence1:28:37 - Gary Gensler1:29:40 - Why I like ZcashFollow Zooko on X.Follow Josh on X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

My conversation with Ethan Thornton, founder of Mach Industries.Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Click here to support my work.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:07 - Why Mach needs to exist3:16 - Early experiments5:07 - Dropping out of MIT8:36 - Raising $85 million at 19 years old11:20 - Decentralized vertical supply chains13:54 - The most important domain of the next century15:55 - Betting on hydrogen18:11 - Overview of Viper and Glide21:06 - Building feedback loops across teams25:29 - Facing regulatory hurdles28:19 - Knowing when to be risk tolerant29:54 - Time until China invades Taiwan31:45 - The future of warfare42:29 - Takeaways from the (unmanned) war in Ukraine48:23 - Biggest influences on Ethan’s life49:37 - Mach’s long-term planFollow me on X.Follow Ethan on X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

My conversation with philosopher and author Peter Boghossian.Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.Watch on YouTube or X. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes.Click here to support my work.Timestamps0:00 - The enlightenment5:51 - The dangers of moral relativism21:28 - Modern education is failing us31:14 - What’s worth preserving in the West37:00 - Is wokeism filling the void left by atheism?38:04 - The spread of Islamism45:49 - Speech is not violence49:11 - Derangements of science52:48 - The myth of the framework56:34 - Why you should learn epistemology58:05 - The instinct to belong trumps what’s true1:02:44 - Chasing likes versus pursuing truth1:05:08 - What is Peter most optimistic and most pessimistic aboutFollow me on X.Follow Peter on X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com