The Next Big Idea

You know that feeling when you meet someone and something just … clicks? Scientists have a name for it. They call it “interpersonal synchrony.” Turns out we subconsciously mimic other people’s movements, postures, facial expressions, and gestures. We even sync involuntary functions like heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves, pupil dilation, and hormonal activity. Kate Murphy, author of the forthcoming book Why We Click, says interpersonal synchrony — syncing for short — is our superpower. But there’s a catch. The same instinct that bonds us can also hijack us.

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If you enjoyed this episode, check out our conversations with Charles Duhigg, David Brooks, and John Colapinto.

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Evan Ratliff started a company last summer. He and his co-founders came up with a name, hired a team, built a website, and launched an app. They interviewed interns, planned a company hiking trip, and fielded inbound interest from VCs. Normal startup stuff. Except for one thing: All of Evan's employees are AI agents. So are his co-founders.

He's been documenting the journey on his podcast Shell Game — what works, what doesn't, and what it might tell us about a future where AI employees are everywhere.

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As the co-founder and CEO of Circle — the fintech powerhouse that issues USDC, a popular cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar — Jeremy Allaire has had a front-row seat to the crypto revolution. Circle now commands a market cap of over $20 billion, yet Jeremy insists it is still an "early stage company." Why? Because the true transformation of the global economy, he says, is just beginning.

In this episode, Jeremy and Rufus discuss how the economic system is becoming “internet native," what happens when money becomes programmable, and why blockchain is the "major missing layer" of the internet.

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Chris Dixon runs a16z crypto, a fund that has raised more than $7 billion. So it’s no surprise that when talking about the blockchain, he says things like, “ I've never seen a situation in technology where the gap between what I believe is the potential of the technology and the perception is so wide.” The thing is, he may be right. From enabling digital ownership to complementing AI, the blockchain is poised to reshape the world. In this episode, which first aired in February 2024, Chris explains how.

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Maryanne Wolf is a UCLA professor and the renowned author of "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain" and "Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World." She says deep reading makes you a better thinker, communicator, and citizen. But what happens if you lose the ability to read slowly, patiently, and critically? Is there anything you can do to get it back?

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(This episode first aired in March 2023.)