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iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin Industries

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.

What's Your Problem?

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, Brian explains: 
 
 • What he learned building Google Earth 
 • How Pokémon Go players helped build the foundation for robot navigation
 • What it will take to teach AI to understand the physical world.
 • Why GPS is so bad in cities 
 • Why trees are such a big problem for digital mapmakers
 
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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Using Pokémon Go to Map the World

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 core skill of the future
 • Why AI agents won’t replace you anytime soon 
 • How writers learn faster than AI models 
 • How to give AI the social skills to work in group settings 
 • How AI can help you better understand yourself
 
Check out Every at their website: https://every.to/
 
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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Company Where Everyone Has Their Own AI Agent

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 also helped to invent the Cosmic Crisp, which is out already.
 
In this episode, Kate explains: 
 
 • Why grocery-store apples have gotten so much better
 • Why some of the most delicious apples never make it into stores 
 • Why it takes decades to invent a new kind of apple
 • How much more we have to learn about apple genetics 
 • How the apple industry is adapting to climate change 
 
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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inventing a Better Apple

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 reusable rockets are only the first step for going back to the moon
 • What it's going to take to actually manufacture things in space
 • How to build a business by sifting through moon dirt
 • How nuclear fusion and quantum computing could rely on mining the moon 
 
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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building a Business on the Moon

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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building a Robot People Actually Want

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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turning Waste Wood Into Buildings

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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Mark Barrocas is the CEO of SharkNinja, a company that sells everything from vacuums, to blenders, to beauty products. Mark’s problem is this: How do you invent new products that people want to rave about on social media? 
 
In this episode, Mark explains: 
 
 • How SharkNinja finds product ideas
 • The tradeoffs at the heart of product development
 • How the Ninja Creami became a viral hit
 • Why some products fail and others succeed. 
 
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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How SharkNinja Keeps Going Viral

Michael Hufford is the co-founder and CEO of LyGenesis, a company working on a new treatment for end stage liver disease. Michael’s problem is this: How do grow a new liver inside the body of a sick patient?
 
In this episode, Michael explains: 
 
 • The liver's unique power of regeneration
 • The organ transplant crisis and how regeneration can help 
 • The science behind using lymph nodes to grow new organs
 • The status of LyGenesis’ human trials
 • The future of regenerative medicine 
 
Learn more:
 
 • Check out LyGenesis’ 
website 
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+ 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing New Livers to Save Lives

Rare earth elements are inside pretty much everything with an on-off switch: Phones, laptops, cars. Even missiles. And China controls the world’s supply of components made from rare earths.
 
David Abraham is the author of the book “The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age.” David’s problem is this: What should the US do about China's chokehold on the rare earth supply chain?
 
According to Abraham, the current US strategy could wind up costing billions of dollars without solving the problem. And he has a big idea for what we should do instead.
 
In this episode, David explains:
 
 • How China quietly built a monopoly on rare earth materials
 • Why the 2010 Japan crisis was a preview of today's trade war
 • China’s export restriction strategy 
 • Why the problem goes deeper than billions in spending can solve
 • Why electric vehicles are the key to reinvigorating the U.S. rare earth industry
 
Learn more: 
 
 • Find David at his 
website • 
 • Buy the 
Elements of Power • Check out David’s 
article • in the new Republic
 
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+

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Company Where Everyone Has Their Own AI Agent

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