Podcast

Philip Has Questions

Hobbies, Leisure

Explore the undiscovered side interests of famous people. Dive deeply into surprising topics with people you didn't know had those interests.

Episodes
6
Releases
Weekly
Typical length
47 min
On air since
2026
Latest episode
6 days ago

Episodes

6 episodes, newest first

  1. The Part of Sprinting You Can’t Engineer

    Show notes

    Robert Stanley is an NCAA All-American hurdler who's been coaching track for decades. He shares the secret of the 100m, rationale for relay ordering, as well as insights on what makes some athletes coachable toward success.

    0:00 Intro

    0:45 Robert's coaching and racing career

    2:00 The phases of a 100m race

    3:59 The lean: what actually stops the clock

    5:24 Hot lanes and lane strategy

    9:30 Hurdlers vs. sprinters

    10:43 Is there an ideal height for a sprinter?

    13:51 Relays: who should run first?

    15:25 The handoff: "running by faith"

    17:56 Why relay order matters when the math says it shouldn't

    19:36 Body position: upright vs. leaning

    21:27 How the 100m got 6 meters faster

    23:04 Why the world records still stand

    24:52 The first thing he tells new athletes

    26:20 Why natural talent can work against you

    27:38 What makes an athlete coachable

    28:45 Advice to his younger self

    32 min
  2. From Piloting Nuclear Subs to Second Life to Facebook Mobile & AI | Cory Ondrejka

    Show notes

    Cory Ondrejka has had an amazingly varied life: nuclear sub pilot, cofounder of Second Life, leader of Meta's shift to mobile, and CTO of an AI company.0:00 Intro1:29 The Study of Luck2:45 Life on a Cold War nuclear sub4:13 Seven days without sleep7:26 The myth that Facebook missed mobile9:11 Why Facebook had just 3 iOS engineers12:08 Telling Mark Zuckerberg his mobile instincts were bad13:32 Better is always different15:22 What is Second Life?18:34 The magic of Second Life 20:46 Stroke survivors, concerts and a UFO22:08 What is Onebrief?25:16 Why AI works for coding: error signals26:23 Should tech build for the military?28:46 How much should AI decide on it's own?30:20 The Authorization Matrix32:04 Nearly 40 years of code, what's next?35:35 Where did the flow state go?39:32 Is AI bigger than the internet?41:35 Bonus: the C++ test43:34 Bonus: What AI agents are best at

    49 min
  3. From Amazon Principal Engineer to 200K Subscribers

    Show notes

    Steve Huynh quit his Amazon Principle Engineer job to run his YouTube channel, A Life Engineered, building it to 200k subscribers. He then launched a coaching business, all bootstrapped from his willingness to take a giant leap into the unknown.

    Hear his take on how to bet on yourself and to succeed.

    0:00 Intro

    0:55 Speed-running YouTube success

    8:05 Paying to fast-forward success

    12:12 Taking action to reach your goals

    18:28 Going all-in on YouTube while at Amazon

    26:56 Is an engineering mindset helpful in the content & coaching business?

    28:35 Guessing an engineer's level in 5 minutes

    31:28 Most common engineer growth mistakes

    37:34 Worst career advice ever

    40:40 Psychology of careers

    42:54 Biggest mistake at Amazon

    44:33 You learn nothing from success

    46:35 Biggest thing you've changed your mind on

    Subscribe to Philip Has Questions for more interviews with tech luminaries and entrepreneurs.

    51 min
  4. The AI Expert Who Debugs Paella

    Show notes

    Joaquin Quiñonero Candela has led AI initiatives at OpenAI, Meta, and LinkedIn. But one thing you might not know about Joaquin is his deep expertise in making paella.

    00:00 Intro

    00:18 Transition from Theory to Practice

    03:56 Ethical Challenges and Societal Impacts

    14:01 Recruiting at OpenAI

    17:01 The Art of Making Paella

    43:00 Paella Equipment and Cooking Setup

    Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@HiddenTrackPodcast

    45 min
  5. A Microsoft CVP Looks Back: Career, Bill Gates, and Debbie Gibson

    Show notes

    Ashok Kuppusamy was a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft with decades of experience, including being Bill Gates's technical assistant. In this interview he shares his insights from his 29 years, along with some unexpected thoughts about Debbie Gibson.

    00:00 Intro

    00:38 Early Days at Microsoft

    02:28 Inside Bill Gates's Office

    04:19 Leadership and Management Style

    10:14 AI in the Workplace

    14:56 Executive Isolation and Networks

    16:32 Living and Parenting in Norway

    22:24 Reflections on Career and Youth

    25:39 Pop Fandom and Life Lessons

    Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@HiddenTrackPodcast

    32 min
  6. Former Meta CTO's Strategy on Scaling Green Tech (Mike Schroepfer)

    Show notes

    Making things cheap is the best way to get climate solutions to scale. Mike Schroepfer shares the reason for his optimism behind solving key climate challenges through enabling technology that scales in the physical economy.

    00:00 Intro

    00:23 Early Facebook, Sun Microsystems, and Firefox

    05:20 Facebook's change to mobile and Sun's innovator's dilemma

    07:42 Going from Firefox/Mozilla to Facebook

    11:48 Founding Gigascale Capital

    15:45 Reason for optimism about our future

    20:38 Exciting projects at Gigascale

    24:40 People need to see things to believe

    27:25 Biggest levers to positively impact climate

    30:50 Cow burps — 6% of carbon emissions

    35:55 Political involvement vs. high-impact career choices

    37:37 Offshore datacenters in the ocean

    39:52 What is Gigascale's value-add?

    43:25 Is it lonely at the top?

    48:06 Advice for college students

    51:06 How Schrep changed Philip's life

    Learn more about Gigascale Capital: https://gigascale.com/

    Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@HiddenTrackPodcast

    56 min