Hill & Valley Gigastream, Apple's Next CEO, OpenAI's Non-Profit | Scott Nolan, Sarah Guo, Casey Handmer, Shaun Maguire, Delian Asparouhov, Zach Dell, Ryan Petersen, and Chase Lochmiller

March 24, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The TBPN episode recaps recent tech debates and news while streaming remotely from the Hill & Valley conference in DC. Guests from AI infrastructure, logistics, nuclear, VC, space manufacturing, and energy firms discuss bottlenecks like power, labor, and policy amid geopolitical tensions, with a pro-business vibe bridging Silicon Valley and Washington.

Peptides Debate and Apple Succession

Hosts recap a live debate on gray-market peptides like RETA, pitting Max (pro: anecdotal benefits justify a regulated white market over risky basements) against Martin Scherelli (con: psychology-driven fad; stick to FDA-approved GLP-1s like Ozempic, shut down grays). No resolution—listeners decide, weighing unknown risks against evidence gaps. Prior guests like Andrew Huberman (RETA as trillion-dollar drug) and Bryan Johnson (caution on side effects) provide context.

Apple profiles highlight John Ternus, 50, as Tim Cook's likely internal successor for hardware engineering (80% of revenue). Ternus reversed quality declines, expanded to robots and sustainability, but drew internal flak for blame-focused fixes like reassigning an AirPods exec after a Vision Pro audio streaming flaw forced mid-cycle earbud revisions. Hosts defend his leadership as systemic, not ruthless, amid Apple's AI struggles and executive retirements; Cook eyes long-term continuity.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Hill & Valley Gigastream Intro** - Hosts introduce remote coverage from TVP Ultra Dome with on-ground reporters and lineup of guests including Chase Lochmiller, Ryan Petersen, Scott Nolan, Sarah Guo, Shaun Maguire, Delian Asparouhov, Zach Dell.
2 (01:06) **Peptide Debate Recap** - Hosts review prior day's debate on gray-market peptides vs. FDA-approved drugs like Ozempic, highlighting pros/cons of anecdotes vs. studies.
3 (09:17) **Apple's Next CEO: John Ternus Profile** - Deep dive into Bloomberg profile of hardware SVP John Ternus as Tim Cook successor, covering his engineering focus, product expansions, and Vision Pro audio flaw response.
4 (29:31) **TBPN in Fast Company Rankings** - Show ranked #2 most innovative media company behind Cloudflare; hosts celebrate alongside Ramp, Walmart, others.
5 (34:26) **OpenAI Launches Non-Profit** - Sam Altman appoints co-founders to lead new non-profit for AI safety, science discovery, and societal threats like bio risks.
6 (37:12) **Private Credit Redemption Squeeze** - Ares and Apollo cap withdrawals at 5% amid $1.8T market strain from AI-disrupted borrowers and liquidity fears.
7 (42:11) **Dreamer Team Joins Meta** - AI agent builder for personal apps acquired by Meta Superintelligence Labs after beta launch.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

(06:46) - Who Won The Great Peptide Debate
(13:57) - Ternus Steps Into Apple Spotlight
(34:12) - TBPN Featured in Fast Company
(39:11) - OpenAI's Non-Profit to Spend $1B in 2026
(40:59) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions
(50:52) - Chase Lochmiller is the co-founder and CEO of Crusoe, an energy and computing company that uses stranded natural gas to power data centers and AI workloads. He focuses on aligning energy production with high-performance computing demand, turning wasted resources into infrastructure for machine learning and cloud services.
(01:06:04) - Ryan Petersen is the founder and CEO of Flexport, a global logistics and freight forwarding company using software to modernize supply chains. He is known for his hands-on leadership style and for bringing transparency, data, and real-time visibility to international shipping and trade.
(01:20:49) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions
(01:23:28) - Scott Nolan is the founder and CEO of General Matter, a company focused on advanced materials and next-generation industrial technologies. He previously was a partner at Founders Fund, where he invested in frontier sectors like aerospace, defense, and manufacturing, and continues to focus on building technically ambitious companies with long-term impact.
(01:35:19) - Sarah Guo is the founder of Conviction, a venture firm focused on AI-native companies. She was previously a general partner at Greylock, where she led investments in companies like Figma, and is known for backing founders building across the AI stack—from infrastructure to applications.
(01:48:41) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions
(01:55:39) - Casey Handmer is the co-founder and CEO of Terraform Industries, a company focused on producing low-cost synthetic fuels using renewable energy. A former physicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he writes extensively on energy, climate, and industrial systems, with an emphasis on scaling technologies that enable abundant clean energy.
(02:04:42) - Shaun Maguire is a partner at Sequoia Capital focused on early-stage investments in AI, infrastructure, and frontier technologies. He previously founded Expanse, a cybersecurity company acquired by Palo Alto Networks, and is known for backing technically ambitious founders and writing about geopolitics, defense, and the future of software.
(02:19:09) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions
(02:24:13) - Delian Asparouhov is a partner at Founders Fund focused on frontier technologies, including aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing. He previously co-founded Varda Space Industries, which builds space-based manufacturing infrastructure, and works closely with companies pushing the boundaries of hardware and national security tech.
(02:36:44) - Zach Dell is the co-founder and CEO of Base Power, a company building distri