Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist
Ep 77: Mike Solana on Exposing Government Corruption, Saving San Francisco, and Building a New Media Empire
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Ep 77: Mike Solana on Exposing Government Corruption, Saving San Francisco, and Building a New Media Empire

Can investigative journalism prevail over sensational clickbait? Is it time to give up on San Francisco? Is the First Amendment sufficient to prevent the government from colluding with, or forcing, Big Tech to censor speech?

This week, join us for a one-of-a-kind conversation with Mike Solana, Chief Marketing Officer at Founders Fund and Founder of Pirate Wires, one of the fastest-growing and most influential new media companies. Mike is a must-follow on X for his wit and unique insights, but also for the work he's doing to expose corruption and revive investigative reporting. Pirate Wires recently revealed how San Francisco taxpayers are being forced to fund the protests that shut down the Bay Bridge!

We begin our discussion with the broken state of media, and why Mike believes a subscription model is the path to building a successful media outlet that isn't beholden to clickbait. Next, we discuss whether SF can be saved from the far Left and why we need better elites who don't blindly fund radical non-profits. We also cover several of Mike's seminal pieces of writing: the future of free speech when the government and Big Tech create a decentralized censorship regime, and how to revive our country's ability to build great, inspiring works. Can we restore competence in government or should we turn our energy and attention elsewhere? We discuss!

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