Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher 

The Knowledge Project is one of hundreds of blogs where the host interviews minor celebrities in different fields and disciplines, picking their brains to find tricks and techniques that subscribers can use to improve their own lives.

In this interview, done in 2019, host Shane Parrish speaks with Naval Ravikant. Ravikant is the founder and CEO of Angel List, the largest platform for tech startups and an early investor in some of the most successful startups of the past 20 years.

I’d never heard of him. He’s clearly a smart and thoughtful person. That’s all I know at this point. Perhaps he runs a human smuggling operation. I should have checked before introducing him to you, but I didn’t have time. So watch the interview and let me know what you think.

Click here.

Iam Tongi

Tongi, an unknown kid from Hawaii, won Season 21 of American Idol. His audition, just months after his father died – an emotional rendition of James Blunt’s “Monsters” – had the judges in tears.

Challenge: Listen to it here… and try not to cry.

Here’s Tongi singing “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

And here’s his version of “What a Wonderful World.”

If you want to know more about Iam Tongi, click here.

John Mulaney

He’s a stand-up comic. And very smart. He has a unique style, a unique way of telling stories, and a unique imagination. Plus, he wears a suit.

Click here to enjoy a collection of some of his bits.

Gloria Alvarez 

A well-known political intellectual in Guatemala, Gloria Alvarez has been speaking out against the growth of socialism in Latin America for years. She’s now running for president of her country – and she’s building a strong following online.

Click here to watch John Stossel’s very informative interview with her.

Alisha Lehmann

Who is Alisha Lehmann? I had no idea, but this little clip got me interested. It said, “Watch Alisha Lehmann get her revenge.”

I looked her up. Turns out she’s the most followed female soccer player in the world.

Having a million-plus following online these days means endless opportunities to rake in extra income. You need something that distinguishes you from the crowd. (She’s one of the best players.) You need a likeable personality. (To attract repeat viewers and subscribers.) And it doesn’t hurt to be very good looking.

Click here for an interview with her.

Freddie deBoer 

Freddie deBoer is a writer, an academic, and a self-proclaimed Marxist. I began following him after a friend recommended him to me as having an “interesting and independent” mind.

I’ve read a dozen pieces by him so far, and I think my friend’s description is fair. There is very little that deBoer says that I embrace wholeheartedly, and much that I vehemently disagree with. But I never feel like I’m listening to politically manufactured bullet points when I read his arguments.

Here’s an example: He talks about how and why the political Left split in two after 2016.

Diego Vera

In the early days of the pandemic, Diego Vera, a smart but bored 15-year-old, read about Scott Young’s experience in completing the MIT Challenge, and decided to try it himself. The challenge is to learn MIT’s four-year undergraduate curriculum, using their free online materials. Scott studied computer science. Diego went for physics and math, and achieved his goal in 18 months.

In this interview on his blog, Scott asks his young protegé how he did it.

Click here.

Yuja Wang. An incredible virtuoso pianist.

Click here.

And here.