OpenNashPodcasts

Topic

United States

100 facts from 60 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.

1920s

By the end of the 1920s, more than 40,000 different candy bars were made in America, mostly by regional entrepreneurs.

“by the end of the 1920s, there are more than 40,000 different candy bars being made in America.”

Acquired · Mars Inc. (the chocolate story), 0:35:57

1930s

The hosts say that by the 1930s only about 2% of Germans owned a car, versus about 30% of Americans.

“Apparently, only 2% of Germans owned a car versus 30% of Americans by the 1930s.”

Acquired · Porsche (with Doug DeMuro), 0:08:48

1946

The share of Americans with health insurance rose from 10% to 30% by 1946, and reached 80% by 1964.

“So, at the end of the war in 1946, the percentage of Americans who had medical insurance was already up to 30% from that 10% number just six years before.”

Acquired · Epic Systems (MyChart), 0:22:03

1954

In 1954 Porsche sold 588 cars in the United States, about 40% of its total production that year.

“Porsche sells 588 cars in the U S, which was 40% of their entire production for the year.”

Acquired · Porsche (with Doug DeMuro), 0:53:27

1960

US healthcare spending was about 17.3% of GDP, up from about 5% in 1960.

“The 17.3% of GDP that healthcare costs us, you should just know as a baseline that in 1960, that was 5% of GDP.”

Acquired · Novo Nordisk (Ozempic), 3:13:04

1973

In 1973 OPEC began an oil embargo on the United States and other Western nations, and energy prices roughly tripled.

“First, in 1973, when OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, starts an oil embargo on the U.S. and other Western nations, and the price of energy triples.”

Acquired · Enron, 0:08:53

1982

The U.S. home video game market dropped about 97% within two years, from $3.2 billion in 1982 toward $100 million by 1985.

“To put that differently, a 97% drop in market size within two years.”

Acquired · Nintendo's Origins, 0:37:25

1986

Peter McCullough said vaccine liability protection in the United States was memorialized in 1986.

“In 1986, uh, that's when it was memorialized as the the liability protection.”

Peter McCullough · #2576 - Dr. Peter McCullough, 0:13:27

2004

Peter McCullough said U.S. federal spending was 2.2 trillion dollars in 2004 and 4.4 trillion in 2019, rising to 6.6 trillion during COVID.

“Our US. spend on our budget in 2004 was 2.2 trillion with a T.”

Peter McCullough · #2576 - Dr. Peter McCullough, 2:33:52

2020

One of the hosts cites statistics that about 1.6 million people in the United States started or filed to start a business in the third quarter of 2020.

“1.6 million people created a business or filed to start a business in like q3 2020”

Acquired · Special: Acquired x Indie Hackers, 1:40:07

2021

At the peak of the surge, about 10,000 immigrants a day were crossing the southern U.S. border.

“At one point, 10,000 immigrants a day were crossing into the United States along the southern border.”

Lindsay Garrison · A Political Rebellion in the Rio Grande Valley, 0:07:53

2022

Josh Tyrangiel says a federal job retraining program that had retrained about 5 million people, largely in auto manufacturing in the Midwest, ended in 2022.

“We had about 5 million people who had been retrained, largely in the Midwest, around auto parts and auto manufacturing. That died in 2022.”

Josh Tyrangiel · How Leaders Can Use AI to Solve Real Business Problems, 0:20:08

2023

Pichai says the most important regulation the US could pass to help AI is a stronger privacy foundation, such as a national privacy bill.

“at least speaking from a US standpoint, you know, I think the most important regulation which we can pass, which will also help AI, is is a stronger privacy foundation.”

Sundar Pichai · Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Leadership, AI, and Big Tech, 0:15:04

2023

Brad Smith said Microsoft encouraged a US executive order requiring federal AI purchases only from companies self-certifying compliance with the NIST framework.

“the federal government would say procure AI for certain uses only from companies who are self-certifying that they're implementing the NIST AI risk management framework.”

Brad Smith · Vice Chair and President of Microsoft: AI and Geopolitics, 0:31:08

2024

Donald Trump said the US southern border situation in 2024 was twenty-five times worse than in 2016.

“Our border is twenty five times worse right now than it was in 2016.”

Donald Trump · #442 – Donald Trump Interview, 0:31:14

2024

Kahn says voice clones and deepfakes have influenced elections around the world and begun to play a small role in the US.

“There have been a number of cases of voice clones and deep fakes that have had influence on elections around the world.”

Jeremy Kahn · Debunking AI myths, with Jeremy Kahn, 0:35:23

2025

Daniel Whitenack says the report shows an 80 percent decline in a year in AI researchers and developers moving to the US.

“apparently there's been an eighty decline just in the last year in terms of the number of AI researchers and developers moving to the US.”

Daniel Whitenack · Breaking down the 2026 Stanford AI Index Report, 0:28:04

2025

An industry study cited by Brett Anderson found restaurant wages were up 41 percent compared with pre-pandemic levels.

“a recent study that came out last year, industry study said that wages are up 41 compared to pre pandemic levels in the restaurant industry.”

Brett Anderson · The Restaurant Industry Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?, 0:15:50

2026

Todd McKinnon said digital ID efforts follow EU-wide standards in Europe but are largely handled state by state in the United States.

“in Europe, it's certain standards across the EU, it's in the United States, it's very much f- at a state level.”

Todd McKinnon · Okta's CEO is betting big on AI agent identity, 1:08:43

2026-2030

Tanguy Catlin said US capital expenditure on data centers, hardware and energy would be about $7 trillion between 2026 and the end of 2030.

“about 7 trillion dollar of capital in expenditure across data center infrastructure, hardware, uh, energy between 2026 and the end of twenty thirty.”

Tanguy Catlin · 300. The CEO’s agenda for thriving in the agentic age, 0:07:35

2026

Chris Benson says the report finds the AI model performance gap between the United States and China has effectively closed.

“AI model performance. Between the United States and China has closed, it's effectively closed”

Chris Benson · Breaking down the 2026 Stanford AI Index Report, 0:07:12

2026

The report says the United States hosts the most AI data centers, while most of their chips are fabricated by a single Taiwanese foundry.

“the U- United States hosts the most AI data centers. But the majority of their chips are fab fabricated by a single Taiwanese foundry.”

Daniel Whitenack · Breaking down the 2026 Stanford AI Index Report, 0:09:31

2026

The report says the United States leads in AI investment while its ability to attract global talent is declining.

“The United States leads in AI investment, but its ability to attract global talent is declining.”

Daniel Whitenack · Breaking down the 2026 Stanford AI Index Report, 0:26:53

2026

Chris Benson says American-based closed models accessed through APIs still lead their category, while Chinese models are the strongest for self-hosting.

“if you're willing to do APis for closed models, uh, the the the American-based ones, uh, are still leading in that space.”

Chris Benson · Models, Harnesses, and Multi-Agent Systems, 0:09:43

2026

The U.S. oil industry has earned over $130 billion since the U.S. and Israel started a war in Iran, according to the hosts.

“The U.S. oil industry has earned over $130 billion since the U.S. and Israel started a war in Iran.”

Ayesha Rascoe · Oil Earnings, Binance Heist, A MAHA Update, 0:00:02

2030

Lari Hämäläinen said US data centers are projected to consume about 10 to 13% of US energy by 2030, up from about 2% the prior year.

“When we go to twenty thirty, the projection to currently is about ten to 13%, depending on the level we end up.”

Lari Hämäläinen · 300. The CEO’s agenda for thriving in the agentic age, 0:08:13

Undated

The hosts say 90% of US trucking companies have six or fewer trucks and 97% have fewer than 20.

“90% of trucking companies have six or fewer trucks and 97% have fewer than 20 trucks.”

Acquired · Convoy (with CEO Dan Lewis), 0:00:50

Undated

The hosts say the United States has over a million independent trucking companies, called carriers.

“There are over a million independent trucking companies or carriers, as we'll call them tonight, in the United States alone.”

Acquired · Convoy (with CEO Dan Lewis), 0:01:27

Undated

Dan Lewis says the US truckload market is about $600 billion a year, and the largest truckload broker handles about $10 billion.

“The truckload market is, you know, about $600 billion a year in the US.”

Acquired · Convoy (with CEO Dan Lewis), 1:19:39

Undated

Katherine Boyle says roughly 50 percent of unicorn founders in the United States are foreign born.

“something like 50 percent of unicorn founders in this country are foreign born”

Acquired · American Dynamism (with Katherine Boyle), 1:08:52

Undated

Tyler Cowen estimates that US government consumption is about 18% of the economy, health care almost 20%, and education six to seven percent.

“government consumption is what 18%, healthcare is almost 20%, I'm guessing education is six to 7%, the nonprofit sector”

Tyler Cowen · Tyler Cowen — The #1 bottleneck to AI progress is humans, 0:00:08

Undated

Aaron Levie proposes giving a green card with the diploma to anyone who studies AI or computer science in the US, and says neither the Trump nor the Biden administration did this.

“What you would do is you would just do the whole green card stamped on the diploma, uh, after college, and you would get anybody studying AI in the US.”

Aaron Levie · The enterprise AI revolution is underway, with Box’s Aaron Levie, 0:29:56

Undated

Andrew Ng characterized the previous US administration's AI safety thinking as safety theater driven by lobbyists seeking regulatory capture.

“There was really safety theater driven by lobbyists, um, fear-mongering to try to create regulatory capture, anti-open source types of regulations, right?”

Andrew Ng · Andrew Ng on winning the AI race, with DJ Patil, 0:16:11

Undated

Andrew Ng said he worries American competitiveness will suffer if high-skill immigration is made harder.

“I really worry about American competitiveness if we make it harder for high skill immigration.”

Andrew Ng · Andrew Ng on winning the AI race, with DJ Patil, 0:16:48

Undated

Andrew Ng said China has pulled ahead of the US in releasing open-weight models, which anyone can download and use for free.

“China has really pulled ahead of the US. in releasing open weight models. These are models anyone in the world can download and use for free.”

Andrew Ng · Andrew Ng on winning the AI race, with DJ Patil, 0:19:49

Undated

Andrew Ng said he saw a statistic suggesting cumulative adoption of Chinese open-weight models may have surpassed that of US open-weight models.

“I think I saw a stat showing that cumulative adoption of Chinese open weight models, I think, is about to surpass or may already have surpassed cumulative adoption of US. open weight models.”

Andrew Ng · Andrew Ng on winning the AI race, with DJ Patil, 0:20:17

Undated

Jahmy Hindman says about 4 trillion corn seeds are planted in the United States each year.

“there's 4 trillion corn seeds that are planted in the United States every year, give or take.”

Jahmy Hindman · John Deere's AI vision for future farms, 0:01:48

Undated

Hindman says roughly fifty years ago 30 to 40 percent of the US population worked directly in agriculture, versus about 1.5 percent today.

“thirty to 40% of the US. population would have been involved in agriculture, uh, directly, right? And today that number is like one and a half percent.”

Jahmy Hindman · John Deere's AI vision for future farms, 0:05:34

Undated

Chris Benson says the defense industry probably has more guardrails and responsible AI efforts than most commercial industries, because of federal regulations.

“there's probably more guardrails and responsible AI efforts around our industry than most commercial industries.”

Chris Benson · Breaking down the 2026 Stanford AI Index Report, 0:22:22

Undated

Bussmann says the US takes the opposite approach to the EU, assuming companies will handle safety audits themselves, which lowers administrative overhead.

“we see the opposite trend in the US, for example, that, uh, uh, assume that, you know, uh, companies will take care about the safety audit”

Oliver Bussmann · AI Agents in Banking: UBS Former Chief Information Officer, 0:10:56

Undated

Tim Cadogan says the share of American households that give to charity has fallen from about two thirds to the forties in percent.

“Philanthropic participation in America has been declining. So the percent of households used to be about two thirds, and it's now in the forties.”

Tim Cadogan · AI for Process, People for Heart: GoFundMe’s Tim Cadogan, 0:23:23

Undated

Most restaurateurs Brett Anderson talks to say they lose money on delivery-app orders and treat them as a marketing cost.

“most of the restaurateurs I talk to say that when you order using a delivery app from them, they lose money, that they basically consider it a marketing cost.”

Brett Anderson · The Restaurant Industry Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?, 0:20:13

Undated

Brett Anderson says make-ahead desserts like soft serve and sliced cakes let restaurants avoid hiring an expensive pastry chef.

“they also do not require you to hire a pastry chef, which is an expensive position that has traditionally been part of high end restaurants.”

Brett Anderson · The Restaurant Industry Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?, 0:29:06

Undated

Brett Anderson says caviar add-ons have become so common at restaurants that he no longer mentions them in his writing.

“it has become so customary to find caviar markups and add ons at restaurants that I have stopped mentioning them in my writing.”

Brett Anderson · The Restaurant Industry Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?, 0:29:54

Undated

Brett Anderson says Italian restaurants, steakhouses and French bistros tend to be higher priced and attract affluent diners, making them a safe business model.

“These are also types of restaurants that tend to be higher priced to begin with and attract affluent diners.”

Brett Anderson · The Restaurant Industry Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?, 0:26:27

Undated

Charlie Lewis said the United States government and the EU are developing more standards, with broader regulatory movement toward post-quantum cryptography.

“We are seeing increased standards development within the United States government, within, uh, the EU and broader regulatory movement here.”

Charlie Lewis · 325. Addressing AI Frontier Lab model risks and opportunities, 0:30:41

Undated

A speaker in a clip played on the show said his program had taken federal judges to Israel, and that 10 percent of active US federal judges had gone in three years.

“So I started a program right when the war started to take federal judges to Israel. We've taken one trip after another. 10% of all the active federal judges in America have gone just in the last three years.”

Speaker 5 · 1073. Andy & DJ CTI: Election Controversies, Absentee Ballot Envelopes Mysteriously Shipped To Soros & '60 Minutes' Profile Of Deported Husband, 0:45:02

Undated

Rogan read out that Europe had an estimated 61,672 heat-related deaths in one summer, compared with more than 48,000 firearm deaths in the United States in a full year according to the CDC.

“Europe had an estimated 61,672 heat related deaths during the summer. That's fucking crazy. United States recorded more than 48,000 firearm deaths over the entire year, according to CDC.”

Joe Rogan · #2574 - Francis Foster & Konstantin Kisin, 0:11:14

Episodes