Joe's Journal

Trump, money, & creativity with Paul Krugman

It took about an hour, but by the end, I finally got the Nobel Prize winning economist to smile.

Sep 10 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

 and 

Paul Krugman

414

23

1:01:07

August 2025

With the world on fire, why talk about AI?

Horrific wars, the climate crisis, a global rise in authoritarianism—a lot’s happening right now. But underlying it all is the technology we use to get…

Aug 28 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

559

95

12:15

Invisible rockstars and secret sex dolls — 1-Hour Writing Challenge

TODAY’S PROMPT: Write a story about an everyday member of suburbia and their unusual, behind-closed-doors life.

Aug 14 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

218

44

15:30

Q&A: What music did I listen to while shooting 500 Days, Inception, 10 Things..?

Answering your questions off the top of my head

Aug 8 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

334

62

9:57

AI, compromise, capitalism, and Super Pumped with Matthew Yglesias

A conversation with one of my favorite Substack writers

Aug 6 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

 and 

Matthew Yglesias

110

14

On AI and Copyright, Trump Is Groveling Before Big Tech and Selling Out Working Americans

It’s not just creatives threatened by Silicon Valley’s ethically questionable business model.

Aug 2 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

513

49

July 2025

My top 10 movies of the 21st century in conversation with Max Read

Lincoln and the necessity of compromise, Wall-E and AI's "alignment problem", and what Tom Hanks's murderous thief in The Ladykillers has in common with…

Jul 1 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

 and 

Max Read

381

55

1:16:13

June 2025

A little shot of hope and optimism the other day from the United Nations

I got to speak about AI at their annual Internet Governance Forum (my first time at a UN thing 🤩)

Jun 26 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

856

71

4:57

Sure, let's accelerate building AI, but can we also steer?

Whenever anyone mentions guardrails for AI, someone else objects, "No, we have to go fast!" But just because we're going fast doesn't mean we're going…

Jun 13 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

572

92

8:20

In the age of AI, making money is Punk Rock

When I was young, any focus on money was seen as selling out to big corporations. Now, we need to stand together against much bigger corporations who…

Jun 6 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

430

55

19:09

May 2025

Q&A: Is it really fair to compare Trump to the Nazis?

On set during lunch break, talking off-the-cuff in response to questions and comments from my last few posts.

May 30 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

3,568

525

13:13

April 2025

Taking time to do nothing is like a good dramatic pause

But there’s a big difference between mindful stillness and mindless stimulation.

Apr 19 • 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

846

93

6:17