Rephonic
Artwork for Smart Friends

Smart Friends

Eric Jorgenson
Entrepreneurship
Artificial Intelligence
Knowledge
Nuclear Energy
Philosophy
Happiness
Capitalism
Elon Musk
Human Nature
Technology
Judgment
Venture Capital
Creativity
Wealth
Self-Publishing
Publishing Industry
Compassionate Leadership
Thiel Fellowship
Delegation
Nanotechnology

Casual conversations with founders, technologists, investors, and artists about building a brighter future, together. Welcome to our digital living room. With science, technology and entrepreneurship we can *continue* to create unfathomable leaps in quality of life. We show you how to find, apply, build, and invest in technologies to change your life and the world. When we have smart friends, we d... more

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes122Founded5 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
BusinessEntrepreneurship

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Smart Friends

Latest Episodes

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:40) - Being the “tech for middle America” translator

(00:06:00) - Who are your heroes?

(00:13:40) - Zack’s unique approach to AI

(00:57:35) - The market for identity transformation

(01:11:08) - Writing the next... more

Welcome to the free audiobook of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success.

This is Part 1 of 4.

I’ve made all of my books available for free. This is the third book I’ve published, and like the others, it’s available in all formats—PDF, EPU... more

Welcome to the free audiobook of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success.

This is Part 3 of 4.

I’ve made all of my books available for free. This is the third book I’ve published, and like the others, it’s available in all formats—PDF, EPU... more

Welcome to the free audiobook of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success.

This is Part 2 of 4.

I’ve made all of my books available for free. This is the third book I’ve published, and like the others, it’s available in all formats—PDF, EPU... more

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Recent Guests

Elon Musk
CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, visionary founder discussed in-depth topics
SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, The Boring Company
Episode: The Book of Elon - Part 4
Matt Loszak
Founder CEO of Aalo Atomics
Aalo Atomics
Episode: #093 Behind the Scenes of a Nuclear Microreactor Startup with Matt Loszak, Founder CEO of Aalo Atomics [Replay]
Sarma Melngailis
Former high-profile restaurateur, author of 'The Girl with the Duck Tattoo', and subject of the 'Bad Vegan' documentary.
Episode: #092 Sarma Melngailis: Bad Vegan, Memoir as Recovery, and Reclaiming Your Story
Nat Eliason
Author of Crypto Confidential and the sci-fi novel Husk, an internet entrepreneur with a knack for storytelling.
Episode: #087 Nat Eliason: From Blogging to Sci-Fi Novels, Writing Books That Last, and Owning Your Audience
Ben Reinhardt
Founder of Speculative Technologies and expert in industrial research
Speculative Technologies
Episode: #085 Ben Reinhardt: How to Discover New Technology, Playing the Longest Game, and Philanthropy in Technology
Augustus Doricko
CEO of Rainmaker, a cloud seeding and geoengineering startup.
Rainmaker
Episode: #084 Augustus Doricko: How to Terraform Earth, The History of Weather Control, and The Mandate of Heaven
Klaus Kleinfeld
Former CEO of Siemens and Alcoa, author of 'Leading To Thrive'
K2 Elevation
Episode: #083 Klaus Kleinfeld: How to Lead Fortune 500 Companies, Manage Energy, Inspire Teams
Andrew Wilkinson
Founder of Tiny, a company that acquires and grows internet businesses.
Tiny
Episode: #079 Andrew Wilkinson: De-risking Leverage, Investing vs. Operating, and the Best Part About Business [Replay]
Kevin Espiritu
The Gardening God, known for his success in e-commerce and gardening
Episode: #74 Rolling Fun #8: New LPs, Mark-ups, Giant Guns for Space Cargo, How to Find a Lead Investor, Software for Manufacturing, AI for Ecomm.

Host

Eric Jorgenson
Host of Smart Friends; author promoting his books and building communities around practical wisdom in tech and entrepreneurship.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 248 ratings
  • Engaging and impactful!

    Eric's deep-dive conversations with tech visionaries offer practical insights for a brighter, tech-powered world. Engaging and impactful are just a couple of the words I'd use to describe the time you'll spend with them. Thanks so much for putting out such a gem, Eric - keep up the great work!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    kjb0514
    United States3 years ago
  • Abundant futures without the hot air

    New listener, 6 episodes in. Digging the dialogues around how we can build businesses that can prepare to way for an abundant future. While so many investment podcasts spin into the abstract of computing and finance. Smart Friends stays rooted in the physical world, connecting the dots between today and the Second Industrial Revolution.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Ryan A Pickering
    United States3 years ago
  • This Show is Amazing

    Eric is a fantastic interviewer who lets guests continue on. The show wanders through tech, life, crypto, and hard things to build. Each episode is a must listen.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Sky1248583
    United States3 years ago
  • Worth a listen

    A bit much "rah rah" advocacy but both host and guests are passionate

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    FP reviewer
    Canada3 years ago
  • This Show is Must Listen for Entrepreneurs, Tech Investors, and Futurists of all Types

    Eric is a rockstar investor, teacher, educator, writer, and now podcaster. His podcast is an epic view into the Mindsets, habits, and routines of builders/doers working on the fridges of technology and entrepreneurship. Eric asks great questions and does a great job of digging deep - while adding value to your day. Check it out: you won’t be disappointed.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Mike OC
    United States3 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners praise deep, practical conversations with top technologists and investors.
Guests range from crypto to AI and entrepreneurship, delivering high-value insights for startups and decision-makers.
The host makes complex topics accessible and actionable for builders.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The Book of Elon - Part 3
Q: Question, how did you manage to push through SpaceX's early failures?
By maintaining a stubborn commitment to mission, leveraging a small but highly capable team, and keeping a clear, aggressive plan to reach orbit, even when the odds and external opinions were discouraging.
The Book of Elon - Part 3
Q: Question, why did you decide to fund SpaceX yourself?
After PayPal's sale, space seemed the least likely to succeed yet the most compelling long-term bet; funding SpaceX himself reflected a willingness to sacrifice personal wealth for a high-potential, transformative objective.
The Book of Elon - Part 3
Q: Question, how did the original Zip2 idea come about?
The inspiration was to help newspapers move online by building an early map and directory service, which evolved into PayPal through a sequence of strategic decisions and market feedback driven by user needs and network effects.
The Book of Elon - Part 4
Q: Question. What is the most important piece of advice you have for anyone who wants to start a company on behalf of humanity?
Take risks early before major life obligations accumulate, push for radical breakthroughs, and focus on building products that meaningfully improve quality of life rather than chasing short-term gains.
The Book of Elon - Part 1
Q: Why doesn't the world have more Elon Musks?
The speaker suggests that the path to similar impact is extremely demanding and painful, with intense personal sacrifice, making it unlikely many will duplicate the exact trajectory.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Smart Friends

What is Smart Friends about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Casual conversations with founders, technologists, investors, and artists about building a brighter future through science, technology, and entrepreneurship. Episodes surface practical mental models, scalable strategies, and long-horizon thinking—from AI safety and space exploration to crypto, manufacturing, and responsible leadership. Guests span legendary builders and investors, with a clear emphasis on actionable insights for builders, operators, and those shaping the next industrial revolution. A notable thread is the focus on high-leverage practices, speed with rigor, and a culture of asking big questions while grounding ideas in real-world execution.

A standout aspect is how conversations blend philosophical perspectives with concret... more

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Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Smart Friends. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Smart Friends and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Smart Friends get?

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How many subscribers and views does Smart Friends have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Smart Friends has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Smart Friends?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Smart Friends:

1. Naval
2. Founders
3. Modern Wisdom
4. Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
5. Moonshots with Peter Diamandis

How many episodes of Smart Friends are there?

Smart Friends launched 5 years ago and published 122 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Smart Friends?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Smart Friends from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on Smart Friends?

Recent guests on Smart Friends include:

1. Elon Musk
2. Matt Loszak
3. Sarma Melngailis
4. Nat Eliason
5. Ben Reinhardt
6. Augustus Doricko
7. Klaus Kleinfeld
8. Andrew Wilkinson

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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