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.

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 &ndash; Evan calls it an office satire &ndash; but it also illuminates the power and limits of AI agents.

Every week on What's Your Problem?, former Planet Money host Jacob Goldstein talks with entrepreneurs and engineers tackling the biggest challenges at the forefront of technology. How do you make a trip to space as routine as a plane flight? How do you turn solar energy into clean fuel? How do you use AI to stop deadly infections before they spread? We hear a lot these days about how the world is getting worse. What's Your Problem? learns from the thinkers and doers trying to make our future better.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Every week on What's Your Problem?, former Planet Money host Jacob Goldstein talks with&nbsp;entrepreneurs and engineers&nbsp;tackling the biggest challenges at the forefront of technology. How do you make a trip to space as routine as a plane flight? How do you turn solar energy into clean fuel? How do you use AI to stop deadly infections before they spread? We hear a lot these days about how the world is getting worse. What's Your Problem? learns from the thinkers and doers trying to make our future better.
iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

What's Your Problem?

Every week on What’s Your Problem, entrepreneurs and engineers talk about the future they’re trying to build – and the problems they have to solve to get there.

How do you take a drone delivery service you’ve built in Rwanda and make it work in North Carolina? How do you convince people to buy a house on the Internet? How do you sell thousands of dog ramps to weiner dogs all across America when a pandemic breaks the global supply chain? 

Hosted by former Planet Money host Jacob Goldstein, What’s Your Problem helps listeners understand the problems really smart people are trying to solve right now.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

The Startup Run by AI Agents

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9f244e2f-47e9-435f-ab0c-b3e80103a871/transcript

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 problem@pushkin.fm 
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+

Aaron Edsinger left his job as director of robotics at Google to start a company called Hello Robot. Aaron&rsquo;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&rsquo;s closer to a Roomba with an arm.
In this episode, Aaron explains:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li> Why home robots have barely progressed since the Roomba</li>
<li>Why simpler robots can be more useful than complex humanoids&nbsp;</li>
<li> Why the physical world is so much harder for AI than language</li>
<li>How robot safety is fundamentally a physics problem</li>
</ul>
Connect with us:
<ul>
<li>Follow Jacob Goldstein on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-goldstein-888a2441/">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://x.com/jacobgoldstein?lang=en">X</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jacobjulius/?hl=en">Instagram&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>Email us at <a href="mailto:problem@pushkin.fm">problem@pushkin.fm</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Follow Pushkin on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/">Instagram</a>,<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all"> LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en">X</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Listen to Jacob&rsquo;s other show, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-history/id1844409167">Business History&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">Pushkin+</a></li>
</ul>

Building a Robot People Actually Want

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6384f0cd-75b3-43ff-b979-b43500eff2b3/transcript

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 problem@pushkin.fm 
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+

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:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Why so much wood goes unused&nbsp;</li>
<li>Why Cambium created demand before building the supply chain&nbsp;</li>
<li>How building a data layer across the fragmented lumber industry reduces waste</li>
<li>Why salvaged wood can compete on price with conventional lumber</li>
<li>The best mantra to use 80 miles into an ultramarathon&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Connect with us:
<ul>
<li>Follow Jacob Goldstein on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-goldstein-888a2441/">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://x.com/jacobgoldstein?lang=en">X</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jacobjulius/?hl=en">Instagram&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>Email us at <a href="mailto:problem@pushkin.fm">problem@pushkin.fm</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Follow Pushkin on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/">Instagram</a>,<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all"> LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en">X</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Listen to Jacob&rsquo;s other show, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-history/id1844409167">Business History&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">Pushkin+</a></li>
</ul>

Turning Waste Wood Into Buildings

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/260f0e49-f9a5-4c8c-b237-b42e00f0aa51/transcript

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 problem@pushkin.fm 
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+

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&rsquo;s figured out how to make it work yet.
What will it take to make fusion work at scale &ndash; and how will the world be different if it does? To answer this question, Jacob recently hosted <a href="https://schedule.sxsw.com/events/PP1162254">a conversation at SXSW</a> between Greg Piefer of SHINE Technologies, Melanie Windridge of Fusion Energy Insights, and Luke Ward of investment firm Baillie Gifford.&nbsp;
In this episode, the guests explain:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>The incredible promise of fusion</li>
<li>What it will take to realize that promise</li>
<li>How the AI boom and the demand for power is shaping the fusion industry</li>
<li>Why having a ton of money flowing into the field is not necessarily a good thing</li>
</ul>
Connect with us:
<ul>
<li>Follow Jacob Goldstein on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-goldstein-888a2441/">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://x.com/jacobgoldstein?lang=en">X</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jacobjulius/?hl=en">Instagram&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>Email us at <a href="mailto:problem@pushkin.fm">problem@pushkin.fm</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Follow Pushkin on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/">Instagram</a>,<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all"> LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en">X</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Listen to Jacob&rsquo;s other show, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-history/id1844409167">Business History&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">Pushkin+</a></li>
</ul>

The Great Fusion Debate: How Far Away Are We Really?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/52edf143-90d2-4081-8a53-b42700edf3b5/transcript

The Startup Run by AI Agents

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