Ryan Tran Podcast

#31 | Derek King | Bitcoin Origin, ETFs, Halving, Basketball Career, and Individual Sovereignty

Over the holidays I had the fortune of catching up with an old friend and basketball teammate, Derek King. Expect to hear about how he first came across Bitcoin and why it has stuck with him since, the potential outcomes of a Bitcoin ETF and the upcoming halving, his basketball journey from JUCO to UC Berkely to playing professionally throughout Asia, and why individual sovereignty and controlling your own destiny is so important to him. Expect a follow up post ETF news and probably post halving.

#30 | Roman Empire, ChatGPT, Inflation, Establishment Dems, Presidential Candidates and The Network State

Expect to hear my thoughts on the recent trend around the Roman Empire, how I've used ChatGPT to help me with a variety of tasks, the inflation phenomena that is happening in our country and abroad, the failures of Establishment Democrats and why they've dramatically lost support over the years and how that has led to the emergence of legitamate presidential candidates like RFK Jr. or Vivek Ramaswamy, and why I think the concept of The Network State coined by Balaji Srinivasan is really interesting and worth serious consideration as the next step in the evolution of societies.

#29 | August, DEI, Our Response to Covid, Self-Censorship, Hubris, and Problem Solving

Expect to hear what the month of August was like, my critiques of the DEI space and framework, my critiques of the mainstream response to Covid, why self-censorship is harmful, why hubris and the inability to acknowledge where you were wrong will destroy your credibility, and the importance of speaking openly when solving problems - especially in times of crisis. Clearly some sensitive topics, but as mentioned before I strongly believe people should be able to speak openly without being called this or that. The societal pressure to conform out of fear is unhealthy. If we're serious about solving the problems before us, we should allow people to say how they really feel vs. what we want to hear.

#28 | Summer Break, Basketball, Golden Retriever, Back-to-School, Family Time, and Stoicism

Expect to hear what having a summer break has been like, how all things basketball related have been going, getting a Golden Retriever puppy, mentally preparing to get back to teaching, quality family time, and my continued appreciation for the Stoicism philosophy.

#27 | Wesley Su | Ambition, Loyalty, UCLA, Career Development, Staying Active, Turbulence, and Authority

Wes is a close friend I met in our time together at UCLA and someone I've learned a lot from over the years. We covered a lot and still had plenty to discuss for another time. Expect to hear about the roots of his ambitious nature, what it was like growing up around Sacramento, why the city and its sports team - the Sacramento Kings - instilled a sense of loyalty in him, his experience at UCLA, the arc and lessons of his career in his twenties, the passion he has for staying active, navigating turbulence in life, and his relationship with authority.