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The speaker states they dropped out of Harvard to serve their country and pursue reform, despite receiving email threats and losing friendships. They believe campus sentiment has turned against them. The speaker expresses hope that people will recognize the need for reform and that the people working there have the best chance of achieving it, working constantly. They believe the impact of their work is more valuable than anything they could have learned in a computer science classroom.

The speaker considered leaving strategy consulting to work in the music industry. A friend of the speaker's went to work for Sony and then became the number two executive at Bad Boy Entertainment, Sean Combs' private business, where he worked for twenty years. The speaker almost followed his friend into the music business.

The speaker states they never expected to be in their current position, as their initial aspiration was to be a healer, specifically a nephrologist, teach medical students, and improve the world. While they've met incredible people and have no regrets, they describe their current situation as a nightmare. They emphasize that no doctor desires to have their integrity or sanity questioned.

The speaker states that representing inmates has been part of their mission. They also mention representing poor people through the Legal Services Corporation, with the goal of making people's lives better. The speaker believes that even young people without powerful jobs can make a difference if they work hard and persevere.

Speaker 1 had a long-standing interest in electric cars, starting in undergrad. He originally came to California to do a PhD at Stanford in applied physics and material science to work on ultra capacitors in electric cars. After PayPal, he wanted to get back into electric vehicles, thinking GM would continue developing them after the EV1. However, after California changed regulations, GM recalled and crushed all EV1s. Former EV1 owners held a candlelit vigil as they were crushed. Speaker 1 found it crazy that GM would ignore this level of passion for a product. This prompted the creation of an electric car company, even though the most likely outcome was thought to be failure.

The speaker initially chose accounting for their aptitude with numbers and potential salary. However, during their junior year, they and a group of friends were victims of hate crimes, including keyed cars and hate mail. The school hired the Cochran firm, and the speaker felt helpless, inspiring a desire to help others facing similar experiences, leading to the decision to take the LSAT. While in college, the speaker participated in Little Shop of Horrors and was recruited for mock trial. Initially hesitant, believing it was for future law students, the speaker joined mock trial during their senior year, became a national All-American, and was encouraged to attend law school. They applied, received a full ride, and decided to attend law school with the option to quit if they disliked it.

I got involved in reproductive issues because of my parents. They were always engaged in volunteer work, and my dad even led Planned Parenthood. Being associated with it was controversial at the time.

At 22, the speaker became one of the youngest people to pass the bar exam after being inspired to become a lawyer by the show Suits. They abandoned GTA, got into Cambridge, and after three years of hard work, secured a contract with a big New York firm. After only six weeks of studying, they passed the bar exam, becoming one of the youngest lawyers in New York. Disillusioned by the focus on profits over justice, the speaker quit their job. They then started a company with their brother, Dom, to build the future of the internet and host hackathons where people can win hundreds of thousands of dollars without debt. The next hackathon is in twenty-five days.

I became interested in population and reproductive health issues due to my parents' involvement in volunteer work. My dad, in particular, was the head of Planned Parenthood, which was a controversial role to have. This upbringing influenced my intellectual curiosity in reproductive issues.

I was drawn to population and reproductive health issues due to their urgency. My parents' involvement in volunteer work, particularly my dad's role as the head of Planned Parenthood, influenced me. Despite the controversy surrounding it, their dedication inspired me to approach reproductive issues from an intellectual perspective.

The speaker recalls wanting to go to Howard University and then attending in February 2004. The speaker mentions olives with cream cheese on dark rye. The speaker identifies as a prosecutor.

Speaker 1 describes a decision to follow conscience after twenty years in the military, mostly deployed to the Middle East. He explains that after multiple deployments he realized “we weren't there for the reasons that our government told us” and that there was no vital national interest in the current fight. He made a promise to himself about twenty years ago not to send young Americans off to die on foreign battlefields if he ever had a position of responsibility. When given that opportunity, he decided to resign, stating he did not want to send others to die in wars he believed were not in the nation’s interest. Speaker 0 notes their Catholic faith and mentions recent comments by the Holy Father highlighting concerns for innocent civilians harmed by conflict, including the killing of Father Pierre in Lebanon. The question is asked whether faith community or religious leaders’ support has helped. Speaker 1 responds that the support has been huge and that the resignation gained more traction than he expected. He emphasizes that although the decision was not made lightly, faith helped him hear “God's voice” and guided him to take action, which made the act feel easy and liberating. Speaker 0 asks if Speaker 1 has hope for America. Speaker 1 affirms having a great deal of hope, calling this an exciting moment. He highlights the power of technology to connect like‑minded people and give them a voice, despite potential downsides. He notes the significant presence and enthusiasm of young people in the room, expressing optimism about the next generation. Speaker 1 outlines what he believes must happen moving forward: during the midterm season and as the war progresses, people should be on their knees in prayer, then take action once upright. He argues that leaders must hear the public’s stance against this war and the lack of a vital national security interest, calling for the troops to come home and for efforts toward peace in the region. He asserts a desire to avoid “twenty plus more years of bloodletting” and urges people from all political parties to pressure representatives to oppose continued overseas wars. Speaker 1 clarifies that he is not advocating pacifism; if the country is attacked or there is an imminent threat, actions will be taken. The core message is that the nation must not continue down the current path, and making this stance clear to leaders is essential to preserving hope.

The speaker recalls wanting to go to Howard University and then attending in February 2004. The speaker mentions olives with cream cheese on dark rye. The speaker identifies as a prosecutor.

Interviewer: This decision to follow your conscience, give us a little backstory. How did that happen? Guest: Without getting too much into detail, I did a long-form podcast with Tucker, laying out the entire politics of the issue. After serving twenty years, mostly deployed to the Middle East, fighting the wars over there, and seeing how our country had been lied to and brought down the wrong path in those wars, and that we were getting sucked into another one and that the American people didn't have the full story and our country did not have a vital national interest in this current fight. I said, hey, in good conscience, I can't do this because that was a promise I made to myself probably twenty plus years ago when I was deployed to Iraq. Once I realized after my first couple deployments that we weren't there for the reasons that our government told us we were there for, I said if it's ever my turn, if I'm ever an adult in this situation, I ever have a position of responsibility, I will not, in good conscience, send young men and women off to die on foreign battlefields. Interviewer: So we're Catholics here, baptized Catholic. We saw just on Sunday... Does it help you to have other members of your faith community or religious leaders speaking up on your behalf? Guest: It's been huge. I didn't think when I submitted my resignation it would get the traction or attention that you talked about. Having support from friends, family, but really, I’ve been asked a couple times, was it a hard decision to make? It wasn't made lightly. I put a lot of thought into it, and I had been thinking about it for quite some time. But having faith, I think I heard God's voice, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be and it was my time to take action, which made taking the action incredibly easy and liberating, making me feel like I was in the right spot. Interviewer: Do you have hope for America? And if you do, why so? Guest: I have a great deal of hope for America. This is a very exciting moment. The fact that we're seeing people who speak out on behalf of their faith or who are willing to speak truth to power, and that the people who support them can have a voice because of technology, which can be used for a lot of bad, but in connecting like-minded people and getting our word out, that technology is a very powerful weapon. The young people—the young men and women—there are plenty in this room; I was overwhelmed by the young folks who came up to shake my hand. I have hope for the next generation. As we head into this midterm season and as the war progresses in the next few weeks, the most important thing is to be on our knees and pray, but once we're up from our knees, we need to take action. Our leaders will hear us if we all speak out. We're at a critical juncture in the war in Iran; we must let our leaders hear that we do not support this war, that there is no vital national security interest, that we want to bring our troops home and work toward peace in that region, and that we do not want twenty plus more years of bloodletting. Heading into this next election cycle, demand from everyone, from every political party, go to your representatives, and say I will not vote for you if you are going to vote for the continuation of these wars overseas. If our country is attacked, we will attack; if there's an imminent attack, we will attack; if there's an actual threat, we will attack and fight that. However, we cannot continue to go down this path. We have to make that clear to our leaders. That's what gives me hope.

Speaker 0: In hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently? Speaker 1: I wish I'd spent more time with my wife and with my children when they were little. I was kind of obsessed with work. Speaker 1: The first one died of ovarian cancer, the second one died of pancreatic cancer. Speaker 0: And you wish you'd spent more time with the second wife? Speaker 1: yeah, who was a wonderful person. Speaker 1: Oh, just because she's gone, I can't spend more time with her now. Speaker 0: Mhmm. But you didn't know that at the time? Speaker 1: At the time, you think I mean, it was likely I would die before her just because she was a woman and I was a man. I didn't I just didn't spend enough time when I could.

The speaker recalls whether he considered joining the CIA before journalism; "No. Yeah." He notes growing up in Georgetown and says, "And this was obviously, it was ten years before 09/11. It was eleven years, 1990." There were "a ton of former CIA officers in our neighborhood." His father "worked for the government," and CIA officers, from his perspective as a child, were like kind of dashing, physically brave intellectuals, including "some guy who'd studied classics at Yale who wound up in Beirut as station chief." He says he wanted "an interesting life"—"That's the that's the main thing that I wanted out of life." He adds, "I never was interested in money" and, "I had the privilege of not being interested in money because I I didn't grow up in a family where we were worried about money, so I just never really thought about money."

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The speaker is a lawyer who handles civil rights cases involving police killings, as well as criminal defense and car accident cases. They initially planned to become an accountant due to their aptitude for numbers and the potential for high pay. However, during their junior year of college, they and a group of friends were victims of hate crimes, including having cars keyed with racial slurs and receiving hate mail. The speaker felt helpless during this time. The school hired the Cochrane firm and a lawyer who graduated from University of Houston was assigned to the speaker's case. This experience motivated the speaker to pursue law to help others facing similar situations, leading them to take the LSAT.

The speaker dropped out of Harvard to serve their country, resulting in lost friendships and widespread dislike on campus. They hope people will realize reform is genuinely needed. The speaker believes that the people they are addressing have a real shot at success, noting their dedication and work ethic, working until 2 AM every day of the week.