What's Your Problem?

The fish we eat usually die slowly, suffocating after they’re pulled out of the water. Saif Khawaja is the co-founder and CEO of a company called Shinkei. Saif's problem is this: Can he build a machine to efficiently kill fish in a way that is more humane?

In this episode, Saif explains: 

• How he came to believe that our current fishing practices are inhumane 
• How he adapted the Japanese technique of  ikijime fo...

Catherine Nakalembe is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland and the head of the Africa program at NASA Harvest, which uses satellite images to track agriculture around the world. Catherine’s problem is this: How do you predict when a famine is coming – and how do you convince leaders to act in time?

In this episode, Catherine explains: 

• How satellite data can predict crop failure months in adva...

When Dr. Lara Jehi began treating epilepsy patients in the 2000s, critical surgical decisions were driven more by clinician intuition and expertise than data. Today, she is a leader of IBM and Cleveland Clinic’s Discovery Accelerator, using advanced AI and quantum computing to transform how researchers analyze data, simulate molecules, accelerate drug discovery, and develop more precise treatments. Malcolm Gladwell talks with...

Nir Barzilai is a physician and a researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he runs the Institute for Geroscience. Nir’s problem is this: How can we use lifestyle changes and drugs to slow the process of aging?

In this episode, Nir explains: 

• The search for biological markers of aging
• The existing drugs that might reduce the risk of diseases associated with aging
• The four key lifestyle...

Helen Pearson is the author of the book “Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works.” Helen's problem is this: How do you get people to make important decisions based on high-quality evidence, instead of on hunches or habits?

In this episode, Helen explains: 

• How a doctor's fatal mistake sparked the evidence-based medicine movement
• Why management is so resistant to evidence-based practices
• How systema...

In 2016, Geoffrey Hinton, one of the inventors of modern AI, predicted that AI would replace radiologists within years. Ten years later, we have a shortage of radiologists. AI has yet to revolutionize the field. What happened, and what does the story of AI and radiology tell us about AI and the future of work?

Saurabh Jha is a radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania. He's written about how he uses AI in his practice, and why ...

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 t...

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 ...

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 abil...

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 ...

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 th...

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 sugg...

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, Bri...

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...

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 a...

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 re...

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 s...

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
...

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...