The World Changing Podcast

What the heck is crypto? And for that matter, what is money? Greg and I take a thought provoking and philosophical journey exploring these fundamental questions. Our conversation delves into the profound implications of these technologies and their significance in our lives. One of the key topics we tackle is the formidable energy needs associated with these technologies. Who will be responsible for installing the infrastructure necessary to support crypto and decentralized finance?

Let's discuss!

Here are references to the facts and topics discussed in our conversation, with timecode:

(02:39) Greg asks Flo if she knows the difference between “coins” and “tokens.”

To tell if you're dealing with a crypto coin or token, find out whether the cryptocurrency has a blockchain or not. If it has its own blockchain, then it's a coin, and if it operates on an existing blockchain, then it's a token. (reference)

(07:05) Greg and Flo question when money began to be used in human society.

In 2021, Chinese archaeologists with the State University of Zhengzhou announced the discovery of the world’s oldest known, securely dated coin minting site in Guanzhuang in Henan Province, China. A mint is a facility where currency is created. Sometime around 640 BCE, this facility began striking spade coins, one of the first standardized forms of metal coinage. (reference)

(09:10) Greg says that in 2022, about 950,000 people in the world owned one Bitcoin.

In 2022 according to blockchain analytics company Glassnode, the number of wallets holding at least 1 BTC or more reached 950,000. (reference)

(28:00) Greg talks about Figure.com

Learn more about Figure here: https://www.figure.com/about/

(37:21) Greg says “The crypto industry has stomped out Ponzi schemes in a few years.”

Greg is referring to the fact that previous ponzi schemes, like that of Bernie Madoff's, went unchallenged for decades. In contrast, the FTX ponzi scheme was caught and brought to justice within a few years of commencing operation. (reference)

(39:15) Greg claims "The fastest rate of crypto adoption in the world is Africa.”

In 2021, Chainanalysis noted that Africa 'has some of the highest grassroots adoption in the world, with Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania all ranking in the top 20 of our Global Crypto Adoption Index.'" (reference)

(01:16:44) Greg: “AI will use more electricity than blockchain technology as a whole.”

According to third party analysis sources, the race to build high-performance, AI-powered search engines is likely to require a dramatic rise in computing power, and with it a massive increase in the amount of energy that tech companies require and the amount of carbon they emit. (reference)

(01:18:53) Greg: “We have to grow the grid by about 60% in the next handful of years.”

"Most plausible pathways to net-zero emissions call for the electrification of multiple services, such as heating and transportation. The resulting increase in electricity demand will require major upgrades to the grid, with some studies suggesting a 60% increase in peak demand by 2050." (reference)

James D'Albora began his lifelong journey as an entrepreneur when he was 10 years old. With the dream of purchasing his own TV, he decided to get a paper route in Sacramento. Today he runs Verify Energy and sells The PowerFly (his invention) to solar companies (or EPCs). James realized that solar power EPCs didn't have a simple way to remotely monitor or adjust the power supply being produced. James' PowerFly is one example of innovations at the grid edge allowing for greater utilization of renewable power in the future.

What does James think the future energy grid will look like? Listen and find out.

Welcome to our first Greg-Flo-isode! In these episodes we take on a single timely topic that interests us and work to think unbiasedly about it. What opportunities and possible disadvantages do these programs, technologies and even ideas present us?

In this episode, we break down what community solar is and why it may matter to you. Also,
how does it fit in the big picture of addressing climate change and de-carbonizing the energy grid? Let's discuss!

For more information about net metering and solar legislation in your state: https://www.dsireusa.org/

Are we ready to go nuclear? We’ve brought in the brilliant and multi-talented Alan Hoffman (MIT, Oklo, Cloudant, PayPal) to help us dive into the current opportunities and challenges of nuclear power. Are we ready to take the leap and employ this technology further to mitigate climate change? Let’s find out.

About Alan: Alan holds a PhD in particle physics from MIT. While at MIT, he co-founded and built a software company (Cloudant) to fix the big data problem that he and his co-founders experienced in their particle physics research. Alan and his team built the company to over a thousand customers before it was acquired by IBM after just six years. Alan was then appointed head of product for one of PayPal's major payments platforms. Most recently Alan was Chief of staff at Oklo, an energy startup that is at the cutting edge of small modular nuclear power. 

Meet Ed McKenzie: programming wiz kid, Greg's bff and musical genius. Greg and Ed have been friends and business partners for 15 years. They first met playing in a band together in college and have since written hundreds of songs together and started two companies. What makes Ed a particularly interesting guest? Ed began coding at a young age when he discovered he could hack into his own video games. He then sold his first software to SoftDisk at 15 years old. He worked at Microsoft and Google writing foundational code for the internet. In this conversation, Ed and Greg explore the weight of online identities (aka why Ed doesn't really want to do this podcast), talk about how Ed discovered code at a very young age, and unpack why they are starting Aston Labs. 

Welcome to... The World Changing Podcast! Who are we? Why do we care about changing the world? Meet your host Greg Robinson and producer Flo Lumsden. In the first half of the episode, we introduce each other and discuss why we are making this world changing podcast. In the second half of the episode, Greg and I discuss how his first sustainable energy start-up, Drift, has led him to his newest venture, Aston Labs. We also go into more depth about various topics we are interested in addressing with the podcast. We hope you enjoy it and, who knows, maybe together we will change the world!

Curious what The World Changing Podcast is all about? Here's a snack-able summary.