Forged in America

Congressman Andy Barr: Can the GOP Survive After Trump? What happens to the Republican Party when Donald Trump is no longer its defining figure? Can the GOP build a lasting coalition around capitalism, opportunity, and the American Dream—or will it drift toward the same big-government policies it claims to oppose? On this episode of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with s...

Alex Rampell: AI, Billion-Dollar Founders, and the Future of American Capitalism What happens when artificial intelligence can outperform the smartest people in the room? And why does America keep producing the world's most valuable companies while other countries struggle to replicate Silicon Valley? This week on Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with Alex Rampell , s...

What really happened inside Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? And did its effort to overhaul Washington actually work? This week on Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with Tyler Hassen , former Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget at the U.S. Department of the Interior and author of Inside DOGE: The Real Story from a Senior Insi...

Jason Wilk has lived through one of the wildest round trips in public-market history. He co-founded Dave to take on the big banks and give everyday Americans a better alternative to overdraft fees and traditional short-term credit. The company went public at roughly a $4 billion valuation—then saw its market cap collapse by about 98%, at one point falling below $60 million. Jason didn't quit....

Michele Tafoya spent decades on the biggest stages in sports, becoming one of the most recognizable voices in football as an Emmy-winning sideline reporter for NBC’s Sunday Night Football and covering five Super Bowls. Then she walked away. Now, Tafoya is the Republican nominee for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat — and she joins Forged in America to explain why she traded the NFL sidelines for o...

What separates the venture investments that look insane from the ones that become generational companies? Shane Neman is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has backed some of the most ambitious companies in technology, including SpaceX, Figure AI, Anthropic, Neuralink, and Liquid Death. In this episode, Shane joins Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein to talk about how he evaluates founders, why the...

What if the biggest lie we tell young Americans is that a college degree is automatically worth the price? Andreas Stamatakis is one of the country’s leading Ivy League admissions advisors—and his advice is surprisingly contrarian: “Go Ivy or go free.” In this episode of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with Andreas for a provocative conversation about what elite colleges...

United States District Judge Roy K. Altman joins Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein for a wide-ranging conversation about immigration, American exceptionalism, the legal system, Israel, antisemitism, and why he remains extraordinarily optimistic about America. Born in Venezuela, Altman came to the United States as a child speaking Spanish and Hebrew but no English. Decades later, after becoming a U.S....

What if everything you’ve been taught about happiness is wrong? Tal Tsfany is the President and CEO of the Ayn Rand Institute, a former technology entrepreneur and executive, and the author of Secrets of a Passionate Life . In this episode, Tal joins Ravin and Al for a provocative conversation about Ayn Rand, Objectivism, ambition, parenting, capitalism—and why so many successful people are still...

Is the American Dream dead—or are we looking at it the wrong way? In this episode of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein compare two radically different paths to success. Al was a top student and athlete who turned one seemingly ordinary opportunity into an internship after discovering he was the only person who actually made the call . That relationship ultimately helped launch an e...

Investor Tom Hayes , founder of Great Hill Capital and better known as “Turnaround Tom,” joins Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein to explain why some of the best investments are hiding in the companies everyone else has already written off. Tom breaks down the framework behind his contrarian investing strategy: finding high-quality businesses trading at distressed prices, identifying catalysts for a tu...

Tom Gimbel is back on Forged in America for a wide-ranging conversation about work, parenting, politics, AI, and why so many young Americans feel like they can’t get ahead. Tom founded LaSalle Network, grew it to more than $100 million in revenue, employed hundreds of people, helped place thousands into jobs, and ultimately exited to private equity. As a longtime recruiter, entrepreneur, and fathe...

In this episode of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with Stuart Anderson , Executive Director of the National Foundation for American Policy, former INS official, longtime immigration policy expert, Forbes contributor, and author of Immigration . Rather than debating talking points, this conversation explores the data behind one of America's most polarizing issues. St...

In this episode of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with Dr. JJ Desai —Stanford-trained physician, entrepreneur, and CEO of Lotus Neuro—to explore one of the most exciting frontiers in medicine: focused ultrasound and the future of brain science. The conversation begins with an emotional story of a Parkinson's patient whose life changed within minutes of treatment before...

Dan Crenshaw is back on Forged In America—and this time, he has nothing to lose. After a stunning primary defeat that will bring his four terms in Congress to an end, the former Navy SEAL joins us for a wide-ranging and candid conversation about what happened, what he learned, and what comes next. Dan opens up about the misinformation and conspiracy theories he believes helped cost him his electio...

Pete Kadens is back for Round 2. After his first appearance on Forged in America sparked such a strong response, we brought Pete back to continue the debate—and this time, we go even deeper. Pete lays out his vision for what the Democratic Party should become: builders over bureaucrats, stakeholder capitalism over socialism, children over politics, and expanded opportunity without punishing succes...

Orthopedic surgeon and entrepreneur Dr. Ben Domb joins Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of medicine, AI, longevity, GLP-1s, robotics, healthcare innovation, and the psychology behind healing. The discussion explores where artificial intelligence will—and won't—replace physicians, why personalized medicine may finally become reality, and why one of Ame...

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Pete Kadens joins Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein for one of the most candid political conversations we've had. A lifelong Democrat, Pete doesn't shy away from criticizing his own party, while also challenging conservatives on issues ranging from democracy and immigration to education, meritocracy, and the future of America. This isn't a shouting match—it's three long...

Michael Ramlet is the co-founder and CEO of Morning Consult , one of the world's leading decision-intelligence companies. What began with just $30,000 of angel capital has grown into a company generating more than $100 million in annual revenue, serving many of the world's largest corporations, financial institutions, and governments. In this episode of Forged in America , Michael sits dow...

In this episode of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with Rob Skinner , Founder and Managing Partner of IEQ Capital , a wealth management firm overseeing more than $50 billion in assets . Rob has spent decades advising founders, entrepreneurs, and some of the most successful families in America. The conversation ranges from AI and SpaceX to wealth psychology, raising motiv...

In this episode of Forged in America, Victor Ciardelli tells Ravin and Al didn't grow up looking like a future CEO. He describes himself as an angry kid with a chip on his shoulder, a problem with authority, and an unshakable belief that he was destined for something bigger. That mindset helped him survive near-bankruptcy, the dot-com crash, the 2008 financial crisis, COVID, and every challenge in...

How does a kid with ADD, average grades, and an obsession with persistence build one of the world's most unique growth equity firms? In Episode 40 of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with Mitchell Green, founder of Lead Edge Capital, a $9B growth equity firm built on an unconventional idea: world-class entrepreneurs and executives can be more valuable than institution...

This week Ravin and Al tackle one of the most important—and uncomfortable—concepts shaping modern society: the idea of the Overton Window. Why do certain topics suddenly become impossible to discuss? Why do cultural norms seem to shift overnight? And what happens when institutions stop rewarding curiosity and start rewarding conformity? The conversation spans AI, economics, politics, media, cultur...

On this episode of Forged in America , Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with venture capitalist, author, and entrepreneur Michael Eisenberg for a wide-ranging conversation spanning venture capital, geopolitics, entrepreneurship, parenting, and the future of America and Israel. Michael shares his remarkable path from growing up in New York to moving to Israel and building Aleph into one of th...

Jenny Just and Matt Hulsizer built Peak6 from a $1.5 million trading bet in 1997 into a multi-billion-dollar fintech empire spanning trading, clearing, insurance, venture investing, esports, and AI. But this episode goes far beyond markets and money. It’s a masterclass in probabilistic thinking, founder psychology, marriage under pressure, and adapting during technological disruption. Jenny and Ma...