Since a lot of people have been asking me for what my favorite podcasts are, I figured I’d just compile a list for my friends.

Quick logistics: I currently use Breaker as my main listening app. I like it because it also has recommendations from other users, so I try out podcast episodes I wouldn’t have heard on my own. I used to use Overcast, which I still like very much. Prior to that, I tried out the native iOS Podcasts app, Stitcher, etc. But for those, I felt seemed to be too buggy or clunky for my tastes.

First off, I have my own podcast with my friend Tomo Huynh, called Quantinuum Podcast. Admittedly, it’s not as high of quality, production value, or content as the ones I love to listen to, but I thought I’d plug it anyway. In Quantinuum Pod, Tomo and I try to dissect society and philosophy through the lens of science fiction, and we do that through asking each other questions. …

Welcome to Founder’s Corner. Our ongoing series on our founders and startups. It’s an intimate window into the lessons they learned building their companies and creating new value in new markets.

We had a sit–down with Joseph Phua, founder and CEO of Paktor, one of Asia’s leading dating apps, to talk to him about how the Paktor story started, how it evolved, and what he sees on the horizon. The app has a strong presence in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, and is stretching out to countries like Taiwan and Japan.

4 years ago, with the internet in its infancy, online dating was anathema. It was clunky, sometimes creepy, and virtually no one was using it. In 2016, online dating is everywhere. A myriad of apps suit different dating purposes, and even chat and social media apps double as dating apps. Although there’s still a select group of people who are turned off by online dating, it’s now ubiquitous. …

If you’ve been watching China, you’re likely aware by now that China has ratcheted up its investment in the film industry by a considerable margin. Not only are Chinese investors heavily targeting Hollywood for investments but it’s also doubling down on its own market. Most of the discourse on this topic is centered around the economic and industry impacts. But I believe “Chollywood” will bring with it more than just these shifts, but it will usher in a shift in the perception of Chineseness, globally. And this shift will be one of the largest soft power shifts in the world.

Watch a handful of movies from Hollywood featuring China as a global player from 2012 to the Arrival and you will see China portrayed as a harsh, militaristic, and authoritarian nation (Sidnote: don’t forget the negative perception of Chinese travelers). Simultaneously, the Americans are played as a cynical yet reasonable and heartfelt. It’s not a cut and dry dichotomy, but the contrast, when put up to a lens, is stark. China appears inhuman while America appears human. One is robotic while the other is sympathetic. Hollywood is thus one of America’s crown jewels. A soft power infused with cultural influence with global reverberations. Hollywood makes America relatable and personable. It makes Americans accessible. …

The Four Stages of Competence was originally posited by Noel Burch, an employee of Gordon Training International in the 1970’s. I love this mental model mainly because of how often it can be applied to learning in multiple fields from sports to philosophy.

I’m not sure how actually grounded this model is in science as little scientific experimentation has been done using it. But it still presents a compelling picture of the learning experience, especially for a new skill.

Let’s take the process of learning painting as an example of a skill you can learn.

In the first stage, Unconscious Incompetence, you don’t know why you are bad at painting. You’re ignorant of your own brush strokes and when you look at the painting, you’re not sure why it’s bad or not. After you have a painting teacher for awhile, maybe you’ve watched a dozen episode of Bob Ross, you start to be aware of your own skill level. You start to see yourself on the spectrum of learning. This is Conscious Incompetence. In other words, you know why you suck. …

If you’ve been watching television for as long as I have (probably over 20 years by now), you’ll notice that there has been a significant shift in the way television is made, from a decade ago.

As I rewatch my favorite TV shows, from MASH to Star Trek to Justice League, I see a pattern. Each episode can be watched unto itself. If you know the characters, you could jump in at any moment, and the storyline would make sense, be it season 2 or season 10. …

Almost two years ago, my father passed away very suddenly and without warning. He was one of the most healthy people I knew. He never went to the hospital and his mind was always fresh.

So when I took a trip to Germany, and got a sudden call from my mother that he was in the hospital, in Vietnam. It was a shock. I collapsed.

He had a stroke and he was virtually brain dead. Everything gone in the blink of an eye.

My mother was all alone, without me, dealing with my father whose mind, within one week, slipped completely away and into the quiet darkness. Day by day, he went from his usual joking self to slowly slipping out of consciousness. …

This year, I’m taking everything I learned from helping the ecosystem in Vietnam, humbling myself, unlearning, relearning, and applying it all to helping Singapore’s startup ecosystem.

In my 8 months in Singapore, I’ve learned a lot about how this ecosystem works. The financial strength and government backing of the country is almost like an endless fuel that keeps the startups and investors charging. At the same time, the small size of the market and the lack of a large pool of technical talent limit the country and force it to go outwards across the region and world for potential business and partnerships. And yet, the population is highly educated, rich, and strategic. …

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has gone to the cinema in foreign countries. But I think how people watch movies is a bit telling about the civility and politeness of the culture. I’d say Germans are the most polite. Americans are mild. And Vietnamese are downright hasty.

As an American, I know all too well how Americans go to the cinema. We eat our popcorn, laugh at the jokes, and generally enjoy ourselves while whispering here and there. It’s rude to chat too loud and you’ll inevitably get shooshed if you bother other people, so people are quite polite. …