Going Direct Conversations

I sit down with Douglas Rushkoff, author and media theorist who studies human autonomy and how we can remain connected in a digital age. He has written 25 books, including Team Human, Present Shock, and Survival of the Richest.

His perspective is pretty simple: a healthy society runs on direct exchange between neighbors.

We cover the birth of the corporation, the limits of capitalism, what tech billionaires’ escape plans say about how they see the rest of us, how AI is coming for our attachment, not just our attention, and why we should get comfortable with collapse.

Enjoy.

Recording date: October 21, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

08:50 Can We Make Being A Good Neighbor Profitable?

15:29 How The Modern Day Corporation Was Formed

16:29 How the Chartered Monopoly Turned Craftsmen Into Employees

21:11 Ownership Economy vs. Capitalism

27:16 Ace Hardware Producer Co-Op Model

28:33 Building An Owner-Operator Economy

32:19 Food Systems And Industrial Agriculture

34:25 Doug’s Research On The Billionaire Perspective

44:18 How Technology Is Shaping Humanity

49:01 America Was Designed As An Oligarchy With Consent

53:09 Getting Comfortable With Collapse

59:52 Doug’s Drive & Source Of Energy

01:02:28 Rapid Fire

01:06:46 Bees In Detroit

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Douglas Rushkoff:

* Website: https://www.rushkoff.com/

* Substack:

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

P.P.S. Be an owner

I sit down with Ben Cartwright of Cirkadis to talk about a part of the AI infrastructure buildout that very few people are discussing: what happens to the hardware when it gets decommissioned?

Ben has spent his career in hardware lifecycle management, including six years living in China. We get into why the most valuable components still get shipped overseas, and how the volume and resale value of AI hardware can make reshoring electronics recycling a real possibility.

Enjoy.

Recording date: September 22, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

04:26 Defining De-manufacturing And ITAD

08:21 What Cirkadis Does And How It Started

11:46 Current Flow Of E-Waste

15:35 Where Cirkadis Plays In The Supply Chain

21:05 Ben's Background And Living In China

23:22 How Americans Misunderstand China

35:03 ITAD Transitioning To AI Infrastructure

38:03 E-Waste’s Regulatory Problem

41:52 Re-shoring The De-manufacturing Of Electronics

44:51 Decentralized AI

47:13 Servicing Neo-Clouds

51:53 NeoCloud Business Model

53:07 Re-shoring High-Value Components

1:01:44 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Ben Cartwright:

* Cirkadis: https://cirkadis.com/

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-cartwright-738319121/

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

P.P.S. Be an owner

I sit down with Nikhil Gupta, founder and CEO of Determinant Materials, to talk about the metal refining process he’s invented to help bring back critical supply chains to America.

We discuss China’s metal refining monopoly, the need for innovation in the space, Nikhil’s vision for a refining-as-a-service model, and why silver is the next metal people will be talking about.

Enjoy.

Recording date: September 15, 2026

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:44 Mining vs. Refining

05:46 $200 Billion Investment From The US Government

08:09 What Is Determinant Materials?

10:24 Role Of Feedstocks In Metal Processing

11:54 How Determinant’s Refining Process Is Different

17:16 Rare Earths vs. Precious Metals

21:19 Determinant’s Initial Focus

25:01 Deeper Dive Into Determinant’s Refining Process

29:37 Unit Economics In Metal Refining

31:49 Refining As A Service Model

37:47 Determinant Materials Team

41:43 Role Of Government In Industrial Policy

50:43 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Nikhil Gupta:

* Determinant Materials: https://www.determinantmaterials.com/

* X / Twitter: https://x.com/nrg91720

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilrgupta/

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

P.P.S. Be an owner

I sit down with Mollie Claypool, co-founder of Automated Architecture (AUAR) to talk about their shipping-container-sized microfactories used by homebuilders. AUAR is starting with manufacturing timber structural panels on building sites.

We discuss AUAR’s roots in academia and design, how they work with homebuilders, the US vs UK housing markets, and Mollie’s vision of building thousands of microfactories to create housing abundance. Her goal is to create affordable housing that’s actually beautiful to live in.

Enjoy.

Recording date: August 24, 2026.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:54 Mollie’s Journey Into Architecture

06:33 Working In Academia

11:11 From Academia To The Private Market

14:04 Starting As A Consultancy

17:13 Breaking Down Auar’s Microfactory Model

20:26 How Auar Works With Homebuilders

23:44 Reducing Costs For Homebuilders

27:38 UK vs US Home Building

32:59 Auar’s Initial Wedge

34:37 Full-Stack Approach

37:13 Making Construction Simple For Home Builders

38:29 Auar’s Current Operations

41:44 The Long-Term Vision

46:57 Auar’s Investors

48:12 Why Mollie Is Working On This Problem

51:45 Imagining A World Of Abundant Housing

55:45 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Mollie:

* AUAR: https://auar.io/

* Email: [email protected]

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

P.P.S. Be an owner

I sit down with Tom Joseph, founder of America's Main Street Party, to talk about something we don't cover much at Going Direct: politics.

The problem with American primary elections is that money has become the middleman between citizens and their representatives. Political parties pick who gets on the primary ballot well before citizens ever show up on election day.

Tom's answer to fixing this is an American-Idol style contest for congressional primary elections. Anyone can get in with 100 endorsements and the entire process is facilitated entirely through an app. It’s a very interesting, creative idea that still needs some refinement, but it’s highly aligned with building the Going Direct Economy.

Enjoy.

Recording date: August 19, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:55 Capital As The Middleman In American Democracy

07:28 Did Citizens United Change Anything?

09:05 Mechanics Of Gerrymandering

13:19 Why Tom’s Starting With The House Of Representatives

15:18 How The Primary Process Works Today

18:38 How Parties Control Who Gets On The Ballot

20:38 Role of Money In Politics

24:26 Primary Elections Are Not The Same In Every State

28:50 The Two Party Doom Loop

34:44 Main Street Party’s Vision For A Level Playing Field

38:54 Endorsement Rounds

46:01 Contest Mechanics Explained

49:26 Understanding The Role Of Super PACs

52:57 Tom’s Background

58:43 Future Plans And Funding Needs

1:00:09 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Tom Joseph:

* America's Main Street Party: https://www.mainstreetparty.org/

* Wilson's Fountain: https://www.wilsonsfountain.us/

* Email: [email protected]

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

P.P.S. Be an owner

Come be a part of building the Going Direct Economy! Subscribe for free.

I sit down with Sue Helper, economics professor at Case Western Reserve University, to discuss America’s lack of coherence in industrial policy. We dig into government procurement, the importance of mapping value chains as a first step to reindustrialization, and why the central challenge for government is having to work on supply and demand at the same time.

Sue worked inside both the Obama and Biden administrations — first as Chief Economist at the Commerce Department, then as Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and finally as Senior Advisor for Industrial Strategy at the White House Office of Management and Budget. She worked directly on the IRA and CHIPS Act during her tenure.

Enjoy.

Recording date: July 22, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

04:20 Sue’s Journey To The White House

07:02 Industrial Policy vs Industrial Strategy

07:32 The Role Of Industrial Policy

12:50 Sue’s Work At The OMB

20:44 Government Procurement As Industrial Strategy

33:09 Lack of Coherence In US Industrial Policy

39:40 Government’s Role As A Partner

41:48 Value Chain Mapping As A First Step

42:52 Role Of Academic Research In Industrial Policy

48:08 Learning From Other Countries

51:06 Germany’s KfW Bank Case Study

58:19 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Susan Helper:

* E-mail: [email protected]

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Be an owner

P.P.S. Build with love

I sit down with Duncan Young, founder of Saorsa Growth Partners and writer of the Substack Conduit of Value. We dig into why the future of work looks completely different for Gen-Z vs. Millennials. We discuss:

* Door A vs. Door B — the exit door (leave and build your own) vs. the build-inside door.

* Why demographics and the aging population is the real story, not AI.

* What, “having a career” means to Gen-Z and Millennials.

* The franchise industry as an unlikely case study in low-risk ownership

Enjoy.

Recording date: July 20, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:47 Door A vs Door B

06:19 Door A - Build On Your Own

06:42 Door B - Build Inside An Organization

08:47 Career Ladder Is Being Pulled Up

11:44 The Paper-Pusher Rebalancing

13:47 Up-skilling For Mid-Career Professionals

16:28 Affordability Crisis Is A System Failure

18:32 Gen-Z vs Millennials: Career Choices

24:50 Franchise Models Are Perfect For Low Risk Ownership

30:07 New Ownership Structures In The Age Of AI

37:02 Gen-Z vs Millennials: Definition Of A Career

41:28 Talent Follows Economic Opportunity

46:07 Everything Is Becoming Transactional

50:31 Be an Owner in Something You Have A Connection With

54:11 Education’s Upcoming Pivot

59:08 Cross-Generational Company Building

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Duncan Young:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanmayoung/

* Substack: https://substack.com/@saorsapartners

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

P.P.S Be an owner

I sit down with Rajat Bhageria, founder and CEO of Chef Robotics, to discuss why he believes robot labor is the only way to keep American food supply chains onshore. There are 1.1 million food prep jobs unfilled in the US — the #1 labor shortage in the country. When companies can’t staff those lines, they offshore.

We get into why traditional automation has never solved food prep, how Chef’s AI learns from 100+ robots deployed in real production environments, and why Rajat thinks the future of robotics looks like the LLM stack — shared intelligence on the bottom, vertical-specific embodiment on top.

Enjoy.

Recording date: June 18, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:40 Millions Of Unfilled Jobs In Food

06:46 Robotics Is Required To Keep Supply Chains Onshore

09:58 Automation Challenges In Food Manufacturing

14:50 Generalized vs Specialized Robotics Systems

27:41 Training And Real-World Data In Robotics

32:13 Rajat’s Journey Into Physical Robotics

37:22 Vision For Chef Robotics

38:38 Robots As A Service

41:10 Chef’s Approach To System Integration

44:44 The Future Of The Food System

49:41 Vertical Integration vs Contract Manufacturing

52:06 HPP Technology

53:13 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Rajat Bhageria:

* Chef Robotics: https://www.chefrobotics.ai/

* Email: [email protected]

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajatbhageria/

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Be an owner

P.P.S Build with love

I sit down with Maria Intscher-Owrang, co-founder and CEO of Simplifyber, to discuss their completely new way to produce soft goods with natural fibers. Her invention collapses textile production down to a single 100-second molding step. No spinning, weaving, cutting, or sewing required.

After 24 years designing for Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, and Alexander McQueen, Maria experienced how outdated soft goods manufacturing really is. We get into why cheap labor is the main blocker to reshoring textile production and why her real end game is selling the machine, not the product.

Enjoy.

Recording date: June 18, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

07:16 Maria’s Background

11:46 Simplifyber’s Production Process

16:39 Creating New Design Spaces

18:20 Reducing Labor Costs To Make Reshoring Possible

22:11 Manufacturing As A Service

25:15 Cost Efficient, Sustainable Production

28:06 Simplifyber’s Business Model

32:40 Transitioning To Commercial Production

37:59 What About the Rest Of the Supply Chain?

40:53 Using Market Constraints As A Force For Innovation

43:42 D2C and Direct Distribution

50:39 Will AI Centralize Or Decentralize The Real Economy?

55:46 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Maria Intscher-Owrang:

* Simplifyber: www.simplifyber.com

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplifyber_inc/

* LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maria-intscher-owrang-3278a07

* Crush ‘n sniff: https://www.crushnsniff.com/

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Be an owner

P.P.S Build with love

I sit down with Mariano Alvarez and Brendan Collins, co-founders of Avalo, to talk about how they are using their plant breeding technology to rebuild the US cotton supply chain from the seed up.

We get into how they’re able to sell seeds to farmers at half the market price, why they contract with them to buy the cotton back before a single seed goes into the ground, and the long-term goal of bringing smaller farms back to America.

Enjoy.

Recording date: June 11, 2026

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

05:09 What Plant Breeding Actually Is

06:50 Current Cotton Supply Chain

10:31 Avalo’s Rapid Evolution Process

13:41 Texas Cotton Farm Pilot

18:07 How Avalo Is Using AI

23:06 Model & Open Source Used To Build Avalo

24:27 Avalo's Founding Story

28:29 Creating A New Cotton Supply Chain

31:23 Agricultural Industry Challenges

38:06 Why Start With Cotton

41:38 Avalo’s Initial Results

43:21 America's Biggest Little Cotton Patch

46:49 Farmers’ Economics With Avalo

50:46 Going Direct WIth Clothing Brands

58:00 How To Make Avalo's Vision Become Reality

01:01:25 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Connect with Avalo

* Website: https://www.avalo.ai/

* Mariano Alvarez: [email protected]

* Brendan Collins: [email protected]

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Be an owner

P.P.S Build with love