Dr. Ewelina Kurtys, a neuroscientist with the firm Final Spark, features on the Paradigm Shock podcast. We discuss her transition from academia to commercialization of revolutionary biocomputing technology, where living neurons function as processors. Emphasizing the energy efficiency of neurons over traditional silicon chips, Dr. Curtis explains the process and potential of programming neurons for computation. By encompassing various disciplines like biotechnology, neuroscience, and AI, this episode explores the potential benefits and future applications of this emerging field, along with risks and ethical considerations.

Show Notes:

Final Spark Website: https://finalspark.com/

Dr. Ewelina Kurtys Website:

Dr. Kurtys LinkedIn

Contact Paradigm Shock: 

Paradigm Shock Podcast LinkedIn

The latest episode of Paradigm Shock features Dr. Paul Sheard, former Vice Chairman and Chief Economist at Standard and Poor's, a former advisor to two Japanese prime ministers, a senior official at multiple global institutions, and the author of numerous papers and books, including his latest "The Power of Money", a WSJ Best Seller. Listeners delve into why popular economic narratives, especially regarding monetary policy, have often missed the mark post-2008 global financial crisis. Sheard's varied experiences, from studying Japanese industrial systems to navigating global economics at S&P, allow him to address complex topics with depth. His analysis of monetary systems, particularly his work on quantitative easing, reveals misunderstandings about inflation post-2008. Dr. Sheard advocates for examining the finer details and institutional mechanics that traditional economic models often ignore, offering listeners a richer perspective on global financial challenges and the potential future disruptions to global economic architectures.

Show Links

Paul’s Wall Street Journal Bestseller: The Power of Money

Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Sheard

His famous paper discussed: Repeat After Me: Banks Cannot And Do Not “Lend Out” Reserves

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-sheard-060988264/

Contact Paradigm Shock: 

[email protected]

Catherine Bracy, author of 'World Eaters: How Venture Capital is Cannibalizing the Economy,' discusses her journey from civic tech to challenging the current venture capital system. Arguing that VC investment models impose a narrow business monoculture and problematic uniformity, Bracy highlights the risks of current funding models to innovation and the broader economy. She suggests that a diverse range of business models and funding mechanisms is crucial for sustaining growth and innovation in the tech sector, advocating for venture capital to revert to its original supportive, innovation-friendly role in fostering more varied types of business success. They also discuss this pattern potentially repeating itself in the current AI investment boom with potentially grave consequences to AI Safety.

Show Links

Her book: World Eaters: How Venture Capital Is Cannibalizing the Economy

Tech Equity: https://techequity.us/

Catherine’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinebracy/

Contact Paradigm Shock: 

[email protected]

This unique episode of Paradigm Shock features Alex Johnson, author of the FinTech Takes newsletter, discussing the road less traveled in fintech analysis. They explore Alex's career trajectory from growing up in Bozeman, Montana, to becoming a leading fintech expert. The discussion emphasizes the importance of adaptability and leveraging the Internet's power to reach niche audiences. Their conversation delves into the challenges of maintaining independence amidst industry pressures and the joy of transforming a passion into a thriving career. Alex inspires listeners to pursue what excites them, sharing valuable lessons on finding opportunities in unexpected places. The latter portion of the discussion focuses on the continued fallout from JP Morgan’s shocking announcement that they will be charging for access to consumer data and the impact on consumers, future AI and agentic finance and Open Banking more broadly.

Alex’s Fintech Takes: https://fintechtakes.com/

Some of Alex’s Favorite Sources:

Simon Taylor’s Fintech Brainfood: https://www.fintechbrainfood.com/

Jason Mikula’s Fintech Business Weekly: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/

Kiah Haslett https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Cards for the Win by Matthew Goldman: https://www.cardsftw.com/

Contact Paradigm Shock: 

[email protected]

In an unprecedented move, JPMorgan Chase announced plans to charge fintech companies for accessing consumer data, igniting significant debate within the fintech community. This decision follows the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's announcement to rescind Rule 1033, which previously mandated free data access under consumer consent. The decision has profound implications for open banking and the fintech sector, with potential alterations in partnerships and strategies. Industry players face uncertainty as they navigate technical, legal, and ethical challenges, balancing infrastructure costs with consumer rights and business interests. The outcome is uncertain, with ongoing litigation possibly influencing the landscape.

Bloomberg Story referenced:

Jesse’s Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessebsilverman/

Fintech Takes:

Contact Paradigm Shock: 

[email protected]

Ahmed Siddiqui, the best-selling author of 'Anatomy of the Swipe,' joins Paradigm Shock to unravel the complexities of the payment system. Through his famous book, Siddiqui breaks down the mechanics behind every credit card swipe, explaining the sequence of events occurring within seconds of the transaction. With a visual and story-driven approach, Siddiqui aims to educate both novices and industry insiders on the intricate world of payments, offering insights into his career, and highlighting the areas ripe for fintech innovation including open banking and tokenization. He also announces a new initiative towards the end of this episode. Note: Recorded on Thursday July 10, 2025.

Show Links:

Order Anatomy of the Swipe

Core Graphic from his book

Ahmed's LinkedIn page:

Academy of the Swipe Course: 

Podcast Contact:

Contact Paradigm Shock: [email protected]

In a captivating episode of Paradigm Shock, host Anjon Roy interviews fintech expert Martin Kleinbard on his recent report about the potential 'Credit Time Bomb' in consumer credit assessments. The discussion centers on the limitations of traditional credit scoring models like FICO in today's AI-driven world, presenting another potential AI Alignment challenge. Martin proposes a shift towards cash flow-based underwriting to better evaluate credit risk, leveraging the capabilities of open banking. This approach could mitigate current threats in consumer lending while aligning credit assessments with modern financial behavior, potentially paving the way for a more inclusive and accurate credit evaluation system.

Show Links:

Report: How Cash Flow Data Can Diffuse the Credit Time Bomb

Martin’s LinkedIn Profile

Alex Johnson’s Fintech Takes Podcast and Newsletter

Credit Worthy by Josh Lauer

In this episode, veteran journalist Steven Ehrlich discusses his unexpected journey into crypto journalism. Originally a DoD contractor, Steven transitioned to the digital asset sphere through various roles at Forbes and Unchained. Throughout his career, he has witnessed the boom and bust cycles of cryptocurrency, reflecting on both its potential and its speculative excesses. In this discussion, he highlights critical phases in the crypto world, such as the ICO craze, DeFi summer, and NFT boom. Steven critically analyzes the speculative nature of these trends while expressing hope for crypto's future practical potential, aiming to balance exuberance with realistic expectations and real world impact.

Key Links:

Bits and Bips Newsletter

Steven's Unchained Page

Steven's Forbes Page

LinkedIn

Twitter

Bits and Bips Podcast

Unchained Podcast

In this episode of 'Paradigm Shock,' host Anjon Roy engages with author Stephen Witt to discuss the rise of NVIDIA under the leadership of Co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang. Witt's new book, 'The Thinking Machine,' leverages an amazing level of access to explore how Huang transformed NVIDIA from a struggling gaming company into the dominant player in the semiconductor sector. They delve into the years of struggle and strategic reinvention that led to NVIDIA's groundbreaking advancements in Parallel computing with it's GPU chips, highlighting how these innovations have significantly influenced and enabled the current boom in Artificial Intelligence and reshaped global tech markets, making NVIDIA the most consequential company today.

Stephen's Website: http://stephenwitt.info

Check out his book

In this episode of Paradigm Shock, host Anjon Roy engages with Tomaž Fleischman from the Cycles Protocol to explore the profound potential of blockchain technologies in revolutionizing financial systems with multilateral clearing and netting systems. Through an engaging narrative, they delve into netting and obligation clearing, illustrating how these processes can significantly impact both local economies and the global financial landscape. Fleischman, an expert in this field, shares his journey from computer systems engineering to pioneering blockchain projects like the Cycles Protocol. The discussion highlights blockchain’s capacity to enable decentralized peer-to-peer multilateral clearing systems, offering a transformative approach to liquidity savings and systemic risk reduction.

Cycles Protocol Website: https://cycles.money/

Cycles White Paper: https://cycles.money/whitepaper.pdf

2020 LSM Paper: https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13120295

Crypto's early interest from Ethan Buchman: https://ebuchman.github.io/posts/local-money-liquidity-saving/

Other Research from Tomaž:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387951277_Neutral_Settlement_Layer_for_Interoperability_between_Different_Forms_of_Local_Financial_Expression

ttps://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14090452

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349917124_Pub_-_Liquidity-saving_through_Obligation-Clearing_and_Mutual_Creditpdf