Behind Kalshi’s $22B rise: Betting on addiction with Dr. Rian Kabir

In this special episode of Lifers, Christina Farr sits down with Dr. Rian Kabir, a psychiatrist and medical AI expert, to discuss the mental health implications of Kalshi's $22 billion valuation. They explore whether prediction markets constitute gambling, the addictive risks of frictionless betting apps, and what Rian is seeing in his own clinical practice. A timely conversation on the societal costs of a rapidly growing industry.
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Join Christina for an upcoming webinar:
* ⁠5/19 - What will AI do for employer healthcare and benefits with Garner Health - https://streamyard.com/watch/sQfWpwRzMqWE 
* 5/21 - The case for building an AI native electronic health record system - https://streamyard.com/watch/RCVSNheSPePs 
* ⁠⁠6/3 - Privacy, AI & the future of HIPAA with the former founding director of ONC - https://streamyard.com/watch/bzW4sh8WAPyS 
* ⁠⁠6/23 - Not everyone can access the top 1% of physicians. Will AI change that? - https://streamyard.com/watch/qY9td6fhiXK3 
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SPONSOR: Granola
Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://granola.ai/lifers with code: LIFERS
Interested in sponsoring the show? lifers@a16zstudios.com
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LINKS:
Chrissy’s Tweet: https://x.com/chrissyfarr/status/2053457349075976665?s=20

Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr 
Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ 
Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ 
Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books 

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FOLLOW:
Rian:
https://x.com/RianKMD 

Chrissy:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ 
https://x.com/chrissyfarr 
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Intro
(00:24) Kalshi valuation sparks debate
(02:04) Why app gambling hits hard
(04:55) Addiction risk factors explained
(06:26) Kalshi vs sports betting apps
(08:18) Clinical fallout and suicide risk
(10:05) Sponsor: Granola
(10:44) Age limits and young brains
(13:02) Juul parallels and VC ethics
(15:17) Regulation incentives and society
(17:17) Wrap