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Here is my interview with Dominic Cummings on why Western governments are so dangerously broken, and how to fix them before an even more catastrophic crisis.

Dominic was Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister during COVID, and before that, director of Vote Leave (which masterminded the 2016 Brexit referendum).

Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes.

Timestamps

(00:00:00) - One day in COVID…

(00:08:26) - Why is government broken?

(00:29:10) - Civil service

(00:38:27) - Opportunity wasted?

(00:49:35) - Rishi Sunak and Number 10 vs 11

(00:55:13) - Cyber, nuclear, bio risks

(01:02:04) - Intelligence & defense agencies

(01:23:32) - Bismarck & Lee Kuan Yew

(01:37:46) - How to fix the government?

(01:56:43) - Taiwan

(02:00:10) - Russia

(02:07:12) - Bismarck’s career as an example of AI (mis)alignment

(02:17:37) - Odyssean education

Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkeshpatel.com/subscribe5:[["$","$L17",null,{"event":"page_view","props":{"route":"/podcast/dwarkesh-podcast/dominic-cummings-covid-brexit-fixing-western-governance","surface":"web","episode_id":"5ceb0295-6fa8-4087-bb3d-a6ea93b88988","plan":"free","is_anonymous":true,"podcast_id":"4e3d122c-a06b-45c7-8794-fa36d47d076e"}}],false,["$","script",null,{"type":"application/ld+json","dangerouslySetInnerHTML":{"__html":"$18"},"suppressHydrationWarning":true}],["$","div",null,{"className":"relative min-h-screen","children":["$","div",null,{"className":"mx-auto max-w-7xl px-2 sm:px-6 lg:px-8 pb-5 pt-2 sm:pb-7 sm:pt-3","children":["$","div",null,{"className":"lg:[padding-right:calc(var(--chat-panel-width,0px)+0.5rem)]","children":["$","article",null,{"className":"mx-auto max-w-4xl space-y-8 sm:space-y-10","children":[["$","div",null,{"className":"space-y-2","children":[["$","header",null,{"className":"space-y-3 sm:space-y-4","children":[["$","h1",null,{"children":"Dominic Cummings - COVID, Brexit, & Fixing Western Governance","className":"text-[1.5rem]/8 font-semibold tracking-tight sm:text-4xl/10 text-2xl/8 font-semibold text-foreground sm:text-xl/8"}],["$","$L19",null,{"episodeId":"5ceb0295-6fa8-4087-bb3d-a6ea93b88988","episodeTitle":"Dominic Cummings - COVID, Brexit, & Fixing Western Governance","canonicalPath":"/podcast/dwarkesh-podcast/dominic-cummings-covid-brexit-fixing-western-governance","canonicalPodcastSlug":"dwarkesh-podcast","podcastName":"Dwarkesh Podcast","episodeDate":"2023-11-15 15:14:34+00:00","summary":null,"description":"$1a"}],null]}],"$L1b"]}],null,"$L1c"]}]}]}]}]]