The Hope Axis by Anna Gát

This week on The Hope Axis, I'm joined by Mike Solana, CMO at Founders Fund and Editor-in-Chief of Pirate Wires.In this no-filter conversation between two editors-in-chief, we dive into recent political policy landscapes, the echoes of post-Soviet governance, and what keeps a tech optimist genuinely hopeful in today's world. Hope you enjoy!For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16drg8RuK8-vlFZvrThdID6Gp5CrRnlp-/view?usp=sharingImportant Links:X (Twitter) – Mi...

This week, Sarah Constantin joins me on The Hope Axis. Sarah is a mathematician and versatile thinker whose work spans defense, software, AI, biotechnology, and mental health.In this conversation, we revisit our connection from six years ago to discuss her latest explorations and her perspective in this unique moment for both AI and her own professional journey. Hope you enjoy. For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14uG39HZYnxphJ82I6pj4_3CLs00XK42n/view?usp=sharing<...

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by investor and startup veteran Julie Fredrickson for a conversation that purposefully wanders away from the standard career trajectory.We move past the typical bio to talk about what actually sustains agency in a world that often feels designed to induce hopelessness. As the "Mary Poppins of startups" and a former founder herself, Julie understands the grit required to build. We discuss the quiet, radical act of ignoring the noise to simply do good work.I hope you enjoy this one.Fo...

This week on The Hope Axis, Dean Ball joined me for a conversation that took a real intersection in the space-time continuum to finally make happen. Dean — a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, author of the Substack Hyperdimensional, and an influential policy voice in Washington — and I sat down to talk about his groundbreaking AI policy work including his recent four months at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he served as the principal staff drafter for America's AI Action Plan. We went into Dean's journey in politics, his writing, why Beethoven matt...

This week on The Hope Axis, Hollis Robbins joins me to talk about her dense career and what it actually means to build a life dedicated to the humanities today.Hollis, a dear friend of Interintellect and one of the first hosts, stepped back from her role as Dean of Humanities at the University of Utah in 2024 to focus on writing three upcoming books, including one with the incredible title, “Do Not Go to College Unless.” We get into her journey, and finding room for hope and leisure in the...

This week on The Hope Axis, Dylan O’Sullivan joins to talk about the classics and their second life online.We get into reading in the age of TikTok and AI, and whether people today can still take on long, difficult books, along with the experience of going back to books and seeing them differently over time. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fGdRmgt7ZO6MKGzd6sHUX15n3q5QBINl/view?usp=sharingImportant Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/Dy...

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m very happy to welcome Alastair Benn, deputy editor of Engelsberg Ideas. In this conversation, we talk about Scottish identity and language, the challenges of writing clearly in a “post-literate” age, and the editorial philosophy behind Engelsberg Ideas.We also discuss the idea of Bildung and Benn’s view of the editor as a mentor who helps writers turn strong ideas into clear, readable essays. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IZLw1IkUsu5Q5A-AbAf_mAJZKCUAkQjd/view?usp...

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m very happy to welcome Alana Newhouse. Alana is a journalist, editor, and founder of Tablet Magazine, and the author of the influential 2021 essay “Everything Is Broken.” In this conversation, we revisit the idea of brokenism a few years later and talk about how people who are intelligent and well-read enough to despair all day might still find a small ray of hope. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HaBI_AINhbkwXo2aXaVfiUd1qvMTcc1J/view?usp=drive_linkI...

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m happy to welcome back Eli Dourado. Eli has joined us before in Interintellect salons, and now he’s on the podcast to revisit some of the ideas we talked about in the past. He previously worked at the Abundance Institute and is now the Head of Strategic Investments at Astra. We talk about abundance, progress, and what it takes to help the world flourish a little bit more. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mO1maYYI0KzoR-lrjkhB9w9IZ...

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Natasha Joukovsky, Noah Smith, Musa al-Gharbi, Erica Robles Anderson, Santiago Ramos, Jacob Falkovich, and Gena Gorlin for a free-flowing conversation about AI, culture, creativity, and how people are actually living through all this change. We talk about what’s exciting, what’s worrying, what’s weird, and where a bit of hope still sneaks in. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BghQ...Important Links: Natasha Joukovsky...

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Emmett Shear to talk about AI, hope, and how we should actually think about the future. Emmett is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitch, former interim CEO of OpenAI, and now the co-founder and CEO of Softmax. We discuss why AI inspires so much fear, what it really is capable of, and where hope still shows up. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/10qooWrDB9Nr_0MgKy_kkpd1XMo_2gMN0/view?usp=drive_linkI...

This week on The Hope Axis, I’m joined by Jasmine Sun for a conversation about AI, writing, creativity, and how writers are actually navigating all this change. Jasmine is a writer and leads writing communities, and until last year worked at Substack helping creators think through how new tools might affect their work. We talk about the questions writers ask most often, what feels exciting, what feels worrying, what feels strange, and where a bit of hope still shows up. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/fi...

This week, Shadi Hamid joins me on The Hope Axis. Shadi is a political scientist and writer known for his sharp thinking on democracy, religion, and American power. We talk about the key ideas he’s exploring in his new book, The Case for American Power, and what they mean for the moment we’re living in. Hope you enjoy.For the full transcript of our conversation, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iyaF...Important Links: X (Twitter) – https://x.com/shadihamid?lang=enThe W...

Writer and thinker Cate Hall joins me to talk about the tightrope between radical optimism and deep pessimism — and what it actually takes to stay hopeful in a world that doesn’t always reward it. We dig into her widely loved “50 Secrets” post, the kind of people who end up walking that edge, and how she thinks about preserving agency and perspective when the culture around us feels increasingly discouraged. I also reflect on why I consider Cate one of the most hopeful voices of our time, and why these conversations feel especially urgent in 2025. Hope you enjoy!<...

Psychologist and founder coach Dr. Gena Gorlin joins me to discuss The Founder’s Mindset — how to stay hopeful, resilient, and creative while building something from the ground up. We talk about the psychology of entrepreneurship, why losing can be a sign of progress, and how to keep optimism alive amid a culture that often feels discouraged. I also share what inspired me to start The Hope Axis while running Interintellect as a solo founder. Hope you enjoy!For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0...

The beloved Danielle Strachman, co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship and founder of 1517 Fund, joins The Hope Axis to discuss why hope is taboo in modern discourse, the power of positive naiveté in young founders, why community building requires faith over metrics, and how younger and younger people are reaching the frontiers of knowledge faster than ever before. Hope you enjoy!You can find the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:Danielle's LinkedInHer Substack1517 FundX ProfileThiel FellowshipShownotes:(00:00) Guest Introduction(00:24) Existential Hope and Re...

My friend Roy Bahat joins The Hope Axis for a fun and sharp conversation about hope for the future of talent, timeless ideas vs hypes, resilience and outliers, why becoming an institution > running after trends, building family oriented technology, excellence and autocracy and much more. Hope you enjoy!You can read the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:Roy’s XRoy on MediumShow Notes:(00:00) Guest Introduction(03:39) An Era of Enormous Power for Builders(13:25) Helping Talent Realize Th...

The dearest Tyler Cowen joins The Hope Axis for a fun and wide ranging conversation. We talk about hope for insiders and outsiders, the competitive and the obsessed, immigrants and hard workers, talent and luck, why America is so special, whether Internet Utopia is over, GenZ and rebellion — and Jack Nicholson, John Stuart Mill, driving around Eastern Europe, the Enlightenment of AI, and why the courageous inherit the Earth. Hope you enjoy!A full transcript of our conversation can be found here.Important LinksTyler’s X: https://x.co...

The Times columnist James Marriott joins me to discuss the decline of reading comprehension, the risk-averse publishing industry, the addictive nature of digital media, a new Dark Age of literacy, and why ambitious young people should still pursue writing careers. Hope you enjoy!You can find the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:JM’s SubstackX ProfileJames Marriott at The TimesShow Notes:(00:00) Guest Introduction (01:18) Cultural Pessimism as a Source of Hope (05:53) The Death of Ambient Culture ...

The lovely Alice Gribbin joins me for a conversation about the mystery of inspiration, why intellectualizing art is a bad idea, the visceral encounter with the artwork, why the only realm where the gods are still active is art, US versus UK artists, our search for transcendence, and - as always - hope. Hope you enjoy!You can read the transcript of our conversation here.Important Links:Notes of an Aesthete; Alice’s SubstackAlice’s X ProfileShow Notes:(0:00:00) Guest Introduction (0...