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This week: Moving on from Machin; What "mild" COVID really means; How China's going plant-based; How exercise defeats anxiety; This is what happens when old senators misunderstand new tech

In Episode 129, Quinn tries to better understand data privacy, data stewardship, and what it means for Indigenous cultures in the future of biotech, how we design equity into genetic research, and who gets to make those decisions.

His guest is Krystal Tsosie, a geneticist, bioethicist, and—first and foremost to her—a person Indigenous to the southwestern United States, specifically the Navajo nation. She is the co-founder and Ethics and Policy Director at the Native BioData Consortium, the first Indigenous-led biological data repository for tribes in the US.

“Representation” is just the first step (and so much more than who shows up on screen in the latest Disney movie (though even things there are still embarrassingly bland). 

Next up is inclusivity: It’s about who’s in the room writing and building the future of technology, it’s about asking who makes the rules, and who benefits from them? 

But the real goal is equity, and benefit. And biotech in particular is one sector that could get out of hand real fast unless we approach it in a more inclusive and cooperative way.

Krystal started her career with one question: Why don’t Indigenous people generally participate in genetic studies? And the dominoes fell from there.

Representation, inclusivity, equity, benefit – we can achieve these, and also uncouple DNA from identity.

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This week: Biden's executive orders; What Omicron means for you; The future of coffee farmer migration; Telehealth lobbying on the rise; China's queer internet is being erased

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Yes, we all know that the 1998 Michael Bay flick Armageddon is a masterpiece of cinema, but two years ago we asked ourselves this question: How much does it actually hold up as a blueprint for preventing planetary destruction? 

Let’s say it doesn’t: What can we do to keep from going the way of the dinosaurs? 

Nobody was better suited to answer our many questions than Professor K.T. Ramesh. He told us about a future test mission called DART. Armed with a spacecraft the size of a golf cart, it could have potential to save humanity. 

Two years later, DART has launched, and we thought it was a hell of a time to revisit this Best of the Best episode.

In Episode 66, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why, apparently, we shouldn’t just blow up asteroids.

Our guest is Professor K.T. Ramesh, who is a professor of mechanical engineering at John Hopkins, founding director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI), and our new hero. You can think of HEMI as a real-life Avengers (no, we’re not just stuck on Endgame), except every member is like Bruce Banner without all the Hulk-iness or Tony Stark if he was never kidnapped by terrorists. Every day, they’re working to protect people, structures, and the planet, exploring a number of topics that are both critically important and impenetrably complicated. 

One of their newest studies reveals that Hollywood and Atari may, in fact, have been incorrect when they repeatedly suggested that one viable way to defend the planet from an incoming asteroid would be blowing it up. We don’t know about you, but we certainly feel lied to – so it’s refreshing to have this conversation with Professor Ramesh to set the record straight.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Avocado Green Brands, where sustainability comes first. They craft their GOTS certified organic mattresses, pillows, and bedding with natural materials sourced from their organic farms in India, in their own clean-energy powered facility in Los Angeles, where their team shares a singular purpose: To raise the bar for what it means to be a sustainable business. 

Avocado is Climate Neutral Certified for net zero emissions and donates one percent of all revenue to environmental nonprofits through its membership with 1% For the Planet. 

Find out what it means to sleep organic at AvocadoMattress.com.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected]

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This week: McDonald’s isn’t trying; Biden’s test plan had to be better; Plant-based meat math is obvious; We need more biotech data scientists; We need less crime prediction software

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 128, Quinn unpacks the most delicious olive oil in the world, how it came to be, and what it means to start a food business in the age of climate change.

Our guest is Aishwarya Iyer, dreamer, doer, and eternal optimist. Ash is the founder and CEO of Brightland, the new gold standard in pantry essentials. They are proponents and advocates for authenticity and transparency in the food industry, starting with olive oil.

There are something like six bajillion bottles of olive oil at your local supermarket, and that’s just the extra virgin stuff. And yet, despite the options (organic, cold-pressed, etc) you’d be hard-pressed (sorry) to find pure, quality oils – ones that aren’t blended, rancid, or worse. 

Thankfully, you don’t have to cross the Atlantic (and the Mediterranean) in order to find the good stuff. It’s available right here in California.

Ash has been hard at work extending olive branches (you’re welcome) to local family farms, getting them to buy into the mission and the message. Brightland is also branching out into sweet and sour territory with truly addictive honey and vinegar offerings.

Making a difference often means shopping responsibly. It’s wonderful having one more option when it comes to it.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Avocado Green Brands, where sustainability comes first. They craft their GOTS certified organic mattresses, pillows, and bedding with natural materials sourced from their organic farms in India, in their own clean-energy powered facility in Los Angeles, where their team shares a singular purpose: To raise the bar for what it means to be a sustainable business. 

Avocado is Climate Neutral Certified for net zero emissions and donates one percent of all revenue to environmental nonprofits through its membership with 1% For the Planet. 

Find out what it means to sleep organic at AvocadoMattress.com.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected]

New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 127, Quinn wants to know just how the hell “innovation” actually works.

His guest is Christopher Mims, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, who’s spent a career asking big questions about the most pressing technological and societal issues we face, from robot trains to the future of batteries, brain implants, and whatever happens to land in-between.

The thesis: every little bit counts, and it’s more predictable than you think. Or is it?

Together, Quinn and Chris explore the team dynamics of innovation, the “great man” question, the invisible force behind Moore’s Law, and more. 

The bad news: Nobody gets to save the world. The good news: Everyone gets to save the world, a little bit.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Avocado Green Brands, where sustainability comes first. They craft their GOTS certified organic mattresses, pillows, and bedding with natural materials sourced from their organic farms in India, in their own clean-energy powered facility in Los Angeles, where their team shares a singular purpose: To raise the bar for what it means to be a sustainable business. 

Avocado is Climate Neutral Certified for net zero emissions and donates one percent of all revenue to environmental nonprofits through its membership with 1% For the Planet. 

Find out what it means to sleep organic at AvocadoMattress.com.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected]

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This Week: Is there a green bubble?; Can you get a booster?; Where to find clean water; Why health workers are quitting; Amazon’s privacy nightmare

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 126, Quinn meets his newsletter heroes: Kim Zou & Sophie Purdom, co-founders of the independent media outlet Climate Tech VC.

Kim works with Energy Impact Partners, a venture capital firm investing in climate technology. Sophie works as an investor in early stage climate technology businesses. 

Together they write Climate Tech VC, the data-obsessed, essential take on the opportunities, deals, and news in the flourishing climate tech scene.

There is a massive cost that comes with transitioning every single existing building and vehicle, not to mention all of our power and infrastructure to green tech. While it’s arguably the biggest challenge of our time, it is also quite possibly the biggest market opportunity ever. 

Kim and Sophie discuss the sustainability of volunteer advocacy for these important endeavors, and managing the currency of free time as this work becomes people’s second jobs--without the pay. 

They also outline the action steps you can take, whether an investor, journalist, or a student looking to make the leap into the climate tech space -- because (so fun) it’s now or never!

Today’s episode is brought to you by Avocado Green Brands, where sustainability comes first. They craft their GOTS certified organic mattresses, pillows, and bedding with natural materials sourced from their organic farms in India, in their own clean-energy powered facility in Los Angeles, where their team shares a singular purpose: To raise the bar for what it means to be a sustainable business. 

Avocado is Climate Neutral Certified for net zero emissions and donates one percent of all revenue to environmental nonprofits through its membership with 1% For the Planet. 

Find out what it means to sleep organic at AvocadoMattress.com.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected]

New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.

Important, Not Important Book Club:

Links:

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media