Manifold
Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Join him for wide-ranging conversations with leading writers, scientists, technologists, academics, entrepreneurs, investors, and more.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 74 minutes
- Episodes
- 145
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Pascal Lottaz: Neutrality, Geopolitics, and International Conflict — #74
Pascal Lottaz is Associate Professor at Kyoto University’s Faculty of Law & Hakubi
Center. His research area is Neutrality Studies - the study of neutrality as a concept in international relations, so…
Letter from Shanghai: Reflections on China in 2024 — #73
- (00:00) - Overview: 3 weeks in China
- (02:33) - The China knowledge problem: Grappling with Reality
- (06:54) - Physics seminars in Shanghai and Beijing
- (15:54) - Chinese academia, challenges in scienti…
Letter from Beijing, with Han Feizi — #72
Han Feizi is the pseudonym of a columnist for Asia Times, who covers the Chinese economy, technology, and US-China competition. The author lives in Beijing, and has an extensive background in finance…
Seeking Truth From Facts: Israel and Iran, Missile Defense, China Economic Development
This is a crossover episode with the Seeking Truth From Facts podcast.
- (00:00) - Iranian missile attack vs Israel and missile defense
- (13:10) - Is there potential for a 1973-style oil crisis?
- (21:41…
Samo Burja: Intellectuals, Culture. and the Technosphere — #70
Samo Burja founded Bismarck Analysis, a consulting firm that investigates the political and institutional landscape of society. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Political Science at the Foresight In…
Deus Ex Machina: A Man, Machines, and God
This is a crossover episode in which https://x.com/loubohan interviews me for his podcast Deus Ex Machina.
I was obviously in an exuberant mood for this interview - it's one of my favorites!
Deus Ex Ma…
Seeking Truth From Facts: Alf & Steve Hsu — #68
This is a crossover episode in which Alf of the Seeking Truth from Facts podcast interviews Steve Hsu about the Chinese economy and political system, and US-China competition.
Seeking Truth From Facts…
Letter from Reykjavik: Genomics, Chess, Hyperscaling genAI, and Quantum Black Holes — #67
This is a short episode recorded at the end of a trip to Caltech (LA), Frankfurt, and Reykjavik.
Black hole information and replica wormholes at Caltech (talk slides):
https://stevehsu.substack.com/p/b…
Robin Hanson: Prediction Markets, the Future of Civilization, and Polymathy — #66
Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He has worked in a variety of fields, including Physics, AI, Economics, and Futurism.
Follow him at https://x.com/robinhanson
"When …
China Today: Myths and Realities — #65
Steve discusses China myths and realities with Victor, a tech founder who ran a company in Beijing for 7 years. Among the topics covered: economic growth, real estate bubble, technology innovation, h…
Ivy League Anonymous: Great Awokening and Campus Radicals — #64
Earlier episode, Harvard Veritas:
https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/harvard-veritas-interview-with-a-recent-graduate-anonymous-18
Chapter markers:
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (02:12) - Cam…
AI Global Odyssey: REAL Situational Awareness — #63
Steve talks about AI in light of his recent travels to SF, Singapore, Manila, Berkeley, and Silicon Valley.
Chapters:
- (00:00) - Overview: SF, Singapore, Manila, Berkeley
- (01:48) - The AI Bubble in Sili…
Philippe Lemoine: Bad Covid Science, Ukraine Analysis, and Philosophy — #62
Philippe Lemoine is a PhD candidate at Cornell University in philosophy and a widely-read public intellectual. We discuss philosophy, the scientific research used to justify COVID lockdowns, and the …
John Seo: Catastrophe Bonds and the Investor Choice Problem — Manifold #61
Dr John Seo is co-founder and a managing director at Fermat Capital Management, LLC. He has over 30 years’ experience in fixed income bond and derivatives trading and has been active in the Insurance…
Molson Hart: China and Amazon, Up Close — #60
Molson Hart is the CEO of Viahart, an educational toy company. He has deep experience selling products manufactured in China, using Amazon and other platforms. He produced a documentary about the cha…
Jaan Tallinn: AI Risks, Investments, and AGI — #59
Jaan Tallinn is a billionaire computer programmer and investor. He was a co-founder of Skype, and has invested in companies like DeepMind and Anthropic.
Tallinn is a leading figure in the field of exi…
Glenn Luk: China’s economic evolution, GDP, and high speed rail — #58
Glenn Luk has worked as an investment banker, private equity investor, and startup founder. He has closely analyzed aspects of the Chinese economy, including its GDP and high speed rail system.
Steve …
Casey Handmer: Terraform Industries and a carbon-neutral future — #57
Casey Handmer (PhD, Caltech, general relativity) is the founder of Terraform Industries. He is one of the most capable and ambitious geo-engineers on planet Earth!
Terraform Industries is scaling tech…
Russell Clark: Japan, China, and USD reserve status — #56
Russell Clark is a hedge fund investor who has lived and worked in both Japan and China. He writes the widely followed Substack Capital Flows and Asset Markets: https://www.russell-clark.com/
Steve an…
Stephen Grugett: Predicting the Future with Manifold Markets — #55
Stephen Grugett is the co-founder of Manifold Markets, the world's largest prediction market platform where people bet on politics, tech, sports, and more.
Steve and Stephen discuss:
0:00 Introduction
…