Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

Emil Michael directs the U.S. military’s research and development of advanced technologies. Previously, he led global business growth for Uber — one of the fastest moving organizations in Silicon Valley history. Can he bring that startup speed to the Department of War? What are the six critical areas of innovation he’s prioritizing? And how is he investing in these key technologies to bolster the defense industrial base?We’re honored to go inside the Pentagon for a special episode with Emil Michael, Chief Technology Officer and Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering. He oversees the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Office of Strategic Capital, and other critical organizations. Prior, he helped scale multiple businesses, including D-Wave Systems, Tellme Networks, and Uber Technologies. Earlier in his career, he also served as a White House Fellow and later on the Defense Business Board.We begin with Emil’s decision to join the Trump administration, and why he believes this is a generational opportunity to transform the culture and pace of innovation inside the Pentagon. Learn how he rolled out GenAI.mil (Google’s Gemini) to the entire force — roughly three million people — in a matter of months. Next, we dive into his decision to pare down the all-important Critical Technologies List, which drives the Pentagon’s R&D spending, from 14 areas to six. Then, we discuss the Department’s shift to a “commercial first” approach and what that means for the defense industrial base. Finally, we cover his priorities for the Office of Strategic Capital, plus how he’s thinking about talent and encouraging our best and brightest to step up and serve the country.[NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the United States capture and extradition of Nicolas Maduro]00:00 Episode intro01:40 Time to disrupt the Pentagon04:20 What did you learn from your first threat briefing? 06:30 Can you bring Uber speed to Dept of War? 08:45 Redefining the Critical Technologies List 13:30 Hypersonics and Golden Dome18:00 Commercial first approach and changing the culture 23:00 How to recruit the best talent into government 28:45 Optimism for the future This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Chris Sununu is an MIT-educated engineer who won four terms as governor of New Hampshire. Now, he's leading the charge for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. What are his key lessons in political leadership? Why is he telling Harvard students to be wary of AI? And are real fiscal constraints on Washington, D.C. close to becoming reality? The former governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu is now the President and CEO of Airlines for America and National Chair and Board Member of Balanced Budget Now, which has secured 27 of 34 states required to call a convention for a constitutional amendment. They're on the cusp of landing several more states and closing in on a convention of states, which he hopes will pressure Congress to step in and pass an amendment through the traditional process. This is a generational opportunity to upend how D.C. operates; my friends and I are supporting their work and hope you will too. We begin with Gov. Sununu's path to politics, and how he succeeded in lowering taxes, expanding school choice, and combating an opioid epidemic with a sharply divided state legislature. Next, we talk about the right political strategies for cutting wasteful spending, lessons from DOGE, and what he would do differently to make DOGE an enduring movement. Then, we dive into his efforts to get a balanced budget amendment across the finish line. Learn why nearly all states (even California, albeit it plays games with pension math) have a balanced budget requirement and what it will take to get D.C. on board. Finally, we discuss the AI revolution and why he's bullish on plumbers and welders over students pursuing "elite" white-collar professions. As Gov. Sununu suggests, more tradespeople and fewer lawyers might not be a bad thing for our society. 00:00 Episode intro01:34 MIT engineer turned governor 06:35 Fighting special interests 12:50 Lessons from DOGE 16:37 Forcing a Balanced Budget Amendment26:00 AI and welders vs lawyers 29:00 Making a Balanced Budget Amendment a reality This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

This week, OPM Director Scott Kupor launched the U.S. Tech Force to recruit an elite cohort of engineering talent into the federal government. What will it take to make public service cool again? What can he do to ensure the government hires, fires, and promotes based on performance? And what is he doing on merit and aptitude tests that could be one of the most important reforms of Trump’s entire presidency?We’re joined by Scott for a timely conversation about Tech Force, his role as Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and key civil service reforms. Previously, Scott built one of the leading venture capital firms as Managing Partner of Andreessen Horowitz. He also penned “Secrets of Sand Hill Road,” a definitive guide for raising capital and navigating the startup world.We begin our conversation with the importance of Tech Force — a two-year program designed to surge top programmers and designers into Washington, D.C. and create an enduring talent pipeline between the public and private sectors. Next, we explore Scott’s career in Silicon Valley, how he helped build a16z from the ground up, and the lessons he’s bringing to the White House. Then, we dive into his ambitious OPM agenda, starting with addressing rampant performance inflation, improving incentives for top performers, and removing artificial barriers, like years of service or college degrees, so we can get the best talent into the right jobs. Finally, we revisit the Pendleton Act of 1883 and how to bring merit back into civil service. Learn how Scott overturned a consent decree that will allow him to bring aptitude tests back into federal hiring — this could be one of the most consequential achievements of the Trump entire presidency! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

For decades, Philip Howard has been sounding the alarm: our government is broken, and tinkering around the edges won’t work. We need a new operating system. How did it break? What do both parties get wrong? And what will it take to revive the American spirit?Philip is the Founder of the Common Good, best-selling author, and one of the leaders in government and legal reform. His book “The Death of Common Sense” became a powerful force for bipartisan reforms in the 1990s between President Bill Clinton and Congressional Republicans. I’ve followed his work for many years, and his newest book, “Saving Can-Do,” offers important frameworks for injecting accountability and human judgement back into governance.We begin with the genesis of the red tape state, and why Philip believes the collective guilt of the 1960s led to well-intentioned but ill-designed policies that broke the government. He explains how law began to supplant human judgment, politicians stopped making hard decisions, and governance was outsourced to an instruction manual run by the professional class. Case in point: there are now 150 million words of binding federal rules, most added post-1970. The U.S Constitution, by contrast, is 7,500 words. Next, we dive into his new book, beginning with what makes the American “can-do” attitude unique. Then, he offers solutions for reinstating human authority into our institutions. And finally, a new framework for enabling America to build again. Philip makes the compelling case that what our republic needs most of all is a return to accountability over compliance, amateurs over professionals, and liberty over safetyism. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com

Michael Kratsios is the man of the hour, charged by President Trump to usher in the golden age of AI and American innovation. How is the White House approaching this revolution in technology? What does AI mean for the American worker? How do we stay ahead of China — and also persuade other nations to adopt U.S. tech over Chinese?We hosted this conversation at the 2025 Cicero Institute Courage Awards, where we recognize bold policymakers on both sides of the aisle for standing up to special interests and fighting for liberty. Amid the regulatory battle over AI, we were honored to feature Michael, who currently serves as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and a Senior Advisor to President Trump. In the first Trump term, he was the nation’s Chief Technology Officer and later acting Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. He started his career working for Peter Thiel, first at Clarium Capital and later Thiel Capital.We began our conversation with Michael’s journey to the White House, and his role leading the White House’s science and technology policy agenda. He outlined three key areas to winning the AI race: the right regulatory frameworks, the necessary infrastructure, and international engagement. How do we not only stay ahead of China but also persuade other nations to adopt our AI stack? Michael lays out the strategy. He also makes the case for a federal AI standard and explains why a patchwork of laws stifles innovation, hamstringing the upstarts and entrenching the incumbents. Finally, he lays out what AI will mean for the American worker, and as the man in charge of overseeing AI, quantum, space, and more, he reveals what keeps him up at night. We have a generational opportunity with AI to bring down the cost of living and lift up millions of lives; we’re grateful to have leaders like Michael at the helm. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com