The Puck: Venture Capital and Beyond
Episodes
Episode 115: Joe Antos
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
America’s healthcare debate has been stuck for decades — framed as a political fight between left and right. But what if that’s the wrong lens e...
Episode #115: Joseph Tainter | Complexity, Energy, and the Fragility of Modern Civilization
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Why do societies collapse—and what does that tell us about the future of the global economy?In this episode of The Puck, Jim Baer speaks with anthr...
Episode 114: Doug Noland
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is the largest financial bubble in history hiding in plain sight?In this episode of The Puck, Jim Baer sits down with veteran market analyst Doug No...
Episode 113: Mark Zandi of Moody's
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when record stock prices meet record government debt — and nobody really knows what’s under the hood? This week on The Puck, Jim Bae...
Episode 112: Bill Gurley
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What do most people regret at the end of their careers? According to legendary venture capitalist Bill Gurley, it’s not the failures — it’s the ...
Episode 111: Jimmy Wales
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to build trust on the internet—at global scale? In Episode 111 of The Puck: Venture Capital & Beyond, Jim Baer sits down with Jimm...
Episode 110: Jack Goldstone
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Puck, Jim Baer sits down with Jack Goldstone—the Hazel Chair Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University and one of...
Episode #109 — Vincent Deluard: Fiscal Dominance, Inflation Waves & the Future of the U.S. Economy
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Global macro strategist Vincent Deluard joins Jim Baer for a direct, data-driven conversation about the new economic regime taking shape in the U.S. a...
Episode 108: Matthew Continetti on Conservatism’s Next Chapter
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's episode, Jim talks with Matthew Continetti about the real story of the American Right—how conservatism evolved, why populism exploded...
Episode 107: Francis Fukuyama Revisits The End of History
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jim Baer talks with Francis Fukuyama — author of The End of History and the Last Man — about the fragility of liberal democracy in an age of risin...
Episode 106 — Oliver Burkeman: Embracing Limits, Finding Meaning
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Puck, Jim Baer sits down with acclaimed author and journalist Oliver Burkeman, whose books Four Thousand Weeks and The Antidote...
Episode 105: Dan Koch: Music, Faith, Trauma & Why Reality Heals
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Musician turned therapist Dan Koch joins The Puck: Venture Capital & Beyond to share his remarkable journey from touring in a rock band to pioneering ...
Episode 104: Aaron David Miller on the Future of Israeli-Palestinian Peace
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As violence flares in Gaza and the Middle East teeters on the edge of a wider crisis, The Puck turns to Aaron David Miller — a senior fellow at the ...
Ep. 103 — Anat Admati on Financial Fragility, Accountability, and the Future of Capitalism
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stanford professor and financial reform advocate Anat Admati joins Jim to unpack the growing fragility in our financial system and the dangerous myths...
Ep. 102 – John B. Judis: Populism, Realignment, and the Fight for America’s Future
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist and author John B. Judis joins Jim to unpack the political chaos of our time—from Trump and Sanders to shifting class loyalties, cultural...
Episode 101 – David French: Moral Clarity in an Age of Manufactured Distrust
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
David French returns to The Puck for a wide-ranging, deeply thoughtful conversation about the state of American democracy, the risks of authoritariani...
The Puck – Episode 100: The Pursuit of Happiness with Jeffrey Rosen
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To mark our 100th episode and launch of Season 9, Jim Baer sits down with Jeffrey Rosen—President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, host ...
Episode 99: Greg Walton Returns to Discuss Belonging, Identity, and Civil Discourse
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stanford psychology professor Greg Walton returns for his second appearance on The Puck to discuss his new book, Ordinary Magic: The Science of How We...
Episode 98: Kristian Rönn
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of The Puck: Venture Capital & Beyond, Jim Baer sits down with Kristian Rönn—climate tech founder, AI ethicist, and author of The D...
Episode 97: Michelle Goldberg
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this powerful episode of The Puck, Jim Baer sits down with Michelle Goldberg—New York Times columnist, author, and longtime voice of progressive ...
Episode 96: Jonathan Rauch
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the strongest case for Christianity’s role in democracy came from an atheist? Jim Baer sits down with Jonathan Rauch to discuss Cross Purpos...
Episode #95 – Steven Teles: Class, Conflict, and the Collapse of Trust
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this thought-provoking episode, Jim Baer sits down with political scientist Steven Teles, professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of Th...
Episode 94: Michael Lind
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Navigating a New World with Michael Lind In this episode of The Puck, Jim Baer sits down with acclaimed writer and policy thinker Michael Lind, co-fou...
Episode 93: Aswath Damodaran
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of The Puck, host Jim Baer sits down with Aswath Damodaran, renowned NYU finance professor and the “Dean of Valuation,” for a deep...
Episode 92: Patrick Ruffini
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of The Puck: Venture Capital and Beyond, host Jim Baer sits down with Republican pollster and political strategist Patrick Ruffini, co...
Episode 91: Gary Gerstle
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Gary Gerstle, author, professor, and historian with a focus on “Political Orders.” His most recent bo...
Episode 90: Frank Furedi
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Frank Furedi, author, social commentator, and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent. ...
Episode 89: Jai Das
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures. They cover Jai’s history as a developer, the Sapph...
Episode 88: Greg McKeown
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this illuminating episode of The Puck, Jim sits down with Greg McKeown, the bestselling author of "Essentialism" and "Effortless." McKeown shares h...
Episode 87: Sir Paul Collier Returns to the Show!
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Once again, we have the privilege of hosting world-renowned economist Sir Paul Collier. Paul and Jim discuss the vast changes in the world economy sin...
Episode 86: Demetri Kofinas Returns to the Show!
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Media entrepreneur and Hidden Forces host Demetri Kofinas returns to The Puck to discuss the evolution of technology, security, and social dynamics si...
Episode 85: Shomik Dutta Returns to the Show!
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jim sits back down with Shomik Dutta, co-founder and managing partner at Overture VC, who is on the cutting edge of climate tech. They catch up and di...
Episode 84: Doug Holtz-Eakin
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Jim interviews economist Doug Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, to explore the current slate of economic issues fa...
Episode 83: Greg Lukianoff
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an organization...
Episode 82: Devin Sean Moss
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with non-theist chaplain Devin Sean Moss. Devin has done significant work as a podcast host and producer on th...
Episode 81: Stephen M. R. Covey
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Stephen M. R. Covey, author, motivational speaker, and all-around expert on the subject of leadership. Th...
Episode 80: Dr. William Li
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with renowned physician, scientist, and author of the New York Times bestseller “Eat to Beat Disease: The Ne...
Episode 79: Frank Bruni
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Frank Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer at The New York Times. He has been both a White House correspondent and the chief restaurant critic. He i...
Episode 78: Larry Summers
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Larry Summers is on the show this week! Jim sits down with renowned economist Larry Summers to talk recent US financial history, the current state of ...
Episode 77: Dr. Tommy Wood
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Dr. Tommy Wood, neuroscientist, researcher, and athletic performance consultant to talk about the human b...
Episode 76: Navneet Govil of Softbank
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Navneet Govil, Executive MP and CFO of SoftBank Vision Fund. Their wide ranging conversation covers Navne...
Episode 75: Ash Beckham
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Ash Beckham, a self-described Accidental Advocate and author of Step Up: How to Live with Courage and Bec...
Episode 74: William Egginton
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Professor William Egginton, author of The Rigor of Angels – Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate ...
Episode 73: Peter Berg of M12
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Peter Berg, Managing Partner of M12, Microsoft’s venture arm. Their conversation covers M12’s histor...
Episode 72: George Bonanno
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The word “trauma” seems to be everywhere. As part of our three-part series on mental health, we wanted to dive into the concept. George Bonanno is...
Episode 71: Joshua Coleman, Ph.D.
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Dr. Joshua Coleman. Dr. Coleman is an author and psychologist who specializes in contemporary families, p...
Episode 70: Henry Olsen
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with author and columnist for the Washington Post, Henry Olsen. Henry specializes in global politics with a pa...
Episode 69: Christopher Miller
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Jim has Professor Christopher Miller on the show to talk about something we all interact with but very rarely think about: microchips. Chri...
Episode 68: Neil Howe
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Neil Howe, author, historian, and one half of the team, along with Bill Strauss, behind the Strauss-Howe ...
Episode 67: Demetri Kofinas
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this summer, Jim sat down with Demetri Kofinas, media entrepreneur, financial analyst and the Co-Editor and host of Hidden Forces. Hidden Forc...
Episode 66: Martin Gurri
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Martin Gurri, author – visiting research fellow at George Mason University and former CIA analyst who s...
Episode 65: Neil DeGrasse Tyson
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with author, educator, and astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tysonto discuss one of Jim’s favorite books of last ...
Episode 64: Curtis Chang of Redeeming Babel
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Curtis Chang, author of the book The Anxiety Opportunity, and host of the Good Faith podcast. Their wide-...
Episode 63: Sarah Baldwin
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with life coach and Somatic Experiencing practitioner Sarah Baldwin to talk about the relationship between our...
Episode 62: Meera Clark of Redpoint Ventures
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Meera Clark of Redpoint Ventures, a firm focused on investments in seed, early, and growth-stage companie...
Episode 61: John Andrew Entwistle of Wander
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with John Andrew Entwistle, founder and CEO of Wander, a young but rapidly growing proptech startup looking to...
Episode 60: Shomik Dutta of Overture
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Shomik Dutta, former member of the Obama White House and managing partner of Overture VC, a firm focused ...
Episode 59: Mark Sherman of Telstra Ventures
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Mark Sherman, managing partner at Telstra Ventures, a venture firm focused on the emerging technology spa...
Episode 58: Professor Brad DeLong of the University of California, Berkeley
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, we have Professor Brad De Long of the University of California, Berkeley. Professor DeLong is an economic historian, as well...
Episode 57: Joe Dormani of TR Ventures
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, we sit down with Joe Dormani, founding principal investor at TR Ventures, the investment arm of Thomson Reuters. In light of...
Episode 56 – Rana Foroohar - Author, Journalist, Financial Analyst
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Rana Foroohar, author, business columnist, associate editor at the Financial Times, and global economic a...
Episode 55: Vanessa Bennett - Host of Cheaper Than Therapy & It's Not Me, It's You
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Vanessa Bennett – author, holistic psychotherapist, facilitator, and podcast host – as the two discus...
Bonus Episode 54 – Jim Baer
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s special episode, Puck host Jim Baer is now the guest. Interviewed by former producer, Caitlin Lalezari, Jim answers any and all quest...
Episode 53: Mike Green of Simplify Asset Management
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Mike Green, financial strategist and portfolio manager at Simplify Asset Management and lifelong student ...
Episode 52: Andrea Lamari Walne
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode of The Puck, Jim sits own with Andrea Lamari Walne, partner at Manhattan Venture Partners, a venture firm focused on redefini...
Episode 51: Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, author, clinical psychologist, and professor at the City University of New York....
Episode 50: Courtney McCrea of Recast Capital
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On the 50th episode of The Puck, Jim sits down with Courtney McCrea, co-founder and managing partner at Recast Capital, a firm focused on investing in...
Episode 49: Matt Cohen of Ripple Ventures
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Matt Cohen, Founder and Managing Partner at Ripple Ventures. An operator turned investor, Matt started R...
Episode 48: Professor Greg Walton
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Stanford University Professor Greg Walton, a social psychologist who specializes in studying the developm...
Episode 47: Tyler Norwood of Antler
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Tyler Norwood, managing partner at Antler, a global firm focused on early stage investment. He talks Jim ...
Episode 46: Anna Barber of M13
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Anna Barber, Partner at M13 and head of their Launchpad program. Their wide-ranging discussion touches o...
Episode 45: Sir Paul Collier
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with British Economist Sir Paul Collier to discuss the current state of Capitalism, and walk our listeners thr...
Episode 44: Melissa Weintraub of Resetting the Table
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Melissa Weintraub, co-founder and executive director of Resetting the Table, an organization dedicated to...
Episode 43: Cyrus Sigari of Up Partners
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Cyrus Sigari of Up Partners, a venture firm at the forefront of transportation innovation. He speaks abo...
Episode 42: David French
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with David French, political commentator, senior editor of The Dispatch, and co-host of the Good Faith podcast...
Episode 41: Neil Sequeira
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Neil Sequeira, founder and managing director at Defy, an early-stage venture fund focused on emerging hig...
Episode 40: Christopher Leonard - Author & Journalist
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with author and journalist Christopher Leonard to discuss his new book, The Lords of Easy Money How the Federa...
Episode 39: Jordan Nof of Tusk Venture Partners
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Jordan Nof, co-founder of Tusk Venture Partners, a firm whose expertise in the regulatory space has made ...
Episode 38: Grant Miller of Replicated
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Jim sits down with Grant Miller, founder and CEO of Replicated, a company built around a new way to package software. Grant walks Jim throu...
Episode 37: Adriana Saman of Clocktower Ventures
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Adriana Saman of Clocktower Ventures, a Southern California based venture fund focused on investing in th...
Episode 36: Scott Painter of NextCar
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Scott Painter, founder and CEO of NextCar, a major disruptor on the sales side of the auto industry. Sco...
Episode 35: Shaylyn Romney Garrett
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim speaks with writer and social entrepreneur Shaylyn Romney Garrett about how we got to where we are today. Author of The...
Episode 34: Michal Cieplinski of Pipe
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Michal Cieplinski, CBO of Pipe, a groundbreaking financial platform revolutionizing the way companies are...
Episode 33: Maury Blackman of Premise Data
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Maury Blackman, CEO of Premise Data, an innovative AI-driven decision engine geared toward collecting dat...
Episode 32: Ryan Falvey of Financial Venture Studio
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Ryan Falvey, the co-founder and managing partner of Financial Venture Studio, and a pioneer in the fintec...
Episode 31: Eric Tarczynski of Contrary Capital
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Erik Tarczynski, the founder of Contrary Capital, a venture fund focused on future leaders in engineering...
Episode 30: Will Schmitt of Miroma Ventures.
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Will Schmitt of Miroma Ventures, the investing arm of The Miroma Group, an international firm focused on ...
Episode 29: Elizabeth Edwards of H Venture Partners
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim sits down with Elizabeth Edwards of H Venture Partners for a fascinating discussion covering a variety of topics, includ...
Episode 28: Kristina Serafim of Verizon Ventures
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim is joined by Kristina Serafim, managing director at Verizon Ventures. They touch on a wide range of topics, including K...
Episode 27: Brad Feld, author and co-founder of Foundry Group.
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Jim speaks with Brad Feld, author of the recently published The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Nietzsche, as well as co-founder of Foundry Group, ...
Episode 26: Vern Howard of Hallo
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Jim sits down with Vern Howard, co-founder and CEO of Hallo, the digital events platform transforming the job fair market. Over the course...
Episode 25: Sean Harper of Westlake Village BIOPartners.
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, Jim talks with Sean Harper of Westlake Village BIOPartners about Sean’s experience working on the front lines of the medic...
Episode 24: Host James Baer of CMBG Advisors, Inc. and Baer, Negrin & Troff LLP
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, in a very special episode of THE PUCK, our guest is… host Jim Baer! That’s right -- after three seasons of asking the questions, Jim will ...
Episode 23: William Quigley of Tether (Part 2)
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
William Quigley is back in the second of our two-part series on the present state and future of cryptocurrency. After their first episode touched on ...
Episode 22: William Quigley of Tether (Part 1)
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
William Quigley, Tether co-founder and Crypto pioneer, returns to the podcast in the first of a two-part series about the present state and future of ...
Episode 21: Brian Garrett of Crosscut Ventures
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Garrett, co-founder of Crosscut Ventures, talks with Jim about the strategies he employed while building one of Southern California’s preemine...
Episode 20: Aubrie Pagano & Ryan Freedman of Alpaca VC
01 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Aubrie Pagano and Ryan Freedman, partners at Alpaca VC, join Jim for a thoughtful discussion about the benefits of bringing diversity into the venture...
Episode 19: Richard Duncan of Macro Watch
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Jim sits down with Richard Duncan, economist and author of such books as The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures; The Cor...
Episode 18: Andre Gharakhanian and Gaurav Mathur of Silicon Legal Strategy
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In Jim’s first *remote* episode, he sits down with Andre Gharakhanian and Gaurav Mathur, founders of Silicon Legal Strategy, a boutique law firm pro...
Episode 17: Donald Lee of LKP Global Law
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Donald S. Lee is a partner in the corporate transactional group at LKP Global Law. Don takes us through his experience moving from litigation to corp...