This week we're featuring a TOA17 talk by erotic film director, Erika Lust and her husband/business partner, Pablo Dobner. Erika and Pablo discuss the importance of creating ethical pornography - which they define as erotic films that eliminate the sexist and racist narratives that are frequently perpetuated by porn.

Erika has received lots of acclaim and attention for her films - she was featured in the Netflix Documentary series Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On in 2017. Her film Cabaret Desire won the Feminist Porn Award for Movie of the Year in 2012. The first two compilations of her XConfessions series have won her the Feminist Porn Awards for Hottest Straight Vignette in 2014 and 2015 respectively. XConfessions has also been screened at the Chicago International Film Festival and at Raindance Film Festival in London.

Hosts Niko Woischnik and Danielle Lemieux discuss how the demand for porn online has deeply influenced the evolution of the internet.  Tune in next week to hear Andy Yen, CEO and Co-Founder of ProtonMail giving a talk at TOA17 about the importance of securing your personal information online.

This week we're featuring a TOA17 tête-à-tête between legendary DJ Richie Hawtin and the CTO and Co-Founder of Native Instruments, Mate Galic. Richie and Mate reflect on the origins of electronic music and how technology has influenced the evolution of music listening, creating and performing. The pair discuss their hopes and expectations for the future of music technology.

Host Danielle Lemieux is joined by TOA's resident DJ and electronic music expert, Sam Butler to comment on Richie and Mate's discussion.   Tune in next week to hear erotic film director, Erika Lust and her partner, Pablo Dobner live at TOA17 as they explain the importance of creating ethical pornography.

In the very first TOA.life episode of 2018 we're featuring a TOA17 talk by Aubrey de Grey, Chief Science Officer for SENS Research Foundation. Aubrey is a biomedical gerontologist who has focused his research on how to reverse the aging process. He explains how regenerative medicine will eventually be so comprehensive that people will stay truly youthful, however long they live - meaning they could live significantly longer lives. Hosts Niko Woischnik and Danielle Lemieux discuss the meaning of aging and whether they would actually want to live forever. Tune in next week to hear legendary DJ Ritchie Hawtin and the CTO and Co-Founder of Native Instruments, Mate Galic discussing all things music and tech.

This episode features Yaël Eisenstat, Former CIA Analyst & Founder of Kilele Global. Yaël spoke live on stage in 2017 with New York Times correspondent, Melissa Eddy about what she learned in the CIA. Plus Yaël joins hosts Niko Woischnik and Danielle Lemieux to discuss what she's been up to since July and correct a few CIA stereotypes.

This episode features a TOA16 talk by Yancey Strickler, Co-Founder & CEO of Kickstarter. Yancey explains why "selling out" shouldn't be celebrated and how moneyed imperialism can harm our culture and our local businesses. Hosts Niko Woischnik and Danielle Lemieux briefly discuss capitalism and consumer culture during the holiday season.

This episode features a TOA16 talk by Paola Antonelli who is an author and a Senior Curator at The MoMA in NYC. Paola delves deep into the relationship between design and violence by explaining how she turned a rejected exhibition proposal into a website, a book and an exhibition. The full video of Paola's TOA16 talk is also available on the Tech Open Air YouTube channel.

 

This episode features a TOA17 fireside chat between Branden Spikes, former CIO of SpaceX and founder of Spikes Security, and Ryan Heath, Senior EU editor of Politico. Branden and Ryan discuss what Branden learned working alongside Elon Musk for over 10 years. Plus, they delve into Branden's expectations on the future of technology, security and space travel. Hosts Niko Woischnik and Danielle Lemieux comment on Branden's insights into singularity, living on Mars and best practices for running a company.

This episode features a talk at TOA16 by Cindy Gallop, founder of MakeLoveNotPorn. MakeLoveNotPorn is a non-judgemental open forum that encourages everyone to decide for themselves what they like doing in the bedroom because there is no 'norm'​. In Cindy's talk she explains how sex tech will change the world and why more people should be investing in it. Hosts Niko Woischnik and Danielle Lemieux discuss how women are leading the sex tech industry in Berlin.

This episode features a talk by Gavin Wood, the co-founder of Ethereum, Parity and Polkadot live at TOA17. Gavin provides a background on blockchain and explains how it's revolutionizing the web. Danielle also interviews Niko on why the team at Tech Open Air is considering doing an initial coin offering (ICO) of our own.

On the very first episode of the TOA.life podcast we provide a brief introduction to what our show is about and listen to SoundCloud founder and CEO, Alex Ljung being interviewed by TechCrunch Editor In Chief, Mike Butcher live on-stage at TOA17. Alex and Mike speak about the recent round of firings at SoundCloud and what's next for the Berlin startup.