Skip to content
All-In PodcastAll-In Podcast

E60: The 2021 Bestie Awards PLUS Jack Dorsey starts the Web3 Wars

0:00 Catching up on the Web3 wars and Jack Dorsey sounding off 5:10 Biggest Winner - Politics 9:43 Biggest Loser - Politics 14:37 Biggest Political Surprise 22:24 Biggest Winner - Business 26:03 Biggest Loser - Business 30:54 Biggest Business Surprise 35:27 Best Science Breakthrough 42:56 Biggest Flash in the Pan 47:08 Best CEO 52:43 Best Investor 57:12 Best Turnaround 1:02:47 Worth Human Being 1:07:31 Best Meme 1:10:02 Most Loathsome Company 1:14:47 Best New Tech 1:20:22 Best Trend 1:22:17 Worst Trend 1:26:02 Favorite Media 1:34:15 The Rudy Giuliani Award for Self-Immolation 1:39:07 The Besties spread holiday cheer with each other Follow the besties: https://twitter.com/chamath https://linktr.ee/calacanis https://twitter.com/DavidSacks https://twitter.com/friedberg Follow the pod: https://twitter.com/theallinpod https://linktr.ee/allinpodcast Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://twitter.com/yung_spielburg Intro Video Credit: https://twitter.com/TheZachEffect Referenced in the show: https://twitter.com/jack https://twitter.com/Jason/status/1473321415285751811 https://twitter.com/cdixon/status/1473150192400486401 https://twitter.com/jack/status/1473155226194616325 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1472754632325795843 https://www.theinformation.com/articles/coinbase-enters-the-metaverse-an-exodus-from-meta-s-novi-unit https://dune.xyz/rchen8/opensea https://phys.org/news/2021-09-chinese-scientists-starch-synthesis-carbon.html https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55564448 https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Lady-Winked-Misreporting-Fabrications/dp/1736703315 https://www.wsj.com/articles/washington-post-grasps-for-new-direction-as-trump-era-boom-fades-11639695007 https://twitter.com/GavinSBaker/status/1473326791293128706 https://scitechdaily.com/fusion-breakthrough-at-the-brink-of-fusion-ignition-at-national-ignition-facility https://www.amazon.com/Grinding-It-Out-audiobook/dp/B07H4WXR4N https://www.amazon.com/Changing-World-Order-Nations-Succeed/dp/1982160276 https://www.amazon.com/San-Fransicko-Progressives-Ruin-Cities/dp/0063093626 https://www.amazon.com/Wanting-Power-Mimetic-Desire-Everyday/dp/1250262488 #allin #tech #news

Jason CalacanishostChamath PalihapitiyahostDavid Friedberghost
Dec 22, 20211h 47mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

All-In Bestie Awards: Politics, Web3 Wars, Memes, and Meltdowns

  1. This year-end “Bestie Awards” episode mixes rapid-fire awards across politics, business, science, and culture with extended riffs on Jack Dorsey, Web3, and internal drama among the hosts.
  2. Politically, they focus on the rise of centrism and backlash against extremes, naming figures like Eric Adams, Glenn Youngkin, Joe Manchin and Kamala Harris as emblematic winners and losers.
  3. In business and tech, Elon Musk, Tiger Global, creator economy tools, DAOs, NFTs, and fusion/CRISPR breakthroughs dominate, alongside harsh critiques of Meta, big tech, China’s billionaires, and legacy media.
  4. The show ends with self-aware banter about their own conflicts, the difficulty of working together as four strong-willed “grinders,” and appreciation for the pod’s growth and impact.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Centrism and backlash to extremes are becoming politically powerful.

The hosts frame Eric Adams, Glenn Youngkin, Joe Manchin, and the rejection of both progressive left and alt-right agendas as signs that voters want pragmatic, centrist governance focused on safety, schools, and economic sanity.

Elon Musk and “outsiders” were the dominant business forces of 2021.

Musk is described as operating in a “zone of mastery,” while retail investors, DAOs, NFTs, and Web3 communities showed that loosely organized individuals can challenge institutional capital across markets and fundraising.

Web3, DAOs, and NFTs are real trends wrapped in speculative excess.

They see DAOs’ Constitution bid and NFT mania as both inspiring and chaotic—proving new models for creator monetization and capital formation, but also exposing regulatory voids, bubbles, and naive participants likely to get hurt.

Big tech and legacy media face mounting structural and morale challenges.

Between regulatory pressure, talent flight, poor public perception (especially of Meta), and declining trust in outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post, the hosts argue the future lies with direct, independent voices and platforms.

Major science and engineering advances are quietly reshaping the future.

From CRISPR delivered in vivo and mRNA vaccines to oral antivirals, fusion progress, and SpaceX’s Starship/Starlink achievements, they highlight how 2021 accelerated platforms that could transform health, energy, and humanity’s presence in space.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

If the Democratic Party has a future after the rejection of woke, it is Eric Adams.

David Sacks

This was the year that loose affiliations of individuals could compete on a level playing field with organized capital.

Chamath Palihapitiya

I think that 2021 was the year of plasma fusion… we are seeing that big step change where this stuff is starting to move from theory.

David Friedberg

We have to have a regulatory framework for crypto, for DAOs, for NFTs, for tokens, and it’s just crazy that it hasn’t happened yet.

Jason Calacanis

Without J-Cal this pod never would’ve happened… you really are the reason for this pod.

David Sacks

Web3, Jack Dorsey’s post-Twitter behavior, and the emerging Web3 culture war2021 political winners, losers, surprises, and the rise of centrist backlash to extremesBusiness winners/losers: Elon Musk, Tiger Global, retail traders, Meta, Chinese tech, big tech headwindsScience and tech breakthroughs: mRNA, antivirals, CRISPR in vivo editing, fusion, Starship/Starlink, NFTs, DAOsWoke politics, media bias, COVID authoritarianism, and the “wokelash” narrativeCreator economy, Substack, direct-to-audience models, and the metaverse skepticismAll-In Podcast’s internal dynamics: feuds, moderation, and appreciation among the hosts

High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.

Get more out of YouTube videos.

High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.

Add to Chrome