GUEST SPEAKER
Peter Thiel 

ISSUES DISCUSSED
Peter Thiel spoke about the basic principles that underlie innovative products and startup firms, using examples from his own experience starting up firms such as Paypal and Palantir. 
He  emphasized the importance of creating a firm or product with characteristics of monopoly, and contrasted that idea with the distinction between monopoly and competition taught in economics. He also spoke more broadly about the future of technology and its impact on economic growth in developed countries. He answered questions about his ideas applied to clean-tech and ed-tech firms. 

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 6:30 PM ET
Markus Wolf
Book Talk: "The Troika: The Troika: A Story Of Three Families, Friendship, And The Cold War"
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives is partnering with the International Spy Museum to co-host a hybrid event on "The Troika", Markus Wolf'… International Spy Museum (700 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington DC 20024)
Thursday, September 24, 2026 12:00 PM PT
Yellow Peril Newspaper Excerpt
The Kaiser's Warning: How A 1908 Interview Wrongly Predicted The Transformation Of American Racism
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives at Stanford University and the Japanese Association for Migration Studies will co-host a virtual… Zoom
Friday, October 2, 2026
Democracy Without Shelter: How Mongolia Holds The Line
You are coordially invited to a fireside chat on Democracy Without Shelter: How Mongolia Holds the Line with Elbegdorj Tsakhia and H.R. McMaster on… Hauck Auditorium, David and Joan Traitel Building
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