The Electric Truck that Went Viral on TikTok

Chace Barber is the co-founder of Edison Motors. Chace’s problem is this: How do you build electric logging trucks in rural Canada, with money you raised from people who follow you on TikTok? Chace started his career driving logging trucks. He loved the idea of Tesla’s electric semi, but when it never arrived, he decided … Read more

Introducing Other People’s Pockets: Mistress Marley, Financial Dominatrix

Here’s a bonus episode of a new show from Pushkin, Other People’s Pockets. Have you ever wondered how your friend bought that vacation home or why that colleague of yours makes everyone meticulously split the tab down to the last Diet Coke? Other People’s Pockets is a show about other people’s money. Host Maya Lau … Read more

Running in Recycled Shoes

Caspar Coppetti is the co-founder of On, a company that makes athletic shoes. Caspar’s problem is this: How can you sell tens of millions of shoes a year — and then take them all back, to turn them into new shoes? The company’s latest bid to attract new customers? A shoe subscription service. If you’d … Read more

Turning Garbage Into Food

Matt Rogers is the co-founder of Mill. Matt’s problem is this: How do you turn garbage into food?Before Mill, Matt co-founded Nest, a smart thermostat company. Now, he wants to take on the garbage in our kitchens with a high tech garbage can that can transform food waste.  This is the fourth and last episode of … Read more

The Fake-Meat Frontier

Jacob Goldstein co-hosts today’s show with Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful. Jacob and Dan eat their way through the history of fake meat — from Gardenburger hockey pucks, to meatier Impossible burgers. And they get a report from the fake-meat frontier, where scientists are trying to make lab-grown chicken breasts. This is the third … Read more

From Impossible Burgers to Fake Steak

Pat Brown is the founder of Impossible Foods. Pat’s problem is this: How can you make meat without animals? Pat’s goal isn’t to make better burgers for vegetarians; he wants to sell to meat eaters. To succeed, he’ll have to figure out how to make fake meat that is at least as good — and … Read more

Small Pizza Shops Want a Bigger Slice

Ilir Sela is the co-founder and CEO of Slice. His problem: How do you bring the technological revolution to thousands of tiny mom and pop pizza shops? Most local pizza shops haven’t adapted well to consumers’ appetites for online ordering. Ilir’s mission is to make sure that the technology powering Big Pizza can also benefit … Read more

Turning Waves Into Electricity

Tim Mundon is chief technology officer at Oscilla Power. Tim’s problem is this: How do you turn waves into electrical power? You can see the power of the ocean in every wave, but the complex churm and swirl of the surf has made it difficult to translate that movement into something useful. Tim Mundon and … Read more

From Some of My Best Friends Are: Everything Dope Comes from Chicago

While we’re off celebrating the new year, here’s an episode from another Pushkin show: Some of My Best Friends Are… Hosts Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Ben Austen, two best friends from the South Side of Chicago, invite listeners into unfiltered conversations about growing up together in a deeply-divided country, and navigating that divide today. On … Read more

Flying on Battery Power

Anders Forslund is the co-founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace. Anders’ problem is this: How do you build a commercial airplane that can fly on battery power — and win the approval of regulators around the world? As other sectors are decarbonizing, emissions from aviation are projected to triple by 2050. This is partly because … Read more