All-In E38: Bestie brawl, Robinhood's $70M fine & S-1, Delta variant, next gen candidates & more
Episode 38 • 7/3/2021
Key discussions and takeaways from this episode:
Bestie Twitter Drama Resolution
- The episode opened with addressing recent Twitter tension between Jason Calacanis and David Sacks over podcast moderation
- After a heated discussion about interruptions and labeling, they resolved their differences with apologies and agreed to move forward
- Chamath mediated, noting both bring value - Jason as moderator and Sacks with clear perspectives
Robinhood S-1 Filing & FINRA Fine
- Robinhood filed S-1 and paid $70M FINRA fine for outages and misleading customers
- Company showed massive growth: 18M funded accounts, $2B revenue run rate
- Revenue up 300% YoY, monthly active users doubled to 17.7M
- The besties discussed the fine as a strategic move to clear regulatory issues before IPO
Delta Variant Discussion
- David Friedberg provided detailed analysis of Delta variant reproduction rate (~1.3)
- Explained correlation between vaccination rates and variant spread
- Group discussed how lockdown response may have been overcautious given data
- Criticized potential return to mask mandates and school restrictions as unscientific
2024 Presidential Race
- Discussed potential candidates for both parties:
- Republican side: Ron DeSantis emerging as frontrunner, with Nikki Haley as possible establishment candidate
- Democratic side: Questions about Biden's age and Harris's role
- Agreement that both Trump and Biden are likely too old for 2024
Big Tech Regulation
- Discussed Facebook FTC case dismissal and Lina Khan's appointment
- Amazon's attempt to recuse Khan viewed as strategic but unlikely to succeed
- Bipartisan support emerging for tech regulation with 6 bills moving through Congress
- Discussion of Facebook's content moderation decisions coming back to hurt them politically
The episode ended with discussion of the US sprinter marijuana test controversy and its implications for sports policy.