PODCASTING

The "Great Men" Theory of Podcasting Listen up, the 21stcentury frontiersmen are talking—a lot.

- AINSLEY HARRIS

JEFF BEZOS IS A BUSY man. But in December, he found the time-two hours and 11 minutes, to be exact to talk with Lex Fridman, a computer scientist and host of the Lex Fridman Podcast. Fridman's podcast is the most popular in the technology category, according to Apple and Spotify.

His following on social media-including his own Reddit community, 38,000 strong-extends to more than 8 million people.

During the past six years, Fridman has recorded more than 400 episodes on topics ranging from alien life to venture investing. His interview subjects have included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, aspiring Middle East dealmaker Jared Kushner, and entrepreneurial YouTube star MrBeast. In July, Fridman interviewed Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, for an hour.

At first glance, Fridman might seem an unlikely influencer. His plodding baritone engages in only the most tentative banter. Episodes are a test of listener endurance, almost invariably running for more than an hour, if not two or three. And then there is Fridman's monastic focus on his core interest: how to become a Great Man.

Yes, man: Not quite 12% of Fridman's 400-plus guests have been women, and among those, the vast majority have been women scientists who observe the world as it is, unlike his typical guest-alpha-male builders who want to bend the world to their will.

"When you look up at the stars and think big, what do you hope is the future of humanity?" Fridman asked Bezos, after listening to the Amazon and Blue Origin founder share tales of childhood adventures on his grandfather's ranch.

"I would love to see a trillion humans living in the solar system," Bezos replied. "If we had a trillion humans, we would have, at any given time, a thousand Mozarts and a thousand Einsteins. Our solar system would be full of life and intelligence and energy." These days, Fridman and Bezos aren't the only ones hoping for such a future.