Ben Averbook Podcast

Matt Bateman is a philosopher and founder of Montessorium, working on building Montessori schools enhanced with AI. What’s the difference between patiency and an agency? In this conversation, Matt explains why agency matters more than test scores, how AI can scale personalized learning, why education reform keeps failing, and what the world would look like if every child learned to be an agent ins...

This is my conversation with Austen Allred. Austen is the founder of Gauntlet AI which is a 10 week in-person training that, if completed, guarantees a $200k+ AI engineering job at the end. Just to make it sound more crazy, it’s completely free. If selected, you do 2 weeks virtually and then if still in the cohort, they will fly you to Austin, TX, house you, and feed you, all at no cost to the stu...

This is my conversation with MacKenzie Price, founder of Alpha School. Since the first Alpha School opened almost 10 years ago, MacKenzie has been working towards making kids love school more than vacation. In this conversation we talk about: * Why schools are still banning AI in late 2025 while Alpha’s kindergartners use it to build apps and practice public speaking * The Harvard study showing AI...

This is a narration of the blog post written about lessons from Walter Isaacson's biography titled "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" . Subscribe to get all posts sent to you here: benaverbook.com Follow me on X: x.com/benaverbook This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.benaverbook.com

Episode Description In this solo episode, Ben dives deep into Salman Khan's groundbreaking book "Brave New Words," exploring how artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize education as we know it. From the fundamental flaws in our current education system to the transformative potential of AI tutors, this episode unpacks why the next decade could be the most consequential in human history...

Dr. David Ruth, Dean of STEM at the University of Austin, joins the podcast to detail UATX's mission to rebuild higher education around the fearless pursuit of truth. We explore their first-principles approach to curriculum (integrating "Homer and Python"), their controversial merit-based admissions, and why they believe traditional universities are failing. Dr. Ruth's commitment to open inquiry a...

Danielle Strachman joins the podcast to break down the flaws in traditional education pathways and explore how alternative approaches can unleash potential, particularly for young founders. Danielle is Co-founder & General Partner at 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm backing young founders often working outside traditional institutions. She previously helped build and run the Thiel Fellowship alon...

My conversation with Jason Zhao, co-founder of Story Protocol. Jason breaks down the $61 trillion intellectual property market, explains how creators can better monetize their work, and shares a vision for making IP licensing as seamless as an API call. We explore the balance between incentivizing creation and enabling access, why AI training data should include compensation for creators, and how...

My conversation with Augustus Doricko, founder of Rainmaker. Augustus shares his thoughts on higher education, what makes a successful founder, and his ambitious vision to "green the Great American Desert." Timestamps: 00:00:00 - College admissions issues and higher education 00:04:01 - Leaving college for better opportunities 00:05:10 - Upskilling and human capital concentration 00:05:48 - Fellow...

Ashley Rindsberg is the author of "The Gray Lady Winked: How the New York Times's Misreporting, Distortions and Fabrications Radically Alter History". I n this episode he discusses how The New York Times has repeatedly misrepresented major historical events and why this matters. Timestamps: 00:00:20 - The discovery of The New York Times repeating Nazi propaganda in 1939 00:07:32 - Responding to cr...

Humans don't just want answers—they crave experiences. Henry Modisett, the design mind behind Perplexity, explores how beautiful, intuitive software emerges from simplicity, restraint, and genuine understanding of user needs. Why does great design demand saying 'no' more often than 'yes'? How can branding authentically represent what users already feel? Henry reveals how Perplexity leverages thoug...