The Dino Podcast

#34 - Denis Beslic, AI data center buildout in a bubble?

Spotify’s AI product manager Denis Beslic is back on The Dino Podcast. We discuss the massive buildout of data centers that provide compute for the ongoing AI boom. Big tech’s capital expenditure plans have reached staggering levels. We discuss: will the payoff ultimately materialize from all this spend? What is underneath the hood of the circular deals announced by market participants? And is the AI infrastructure boom sustainable, or a bubble that is ready to pop?

#33 - Paul Biggar, tech talks Palestine

Paul Biggar founded a billion-dollar tech company. Then he became one of Silicon Valley’s most outspoken activists against Israel’s latest war crimes in Gaza. Paul joined this episode of The Dino Podcast to discuss his experience being vocal on the issue of Palestine in an industry that has historically been anything but. We discuss the material ways in which American Big Tech is instrumental to Israel’s war machine and occupation, the historical code of silence about Palestine among venture capitalists and tech founders, and what motivated Paul to speak up now. Paul Biggar is a renowned technologist and expert on compilers. He co-founded CircleCI, a CI/CD developer tool startup that went on to be valued over $1 billion. He also recently started Tech for Palestine, an organization that supports tech builders who aim to help the Palestinian people. If you would like to further their work, please donate to Tech for Palestine: https://techforpalestine.org/donate/ . Also, consider a donation to Pal Legal, an organization which protects constitutional free speech rights of people in the U.S. who advocate for Palestine: https://palestinelegal.org/donate .

#32 – Arnaud Bertrand – War on Iran, & Piketty’s study on colonial extraction

Arnaud Bertrand returns to discuss the Israeli and U.S. war with Iran. The 12-day conflict settled into an uneasy ceasefire this week. Arnaud and I explore the origins of conflict with Iran. We also reflect on how successful each side was in achieving its war aims. In the second part of the podcast, Arnaud and I discuss Thomas Piketty’s economic research report “Colonial extraction and unequal exchange have shaped two centuries of North-South inequality”. Follow Arnaud on Twitter X at @RnaudBertrand , and subscribe to his Substack: https://arnaudbertrand.substack.com/

#31 - Professor Geoffrey Woglom on tariff wars

Economist Geoffrey Woglom is back on the Dino Podcast to discuss the Trump tariffs. We cover the administration's biggest moves, from the April 2nd (so-called "Liberation Day") reciprocal tariffs to subsequent negotiations. We explore the economic causes of trade deficits, and we ask whether tariffs are an effective policy instrument to correct them. Lastly, we consider America's negotiation strategy against China. An thoughtful discussion on what is shaping up to be one of the most significant economic events in years.

#30 - Iman Oubou, co-founder of Vocable.ai

The pod made it to 30 episodes! We're chatting with Iman Oubou, the co-founder of Vocable.ai, an AI-powered content marketing platform. In her incredible career, Iman has been a scientist, Miss New York pageant winner, author, content marketer, and a repeat founder. I enjoyed discussing her amazing journey and her latest venture. Try Vocable AI for your content marketing at: www.vocable.ai ; Check out Iman's book "The Glass Ledge" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Ledge-Through-Self-Sabotage-Embrace/dp/1683648595 . And connect with Iman on Instagram @imanoubou or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iman-oubou-64009747/