The Network State Podcast

Mar 19 2025 11 ep. 86 mins 330
The Network State Podcast artwork

What comes after Google, Facebook, Bitcoin, and Ethereum? Perhaps it's the startup country — the network state. Balaji interviews tech founders and policymakers from around the world on managing billions of dollars and millions of people, as well as what it might take to start a new kind of state.

  Technology
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#11 - Applied History with WhatIfAltHist

Mar 19 2025 97 mins  
Rudyard Lynch runs the popular YouTube channel WhatIfAltHist. We're both into applied history — namely, studying the past to forecast the future — and everything we spoke about fell under that rubric. We cover alchemy vs technology, left vs right, nature vs nurture, China vs America, communism vs wokeness, and (of course) networks vs states.Our overarching goal with the pod

#10 - The Crypto Islands

Jan 28 2024 41 mins  
Where do you legally set up your DAO or web3 organization? You might check out the Marshall Islands. They recently passed a new bill that's a model for global crypto regulation. The Decentralized Autonomous Organizations Act of 2023 has several major features: it allows DAOs to be set up in 30 days, limits DAO liability for open-source, and makes clear that governance tokens ar

#9 - Joe Lonsdale on Everything

Jan 28 2024 59 mins  
Joe Lonsdale is one of the most prominent investors in technology. He's the co-founder of Palantir, 8VC, Addepar, and the Cicero Institute — and one of Balaji's longtime friends. We have fun talking about education, longevity, space, and the little matter of completely reforming all governments with the internet. OUTLINE: 00:00 - How Silicon Valley got expensive 09:18 -

#8 - The Solana Phone

Jan 28 2024 90 mins  
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, joins Balaji to talk about the new Solana Phone (https://solanamobile.com). The idea of the crypto phone is one where balances, encryption, privacy, and property rights are built into the very fabric of the operating system. Anatoly talks about how they did it. OUTLINE 0:06 - The Solana Phone 2:08 - Anatoly's Origin Story 6:03 - Solana

#7 - Bryan Johnson's Blueprint for Longevity

Jan 28 2024 79 mins  
Bryan Johnson founded Braintree and sold it for $800M. Then he plowed the proceeds into eternal life. He turned himself into the world's most measured man, got completely jacked, wrote a book, and just launched the Blueprint store (https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com) for the world to copy what he's done. Now Balaji and Bryan talk about how we can extend lifespans through be

#6 - Chris Dixon on Read Write Own

Jan 28 2024 73 mins  
Read Write Own (readwriteown.com) is a new book by Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and founder of the largest crypto fund in the world. It's an important work that is simultaneously the best crypto tutorial for newcomers and an accessible reference for experts. Balaji and Chris are long-time friends and worked together at a16z for years. Here they dis

#5 - India's Largest Exit

Jun 30 2023 161 mins  
The $16B acquisition of Flipkart was the largest in Indian tech history. Balaji speaks with Flipkart founder/CEO Binny Bansal on how he built the company from scratch when Indian startups weren't even a thing — and how Flipkart's rise parallels the rise of India itself.

#4 - The Winklevoss Twins and Balaji

Jun 22 2023 50 mins  
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss talk with Balaji about how Washington, DC is losing crypto, while other countries like the UAE and Japan are winning web3. OUTLINE 0:00 - I'm 6'5", 220, and there's two of me! 0:58 - Crypto flippening from America to Asia 7:15 - Crypto-friendly jurisdictions in the US: Wyoming, Tennessee 8:10 - The SEC is a failed regulator 18:45 - Cry

#3 - The President of Palau

Feb 24 2023 51 mins  
The President of Palau and Balaji discuss how the tiny island country is becoming a digital leader, experimenting with everything from on-chain identity to drone delivery.   Despite having less than 20,000 citizens, Palau is a full UN member state. Its path to diplomatic recognition holds many lessons for aspiring founders of new communities. Joining Palau President Surangel W

#2 - Tobi Lütke & Kaz Nejatian on Shopify's Country-Sized Economy

Feb 15 2023 127 mins  
Tobi Lütke (Shopify Founder & CEO), Kaz Nejatian (Shopify COO), and Balaji review how Shopify rose from tiny startup to $180B+ global economy, with an annual GMV on par with the GDP of New Zealand. In the process they touch on Hayek, the Hanseatic League, merchant cavemen, the history of the corporation, and the optimal level of platform decentralization. OUTLINE 00:00 - Intro