Christopher Kirchhoff helped launch a Defense Department office that aimed to bring Silicon Valley technology to the US military. Christopher’s problem is this: How can the giant bureaucracy that is the US military keep up with technological change?
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Moneyball, Soccer, and the Gap Between Analytics and the Real World
Sarah Rudd is the co-founder and CEO of the soccer analytics company src | ftbl (It’s pronounced “Source Football.”) Sarah’s problem is this: How do you model a sport as fluid and complex as soccer…
Using Computer Vision to See What Coaches Can’t
Jimmy Buffi is the CEO and co-founder of Reboot Motion, which uses biomechanics to help athletes in Major League Baseball and the NBA. Jimmy’s problem is this: How do you turn data about how professional…
Scanning Every Muscle to Help Olympians Get Stronger
On the next few episodes of What’s Your Problem, Jacob Goldstein is talking with people working at the frontiers of technology to help elite athletes perform better. Today’s guest is Silvia Blemker, a professor of…
Making Blood Vessels in a Factory
Laura Niklason is the co-founder and CEO of Humacyte. Laura’s problem is this: How can you use human cells to create blood vessels that surgeons can pull out of a bag and implant into patients?…
Creating the Second Atomic Age
As demand for clean energy grows, engineers around the U.S. are working on a new generation of nuclear reactors. These designs reflect how nuclear energy could fit into the power grid – and our lives…
Lifetime Terms, Lifetime Bans, and the Return of Roaring Kitty from Risky Business
This week on Risky Business, Nate and Maria discuss whether Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor should retire, the perils of sports betting among professional athletes, and what the return of Roaring Kitty means for traditional…
When the Robots Take Over… from Cautionary Tales
Tim Harford is joined by Jacob Goldstein to answer your questions. Does winning the lottery make you unhappy? Is Bitcoin bad for the economy? When does correlation imply causation? And what will Tim and Jacob…
Making Palm Oil Without Palm Trees
Palm oil is a cheap and remarkably versatile vegetable oil. It’s in a ton of products, from food to cosmetics, detergent, and chewing gum. But producing so much palm oil is really bad for the…
Fighting Cancer with CRISPR
Last year, the FDA approved a treatment for sickle cell disease using a revolutionary new gene editing technology called CRISPR. Rachel Haurwitz conducted pioneering research on CRISPR as a graduate student. Now she’s the co-founder…
How to Start 40 Companies (and Counting)
Robert Langer has co-founded dozens of companies, holds over a thousand patents, and is a pioneering figure in drug delivery and tissue engineering. Robert has solved a lot of problems, and is working on many…