All-In PodcastE15: “The Besties” All-In’s inaugural award show covering the best, worst & most memorable of 2020
CHAPTERS
- 0:13 – 4:53
Airbnb/Wish IPO beak-wetting, open-source merch, and setting up the 2020 “Besties Awards”
The hosts open with celebration around the Airbnb and Wish IPOs, joking about who “got their beak wet.” They also discuss the show’s fan-made, open-sourced merch and outline the awards-format agenda for the episode.
- •Airbnb + Wish public market surge and personal investing proximity
- •“Wet your beak” running joke and celebratory tone
- •Merch going viral on Twitter; decision to open-source designs to fans
- •Jason’s production/housekeeping notes and All-In Syndicate update
- •Preview of award categories (winners/losers/turnarounds/memes, etc.)
- 4:53 – 6:32
Friedberg addresses Virgin Galactic share sale and liquidity planning
Jason asks Friedberg to address public chatter about a disclosed share sale. Friedberg explains it as liquidity and tax-year management while reaffirming long-term commitment to the company.
- •Transparency around selling a portion of Virgin Galactic shares
- •Liquidity needs for upcoming 2021 investments/projects
- •Tax-year gain/loss and portfolio management considerations
- •Reassurance: still a significant, committed shareholder
- 6:32 – 10:47
The “192.5” weight-loss bet story and inside jokes become merch fodder
A long, comedic detour recounts an old weight-loss bet involving Jason’s target weight, last-minute tactics, and a dramatic midnight weigh-in. The crew riffs on turning “192.5/193” into a fan in-joke and merch idea.
- •Origin of the bet: motivation tied to an NBC pilot opportunity
- •The midnight “weight bet” reveal at a poker night
- •Jason’s frantic last-minute attempts to make weight
- •“192.5/193” as a new meme/merch concept
- •Friendly resolution: poker buy-in and joking aftermath
- 10:47 – 13:06
Biggest Winner in Politics: centrism/Biden vs. CCP/Xi and the Kamala angle
The awards begin with politics, where the group debates who truly “won” 2020. Picks range from Biden/centrism to Xi Jinping/CCP, with Jason highlighting Kamala Harris’s trajectory and future prospects.
- •Biden as the obvious electoral winner; centrism framed as the meta-winner
- •Sacks/Chamath: CCP/Xi strengthened despite COVID’s origin story
- •WHO’s role and China’s geopolitical gains via vaccines and influence
- •Jason’s pick: Kamala Harris’s rise and potential path to the presidency
- 13:06 – 16:18
Biggest Loser in Politics: Trump, Pelosi, democracy’s legitimacy, and Giuliani’s collapse
They nominate political losers from multiple angles: Trump’s defeat, Pelosi’s weakened House majority, and broader damage to institutional trust. Jason delivers a comedic-but-pointed takedown of Rudy Giuliani’s year.
- •Trump as the headline political loser; extremes on both sides criticized
- •Sacks: Pelosi’s impeachment gambit and House seat losses
- •Chamath: erosion of faith in American democracy and election legitimacy
- •Jason: Giuliani as the year’s most spectacular personal/political downfall
- 16:18 – 19:30
Biggest Winner in Business: Moderna’s vaccine leap and Elon Musk’s dominance
Business awards focus on COVID-era winners and scale effects. Moderna’s explosive market-cap jump and FDA progress are contrasted with Elon Musk’s Tesla/SpaceX/Starlink momentum and wealth creation.
- •Moderna’s rise from no marketed product to vaccine leader and huge valuation
- •Elon Musk: Tesla’s surge, S&P inclusion, SpaceX progress, Starlink ‘magic’
- •Runner-ups: Zoom’s breakout; Amazon’s pandemic tailwinds; NBA Bubble execution
- •Broader theme: crisis accelerates adoption and rewards execution
- 19:30 – 22:56
Biggest Loser in Business: small businesses crushed, Big Tech backlash, and AMC’s existential threat
The group highlights how lockdowns and delayed relief devastated small business owners, while tech giants faced antitrust and reputational heat. Chamath spotlights AMC as a vivid example of a business model wrecked by COVID.
- •Friedberg: Google/Facebook as losers due to antitrust pressure and morale hits
- •Sacks: small businesses (restaurants/retail/hospitality) decimated by lockdowns
- •Chamath: AMC and the uncertain future of movie theaters
- •Debate: whether theaters rebound via acquisitions (Amazon/Netflix) and new models
- •Jason’s anger at political failure to deliver timely second-round stimulus
- 22:56 – 32:27
Biggest Winner & Loser in Culture: BLM, Baby Yoda, online games, and distrust in media/wokeness
Culture awards span social movements and entertainment. Chamath cites BLM’s lasting impact, Sacks picks Baby Yoda/Disney+ as a pop-culture engine, and Friedberg emphasizes gaming as social infrastructure—while ‘the media’ and ‘wokeness’ are cited as cultural losers.
- •BLM as a major cultural shift with corporate/state follow-on actions
- •Baby Yoda (Grogu) and Disney+ subscriber explosion
- •Fortnite/Roblox/Among Us as critical social connection during isolation
- •Cultural losers: elite media credibility collapse and institutional distrust
- •Debate: wokeness/cancel culture vs nuance; pronunciation/cancellation anxieties
- 32:27 – 34:47
Biggest Turnaround: Airbnb’s near-death to blockbuster IPO; plus ‘censorship’ as a comeback
The turnaround category centers on Airbnb’s rapid recovery from COVID shock to an IPO surge, credited to leadership and tough cost decisions. They also frame censorship as an unexpected ‘comeback’ phenomenon across platforms and institutions.
- •Airbnb’s layoffs, marketing cuts, emergency financing, and IPO reversal
- •Leadership under crisis: refunds/host support and operational discipline
- •Sacks: Biden’s primary comeback as a political turnaround (alternate pick)
- •Chamath: censorship returning forcefully via platforms and gatekeepers
- 34:47 – 39:03
Biggest Flash in the Pan: WHO hype cycle, hydroxychloroquine, viral creators, and Nikola’s SPAC implosion
They identify 2020 moments that spiked then faded, especially in pandemic discourse and market mania. Picks include the WHO’s sudden authority, hydroxychloroquine’s brief prominence, a viral comedian’s campaign-era peak, and Nikola’s dramatic valuation crash.
- •Sacks: WHO’s notoriety despite shifting guidance and politicized enforcement
- •Friedberg: hydroxychloroquine as a short-lived ‘miracle’ narrative
- •Chamath: Sarah Cooper’s viral Trump-mockery moment as transient fame
- •Jason: Nikola as peak SPAC excess—valuation collapse and fraud/disaster risk rule
- 39:03 – 43:32
Biggest Breakthrough: AlphaFold, mRNA vaccine platformization, and regulatory constraints debate
The breakthrough discussion spotlights scientific leaps, with strong consensus around AlphaFold as foundational to future medicine and bioengineering. They also debate mRNA vaccines as a technological vs regulatory breakthrough and how storytelling affects adoption.
- •AlphaFold as an ARPANET-like foundational breakthrough for protein design
- •mRNA vaccines: rapid ‘printable’ approach and future pandemic response implications
- •Regulation as the real bottleneck—what changed in 2020 to allow deployment
- •Public trust and adverse reaction narratives shaping vaccine uptake
- 43:32 – 49:53
Smartest Business Moves: SPACs, Salesforce buying Slack, and legendary crisis trades (Silver Lake/Ackman/Ellison)
They run through standout strategic and investing moves of the year, from capital-markets innovation to bold crisis-era bets. The crew highlights SPAC momentum, the Salesforce–Slack deal, and high-conviction trades that paid off massively during the market panic.
- •SPACs framed as a major capital-markets innovation (and a running joke)
- •Salesforce acquiring Slack as a long-term platform/brand bet
- •Silver Lake’s high-coupon Airbnb financing with lucrative warrants
- •Bill Ackman’s credit insurance trade turning tens of millions into billions
- •Larry Ellison’s Tesla investment as a high-conviction, high-return move
- 49:53 – 56:08
Dumbest Business Moves: San Francisco alienating tech, California COVID policies, and Slack selling too early
This segment critiques decisions seen as self-defeating: cities and states undermining their own economic base and inconsistent pandemic rules. Jason argues Slack’s board selling to Salesforce was strategically wrong given rare network effects.
- •Sacks: San Francisco politicians ‘biting the hand that feeds’ as remote work enables exit
- •Friedberg: California COVID handling as arbitrary and corrosive to trust and business
- •Jason: Slack selling as a strategic mistake vs building a roll-up platform like Twilio
- •Discussion of network effects as an asset you ‘never give up’
- 56:08 – 1:16:36
Smartest & Dumbest Political Moves, best/worst political theater, memes, and a heartfelt year-end sign-off
They close with political strategy calls (Clyburn’s endorsement timing, Biden staying quiet, Nikki Haley positioning) and political missteps (defund-the-police messaging, politicizing masks, Trump’s mask stance). The episode ends with political-theater riffs, favorite memes, and an emotional reflection on friendship, mental health, and the year’s losses.
- •Smartest political move: Clyburn’s perfectly timed Biden endorsement; ‘bunker’ strategy; Haley’s 2024 positioning
- •Dumbest political move: ‘Defund the police’ slogan; masks becoming partisan; Trump’s mask refusal
- •Political theater: hypocrisy (French Laundry, hair salon), Giuliani saga, tech CEO hearings as spectacle
- •Best memes: funeral dancers, ‘I took that personally,’ Zoom cautionary tales
- •Year-end gratitude, friendship, Tony Hsieh mention, and ‘I love you’ group send-off
