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

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• Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram
• Email us at problem@pushkin.fm
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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

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• Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram
• Email us at problem@pushkin.fm
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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

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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
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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
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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
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Ben Bloom is the co-founder and CEO of Atom Computing, a company building quantum computers out of individual atoms. Ben’s problem is this: How do you build a quantum computer that is actually useful for everything from discovering new medicines to building better batteries?

In this episode, Ben explains:

• The practical applications of quantum computers
• Atom Computing’s approach using individual neutral atoms as qubits
• The key engineering challenge of scaling while maintaining accuracy
• The playbook for commercializing quantum computing

Connect with us:

• Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram
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• Listen to Jacob’s other show, (00:21:23) Business History
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Jonny Dyer is the founder and CEO of a satellite company called Muon Space. The company’s first big project is a satellite constellation called FireSat.

Jonny’s problem is this: How do you  capture data from space to help manage wildfires around the world in near-real time?

In this episode, Jonny explains:

• How smartphone tech inspired smaller, cheaper satellites.
• Why fighting wildfires is still shockingly primitive.
• Why China does not distinguish between commercial and military satellites.
• Why data centers in space might arrive by 2035.

Connect with us:

• Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram
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• Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History
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