What's Your Problem?

After spending decades as marginal players in the global auto industry, Chinese carmakers have become the world’s biggest exporters of cars. Chinese cars are some of the best cars on the planet, and they’re available almost everywhere – except in the US. Michael Dunne is the CEO of Dunne Insights, a company that consults on the future of cars. Michael has been working with the Chinese auto industry since 1990. I talked with Michael about how China did it. The problem we discussed was: How can the United States catch up with the Chinese auto industry? In this episode, Michael explains:  How China went from making terrible cars in 1990 to dominating global exports today Why China bet big on electric vehicles when nobody wanted them How Tesla's arrival in China revolutionized their EV industry  Why losing the car industry would be a national security problem for the US Why the future of a successful American auto industry is on the West Coast Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram  Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phages are viruses that attack bacteria. People have been using phages to treat infections for over a hundred years, but in most cases they just don't work as well as antibiotics.  Paul Garofolo is the co-founder and CEO of Locus Biosciences. His problem is this: How do you genetically engineer phages to be more effective at curing disease?  In this episode, Paul explains:  Why wild phages never completely wipe out a bacterial infection How to engineer phages with CRISPR to kill bacteria more effectively The clinical trial testing phage therapy for chronic, recurrent UTIs Why persistent bacteria may contribute to autoimmune conditions like Crohn's disease How to use robots and AI to create phage cocktails from wastewater Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram  Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Autor is a labor economist at MIT. He has written about how the arrival of personal computers increased inequality among American workers. But when it comes to AI, David thinks there could be a different outcome.  Read David’s article about AI in Noema Magazine.  In this episode, David explains:  How computers increased the wage gap between college and non-college educated workers Why AI’s ability to supplement expertise may open up expert fields to more people  How AI could make healthcare and legal services cheaper What fields will still experience rapid devaluation of skills due to AI  The “no regrets” policies that the US could enact to help ease the impact of AI   Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Mills is the CEO and co-founder of a nonprofit called Watch Duty. His problem is this: How do you build an app to warn people when they are in immediate danger from a natural disaster? Watch Duty has millions of users and played a key role in the Los Angeles fires of 2025. In the show, John talks about how he built his app with the help of an army of volunteers, and why the government hadn’t already built something like Watch Duty. In this episode, John explains:  Why one-quarter of Los Angeles residents downloaded Watch Duty during the 2025 fires Why the all-clear message matters almost as much as the initial warning How they are expanding into flood warnings How to decode firefighter’s radio chatter, and his favorite bit of jargon  Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh Tyrangiel is the author of “AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter.” On today’s show, Josh talks about some of these real people and the problems they’re working on: a professor trying to understand her nonverbal son, a general who delivered millions of Covid vaccines in 2021, and a hospital CEO trying to reduce the rate of deadly infections.  In this episode, Josh explains:  Where AI is helping to reduce hospital infections (and where it’s struggling) Why distributing the Covid vaccine was almost as hard as creating it Why convincing people to use AI is often the hardest problem to solve  Why we should use nuclear weapons as a model for regulating AI Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betsey Stevenson is a labor economist at the University of Michigan, and she was an economic adviser to President Obama. Betsey’s problem is this: How can we create a world where the benefits of AI are broadly shared? Betsey draws on history – including how the invention of household appliances created a crisis of meaning for American women – to understand how we should respond to the challenge of AI. And she suggests policies to help spread the wealth AI could bring. In this episode, Betsey explains:  How Engels’ Pause serves as a warning for workers How 20th century women adapted to automation How AI has changed life for college students The argument for taxing AI firms and distributing the proceeds to the public Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maps have gotten much better over the past few decades. But they're still mostly two dimensional, and they struggle to keep up with a world that is always changing. Brian McClendon is the Chief Technology Officer of Niantic Spatial, a spinout of the company that makes Pokémon Go. Brian's problem is this: How do you build a three-dimensional map of the world that both robots and humans can use to find their way? In this episode, Brian explains:  What he learned building Google Earth  How Pokémon Go players helped build the foundation for robot navigation What it will take to teach AI to understand the physical world. Why GPS is so bad in cities   Why trees are such a big problem for digital mapmakers Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Shipper is the co-founder and CEO of Every, a company that publishes newsletters about AI, develops AI-related software, and helps other companies use AI. Dan has two problems. One, how do you build a company where almost everybody has their own AI agent? And two, how do you use AI as a tool to improve your writing, rather than as a replacement for writing? In this episode, Dan explains:  Why managing agents will be a core skill of the future Why AI agents won’t replace you anytime soon  How writers learn faster than AI models  How to give AI the social skills to work in group settings  How AI can help you better understand yourself Check out Every at their website: https://every.to/ Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The apples you can buy at the grocery store have gotten profoundly better over the past few decades. It’s a kind of everyday, hiding-in-plain sight innovation.  Kate Evans is an apple breeder and professor at Washington State University. Kate's problem is this: How do you invent a better apple? With her team, Kate has in fact invented a new kind of apple called the Sunflare. It’s arriving in stores in a few years. She also helped to invent the Cosmic Crisp, which is out already. In this episode, Kate explains:  Why grocery-store apples have gotten so much better Why some of the most delicious apples never make it into stores  Why it takes decades to invent a new kind of apple How much more we have to learn about apple genetics  How the apple industry is adapting to climate change  Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drilled, a new addition to the Pushkin network, is a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Award-winning investigative journalist Amy Westervelt unravels evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach. Her new season, Carbon Cowboys, traces how the ethanol kingpin of Iowa became the king of corn in Brazil. In September 2025, a group of Brazilian ministers trekked all the way to chilly North Dakota to see a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula’s dream of turning Brazil into "the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels." It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota. The problem? It all requires loads of land and none of it does a thing about climate change. Here's episode 1. Find more of Drilled: Carbon Cowboys wherever you get podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob Meyerson is the co-founder and CEO of Interlune. Rob's problem is this: How do you help build an economy on the moon? Eventually, Rob hopes Interlune will help build a moon base. For now, he is focused on bringing a gas called helium-3 back from the moon to sell on earth.  Earlier in his career, Rob was the president of Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Jeff Bezos. In this episode, Rob explains:   Why reusable rockets are only the first step for going back to the moon What it's going to take to actually manufacture things in space How to build a business by sifting through moon dirt How nuclear fusion and quantum computing could rely on mining the moon  Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aaron Edsinger left his job as director of robotics at Google to start a company called Hello Robot. Aaron’s problem is this: How do you build an affordable robot that people can use to solve real problems at home? The result is a robot that looks nothing like a person. In fact, it’s closer to a Roomba with an arm. In this episode, Aaron explains:   Why home robots have barely progressed since the Roomba Why simpler robots can be more useful than complex humanoids   Why the physical world is so much harder for AI than language How robot safety is fundamentally a physics problem Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Christensen is the co-founder and CEO of Cambium, the largest seller of salvaged wood in America. Ben's problem is this: How can we turn the trees that are falling to the ground all around us, into usable wood? In this episode, Ben explains:  Why so much wood goes unused  Why Cambium created demand before building the supply chain  How building a data layer across the fragmented lumber industry reduces waste Why salvaged wood can compete on price with conventional lumber The best mantra to use 80 miles into an ultramarathon  Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investors are pouring billions of dollars into nuclear fusion companies. The dream: transform human civilization (and power AI data centers) by providing cheap, abundant energy. But nobody’s figured out how to make it work yet. What will it take to make fusion work at scale – and how will the world be different if it does? To answer this question, Jacob recently hosted a conversation at SXSW between Greg Piefer of SHINE Technologies, Melanie Windridge of Fusion Energy Insights, and Luke Ward of investment firm Baillie Gifford.  In this episode, the guests explain:  The incredible promise of fusion What it will take to realize that promise How the AI boom and the demand for power is shaping the fusion industry Why having a ton of money flowing into the field is not necessarily a good thing Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn and X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Barrocas is the CEO of SharkNinja, a company that sells everything from vacuums, to blenders, to beauty products. Mark’s problem is this: How do you invent new products that people want to rave about on social media?  In this episode, Mark explains:  How SharkNinja finds product ideas The tradeoffs at the heart of product development How the Ninja Creami became a viral hit Why some products fail and others succeed.  Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Hufford is the co-founder and CEO of LyGenesis, a company working on a new treatment for end stage liver disease. Michael’s problem is this: How do grow a new liver inside the body of a sick patient? In this episode, Michael explains:  The liver's unique power of regeneration The organ transplant crisis and how regeneration can help  The science behind using lymph nodes to grow new organs The status of LyGenesis’ human trials The future of regenerative medicine  Learn more: Check out LyGenesis’ website Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rare earth elements are inside pretty much everything with an on-off switch: Phones, laptops, cars. Even missiles. And China controls the world’s supply of components made from rare earths. David Abraham is the author of the book “The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age.” David’s problem is this: What should the US do about China's chokehold on the rare earth supply chain? According to Abraham, the current US strategy could wind up costing billions of dollars without solving the problem. And he has a big idea for what we should do instead. In this episode, David explains: How China quietly built a monopoly on rare earth materials Why the 2010 Japan crisis was a preview of today's trade war China’s export restriction strategy  Why the problem goes deeper than billions in spending can solve Why electric vehicles are the key to reinvigorating the U.S. rare earth industry Learn more:  Find David at his website  Buy the Elements of Power Check out David’s article in the new Republic Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Bloom is the co-founder and CEO of Atom Computing, a company building quantum computers out of individual atoms. Ben’s problem is this: How do you build a quantum computer that is actually useful for everything from discovering new medicines to building better batteries?  In this episode, Ben explains:  The practical applications of quantum computers  Atom Computing’s approach using individual neutral atoms as qubits  The key engineering challenge of scaling while maintaining accuracy  The playbook for commercializing quantum computing Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, (00:21:23) Business History To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonny Dyer is the founder and CEO of a satellite company called Muon Space. The company’s first big project is a satellite constellation called FireSat. Jonny’s problem is this: How do you  capture data from space to help manage wildfires around the world in near-real time?  In this episode, Jonny explains: How smartphone tech inspired smaller, cheaper satellites. Why fighting wildfires is still shockingly primitive. Why China does not distinguish between commercial and military satellites.  Why data centers in space might arrive by 2035. Connect with us: Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Email us at [email protected]  Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X  Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History  To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After bacteria were discovered, it took scientists 200 years to figure out that they cause disease. If scientists had made the link sooner, hundreds of millions of lives could have been saved.  In his recent book So Very Small, Tom Levenson, a professor of science writing at MIT, tells the amazing story of germ theory, and argues that our worldview can prevent us from seeing what is right in front of us – even when lives are at stake.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Evan Ratliff co-founded a publishing startup in 2011. Now he hosts a podcast called Shell Game. In the latest season of the show, Evan creates a company run by AI agents. The project is absurdly funny – Evan calls it an office satire – but it also illuminates the power and limits of AI agents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patrick Hsu is the co-founder of Arc Institute, which is integrating AI models and biological research. Patrick’s problem is this: How can you use AI to make biological research more efficient – and ultimately to find cures for Alzheimer’s and other complex diseases?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent decades, medical research has fundamentally changed how we think about heart disease. This fresh understanding has opened up new ways to prevent heart attacks. Eric Topol is a cardiologist and the founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego. Eric’s problem is this: How can doctors use recent technological developments to do a better job at preventing heart attacks?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Samir Ibrahim is the co-founder and CEO of SunCulture. When he started the company, he thought he was solving a simple problem: How do you sell solar-powered pumps to help poor farmers irrigate their land? It turned out, he was working on something much bigger: How do you help poor farmers get richer, and create a giant new market from scratch?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nabiha Saklayen is the co-founder and CEO of Cellino. Nabiha’s problem is this: How can you make personalized stem cell therapies quickly and cheaply? Induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPSCs, have shown tremendous promise as treatments for illnesses like Parkinson’s, leukemia, and heart disease. On today’s show, Nabiha explains why IPSC manufacturing is still mostly done by hand, how her background in physics and lasers led her into biology, and what it takes to try and build tiny, automated cell factories.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Please take our survey https://tinyurl.com/wyplistenersurvey about the show! Tell us what you want to hear, and what would make it better. Tim Bucher is a farmer, and the founder and CEO of Agtonomy. Tim's problem is this: How do you build an autonomous tractor that can work for specialty crops like grapes, olives, apples, and almonds? On today’s show, Tim explains what makes certain farming processes so difficult to automate, and how autonomy may soon change how we eat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mitch Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Arc Boats. Mitch's problem is this: How do you build competitively priced electric boats?On today’s show, Mitch explains why water makes electrification so hard, the techno-economic puzzle of building giant battery packs, and how Arc’s high-end wake sport boat opened the door for a new generation of hybrid-electric tugboats.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nina Mohanty is the founder and CEO of Bloom Money. Nina’s problem is this: How do you build an app to help immigrants manage their money? On today’s show, Nina talks about bringing a saving and lending practice into the 21st century, navigating regulators who’ve never seen anything like it, and what global traditions can teach us about the future of money.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's Your Problem? host Jacob Goldstein has a new show: Business History. How did Hitler’s favorite car become synonymous with hippies? What got Thomas Edison tangled up with the electric chair? Did someone murder the guy who invented the movies? On Business History, Jacob and fellow former Planet Money host Robert Smith examine the surprising stories of businesses big and small and find out what you can learn from those who founded them.In this episode: The inventor that transformed America and the world. Thomas Alva Edison registered over one thousand patents before he died in 1931—and we can thank him for advances in electric power, communications technology, music recording and even the movies. But his biggest breakthrough doesn't get nearly enough attention. In many ways, Edison invented modern inventing. Jacob and Robert they trace the life story of a scrappy young boy with bad hearing who almost singlehandedly invented R&D. This is the first of a three part series on Edison—if you want to hear the full series, ad-free, right now, join Pushkin+ on the Business History show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Find Business History (00:10) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Mike Blue is the CEO of HistoSonics. The company recently developed a device that uses ultrasound to destroy tumors.On today’s show, Mike talks about how a garage-built prototype became an FDA-approved machine; changing the company’s story after a failed clinical trial; and why he loves being a salesman but hates most sales pitches.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Urmson is the co-founder and CEO of Aurora, a company trying to bring autonomous driving to commercial trucking.Chris led a team at the 2004 DARPA challenge that launched the autonomous vehicle industry. Then he held a senior role at Google’s self-driving car project, which later became Waymo.On the show today, he talks about the long arc of autonomous driving, why he left Google, and the future of autonomous trucking.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Porter is the Chief Technology Officer of OceanWell.Michael's problem is this: How can you desalinate water at the bottom of the ocean – and deliver it to land at a cost that’s competitive with other sources of fresh water?On today’s show, Michael explains how he built OceanWell’s prototype in his kitchen, what it takes to make a system that’s less disruptive to marine life, and why innovations from the oil and gas industry are making his work possible.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justin Lopas is the COO and co-founder of Base Power, a battery and power company based in Texas. Justin’s problem is this:  How can you deliver more energy to more people without having to build so much more grid?On today’s show, Justin explains why the grid needs a major upgrade, and how putting batteries next to homes could help. Also: what Texas’ embrace of renewable energy could mean for the future of power in the U.S.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fletcher Wilson is the CEO and co-founder of  Throne Labs.Fletcher’s problem is this: How can you create public toilets that people actually want to use?On today’s show, Fletcher explains how his company is trying to make public bathrooms cleaner, safer and more accessible. The conversation also points to a bigger idea: why it’s so hard for cities to build and maintain pretty much anything.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boris Sofman is the co-founder and CEO of Bedrock Robotics. Boris' problem is this: How do you teach machines not just to drive, but also to work: to grade roads, move heavy objects and dig big holes at construction sites.  On today’s show, Boris talks about how his work at Waymo led him to found Bedrock, and he explains how autonomous construction equipment could help unleash an American building boom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justin Kolbeck is the co-founder and CEO of Wildtype, a company making seafood without killing fish. Their first product is cultivated salmon, which is made from real salmon cells that are grown in a stainless steel vat.Justin's problem is this: How to sell no-kill, vat-grown salmon for the same price, or better, as wild-caught salmon? On today’s show, Justin explains how Wildtype will scale, what’s going on across the cultivated and plant-based meat industries, and how new state bans on cultivated foods are shaping the future of his business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Ed Conway is an economics journalist and author of the book “Material World: The Six Raw Materials that Shape Modern Civilization.” On today’s show, Ed reveals how three of those often-overlooked materials—iron, copper, and sand—shaped human advancement from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution to the digital age. And he talks about what they mean for our future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shashank Samala is the CEO and co-founder of Heirloom, a carbon capture start-up. His problem is this: Can you use crushed up rocks to permanently suck carbon out of the atmosphere? And can you do it cheaply enough to have a global impact?On today’s show, Shashank explains why he believes rocks could be the backbone of carbon capture, how his childhood in India shaped his outlook on climate change, and how government policy is shaping today’s direct air capture industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aaron Parness is a director of applied science at Amazon Robotics. His problem is this: How do you build a robot that can put stuff on shelves.Today on the show, Aaron explains why this is a surprisingly hard problem – and why the solution Aaron’s team came up with may ultimately have uses beyond the warehouse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In many places on Earth, there’s steam just below the surface. We don’t know where those places are — but if we could figure it out, we could unlock a lot of clean energy.Carl Hoiland is the co-founder and CEO of Zanskar, a geothermal energy company.On today’s show, Carl makes the case for geothermal in the energy transition and explains how the company is developing new ways to identify exactly where to dig a geothermal well.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Dr. Stephen Waxman is a professor of neurology, neuroscience and pharmacology at Yale. His research on pain helped pave the way for a newly approved, non-addictive pain drug called suzetrigine. On today’s show, he explains why he thinks suzetrigine is a promising step, but why much more work is needed to develop better pain drugs. He also gets into his work on ion channels—critical to unlocking the pain puzzle— and a rare condition known as Man on Fire syndrome.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Philipp Kandal is the chief product officer of Grab, an app that serves several countries across Southeast Asia. Two of Grab’s main businesses are delivery and mobility – like a combination between Instacart and Uber. And maps are at the core of its business. On today’s show, Philipp talks about improving online maps for places like Southeast Asia, where streets are often winding, narrow, and harder to access than those in the US and other developed countries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Allan Doctor is the co-founder and chief scientific officer at Kalocyte, a company that is developing dried red blood cells that can be rehydrated and used in medical emergencies. On today’s show, Dr. Doctor explains the complex science behind artificial blood, and how this innovation could help save millions of lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jakob Uszkoreit is the CEO and co-founder of Inceptive, a biotech start-up. He’s also a co-author of “Attention is All You Need,” the paper that created transformer models. Today, transformers power chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude. They’ve also led to breakthroughs in everything from generating images to predicting the structure of proteins. On today’s show, Jakob talks about the invention of transformer models. And he discusses how he’s using those models to try to invent new kinds of medicine, with a particular focus on RNA. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nan Ransohoff is the head of climate at Stripe. The company is known mainly for facilitating online payments, but it’s become a key driver of the nascent carbon-removal industry. On today’s show, Nan explains how she used a clever economic idea to get companies to spend $1 billion on carbon removal. And she talks about the different approaches startups are pursuing to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Megan O’Connor is the co-founder and CEO of Nth Cycle. Megan’s problem is this: How do you create a new system that can both refine the raw metals we need for new batteries and recycle metal from old batteries?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting energy from nuclear fusion has been a dream for decades; it would be cheap, abundant, and safer than today’s nuclear fission reactors. Billions of dollars have flowed into fusion startups in recent years, but reliable, economic fusion power may still be decades away.Greg Piefer is the founder of a fusion company called Shine, where he’s pursuing a different path. Rather than go straight to fusion as a source of energy, he’s using fusion to pursue more profitable markets right now – with the hope that what he learns today will eventually help lead to cheap, abundant fusion energy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recycling plants take in a huge amount of random (and occasionally hazardous) stuff, which they then have to turn into reliable outputs that their customers will buy. That’s why Rebecca Hu Thrams calls recycling “the most demented form of manufacturing on the planet.” Rebecca is the co-founder of Glacier, and her problem is this: Can you use AI and robots to make recycling a somewhat less demented business? Get early, ad-free access to episodes of What's Your Problem? by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI  might be the most consequential advancement in the world right now. But – astonishingly – no one fully understands what’s going on inside AI models. Josh Batson is a research scientist at Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, one of the world’s leading language models. Josh’s problem is this: How do we learn how AI works? Get early, ad-free access to episodes of What's Your Problem? by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI is better than humans at a lot of things, but physical tasks – even seemingly simple ones like folding a shirt – routinely stump AI-powered robots. Chelsea Finn is a professor at Stanford and the co-founder of Physical Intelligence. Chelsea's problem is this: Can you build an AI model that  can teach any robot to do any task, anywhere? Get early, ad-free access to episodes of What's Your Problem? by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.