Summation with Auren Hoffman

Jim Rebesco is the co-founder and CEO of Striveworks, an AI ops company deployed across the US Army, Navy, and combatant commands. In April, Striveworks announced a $70M enterprise agreement with the Pentagon, giving nearly a million defense personnel access to its platform. Jim was previously a partner at Virtu Financial, a pioneering high-frequency trading firm.
In this episode of Summation, Jim and Auren discuss:
why the real question in AI warfare is who pushes the button
the case that autonomy favors big nation states, not insurgents
why it costs $200,000 to procure anything in the Pentagon
what high-frequency trading and war have in common
You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Jim Rebesco on LinkedIn

Carson Block is the founder of Muddy Waters Research, one of the defining activist short-selling firms of the last decade and a half. Since 2010, Muddy Waters has published forensic research exposing accounting fraud at publicly traded companies across China, Europe, and the US and has been right enough times that 11 companies have been delisted as a result.
In this episode of Summation, Carson and Auren discuss:
why outright fraud is only 20-25% of Muddy Waters'  focus
the Wirecard saga
why high-trust countries like Germany are a paradise for criminals
how the thing that killed Enron is still completely legal
You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Carson Block on LinkedIn and on X @muddywatersre

Anders Jones is the CEO and co-founder of Facet, a fintech company built to bring high-quality, flat-fee financial advice to an underserved market: the mass affluent. Facet has raised over $250M and manages more than $7B. Anders has seen the real finances of tens of thousands of households.
In this episode of Summation, Anders and Auren discuss:
why the percentage-of-assets fee is the greatest heist in finance
the retention data showing people stick 3x longer when you help them act, not just advise
the horizontal wealth transfer to spouses that nobody is planning for
why most companies should never raise venture capital
You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Anders Jones on LinkedIn

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker. He is the author of The Power of Habit, Smarter Faster Better, and Supercommunicators. His work focuses on the science of habits, productivity, decision-making, and human connection.
In this episode of Summation, Charles and Auren discuss:
why producing the words is only 10% of an author's job, and the 90% AI can't do
what GLP-1s actually do to the brain 
the serendipity tax: why you pay for five dead-end dinners to get the one that changes your life
the three skills that separate supercommunicators from everyone else
You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Charles Duhigg on X at @cduhigg

Chris Farmer is the founder and CEO of SignalFire, an early stage venture firm managing over $3 billion. 
In this episode of Summation, Chris and Auren discuss:
why the time to return 1x has stretched to 9+ years and funds are lasting 20 years
the engineering hiring boom hiding behind the layoff headlines
the five functions of a VC firm and the one place data helps the least
why almost all conventional career advice is now bad
You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Chris Farmer on X at @chriswfarmer