Techonomics

Book: 'Fake: Fake Money; Fake Teachers; Fake Assets''Rich Dad, Poor Dad'Robert Kiyosaki videos

By Jason Middleton

In 1972, President Richard Nixon decoupled the US dollar from the gold standard - the money was no longer backed by hard-assets of gold and became fiat. 

Our next guest would say Fake. And his take on fake goes beyond money. He weaves fake money with fake teachers and fake assets. 

Robert Kiyosaki has lived a life. From fighter pilot in Vietnam, to pupil of Buckminster Fuller to real estate magnate and consistent personal finance guru.

Kiyosaki ― author of the #1 Personal Finance book of all time titled Rich Dad, Poor Dad ― has built a legacy around simplifying complex and often-confusing subjects like money and investing. 

He continues to challenge conventional wisdom and asks the questions that will help readers sift through today's information overload to uncover the truth. Facts and truth are the foundation for taking control of their financial lives.

Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher.

Have great weeks, everybody.

Google I/O keynote

New Pixel phone review via The Verge

By Jason Middleton

Software developer conferences - a staple of Silicon Valley and the source of much griping about traffic and parking. 

But these conferences are necessary pep rallies and product rollouts - and Google's annual IO conference is always impressive as it is, possibly, the biggest data dump every 12 months.

New hardware products. Upgrades to software. New software. New and upgraded services. And new tools and developer packages that will enable the next generation of ... stuff. 

This week's IO hardware headliner is the new Pixel 3A and 3AXL smart phones. And we have Justin Barr, a Google Technologist, to help us unpack things.

Btw, the price point on this is 399 and I'm not trying to make a Pixel ad here, but every reviewer I trust says this is the phone that may entice iPhone users to step out. 

Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher.

Have great weeks, everybody.

Dr Susan Shaheen

UC-Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research CenterMcKinsey report: “Mobility’s Second Great Inflection Point.”  

By Jason Middleton

This week is about mobility: angling to find a way to make the infrastructure meet the goals of a more efficient, mobile society. 

The economics are clear (see the recent McKinsey report). Socially and politically? Well, that's a tougher nut. 

Dr Susan Shaheen and her colleagues at UC-Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research Center are keeping the conversation - and the data - lively. 

Dr Shaheen is often on Capitol Hill, testifying about the possibilities of increased mobility for the United States. She's our guest this week.

Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher.

Have great weeks, everybody.

McKinsey report: “Mobility’s Second Great Inflection Point.”McKinsey​Stefan Knupfer​

By Jason Middleton

If you read the headlines or glance at the trade magazines, it seems like self-driving cars will start landing in our driveways and parking buildings in the next few weeks. 

Well, maybe not that quickly, but sooner than we thought. It's somewhere between Tesla CEO Elon Musk's whimsical claim of a million autonomous cars next year and ... never, as a few analysts have written.

I land on 20-30 as a date where the tipping point will hit the road, so to speak - when the majority of transport will be autonomous. 

That's not a rando year - a new report from McKinsey research taps 20-30 as well. 

So this week we host Stefan Knupfer, Senior Partner McKinsey and Company. Their recent research project is titled “Mobility’s Second Great Inflection Point.”

Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher.

Have great weeks, everybody.

NYT Columnist/Author Tyler KepnerK: A History of Baseball in 10 Pitches By Jason Middleton Given that baseball has traditionally and habitually invented statistics to apply to game strategy and measuring success, I couldn't pass up the chance to talk with Tyler Kepner this week.  It's still the first month of baseball season, remember, and every team still has a shot at winning. At least, nominally.  Tyler Kepner is a New York Times Baseball Columnist whose new book, K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, traces the development of each pitch as far back as the 19th century.   Kepner discusses the slider, fastball, curveball, knuckleball, splitter, screwball, sinker, changeup, spitball, and cutter.  Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher. Have great weeks, everybody.

IThinkYoureWrongButImListening.com

PantsuitPoliticsShow.com

By Jason MiddletonToxic political dialogue, hate-filled rants on social media, and agenda-driven news stories have become the new norm. People sitting together in pews every Sunday have started to feel like strangers, loved ones at the dinner table like enemies. It’s exhausting, and it’s too much. In the new book 'I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening)' two working moms from opposite ends of the political spectrum -- Sarah Stewart Holland (on the political left) and Beth Silvers (on the right) -- contend that there is a better way.  They believe that we can: --choose to respect the dignity of every person--choose to recognize that issues are nuanced--choose to listen in order to understand Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher. Have great weeks, everybody.

+ 'Beyond Corn' environmental report + National Wildlife Federation+ Professor Aaron Smith, UC-Davis By Jason Middleton Every time we go the pump, there’s a good chance part of that fuel is made from corn—as in corn ethanol.  A 10-year-old federal mandate requires that plant-based fuels are blended into our gasoline supply. That policy has had several unintended, some might say dire, consequences. A new research project is the first to prove that the federal policy intended to promote fuel made from corn, soy, and other plants, is harming the environment. The report is titled BEYOND CORN: The Drive for Better Biofuels.  According to the report sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, the Renewable Fuel Standard is not working for wildlife. It’s not working for our water resources. And it’s not working for the climate.  Professor Aaron Smith from UC Davis is our guest.  Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher. Have great weeks, everybody.

+ Author Greg Kieser+ Book 'Dear Machine'+ Music bed: Claude Debussy By Jason Middleton Once again this week, we're going to straddle science fiction and science reality with a discussion about Super Aware Intelligent Machines.  We have the author of a new book, titled Dear Machine, who is also an investor and researcher in what he considers a wave of technological advances that will push humanity through whatever this painful paradigm shift is we're going through.  Or, in his words from a post-interview email: "A conversation with Greg Kieser about how we might increase the likelihood that future superintelligent machines will prioritize and optimize human well-being and environmental stability." Key on 'human well being.' Greg Kieser. Greg Kieser is founder of Supersystemic dot L-Y,  a company dedicated to increasing humanity’s readiness for the emergence of “SAIMs” (Super-Aware/Intelligent Machines).  Greg's new book is Dear Machine: A Letter to a Super-Aware/Intelligent Machine, which also serves as the operating thesis for the company. Rather than see super aware machines as merchants of chaos and death, see RoboCop, perhaps we see them as possibly the biggest resources humans will create.  Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher. Have great weeks, everybody.

+ Innovature.com+ Coffee Report from Bloomberg+ Climate Data Turned Into Sound+ Avocado Toast Under Threat By Jason Middleton This week we're hammering on a topic familiar to most Americans: brunch. Well, brunching is the inflection point of a much more serious conversation around climate change and its effects on the crops we, as human consumers, have come to depend on.  I'm talking coffee, orange juice, wine and avocado toast. Told you it was serious.  Dana O’Brien is an Executive Vice President at BIO Food & Agriculture and he's our guest this week. Bio concentrates on  changing environments and changing food preferences - as well as solutions to climate change that threatens how the planet produces food. You know, just that whole food, air thing. Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher. Have great weeks, everybody.

+ PayActiv+ Safwan Shaw, CEO+ NPR's version By Jason Middleton Let's talk about the velocity of money. The timing of pay has not been considered since before the industrial revolution, and this oversight is creating profound and unnecessary suffering amongst both employees and employers.  The most obvious example of speeding up the dispersal of paychecks - unlocking money that workers have to wait for - that example is the predatory practices of payday lenders.  But, there's a better way to borrow against an upcoming paycheck.  Last year, startup PayActiv (a Silicon Valley company that offers employer-sponsored financial wellness) saved workers an astounding $120M by giving them access to money they had earned but had not yet been paid.  Safwan Shah is a former NASA scientist and now an entrepreneur/founder/CEO of PayActiv. During our discussion, we even dip into the income inequality and automation. Please click through on any of these links for more information, as well as our show page, Facebook page or follow me on the Twitter. The podcasts also live on iTunes and Stitcher. Have great weeks, everybody.