PODCAST · technology
Future Optimist
by Ross Palmer
Tech meets existential crisis. We talk about the future here—the good, the bad, and the... weird. Brought to you by aloa.agency. © 2025 Aloa LLC. All rights reserved.
Episodes
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$112 Million for Water from Thin Air with Brian Sheng of Aquaria - Ep. 233
What Brian Sheng is doing with Aquaria isn't a pipe dream, it's reality. He's pioneering air-to-water infrastructure, creating a world where homes can get all of their water off the grid.Brian Sheng recently raised over $100 million in Series D for his company, and you can already buy his...
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An AI Founder/Investor's Take on Raising $70M with Amir Barsoum - Ep. 232
I chat with Amir Barsoum of InVitro Capital and Vezeeta, an AI VC firm and a thriving business that has raised over $70 million in capital. We discuss the enormous opportunity in AI investment, the world of tomorrow, and how we can capitalize on this once-in-several-generations moment. I also…
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[LIVE] Electrify Expo: Lightship EV RVs, Crazy Electric Unicycles & More - Ep.231
Thanks to BJ Birtwell of Electrify Expo for hosting me, Ben Parker of Lightship RV, and the woman whose name I don't know representing the Mia 4 X4! ➡️ Electrify Expo ➡️ Lighship RV ➡️ Mia Dynamics Also thanks to Zachariah Dalton for camera!
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Millions of Followers for AI Art with James Gerde - Ep.230
James Gerde watched his Instagram go from 2,000 to 800k+ followers in two weeks. His unique brand of human-inspired AI art captivated the world, showing us a marriage of cutting-edge techniques combined with the beauty of what it means to be human. He’s drawn both criticism and love for his…
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A "Body Doubling" App That Ends Procrastination with Taylor Jacobson - Ep.229
Today we have Taylor Jacobson joining us, founder of Focusmate, to explore why hyper‑connectivity can actually diminish our accountability and personal growth—and how a simple “body‑doubling” video call can cure loneliness and procrastination. Taylor Jacobson shares the origins of Focusmate, the...
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[LIVE] The Future of 3-Wheel Electric Scooters with Tim Huntzinger of XOTO - Ep.228
Tim Huntzinger is the founder of XOTO, one of the most fun means of alternative mobility I've tried. I'm a bike fanatic, and I'll never take a car anywhere if I can help it. I met Tim and he let me try a demo of his new invention, and I was instantly hooked.In a world of options, XOTO represents…
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A Brilliant Alternative to Unsustainable Precious Metals Mining with Don Weatherbee - Ep. 227
Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx, discusses the company's innovative approach to regenerating platinum and palladium from used catalytic converters. I love businesses that embrace the circular economy, and this is an angle I hadn't heard of before.With a background in the mining industry, Don...
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Tens of Millions Raised for Enlightening Neurotech with Valentin Randon of Muse - Ep. 226
Is neurotech more exciting or terrifying? Is it a vehicle for optimizing our productivity or spying on is an a way humans never imagined? Joining me is Valentin Randon from Muse, a neurotech headset company that claims to have over 500,000 users. We pull no punches, as we go deep into philosophy…
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$10 Million for Breakthrough Health-tech AI with Eirini Schlosser [Live in Las Vegas] - Ep. 225
This LIVE interview took place with Eirini Schlosser in Las Vegas at HLTH. Her company Dyania Health is one of the most exciting AI companies in health-tech today, and they just announced $10 million in Series A funding. Watch on YouTube. Eirini Schlosser discusses how Dyania Health uses AI and...
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3 Million TikTok Followers Gamifying Beach Clean-up with Felix Krainer of Planet Matters [Live in Boston] - Ep. 224
This podcast is a video shot live in Boston. For the full experience, watch on YouTube! I co-sponsored a beach cleanup with Planet Matters, Neurable, and my agency: Aloa.agency. I also interviewed Planet Matters on their awesome ocean cleanup success. Felix Krainer is the founder of Planet…
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Mind-bending Ecotech Ideas from 5 Brilliant Founders - Ep. 223
This podcast episode features a compilation of past interviews with innovators and entrepreneurs in the realm of ecotech and sustainability. So it's come to this: an FO clip show. But the reason is clear: innovation isn't something that happens "out there". It's the conscious effort of brilliant,...
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The Future of Electric Super Cars with Nikita Bridan [Live in Long Beach] - Ep. 222
Nikita Bridan is one of the co-founders of Oilstainlab, a boutique futuristic supercar manufacturer of the future. They've built a monster, and soon it will be all-electric. Video of the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=catWEb3lSok In this episode, we talk about the meticulous design…
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Sustainable Ammonia is Vital for Our Future with Suzanne Zamany Andersen of Nitrovolt - Ep. 221
Suzanne Zamany Andersen is the CEO and founder of Nitrovolt, a brilliant start-up that's raised millions making green or sustainable ammonia. You might not know this, but ammonia is vital for agriculture, and it's a key component of human survival. "Green" ammonia is a cornerstone of...
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Julie Bliss Mullen: What are PFAS (forever chemicals) and how is Aclarity solving this massive problem? - Ep. 220
Julie Bliss Mullen is cofounder and CEO of Aclarity and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. Her company Aclarity destroys PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and mitigates risk at landfills and centralized waste treatment facility. You might have heard of "forever chemicals"—tiny particulates…
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Lab-Grown Meat: Is This the Future of Food? - Ep. 219
Is lab-grown the future of meat? Even after $1.6B in investment into the sector, is cultivated meat a viable long-term solution? I created a fact-based, humorous video covering the history and future of meat replacements, including plenty of data-driven insights. Produced by Aloa LLC | This…
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Dr. Masachs Boungou: How REAL Adversity Leads to Stronger Entrepreneurs - Ep. 218
Dr. Masachs Boungou, an eternal optimist, author, and public speaker, shares his incredible journey from fleeing war-torn Republic of the Congo to finding success in the United States. The type of entrepreneurship practiced in Silicon Valley is often criticized for being homogenous and lacking...
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$20MM for Futuristic Houseplants That Fight Indoor Air Pollution with Lionel Mora - Ep. 217
Lionel Mora is the co-founder and CEO of NeoPlants, a start-up that's raised $20 million for plants that tackle indoor air pollution. In this inspiring episode, he shares his insights on the potential of nature to address significant issues like climate change and indoor air pollution, using…
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Ross & Maru Face the Future: How We Built a 7-Figure Agency - Ep. 216
Bonus! My wife Maru and I talk about our experiences and challenges in building a successful 7-figure digital marketing agency. In this special episode, I reflect on my early skills in technology and programming, transitioning into different careers, and eventually founding their agency in 2016.…
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Niccolò Ferrari: A Brilliant Business to Handle the Looming EV Battery Crisis - Ep. 215
Niccolò Ferrari is the founder and CEO of Scoutit, a brilliant business concept that will enable the EV battery circular economy. Today? EVs are the minority on the road. But soon? We'll have millions of dead batteries to dispose of, creating a possible ecological nightmare. But Niccolò has taken...
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Ross & Maru Face the Future: Are We Optimistic After 200+ Interviews With Successful Entrepreneurs? - Ep. 214
Join us for a rare, reflective conversation about the learnings and insights gained from hosting a podcast, highlighting the inspiring work of diverse and talented individuals, including entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. My wife and I discuss the emotional and intellectual journey from…
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Andriy & Sergiy Lyubchyk: Game-Changing Tech That Generates Energy from Thin (Humid) Air! - Ep. 213
Andriy & Sergiy Lyubchyk are co-founding brothers of CascataChuva a Portuguese eco-tech company that believes it can literally pull energy from thin air. This idea is almost too wild to be true, but apparently we're all just one NDA away from seeing it for ourselves... While running another...
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Daniel Carcillo: From Stanley Cup Winner to Psychedelic Therapy Pioneer - Ep. 212
Daniel Carcillo was a pro hockey veteran and 2-time Stanley Cup winner. But his life changed when he was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and traumatic brain injury (TBI) following his 10-year career as an “enforcer” in the NHL. After years of suffering from neurological issues, he found...
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Mark Atkeson: ByteDyance, TikTok, and Three Decades of Entrepreneurship in China - Ep. 211
Mark Atkeson is the author of 'Risky Business in Rising China', a book chronicalling three decades of business, tech, and politics in China. TikTok, ByteDance... China seems to be always in the news. Sometimes for good, sometimes for... less than good? Either way, I wanted to explore the real…
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David Wakerley: Insane Tech Turning Carbon Emissions into Usable Plastic - Ep. 210
David Wakerley is the co-founder and CTO of Dioxycle—a truly mind-blowing tech company that turns factory emissions back into usable plastic. Dioxycle has raised over $17 million in funding to date, and focuses on repurposing carbon emissions into ethylene, an essential chemical in many products....
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David Brown: Cyber Threats, Ethical Hacking, and the Future of Digital Security - Ep. 209
David Brown is the CEO of CounterCraft, deception-powered cybersecurity solutions that go beyond detection and response. In this talk, David tells me about the challenges and opportunities within the cybersecurity landscape. Although he's optimistic about humanity's capacity to overcome…
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Chris Tolles: Raising $12 Million for Ingenious Soil Carbon Tech - Ep. 208
Chris Tolles is the CEO of Yardstick, an eco-tech company focused on measuring soil carbon that just raised $12MM in Series A funding. In this episode, we talk about climate challenges, and the potential of addressing climate change through improved agricultural practices. Exploring a niche…
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Nik Ershov: Creating Mind-Tracking Brain control Interfaces that De-Stress - Ep. 207
Nik Ershov is the CEO of Waverox, makers of brain-monitoring headphones and headbands that help you de-stress and be more productive. Nik Ershov shares his journey from experiencing severe burnout in the advertising and marketing industry to founding a startup focused on combating stress and...
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Dr. Gordon Chiu: Winner of Harvard Tough Tech Prize, Graphene Expert & Entrepreneur - Ep. 206
Dr. Gordon Chiu has 41 patents and recently won Harvard Business School's "Tough Tech" Prize in 2023. He is a graphene pioneer, investor, AI entrepreneur and deep tech expert. In this episode, we discuss various topics including a utopian/dystopian future, the importance of authenticity, the…
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Jon Hacker: Mind-Blowing, Zen-Inducing Neurotech Headphones - Ep. 205
John Hacker is a biomedical engineer and the CEO of NeurGear. His latest innovation is the ZenBud, the market's first ultrasonic vagus nerve stimulator, designed to promote relaxation and combat stress. In this episode, Jon Hacker discusses the underlying technology, its decades of research, and...
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Alan Liu: Touch-Based, Sweat-Sensing Tech for Diabetes and Beyond - Ep. 204
Joining us today is Alan Liu, the co-founder of Persperion Diagnostics, an innovative startup based in San Diego that aims to revolutionize diabetes management with its non-invasive glucose monitoring technology. Founded in 2022 by Alan Liu and Lu Yin, the company leverages cutting-edge…
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Brooke Harris: Creating a Plant-Based Milk Empire from Scratch - Ep. 203
Brooke Harris is the founder and CEO of Goodmylk Co., one of the world's leading plant-based dairy companies. Her awakening to the benefits of a plant-based diet—driven by personal health challenges—unveiled the stark reality of conventional "nutritious" alternatives marred by unhealthy…
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Massimo Portincaso: Pioneering Bio Manufacturing (Star Trek is Here?) - Ep. 202
Massimo Portincaso is the Founder and CEO of Arsenale BioYards. Formerly, he was a managing director at Boston Consulting Group. As the creator of this groundbreaking bio-manufacturing platform (what does that even mean!?!), he’s using crazy tools like yeast to build… Anything! No this isn’t Star...
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Greg Johnson: Ingenious Water-Permeable Sustainable Concrete - Ep. 201
Greg Johnson is the Co-Founder and CEO of AquiPor Technologies. His company offers groundbreaking tech for porous concrete, meaning the sidewalk can collect and capture rain water! AquiPor promotes a new type of material technology intended for urban stormwater management. We will investigate the...
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Welcome to the Future Optimist Podcast!
Welcome to Future Optimist! I'm Ross Palmer, founder of aloa.agency, and together we're going to explore the world of the future in all its good and bad glory with the entrepreneurs and visionaries who are building the world of tomorrow. I hope you’ll join me in becoming a Future Optimist! ➡️…
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Introducing Future Optimist (Thanks for 200 Interviews!)
Wow – 200 interviews in the bag! So what’s next? In this mini-episode I’m going to be telling you three things I’ve learned from the 200 interviews I’ve conducted for the Beat the Often Path podcast. I’m also going to be going into more detail about an exciting change that’s coming up – the name…
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Ep. 200 – Deniz Kent: CEO of a Mind-blowing $80mm+ BioTech Company
In this very special 200th interview, I’m joined by Deniz Kent, the Co-Founder & CEO of Prolific Machines, a biotech company at the forefront of sustainable and healthy food. Starting his career with notable research in cancer immunotherapy at the University of Bristol, Deniz has been recognized...
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Ep. 199 – Lin Kayser: The Insane World of AI-assisted “Computational Engineering”
Lin Kayser is the co-founder of Leap 71 – a Dubai-based company pioneering the emerging field of Computational Engineering. Lin started coding as an 8-year-old and is a serial entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in building high technology ventures. His software was also pivotal in the...
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Ep. 198 – Gastón Paladini: Turning Soy Into Pork at a Molecular Level (This is nuts!)
Gastón Paladini is the CEO and Co-Founder of Moolec Science, a crazy tech company that is literally turning soy into pork. Can plants be more like meat, no really? In this episode, we're spotlighting Moolec Science, a trailblazer in the food industry harnessing the power of Molecular Farming...
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Ep. 197 – Niklas Kluger: Ingenious Rock Powder that Regenerates Soil and Removes CO₂ from the Atmosphere
Niklas Kluger is the co-founder and COO of InPlanet, a brilliant eco-company with a quadruple+ bottom line. We’ll learn how this GreenTech pioneer, with a rich background in environmental engineering and tropical agriculture, is revolutionizing carbon dioxide removal. From scaling urban farming...
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Ep. 196 – Saman Farid: Legendary AI Investor/CEO on the Future of Robotic Automation
Saman Farid is the CEO and founder of Formic Technologies, a company at the forefront of revolutionizing automation in manufacturing. With a passionate commitment to boosting productivity in U.S. industries, his company Formic, specializes in offering cutting-edge robotic solutions that elegantly...
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Ep. 195 – Paul Shapiro: Best-Selling Author of “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World”
Paul Shapiro is the CEO of the Better Meat Company—a company on a mission to reinvent "meat". They’ve got plug-and-play mycoprotein formulations that quickly and cost-effectively enhance (or even replace) meat products while improving nutrition, flavor, and yield. He's also the author of the...
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Ep. 194 – Why Ramiro Velasco Thinks Amazon Latin America Is the Next Big Gold Rush
In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about Blue Oceans and Red Oceans, a concept talked about in Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne, W. Chan Kim. Broadly speaking, a “blue ocean” is uncontested market space—something that no one else is really doing, like Cirque Du Soleil when they first...
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Ep. 193 – Matt Rogers: From Selling Nest for $3.2 Billion to Founding Mill, A Truly Brilliant In-Home Solution for Reducing Food Waste
Today we’ve got an AWESOME episode for you. Joining us is Matt Rogers, whom I believe we can accurately call a tech legend. Matt's career began at Apple, where his talent and dedication led him to build the software team responsible for ten generations of the iconic iPod. As one of the pioneering...
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Ep. 192 – Fabian de La Fuente: How a Serial Entrepreneur is Reshaping Solar Tech
Fabian is a six-time serial entrepreneur with a 33-year history in technology innovation, holding over 100 patents in software, electronics, and photovoltaics. He has led diverse teams on four continents and launched numerous technology products globally. As the Co-founder and CEO of Solaires...
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Ep. 191 – Ryan Field: Ingenious Tech Revolutionizing Neuroscience and Neuromedicine (Raised Over $150 Million)
Ryan Field is the CEO of Kernel, a neurotech company that's raised over $150 million revolutionizing neuromedicine. What if a brain scan was a part of our regular checkup? What if we could detect and prevent diseases like dementia far in advance, with non-invasive tech? Something as simple as…
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Ep. 190 – Mike Loos: How AI and "Virtual Twins" Will Make Better Medicine, Faster
Today's episode feels like pure science fiction. What is a digital twin? How could this help us make better and faster pharmaceuticals? And why is that important? We know that there is so much data about us and our bodies and soon, our brains. Is there a reality in which we can use data to remove...
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Ep. 189 – Tom Frazier: Why We All Need to Care about Sustainable Edge Computing
Tom Frazier is the co-founder and CEO of Redivider, a company that is making sustainable & responsible edge computing. But first, what is edge computing? You might not realize it, but every single device you use and every single platform you interact with is storing massive amounts of data...
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Ep. 188 – Travis Rosbach: Building a 600% Growth Company In Hydro Flask
Travis Rosbach is the creator and founder of Hydro Flask, and a brilliant 600x MoM serial entrepreneur. Do you know those water bottles you've seen everywhere? Every single time you go to the airport, it seems like every single person has one? Well, it turns out that that's called the Hydro…
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Ep. 187 – Robin Simsa: The Genius of 3D-Printed, Fungi-Based “Salmon” Filets
Robin Simsa is the CEO of Revo Foods, the first company to sell 3D printed, vegan “salmon” filets – already available all over Europe. They're making 100% plant-based seafood to reduce overfishing and relieve pressure on our marine ecosystem. Robin himself has a PhD in biotech from the university...
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Ep. 186 – Nicki Driscoll, PhD: Brain Implants as Thin as a Human Hair
Nicki Driscoll, PhD is a post-doc researcher at MIT, and CTO of NeuroBionics, a company that has developed a new kind of neural interface using microscale, flexible, bioelectronic fibers that seamlessly integrate with the body. Have you ever seen a fiber optic cable? Imagine a tiny strand that is...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Tech meets existential crisis. We talk about the future here—the good, the bad, and the... weird. Brought to you by aloa.agency. © 2025 Aloa LLC. All rights reserved.
HOSTED BY
Ross Palmer
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Future Optimist have?
Future Optimist currently has 240 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Future Optimist about?
Tech meets existential crisis. We talk about the future here—the good, the bad, and the... weird. Brought to you by aloa.agency. © 2025 Aloa LLC. All rights reserved.
How often does Future Optimist release new episodes?
Future Optimist publishes regularly with 240 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Future Optimist?
You can listen to Future Optimist on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Future Optimist?
Future Optimist is created and hosted by Ross Palmer.
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