The essays, talks, and interviews of Peter Thiel

This document is a comprehensive compilation of Peter Thiel’s essays, podcasts, talks, interviews, and advice.

Table of Contents

• Writing

• Talks & Interviews

• Startup Archive Posts

• About Peter Thiel

Writing

1. Back To The Future (First Things | Mar 2020)

2. Good for Google, Bad for America (New York Times | Aug 2019)

3. Peter Thiel: The Online Privacy Debate Won’t End With Gawker (New York Times | Aug 2016)

4. The New Atomic Age We Need (New York Times | Nov 2015)

5. Against Edenism (First Things | Jun 2015)

6. Developing the Developed World (Independent Institute | Jan 2015)

7. Thinking too highly of higher ed (Tampa Bay Times | Nov 2014)

8. Competition Is for Losers (Wall Street Journal | Sep 2014)

9. You Should Run Your Startup Like a Cult. Here’s How (Wired | Sep 2014)

10. The End of the Future (National Review | Oct 2011)

11. Swift Blind Horseman? (National Review | Sep 2011)

12. The Education of a Libertarian (Cato Unbound | Apr 2009)

13. The Optimistic Thought Experiment (Hoover Institution | Jan 2008)

14. Spending The Future (First Things | Nov 2007)

15. The Straussian Moment (Gwern | Jan 2007)

Talks & Interviews

Every >10 minute Peter Thiel talk or interview we could find (as of Feb 2024)

1. Peter Thiel - Keynote Address | The Conservative and Republican Student Conference (The Harvard Salient | Feb 2024)

2. Peter Thiel On The Diversity Myth, Corrupt Institutions, Woke Capital, Loss Of Religion, & China (Pirate Wires | Nov 2023)

3. Peter Thiel: The Stagnation of Science and the AI Revolution (World of DaaS with Auren Hoffman | Oct 2023)

4. Peter Thiel on 'Anti-Anti-Anti-Anti Classical Liberalism' (OxfordUnion | Jan 2023)

5. Peter Thiel, Leader of the Rebel Alliance (Hoover Institution | Nov 2022)

6. Peter Thiel | The Tech Curse | NatCon 3 Miami (National Conservatism | Sep 2022)

7. Peter Thiel | Nationalism Breaks the Dogma Machine (National Conservatism | Nov 2021)

8. A Conversation with Peter Thiel: Culture, Religion, and Technology (Foundation for American Innovation | Oct 2021)

9. Peter Thiel: Zero to One (Socrates in the City | Feb 2020)

10. The World According to Thiel (Hoover Institution | Jan 2020)

11. Peter Thiel on “The Straussian Moment” (Hoover Institution | Sep 2019)

12. Peter Thiel on "The Portal", Episode #001: "An Era of Stagnation & Universal Institutional Failure." (Eric Weinstein | Jul 2019)

13. a16z Podcast | The (Definite) Optimism of Peter Thiel (a16z | Jan 2019)

14. Peter Thiel Speaks at Brain Bar (Brain Bar | Jul 2018)

15. Cardinal Conversations: Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel on "Technology and Politics" (Hoover Institution | Feb 2018)

16. Competition is for Losers with Peter Thiel (Y Combinator | Mar 2017)

17. Remarks by Commencement Speaker Peter Thiel (Hamilton College | May 2016)

18. Peter Thiel on the Global Economy, the State of Our Technology, and Artificial Intelligence (Conversations with Bill Kristol | May 2016)

19. DealBook Conference 2015 - Venture Capital And Where It’s Going (New York Times Events | Nov 2015)

20. Peter Thiel Speaks at Center on Capitalism and Society’s 2015 conference (The Center on Capitalism and Society | Nov 2015)

21. Peter Thiel Presents: "Developing the Developed World" (The King’s College | Oct 2015)

22. Peter Thiel Interview (Tim Ferriss | Oct 2015)

23. Peter Thiel: We are in a Higher Education Bubble (The Aspen Institute | Jul 2015)

24. Imagining the Future, Innovation and God: N.T. Wright and Peter Thiel in San Francisco (The Veritas Forum | Jun 2015)

25. PAYPAL MAFIA: Reid Hoffman & Peter Thiel's Master Class at CEIBS (China Europe International Business School | Jun 2015)

26. Peter Thiel: PayPal, politics & the importance of being individual (Said Business School, University of Oxford | May 2015)

27. Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not To Name Your Company | Conversations with Tyler (Mercatus Center | Apr 2015)

28. Peter Thiel on being a contrarian (This Week in Startups | Mar 2015)

29. Anderson Speaker Series: Peter Thiel (UCLAAnderson | Feb 2015)

30. Zero to One: A Discussion with Peter Thiel (General Assembly | Feb 2015)

31. Peter Thiel: Going from Zero to One (Chicago Ideas | Jan 2015)

32. e@nu Speaker Series with Peter Thiel: Developing The Developed World (Northwestern Engineering | Dec 2014)

33. From Zero to One - Peter Thiel at the Innovation Center at Cockrell School of Engineering (Emergent Order | Nov 2014)

34. A New Way to Think About Startup Innovation (Knowledge at Wharton | Oct 2014)

35. How To Build the Next Billion Dollar Startup (Forbes | Oct 2014)

36. Peter Thiel on markets, technology, and education (Hoover Institution | Oct 2014)

37. Peter Thiel Returns to Stanford to Share Business Tips from "Zero to One" (Stanford Law School | Oct 2014)

38. Binary Truths with Peter Thiel | Disrupt SF 2014 (TechCrunch | Sep 2014)

39. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel on the future of technology (CBS Mornings | Sep 2014)

40. Peter Thiel: Successful Businesses are Based on Secrets (Wired UK | Sep 2014)

41. What is the Hope for Humanity? A discussion of technology, politics, and theology (The Veritas Forum | May 2014)

42. Peter Thiel: You Are Not a Lottery Ticket (SXSW | Oct 2013)

43. Peter Thiel and Andy Kessler on the state of technology and innovation (Hoover Institution | Sep 2013)

44. Copy of In Tech We Trust? A Debate with Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen (Milken Institute | May 2013)

45. Peter Thiel - Developing the Developed World (Credit Suisse | Mar 2013)

46. Peter Thiel and Charles Bolden on The World in 2050: What is the Next Big Idea? (World Affairs | Jan 2013)

47. PandoMonthly: FIreside Chat With Peter Thiel (PandoDaily | Nov 2012)

48. Big Think Interview With Peter Thiel (Big Think | Apr 2012)

49. A Conversation with Peter Thiel and Niall Ferguson (John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum | Feb 2012)

50. Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel - Debate (Fortune Magazine | 2012)

51. Max Levchin and Peter Thiel: Smart Venture Capital in 2011 (The Commonwealth Club of California | Feb 2011)

52. TEDxSiliconValley - Peter Thiel - 12/12/09 (TEDx Talks | Dec 2009)

53. The U.S. Economy with Peter Thiel (Hoover Institution | Dec 2008)

Startup Archive Posts

1. 10 Ideas from Peter Thiel

2. Peter Thiel: Entrepreneurship is not a good direct goal

3. Peter Thiel: “Vertical integration is an under-explored modality of technological progress”

4. Peter Thiel: The critical thing for starting a company is to have “the kernel of a good idea”

5. Peter Thiel on what he would look for if he was joining a startup

6. Ten ideas for founders from Peter Thiel’s Zero to One

7. Peter Thiel: “disruption” is “one of the most horrible, overused buzzwords”

8. Peter Thiel’s four characteristics of monopoly

9. Peter Thiel explains why monopolies are not always bad

10. Peter Thiel on the importance of starting with a small market

About Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur and investor. He started PayPal in 1998, led it as CEO, and took it public in 2002, defining a new era of fast and secure online commerce. In 2004 he made the first outside investment in Facebook, where he serves as a director. The same year he launched Palantir Technologies, a software company that harnesses computers to empower human analysts in fields like national security and global finance. He has provided early funding for LinkedIn, Yelp, and dozens of successful technology startups, many run by former colleagues who have been dubbed the “PayPal Mafia.” He is a partner at Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has funded companies like SpaceX and Airbnb. He started the Thiel Fellowship, which ignited a national debate by encouraging young people to put learning before schooling, and he leads the Thiel Foundation, which works to advance technological progress and long- term thinking about the future.