The Disruptors

The Disruptors

By Matt WardBusinessScienceTechnologyLife Sciences
Download on the App Store

The Disruptors episodes

  • 158. Elon Musk’s Wrong, Driverless Cars Make Things Worse and Buses are the Future of Transportation | Jarrett Walker






    Jarrett Walker (@humantransit) is an international public transit network design and policy consultant and the author of popular public transit blog HumanTransit.org, and the book Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives. This book is a friendly, non-technical introduction to transit’s underlying geometry and the real value judgments that must be explored to make both transit and development policy.
    His background integrates an arts and humanities Ph.D. with long technical experience in all aspects of transit and its role in city-building. He is a frequent keynote speaker, teacher, and facilitator of decision-making processes.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19969045" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
      Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube




    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How to engineer cities so ALMOST everyone wins
    * What does the future of urban transit look like
    * Why autonomous vehicles actually lead to more traffic
    * The reason Uber and Lyft are part of the problem
    * The geometric test to any transportation claim
    * Why the Boring Company is bogus
    * The law of induced demand and its implications
    * How tech marketing twists issues and creates bigger problems
    * What Jarrett thinks about electric scooters and micro-mobility
    * Where we're at in the IoT hype cycle
    * Thoughts on regulating and market distortions
    * Why cars are a dead-end future

















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate












     
    1 hr
  • 157. Why Freedom of Speech isn’t Free and Apple’s Helping China Crackdown on Hong Kong Protesters in the Name of Profit | Cindy Cohn





    Cindy Cohn is the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (@eff) and was the Outside Lead Attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the US export restrictions on cryptography.
    The National Law Journal named Cohn one of 100 most influential lawyers in America in 2013, noting: “If Big Brother is watching, he better look out for Cindy Cohn.” She was also named in 2006 for “rushing to the barricades wherever freedom and civil liberties are at stake online.” In 2007 the National Law Journal named her one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America. In 2018 Forbes included her as one of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19871915" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube



    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How censorship leads to authoritarianism
    * Why freedom of speech is such a tricky tight rope
    * What Apple's doing to help China crackdown on Hong Kong protesters
    * How algorithms and content curation are ruining our lives, and society
    * Why tech monopolies and failing markets make privacy so pathetic
    * The realistic issues with breaking up big tech and better solutions to tech monopolies
    * Why encryption is critical to the future of democracy
    * The impossible problem of backdoors and security
    * How the US government seeks to Chinese surveillance
    * What to do about the Trump Twitter problem
    * Why privacy is the big issue going forward
    * Which tech giants worry Cindy most
    * What to do about the collective action problem
    * Why the implications of brain-machine interfaces terrify Cindy

















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate












     
    55 min
  • 156. Energy, Infrastructure, Fracking and the Future of Journalism | Russell Gold







    Russell Gold (@russellgold) is an author and award-winning investigative journalist and energy reporter at The Wall Street Journal best known for covering the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. They were awarded the Gerald Loeb Award for best business story of the year and were finalists for the Pulitzer.
    He's the author of The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World and his new book, Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform Energy tells the story of Michael Skelly, who helped created the wind energy industry in the US in a push for sustainability.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19730932" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube




    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How to speed the transition to renewable energy
    * The pros and cons of fracking and why it has a bad rap
    * Why the energy industry is so fragmented in the US
    * What we need MOST to see renewables replace the grid
    * How batteries are holding back cleantech
    * The pros and cons of monopolies in public infrastructure
    * Why Silicon Valley doesn't invest much in energy
    * How one innovator can change the course of history and energy consumption
    * What we NEED to do to combat climate change
    * Why Andy thinks going public is the way to go
    * Thoughts on Elon, Tesla and the future of transportation
    * What will journalism look like in ten years
    * Are billionaire-owned media corporations a net positive

















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate












     
    53 min
  • 155. The Gig Economy and Why Government (and Big Business) Are So Inefficient | Rob Biederman







    Rob Biederman (@biedermanrob) is the co-founder and CEO of Catalant, a company that connects companies to talent and knowledge in real-time and is focused on rewriting the future of work and helping Fortune 100 keep up with the pace of innovation. Prior to Catalant, Rob focused on venture capital and financial markets.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19680461" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube





    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How the gig economy is affecting corporations and will unfold
    * What the government can and should do about employee rights and work
    * The future of work as autonomy looms
    * Ways to improve government productivity through incentives
    * How the job market changes in the world of outputs
    * The issues and importance of universal healthcare
    * Why Rob is skeptical on the timeframe for self-driving
    * How we need to shift our views on education to support our future
    * What are Rob's thoughts about Uber and gig workers
    * Why Rob isn't that worried about privacy
    * What the DMV would do differently if it were a business
    * Why corporations are so damn inefficient








     















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate









    Uplevel Your Meditation and Mind
    Do you meditate? Muse is a neurofeedback (ie EEG based brain-sensing) device that helps meditators/anyone learn to control their mind and quiet the thoughts. The science is great, neurofeedback helps meditators achieve zen-level results in less time. I'm a big fan of meditation (as you know) and
    54 min
  • 154. Andy Rachleff on Founding Benchmark, Wealthfront and Fixing F’ed Up Finance Industry with Big Data







    Andy Rachleff (@arachleff) is the co-founder and Executive Chairman (prev CEO) of Wealthfront, an automated investment service startup to provide wealth advisor-like management to everyday folks. Andy co-founded Benchmark Capital in 1995 (one of the most successful venture capital firms of all time) and was a general partner until 2004. Prior to Benchmark, he was a GP with Merrill, Pickard, Anderson & Eyre. He has frequently been named to Forbes' Midas List as a top tech venture investor.
    He teaches courses on technology entrepreneurship at Stanford Graduate School of Business and is a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, chairman of the board of overseers for its School of Engineering and Applied Science and vice chairman of its endowment investment committee.
    He is also a board member of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
    NOTE: I use and love Wealthfront for managing my personal finances. Get $5k managed for free with this link!
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19608102" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube



    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How to win at investing despite all the contradictory advice
    * What makes for an investible landmark business
    * Why Matt uses Wealthfront to manage his finances
    * Where automation is headed in regards to jobs
    * How the finance industry screws you sideways and rigs the game
    * The problem with science and biotech research and how Andy's solving it
    * Why data and AI is the biggest thing happening today
    * How the venture capital landscape is changing with the rise of SoftBank
    * What does the future of blockchain look like
    * Why Andy thinks going public is the way to go
    * Thoughts on regulating tech monopolies and industries cycles
    * What index investing does for average consumers






    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors












    Sponsored by Brilliant.org
    Special thanks to Brilliant for supporting The Disruptors, and learners worldwide. Brilliant's the place hobbyist's and pros go to build skills in math, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations. First 200 listeners get 20% OFF an Annual Premium Membership!




     
     
    Sponsored by JobFlare
    Special thanks to JobFlare, a free mobile app of 90-second brain games that helps job seekers s...
    57 min
  • 153. Former Alexa Head on Amazon, AI, Tech Monopolies and Future of Voice Computing | Alex Spinelli






    Alex Spinelli (@liveperson) is an AI expert, the former head of Alexa OS for Amazon and current CTO of LivePerson and Maven, an AI-powered conversational commerce company, helping brands like Delta, HSBC, and Home Depot leverage AI bots
    Before joining Amazon, Alex served as CTO of McCann Worldgroup — one of the world’s largest marketing organizations with 24,000 employees across more than 100 countries — and CTO for North America and Asia-Pacific at AXA Technologies, where he built large-scale grid computing for predictive modeling. At Thomson Reuters, he oversaw product and technology for news and media, including real-time, AI-driven news curation for financial professionals. He has also held executive technology leadership positions at TheStreet.com and MTV Networks as CTO of Comedy Central.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19569980" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube


     

    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How Alex and his team built Alexa into a juggernaut
    * What the future of voice computing holds
    * Why Alex is more worried about Facebook and Google than Amazon
    * What automation will do to jobs and the economy
    * How Amazon wins in the markets they attack and why Alex says they aren't a monopoly
    * The issue with IoT and huge security risks
    * Why educating consumers/citizens is the MOST important
    * Is privacy dead and what do we do about it?
    * What do we do about big tech and regulation
    * Why Alex is worried about privacy and data transparency
    * Thoughts on corporate responsibility
    * When will we have a post-money world
    * What's the status of autonomous vehicles in 10 years

















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate








    54 min
  • 152. Bacteria for Breaking Down Plastic, Improved Health and Better Beer, Fighting Farts in the Process | Anne Madden






    Anne Madden (@AnneAMadden) is a microbiologist, inventor, science communicator and CSO and founder of Lachancea, an innovative foodtech company focused on the science of microorganisms.
    Anne's a public speaker (three-time TED/TEDx speaker), frequently consults as an innovation and engagement strategist for various industries and has been mentioned by various media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, PBS News Hour, Newsweek, and Scientific American. She's also a brain trust member of the Helena Group Foundation.
    Her research focuses on understanding microbial communities–in the diverse habitats of food, insects, and built environments–and deciphering the human applications of these microbes and has led to the discovery of a new fungal species, novel antibiotics, patented brewing technology, commercially produced beer, new DNA based methods for detecting arthropod communities, licensed technology for the manufacturing of improved breeds, and a greater understanding of the microbial life around us.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19498015" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube





    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How microbes will solve humanity's biggest challenges in the 21st-century
    * What bacteria could do to drastically impact climate change
    * The issue Anne has with probiotic and biotech marketing
    * Why the anti-bacterial movement has been so harmful to human health
    * Why not all germs are good germs
    * How microbes make the flavors and smells we love
    * What we can (and can't) do about drug-resistant bacteria, like MERSA
    * How bioterrorism may evolve and why Anne's not that worried
    * What Anne thinks about agriculture and possible unintended consequences
    * The reason we need to bring science to light
    * How industry can partner better with academia to improve our world
    * Why nature holds the key to a hundred billion-dollar businesses
    * Why data privacy's more dangerous than ever
    * Do we need regulations to protect health data






















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    48 min
  • 151. Tackling Climate Change With Economic Incentives and Circular Economics | Andrew Winston






    Andrew Winston (@andrewwinston) is the founder of Winston Eco-Strategies, author of The Big Pivot and Green Recovery, and coauthored Green to Gold, the best-selling guide to what works — and what doesn't — when companies go green.
    He's a globally recognized expert on green business and has appeared in WSJ, Time, BusinessWeek, NYTimes, and CNBC. His clients have included Bank of America, Bayer, HP, Pepsi, Boeing, and IKEA.
    He's a respected speaker, served as the Director of Corporate Environmental Strategy Project at Yale's renowned School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and has a weekly column for Harvard Business Online. He was recently named a "Planet Defender" by Rock the Earth.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19456572" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube




      You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How to redesign the economy and stock market to incentivize a better future
    * What are the biggest megatrends affecting our future
    * Why eating less/clean meat is the biggest thing you can do to fight climate change
    * Fixing the shareholder value incentive ruining our world
    * Why short-termism is the route of the most evil
    * What you should know about the Green New Deal
    * Why the US doesn't do enough for infrastructure
    * The reason the US doesn't solve the election turnout issues
    * How close are we to point of no return on environment
    * Andrew's thoughts on the future of renewable energy and why it's inevitable
    * Why Andrew's optimistic about fighting climate change
    * What's the role of government going forward
    * Why we need circular economics and to tackle climate change now
    * The danger of the devices and social media






















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate



    44 min
  • 150. Delivery Drones and Our Robot Future | Tessa Lau







    Dr. Tessa Lau (@tessalau) is the founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics, a startup whose mission is to address construction industry labor shortages by introducing robotic automation on the jobsite. Prior to Dusty, she was CTO/co-founder at Savioke, where she orchestrated the deployment of 75+ delivery robots into hotels and high-rises and she's spent an impressive career (including 11 years at IBM) focused on automation and giving people superpowers.
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19384850" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube





    You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * What makes scaling a robot fleet so hard
    * Why Tessa is a big proponent of universal basic income
    * How far are we from human-level intelligence
    * Why we'll have full self-driving in ten years
    * The risk of building robots that look human
    * Why construction is prime for disruption
    * The unique challenges of building a hardware robotics company
    * What automation will do towards affordable housing
    * The state of drone delivery and more
    * Why we're headed towards a future with no privacy
    * Where to focus on a career for the future
    * The big problem with robot anthropomorphism






















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate









    Uplevel Your Meditation and Mind
    Do you meditate? Muse is a neurofeedback (ie EEG based brain-sensing) device that helps meditators/anyone learn to control their mind and quiet the thoughts. The science is great, neurofeedback helps meditators achieve zen-level results in less time.
    53 min
  • 149. Moving Beyond Meat, Burning Down The Amazon and Business for Good | Paul Shapiro






    Paul Shapiro (@paulhshapiro) is the bestselling author of Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, the CEO and co-founder of The Better Meat Co., a four-time TEDx speaker, the co-host of the Business for Good Podcast, and a long-time leader in food sustainability.
    He's been interviewed by hundreds of news outlets from CNN to StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson as an authority on food sustainability issues, and also published hundreds of articles in publications ranging from daily newspapers like the Washington Post to magazines like FORTUNE to academic journals. Prior to co-founding a plant protein company, he spent his career lobbying for better agricultural sustainability policies. Paul's also the VP of the Humane Society in the US
    [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19350299" width="100%" height="200px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]
    Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Android | Overcast | Spotify | Youtube




      You can listen right here on iTunes



    In today's episode we discuss:




    * How soon you'll see plant-based meat in stores
    * The sad truth about animal agriculture and emissions
    * Why Paul thinks we'll have multiple forms of clean meat
    * The food spoilage problem and how to solve it
    * Why the Amazon fires are caused by cow herding
    * What the daily-free milk movements tells us about the future of food
    * How to use business for good
    * Lessons learned from Whole Foods
    * What's the future of biotech and GMOs
    * The economic incentives that will end animal farming
    * Ways Paul organizes his life and focus
    * How to feed 10 billion people
    * Which runaway climate effects scare Paul most
    * Why Paul thinks we'll have a mix of large and small scale agriculture
    * Why business is the best way to change the world



















    Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Support The Disruptors



    The Disruptors is supported by the generosity of its readers and listeners. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us on Patreon, via Paypal or with DonorBox powered by Stripe.




    Donate




    56 min

About The Disruptors

From the publisher's feed

Long-form TED level conversations with top thinkers, founders and scientists on how advances in biotech & genomics, space travel, IoT, AI and other exponential tech converge to create our…