Stephen Wolfram is a physicist, computer scientist and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, the creator of Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha, and the author of A New Kind of Science.

Full transcript available at: jnwpod.com.

Stephen Wolfram is a physicist, computer scientist and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, the creator of Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha, and the author of A New Kind of Science.
Full transcript available at: jnwpod.com.

Joe Walker hosts refreshingly in-depth conversations with founders, scientists, scholars, economists, and public intellectuals.

(Formerly 'The Jolly Swagman Podcast'.)

Joe Walker hosts refreshingly in-depth conversations with founders, scientists, scholars, economists, and public intellectuals.
(Formerly 'The Jolly Swagman Podcast'.)

Joe Walker hosts refreshingly in-depth conversations with founders, scientists, scholars, economists, and public intellectuals.

The Joe Walker Podcast

The JSP is a weekly exploration of questions that are both important and overlooked. Joe Walker, a former political speechwriter helping to build a Y Combinator-backed startup, hosts refreshingly in-depth conversations. Topics cover capitalism, science, business, culture and politics. Guests include Nobel laureates, former prime ministers, authors, entrepreneurs, investors and thought-leaders. Australia's best long-form podcast. A space for curious contrarians.

The Jolly Swagman Podcast

Stephen Wolfram — Constructing the Computational Paradigm

This episode is the sixth instalment of my Australian policy series, recorded live in Sydney on February 26, 2025.

I speak with Sam Roggeveen—Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program, and a former senior analyst at the Office of National Assessments—about why the United States won’t fight China for dominance in Asia, and what that means for an Australia long reliant on American protection.

We explore the limits of America’s resolve in Asia, why an alliance with Indonesia should be the top priority of Australian statecraft, whether new technologies like drones are reversing the long-held advantage of the defender, the possibility that Australia might one day acquire nuclear weapons, and how Sam’s “echidna strategy” could let us defend ourselves from a major Asian power without substantially boosting defence spending.

Video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq9n62A07mE

Transcript available here: https://josephnoelwalker.com/sam-roggeveen-aus-policy-series/ 

This episode is the sixth instalment of my Australian policy series, recorded live in Sydney on February 26, 2025.
I speak with Sam Roggeveen&mdash;Director of the Lowy Institute&rsquo;s International Security Program, and a former senior analyst at the Office of National Assessments&mdash;about why the United States won&rsquo;t fight China for dominance in Asia, and what that means for an Australia long reliant on American protection.
We explore the limits of America&rsquo;s resolve in Asia, why an alliance with Indonesia should be the top priority of Australian statecraft, whether new technologies like drones are reversing the long-held advantage of the defender, the possibility that Australia might one day acquire nuclear weapons, and how Sam&rsquo;s &ldquo;echidna strategy&rdquo; could let us defend ourselves from a major Asian power without substantially boosting defence spending. Video available here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq9n62A07mE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq9n62A07mE</a>
Transcript available here: <a href="https://josephnoelwalker.com/sam-roggeveen-aus-policy-series/">https://josephnoelwalker.com/sam-roggeveen-aus-policy-series/</a>&nbsp;

Sam Roggeveen — Why the US Won't Fight China for Dominance (and What it Means for Australia) [Aus. Policy Series - LIVE]

This episode is the fifth instalment of my Australian policy series, recorded live in Sydney on February 12, 2025.

I speak with Peter Tulip—Chief Economist at the Centre for Independent Studies, and a former senior researcher at both the Reserve Bank of Australia and the US Federal Reserve.

We go deep into what's driving Australia's housing crisis, the problems with heritage rules and height restrictions, critiques of both NIMBY and YIMBY thinking, the sobering 10–20-year timeframe that even an “extremely ambitious” supply plan might require, and the cultural shift needed to reach a new equilibrium where housing is truly abundant.

This episode is the fifth instalment of my Australian policy series, recorded live in Sydney on February 12, 2025.
I speak with Peter Tulip&mdash;Chief Economist at the Centre for Independent Studies, and a former senior researcher at both the Reserve Bank of Australia and the US Federal Reserve.
We go deep into what's driving Australia's housing crisis, the problems with heritage rules and height restrictions, critiques of both NIMBY and YIMBY thinking, the sobering 10&ndash;20-year timeframe that even an &ldquo;extremely ambitious&rdquo; supply plan might require, and the cultural shift needed to reach a new equilibrium where housing is truly abundant.

Peter Tulip — What Will It Actually Take to Solve the Housing Crisis? [Aus. Policy Series - LIVE]

Australia stands alone among English-speaking democracies with its compulsory, preferential voting system. But why?

This episode is the fourth instalment of my Australian policy series. It was recorded in Melbourne on March 6, 2025.

I speak with Judith Brett—Emeritus Professor of Politics at La Trobe University and author of the canonical history of Australia's electoral system, From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage—about how Australia became an electoral trailblazer.

We trace the accidental adoption of near-universal manhood suffrage in the 1850s, the political calculations that led to compulsory voting and preferential voting, and why bureaucratic efficiency is so deeply woven into our electoral culture.

Along the way, we explore how Benthamite thinking and low taxation in the colonial era combined to create a voting system that is unique among English-speaking democracies.

Australia stands alone among English-speaking democracies with its compulsory, preferential voting system. But why?
This episode is the fourth instalment of my Australian policy series. It was recorded in Melbourne on March 6, 2025.
I speak with Judith Brett&mdash;Emeritus Professor of Politics at La Trobe University and author of the canonical history of Australia's electoral system, <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Secret-Ballot-Democracy-Sausage-Compulsory-ebook/dp/B07HP8VH1F">From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage</a>&mdash;about how Australia became an electoral trailblazer.
We trace the accidental adoption of near-universal manhood suffrage in the 1850s, the political calculations that led to compulsory voting and preferential voting, and why bureaucratic efficiency is so deeply woven into our electoral culture.
Along the way, we explore how Benthamite thinking and low taxation in the colonial era combined to create a voting system that is unique among English-speaking democracies.

Stephen Wolfram — Constructing the Computational Paradigm

The Jolly Swagman Podcast

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