Cool Tools

By Cool Tools

What's Cool Tools about?

In each episode of the Cool Tools Show, Kevin Kelly and Mark Frauenfelder talk to a guest about some of his or her favorite uncommon and uncommonly good tools they think others should know about.

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Cool Tools episodes:

03.15.2024
404: Adam Hill
Adam Hill (He/Him) is a dad who loves science, cooking, math, engineering, skepticism, espresso, and politics! He has been a teacher, an engineer, and now a software business analyst. Curiosity now and forever! TOOLS: 0:00 – Intro 0:46 – Burley Bee Bike...
03.08.2024
403: Mia Coots
Mia Coots is a Senior at Nokomis Regional High in central Maine and an amazing presenter for the Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine for the Department of Education. LINKS: http://SLAMShow.org TOOLS: 0:00 – Intro 0:53 – ATEM Mini Switcher 7:50...
03.01.2024
402: Josué Moreno
Josué Moreno, a Spanish composer and sound artist, has made Finland his home, where he inspires the next generation of musicians as a teacher at the prestigious Sibelius Academy’s Music Technology Department. Known for pioneering Urban Sonic Acupuncture, Josué seamlessly...
02.16.2024
401: Kern Kelley
Kern Kelley is a Technology Integrator at Maine School Unit #19. Starting his teaching career in New Zealand, he has provided support to educators for over two decades and conducted professional development across the globe. He advises a student produced technology show for...
02.09.2024
400: Rich Edwards
Rich Edwards is the CEO of Mindspan Systems, which helps community financial institutions transform themselves with data-driven strategies and technologies. Rich has worked extensively with banking, insurance, and financial services clients worldwide during his career. He has led product strategy in data...
02.02.2024
399: Brent Deverman
Brent Deverman founded and sold a China-based internet startup providing services to tourists and English speakers based in Shenzhen, China. With over 20 years of experience in software development, analytics, digital transformation, and e-commerce development, Brent has also executed technical projects...
01.26.2024
398: Chris Butler
Chris Butler is a chaotic good product manager, writer, and speaker. He has extensive experience in product management leadership at Microsoft, Waze, KAYAK, Facebook Reality Labs (aka Meta), and Cognizant. He is now Group Product Manager in Google’s Core Machine...
01.19.2024
397: Bud Thorpe
Bud Thorpe is a long time photographer, a life long educator, and former paramedic. He and his wife specialize in creating artwork of dogs (and their well behaved families). They run the Dog Art Gallery in historic Portsmouth New Hampshire....
01.12.2024
396: Davey Rogulich
Davey Rogulich is a Stagehand and Maker from Albuquerque, NM. He has toured internationally with Tricklock Theater Company and throughout the US with “Blue Man Group” and “Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan!”. He is currently the Technical Director of NDI...
12.15.2023
395: Mike Harris
Mike Harris legal assistant, bookworm and amateur photographer who likes the surreal and the silly. Mike writes a newsletter called ThinkTrove, where he wrangles the week's wonders. TOOLS: 0:00 - Intro 1:02 - Fidget cube: https://www.antsylabs.com/collections/fidget-cube 5:34 -...
12.08.2023
394: Casper Kelly
Casper Kelly is a writer/director of weird TV and movies including the viral short Too Many Cooks and the 2023 horror movie Adult Swim Yule Log. His website is casperkelly.com and he's on Twitter and Instagram @heycasperkelly. TOOLS:...
12.01.2023
393: Marc Payne
Marc Payne is an IT specialist working for the Federal Government. My passion is flipping items via thrift stores, yard sales and retail arbitrage on Ebay and Amazon. You can find Marc on Twitter @houseofpayne. TOOLS: 0:00 -...
11.17.2023
392: Theodore Gray
Theodore Gray is a co-founder of Wolfram Research and creator of the Notebook user interface (since lovingly copied by Jupyter Notebooks). He is the author of several books and iPad apps including the NYTs best-seller The Elements, and writer/director of...
11.10.2023
391: Tom Robertson
EDITOR NOTE: Due to technical audio issues, this episode might sound better for those listening at 1.5x or 2x speed. Tom Robertson is an IT professional, currently leading IT at FreshBooks out of Toronto, Canada. Tom has a background...
11.03.2023
390: Miles Hunter
Miles Hunter is a UX researcher, based out of Seattle but originally a Brit. Learning to woodwork. I enjoy restoring things, everything from old tools to video and photos. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mileshunter/ TOOLS: 0:00 - Intro 0:53 - Evaporust...
10.27.2023
389: Will Walker
Will Walker is a lead human interface designer at Google, working on wearables, digital assistants, generative AI and conversational controls. His design career has spanned across interfaces for hybrid digital maps, 3d printers and volumetric scanners to leading the design...
10.21.2023
387: David Buxton
David Buxton is a tech founder based in London, UK. He loves making stuff, especially with software. He's also a qualified pilot and a pretty good cook. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmrbuxton/ Website: https://hrharriet.com TOOLS: 0:45 - Workflowy: https://workflowy.com 12:54 -...
10.13.2023
387: Asa Hillis
Asa Hillis is a furniture maker who lives in Silicon Valley. He is known for creating pieces of furniture that have a timeless quality. Asa combines traditional and modern techniques, including CNCs and 3D printers, to craft his furniture from...
10.06.2023
386: Natalie Buda Smith
Natalie Buda Smith is Director of Digital Strategy at the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. Her career spans three decades in design, technology, and culture. The Library of Congress serves millions daily in their pursuit of...
09.29.2023
385: Arun Venkatesan
Arun is a product designer, engineer, photographer, and writer. Most recently, he was co-founder and product designer at Carrot Fertility. He writes at arun.is. TOOLS: 0:00 - Intro 0:49 - BMI 40b x4 tape measure: http://www.bmitools.com/ads/products/categories/steeltapemeasures/window-tape.html 6:26 - BMI...
09.22.2023
384: Joseph Wright
Joseph Wright is a fullstack software engineer and data sensemaker in Pittsburgh. You can find Joseph on Twitter @joegle. His website is joegle.com. TOOLS: 0:00 - Intro 0:44 - Benchmade Mini Bugout 533 Folding Knife: https://geni.us/kh2DivE 5:42 - County...
09.15.2023
383: Ethan Stone
Ethan Stone has been a business lawyer for over twenty-five years, practicing in large and small firms and in-house. He has been a solo practitioner since 2011. He has represented clients in raising angel and venture capital, selling and acquiring...
09.08.2023
382: Jason Swihart
Jason Swihart is a freelance digital product strategist with 30 years of experience developing sites and products for the internet. He specializes in providing product development leadership for clients who need guidance and advocacy through the product development life-cycle. Jason...
09.01.2023
381: Jonathan Whitaker
Jonathan Whitaker is a deep learning researcher and consultant working on generative AI. He also makes and shares tutorials and courses on the latest AI techniques through his YouTube channel and blog, Data Science Castnet. Blog: https://datasciencecastnet.home.blog/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@datasciencecastnet...
08.25.2023
380: Graham Briggs
Graham Briggs was born in northern England in the fishing town of Grimsby. For most of the last 2 decades he's lived in Japan, both in Tokyo and on the Pacific Coast. Most of his career has been in different...
08.18.2023
379: Amber Dohrenwend
Amber Dohrenwend is an American artist based in Marquette, Michigan. She constructs post-consumer cardboard sculptures, costuming and installations. You can find Amber on Instagram @cardboardcollect. Personal Website: www.amberdohrenwend.com The Cardboard Collective: www.thecardboardcollective.com TOOLS: 0:00 - Intro 1:44 -...
08.11.2023
378: Rob Ray
Rob Ray is an artist and Associate Professor of Design at California State University, San Bernardino, where he is currently researching the intersections of site-specific mixed-reality technologies and experimental documentary storytelling. He is also a DJ at KDZU, a fictional...
08.04.2023
377: Joe Richards
Joe Richards is a Summer Camp Director, Maker and thinker on the future of summer camps. Joe speaks on Creativity, Leadership, and Life. Joe has spoken across North America with a variety of youth, camping, and corporate organizations. Joe has...
07.28.2023
376: Ben Gold
Ben Gold is a product designer based in New York City who has a mild obsession with tools. He’s worked on at places like Tumblr, Google, and currently Microsoft. His newsletter is called The Consumerist, a weekly digest of products...
07.21.2023
375: Jeremy Shorr
Jeremy Shorr is a STEM education and workforce consultant and futurist who is passionate about innovating the instructional experience for learners of all ages. Jeremy has been recognized as one of the National School Boards Association’s “20 to Watch”, as...
07.14.2023
374: Luke Stein
Luke Stein is a financial economist and professor at Babson College. He does research at the intersection of corporate finance and labor economics, and is an award-winning teacher, including as the 2022 “Professor of the Year” as chosen by Babson’s...
07.07.2023
373: Nabhan Islam
Nabhan Islam is a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) in the biotech industry, based in beautiful Vancouver, BC. As a perennial traveller and outdoor gear nut, Nabhan always has an eye for durable, well-designed gear that makes his life easier and...
06.30.2023
372: Linda Tapp
Linda Tapp works in her “day job” as an occupational safety consultant, author, and speaker. Evenings and weekends, she writes and publishes Dabble, a Substack newsletter dedicated to encouraging others to try new things along with summaries of what she...
06.23.2023
371: Ryan Helft
Ryan is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area who has spent his career helping companies get the most out of enterprise software systems. In his life outside of work he is an outdoors enthusiast who has hiked, biked,...
06.16.2023
370: William Osman
William Osman is a mechanical engineer turned YouTuber. Since 2016 he's been making science and engineer videos that have been viewed by hundreds of millions of times. Notable projects include electrifying carpet to keep his upstairs roommate from walking loudly,...
06.09.2023
369: Adam Grosser
Adam Grosser is an engineer and an entrepreneur with a love of craft. His passion is building things in and around mobility, like cars, motorcycles, and hydrofoils. For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/adam-grosser-engineer/ If you're enjoying...
06.02.2023
368: Josiah Martens
Josiah Martens is a builder in Eugene, Oregon where he makes music, analog video art, and custom woodwork. As often as he can, Josiah crews on tallships and canoe-camps the rivers of the Northwest. For show notes and transcript...
05.26.2023
367: Michael Basista
Mike Basista is a prop builder and general maker. He's willing to try building or making just about anything. He currently lives in Pittsburgh after stops in Michigan and Southern California. You can find him on Instagram @evilgeniusprops and on...
05.19.2023
366: Chris Zukowski
Chris Zukowski is a game marketing consultant who helps small indie game developers understand their audience and communicate with them in a more personal way so they can share their art with the world. Website: http://howtomarketagame.com/free For show notes and...
05.12.2023
365: Joel Rosenberg
Joel Rosenberg is part of the Special Projects team at Rewiring America. He is an educator and entrepreneur focused on helping solve the climate crisis for his elementary-age daughter, his amazing partner, and the future of everyone on the planet....
05.05.2023
364: Patrik Reizinger
Patrik Reizinger is a Ph.D. student in machine learning at the University of Tübingen and part of the ELLIS and IMPRS-IS doctoral programs. He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Budapest University of Technology, where he...
04.28.2023
363: Erik Sheppard
Talent agent and internationally recognized voiceover authority Erik Sheppard is a 30 year industry veteran with extensive experience as an actor, coach and mentor. He currently owns and operates The Sheppard Agency, a premier talent agency representing an elite roster...
04.21.2023
362: Robert Edwards
Robert Edwards is an inventor, landlord, and avid renovator of historic properties. When he's not busy trying to tame his three young boys, you can find him in his workshop, tinkering away on his latest inventions. He has experience in...
04.14.2023
361: Tristan Duke (Part 2)
Tristan Duke is transdisciplinary artist known for synthesizing methodologies from disparate fields to create startling inventions, sublime aesthetic experiences, and new modes of inquiry. He is the inventor of the hologram vinyl record ¬and has created original hologram artwork for...
04.07.2023
360: Tristan Duke
Tristan Duke is transdisciplinary artist known for synthesizing methodologies from disparate fields to create startling inventions, sublime aesthetic experiences, and new modes of inquiry. He is the inventor of the hologram vinyl record ¬and has created original hologram artwork for...
03.31.2023
359: John O’Brien
John O’Brien is a maker, tinkerer, and father of two. He and his wife founded Revolution Makerspace in 2022. Website: revolutionmakerspace.com For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/john-obrien-revolution-makerspace/ If you're enjoying the Cool Tools podcast, check out our paperback...
03.24.2023
358: Keith Kelley
A Maine educator for more than 33 years, Keith Kelley is currently teaching Integrated Technology. Having taught Language Arts, Social Studies and serving as the School Librarian, he is now teaching IT at Nokomis Regional Middle School. His students make Robots, Skateboards,...
03.17.2023
357: Matt Candler
Matt Candler has been scaling companies and coaching people who lead them for 25 years. In 2010, he launched an organization called 4.0 to help entrepreneurs build better learning spaces and tools. More than 1,500 4.0 alumni now serve millions...
03.10.2023
356: Sam McDonald
Sam McDonald is a tech enthusiast. Originally from Ireland he has lived in Berlin for almost a decade now. In that time he has worked at a range of startups and currently works as a Technical Writer. An amateur coder,...
03.03.2023
355: Paige NeJame
As one of the writers of The Carbon Almanac, Paige NeJame wrote the "climate change for rookies" section as well as the free kid's book "Generation Carbon it's time to start." Her motto is "the right tool makes work a dream."...

What's Cool Tools about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Cool Tools episodes:

404: Adam Hill

403: Mia Coots

402: Josué Moreno

401: Kern Kelley

400: Rich Edwards

399: Brent Deverman

398: Chris Butler

397: Bud Thorpe

396: Davey Rogulich

395: Mike Harris

394: Casper Kelly

393: Marc Payne

392: Theodore Gray

391: Tom Robertson

390: Miles Hunter

389: Will Walker

387: David Buxton

387: Asa Hillis

386: Natalie Buda Smith

385: Arun Venkatesan

384: Joseph Wright

383: Ethan Stone

382: Jason Swihart

381: Jonathan Whitaker

380: Graham Briggs

379: Amber Dohrenwend

378: Rob Ray

377: Joe Richards

376: Ben Gold

375: Jeremy Shorr

374: Luke Stein

373: Nabhan Islam

372: Linda Tapp

371: Ryan Helft

370: William Osman

369: Adam Grosser

368: Josiah Martens

367: Michael Basista

366: Chris Zukowski

365: Joel Rosenberg

364: Patrik Reizinger

363: Erik Sheppard

362: Robert Edwards

361: Tristan Duke (Part 2)

360: Tristan Duke

359: John O’Brien

358: Keith Kelley

357: Matt Candler

356: Sam McDonald

355: Paige NeJame