Best Simon Dyson Podcasts (2025)

1
#390 Rare Steve Jobs Interview 40:46

10h ago40:46

40:46

I've read this interview probably 10 times. It's that good. Steve Jobs was 29 when the interview was published and with remarkable clarity of thought Steve explains the upcoming technological revolution, why the personal computer is the greatest tool humans have ever invented, how the computer compares to past inventions, why software needs to be s…

1
35 - The Nuts & Bolts Of Crafting Systems Among Games 1:36:04

19h ago1:36:04

1:36:04

Galdoc & Krydax discuss the depths of crafting systems. Why do they exist in games, how do they differ, and what makes them tick. Krydania Links: Krydania Discord - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.com/invite/gtXXwBNZ9c⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Main Channel YT Link - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Krydax8⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon $upport - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://w…

1
Dervla Murphy, author of the classic Full Tilt 27:38

1d ago27:38

27:38

At the age of 10 Dervla Murphy was given an atlas and a bicycle, and so began an adventurous life. Her account of a journey to India became a classic called Full Tilt but she also went to Cuba, Ethiopia and the Andes where our guest first met her in a doss house. Hilary Bradt is the founder of the Bradt Travel Guides and is picking Dervla Murphy as…

1
Eike Batista: Golden grifter 40:12

2d ago40:12

40:12

Mining magnate Eike Batista was once Brazil’s richest person, but corruption led to his downfall. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng lift the lid on a flashy and eccentric former billionaire who started out in gold mining. Batista then oversaw huge oil, gas and logistics projects but, after his investments crashed, the author…

1
Ned Ludd mythical leader of the Luddites 27:43

8d ago27:43

27:43

We don't even know if Ned Ludd was real, but perhaps that was the point. "You could say he was everyone and no one - and that's what made him so terrifying for the authorities." Leader of the Luddites, who often signed letters and proclamations Ned Ludd, he is shown in one engraving wearing mismatched shoes and a blue polka dot dress, suggesting a …

1
#389 The Founder of Jimmy Choo: Tamara Mellon 55:42

10d ago55:42

55:42

When Tamara Mellon’s father lent her the seed money to start a high-end shoe company, he cautioned her: “Don’t let the accountants run your business.” Little did he know that over the next fifteen years, the struggle between “financial” and “creative” would become one of the central themes as Mellon’s business. Mellon grew Jimmy Choo into a billion…

1
LeBron James: King of the court 48:18

9d ago48:18

48:18

LeBron James was selling out basketball arenas while still in high school. At just 18, he said he was offered a $10 million cheque from Reebok - on the spot - if he agreed not to meet any other brands. It was a life-changing sum for a teenager living with his mum in the projects. But LeBron turned it down. He was willing to hedge his bets. He’s won…

1
Richey Edwards of The Manic Street Preachers 27:40

15d ago27:40

27:40

Richey was, beautiful says Cummins, a natural icon and a gift to photograph. He also believes his writing has been overshadowed by the fact of his disappearance in 1995. "I think nobody has looked beyond that for quite a long time.” Manic Street Preachers biographer, Simon Price, also knew Richey Edwards and says he was "the most intelligent rock s…

1
34 - Strategy & Automation Game Roundup With Wally1169 1:38:49

16d ago1:38:49

1:38:49

Wally joins Galdoc & Krydax to chat about lots of interesting games out there on the market!Wally 1169 Links:https://www.youtube.com/@Wally1169⁠https://www.twitch.tv/wally1169⁠https://www.patreon.com/Wally1169 Krydania Links: Krydania Discord - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.com/invite/gtXXwBNZ9c⁠⁠⁠⁠ Main Channel YT Link - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https:…

1
Masayoshi Son: High-tech gambler 44:47

17d ago44:47

44:47

Investor Masayoshi Son became notorious for making huge bets on technology companies. He once lost 96% of his fortune, but he’s still a billionaire thanks to successes like Yahoo! and Alibaba. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the tale of the billionaire who founded the conglomerate SoftBank and was once, very briefly, …

1
#388 Jeff Bezos's Shareholder Letters: All of Them! 1:19:28

20d ago1:19:28

1:19:28

(I fixed the audio and uploaded a new episode!) "To read Jeff Bezos’s shareholder letters is to get a crash course in running a high-growth internet business from someone who mastered it before any of the playbooks were written." That is the best description of Bezos's letters I have ever read. I just finished rereading these letters for the 4th or…

1
Benny Hill 27:28

22d ago27:28

27:28

Biography show in which the guest picks someone they admire. Benny Hill is a thorny choice but playwright Jonathan Maitland is determined that - despite accusations of sexism and racism later in his career - Britain's most successful comedian deserves a second look. Benny was fired by Thames TV in 1989. "The show was past its sell-by date," was the…

1
Strive Masiyiwa: Connecting a continent 42:00

24d ago42:00

42:00

Telecoms magnate Strive Masiyiwa escaped kidnap to become Zimbabwe’s first billionaire. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell Masiyiwa’s story from a youth fleeing post-colonial conflict, through education in the UK, to enormous wealth delivering mobile phone and internet technology across Africa. The podcast that tells tal…

1
A conversation on focus and finding your life's work 1:22:05

27d ago1:22:05

1:22:05

My friend Patrick O’Shaughnessy asked me to come to New York and record a conversation. Patrick had just finished listening to episode #383 "Todd Graves and his $10 Billion Chicken Finger Dream" and he believed there was an important conversation to have on focus and finding your life's work. This conversation was off-the-cuff and from the soul. I …

1
33 - Are You Good At Factorio? 1:27:07

29d ago1:27:07

1:27:07

Galdoc & Krydax discuss what it means to be "good" at things, in particular what does it mean to be good at a game that is non-competitive sandbox. And does it even matter? Krydania Links: Krydania Discord - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.com/invite/gtXXwBNZ9c⁠⁠⁠ Main Channel YT Link - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Krydax8⁠⁠⁠ Patreon $u…

1
Maggi Hambling picks muse and lover Henrietta Moraes 27:35

29d ago27:35

27:35

“Henrietta's eyes looked into one's soul at the same time exposing her own. She posed for me most Mondays for the last seven months until two days before she died.” In a raw and very funny opener to the new series of Great Lives, painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling chooses someone she knew extremely well - her lover Henrietta Moraes. Born in India,…

1
Ike Perlmutter: Marvel’s empire builder 46:34

1M ago46:34

46:34

Former Marvel CEO & Chairman Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter brought Marvel back from the brink of ruin and helped launch the Marvel cinematic universe. He brought Iron Man, The Hulk and The Avengers to our screens, and arguably changed the future of cinema, with a fixation on franchises. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng delve into …

1
#387 Jim Simons Built The World’s Greatest Money-Making Machine 1:08:06

1M ago1:08:06

1:08:06

Jim Simons never took a single class on finance, wasn’t interested in business, and didn’t start trading full time until he was 40. The company he founded — Renaissance Technologies — has made over $100 billion in profits. Starting out with the heretical belief that there was a hidden structure in financial markets, Jim decided to staff his “crazy …

1
Harriet Harman on Maria Callas 27:57

1M ago27:57

27:57

The legendary opera star Maria Callas was lauded for her magnetic stage presence and extraordinary vocal range. Born in New York in 1923 to Greek immigrant parents, she moved with her mother and sister to Greece aged 13. In 1939 she attended the Athens Conservatoire where she embarked on a rigorous vocal training in the Italian "bel canto" traditio…

1
Selena Gomez: Actress, singer, beauty mogul 47:30

1M ago47:30

47:30

Selena Gomez is one of the youngest newly minted billionaires, thanks to her Rare Beauty brand. But you likely know her from her Disney kid days on The Wizards of Waverly Place, award-winning turn in Only Murders in the Building, or as the chart-topping singer of Lose You to Love Me. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng take us…

1
#386 Akio Morita: Founder of Sony 1:11:32

1M ago1:11:32

1:11:32

Akio Morita was a visionary entrepreneur and co-founder of Sony. Born as the first son and fifteenth-generation heir to a 300-year-old sake-brewing family in Japan, Akio eschewed the traditional path to forge his own legacy in electronics. In post-war Japan, Akio joined forces with Masaru Ibuka to found Sony. They started in a burned-out department…

1
32 - Defeating pY With Lohdro & Galdoc Co-Hosting! 1:28:17

1M ago1:28:17

1:28:17

Lohdro is a Factorio player who has achieve pyrrhic victory and lived to tell the tale, enjoyed it even! Let's see what he has to say about the journey. Krydania Links: Krydania Discord - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.com/invite/gtXXwBNZ9c⁠⁠ Main Channel YT Link - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Krydax8⁠⁠ Patreon $upport - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠h…

1
Orlando Bravo: Tech dealmaker 46:31

1M ago46:31

46:31

Orlando Bravo failed to become a tennis pro, but became richer than any tennis player in history by pivoting to the world of finance. He’s the first billionaire from Puerto Rico and earned his fortune with private equity investments in technology. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story of an investor who says that …

1
#385 Michael Dell 1:48:16

2M ago1:48:16

1:48:16

This is one of the most extraordinary founder stories you will ever hear. Michael Dell started his company with $1000 when he was 19 years old. The revenues for the first 16 years of Dell look like this: 1984 $6M 1985 $33M 1986 $67M 1987 $159M 1988 $258M 1989 $388M 1990 $546M 1991 $890M 1992 $2B 1993 $2.9B 1994 $3.5B 1995 $5.3B 1996 $7.8B 1997 $12.…

1
Vince McMahon: Wrestling's ringmaster 48:39

2M ago48:39

48:39

Vince McMahon made stars out of wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, John Cena and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. He turned professional wrestling into a $6.8 billion industry with his company World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Vince capitalised on cross-promotion and the spectacle of what he called "sports entertainment" to reach huge audiences before he step…

1
Kate Raworth on Donella Meadows 27:56

2M ago27:56

27:56

Born in Illinois in 1941, Dana Meadows studied Chemistry and Molecular Biology, before turning her back on a post doc position at Harvard, to pursue environmentalism. She joined her husband Dennis Meadows as part of the team working on Professor Jay Forester's World3 computer model of the world economy at MIT and wrote the report on the results of …

1
31 - Fulgora's Moon Cerys With TheSixthRoc 1:08:38

2M ago1:08:38

1:08:38

Fulgora has a moon with all sorts of interesting mechanics made by TheSixthRoc, a Factorio modderNote: thesixthroc clarified later there's more like 13 planet mods or more even! Wow! TheSixthRoc Links: The Foundry ➤ thefoundrygg.com Krydania Links: Krydania Discord - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.com/invite/gtXXwBNZ9c⁠⁠ Main Channel YT Link - ⁠⁠⁠⁠…

1
Markus Persson: Minecraft maker 46:13

2M ago46:13

46:13

Minecraft is the most successful computer game ever. It's sold 300 million copies, built an active community of fans and there's now even a Minecraft movie. So how did one man - Markus Persson - create it all by himself, before selling it for billions? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out how a high school dropout, obs…

1
#384 Ken Griffin: Founder of Citadel and Citadel Securities 1:06:30

2M ago1:06:30

1:06:30

Because of the podcast I get to meet a lot of super successful people. I'm always asking them "Who is the smartest person you know" and "Who do you think has the best business?". "Ken Griffin" is a very common answer. I've heard Ken described in two ways: "Winner" and "Killer". For years I've come across interesting anecdotes about Ken. Like when h…

1
John de Mol: Big Brother’s daddy 41:07

2M ago41:07

41:07

By reinventing reality TV, John de Mol changed television history and made a billion dollars. He’s the father of Big Brother and the man behind The Voice, Deal or No Deal and Fear Factor. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how the Dutch TV producer became a media tycoon, after using his showbiz connections to break in…

1
Sir James Dyson: Sucking up the cash 46:26

2M ago46:26

46:26

A blocked vacuum cleaner led to a billion-dollar idea for British inventor Sir James Dyson. After studying art, then reinventing the wheelbarrow, Dyson struck gold with his iconic bagless vacuum, but only after years of effort. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng take us back to the entrepreneur’s youth in post-War Norfolk and…

1
The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig 50:00

2M ago50:00

50:00

Daniel Ludwig was the richest man in the world and no one knew his name. I've read almost 400 biographies of history's greatest founders and this book is one of my all time favorites. Daniel Ludwig started his company at 19 and was working on it well into his 90s. He built a massive conglomerate of over 200 companies operating in more than 50 count…

1
30 - Hidden Worlds Mod With Galdoc 1:31:47

3M ago1:31:47

1:31:47

Hidden Worlds is a hugely ambitious total conversion mod for Factorio that Galdoc has begun work on. Let's get some juicy details! Galdoc Links: Youtube ➤ ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@galdocstutorials⁠ Patreon ➤ ⁠https://www.patreon.com/galdoc⁠ Twitch ➤ https://www.twitch.tv/galdoc Discord ➤ https://discord.com/invite/Gd6PNhjsvC Krydania Links: Krydan…

1
#383 Todd Graves and his $10 Billion Chicken Finger Dream 1:08:07

3M ago1:08:07

1:08:07

Todd Graves is one of my favorite living entrepreneurs. He's a great example of Charlie Munger's maxim: Find a simple idea and take it seriously. Todd wanted to create a quick service restaurant that only focused on quality chicken finger meals and nothing else. Everyone told him that couldn't possibly work. The college paper that described the ide…

1
Martha Stewart: The original lifestyle influencer 51:15

3M ago51:15

51:15

Martha Stewart revolutionised home entertaining with her recipes, home decor and TV shows, becoming one of the world's most successful women in business. Known as the ultimate homemaker and the "original lifestyle influencer", she's also the USA’s first ever self-made female billionaire. But while the entrepreneur made her fortune as a domestic god…

1
#382 Who Is Michael Ovitz?: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Most Powerful Man in Hollywood 1:31:25

3M ago1:31:25

1:31:25

At the core of Michael Ovitz's success is his relentless work ethic and commitment to mastering his craft. 50 years ago he founded Creative Artists Agency. CAA starts out as just five young guys in a run down office and eventually becomes the most powerful agency in the world. Ovitz's autobiography explains how that happened. As the Wall Street Jou…

1
#381 I Had Dinner With Michael Ovitz 27:02

3M ago27:02

27:02

What I learned from having an intense and fun 3 hour dinner with Michael Ovitz. 1: Mediocrity is always invisible until passion shows up and exposes it. 2: There's no ceiling on where you can push your profession. 3: Don't be unequally yoked. Pick partners that have the same ambition as you. 4: Read biographies. Know everything about the history of…

1
Mark Billingham chooses George Harrison 27:00

3M ago27:00

27:00

George Harrison was a musician, singer and songwriter who became one of the most famous people in the world as one quarter of the Beatles. That alone would merit a place in the Great Lives pantheon, but his work in the decades after the band broke up indicates a man of diverse and arguably underestimated talents. Erupting onto the pop music scene i…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Simon Dyson Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide