
Mao Zedong
1st chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and founder of the People's Republic of China (1893–1976)
Common Themes
Videos Mentioning Mao Zedong

Game Theory #8: Communist Specter
Predictive History
Chinese revolutionary leader discussed as the figure behind Maoist strategy and China’s unique path.

Douglas Murray: Racism, Marxism, and the War on the West | Lex Fridman Podcast #296
Lex Fridman
Chinese communist leader responsible for killing more people than anyone else (65 million), whose lack of recognition among American students is lamented.

Richard Wolff: Marxism and Communism | Lex Fridman Podcast #295
Lex Fridman
The leader of the Chinese Communist Party, whose specific interpretation of Marxism (Maoism) focused on agriculture and rural areas, differing from Soviet models.

Stephen Kotkin: Putin, Stalin, Hitler, Zelenskyy, and War in Ukraine | Lex Fridman Podcast #289
Lex Fridman
A leader in Stalin's category, known for causing more tragic deaths than Stalin due to the larger population he controlled, having also observed Stalin's actions.

Niall Ferguson: History of Money, Power, War, and Truth | Lex Fridman Podcast #239
Lex Fridman
Leader of Communist China, whose Great Chinese Famine is mentioned as a historical atrocity potentially avoidable through different historical paths.

Richard Wrangham: Violence, Sex, and Fire in Human Evolution | Lex Fridman Podcast #229
Lex Fridman
Chinese communist revolutionary, mentioned alongside Stalin and Hitler as leaders who showed psychopathic tendencies once they gained immense power.

Russ Roberts — The Decisions that Define Us
Tim Ferriss
Founder of the People's Republic of China, mentioned as an example of a 'man of system' who attempts to design society.

Joscha Bach: Nature of Reality, Dreams, and Consciousness | Lex Fridman Podcast #212
Lex Fridman
Mentioned as a leader under whom even higher numbers of people were killed than under Stalin, further illustrating the scale of state-sponsored mass destruction.

E117: Did Stripe miss its window? Plus: VC market update, AI comes for SaaS, Trump's savvy move
All-In Podcast
Former leader of the Chinese Communist Party, whose regime is described as one of the biggest mass murderers of the 20th century.

Michael Malice: Freedom, Hope, and Happiness Amidst Chaos | Lex Fridman Podcast #150
Lex Fridman
The Chinese Communist leader, whose 50 million dead are not common knowledge, raising questions about the West's reconciliation with historical atrocities.

Bhaskar Sunkara: Socialism and Communism | Lex Fridman Podcast #349
Lex Fridman
Leader who built his base in the peasantry in China, leading to an inversion of classic socialist theory, and whose policies led to both improvements and disastrous failures like the Great Leap Forward.

Michael Malice: Christmas Special | Lex Fridman Podcast #347
Lex Fridman
Chinese leader who caused many executions and starvation during the Great Leap Forward, a historical event lacking a clear 'call to action' for news narratives.

Jeremi Suri: History of American Power | Lex Fridman Podcast #180
Lex Fridman
Chinese leader with whom Kissinger built a relationship, despite previous hostilities, as part of the opening to China. Kissinger would praise Mao's leadership to appeal to his ego.

Tyler Cowen: Economic Growth & the Fight Against Conformity & Mediocrity | Lex Fridman Podcast #174
Lex Fridman
Founder of the People's Republic of China. Mentioned in the context of the Chinese Communist Party dismantling welfare programs after his era.

E55: Valuing crypto projects, Rivian worth $100B+, inflation: causes and corrections and more
All-In Podcast
The founder of the People's Republic of China, with whom Xi Jinping is now being politically reflected as being on the same level.

Abbas Amanat: Iran Protests, Mahsa Amini, History, CIA & Nuclear Weapons | Lex Fridman Podcast #334
Lex Fridman
Former leader of China, mentioned as a parallel to Khomeini, having appeared as a Messianic figure in a society with a strong Messianic tradition.

Kanye 'Ye' West Interview | Lex Fridman Podcast #332
Lex Fridman
Referenced in context of Communism and atrocities that killed millions.

John Vervaeke: Meaning Crisis, Atheism, Religion & the Search for Wisdom | Lex Fridman Podcast #317
Lex Fridman
A brutal dictator (referred to as 'Mao' in the context of Stalin) whose actions represent the disastrous implementation of Marxism in the 20th century.

Are We *Too* Worried About Artificial Intelligence?
Cal Newport
Mentioned alongside Hitler as a figure whose writings, like the Red Book, were facilitated by the printing press, highlighting the dual nature of technological impact.

Ep. 247: The Productive Life (w/ Sarah Hart-Unger)
Cal Newport
Author of 'Mao's Red Book', referenced as an example of negative societal impacts disseminated by the printing press.

Freedom & Censorship: A Conversation with Greg Lukianoff (Episode #368)
Sam Harris
Former Chairman of the Communist Party of China, whose quote about political power growing out of the barrel of a gun is relevant to discussions on power and control.

Ricardo Semler Interview | The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast)
Tim Ferriss
The leader who Ricardo Semler's mother was 'kicked out of Shanghai by' in 1949, and then spent 18 months in a refugee camp in the south of France.

Trump's Own Counterterrorism Chief Just Quit — Called the Iran War Israel's War
Tom Bilyeu
Former leader of China, who murdered 45 million people, used as a comparison for Xi Jinping's purges and a warning about China's potential future under current leadership.

Iran Just Cut America Off From the World's Oil — Every Ally Ghosted Trump
Tom Bilyeu
Former leader of China, whose failed agricultural policies in China were compared to Cuba's forced sugar production, leading to starvation.