Going Direct Conversations

I sit down with Oren Falkowitz, co-founder and CEO of Area 2 Farms, to discuss how he’s working to fix America’s food system by building hyper-local, soil-based, automated indoor farms that bring food production back to where people live. Oren has a very unique approach that combines local production and local distribution under one roof. We explore why moving the farm, not the food, is the future.

Enjoy!

Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Recording date: November 26, 2025

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:03 What’s Wrong With Our Soil?

03:35 The Importance Of Soil Health

07:24 Problems With The Current Food System

10:17 Area 2 Farms Model

21:36 Soil vs Hydroponics

23:28 Operational Insights From The First Farm

30:57 Robotics & Automation In Vertical Farming

34:10 Area 2 Farms Product Mix

38:53 Understanding The Economics Of Community Farming

42:08 Scaling Farming Operations

51:37 Role Of Real Estate

55:33 Oren’s Journey From Cybersecurity To Community Farming

59:56 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Oren’s work:

* Area 2 Farms website – https://www.area2farms.com/

* Area 2 Farms X - https://x.com/area2farms

* Oren´s X – https://x.com/orenfalkowitz

I sit down with Brett Bivens, an active angel investor and Research Partner at July Fund, a venture capital firm focused on backing new technologies that improve the real world. We unpack a recent essay Brett wrote titled The Production Capital Mosaic, where he outlines 11 emerging financing models purpose-built for industrial technology.

We explore why traditional venture and infrastructure capital fall short in this space, what it means to be a production capitalist, and how a new breed of firms is blending the DNA of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Washington, D.C. to rebuild Western industrial capacity.

Enjoy!

Recording Date: November 19, 2025

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:04 Defining Production Capital

06:28 Carlota Perez & Technology Cycles

10:17 Different Production Capital Models

17:03 Defining Production Capitalists

23:00 Do We Have A Shortage Of Capital Or Demand?

25:08 Challenges In Scaling New Technologies

31:21 Production Capital Models

31:49 Model 1: Venture & Capital Markets Connectivity

35:20 Model 2: GAP Capital (Growth & Project Finance)

37:09 Model 3: Modern Merchant Banks

39:46 Model 4: SPAC’s & PIPE’s

41:09 Model 5: Venture Turnarounds

45:01 Model 6: Techno-Industrial Holding Companies

49:11 Model 7: Digital Capital Markets Orchestration

50:51 Model 8: Growth Buyouts

52:13 Model 9: Super Developers

55:13 Model 10: Industrial Franchises

01:03:10 Model 11: DePIN Projects

01:07:15 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Brett’s Work:

* Venture Desktop (Substack) –

* LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettbivens/

Resources Mentioned:

* Article: “The Production Capital Mosaic”

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

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I sit down with Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, to unpack how their e-commerce platform operates as one big affiliate network to support independent bookstores. It’s the classic “David vs. Goliath” story where the company is giving small retail businesses a way to compete directly with Amazon. Against all odds, Bookshop.org is working. They’ve already raised over $43 million for indie bookstores and are just getting started.

In this conversation we discuss:

* The “Silver Lining” of Amazon’s dominance and the resurgence of local bricks-and-mortar bookstores.

* How Bookshop.org handles logistics and supply chains for bookstores

* How Bookshop.org operates like one big affiliate network

* Expanding into eBooks

* Why publishers and tranditional media outlets are important for book culture

* The difference between algorithmic recommendations and human curation

* Expanding this decentralized model to other industries to support local retail

Enjoy!

Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Recording Date: November 19, 2025

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:06 David vs. Goliath

02:10 Silver Lining Of Amazon’s Dominance

06:24 Chipping Away At Amazon And Supporting Independent Bookstores

11:46 How Bookshop.org Works

20:33 One Big Affiliate Network: From Influencers to New York Times

24:08 Role of Book Publishers And Wholesalers

26:03 Launching During COVID-19

32:32 Breaking Down the Economic Business Model

37:53 Importance Of Staying Lean

41:25 Expanding Into eBooks

44:05 Supporting Independent Authors

46:13 Media’s Role In Book Culture

52:11 Optimizing For Human Happiness

57:00 Applying Bookshop.org’s Model To Other Industries

59:45 Rapid Fire

* Follow Jordan on X:

https://x.com/jrwolfe

* Links to Andy’s Work:

* Website - Bookshop.org

* Email – [email protected]

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

I sit down with my co-host Reiss to break down different decentralized production models - 3D printing, mini-mills, upcycling, and bio-manufacturing - and dive deeper into the world of bio-manufacturing. We explore how biology can create much more decentralized, cleaner forms of production and discuss the following topics:

* Decentralized production methods: 3D Printing, Mini Mills, Upcycling, & Bio-manufacturing.

* How synthetic biology uses sugar instead of petroleum to create all types of products.

* The large infrastructure gap between high-value pharmaceuticals and lower-value Industrial biotech.

* Importance of “sterility” in scaling bio-manufacturing.

* Using insects as living bioreactors to produce proteins.

* Advancements in trait-modified crops.

* What’s needed to make bio-based products cost-competitive.

Enjoy!Watch on Youtube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Recording date: November 14, 2025

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:30 Decentralized Production Breakdown

09:31 Explaining How Bio-manufacturing Works

12:29 Important Role Of Feedstocks

14:32 Pharma vs. Industrial Biotech

18:17 Challenges In Scaling Bio-manufacturing

23:55 Using Insects As Bioreactors

28:55 Infrastructure Needed To Make Industrial Biotech Competitive

33:06 Trait Modified Crops & Decentralized Farming

35:58 Decentralizing Crop Production

36:56 Cell-Based Chocolate Example

42:23 Scaling Laws in Industrial Biotech

51:18 Other Advancements In Crop Modification

53:18 Bio-manufacturing Wishlist

Follow Jordan on X

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Resources Mentioned:

* California Cultured (Cell-based Chocolate/Coffee) – https://www.cacultured.com/

Remember to go direct!Jordan

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I sit down with Kary Bheemaiah, VP and Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at Capgemini Invent, to unpack the real-world challenges behind next-generation robotics and industrial automation. We break down what actually happens when new robots hit messy, legacy production floors and the ugly economics of automation that most people never talk about. We also dive into Edge AI and why Kary firmly believes it’s the missing piece that will finally make generalized automation usable and deployable.

Topics we cover:

* How Edge AI acts as a “universal protocol translator” for legacy factories

* The “BLOPE” problem (Bandwidth, Latency, Operational constraints, Privacy, Economics) in manufacturing

* Why integration costs are 6-12x higher than the actual robot

* The concept of, “asset-based consulting” and importance of getting hands dirty in the lab

* China’s dominance in robotics

Enjoy!

Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Recording date: November 12, 2025

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:36 What Is Capgemini Invent?

06:33 Breaking Down Edge AI

12:13 The “Dirty Secret”: Why Integration Costs 6x The Robot

12:43 Integration Challenges In Robotics

20:25 Data Is #1 Main Bottleneck in Robotics

25:12 Collecting Data By Vertical

29:04 Keys To A Successful Robotics Implementation

33:17 True Cost of Downtime In A Factory

35:23 Evolving Landscape Of Robotics And AI

42:46 Role Of Teleoperation In Training Robots

48:33 Creative Destruction

56:17 China’s Supply Chain Advantage

01:02:16 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X

* https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Kary’s Work:

* Capgemini Invent: https://www.capgemini.com/about-us/who-we-are/our-brands/capgemini-invent/

* LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/karybheemaiah/

Other Resources Mentioned

* Deep dive into Robotics watch this conversation with @PhysicalIntelligence : https://goingdirect.substack.com/p/38-karol-hausman-and-kevin-black-4b6

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

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I sit down with Nic Radford, co-founder & CEO of Persona, to discuss the current labor shortage in heavy industries, declining fertility rates, and how important robotics and automation are for building an optimistic future. While many companies are chasing the dream of a general-purpose home assistant robot, Persona is looking to deploy humanoid robots for heavy industrial use. In this conversation, we discuss:

* Declining global fertility rates and the “demographic cliff”

* Why he believes general-purpose home robots are still 10 years away

* How Persona is Adapting NASA space technology for heavy industry

* The strategy of dominating welding before moving to other industrial uses

* Challenges of building a robotics company and escaping “Pilot Hell”

* Lessons learned from building underwater robots at Nauticus

Enjoy!

Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:28 Depopulation And The Need For Robotics

09:06 South Korea Is A Society Without Children

14:35 Labor Scarcity Is The True Driver For Robotics

20:05 Persona AI’s Technology

24:53 Why “General Purpose” Home Robots Is A Decade Away

27:21 Persona AI’s Initial Focus: Welding in Shipyards

32:27 Hyundai Partnership And Commercialization

33:54 Persona AI Founding Story

36:48 Training Data Strategies

43:20 Navigating Supply Chains in Robotics

45:15 Challenges in Crossing The Chasm In Robotics

49:53 Lessons from Previous Robotics Company

55:02 Personal Motivations and Inspiration To Work On Robotics

01:00:22 Rapid Fire

* Follow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfe

* Links to Nic’s Work:

* Persona – https://personainc.ai/

* LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaus-radford/

Remember to go direct!

Jordan

P.S. Build with love

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I sit down with Chris Paxton and Michael Cho, the hosts of the @RoboPapers podcast, to geek out on all things robotics. We dive deep into the massive data gap, the pain of real-world evaluation, and what it will really take to power decentralized production with robots.

Chris and Michael break down the pros and cons of different training methods, why physics is brutal, and why timelines are probably overhyped in the short term and underhyped in the long term.

In this episode, we discuss:

+ The RoboPapers podcast

+ Biggest bottlenecks in robotics

+ Pros/cons of different training methods

+ Michael’s plan to use crypto incentives to gather robotics data

+ The surprising first viable market for robots: Entertainment

+ Why Chris is skeptical of “perfect” robot videos

Enjoy!

Watch on YouTube; listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Recording date: October 25, 2025

Chapters:

00:00 Meet The Hosts Of Robopapers

04:00 Chris Paxton’s Robotics Journey

06:30 Michael Cho’s Robotics Journey

11:33 Two Main Bottlenecks Holding Robotics Back

16:40 Views On Training Methods: Teleoperation

18:39 Views On Training Methods: Reinforcement Learning

21:02 Views On Training Methods: Learning from Human Video

28:20 Views On Training Methods: Sim-to-Real

30:12 Solving The Training Gap

35:02 Importance Of Robots In The Field

39:47 Entertainment As A Gateway For Robotics

41:27 Why Start the RoboPapers Podcast?

43:43 Most Interesting Areas Of Robotics Research

46:17 Egocentric Data Explained

47:47 Michael’s Crypto Incentive Structure For Data

51:34 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Chris & Michael’s Work:

RoboPapers Podcast – https://youtube.com/@robopapers?si=NOwQb-rFLeW5mBp1

Chris Paxton on X – https://x.com/chris_j_paxton

Chris Blog - https://cpaxton.github.io/

Chris Substack -

Chris LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-paxton-41aba958/

Michael Cho on X – https://x.com/micoolcho

BitRobot - https://bitrobot.ai/

Michael’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-chung-yeung-cho/

Description

I sit down with Alan Perlstein, founder and CEO of California Cultured, to discuss how they are reinventing the chocolate supply chain from the ground up. Using breakthroughs in plant cell culture and biomanufacturing, Alan and his team are creating real cocoa butter, flavor, and antioxidants directly from cells. Their vision is to build modular “cocoa breweries,” where they bypass cocoa farms altogether. We dive into how this approach could decentralize cocoa production, stabilize pricing, and reshape a $100B+ global industry.

We break down:

+ Problems with the current chocolate supply chains

+ How, "tricking the cocoa cell" skips the farm entirely

+ Alan's strategy for cost parity

+ Biggest challenges with biomanufacturing

+ How California Cultured protects its IP from large corporate partners

+ Why the future of food production will be highly decentralized

+ If you're interested in decentralized production, the future of food, and/or industrial biotech, this conversation is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:25 Chocolate 101: How It’s Made

06:26 Cocoa Shortage

09:00 Plant Cell Culture Explained

11:08 How Cell-based Chocolate Is Made

13:07 Secret Language of Plants

16:00 California Cultured Distribution Strategy

19:14 Roadmap to Cost Parity

22:29 Understanding Cocoa Flavonoids

25:07 Protecting IP From Large Corporate Partners

29:01 5 Reasons Why Corporations Partner with Startups

32:24 Biggest Challenges At California Cultured

37:53 Alan’s Vision For California Cultured

41:40 Version 6 Of Their Chocolate

44:39 California Cultured’s Current Status

46:52 Alan's Journey In Cell Cultured Foods

50:56 Analytics Tools Are Changing The Game For Scientists

52:56 Building Consumer Trust In Cell-Based Products

55:34 Production Timelines

59:31 Rapid Fire

Follow Jordan on X:

https://x.com/jrwolfe

Links to Alan's Work:

California Cultured Website – https://www.californiacultured.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-perlstein/

these are show notes