September 16, 2025
#827: Pablos Holman — One of The Scariest Hackers I’ve Ever Met
The Tim Ferriss ShowAbout this episode
Pablos Holman is a hacker and inventor and the author of Deep Future: Creating Technology that Matters , the indispensable guide to deep tech. Previously, Pablos worked on spaceships at Blue Origin and helped build The Intellectual Ventures Lab to invent a wide variety of breakthroughs. Pablos also hosts the Deep Future Podcas t and is managing partner at Deep Future . This episode is brought to you by: Cresset prestigious family office for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: https://cressetcapital.com/tim Maui Nui Venison , delicious, nutrient-dense, and responsible red meat: https://mauinuivenison.com/lp/tim AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://drinkag1.com/tim Timestamps: [00:00:00] Start. [00:02:12] The first time I witnessed Pablos’ digital sleight of hand. [00:04:33] How did Pablos become what he considers to be a hacker? [00:08:04] The off-label mindset that makes a good hacker (like Samy Kamkar) great. [00:17:07] The magic of Rodney Mullen. [00:20:28] How Eric Johanson and Pablos gave life to adorable password thief Hackerbot. [00:23:44] Hacker self-defense and the zero-click exploit market. [00:27:11] International pockets of hacker density. [00:30:13] Conventions where modern hackers congregate. [00:30:48] Why, in geopolitics, technology is a game lost by the non-players. [00:33:05] The case to rally behind new nuclear power. [00:36:54] Sequencing priorities so the US can remain technologically competitive. [00:44:49] Evaluating risk and reward in deep tech investment. [00:50:40] Shoring up the shape of shipping. [00:56:59] How Pablos gained his name and famous frames. [00:58:48] Pablos is a possible-ist. [00:59:45] What makes Pablos an attractive hire for the world’s richest people? [01:02:06] From Silicon Valley to Seattle: the Blue Origin origin story. [01:08:55] Why Pablos prevails over his M-dash peers. [01:11:41] Zero Effect and WarGames : The only movies that matter? [01:15:58] A major security malfunction exploited by Major Malfunction. [01:18:30] The enigmatic Neal Stephenson. [01:19:38] Long-form lessons gleaned from Jeff Bezos and the Blue Origin mission. [01:27:15] For solving the world’s problems, communities are crucial. [01:31:03] Newlab PSYOPS. [01:34:44] AI and the ripple effects of China’s engineering-minded vs. America’s attorney-heavy leadership. [01:48:20] Unearthing like-minded inventors and innovators. [01:50:42] How Pablos learned salsa dancing via aikido vs. my own tango experience. [02:08:27] Why you should invest or get involved in deep tech. [02:14:45] Clearing up fusion confusion. [02:21:17] Making progress happen is a team effort. [02:24:19] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show , please visit tim.blog/podcast . For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show , please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter ( 5-Bullet Friday ) at tim.blog/friday . For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts . Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books . Follow Tim: Twitter : twitter.com/tferriss Instagram : instagram.com/timferriss YouTube : youtube.com/timferriss Facebook : facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld , Hugh Jackman , Dr. Jane Goodall , LeBron James , Kevin Hart , Doris Kearns Goodwin , Jamie Foxx , Matthew McConaughey , Esther Perel , Elizabeth Gilbert , Terry Crews , Sia , Yuval Noah Harari , Malcolm Gladwell , Madeleine Albright , Cheryl Strayed , Jim Collins , Mary Karr, Maria Popova , Sam Harris , Michael Phelps , Bob Iger , Edward Norton , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Neil Strauss , Ken Burns , Maria Sharapova , Marc Andreessen , Neil Gaiman , Neil de Grasse Tyson , Jocko Willink , Daniel Ek , Kelly Slater , Dr. Peter Attia , Seth Godin , Howard Marks , Dr. Brené Brown , Eric Schmidt , Michael Lewis , Joe Gebbia , Michael Pollan , Dr. Jordan Peterson , Vince Vaughn , Brian Koppelman , Ramit Sethi , Dax Shepard , Tony Robbins , Jim Dethmer , Dan Harris , Ray Dalio , Naval Ravikant , Vitalik Buterin , Elizabeth Lesser , Amanda Palmer , Katie Haun , Sir Richard Branson , Chuck Palahniuk , Arianna Huffington , Reid Hoffman , Bill Burr , Whitney Cummings , Rick Rubin , Dr. Vivek Murthy , Darren Aronofsky , Margaret Atwood , Mark Zuckerberg , Peter Thiel , Dr. Gabor Maté , Anne Lamott , Sarah Silverman , Dr. Andrew Huberman , and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .