Juan Benet is the founder of Protocol Labs, where he focuses on advancing humanity's knowledge systems through tech like IPFS and Filecoin, and funding projects advancing the cause.

Juan dedicated his career to understanding and accelerating how humanity creates, stores, and expands knowledge.

What’s unique about Juan is that he thinks in decades and has organized his ventures to represent this.

Topics Covered

- Early curiosity and the quest for knowledge
- The three knowledge systems: genetic, neural, and digital
- From Bell Labs inspiration to Protocol Labs
- Building IPFS and Filecoin
- Innovation networks vs traditional companies
- Brain-computer interfaces and the future of human enhancement
- Predictions for 10 and 50 years

Timestamps

(01:37) Early Curiosity and Encyclopedia Reading
(04:18) The Internet and Information Overload
(06:42) Knowledge as Capability
(15:42) Morality and Scientific Understanding
(28:57) Three Knowledge Systems
(29:42) Genetic Knowledge System
(35:42) Neural Knowledge System
(42:18) Digital Knowledge System
(44:42) The Tree of Knowledge
(49:18) Path to Protocol Labs
(51:42) Bell Labs Inspiration
(54:18) Building IPFS and Filecoin
(56:42) Crypto and Bitcoin
(01:09:42) Innovation Networks vs Companies
(01:12:18) Protocol Labs Structure
(01:18:42) PL Focus Areas
(01:19:18) Web3 and Digital Human Rights
(01:21:42) AI and Robotics
(01:24:18) Neurotech and Brain-Computer Interfaces
(01:27:42) Three Cases for Neurotech
(01:28:42) Medical Applications and Repair
(01:33:18) Enhancing Human Experience
(01:38:42) Digital Evolution and AI Coexistence
(01:46:18) Consciousness and Digital Minds
(01:54:42) Predictions for 2036
(02:04:18) Predictions for 2076
(02:11:42) Wrap up

Links

Juan Benet
X: https://x.com/juanbenet
Protocol Labs: https://www.protocol.ai/

Luba Yudasina
https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaa

https://linkedin.com/in/yudasinal

Today I'm joined by Michelle Volz, solo GP of Pax, a VC fund focused on American Dynamism. Michelle is a Guinness World Record holder for the fastest aggregate marathon time across seven continents, a former Andreessen Horowitz investor, and a Palantir alumna.

We have a wide-ranging conversation about endurance, ambition, and what it takes to build hard things. Michelle opens up about her unconventional path from biomedical engineering to running marathons on every continent, to becoming one of the most active early-stage investors in defense tech and American Dynamism.

We explore the psychology of pain, the difference between process and outcome-oriented people, and why ego can be a powerful motivator when channeled correctly.

It's a thoughtful look at someone who's chosen the hard path repeatedly: whether it's running 100 kilometers through Zion National Park or leaving the comfort of a16z to start her own fund and why betting on yourself is the ultimate endurance sport.

Topics covered

• Guinness World Record for fastest seven-continent marathon aggregate time
• The psychology of loving pain and seeking hard challenges
• Why Marines and ultra-runners make great founders
• Ego as a tool: using external motivation to achieve internal goals
• Her path to Venture
• Why talent from Palantir, SpaceX, and Anduril is reshaping hard tech
• Starting a solo GP fund and the parallels to founding a company

and much more…

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(01:16) Guinness World Record Journey

(06:00) Being Process vs Outcome Orientation

(10:06) Training Philosophy and Competition

(13:57) The 100K Ultra Experience

(16:42) Type Two Fun and Founders

(17:26) The Love of Pain

(18:46) Marines and Pain-Seeking Personality

(25:54) High Ego, Low Discipline

(28:57) From Biomedical Engineering to Tech

(33:31) Working at Palantir Experience

(47:41) Mission vs Loving the Game

(51:10) MIT and Defense Tech Club

(56:11) Getting into a16z

(58:59) What is American Dynamism

(01:01:57) Palantir, SpaceX, and Anduril's Impact

(01:06:05) Cultural Shift Toward Hard Problems

(01:09:00) Bipartisan Nature of American Dynamism

(01:14:33) Working at Andreessen Horowitz

(01:18:21) Starting Pax

(01:20:37) Everyone Said Don't Do It

(01:24:36) LP Market and Fundraising Reality

(01:35:50) Time Management and Saying No

Links

Michelle Volz
X: https://x.com/MichelleVolz
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellevolz1/

Luba Yudasina
Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaa
X: https://x.com/LubaYudaisna
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/

Today I’m joined by Eugene Wei. Eugene is former executive at Amazon, Hulu, Flipboard, and Oculus, a writer, a product thinker, and as I like to think about him - a renaissance man.

We have a wide-ranging conversation about technology, culture, and what it means to be human in the digital age. Eugene, known for his influential long-form essays on tech and culture, opens up about stepping back from Silicon Valley's relentless pace to reconnect with what matters.

The conversation moves through the performative nature of modern life, the decline of authentic community, and why Eugene believes we need to reclaim friction in our lives. They discuss the loneliness epidemic, the death of the blogging era, creator burnout, and whether we're ready to live entirely through screens.

It's a thoughtful, grounded look at someone who's choosing depth over speed, real connection over virtual performance, and asking the hard questions about what technology is doing to our humanity.

Topics covered:

• Why film festivals are his form of meditation
• The "slow cancellation of the future" and cultural stagnation
• How algorithms shape our perception of reality
• The economics of indie film and streaming
• Why tech needs better storytellers
• Finding community in an age of isolation
• The hidden costs of frictionless living
• Collective agency and hope for the future

Timestamps:

(00:00) Trailer

(01:16) Introduction to Eugene Wei

(04:31) Film Festivals and the End of Summer

(11:06) Boredom as Meditation and Creative Space

(12:32) The Slow Cancellation of the Future

(17:17) Rear Window and Social Media as Voyeurism

(20:39) The Performative Self and Creator Burnout

(21:25) Audience Capture and Writing

(24:26) The Comfort of Joining a Crowd

(28:48) Film Festival Economics and Indie Cinema

(31:15) The Streaming Model's Impact on Hollywood

(38:23) Pricing Anchors: Netflix and OpenAI

(40:32) Stepping Back from Tech's Take Culture

(43:55) Silicon Valley Culture

(47:07) AI and Desensitization to Breakthroughs

(50:17) Tech's Responsibility and Steve Jobs

(59:32) Personal Technology Hygiene

(01:03:25) Social Media as Our Perceptual Field

(01:06:31) The Pandemic Experiment: Living Through Screens

(01:09:11) Missing the Social Networking Era

(01:10:50) The Blogging Era and Tech Meme

(01:16:33) Writing as Therapy

(01:21:05) The Decline of Community Structures

(01:22:05) College as Peak Community

(01:23:26) Friction, Flaking, and the Smartphone Era

(01:26:45) Religious Movements and Community Sacrifice

(01:28:17) Remote Work and Lost Social Structures

(01:29:39) The Future is Bright: Young People at Interact

(01:31:14) Hope: Collective Agency and Micro-Communities

(01:35:47) Closing Thoughts

Eugene Wei
**https://eugenewei.substack.com/**
**https://x.com/eugenewei**

Luba Yudasina

**https://instagram.com/lifeoflubaa**

**https://linkedin.com/in/yudasinal**