North Star Podcast

Ruins are special. They freeze a moment in time forever. They remind us of the shortness of life and the inevitable entropy of history. Paul's book, River of Ink, is predicated on the idea of bringing ancient cities back to life in a fictional context. In this episode, we talk about the academy in the internet age, compare functional and sacred architecture, and dream about time travel. We explore the strange and perplexing history of the Roman Colosseum and investigate letters written on clay tablets in a

Today’s guest is Kyle Chayka, a Brooklyn based writer who has been published in New York Times, Verge, Business Week and more. His studies in International Relations at Tufts University led him to live in Beijing, where he initially noticed the impact social platforms were having on internationalization. In 2015 he wrote his essay, Welcome to Airspace, dissecting the effect of the growing decentralized geography born from technology and digital platforms.

Today’s guest is Matt Levine, a columnist at Bloomberg covering finance, Wall Street and the broader business world. Before blogging, Matt spent four years as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, structuring and marketing corporate equity derivatives. Before that, he worked as a mergers & acquisitions lawyer and a high school latin teacher. He’s also a graduate of both Harvard and Yale Law School. Matt’s newsletter, Money Stuff is always fresh and I admire Matt’s ability to discuss complex topics

Tyler Cowen is an economics professor at George Mason University. He runs the Mercatus Center, which bridges the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. He blogs every day at Marginal Revolution, writes for Bloomberg, and hosts his own podcast called Conversations with Tyler. He writes about economics, arts, culture, food, and globalization.   As I prepared for this episode, I settled on three things that I wanted to focus on: how Tyler thinks about travel, the rise of China and India, an

All of the buildings that we interact with every day tend to be completely overlooked and treated as something that isn’t even worth discussing, and yet that’s where we spend most of our lives.” Today’s guest is Geoff Manaugh, who explores the intersection of architecture, technology, and landscapes. As a professor, he’s taught classes in both the United States and in Australia on topics such as blackouts, the future of cinema, geo-engineering, and the possibility of a San Andreas fault national

Today’s guest is Eugene Wei, who's spent his career working at some of the world’s best technology companies including Amazon, Hulu, and Facebook. He joined Amazon in 1997 after graduating from Stanford and it was at Amazon that he watched Jeff Bezos turn a small little internet bookstore into “The Everything Store” that were all so familiar with. After leaving Amazon, Eugene moved to New York to become a film editor before moving to Los Angeles to become a director. That summer he joined the compa

Scott Belsky helps creative people, teams, and networks make ideas happen.  In this episode, we talk about how Scott has merged the worlds of business, technology, and design. Scott shares insights on how to reinvent yourself throughout your career, and discusses the future of media and technology. I love what Scott had to say about design, where he draws from numerous trips to Japan where he was awestruck by the culture, their attention to detail and the care they bring to their craft.  Today, Scott i

Douglas Abrams is the founder of Idea Architects, a book publishing, and media company that works with visionary authors to create a wiser, healthier, and more just world. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have both survived more than fifty years of exile. Both have endured the soul-crushing violence of oppression. And yet despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. Doug recognized this and

Albert Wenger is a partner at Union Square Ventures. Before joining USV, Albert was the president of del.icio.us through the company’s sale to Yahoo and an angel investor in Etsy and Tumblr. He previously founded or co-founded several companies, including a management consulting firm and an early hosted data analytics company. Albert graduated from Harvard College, where he studied economics and computer science and holds a Ph.D. in Information Technology from MIT.  In this episode, we talk about what

Ari Paul is co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of BlockTower Capital. He was previously a portfolio manager for the University of Chicago's $8 billion endowment. Ari earned a BA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the University of Chicago with concentrations in economics, entrepreneurship, strategic management, and econometrics & statistics. In this episode, we talk about Ari’s passion for poker, and what the game taught him about investing, risk, and table se

Heather Hartnett is the CEO and founding partner of Human Ventures. She leads the Human Ventures team and advises each of Human Ventures’ portfolio companies. Heather brings a fresh new perspective to the technology scene and Business Insider recently featured Human Ventures as the first female-led startup studio in New York City. Heather was also named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in America by Marie Claire. Before Human Ventures, Heather founded a FinTech company incubated within City Light C

Josh Wolfe is the co-founder and managing partner at Lux Capital, which invests in the intersection of science and technology at the outermost edge of what is possible. He partners with innovators challenging the status quo and even the laws of nature. The more ambitious, the better. Josh is a published scientist himself. He's a founding investor and board member with Bill Gates in Kymeta, a company that makes cutting-edge antennas for high-speed global satellite and space communications. And before Lux Ca

Shane Parrish is a partner at Syrus Partners and the mind behind one of my favorite blogs, Farnam Street. The blog is devoted to helping you develop an understanding of how the world really works, make better decisions, and live a better life. Shane writes about mental models, decision making, learning, reading, and the art of living. He draws from both the sciences and the humanities, expanding the intellectual horizons of his readers, helping them connect ideas, think in multidisciplinary ways, and cul

"Everything you wear is a costume of some kind. Everything speaks to what you're thinking about, what you're feeling, what you represent, and where you're from - so it's very personal." Greg Rosborough is the co-founder and design director of Abasi Rosborough. As a fashion designer, he thinks about the interaction between anatomy and functionality. He designs in juxtapositions, combining ancient with modern, minimal with monumental, and interesting with ease. Greg grew up in Tucson, Arizona where he atte

My guest today is Mark Broadie, a Golf Statistician and Professor at Columbia Business School. I first found Mark through his book Every Shot Counts, which transformed golf statistics and analytics forever. Marcus worked with many of the world's best golfers, including Francesco Molinari, and Justin Rose, who became the world's number one golfer as a result of their work together.