Julia Pyper has been at the top of our list since we started The World Changing Podcast in 2022. Why? Julia is known for her in-depth coverage of the clean energy transition, has a cross-party climate policy podcast, " Political Climate ," and is now VP of public affairs for GoodLeap - a fin-tech company helping millions of people join the clean energy transition. Her work has been published in HuffPost , Scientific American , and The New York Times. In this conversation, we dive into the connec...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 17
We sat down with The Accelerator Guy! That's Ryan Kushner of course - co-founder of Third Derivative, the world's largest climate tech accelerator. For context, Third Derivative is a non-profit joint venture of RMI and New Energy Nexus and the world’s largest and most resourced climate technology accelerator. The global, 18-month accelerator program coordinates commercialization between corporate partners (Wells Fargo, Microsoft, AT&T, Berkshire Hathaway Energy), 15 venture capital partners,...
Sep 11, 2024•52 min•Ep. 16
When we look back, it's amazing how many common threads there are among our incredible guests. From Aston co-founder Ed McKenzie to Mark Jacobson of Stanford University, we are learning about the evolution of technology in various forms and how that impacts our energy future. It's Electric! Some themes discussed in this episode: - Consensus around the critical impact of climate change on utilities - The impact of fossil fuel emissions from power generation and transportation - The historical con...
Aug 01, 2024•42 min•Ep. 15
Born and raised in a small Italian town near the Swiss Alps, Claudio Spadacini learned from an early age that electricity can spark world changing innovation anywhere. Due in large part to their access to hydropower, the first car ever built in Italy came from his small town. In step, Claudio’s first aspiration was to design race cars. While he still loves race cars, Claudio eventually transitioned his passion into engineering and sustainable energy solutions. In this episode, Greg and Claudio r...
May 06, 2024•54 min•Ep. 14
As a kid, Matt Loszak loved to learn and perform magic tricks. The only problem? He ended up telling the audience the secret mechanism of the trick! Today, Matt is still breaking down magic tricks, but this time, it’s the alchemy of nuclear power. Matt and his team at Aalo Atomics are working to commercialize the breakthrough Marvel microreactor developed by Idaho National Laboratory. Their goal is to deploy cheap, safe nuclear power within a few years. Why is the Marvel Microreactor a breakthro...
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 13
Bill had an impressive career as a tech entrepreneur and businessman before he turned his sights (back to) energy. He started his first company in highschool - a graphics software company when personal computers were still text based. He has started and sold several tech companies. He joined one startup as CEO, grew the company to nearly $100 million in revenue, and then sold it to IBM. He then served as an advisor to the C-suite on at IBM on strategy. But even before all of this success, his fi...
Mar 01, 2024•57 min•Ep. 12
Since he first struggled with air pollution as a teenager in Los Angeles, Mark Z. Jacobson has committed himself to understanding and solving this issue. And boy, has he succeeded! Today, Mark is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University. He has published six books and over 175 peer-reviewed papers. His research forms the scientific basis of the Green New Deal and many laws and commitments for cities, states and co...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 11
We're back and we're asking questions like “Why do environmentalists try to kill windfarms?” It’s a big, complicated world out there and we are breaking down five key challenges to greening the power grid. From geography to misaligned incentives, here’s a brief rundown of the themes we will be discussing throughout season 2. Want to learn more? Head to the Aston website to read the blog . References: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/713101 https://www.astonlabs.co/news/5-key-challen...
Jan 10, 2024•14 min•Ep. 10
Flo asks: "Are our power utilities businesses or part of the government?" The answer is pretty murky. How did most power utilities in the US become investor owned, publicly traded companies with no competition? In this episode, Greg and I try to address these questions. We look into the history of power utilities in the U.S. and try to imagine how the current “business model” could be innovated. How we use power has changed a lot since 1882, but the companies and business models that serve us, h...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 9
The dream of the smart, sustainable grid. What will it take to achieve the energy grid of our dreams? We are so excited to share this conversation we had with Gary Rackliffe. Gary is a special person to talk to for several reasons. First, Gary has spent his entire 30+ year career building and designing the US power grid. Second, he is a leader in the planning and technology needed to modernize and decarbonize the grid for the future. Our biggest take away from our conversation with him is we may...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 8
What the heck is crypto? And for that matter, what is money? Greg and I take a thought provoking and philosophical journey exploring these fundamental questions. Our conversation delves into the profound implications of these technologies and their significance in our lives. One of the key topics we tackle is the formidable energy needs associated with these technologies. Who will be responsible for installing the infrastructure necessary to support crypto and decentralized finance? Let's discus...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 7
James D'Albora began his lifelong journey as an entrepreneur when he was 10 years old. With the dream of purchasing his own TV, he decided to get a paper route in Sacramento. Today he runs Verify Energy and sells The PowerFly (his invention) to solar companies (or EPCs). James realized that solar power EPCs didn't have a simple way to remotely monitor or adjust the power supply being produced. James' PowerFly is one example of innovations at the grid edge allowing for greater utilization of rene...
May 01, 2023•50 min•Ep. 6
Welcome to our first Greg-Flo-isode! In these episodes we take on a single timely topic that interests us and work to think unbiasedly about it. What opportunities and possible disadvantages do these programs, technologies and even ideas present us? In this episode, we break down what community solar is and why it may matter to you. Also, how does it fit in the big picture of addressing climate change and de-carbonizing the energy grid? Let's discuss! For more information about net metering and ...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 5
Are we ready to go nuclear? We’ve brought in the brilliant and multi-talented Alan Hoffman (MIT, Oklo, Cloudant, PayPal) to help us dive into the current opportunities and challenges of nuclear power. Are we ready to take the leap and employ this technology further to mitigate climate change? Let’s find out. About Alan: Alan holds a PhD in particle physics from MIT. While at MIT, he co-founded and built a software company (Cloudant) to fix the big data problem that he and his co-founders experie...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 4
Meet Ed McKenzie: programming wiz kid, Greg's bff and musical genius. Greg and Ed have been friends and business partners for 15 years. They first met playing in a band together in college and have since written hundreds of songs together and started two companies. What makes Ed a particularly interesting guest? Ed began coding at a young age when he discovered he could hack into his own video games. He then sold his first software to SoftDisk at 15 years old. He worked at Microsoft and Google w...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 3
Welcome to... The World Changing Podcast! Who are we? Why do we care about changing the world? Meet your host Greg Robinson and producer Flo Lumsden. In the first half of the episode, we introduce each other and discuss why we are making this world changing podcast. In the second half of the episode, Greg and I discuss how his first sustainable energy start-up, Drift, has led him to his newest venture, Aston Labs. We also go into more depth about various topics we are interested in addressing wi...
Jan 06, 2023•40 min•Ep. 2
Curious what The World Changing Podcast is all about? Here's a snack-able summary.
Jan 04, 2023•6 min•Ep. 1
