8 HN users recommended this podcast episode7 months2019–2024score 7.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN people recommend it as a thought-provoking, wide-ranging case for the stagnation thesis, worth hearing even if you disagree with Thiel.
Peter Thiel is the first guest on Eric Weinstein's The Portal, in a nearly three-hour conversation about technological stagnation, institutional failure and the link between growth and violence. They discuss universities, the economy and the search for a more ambitious future.
“I recommend that people listen to that episode even if it's not interesting to you.” (HN, 2020)
[this video] Lots of relevant conversation within. There's a quote in there somewhere along the lines of: "we've built the computer from the starship enterprise, but we possess little other tech from Star Trek"
Relevant conversation on slow technological change.
This is also discussed on the very first episode [0] of The Portal where Eric Weinstein talks with Peter Thiel. It's been a while since I listened to it but I remember I found it to be an interesting discussion and an unusual viewpoint. [0] [this video]
Interesting discussion with an unusual viewpoint on stagnation.
I enjoyed this podcast[0] with Peter Thiel and Eric Weinstein, where one of their central discussion points is the current stagnation of technological innovation, beginning in the mid 1970s, with the sole exception of computer software. [0] [this video]
Discusses stagnation of innovation since the 1970s outside software.
I've studied Thiel, he's just not mainstream left. If you want to listen to him with good faith, I enjoyed this interview: [this video] Doesn't come across evil to me unless by evil you mean just not mainstream left, which might be the correct in the valley.
There was a lengthy interview with Peter Thiel a few years back: [this video] It's interesting and worth watching, but it becomes apparent that Thiel is a financier, and science takes place on a different timescale. Better seek advice from someone who was active when US science was still functional, let's say Roy Vagelos.
Lengthy Thiel interview, with caveat that he is a financier.
Peter Thiel discusses this often, and recently on The Portal with Eric Weinstein-- where all these sorts of breakthroughs are perpetually right around the corner. previous hn discussion [link] youtube interview: [this video]
Thiel on breakthroughs perpetually being around the corner.
It is interesting to juxtapose this conversation with semi-recent comments by Peter Thiel on how the West has technologically stagnated in the past ±50 years. Perhaps there is a link between "no-heavy-CS-required web development" becoming the dominant tech industry and this stagnation. [this video]
> the visceral reaction against FLoC The article title contains the word "everybody" which is evidence of the authors tendency to deal in absolutes. He is claiming to speak for us all with this loose assimilation of words ("hates" further describes an emotional disposition towards idea proposal, and the tagline is equally charming). Let's make it our mission to be polite for a cleaner archive of Internet Interaction Instances. I will not match the negative energy and instead proceed to be cordial&calculated in the delivery of my opinion (I lost sleep over this last night). Thiel on Weinstein's "Portal" ventured the "eye of Sauron" metaphor [0] to describe the effect of surveillance on generations developing during the Information Age. The "double-slit experiment" is also relevant here (modern scientific lore suggesting that the act of observation influences outcome - "spooky action"). Tolkien and Wagner both constructed epic "entertainment" sagas that describe elaborate human feud because of a "golden ring of power". Both of these works were written after the Industrial Age had fully (quickly) propelled civilization into a new form, with recent regional warfare fresh in the memories of the aforementioned authors (Wagner would have monitored Franco-Prussian conflict, Tolkien personally participated in the Somme). The Völsunga saga could be considered the first instance of the same story ("... the ring Andvaranaut serves as a connection and explanation for the characters' troub
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.
Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed
11 Hacker News comments
From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.
Citations, criticism and jokes
Read more