My conversation with Sam Bowman.

Sam is best known for co-founding Works in Progress, a magazine he started in 2020, which was later acquired by Stripe in 2022. He now serves as the Head of Publishing at Stripe.

I was curious to get Sam's take on the value of longer, more meaningful content in an agewhere "going short" seems to be the conventional advice, to cater to our shortening attention spans.

We also spoke about his passion for progress studies, why mainstream media dislikes tech, and how founders can position themselves in a world that is increasingly skeptical of technology and progress in general.

Where to find Sam and his work:
•⁠ ⁠X: https://x.com/s8mb
•⁠ ⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/~samb/
• https://worksinprogress.co/

Where to find Yash:
•⁠ ⁠Newsletter: https://foundermodejournal.substack.com/
•⁠ ⁠X: https://x.com/yashbagal
•⁠ ⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashbagal/
•⁠ ⁠Spectral: https://spectral.to/
•⁠ ⁠founder/mode: https://www.tryfoundermode.com/

Chapters:
- 00:00 AI versus mainstream media
- 02:10 Sam's backstory and how Works in Progress was conceived 
- 06:52 The Stripe acquisition
- 20:50 Balancing editorial integrity and corporate interests
- 30:18 Why ideas matter
- 32:45 Policy making and the reality of government
- 34:45 How storytelling in tech has evolved
- 45:48 The psychological and objective aspects of progress
- 52:42 Advice for founders 
- 58:34 Book recommendations