As AI models grow larger and more powerful, they promise incredible capabilities — but at what cost? Karen Hao is an AI journalist and her new book, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI , is a New York Times bestseller. We discuss whether the largest AI models are worth their hefty footprint: They consume massive amounts of electricity and water and Karen argues that smaller models better balance cost vs. benefit. Karen, who has reported for The Atlantic, MIT Technology Rev...
Jun 05, 2025•35 min•Ep. 78
AI-generated voices aren’t just realistic — they’re changing how brands, creators, and agencies bring ideas to life. In this episode, Wondercraft co-founder Oskar Serrander demonstrates how their “Canva for audio” is unlocking rapid prototyping for high-quality audio ads, content, and storytelling. You’ll learn: How Wondercraft enables you to go from concept to creative in seconds Why when AI makes execution easy, ideas and taste matter most How brands can test creative faster (and smarter) Why ...
May 22, 2025•22 min•Ep. 77
Kevin Smith is building a totally new kind of podcast app. Snipd is an AI-native podcast app and building it required a few mindset shifts. First, what even is a podcast? The way Kevin sees it, podcasts are knowledge. So where most podcast players are, as Kevin calls them, "repurposed music players", Snipd is designed to help you learn. As people listen to episodes, they, or an AI, can save “snips” or interesting moments that they want to remember or share. And the app will also help you review ...
May 08, 2025•25 min•Ep. 76
What is a good money habit in 2025? And how do you actually help someone build one—without boring them, shaming them, or losing them in the first five seconds? Chief Product Officer Tim Hong shares how MoneyLion designs for emotion and creates content and products that inspire people to take action. MoneyLion is a personal finance platform used by millions of mostly younger Americans who are just getting started with their money, so, as Tim says: “It's actually less about bad habits that we figh...
Apr 24, 2025•31 min•Ep. 75
Fun news! The Webby Awards have honored CRAFTED. for the third year in a row as a top tech podcast. Thank you — yes, you! — for listening! This episode features the highlight reel we gave the Webbys. It features great moments from 2024 episodes, including (listed in the order mentioned): Powering the World’s Hackathons | Brandon Kessler (Founder & CEO, DevPost) Asana’s Head of AI on the Profound Ways Work Is Changing | Paige Costello (Head of AI & Co-Head of Product Management at Asana) ...
Apr 17, 2025•11 min•Ep. 74
On a rooftop at SXSW, fellow startup advisor and podcaster Rob Kenedi joins me as we discuss why: AI models are becoming commodities… AI companies need to differentiate at the application layer, with brand, and by earning trust… B2B creators are all the rage Podcasts are so intimate and how video changes things We’re in the “fart app” era of AI… Enjoy this uncrafted CRAFTED.! And if you enjoy this more casual format, please share your feedback. DM me on LinkedIn or email me: dan@modernproductmin...
Apr 10, 2025•17 min•Ep. 73
Linda Liukas is a programmer, children’s book author, and the creator of Hello Ruby , a whimsical series that teaches computing concepts through stories and play. She’s also the force behind a one-of-a-kind playground in Helsinki—designed to teach kids how computers work without them ever touching a screen. In this episode, Linda shares why, especially with the rise of AI and code-writing copilots, we need to rethink the way we teach tech. Linda, a.k.a. the “Mary Poppins of Computing”, is on a m...
Apr 03, 2025•29 min•Ep. 72
Educator, innovator, super-connector, and conference champion Kwaku Aning and I have coffee and discuss a few things that struck us at SXSW, including: Why we’re in a “pre-mainframe” moment in quantum computing — and why you should prepare for what comes next Bioengineering: are we headed for a Westworld-style mix of human musculature and AI? Robot choreography, e.g. how to train a self-driving car to drive non-aggressively (but also should they be allowed to speed?) Mind control via inaudible n...
Mar 27, 2025•16 min•Ep. 71
How do you build a system for turning wild ideas into world-changing innovations? Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots at X, The Moonshot Factory, has spent over 15 years leading Google’s audacious innovation lab—the birthplace of Waymo, Google Brain, and other breakthrough projects. In this special episode, recorded live in Austin at SXSW, Astro shares the playbook to create a moonshot factory. You’ll Learn: 🐵 The “Train the Monkey First” approach to innovation 🚀 Why audacity, humility, and int...
Mar 20, 2025•30 min•Ep. 70
What if we could deliver supplies anywhere, no roads or runways needed? Elroy Air has built a really big drone. One that can carry 300 pounds of stuff 300 miles or more. And it takes off like a helicopter, but flies like a plane, meaning it can get in and out of all sorts of hard to reach places. In this episode, we sit down with David Merrill, co-founder, executive chairman, and former CEO of Elroy Air, to explore how these hybrid-electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are set to trans...
Mar 06, 2025•24 min•Ep. 69
CRAFTED. host Dan Blumberg will be at SXSW this year. Will you? If so, please reach out! DM me on LinkedIn or go to crafted.fm where you can email me. Let's get a taco! — Software, hardware, and biotechnology are playing an increasingly transformative role in our mental health and wellness. On this episode of CRAFTED., recorded live on the “Next” stage at SXSW 2024, we discuss what investors look for in these new companies and how they separate what’s real — and what’s near-term — from what’s hy...
Feb 27, 2025•43 min•Ep. 68
Software is eating the world, right? We've all heard this phrase by now, but inventor and investor Pablos Holman has something important to add: “The world can't eat software.” That’s why Pablos focuses on “deep tech”, i.e. how to invent new solutions to real world problems like energy, water, waste, construction, and sanitation. Pablos says we’re still mostly using version 1.0 technology for these fundamental systems, but recent advances, including AI and the ability to prototype and test in so...
Feb 20, 2025•36 min•Ep. 67
Deepfakes are getting easier and easier to make. So, how will we be able to believe that what we see and what we hear is real? And what can software makers do to help? Sam Gregory is an expert on deepfakes, AI, and trust. He advises governments and tech companies on how they can protect human rights and how we can preserve our shared reality. Sam is the executive director of WITNESS, an organization that helps citizens use video to foster social change. WITNESS has trained and supported citizen-...
Feb 06, 2025•28 min•Ep. 66
Accounting may not be the sexiest part of running a business, but according to Sasha Orloff, it’s the key to understanding your company’s financial health—and ultimately, its success. At his previous two startups, Sasha was frustrated that he didn’t have a real-time view into his company’s financial health. And he realized the problem wasn’t accounting – but accounting software. So, Sasha founded Puzzle, because “it's hard to set yourself up for success if you don't know when you're about to run...
Nov 26, 2024•29 min•Ep. 65
AI democratizes things. It's enabling designers to be developers, and developers to be designers… And in this episode, Aaron Walter and Eli Woolery explain how AI “changes the game” for designers. As co-founders of Design Better, Aaron and Eli advise companies on how to incorporate AI into their design process. We’ll explore how AI can help designers explore a problem more thoroughly, as well as some pitfalls to watch out for. (Hint: speed is not always a good thing.) Aaron and Eli are also host...
Nov 12, 2024•30 min•Ep. 64
Amir Nathoo is reimagining the future of education by building products that put students at the center of their learning experience. As the Founder and CEO of Outschool, Amir has created a marketplace for remote, personalized, interest-based learning that’s challenging traditional K-12. In this episode of CRAFTED., we explore how Amir founded and grew Outschool, including the 15x spike in usage during the pandemic. Post-pandemic, alternative education and homeschooling continues to rise. As Ami...
Oct 29, 2024•36 min•Ep. 62
Hilary Mason is a world-builder. She’s a serial entrepreneur, machine learning expert, and now, as the founder and CEO of Hidden Door, she’s creating immersive experiences where fans can interact with their favorite characters from books and movies. The choose-your-own-adventures style games are an amazing blend of AI and human creativity — and Hilary is passionate about both: “If I write a manifesto, this is what it'll be: I don't think the power of generative AI is to create the next amazing n...
Oct 22, 2024•35 min•Ep. 61
As AI models grow larger and more powerful, they promise incredible capabilities — but at what cost? Karen Hao is a journalist and former engineer who writes about the impact of artificial intelligence on society for The Atlantic and other top publications. On this episode of CRAFTED., we discuss whether the largest AI models are worth their hefty footprint: They consume massive amounts of electricity and water and Karen argues that smaller models better balance cost vs. benefit. Karen will also...
Oct 15, 2024•35 min•Ep. 60
Russ Somers has tripled his productivity by building a “GPTeam” of AI “employees.” In this episode, from Beyond the Prompt , the head of marketing for Quantified reveals how he’s done it, and how you can build your own virtual team to be more productive and creative. Russ’s virtual team helps with tasks ranging from webinar content creation to specialized knowledge acquisition. Through personal anecdotes and exploratory conversations, the episode delves into the process of building AI team membe...
Oct 08, 2024•49 min•Ep. 59
Kira Radinsky is the CEO of Diagnostic Robotics, which uses AI to make predictions that help patients get better healthcare. She’s also the co-founder of Mana.bio which is using AI to automate drug discovery. On this episode of CRAFTED., Kira will share more on why she believes that, of all the industries that AI will change, it’s those involving chemistry and biology that will change the most. Plus, why she says: “I just want AI to replace me as a scientist.” Kira shares: How Mana.bio is using ...
Oct 01, 2024•36 min•Ep. 58
Matt Flannery and Branch have done something the banks have not: learned how to profitably lend to people who have little to no credit history. Matt is the founder and CEO of Branch, which issues small loans to millions of people in India, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. He's also the founder of Kiva, a microfinance pioneer that skyrocketed from a small project into a worldwide nonprofit that Oprah and President Clinton loved talking about. On this episode of CRAFTED., we learn how Branch uses dat...
Sep 24, 2024•32 min•Ep. 57
Nithya Ruff is an expert on open source. As the head of AWS’s Open Source Program Office and the Chair of the Linux Foundation, she has a wide view on all things open source. On this episode of CRAFTED., we discuss: Why Open Source AI is so tricky, but also so essential, to define How open source needs to evolve for the next generation of developers What an Open Source Program Office is — and why companies like AWS have them The questions, benefits, and risks that arise when a company is conside...
Sep 17, 2024•33 min•Ep. 56
Mario Rodriguez is GitHub's Chief Product Officer. And he believes that Copilot and other AI advances will unleash a wave of creativity and enable a billion people to be software developers. Mario says the definition of “software developer” will have to change as non-professionals discover that they can make apps, too. And the way they do so will look very different: “It's gonna feel a lot more like how kids play. It's like you create something you play with and you're like, Nope. Then you ins...
Sep 10, 2024•42 min•Ep. 55
Henrik Werdelin is on an AI-fueled mission to launch thousands of startups a year. He is the founder of BARK, which went public, and prehype, a studio that has incubated several unicorns. With Audos, Henrik is building AI agents that can coach founders how he would — if he had infinite time to do so. And Audos is not just for the cliche founder looking to launch a unicorn… It’s for entrepreneurs of all stripes. With AI making things easier, Henrik expects to see lots more “DonkeyCorns,” i.e. hig...
Sep 03, 2024•41 min•Ep. 54
Sports, and the way we experience them, is changing. And AI, 5G, 3D, and all the other buzzy acronyms are why. Behshad Behzadi is the CTO and Chief AI Officer of Sportradar and on this episode of CRAFTED., we explore ways sports and technology are intersecting in novel, weird, and amazing ways. Sportradar creates immersive experiences and data products for sports fans, players, leagues, and bettors. Behshad joined after 17 years at Google where he co-founded Google Assistant, Google Lens and mor...
Aug 27, 2024•24 min•Ep. 53
Jeff Birkeland is the SVP of Product and Platform at Included Health, a company that aims to be the app on your phone that you first think of when you have a healthcare need. On this episode of CRAFTED., we explore why “the integration itself is the innovation.” Included Health has more than 2,000 employees across both technology and clinical care, and its services are used by many top companies and their employees. The goal: create an integrated experience that brings it all together… from insu...
Aug 20, 2024•23 min•Ep. 52
April Dunford is an expert at product positioning. She’s advised hundreds of B2B companies on how they can make their products Obviously Awesome — that’s also the title of her bestselling book on positioning. On this episode of CRAFTED., April shares tips on how you can make your product standout and how you can drive more sales — that’s the focus of her latest book, Sales Pitch . April says great positioning starts when you truly understand the answer to this question: “If you didn't exist, wha...
Aug 13, 2024•34 min•Ep. 51
Making media is hard. Distributing it to the right audience even more so. GenAI can help. Matt Monahan is the president of Arc XP at the Washington Post. On this episode, we're digging into the core technology of any media company: the content management system (CMS), why they’re so hard to build right and how new GenAI tools can reduce the toil required for journalists to get their stories to the right audience. Arc XP is not only the CMS used by the Washington Post, but it’s also used by many ...
Aug 06, 2024•26 min•Ep. 50
Dr. Kristen DiCerbo is Khan Academy’s Chief Learning Officer, where she sets the company's product, teaching, and learning strategy — with AI at the forefront. Khanmigo is amazing. It’s the GenAI-powered product from Khan Academy that helps students learn and teachers teach — and could revolutionize education. Khan Academy is used by 12 million students a month! And they’ve been an early adopter of GenAI. Khanmigo coaches students in math and English, helps teachers prepare lesson plans, enables...
Jul 30, 2024•32 min•Ep. 49
Kelsey Hightower is a legend. He regularly gives live software demos in front of tens of thousands of people, improvising them like it’s jazz. He’s a master storyteller and a master craftsman. He helped evangelize and establish Kubernetes and recently retired (at 42!) from Google where he was a distinguished engineer. Kelsey loves to level people up and in this conversation we discuss the power of innovation that happens after going from Zero to One. Or, as Kelsey puts it, “From Hello, World to ...
Jul 23, 2024•51 min•Ep. 48
