Reviving Forgotten Technologies: How Airships, Supersonic Flight, and Geothermal Energy Could Transform Our World (Eli Dourado, Head of Strategic Investments at Astera Institute)

Eli Dourado is Head of Strategic Investments at Astera Institute, a foundation funding transformative science and technology across energy, aerospace, AI, and other frontier sectors. Before joining Astera, he worked as a "regulatory hacker" at Boom Supersonic, where he helped navigate complex aviation regulations to make supersonic flight viable again.In our conversation, we explore:• How Eli's refusal to be pigeonholed led to a career reviving forgotten technologies• How lifting the 1973 ban on supersonic flight could reshape aviation, after decades of stagnation and regression• Why airships need to be massive to be economical, and how they could transform global logistics• The untapped potential of geothermal energy and why drilling economics are the key bottleneck• Why titanium could be the next material to undergo a manufacturing revolution• How reading regulatory fine print can unlock trillion-dollar industries• Why AI might not automatically solve our productivity problems• The relationship between technological stagnation and potential civilizational collapse• The fascinating possibility of harvesting antimatter in space—Thank you to our sponsor: Brex—The banking solution for startups: https://www.brex.com/mario—Timestamps(00:00) Intro and Eli's background(04:11) Eli’s work at Astera Institute(07:53) The frontier sectors Astera is betting on(08:57) Eli’s path from academia to tech investing(13:06) How Eli became involved with supersonic flight(15:42) Why the airline industry entered “the great regression”(18:38) The origins of the overland supersonic flight ban(20:37) Working as a "regulatory hacker" at Boom Supersonic(27:30) The current state of supersonic flight technology(30:40) Eli’s cargo airship research(37:20) What sparked Eli’s interest in airships(40:23) Why airships fell out of favor as a way to travel(42:53) How Jim Coutre found a path to profitable airships(47:00) The pros, cons, and profit potential of airship travel(50:08) A case for geothermal energy(55:37) Understanding the “idiot index” and scaling titanium production(58:36) Thoughts on AI and avoiding complacency(01:02:00) The risks fueling a potential societal collapse(01:06:10) Final meditations—Follow Eli DouradoNewsletter: https://www.elidourado.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elidourado/X: https://x.com/elidourado—Resources and episode mentions—Books—* Elon Musk: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281* The Collapse of Complex Societies: https://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Complex-Societies-Studies-Archaeology/dp/052138673X* Finite and Infinite Games: https://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713—People—* Jed McCaleb on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jed-mccaleb-4052a4/* Cate Hall on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cate-hall-9a81a35/* Ian McKay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-mckay-850332100/* Jim Coutre on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-coutre-b224b812/* Robert Metcalfe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Metcalfe* Jamie Beard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geothermal-jamie-beard/—Other resources—* Astera Institute: https://astera.org/* Boom: https://boomsupersonic.com/* Mercatus Center: https://www.mercatus.org/* Make America Boom Again: https://www.mercatus.org/research/research-papers/make-america-boom-again* Concorde: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde* Airbus: https://www.airbus.com* Boeing: https://www.boeing.com/* Hermeus: https://www.hermeus.com/* Astro Mechanica: https://www.astromecha.co/* Cargo airships could be big: https://www.elidourado.com/p/cargo-airships* The Center for Growth and Opportunity: https://www.thecgo.org/* Hindenburg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg* Graf Zeppelin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_127_Graf_Zeppelin* Metcalfe’s law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe%27s_law* The state of next-generation geothermal energy: https://www.elidourado.com/p/geothermal* Fervo Energy: https://fervoenergy.com/* Value from Elon Musk’s ‘Idiot Index’?: https://therrinstitute.com/value-from-elon-musks-idiot-index* A beginner’s guide to sociopolitical collapse: https://www.elidourado.com/p/collapse* Antimatter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter—Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.generalist.com/subscribe