Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode!
What happens when one of the world's richest men decides to challenge Tesla with a $20,000 electric vehicle that strips away every non-essential feature imaginable? We're diving deep into Slate, the Jeff Bezos-backed EV startup that's reimagining affordability with plastic body panels, hand-crank windows, and a revolutionary "bring your own device" approach to infotainment.
But that's just the beginning of our tech exploration. While innovation races forward above ground, something troubling is happening beneath our feet. Major American cities from Chicago to New York are slowly sinking - millimeters per year that compound into serious infrastructure threats. We'll unpack the science behind urban subsidence, revealing how groundwater extraction, building weight, and even ancient glacial adjustments are literally changing our urban landscape.
Meanwhile, in the premium delivery space, former Uber driver Herb Coakley is proving that relationship-focused business models can thrive against tech giants. His company Curiel has attracted 100,000 drivers and counting by embracing a radical concept: when you treat workers well, they deliver exceptional service. It's white-glove delivery with purpose, connecting luxury hotels, high-end retailers, and even Hollywood production crews with professionals who move with purpose.
And for coffee lovers, we're examining a brewing revolution you might not have expected - beanless coffee. As climate change threatens traditional coffee production and prices soar, companies are creating molecular alternatives from surprising ingredients like date pits and chickpeas. Will consumers embrace these innovative brews, or will coffee purists resist the change?
Join us for a fascinating journey through these technological transformations reshaping how we move, build, deliver, and even enjoy our morning cup. The future is arriving faster than you might think - and it looks nothing like we expected.
Be sure to tell your friends to tune in to The TechMobility Podcast!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the TechMobility Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm Ken Chester On the docket Curiel, the premium
delivery alternative, why yourcity may be sinking and the
beanless coffee race.
To join the conversation, callor text the TechMobility hotline
, that number, 872-222-9793.
(00:33):
Or you can email the show talkat techmobilityshow.
Be sure to subscribe, like andfollow us on social media, our
YouTube channel and, for thoseof you that subscribe to
Substack, you can find me theretoo, At Ken the letter C, iowa
spelled out.
(00:53):
So that's Ken K-E-N the letterC, i-o-w-a.
I am there as a proud member ofthe Iowa Writers Collaborative.
I am fortunate to be in a groupof many August award-winning
and distinguished writers, poets, nationally known folks.
If you are not getting news andcommentary from Substack, you
(01:15):
are cheating yourself.
Check it out, see what I meanFrom the Tech Mobility News Desk
.
It's time we talk about this.
It's a company called Slate andyou might have heard, maybe in
passing and maybe not, aboutthis new bare-bones, low-price,
(01:40):
ultra-designed, under $20,000vehicle that's being bankrolled
by Jeff Bezos.
Yeah, that Jeff Bezos, and he'sgoing to take on Elon Musk.
And ironically, slate is ananagram of Tesla, just so you
know.
It is a bare-bones electricpickup truck and, of course,
jeff Bezos is joined by twoventure capital funds with him,
(02:04):
but they expect to retail thistruck for under $20,000 with the
federal EV tax credit, assumingit still exists.
If it doesn't, it'll be a$27,500 truck plus destination
charges.
The key to this truck and we'regoing to get into a little more
, but the primary valueproposition for the truck is one
(02:29):
you bring your own devices toprovide the infotainment while
driving.
There's no radio, there's noinfotainment screen, none of
that, no Bluetooth.
Bring your phone, that's it.
This is bring your own stuff,and the vehicle is configurable,
whether you want a pickup orSUV, either one.
(02:51):
You can design it and alsoPaint.
You can wrap the vehicle indifferent ways and they have
kits for that.
Slate comes with brackets tohold your phone, tablet and
Bluetooth speaker, but it doesnot come equipped with either
Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
(03:12):
They're not going to sell thisthrough dealers, which is an
interesting thing.
Vw's Scout is trying to do thatTesla did.
They ended up in court a lotand that remains to be seen
whether or not a vehicle likethis will get that kind of
traction.
They've taken a differentapproach and tried to cut it to
the bone.
And oh, no power windows inthis hand crank windows and if
(03:36):
you don't know what those are,ask your grandparents.
They know, they remember,chances are.
But yeah, this is bare bones.
And let me give you some context.
If you go back about 40 yearsago, when the Japanese first
came to America with vehicles,they brought small, compact
(03:57):
pickup trucks, bulletproof,plain Jane, did not break, and
almost every Japanesemanufacturer was selling them
and you could buy one smackbrand new for less than $8,000.
And it didn't matter whether itwas a Mitsubishi, a Nissan, a
Toyota.
The only company that reallydidn't offer you something like
that back then was Honda, butpretty much everybody else did,
(04:18):
including Mazda, and Mazda had abuilt truck, the B2000.
All of those trucks wereinexpensive, ruggedly made and
lasted forever, and they wereall over the place.
This group believes Slatebelieves that there is a market,
once again at the very low end,at the entry level, for a
(04:43):
vehicle like this that if theycut everything to the bone and
get rid of a lot of the stuffthat you can do without or
otherwise get around, that theycan get the price of the vehicle
down.
Now, why does this matter?
We've said it here many timesand I'll remind you again the
current average transactionprice, not the sales price, not
what's on the sticker.
(05:04):
The transaction price, theprice at which the deal is made
to buy the vehicle, is hoveringon average for a new vehicle in
the United States of America,$50,000.
That means half are below, halfare above.
So when Ford came out four orfive years ago with the Ford
(05:25):
Maverick which was a hybrid, oryou could get a gasoline and the
hybrid was priced just under atick under $20,000, the response
was such that Ford was sold outof that model for two full
model years and Ford, being amuch larger company, would offer
(05:47):
more than Slate.
But then again you've got thefullness of the Ford parts bin
and the size of the Ford motorcompany to beat the price down,
because Ford wasn't doing anyheavy engineering.
They was picking parts out ofthe parts bin and still made for
a pretty remarkable truck.
Out of the parts bin and stillmade for a pretty remarkable
(06:08):
truck.
I reviewed that truck inNashville about five years ago
and was amazed, as I was goingdown the highway at highway
speed, plus a little bit-ish, myfuel economy average fuel
economy was actually increasing.
So I understood it.
Slate is looking to tap intothat.
Here's the challenge though.
(06:28):
For example, instead of steelor aluminum.
Slate's truck body panels aremolded of plastic.
It means you've got asuperstructure that will hold
them, but you're not touchingmetal.
You're actually touchingplastic.
Question number one I live inthe upper Midwest.
It gets brutally cold up herein the wintertime.
(06:49):
Things get brittle up here at40 below, 50 below, 60 below.
Will this plastic be brittleand if it gets tapped, break,
shatter?
That could be expensive, unlikesteel or aluminum, which you
just take it.
So that's one thing to thinkabout.
Because there is a lack ofpaint, they're not painting
(07:14):
these trucks.
You can wrap them in variouswrap kits to reflect color or
design or whatever you want.
Their point is that this truckis affordable, deeply
customizable.
To give you an idea, you cantransform it from a two-seater
pickup to a five-seater SUV andthat when the vehicle does
(07:40):
actually launch, consumers canchoose from a hundred different
accessories that buyers can useto personalize the truck to
their liking.
So let's be real for a minute.
They're talking a sub $20,000price for the basic truck.
You and I both know by the timeyou get this truck the way you
(08:01):
want it, it's going to costanywhere from three to five
grand.
More than that Because ifthey've got a hundred different
accessories.
You're going to want some ofthem Because you know a basic
truck, yes, but you're not goingto buy just the basic truck.
You're not.
That is why most automakers nowwhat they sell is the high end
(08:26):
of what they build and that'swhere the demand is and that's
why they sell it.
So it'd be interesting.
Here's something that I'm tryingto figure out how they're going
to get around, and it's a quote.
It's been engineered and willbe manufactured in America.
Okay, I've told you this manytimes, the American auto
(08:49):
industry is capital intensive.
It takes millions, if notbillions, of dollars, hundreds
of thousands of square feet ofplant space, machinery equipment
, people engineering, thingsyou've got to verify to meet
federal motor vehicle safetystandards, all of that stuff.
How are you going to do this?
(09:12):
Partially one, and they don'ttalk about it in the article.
Partially one for this tohappen, this process has to be
extremely even for an auto plant, extremely automated, because
they've got to get those costsdown.
They're going to have toprobably have a modest profit
with the base truck, but they'regoing to probably load profit
(09:35):
into those accessories.
That's the way the autoindustry works.
That's the way I would expectthis to work.
So the question is if thefederal EV credit goes away and
if you end up wanting someaccessories, does this under
$20,000 truck end up being nowan over $30,000 small truck and
(09:57):
if so, will that dim itsprospects?
We'll see.
White Glove Service driverempowerment.
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
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(10:34):
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Speaker 2 (10:45):
Social media is the main place to be these days, and
we are no exception.
I'm Ken Chester of the TechMobility Show.
If you enjoy my program, thenyou will also enjoy my weekly
Facebook videos, from my latestvehicle reviews to timely
commentary of a variety ofmobility and technology-related
topics.
These short features aredesigned to inform and delight
you.
Be sure to watch, like andfollow us on Facebook.
(11:06):
You can find us by typing theTech Mobility Show in the search
bar.
Be sure to subscribe to ourFacebook page.
Social media is the place to bethese days.
We're no exception.
I'm ken chester, the techmobility show.
If you enjoy my program, thenyou will also enjoy my weekly
instagram videos, from thelatest vehicle reviews to timely
(11:29):
commentary on a variety ofmobility and technology related
topics.
These short features aredesigned to inform and delight
you be sure to watch, like andfollow us on Instagram.
You can find us by typing theTech Mobility Show in the search
bar.
For those of you that listen topodcasts, we have just the one
for you.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester.
(11:49):
Tech Mobility Topics is apodcast where I upload
topic-specific videos each week,shorter than a full show.
These bite-sized programs arejust the thing, particularly if
you're interested in aparticular topic covered on the
weekly radio show, from ApplePodcasts to iHeartRadio and many
podcast platforms in between.
We got you covered.
Just enter Tech Mobility Topicsin the search bar, wherever you
(12:11):
listen to podcasts.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
This is your chance, america, to show the world's
great road cars just how good anAmerican car can be.
The name of this great new caris Pontiac 6000, an exciting new
front-wheel-drive automobilethat does its talking where it
counts on the road road.
It's loaded for bear with anelectronically fuel-injected
four-cylinder engine, mcphersonstrut front suspension, power
rack and pinion steering, andavailable V6 or diesel Pontiac
6000.
Now the excitement reallybegins.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Okay, so much to unpack here, so I will give you
the cliff note.
This was 1982.
The Pontiac 6000 was part of agroup of cars known as the
A-Bodies.
They were also the ChevyCelebrity, the Oldsmobile
Cutlass Sierra, the BuickCentury were all on that chassis
(13:09):
.
It was GM's first kind offamily-sized front-wheel drive
cars front-wheel drive cars andthis is them, trying to build
excitement into a vehicle that,honestly, compared to the other
vehicles and the nameplates werewhat we call badge-engineered.
You know it didn't really havea faster engine, but they were
trying to make you think it didand the things that they bragged
(13:32):
about.
But it was 82.
It was 43 years ago 43.
And Pontiac hasn't been a brandsince 2009.
So that's literally 16 yearsago that Pontiac went away.
But yeah, it was a big deal.
Pontiac was the excitementdivision of General Motors and
they did have some performance.
(13:52):
We should talk about the oldFirebirds from back in the day
sometime and I'll share with youmy experience with the WS-6 Ram
Air Package Scary stuff, butreally fast.
Here's a name I want you toremember because you're going to
hear it In the future.
(14:12):
You're going to hear it and Iwant you to understand this is
one of the first places in theUnited States.
You have heard it here.
First, the man's name is HerbCoakley.
Herb Coakley Normally youwouldn't know Herb Coakley.
He used to be a driver for Uberand Lyft.
You might have known himbecause he founded an outfit
(14:35):
called Maestro that'sM-Y-S-T-R-O.
Had known him because hefounded an outfit called Maestro
that's M-Y-S-T-R-O, which wasan app that helped gig workers
juggle multiple platforms.
But, like so many entrepreneursthat start a business, you get
a business going, you bringpeople in, they kick you out
Happened to him and he foundhimself back driving for Uber
and he came up with an idea.
(14:55):
The idea is Curiel, a premiumdelivery service that respects
the people doing the work andwows the people receiving it.
This is big.
This is topic A.
What makes this business soincredible in today's world?
(15:17):
He did not go to a venturecapitalist, he did not go to the
bank, he did not go to the SBA,but the vision that he had for
this business was so clear andI'm not even lying to you that,
as he shared it like anyentrepreneur would share it,
obviously, while he was driving,one of the people he was
(15:40):
carrying was willing to investagain.
That is how he started Maestroand they wrote him a check for
$100,000.
No bank, no pitch deck, justbelieving in the vision.
He did not say how much moneyhe raised that way with Curiel,
(16:01):
but he did say it was the samething and I want you to let this
sink in in 2025.
Mr Coakley is a man of color.
Number one.
Number two access to capitalfor a small business is a
challenge, regardless of whatbusiness you're in.
And remember, now he's going upagainst Uber and Lyft,
(16:25):
companies that have been in thespace, companies that are worth
billions of dollars, billions.
And yet his vision was sodefined, so clear, so compelling
, that someone was willing toback him.
He did not have a pitch deck,which, if you don't know what
that is, it's a proposal,typically, that you present to
(16:48):
potential investors about yourbusiness.
It has projections, what youexpect to do, your marketing
plan, your team, all of that.
He did none of that.
He didn't stop there.
He is building a world-classbrand without relying on venture
capital.
But he said you know, I didn'tjust start Curio, I lived it.
(17:12):
And he realized the inequity ofhow Uber and Lyft treats drivers
and their customers.
And he realized the inequity ofhow Uber and Lyft treats
drivers and their customers.
This time, though, he thoughtthat he wanted to build a
company.
That's about empowerment,that's about creating a premium
delivery service I'm talkingwhite glove delivery service
(17:37):
that respects the people doingthe work and wows the people
receiving it.
Every service that respects thepeople doing the work and wows
the people receiving it.
Think, if you're not used tothe private car business, you
used to see a lot of blackLincoln Continentals, lincoln
Town Cars same kind of thing,very personal service.
I have been a customer of those.
You have your driver and theypick you up and they take you
(17:58):
wherever you want to go.
With Uber and Lyft, even thoughthey've tried to keep a piece
of that or build out a piece ofthat, they've largely
commoditized ride hailing andride sharing.
You don't get that levelanymore, and because of the way
(18:19):
that they treat their drivers,there's really a disincentive
for your drivers to go thatextra mile, do that extra thing.
And this is where, in the truespirit of capitalism, that Herb
Coakley saw an opportunity Toanswer the question.
Curiel operates in a competitivelogistics space.
(18:40):
What sets your platform apartfrom Uber, doordash and the rest
?
Here it is.
He says the big guys, they playthe numbers game, something you
should remember, and thisapplies to all small businesses.
We play the relationship game.
Curiel is designed to be morethan just another app.
It's a trusted extension ofyour brand.
(19:01):
Those are not just words toHerb Coakley.
He goes the extra mile.
We focus heavily onpresentation and performance.
Our folks show up on time,looking sharp and moving with
purpose.
In some companies I've heardthat called moving with urgency.
(19:24):
And he admits if you're drivingfor Uber or Lyft, it doesn't
automatically mean he'll takeyou.
It's not easy.
We're a white glove and we'restrict, meaning he's got
standards and if you can'tdeliver elite service, you get
deactivated.
He wants nothing to do with youand even with that high bar,
his business right now, curielagainst Uber and Lyft and
(19:48):
DoorDash.
He's got 100,000 drivers on hisplatform now, with a 30,000
driver waiting list right now.
And you probably never heard ofCurio If you were going to look
at the secret sauce that HerbCoakley figured out, it boils
down to this when you take careof the workers, they take care
(20:12):
of the customers and mostplatforms miss that completely.
But anybody who's in thecustomer service, anybody who
gets it, knows you take care ofyour people.
Your people will take care ofyou and they will take care of
your customers.
You can't expect an employee tobe 100% for the customer when
the company is 50% for them.
(20:32):
It don't work that way.
He calls it a white gloveenergy and he's going towards
those organizations and outfitsthat have a need for that Luxury
hotels, high-end retailers,health and farm healthcare and
pharmacy partners needing secure, timely delivery, and even
(20:53):
Hollywood.
They've got a relationship withHollywood for film, tv and
commercial production crews.
It boils down to this If youcare about professionalism,
speed and trust, carrillo isyour ace.
Do it.
The land underneath some of thelargest cities in the United
States is sinking.
This is the Tech Mobility Show.
Do you listen to podcasts?
(21:17):
Seems that most people do.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
If you've missed any of ourweekly episodes on the radio,
our podcast is a great way tolisten.
You can find the Tech MobilityPodcast just about anywhere you
can enjoy podcasts.
Be sure to follow us from ApplePodcasts, iheart Radio and many
platforms in between.
We are there.
(21:37):
Just enter the Tech MobilityPodcast in the search bar.
Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place
to be.
We're no exception.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
Several times a week I post toTikTok several of the topics
that I cover on my weekly radioshow.
(21:58):
It's another way to keep up onmobility, technology news and
information.
I've built quite a library ofshort videos for your viewing
pleasure, so be sure to watch,like and subscribe.
That's the Tech Mobility Showon TikTok.
Check it out.
(22:19):
Chicago, dallas, columbus, ohio,detroit, new York City,
indianapolis, charlotte, denver,houston and Fort Worth.
What do these cities have incommon?
98% of the cities I justmentioned have some sort of what
(22:39):
they call substients going on.
If you don't have enough to beconcerned about right now,
consider this the landunderneath those cities is
sinking, threatening roads, raillines and the like, according
to new research.
But ironically, that substienceis not happening in the same
way in each place or even acrossone city.
(23:03):
What's going on?
This is topic B.
It is a slow, gradual sinking.
In other words, it's notdropping inches or feet every
year, not like our coasts.
And for the most part, a lot ofthose cities are not on the
(23:25):
coast, they're in country.
I mean Chicago, dallas,columbus, detroit, indianapolis,
denver, houston and Fort Worth.
They're not near any coasts,while this has been a concern in
coastal cities, obviously, butresearchers say that sinking
(23:47):
inland can destabilizeinfrastructure as well as worsen
flooding during storms, andthey talked about a multitude of
things going on pulling waterfrom the aquifers underneath
these cities, other types ofconstruction in progress, from
the aquifers underneath thesecities, other types of
construction in progress.
But we're talking and youwouldn't think this, so let me
(24:09):
put this in perspective for you.
I said it wasn't feet and itwasn't inches.
We're literally talkingmillimeters per year, but if
that happens every year you know, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years
it's a major issue.
Give me an example A stadiumkey to the annual US Open Tennis
(24:30):
Tournament has been steadilysinking over time, requiring a
lighter roof to reduce itsweight.
One runway at New York'sLaGuardia Airport, which is
located on a former landfill andhas undergone renovations, is
also a key piece of sinkinginfrastructure.
A lot of these cities have grownout, grown up, with less than
(24:54):
stable ground, and that's partof the problem.
Other cities it's a bunch ofthings, including and if you can
believe this, the very thingsthat have happened millions of
years ago are still impactingsome of these cities.
Along the East Coast and GreatLakes region, the land is mostly
slowly sinking in response tothe melting of glaciers from the
(25:16):
last ice age and there's a termfor that.
It's called glacial isostaticadjustment.
That was millions of years ago.
This is still happening and Iknow I get it.
You know you're sick of hearingabout climate change, you're
sick about hearing about allthis stuff, but you need to know
, if you are a planner in thesebig cities, if you are looking
(25:39):
at infrastructure in these bigcities and you are needing to
spend millions, if not billionsof dollars for roads, bridges,
pipelines, other service things,for utilities, electricity,
internet access, all of thisstuff, it matters Because just a
(26:01):
little bit over, maybe 15, 20years, could cause some real
problems and outages.
And what they're also saying isbecause of this gradual sinking
and it's slow, but it will makethings even worse in these
cities due to flooding andweather when extreme weather
hits them.
(26:21):
In the case of New York, theweight of the buildings is
literally pushing down the soil.
The concrete jungles alsoabsorb more heat, which can be
transferred underground and candeform the soil and rocks, and
this is the case of Chicago.
If you think about this, cementholds heat.
The more cement you got, themore heat it holds, particularly
(26:43):
in the summertime, and theslower it cools and we think
that's all just above ground,but that heat goes into the
ground and starts to manipulatethe soil in certain ways.
That's what's going on inChicago.
In the case of the PacificNorthwest, it's a whole
different game.
You are in the ring of fire,you are, you've got where two
(27:06):
tectonic plates are comingtogether, so that's a whole
different thing that they've hadto deal with for years.
The Pacific Northwest issubject to tectonic plate
activity, where one plate goesunderneath another plate and
drive sinking.
But that has always been, andwhat you get as a result of that
, when that pressure is released, is an earthquake, with all the
(27:30):
resulting damage andmanipulation of ground and all
of this stuff.
The researchers say thathonestly, the special stuff
aside, the most dominant causeof sinking across most locations
is the pumping of groundwaterfor drinking and agriculture.
They determined that removinggroundwater caused 80% of the
(27:55):
sinkage across those cities 80%.
So not only do we have to worryabout diminishing returns in
our aquifers, but the fact thatthe aquifers are not
replenishing at the rate that weare pulling from the ground has
other unintended consequences,like our cities basically
(28:17):
sinking into the ground and, asa result, alignment will be an
issue.
Safety can be an issue, meaningthat again, if you're an urban
planner, one more thing you gotto look at saying, okay, I don't
have to worry about it today, Idon't have to worry about it
tomorrow, I don't have tonecessarily worry about it five
years from now, but 10 years, 15years, 20 years, 25 years, 30
(28:41):
years from now, particularly ifI'm building buildings or
planning infrastructure with a30, 50 or longer life, I have to
plan for this.
And how do you plan for it?
What if the rate changes,speeds up or slows down?
What if climate change orweather or extreme events throw
(29:04):
at a curveball that was not evenfactored in?
That changes the equation?
These are the things that urbanplanners are looking at in
terms of laying out cities andmaking sure that goods and
services can be delivered Water,sewerage, power, internet all
these things that a city needsto run, that, for the most part
(29:25):
in the inner cities, this stuffis underground.
What do you do?
What do you do?
The rates are slow, but theyare looking at it.
Let me give you an idea.
Here's some more that you needto think about.
(29:48):
For example, sinking land makesflooding risks worse because it
can trap stormwaters for longerperiods.
During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the researcher found that 85%
of the flooded area in theHouston-Galveston area subsided
by more than 5 millimeters peryear during Hurricane Helene in
2024.
(30:09):
Subsided areas may have made itharder to clear the flooding in
the following days and, if youremember 2017, houston got 40
inches of rain 40.
40.
We are talking about NOAA-typeflooding Arc, the whole bit.
Imagine if the city's shrinkingat that rate and can't void the
(30:33):
water.
Disease issues, mold issues,being able to habitate in those
neighborhoods All things toconcern, about All things to
concern, about All things toworry.
About Curveball, san Antoniohad the highest risk for
buildings, even though it didn'thave the fastest subsidence
(30:55):
rates.
One out of 45 buildings in SanAntonio, texas, were at high
risk of damage as a result.
As coffee beans face anuncertain future, several
companies are working to developa suitable alternative.
We are the Tech Mobility Show.
To learn more about the TechMobility Show, start by visiting
(31:17):
our website.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
The website is a treasure troveof information about me and the
show, as well as where to findit on the radio across the
country.
Keep up with the happenings atthe Tech Mobility Show by
visiting techmobilityshow.
That's techmobilityshow.
You can also drop us a line attalk at techmobilityshow at talk
(31:45):
at techmobilityshow.
Did you know that Tech Mobilityhas a YouTube channel?
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
Each week, I upload a few shortvideos of some of the hot
topics that I cover during myweekly radio program.
I've designed these videos tobe informative and entertaining.
It's another way to keep up oncurrent mobility and technology
news and information.
(32:05):
Be sure to watch, like andsubscribe to my channel.
That's the Tech Mobility Showon YouTube.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Check it out, look no further than AONmeetingscom,
the all-in-one browser-basedplatform that does it all.
With AONmeetings, you caneffortlessly communicate with
clients, host virtual meetingsand webinars, and stay in touch
with family and friends, all inone place and for one price.
Here's the best part you canendure a 30-day free trial.
It's time to simplify your lifeand boost your productivity.
Aonmeetingscom, whereinnovation meets connection.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Get started today and revolutionize the way you
communicate.
Social media is the place to bethese days, and we're no
exception.
I'm Ken Chester of the TechMobility Show.
If you enjoy my program, thenyou will also enjoy my weekly
Instagram videos, From thelatest vehicle reviews to timely
commentary on a variety ofmobility and technology-related
topics.
These short features aredesigned to inform and delight
(33:05):
you.
Be sure to watch, like andfollow us on Instagram.
You can find us by typing theTech Mobility Show in the search
bar.
Coffee.
As the cost of it continues torise due to increasingly
volatile climate patterns, thedemand for coffee globally is
(33:28):
increasing.
Fun fact, the United States ofAmerica is the number one
importer of coffee, yet growsvery little of it within its
borders.
To meet this demand, somecompanies are considering and
developing something calledbeanless coffee.
Yikes, this is topic C.
(33:48):
Let me be clear, and I've toldyou this before I'm a coffee
snob.
I am, and proud of it.
Thank you very much.
Yeah, I have my personalgrinder.
I have three ceramic containersfull of my favorite grinds.
At home, I use reusable Keurigcups with a filter.
(34:11):
Yeah, I'm that guy.
My sister turned me on to thosefilters.
Thanks, Joyce, and I use them.
Get rid of the grit, yes, andmy Keurig does just fine, Thank
you.
I don't drink a lot of coffee,but I'm old school.
I like regular cream.
I don't do the frou-frou stuff,hazelnut, all this crazy stuff.
(34:32):
I don't use oat milk Half andhalf.
Thank you very much.
My sugar I'm good.
The only change I've recentlymade is I found a creamed
cinnamon honey.
That is amazing that I put inmy coffee, which is excellent.
Other than that, I'm coffeebean to the core, but apparently
(34:52):
I must be in a growing minority.
Now, I'm sorry.
I pay for my coffee, but theysay ground coffee has hit a
record high of seven bucks apound in March, up from four
bucks in January 2020.
All I know is when I buy mycoffee, I'm paying for a little
less than a pound and I'm payingbetween $12.99 and $14.99 for
(35:15):
it, and it's gone up a littlebit Absolutely.
So what's going on?
What are we doing?
So what's going on?
What are we doing?
We've reported here a few weeksback how the Gen Zers are most
likely ordering a cold coffee,loading it with creamers, syrups
and other modifiers, than anyage group before.
Yeah, they're the ones into thefrou-frou stuff.
(35:37):
That would be my daughters?
Now, I don't do that.
I told you that Don't.
If you've ever had an icedstrawberry oat milk latte?
Now, I don't do that, I toldyou that Don't.
If you've ever had an icedstrawberry oat milk latte, short
answer no, no, Uh-uh, Ew, no.
Then you know, these new brewsoften taste like nothing.
The black coffee oldergenerations are used to drinking
(36:01):
.
You're mighty right, I don'teven know.
I can't even get my thoughtprocess around.
An iced strawberry oat milklatte?
And, yeah, I go into Starbucks,all that other crazy stuff.
I want vanilla flat mocha withtwo.
No, no, wrong guy, I walk intoStarbucks, it's.
I want Pike's Peak.
Leave room for cream and sugar.
I want a medium.
Thank you very much.
(36:22):
That's me.
However, all this is leadingcoffee to places it's never been
before and to versions thatain't even coffee at all.
I call it Frankenbean, Unlikeconventional coffee, which is
brewed from roasted coffee beans.
Yes, the way it's supposed tobe.
(36:42):
Beanless coffee is made fromother natural ingredients yes,
the way it's supposed to be.
What is that?
Ew, no, I want coffee, realcoffee.
I have.
I just bought, in fact, atFarmer's Market I got a little
slate coaster that says I drinkthe coffee, then I do the things
(37:07):
.
Yeah, coffee, not this weirdstuff.
These ingredients are typicallybathed with a proprietary
caffeinated solution and they'reroasted to create the same
molecular compounds that existin a roasted coffee bean.
I'm sorry, no, I'm sorry, I'mjust going to be a Luddite on
this subject.
No Coffee.
(37:30):
Let's introduce you to a coupleof companies trying to do this a
little different.
This company is called Atomo.
They're a Seattle,Washington-based company that
makes beanless coffee fromseveral upcycled and natural
ingredients, including date pits, potato, carrot, guava, lemons,
fenugreek, strawberry fiber andsunflower.
(37:51):
I don't even know what that is,but let me stop, because you
probably heard the term and went, huh.
You heard the term upcycled.
I know you did, because I readit and said oh, what is that?
Let me define that for you,because they use that a lot in
this article.
Upcycled a material reused in away to create a product of
higher quality or value than theoriginal.
(38:13):
Can't end mine, Not wastehigher quality.
To create its beanless blend, acompany started looking at
thousands of chemical compoundswithin a cup of brewed coffee
and engineered theirs from there.
Now this company found thatdate pits, when marinated in a
(38:37):
proprietary solution and roasted, produced some of the same
chemical compounds that appearin coffee when brewed.
Tomo patented this process andtechnology and spent $2 million
to build a 30,000 square footdate pit upcycling facility in
Coachella, California,processing five tons of date
(38:58):
pits a day.
The partners that supply thedate pits the partners that
supply the date pits receiveshares in the company for
exchange for picking up the pits.
They decline to review thenumbers, but they've invested
slightly ahead of revenue,meaning it's not broke even yet.
Date pits Now.
I like dates and I love coffee.
(39:20):
Roasted date pits in my coffee?
No, no, no.
I'm not there.
I'm not there.
I am absolutely not there.
Now, what they found out isthat when they're finely ground,
when their mix is finely groundand subjected to high pressure
(39:40):
like espresso, it's beanlesscoffee produced even more of the
compounds found in traditionalcoffee.
Then they turned around andinvested $8 million more to
build a second factory inRoastery and immediately started
pitching its product to coffeeshops, with the hope of striking
a partnership.
And while coffee companies andcafes weren't eager to support a
(40:03):
replacement product, you think,but they were eager to lower
their costs in an industrythat's getting squeezed to
thinner and thinner margins.
It's all about the money.
You're going to mess with mycoffee because it's about the
money.
Potentially reduce its effecton the environment.
Here's where they came up withsomething I'm still not sure I
would do it.
They call it half real coffeeand half beanless, something
(40:24):
called a 50-50 split.
They wanted to do somethingbetter for the planet, and you
have to do it at scale.
By combining its beanlesscoffee with traditionally grown
coffee, they found a solutionthat works for both cafes and
consumers.
So they think I don't know.
How do you feel about beanlesscoffee?
Are you one of those that gothere?
(40:45):
And you are great with theshots and all of this.
I want two pumps of this and alittle bit of that.
No, I can't even fathom it.
I'm very simple.
When it comes to my coffee, I'mvery simple.
Another company called Voyage.
They make a beanless coffeefrom two ingredients chickpeas
(41:08):
and caffeine.
In case you were wondering, thethe other name for chickpeas,
unless you were wondering, isgarbanzo beans.
Fun fact, it's the product of athree-step process that is much
less intensive and costly thanthat used by many of its
competitors.
Again, they start with rawchickpeas, hit them with their
proprietary caffeinationsolution, then roasted just like
(41:30):
green coffee beans, and thenground.
Who knew?
For those of you that listen topodcasts, we have just the one
(41:53):
for you.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester.
Tech Mobility Topics is apodcast where I upload
topic-specific videos each week,shorter than a full show.
These bite-sized programs arejust the thing, particularly if
you're interested in aparticular topic covered on the
weekly radio show, from ApplePodcasts to iHeartRadio and many
podcast platforms in between wegot you covered.
(42:20):
Just enter TechMobility topicsin the search bar.
Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place
to be.
We're exception.
Hi, I'm ken chester, host thetech mobility show.
Several times a week, I post totiktok several of the topics
that I cover on my weekly radioshow.
It's another way to keep up onmobility, technology news and
information.
I've built quite a library ofshort videos for your viewing
pleasure, so be sure to watch,like and subscribe.
(42:42):
That's the tech mobilityilityShow on TikTok.
Check it out.
To learn more about the TechMobility Show, start by visiting
our website.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
The website is a treasure troveof information about me and the
show, as well as where to findit on the radio across the
country.
(43:02):
Keep up with the happenings atthe Tech Mobility Show by
visiting techmobilityshow.
That's techmobilityshow.
You can also drop us a line attalk at techmobilityshow.
Do you listen to podcasts?
Seems that most people do.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
(43:25):
If you missed any of our weeklyepisodes on the radio, our
podcast is a great way to listen.
You can find the Tech MobilityPodcast just about anywhere.
You can enjoy podcasts.
Be sure to follow us from ApplePodcasts, iheart Radio and many
platforms in between.
We are there.
Just enter the Tech MobilityPodcast in the search bar,
wherever you listen to.
Welcome to the TechMobility Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm Ken Chester On the docket Curiel, the premium
delivery alternative, why yourcity may be sinking and the
beanless coffee race.
To join the conversation, callor text the TechMobility hotline
, that number, 872-222-9793.
(00:33):
Or you can email the show talkat techmobilityshow.
Be sure to subscribe, like andfollow us on social media, our
YouTube channel and, for thoseof you that subscribe to
Substack, you can find me theretoo, At Ken the letter C, iowa
spelled out.
(00:53):
So that's Ken K-E-N the letterC, i-o-w-a.
I am there as a proud member ofthe Iowa Writers Collaborative.
I am fortunate to be in a groupof many August award-winning
and distinguished writers, poets, nationally known folks.
If you are not getting news andcommentary from Substack, you
(01:15):
are cheating yourself.
Check it out, see what I meanFrom the Tech Mobility News Desk
.
It's time we talk about this.
It's a company called Slate andyou might have heard, maybe in
passing and maybe not, aboutthis new bare-bones, low-price,
(01:40):
ultra-designed, under $20,000vehicle that's being bankrolled
by Jeff Bezos.
Yeah, that Jeff Bezos, and he'sgoing to take on Elon Musk.
And ironically, slate is ananagram of Tesla, just so you
know.
It is a bare-bones electricpickup truck and, of course,
jeff Bezos is joined by twoventure capital funds with him,
(02:04):
but they expect to retail thistruck for under $20,000 with the
federal EV tax credit, assumingit still exists.
If it doesn't, it'll be a$27,500 truck plus destination
charges.
The key to this truck and we'regoing to get into a little more
, but the primary valueproposition for the truck is one
(02:29):
you bring your own devices toprovide the infotainment while
driving.
There's no radio, there's noinfotainment screen, none of
that, no Bluetooth.
Bring your phone, that's it.
This is bring your own stuff,and the vehicle is configurable,
whether you want a pickup orSUV, either one.
(02:51):
You can design it and alsoPaint.
You can wrap the vehicle indifferent ways and they have
kits for that.
Slate comes with brackets tohold your phone, tablet and
Bluetooth speaker, but it doesnot come equipped with either
Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
(03:12):
They're not going to sell thisthrough dealers, which is an
interesting thing.
Vw's Scout is trying to do thatTesla did.
They ended up in court a lotand that remains to be seen
whether or not a vehicle likethis will get that kind of
traction.
They've taken a differentapproach and tried to cut it to
the bone.
And oh, no power windows inthis hand crank windows and if
(03:36):
you don't know what those are,ask your grandparents.
They know, they remember,chances are.
But yeah, this is bare bones.
And let me give you some context.
If you go back about 40 yearsago, when the Japanese first
came to America with vehicles,they brought small, compact
(03:57):
pickup trucks, bulletproof,plain Jane, did not break, and
almost every Japanesemanufacturer was selling them
and you could buy one smackbrand new for less than $8,000.
And it didn't matter whether itwas a Mitsubishi, a Nissan, a
Toyota.
The only company that reallydidn't offer you something like
that back then was Honda, butpretty much everybody else did,
(04:18):
including Mazda, and Mazda had abuilt truck, the B2000.
All of those trucks wereinexpensive, ruggedly made and
lasted forever, and they wereall over the place.
This group believes Slatebelieves that there is a market,
once again at the very low end,at the entry level, for a
(04:43):
vehicle like this that if theycut everything to the bone and
get rid of a lot of the stuffthat you can do without or
otherwise get around, that theycan get the price of the vehicle
down.
Now, why does this matter?
We've said it here many timesand I'll remind you again the
current average transactionprice, not the sales price, not
what's on the sticker.
(05:04):
The transaction price, theprice at which the deal is made
to buy the vehicle, is hoveringon average for a new vehicle in
the United States of America,$50,000.
That means half are below, halfare above.
So when Ford came out four orfive years ago with the Ford
(05:25):
Maverick which was a hybrid, oryou could get a gasoline and the
hybrid was priced just under atick under $20,000, the response
was such that Ford was sold outof that model for two full
model years and Ford, being amuch larger company, would offer
(05:47):
more than Slate.
But then again you've got thefullness of the Ford parts bin
and the size of the Ford motorcompany to beat the price down,
because Ford wasn't doing anyheavy engineering.
They was picking parts out ofthe parts bin and still made for
a pretty remarkable truck.
Out of the parts bin and stillmade for a pretty remarkable
(06:08):
truck.
I reviewed that truck inNashville about five years ago
and was amazed, as I was goingdown the highway at highway
speed, plus a little bit-ish, myfuel economy average fuel
economy was actually increasing.
So I understood it.
Slate is looking to tap intothat.
Here's the challenge though.
(06:28):
For example, instead of steelor aluminum.
Slate's truck body panels aremolded of plastic.
It means you've got asuperstructure that will hold
them, but you're not touchingmetal.
You're actually touchingplastic.
Question number one I live inthe upper Midwest.
It gets brutally cold up herein the wintertime.
(06:49):
Things get brittle up here at40 below, 50 below, 60 below.
Will this plastic be brittleand if it gets tapped, break,
shatter?
That could be expensive, unlikesteel or aluminum, which you
just take it.
So that's one thing to thinkabout.
Because there is a lack ofpaint, they're not painting
(07:14):
these trucks.
You can wrap them in variouswrap kits to reflect color or
design or whatever you want.
Their point is that this truckis affordable, deeply
customizable.
To give you an idea, you cantransform it from a two-seater
pickup to a five-seater SUV andthat when the vehicle does
(07:40):
actually launch, consumers canchoose from a hundred different
accessories that buyers can useto personalize the truck to
their liking.
So let's be real for a minute.
They're talking a sub $20,000price for the basic truck.
You and I both know by the timeyou get this truck the way you
(08:01):
want it, it's going to costanywhere from three to five
grand.
More than that Because ifthey've got a hundred different
accessories.
You're going to want some ofthem Because you know a basic
truck, yes, but you're not goingto buy just the basic truck.
You're not.
That is why most automakers nowwhat they sell is the high end
(08:26):
of what they build and that'swhere the demand is and that's
why they sell it.
So it'd be interesting.
Here's something that I'm tryingto figure out how they're going
to get around, and it's a quote.
It's been engineered and willbe manufactured in America.
Okay, I've told you this manytimes, the American auto
(08:49):
industry is capital intensive.
It takes millions, if notbillions, of dollars, hundreds
of thousands of square feet ofplant space, machinery equipment
, people engineering, thingsyou've got to verify to meet
federal motor vehicle safetystandards, all of that stuff.
How are you going to do this?
(09:12):
Partially one, and they don'ttalk about it in the article.
Partially one for this tohappen, this process has to be
extremely even for an auto plant, extremely automated, because
they've got to get those costsdown.
They're going to have toprobably have a modest profit
with the base truck, but they'regoing to probably load profit
(09:35):
into those accessories.
That's the way the autoindustry works.
That's the way I would expectthis to work.
So the question is if thefederal EV credit goes away and
if you end up wanting someaccessories, does this under
$20,000 truck end up being nowan over $30,000 small truck and
(09:57):
if so, will that dim itsprospects?
We'll see.
White Glove Service driverempowerment.
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Are you tired of juggling multiple apps and
platforms for meetings, webinarsand staying connected?
Look no further thanAONMeetingscom, the all-in-one
browser-based platform that doesit all.
With AONMeetings, you caneffortlessly communicate with
clients, host virtual meetingsand webinars and stay in touch
with family and friends all inone place and for one price.
Here's the best part you canendure a 30-day free trial.
(10:34):
It's time to simplify your lifeand boost your productivity.
Aonmeetingscom, whereinnovation meets connection.
Get started today andrevolutionize the way you
communicate.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Social media is the main place to be these days, and
we are no exception.
I'm Ken Chester of the TechMobility Show.
If you enjoy my program, thenyou will also enjoy my weekly
Facebook videos, from my latestvehicle reviews to timely
commentary of a variety ofmobility and technology-related
topics.
These short features aredesigned to inform and delight
you.
Be sure to watch, like andfollow us on Facebook.
(11:06):
You can find us by typing theTech Mobility Show in the search
bar.
Be sure to subscribe to ourFacebook page.
Social media is the place to bethese days.
We're no exception.
I'm ken chester, the techmobility show.
If you enjoy my program, thenyou will also enjoy my weekly
instagram videos, from thelatest vehicle reviews to timely
(11:29):
commentary on a variety ofmobility and technology related
topics.
These short features aredesigned to inform and delight
you be sure to watch, like andfollow us on Instagram.
You can find us by typing theTech Mobility Show in the search
bar.
For those of you that listen topodcasts, we have just the one
for you.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester.
(11:49):
Tech Mobility Topics is apodcast where I upload
topic-specific videos each week,shorter than a full show.
These bite-sized programs arejust the thing, particularly if
you're interested in aparticular topic covered on the
weekly radio show, from ApplePodcasts to iHeartRadio and many
podcast platforms in between.
We got you covered.
Just enter Tech Mobility Topicsin the search bar, wherever you
(12:11):
listen to podcasts.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
This is your chance, america, to show the world's
great road cars just how good anAmerican car can be.
The name of this great new caris Pontiac 6000, an exciting new
front-wheel-drive automobilethat does its talking where it
counts on the road road.
It's loaded for bear with anelectronically fuel-injected
four-cylinder engine, mcphersonstrut front suspension, power
rack and pinion steering, andavailable V6 or diesel Pontiac
6000.
Now the excitement reallybegins.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Okay, so much to unpack here, so I will give you
the cliff note.
This was 1982.
The Pontiac 6000 was part of agroup of cars known as the
A-Bodies.
They were also the ChevyCelebrity, the Oldsmobile
Cutlass Sierra, the BuickCentury were all on that chassis
(13:09):
.
It was GM's first kind offamily-sized front-wheel drive
cars front-wheel drive cars andthis is them, trying to build
excitement into a vehicle that,honestly, compared to the other
vehicles and the nameplates werewhat we call badge-engineered.
You know it didn't really havea faster engine, but they were
trying to make you think it didand the things that they bragged
(13:32):
about.
But it was 82.
It was 43 years ago 43.
And Pontiac hasn't been a brandsince 2009.
So that's literally 16 yearsago that Pontiac went away.
But yeah, it was a big deal.
Pontiac was the excitementdivision of General Motors and
they did have some performance.
(13:52):
We should talk about the oldFirebirds from back in the day
sometime and I'll share with youmy experience with the WS-6 Ram
Air Package Scary stuff, butreally fast.
Here's a name I want you toremember because you're going to
hear it In the future.
(14:12):
You're going to hear it and Iwant you to understand this is
one of the first places in theUnited States.
You have heard it here.
First, the man's name is HerbCoakley.
Herb Coakley Normally youwouldn't know Herb Coakley.
He used to be a driver for Uberand Lyft.
You might have known himbecause he founded an outfit
(14:35):
called Maestro that'sM-Y-S-T-R-O.
Had known him because hefounded an outfit called Maestro
that's M-Y-S-T-R-O, which wasan app that helped gig workers
juggle multiple platforms.
But, like so many entrepreneursthat start a business, you get
a business going, you bringpeople in, they kick you out
Happened to him and he foundhimself back driving for Uber
and he came up with an idea.
(14:55):
The idea is Curiel, a premiumdelivery service that respects
the people doing the work andwows the people receiving it.
This is big.
This is topic A.
What makes this business soincredible in today's world?
(15:17):
He did not go to a venturecapitalist, he did not go to the
bank, he did not go to the SBA,but the vision that he had for
this business was so clear andI'm not even lying to you that,
as he shared it like anyentrepreneur would share it,
obviously, while he was driving,one of the people he was
(15:40):
carrying was willing to investagain.
That is how he started Maestroand they wrote him a check for
$100,000.
No bank, no pitch deck, justbelieving in the vision.
He did not say how much moneyhe raised that way with Curiel,
(16:01):
but he did say it was the samething and I want you to let this
sink in in 2025.
Mr Coakley is a man of color.
Number one.
Number two access to capitalfor a small business is a
challenge, regardless of whatbusiness you're in.
And remember, now he's going upagainst Uber and Lyft,
(16:25):
companies that have been in thespace, companies that are worth
billions of dollars, billions.
And yet his vision was sodefined, so clear, so compelling
, that someone was willing toback him.
He did not have a pitch deck,which, if you don't know what
that is, it's a proposal,typically, that you present to
(16:48):
potential investors about yourbusiness.
It has projections, what youexpect to do, your marketing
plan, your team, all of that.
He did none of that.
He didn't stop there.
He is building a world-classbrand without relying on venture
capital.
But he said you know, I didn'tjust start Curio, I lived it.
(17:12):
And he realized the inequity ofhow Uber and Lyft treats drivers
and their customers.
And he realized the inequity ofhow Uber and Lyft treats
drivers and their customers.
This time, though, he thoughtthat he wanted to build a
company.
That's about empowerment,that's about creating a premium
delivery service I'm talkingwhite glove delivery service
(17:37):
that respects the people doingthe work and wows the people
receiving it.
Every service that respects thepeople doing the work and wows
the people receiving it.
Think, if you're not used tothe private car business, you
used to see a lot of blackLincoln Continentals, lincoln
Town Cars same kind of thing,very personal service.
I have been a customer of those.
You have your driver and theypick you up and they take you
(17:58):
wherever you want to go.
With Uber and Lyft, even thoughthey've tried to keep a piece
of that or build out a piece ofthat, they've largely
commoditized ride hailing andride sharing.
You don't get that levelanymore, and because of the way
(18:19):
that they treat their drivers,there's really a disincentive
for your drivers to go thatextra mile, do that extra thing.
And this is where, in the truespirit of capitalism, that Herb
Coakley saw an opportunity Toanswer the question.
Curiel operates in a competitivelogistics space.
(18:40):
What sets your platform apartfrom Uber, doordash and the rest
?
Here it is.
He says the big guys, they playthe numbers game, something you
should remember, and thisapplies to all small businesses.
We play the relationship game.
Curiel is designed to be morethan just another app.
It's a trusted extension ofyour brand.
(19:01):
Those are not just words toHerb Coakley.
He goes the extra mile.
We focus heavily onpresentation and performance.
Our folks show up on time,looking sharp and moving with
purpose.
In some companies I've heardthat called moving with urgency.
(19:24):
And he admits if you're drivingfor Uber or Lyft, it doesn't
automatically mean he'll takeyou.
It's not easy.
We're a white glove and we'restrict, meaning he's got
standards and if you can'tdeliver elite service, you get
deactivated.
He wants nothing to do with youand even with that high bar,
his business right now, curielagainst Uber and Lyft and
(19:48):
DoorDash.
He's got 100,000 drivers on hisplatform now, with a 30,000
driver waiting list right now.
And you probably never heard ofCurio If you were going to look
at the secret sauce that HerbCoakley figured out, it boils
down to this when you take careof the workers, they take care
(20:12):
of the customers and mostplatforms miss that completely.
But anybody who's in thecustomer service, anybody who
gets it, knows you take care ofyour people.
Your people will take care ofyou and they will take care of
your customers.
You can't expect an employee tobe 100% for the customer when
the company is 50% for them.
(20:32):
It don't work that way.
He calls it a white gloveenergy and he's going towards
those organizations and outfitsthat have a need for that Luxury
hotels, high-end retailers,health and farm healthcare and
pharmacy partners needing secure, timely delivery, and even
(20:53):
Hollywood.
They've got a relationship withHollywood for film, tv and
commercial production crews.
It boils down to this If youcare about professionalism,
speed and trust, carrillo isyour ace.
Do it.
The land underneath some of thelargest cities in the United
States is sinking.
This is the Tech Mobility Show.
Do you listen to podcasts?
(21:17):
Seems that most people do.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
If you've missed any of ourweekly episodes on the radio,
our podcast is a great way tolisten.
You can find the Tech MobilityPodcast just about anywhere you
can enjoy podcasts.
Be sure to follow us from ApplePodcasts, iheart Radio and many
platforms in between.
We are there.
(21:37):
Just enter the Tech MobilityPodcast in the search bar.
Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place
to be.
We're no exception.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
Several times a week I post toTikTok several of the topics
that I cover on my weekly radioshow.
(21:58):
It's another way to keep up onmobility, technology news and
information.
I've built quite a library ofshort videos for your viewing
pleasure, so be sure to watch,like and subscribe.
That's the Tech Mobility Showon TikTok.
Check it out.
(22:19):
Chicago, dallas, columbus, ohio,detroit, new York City,
indianapolis, charlotte, denver,houston and Fort Worth.
What do these cities have incommon?
98% of the cities I justmentioned have some sort of what
(22:39):
they call substients going on.
If you don't have enough to beconcerned about right now,
consider this the landunderneath those cities is
sinking, threatening roads, raillines and the like, according
to new research.
But ironically, that substienceis not happening in the same
way in each place or even acrossone city.
(23:03):
What's going on?
This is topic B.
It is a slow, gradual sinking.
In other words, it's notdropping inches or feet every
year, not like our coasts.
And for the most part, a lot ofthose cities are not on the
(23:25):
coast, they're in country.
I mean Chicago, dallas,columbus, detroit, indianapolis,
denver, houston and Fort Worth.
They're not near any coasts,while this has been a concern in
coastal cities, obviously, butresearchers say that sinking
(23:47):
inland can destabilizeinfrastructure as well as worsen
flooding during storms, andthey talked about a multitude of
things going on pulling waterfrom the aquifers underneath
these cities, other types ofconstruction in progress, from
the aquifers underneath thesecities, other types of
construction in progress.
But we're talking and youwouldn't think this, so let me
(24:09):
put this in perspective for you.
I said it wasn't feet and itwasn't inches.
We're literally talkingmillimeters per year, but if
that happens every year you know, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years
it's a major issue.
Give me an example A stadiumkey to the annual US Open Tennis
(24:30):
Tournament has been steadilysinking over time, requiring a
lighter roof to reduce itsweight.
One runway at New York'sLaGuardia Airport, which is
located on a former landfill andhas undergone renovations, is
also a key piece of sinkinginfrastructure.
A lot of these cities have grownout, grown up, with less than
(24:54):
stable ground, and that's partof the problem.
Other cities it's a bunch ofthings, including and if you can
believe this, the very thingsthat have happened millions of
years ago are still impactingsome of these cities.
Along the East Coast and GreatLakes region, the land is mostly
slowly sinking in response tothe melting of glaciers from the
(25:16):
last ice age and there's a termfor that.
It's called glacial isostaticadjustment.
That was millions of years ago.
This is still happening and Iknow I get it.
You know you're sick of hearingabout climate change, you're
sick about hearing about allthis stuff, but you need to know
, if you are a planner in thesebig cities, if you are looking
(25:39):
at infrastructure in these bigcities and you are needing to
spend millions, if not billionsof dollars for roads, bridges,
pipelines, other service things,for utilities, electricity,
internet access, all of thisstuff, it matters Because just a
(26:01):
little bit over, maybe 15, 20years, could cause some real
problems and outages.
And what they're also saying isbecause of this gradual sinking
and it's slow, but it will makethings even worse in these
cities due to flooding andweather when extreme weather
hits them.
(26:21):
In the case of New York, theweight of the buildings is
literally pushing down the soil.
The concrete jungles alsoabsorb more heat, which can be
transferred underground and candeform the soil and rocks, and
this is the case of Chicago.
If you think about this, cementholds heat.
The more cement you got, themore heat it holds, particularly
(26:43):
in the summertime, and theslower it cools and we think
that's all just above ground,but that heat goes into the
ground and starts to manipulatethe soil in certain ways.
That's what's going on inChicago.
In the case of the PacificNorthwest, it's a whole
different game.
You are in the ring of fire,you are, you've got where two
(27:06):
tectonic plates are comingtogether, so that's a whole
different thing that they've hadto deal with for years.
The Pacific Northwest issubject to tectonic plate
activity, where one plate goesunderneath another plate and
drive sinking.
But that has always been, andwhat you get as a result of that
, when that pressure is released, is an earthquake, with all the
(27:30):
resulting damage andmanipulation of ground and all
of this stuff.
The researchers say thathonestly, the special stuff
aside, the most dominant causeof sinking across most locations
is the pumping of groundwaterfor drinking and agriculture.
They determined that removinggroundwater caused 80% of the
(27:55):
sinkage across those cities 80%.
So not only do we have to worryabout diminishing returns in
our aquifers, but the fact thatthe aquifers are not
replenishing at the rate that weare pulling from the ground has
other unintended consequences,like our cities basically
(28:17):
sinking into the ground and, asa result, alignment will be an
issue.
Safety can be an issue, meaningthat again, if you're an urban
planner, one more thing you gotto look at saying, okay, I don't
have to worry about it today, Idon't have to worry about it
tomorrow, I don't have tonecessarily worry about it five
years from now, but 10 years, 15years, 20 years, 25 years, 30
(28:41):
years from now, particularly ifI'm building buildings or
planning infrastructure with a30, 50 or longer life, I have to
plan for this.
And how do you plan for it?
What if the rate changes,speeds up or slows down?
What if climate change orweather or extreme events throw
(29:04):
at a curveball that was not evenfactored in?
That changes the equation?
These are the things that urbanplanners are looking at in
terms of laying out cities andmaking sure that goods and
services can be delivered Water,sewerage, power, internet all
these things that a city needsto run, that, for the most part
(29:25):
in the inner cities, this stuffis underground.
What do you do?
What do you do?
The rates are slow, but theyare looking at it.
Let me give you an idea.
Here's some more that you needto think about.
(29:48):
For example, sinking land makesflooding risks worse because it
can trap stormwaters for longerperiods.
During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the researcher found that 85%
of the flooded area in theHouston-Galveston area subsided
by more than 5 millimeters peryear during Hurricane Helene in
2024.
(30:09):
Subsided areas may have made itharder to clear the flooding in
the following days and, if youremember 2017, houston got 40
inches of rain 40.
40.
We are talking about NOAA-typeflooding Arc, the whole bit.
Imagine if the city's shrinkingat that rate and can't void the
(30:33):
water.
Disease issues, mold issues,being able to habitate in those
neighborhoods All things toconcern, about All things to
concern, about All things toworry.
About Curveball, san Antoniohad the highest risk for
buildings, even though it didn'thave the fastest subsidence
(30:55):
rates.
One out of 45 buildings in SanAntonio, texas, were at high
risk of damage as a result.
As coffee beans face anuncertain future, several
companies are working to developa suitable alternative.
We are the Tech Mobility Show.
To learn more about the TechMobility Show, start by visiting
(31:17):
our website.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
The website is a treasure troveof information about me and the
show, as well as where to findit on the radio across the
country.
Keep up with the happenings atthe Tech Mobility Show by
visiting techmobilityshow.
That's techmobilityshow.
You can also drop us a line attalk at techmobilityshow at talk
(31:45):
at techmobilityshow.
Did you know that Tech Mobilityhas a YouTube channel?
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
Each week, I upload a few shortvideos of some of the hot
topics that I cover during myweekly radio program.
I've designed these videos tobe informative and entertaining.
It's another way to keep up oncurrent mobility and technology
news and information.
(32:05):
Be sure to watch, like andsubscribe to my channel.
That's the Tech Mobility Showon YouTube.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
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Get started today and revolutionize the way you
communicate.
Social media is the place to bethese days, and we're no
exception.
I'm Ken Chester of the TechMobility Show.
If you enjoy my program, thenyou will also enjoy my weekly
Instagram videos, From thelatest vehicle reviews to timely
commentary on a variety ofmobility and technology-related
topics.
These short features aredesigned to inform and delight
(33:05):
you.
Be sure to watch, like andfollow us on Instagram.
You can find us by typing theTech Mobility Show in the search
bar.
Coffee.
As the cost of it continues torise due to increasingly
volatile climate patterns, thedemand for coffee globally is
(33:28):
increasing.
Fun fact, the United States ofAmerica is the number one
importer of coffee, yet growsvery little of it within its
borders.
To meet this demand, somecompanies are considering and
developing something calledbeanless coffee.
Yikes, this is topic C.
(33:48):
Let me be clear, and I've toldyou this before I'm a coffee
snob.
I am, and proud of it.
Thank you very much.
Yeah, I have my personalgrinder.
I have three ceramic containersfull of my favorite grinds.
At home, I use reusable Keurigcups with a filter.
(34:11):
Yeah, I'm that guy.
My sister turned me on to thosefilters.
Thanks, Joyce, and I use them.
Get rid of the grit, yes, andmy Keurig does just fine, Thank
you.
I don't drink a lot of coffee,but I'm old school.
I like regular cream.
I don't do the frou-frou stuff,hazelnut, all this crazy stuff.
(34:32):
I don't use oat milk Half andhalf.
Thank you very much.
My sugar I'm good.
The only change I've recentlymade is I found a creamed
cinnamon honey.
That is amazing that I put inmy coffee, which is excellent.
Other than that, I'm coffeebean to the core, but apparently
(34:52):
I must be in a growing minority.
Now, I'm sorry.
I pay for my coffee, but theysay ground coffee has hit a
record high of seven bucks apound in March, up from four
bucks in January 2020.
All I know is when I buy mycoffee, I'm paying for a little
less than a pound and I'm payingbetween $12.99 and $14.99 for
(35:15):
it, and it's gone up a littlebit Absolutely.
So what's going on?
What are we doing?
So what's going on?
What are we doing?
We've reported here a few weeksback how the Gen Zers are most
likely ordering a cold coffee,loading it with creamers, syrups
and other modifiers, than anyage group before.
Yeah, they're the ones into thefrou-frou stuff.
(35:37):
That would be my daughters?
Now, I don't do that.
I told you that Don't.
If you've ever had an icedstrawberry oat milk latte?
Now, I don't do that, I toldyou that Don't.
If you've ever had an icedstrawberry oat milk latte, short
answer no, no, Uh-uh, Ew, no.
Then you know, these new brewsoften taste like nothing.
The black coffee oldergenerations are used to drinking
(36:01):
.
You're mighty right, I don'teven know.
I can't even get my thoughtprocess around.
An iced strawberry oat milklatte?
And, yeah, I go into Starbucks,all that other crazy stuff.
I want vanilla flat mocha withtwo.
No, no, wrong guy, I walk intoStarbucks, it's.
I want Pike's Peak.
Leave room for cream and sugar.
I want a medium.
Thank you very much.
(36:22):
That's me.
However, all this is leadingcoffee to places it's never been
before and to versions thatain't even coffee at all.
I call it Frankenbean, Unlikeconventional coffee, which is
brewed from roasted coffee beans.
Yes, the way it's supposed tobe.
(36:42):
Beanless coffee is made fromother natural ingredients yes,
the way it's supposed to be.
What is that?
Ew, no, I want coffee, realcoffee.
I have.
I just bought, in fact, atFarmer's Market I got a little
slate coaster that says I drinkthe coffee, then I do the things
(37:07):
.
Yeah, coffee, not this weirdstuff.
These ingredients are typicallybathed with a proprietary
caffeinated solution and they'reroasted to create the same
molecular compounds that existin a roasted coffee bean.
I'm sorry, no, I'm sorry, I'mjust going to be a Luddite on
this subject.
No Coffee.
(37:30):
Let's introduce you to a coupleof companies trying to do this a
little different.
This company is called Atomo.
They're a Seattle,Washington-based company that
makes beanless coffee fromseveral upcycled and natural
ingredients, including date pits, potato, carrot, guava, lemons,
fenugreek, strawberry fiber andsunflower.
(37:51):
I don't even know what that is,but let me stop, because you
probably heard the term and went, huh.
You heard the term upcycled.
I know you did, because I readit and said oh, what is that?
Let me define that for you,because they use that a lot in
this article.
Upcycled a material reused in away to create a product of
higher quality or value than theoriginal.
(38:13):
Can't end mine, Not wastehigher quality.
To create its beanless blend, acompany started looking at
thousands of chemical compoundswithin a cup of brewed coffee
and engineered theirs from there.
Now this company found thatdate pits, when marinated in a
(38:37):
proprietary solution and roasted, produced some of the same
chemical compounds that appearin coffee when brewed.
Tomo patented this process andtechnology and spent $2 million
to build a 30,000 square footdate pit upcycling facility in
Coachella, California,processing five tons of date
(38:58):
pits a day.
The partners that supply thedate pits the partners that
supply the date pits receiveshares in the company for
exchange for picking up the pits.
They decline to review thenumbers, but they've invested
slightly ahead of revenue,meaning it's not broke even yet.
Date pits Now.
I like dates and I love coffee.
(39:20):
Roasted date pits in my coffee?
No, no, no.
I'm not there.
I'm not there.
I am absolutely not there.
Now, what they found out isthat when they're finely ground,
when their mix is finely groundand subjected to high pressure
(39:40):
like espresso, it's beanlesscoffee produced even more of the
compounds found in traditionalcoffee.
Then they turned around andinvested $8 million more to
build a second factory inRoastery and immediately started
pitching its product to coffeeshops, with the hope of striking
a partnership.
And while coffee companies andcafes weren't eager to support a
(40:03):
replacement product, you think,but they were eager to lower
their costs in an industrythat's getting squeezed to
thinner and thinner margins.
It's all about the money.
You're going to mess with mycoffee because it's about the
money.
Potentially reduce its effecton the environment.
Here's where they came up withsomething I'm still not sure I
would do it.
They call it half real coffeeand half beanless, something
(40:24):
called a 50-50 split.
They wanted to do somethingbetter for the planet, and you
have to do it at scale.
By combining its beanlesscoffee with traditionally grown
coffee, they found a solutionthat works for both cafes and
consumers.
So they think I don't know.
How do you feel about beanlesscoffee?
Are you one of those that gothere?
(40:45):
And you are great with theshots and all of this.
I want two pumps of this and alittle bit of that.
No, I can't even fathom it.
I'm very simple.
When it comes to my coffee, I'mvery simple.
Another company called Voyage.
They make a beanless coffeefrom two ingredients chickpeas
(41:08):
and caffeine.
In case you were wondering, thethe other name for chickpeas,
unless you were wondering, isgarbanzo beans.
Fun fact, it's the product of athree-step process that is much
less intensive and costly thanthat used by many of its
competitors.
Again, they start with rawchickpeas, hit them with their
proprietary caffeinationsolution, then roasted just like
(41:30):
green coffee beans, and thenground.
Who knew?
For those of you that listen topodcasts, we have just the one
(41:53):
for you.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester.
Tech Mobility Topics is apodcast where I upload
topic-specific videos each week,shorter than a full show.
These bite-sized programs arejust the thing, particularly if
you're interested in aparticular topic covered on the
weekly radio show, from ApplePodcasts to iHeartRadio and many
podcast platforms in between wegot you covered.
(42:20):
Just enter TechMobility topicsin the search bar.
Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place
to be.
We're exception.
Hi, I'm ken chester, host thetech mobility show.
Several times a week, I post totiktok several of the topics
that I cover on my weekly radioshow.
It's another way to keep up onmobility, technology news and
information.
I've built quite a library ofshort videos for your viewing
pleasure, so be sure to watch,like and subscribe.
(42:42):
That's the tech mobilityilityShow on TikTok.
Check it out.
To learn more about the TechMobility Show, start by visiting
our website.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
The website is a treasure troveof information about me and the
show, as well as where to findit on the radio across the
country.
(43:02):
Keep up with the happenings atthe Tech Mobility Show by
visiting techmobilityshow.
That's techmobilityshow.
You can also drop us a line attalk at techmobilityshow.
Do you listen to podcasts?
Seems that most people do.
Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host ofthe Tech Mobility Show.
(43:25):
If you missed any of our weeklyepisodes on the radio, our
podcast is a great way to listen.
You can find the Tech MobilityPodcast just about anywhere.
You can enjoy podcasts.
Be sure to follow us from ApplePodcasts, iheart Radio and many
platforms in between.
We are there.
Just enter the Tech MobilityPodcast in the search bar,
wherever you listen to.
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