In 2021, Peter Thiel and I kicked off the conversation: Culture, Religion & Technology - it was to discuss how religion shaped our culture, and how culture shaped politics, and how both determined how innovative society would be. As two conservative Christians who supported Donald Trump, this was not an easy conversation to have publicly during the apex of woke culture. Then we had another one in October 2024. This time, Peter told me on stage that many, if not all, of his tech CEOs/VCs buddies had shifted right in their political views.
Many people don’t want to talk about politics or religion. But that is a problem. We need to be more bold about these views. The Bible instructs us to speak up.
Matthew 10:26-28 - “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roots. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
In Ephesians 4:15 - “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ.”
The reason we need to speak truth in love is to counter the lies.
Ephesians 4:14 - “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”
So I’m excited to say I will be launching a new podcast called “The CRT” podcast. Yes, it’s a play on CRT (critical race theory) and I’m hoping to put those words to bed and when people say CRT, they think culture, religion and technology instead. In the podcasts I’ll talk about these topics as well as the throughline moments. Simply put: the throughline moment is a time in which people see through the lies.
I’m also grateful that Duncan Davidson agreed to be one of the first people to talk to me about his throughline moment as well as CRT. The very first person to speak to me about his throughline moment was James Lindsay, author, provocateur and host of the “New Discourses” podcast. You can listen to our discussion here.
Duncan is a co-founding partner of Bullpen Capital, the pioneer of Post Seed investing, which has funded over 100 startups in the past decade. Prior to Bullpen, Duncan was a VC at VantagePoint Venture Partners, a mega-fund that invested in one of the biggest names in cleantech - Tesla. The firm also invested in MySpace, the first successful social network. Prior to investing, Duncan was an entrepreneur himself, having started or been involved in 4 startups, two of which went public, including Covad Communications - one of the first broadband companies. At Bullpen, Duncan continues to focus on SaaS companies as well as space.
Note: Duncan’s co-founding partner is Paul Martino, a friend and longtime partner in hosting tech events, as well as the first and second Culture, Religion & Technology events. Paul and I plan on hosting the third CRT event in Mar-A-Lago in spring 2025. Watch out for that one!
Not only is Duncan a successful VC and entrepreneur, he genuinely loves to ponder life’s most pressing questions. In other words, he is very philosophical and thoughtful. I’ve known Duncan for over a decade and he’s spoken at many Vator and Post Seed events. Post Seed was a successful event organized by Vator and Bullpen that ran for five seasons. Not only is Duncan able to provide wise context, he can always be counted on to bring on the substantive data, if not charts and graphs, to make sense of the times - which is the goal of We Over Me: to rise above the noise.
In this podcast, we talk about Duncan’s throughline moment. Duncan admits to at one point being a “fuzzy-minded liberal” who changed his mind after he realized “a lot of fluff I was told earlier was inaccurate.”
Since Duncan and I share a similar network of startup CEOs and VCs, a notable portion of the conversation shifted to female founders and whether the modern Lady Boss approach to life was shifting to what’s being called “The Trad Wife.” We also both agreed that Trump won mostly due to cultural issues vs economic ones. This is a viewpoint articulated by George Friedman, author of “The Storm Before the Calm,” a book highly recommended by Duncan. Friedman also recently wrote an essay outlining why Trump’s “opposition to focus” on cultural issues won him the election.
We also touch on another Duncan recommendation: “The Fourth Turning,” a book by William Strauss and Neil Howe. The fourth turning refers to generations and places the current generation or time in the crisis period or the fourth turning, “when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history.” In this context, Duncan talks about the role of Boomers (who seem to be getting blamed quite a bit for the mess they’ve made). We talk about AI and how Duncan sees this as a positive step for female entrepreneurs.
We spend time talking about the big question I’m asking everyone - it refers to big philosophical movements in history. The first is in 0 A.D, when Jesus ushered in a new philosophical thought that turned Roman and Greek mythology on its head. Another time is circa 1500s, when the Gutenberg press notably helped spread Martin Luther’s 95 theses which started the Protestant revolution, and notably preceded the age of reason and enlightenment. Today, the internet and AI may be spearheading a new thought movement. What is it? We discuss.
I am kicking off a new podcast/show called “The CRT podcast” in January 2025. I’m seeking to interview people who’d like to speak about those topics and their throughline moments. If you know anyone I should interview, please reach out.
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