Palmer Luckey, the founder of weapons manufacturer Anduril, was part of a minority in the tech sector that supported President Trump during his first run at the White House. Now, Luckey wields influence in both Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.–and he’s using it to secure U.S. military contracts while trying to remake the government’s approach to national security. Luckey speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in the latest episode of our interview series Bold Names. Check Out Past E...
Mar 07, 2025•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ayanna Howard is dean of The Ohio State University’s College of Engineering, an IEEE Senior Member, and a top expert on two of the most hyped fields in tech: humanoid robots and artificial intelligence. Combining these technologies could allow advanced bots to take on all sorts of tasks, from helping pack boxes at warehouses, to taking care of the elderly, or even doing the dishes. But what will it take to get there, and how close are we to getting everyday robot helpers? Howard speaks to WSJ’s ...
Feb 28, 2025•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast LinkedIn co-founder and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Reid Hoffman is cautiously optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence. In his new book, “Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right With Our AI Future,” he argues that the current state of AI is similar to the automobile at the start of the 20th century. What does that mean for what Hoffman calls the “cognitive Industrial Revolution” and its potential to create positive change, and who is best suited to regulate it? And what do...
Feb 21, 2025•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bilt Rewards founder and CEO Ankur Jain took inspiration from American Express’s rewards programs when his company began offering people loyalty points for paying monthly rent. Now, he wants to add homeowners to his customer base by allowing them to get rewards points for their mortgage payments. What does that mean for Bilt’s business, and for its relationship with Wells Fargo over their co-branded credit card? And how could it affect the customers who’ve flocked to the card to earn points? Jai...
Feb 14, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every day, Wall Street Journal reporters talk with the most powerful, influential and interesting people. Now, we’re bringing some of those conversations directly to you. Introducing Bold Names, a new interview series where we hear directly from the leaders behind bold name companies. Hosted by WSJ columnists Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims. The new season starts Friday, February 14. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 11, 2025•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cloud storage used to be a sleepy part of the computing world but, with artificial intelligence becoming cheaper than ever, the companies collecting and protecting that data are now a hot investment. That includes cloud storage company Box, which has seen its stock climb nearly 40% this year. Its customers include most of the Fortune 500, including movie studios, automakers, consumer electronics giants, marketing firms and the Pentagon. Box CEO Aaron Levie says AI is getting better at piecing th...
Feb 11, 2025•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast JB Straubel was Elon Musk’s battery guy. Now he’s trying to turn what some see as trash into power for the electric vehicle revolution. Straubel was there at the earliest days of Tesla, and in his 15 years with the electric vehicle company, he played an integral role: he developed the battery pack used in the first Tesla vehicle, was the company’s Chief Technology Officer, and now sits on the board of directors. But his day job is running the battery-recycling startup Redwood Materials, and he e...
Feb 11, 2025•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Marc Benioff is one of the most outspoken names in tech. The billionaire co-founder of customer relationship software company Salesforce has been pivoting the company’s focus to artificial intelligence agents to help its clients manage customer service and other needs. But he has some strong opinions about how others are promoting AI, from how Microsoft is selling its Copilot feature to companies like Amazon buying up nuclear power contracts for their data centers. And yet he says he’s as excite...
Feb 11, 2025•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tesla, and its CEO Elon Musk, are the big names in electric vehicles, but a lot of competitors are nipping at their heels, including one led by a former top Tesla engineer. Peter Rawlinson is the CEO of Lucid, a billion-dollar auto startup he says has better technology than its rivals. The company recently completed a $1.75 billion stock offering, and has backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Now, as major automakers such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford pull back on their EV...
Feb 11, 2025•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast A brief message about some changes coming to The Future of Everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 31, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast A few months ago, AI supercomputer Gefion was plugged in for the first time in a ceremony featuring the Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the King of Denmark and Nadia Carlsten, the CEO of the Danish Centre for AI Innovation. Carlsten and Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, join WSJ’s Ben Cohen to discuss what they hope to achieve with 1,500 of the most powerful graphics processing units on the planet, including innovations in drug discovery, protein design and digital biology. W...
Jan 24, 2025•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The future of addiction treatment could be in treating the brain itself. A new trial at West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute is exploring whether using ultrasound waves on parts of the brain associated with addiction could disrupt connections that contribute to cravings. WSJ health reporter Julie Wernau explains how it works and how it could change the science of treating addiction. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us: ...
Jan 17, 2025•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do you have trouble falling asleep? If meditation apps and sleep trackers aren’t cutting it, now there’s technology designed to help users not only nod off more quickly but improve their slumber. WSJ’s Charlotte Gartenberg speaks with Science Bureau Chief Jo Craven McGinty about the latest wearable sleep tech that targets brain waves with sound and light to help you get a good night’s rest. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us: FOEPodcast@wsj.co...
Jan 10, 2025•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Colossal Biosciences wants to create new animals that resemble extinct creatures like the woolly mammoth, thanks to advancements in genetic engineering and synthetic biology. In this conversation from the WSJ’s Future of Everything Festival in May 2024, Colossal Biosciences co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm discusses how the de-extinction of species could help address the loss of biodiversity and benefit ecosystems. He tells Future of Everything editorial director Stefanie Ilgenfritz about his plans f...
Jan 03, 2025•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Electric vehicle sales growthexperienced a slow down in 2 023 that continued into this year. Despite EV makers’ big bets on batteries, buyers seemed more hesitant to take the all-electric route. But EV sales are exp ected to keep growing in 2025, according to Cox Automotive. On the Science of Success, WSJ’s Ben Cohen speaks with Journal reporter Sean McLain about the companies he’s watching and his predictions for the EV race in 2025. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcas...
Dec 27, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Electric motors are silent but electric vehicles are not. They make noise for safety, branding and to enhance the driving experience. And since they are no longer limited by the sound of the motor, these cars provide an acoustic blank slate. Jasper de Kruiff, co-founder and creative director of Impulse Audio Lab, has been working in interactive sound design for over a decade. He explains the tech and creative approaches that go into each vehicle’s sonic picture and why the roads of the future co...
Dec 20, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Waymo, the self-driving car startup owned by Google parent Alphabet, may be the front-runner in the race to lead the driverless car industry, but it’s got competition. Elon Musk’s Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox are also building out robotaxi technology and services to get riders in self-driving cars. On the second episode of our special series on the growing driverless car industry, host Danny Lewis looks at these companies’ efforts to catch up and where Waymo’s success could take it and its tech into ...
Dec 15, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Electric vehicles are a big part of the green energy transition but some of their most critical components are made using rare-earth elements. These can be highly toxic and environmentally destructive to mine and refine, with politically-complicated supply chains to boot. Engineers and automakers like Tesla, GM and Stellantis are now racing to build motors that don’t require magnets made from rare earths, but they must figure out how to match the efficiency. WSJ mining and commodities reporter R...
Dec 13, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fifteen years ago, Google made a big bet that future cars will drive themselves. Now, billions of dollars later, that bet may finally be paying off. Waymo, Alphabet's driverless car company, has hit the accelerator in recent years as its technology has evolved, and its rivals have stumbled. On episode one of our special series on the growing driverless car industry, host Danny Lewis explores the roots of this technology and how Waymo took the lead in the race to a driverless future. What do you ...
Dec 08, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Autonomous aviation is making medical aid more accessible and emergency response time shorter than ever. In this conversation from WSJ’s Future of Everything Festival in May, GoAERO CEO Gwen Lighter and Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton share how their respective companies are looking for ways to revamp medical access in hard to reach places. They tell WSJ’s Alex Ossola about the new industry they are forging without a roadmap. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or...
Dec 06, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Future of Everything listeners, here's a special presentation of Bold Names, our interview series where you'll hear from the leaders of the bold-named companies featured in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. Marc Benioff is one of the most outspoken names in tech. The billionaire co-founder of customer relationship software company Salesforce has been pivoting the company’s focus to artificial intelligence agents to help its clients manage customer service and other needs. But he has some str...
Nov 23, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you heard the latest hit podcast? It’s called Deep Dive. It features two relatable hosts, and it’s about whatever you want. That’s because it’s created by you and artificial intelligence. Google released an experimental audio feature as part of its personalized AI research assistant, NotebookLM. On this week’s Science of Success, Ben Cohen speaks with WSJ reporter Deepa Seetharaman about how this tech works, when it doesn’t and what makes those AI voices so convincing. What do you think abo...
Nov 22, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hollywood studios are making big bets that artificial-intelligence models could help make movie magic cheaper than ever, including in the visual effects industry. And after Lions Gate Entertainment announced a new partnership with Runway to develop new tools trained on its catalog, AI may be even more integrated in the production process. Host Danny Lewis speaks with editor, director and producer Jon Dudkowski, who has worked on shows including “Star Trek: Discovery,” “The Umbrella Academy” and ...
Nov 15, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Videogame cartridges and discs have mostly been replaced by downloads. Now, some console makers like Microsoft want to move videogames into the cloud-streaming business. Joost van Dreunen, an industry analyst and CEO of market research firm Aldora, joins WSJ’s Danny Lewis to talk about the new technology behind streaming complex, interactive videogames and how it could change the multibillion-dollar industry. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us...
Nov 08, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick says we all have stories to tell and that artificial intelligence can help. This summer, the activist, author and CEO launched Lumi Story AI. Backed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, Kaepernick says the platform is meant to “democratize storytelling.” WSJ’s Andrew Beaton interviewed Kaepernick last week at WSJ Tech Live about the new venture and what his many life experiences have taught him about being a CEO. What...
Nov 01, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Most athletes’ competitive years are in their 20s and 30s, but 61-year-old Ni Xia Lian has been playing professional table tennis for nearly 50 years. The Chinese-born Luxembourgish table-tennis player was one of the oldest athletes at this summer’s Paris Olympics. On the Science of Success, WSJ’s Ben Cohen speaks with Ni and Tommy Danielsson, her coach and husband, about how she’s maintained her longevity in competitive sports. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or ...
Oct 25, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Life expectancy has been increasing over the years, and so has the longevity business. WSJ health and wellness reporter Alex Janin tells WSJ’s Charlotte Gartenberg about the booming business of extending our healthy years and our lives overall. But, despite the increase in life expectancy in the past few generations, some scientists believe we’ve already reached a plateau. WSJ health and science reporter Amy Dockser Marcus looks at the debate over the limits to longevity and finds that, no matte...
Oct 18, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the future, the drugs helping you live healthier, happier and longer may have components manufactured in space. In this conversation with WSJ’s Danny Lewis from the Future of Everything Festival in May, Eric Lasker, an executive at Varda Space Industries, and Sita Sonty, former CEO of Space Tango, discuss the advantages and limitations of space manufacturing and how it can benefit pharmaceutical development. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email ...
Oct 11, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast More and more people are living longer lives thanks to modern technology and medicine. But what does that mean for our mental health and making sure we’re living better as well as longer? Stanford University Center on Longevity founding director Laura Carstensen digs into how the milestones of life should be reworked, and tells WSJ’s Danny Lewis how society can adapt and plan for the 100-year lifespan to become common. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, o...
Oct 04, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast What makes your house a home? For starters, it’s spending time there, relaxing, cooking and watching TV. These days, that means lots of subscriptions, which also means lots of money. In fact, Americans spend billions of dollars on subscriptions they’ve actually forgotten about. On the Science of Success, WSJ’s Ben Cohen looks at the booming subscription business and ways to help you get that spending in check. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email u...
Sep 27, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
