#834: David Baszucki, Co-Founder of Roblox - The Path to 150M+ Daily Users, Critical Business Decisions, Ketogenic Therapy for Brain Health, Daily Routines, The Roblox Economy, and More
Tim Ferriss interviews Roblox founder and CEO David Bazuki about his family's multi‑year struggle with his son Matthew's severe bipolar disorder and how a medically supervised ketogenic diet produced dramatic improvements after many medications and hospitalizations. They discuss metabolic psychiatry, ketosis, continuous glucose and ketone monitoring, and how physiology can underpin mental health. The conversation then shifts to the origin and growth of Roblox, its user‑generated economy, safety and civility at scale, the role of AI in the platform's future, and David's own health routines and long‑term decision‑making as a public company CEO.
Advice Line with Niraj Shah of Wayfair
In this Advice Line episode of How I Built This Lab, host Guy Raz and Wayfair co-founder and CEO Neeraj Shah take calls from three founders seeking help with branding, financing, and career-risk decisions. They discuss how to clearly communicate a novel cooking ingredient (CookStix), when and how to seek funding for a mineral sunscreen brand (Daily Shade), and how a founder of a solo-women-travel housing app (HerHouse) should think about leaving a well-paid job. Neeraj also reflects on his long co-founder relationship, Wayfair's scale and focus strategy, and the non-linear nature of entrepreneurial journeys.
5 AI Tools I'd Use to Make $1M (w/o employees, capital, or time)
Sam and Greg walk through a series of AI-powered tools and workflows that they personally use to boost productivity, create content, and make better business and financial decisions. They demonstrate concrete use cases for deepfake-style video generation, AI-first web browsing, voice dictation, AI spreadsheets, TikTok automation, and automated job applications, while also touching on the risks and ethical concerns around scams, spam, and brain-rotting content. The conversation balances excitement about arbitrage opportunities for people going from zero to one with unease about how pervasive and manipulative AI-generated content could become.
Content Warning
Host Simon Adler talks with law professor Kate Koenig about how social media content moderation has shifted in recent years, especially under the influence of TikTok's proactive, algorithm-driven model. They contrast earlier "keep it up unless we have to take it down" approaches with newer systems that pre-screen and algorithmically promote or bury content, raising concerns about prior restraint, invisible censorship, and concentrated power over public discourse. The episode also revisits controversies like the Hunter Biden laptop story and COVID-19 lab leak discussions, explores the idea of platforms as "platform islands" or camouflaged broadcasters, and considers the future "productification" of speech.
Instagram Goes PG-13, ChatGPT Allows Erotica, and Netflix Grabs Podcasts
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss a series of political and tech stories, including leaked racist and violent Telegram messages from young Republican leaders and J.D. Vance's response, Virginia Giuffre's new book on Jeffrey Epstein, and concerns about Gavin Newsom's approach to AI regulation. They examine OpenAI's plan to allow erotica for verified adults, the risks of AI-powered synthetic relationships and pornography for young men, Instagram's new teen protections, and broader debates about regulating tech platforms and protecting minors. The hosts also cover Meta's removal of an ICE-doxxing Facebook page, fears of weaponizing agencies like the IRS and Pentagon under Trump, criticism of Mark Benioff's call for the National Guard in San Francisco, the Pentagon's contested new press rules, and Netflix's move to bring video podcasts onto its platform as part of a larger shift from traditional TV to low-cost podcast-based video content.
Deepfakes and the War on Truth with Bogdan Botezatu
The episode explores how scams and cybercrime are being transformed by AI, deepfakes, and global connectivity, with cybersecurity expert Bogdan Botezatu explaining the scale of financial losses and the sophisticated business structures behind modern scams. The conversation covers deepfake-driven fraud, psychological manipulation tactics like pig butchering romance scams, technical tools such as honeypots, and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure like solar inverters. The guests also discuss the challenges of detecting deepfakes, the role of law enforcement partnerships, and why reporting scams is crucial despite the stigma victims often feel.
How two straight guys bought Grindr and made $2B
The hosts interview two entrepreneurs and operators who led the acquisition of Grindr from its Chinese owner under a forced divestiture and then took it public for a $2 billion valuation. They explain Grindr's origin, why U.S. regulators forced the sale, how homophobia and perceived risks created a buyer's opportunity, and the operational turnaround they executed across talent, tech, product, trust and safety, and monetization. The conversation broadens into how they approach private equity deals vs. startups, the use of leverage and risk reduction, opportunities and disruption in AI, crypto, and healthcare, and reflections on long careers in tech, investing, and choosing the right partners.
Two ways AI is changing the business of crime (Two Indicators)
The episode explores two ways artificial intelligence is reshaping criminal activity: AI-powered voice cloning scams targeting individuals and banks, and AI-driven trading bots that can destabilize or manipulate financial markets. In the first half, the hosts demonstrate a voice deepfake scam, talk to a fraud-prevention entrepreneur and a bank executive about weaknesses in voice authentication and the shift to layered security, and discuss how consumers can better protect themselves. In the second half, experts explain how more autonomous trading algorithms can unintentionally collude, raising hard questions about liability, regulation, and the broader risks AI poses to market integrity.
OpenAI Backtracks, Elon's Netflix Boycott, and Instagram Safety Features
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss U.S. immigration crackdowns under President Trump, including National Guard deployments, ICE raids, and the use of masked agents, arguing these tactics are authoritarian and designed to inflame division. They examine how tech platforms and algorithms amplify rage, debate OpenAI's Sora copyright policy and its impact on Hollywood and creative workers, and analyze Elon Musk's call to boycott Netflix, SpaceX's Chinese funding, and SpaceX's growing power in satellite-based mobile service. The episode also covers Instagram's inadequate teen safety measures, the mental health impact of social media on youth, and a Trump-era higher education compact that would reshape university admissions, ideology on campus, foreign enrollment, and pricing.
Going viral taught me the internet is broken - but fixable | Deja Foxx
Host Elise Hu introduces a TED 2025 talk by activist and content creator Deja Fox, who recounts how a viral confrontation with her senator over access to birth control thrust her into the public eye as a teenager. She describes both the opportunities and harms that came with online fame, including coordinated harassment and the absence of effective platform protections. Fox then highlights girl- and women-led digital collectives and platforms that prioritize safety, privacy, respect, and user ownership, calling for a "girl internet" and inviting listeners to help build a more equitable digital future.
Beyond the Talk: Deja Foxx on finding alternative online spaces
Host Elise Hu interviews activist and digital strategist Deja Fox about how teen girls and young women are using social media and alternative online platforms to build power and community. Fox reflects on her viral confrontation with a senator over birth control access, her work on Kamala Harris's 2024 campaign, and her decision to run for Congress. They also discuss the gendered harms of current tech architecture, including AI-enabled deepfakes and digital violence, and what safer, more inclusive women-led online spaces could look like.
The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O'Reilly, and Chuck Nice interview social psychologist Jonathan Haidt about his book "The Anxious Generation" and the mental health crisis among Gen Z. Haidt argues that a combination of overprotected, low-risk real-world childhoods and underprotected exposure to smartphones and social media has driven sharp rises in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and loneliness, especially among girls. He outlines evidence for the crisis, explains developmental brain mechanisms, details platform-specific harms, and proposes four social norms and policy changes to roll back the "phone-based childhood," while warning about emerging AI chatbot toys aimed at children.
#482 - Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature
Lex Friedman interviews Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, about his philosophy on freedom, discipline, technology, and the design of secure, scalable messaging systems. Pavel describes his strict lifestyle, his refusal to compromise on user privacy under pressure from powerful governments, and the technical and organizational principles behind Telegram's lean but highly productive engineering team. They also discuss government overreach, Pavel's legal ordeal in France, earlier clashes with Russia and Iran, the economics and crypto ecosystem around Telegram, and broader reflections on human nature, education, abundance, and mortality.