The Builders: Alex Karp
Show notes
We're excited to share the sixth episode of The Builders.
In this series, bestselling biographer Walter Isaacson sits down with the most consequential names in AI and tech to understand the futures they're racing to build.
TechStuff listeners will want to tune in because on Friday, 11/20 we'll discuss the 6th and 7th episodes of The Builders and hear from journalists who've covered these personalities for years.
To outsiders, Alex Karp seems an unlikely choice to lead Palantir. A philosopher by training, the billionaire co-founder has built his business at the intersection of intelligence, warfare and AI. To supporters, his software helps defend open societies. To critics, it gives governments troubling power to surveil and control.
In this interview, Karp tells Walter how dyslexia helped him bring together the impossible at Palantir, how Silicon Valley broke its contract with the rest of Americans, and why there needs to be a better way to re-distribute wealth. A conversation about national purpose, the Constitution and the trade-offs Karp is willing to make to keep the world safe.
Interview taped August 6, 2026.
And be sure to pick up Walter Isaacson’s The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, wherever fine books are sold.
ABOUT THE HOST
Walter Isaacson is the bestselling author of biographies of Elon Musk, Jennifer Doudna, Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein. He is a professor of history at Tulane University and previously served as CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair and CEO of CNN, and editor of Time. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2023.
ABOUT ALEX KARP
Alex Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir. He co-wrote The Technological Republic and launched the sovereign AI movement.
IN THIS SEASON
Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, xAI)
Peter Thiel (Founders Fund, PayPal, Palantir)
Mustafa Suleyman (Microsoft AI, DeepMind)
Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei (Anthropic)
and more!
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