What’s Your Problem?

Jared Baeten is senior vice president in virology at Gilead Sciences. Jared’s problem is this: In a world without a vaccine, how do you make a medicine that people will actually take to help prevent HIV? There’s already a daily pill that reduces the risk of getting HIV, but a majority of people who are … Read more

Carlos Araque is the co-founder and CEO of Quaise Energy. Carlos’ problem is this: How do you make drilling for geothermal energy as routine, widespread, and profitable as drilling for oil or gas? The answer involves digging deeper into the Earth than anyone has ever dug before. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Rapoport is the co-founder and CSO of Precision Neuroscience. Ben’s problem is this: Can you build a device that allows a paralyzed person to use a computer with only their thoughts – without damaging their brain? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff Cardenas is the co-founder and CEO of Apptronik. Jeff’s problem is this: Can you make a safe, reliable humanoid robot – for less than $50,000? In the short term, Apptronik’s robots will work in factories. But Jeff’s long-term goal – based on the experience of his own grandparents – is to build robots that … Read more

We need better, cheaper ways to store solar and wind energy when it’s dark out and the wind isn’t blowing. One option: Compressing air in underground caverns when energy is abundant, then blowing it back out to create energy when you need it. It’s an old idea, but it has some fundamental problems. Curtis van … Read more

There are moments in history when people make huge technological advances all of a sudden. Think of the Manhattan Project, the Apollo missions, or, more recently, generative AI. But what do these moments have in common? Is there some set of conditions that lead to massive technological leaps? Byrne Hobart is the author of a … Read more

AI works well in the virtual world. That’s partly because the internet provides so much data to train AI models. But there’s no analogous data set for the physical world – and as a result, AI doesn’t work as well there… yet.  Edward Mehr is the co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs. Edward’s problem is … Read more

In the past few years,  NVIDIA has become one of the most valuable and important companies in the world by making GPUs, the chips powering the AI boom. But where did the company come from, and why are NVIDIA chips the ones that dominate AI? Tae Kim is the author of a new book called … Read more

 Claude Shannon is a major figure in the history of technology. Known as the father of information theory, Shannon spent decades at Bell Labs and MIT. But what exactly did Claude Shannon figure out, and why is it so important? To answer that question, Jacob talked with David Tse, a professor of electrical engineering at … Read more

We thought we knew everything there was to know about measles. But in recent years, new research has revealed that the virus attacks the immune system and creates effects far more dramatic than a rash and fever. For this episode we’re joined by Michael Mina, a former Harvard epidemiologist now at eMed, who helped discover … Read more