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PODCAST

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast

Lisa Ann Pinkerton

The Earthlings Podcast takes a look at the big issues facing humanity in the early 21st century and our relationship to our environment, technology, and each other. Each episode, award-winning journalist, and former NPR reporter Lisa Ann Pinkerton hosts experts, scientists, and leaders working to solve the world’s biggest challenges. Together, they cover wide-ranging topics including environmental solutions, emerging technologies, what the future might look like, and more. Support us on Patreon and

science earth sciences

All Episodes

40:29

#141: Supercharging Utilities with AI with Senpilot

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/12/30

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with Mike Hejmej, CEO and co-founder of Senpilot, to explore how AI agents can help modernize one of the world’s largest and most complex machines: the electric grid. Mike explains what AI agents actually are, how they differ from simple chatbots, and why utilities are starting to use them for everything from wildfire risk detection to regulatory research. The conversation covers how Senpilot trains AI agents, how retrieval-based models

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28:53

#140: The Circular Economy of Chemicals and Carbon...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/12/23

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Alex Ip, co-founder and CEO of CERT Systems. CERT is a Canadian startup developing an electrochemical process that converts captured CO₂ into high-value chemicals, such as ethylene, using only electricity and water. Alex explains why these chemicals are so foundational to modern life, and why they’re also responsible for a significant share of global emissions. We unpack how CERT’s room-temperature “CO₂-to-chemicals” process works,

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32:13

#139: Designing the Next Generation of Aircraft with...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/12/16

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Aleksey Matyushev, CEO and co-founder of Natilus, about how a new generation of blended wing-body aircraft could reshape both air cargo and, eventually, commercial passenger flight. The conversation explores why e-commerce has created a perfect moment for rethinking aircraft design, how starting with freight helps de-risk the path to passenger service, and what it will really take, from certification to autonomy, for these

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28:25

#138: Streamlining the Shift to the Electric Home...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/12/09

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Eric Owski, CEO and co-founder of Treehouse, to explore how electrification is reshaping the way we power and operate our homes—and why upgrading the underlying electrical infrastructure remains one of the biggest hurdles. Eric explains how Treehouse is rethinking the entire homeowner journey by bringing technology, automation, and coordinated service delivery to a traditionally manual and fragmented industry. The conversation looks at

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45:49

#137: How Hydrogen Can Actually Compete with Diesel...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/12/02

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we talk with Gary Ong, CEO of Celadyne Technologies, a company focused on making hydrogen a more accessible energy source through its membrane technology. We explore why hydrogen adoption has lagged, how issues such as hydrogen crossover and membrane degradation hold back today’s fuel cells and electrolyzers, and how Celadyne’s low-permeability membrane addresses these problems and significantly improves durability. Gary explains how the technology

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31:46

#136: Cracking the Code on Low-Cost Hydrogen with...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/11/25

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we talk with Alex Zorniger, Chief Commercial Officer at Power to Hydrogen, about how new hybrid electrolyzer technology could make green hydrogen more affordable and reliable. Power to Hydrogen’s system combines the best parts of existing designs to work directly with renewable energy while using common materials like nickel and iron instead of costly precious metals. We discuss how this technology could bring hydrogen production closer to the

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37:50

#135: Turning Recycled Aluminum into Energy with...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/11/18

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we chat with Rob Alexander, CEO of AlumaPower, about a new way to generate clean, on-demand electricity using recycled aluminum. AlumaPower’s galvanic aluminum-air generator releases the energy already contained within aluminum through a chemical reaction with air and water — producing zero-emission power at the point of use and a reusable byproduct. We discuss how the company overcame the chemistry hurdles that held back aluminum-air systems for

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54:51

#134: The Life After Life of Human Composting with...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/11/11

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we talk with Micah Truman, founder of a Seattle-based terramation facility called Return Home, about a new approach to human composting that uses the body’s own microbes — with no added heat or forced air — to naturally return a person to soil in about nine weeks. We explore how this process differs from cremation and burial, what families experience when they participate, the alternative method’s environmental benefits, and how rethinking death

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30:18

#133: Decarbonizing Transport with Smarter Hydrogen...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/10/28

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we chat with Dr. Jehan Kanga, CEO and founder of Rux Energy, an Australia-based company developing advanced nanoporous materials to make hydrogen storage safer, denser, and up to ten times cheaper. While green hydrogen holds enormous promise for decarbonizing heavy transport, maritime, and construction sectors, storing and transporting it efficiently remains a major challenge. Rux Energy’s breakthrough lies in its metal–organic framework (MOF)

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31:54

#132: Turning Rust into Renewable Energy with RIFT

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/10/21

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Mark Verhagen, CEO and co-founder of Renewable Iron Fuel Technologies (RIFT), a company turning rust into a clean heat source for heavy industry. You see, industrial heat, from cement kilns to steel plants, accounts for roughly 20% of global emissions, yet most facilities can’t electrify or switch to hydrogen because of grid and infrastructure limits. RIFT’s answer? Burn iron powder instead of fossil fuels, then recycle the “ash” (iron

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25:51

#131: Why AI + Robotics Could Be The Future of...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/10/14

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Eric Law, CEO and Co-founder of Urban Machine, about how robotics and AI are transforming one of construction’s dirtiest secrets — wood waste. Every year, the U.S. generates over 37 million tons of discarded lumber, most of which ends up burned or buried. Urban Machine’s automated system, fittingly named The Machine, scans, “cooks,” and removes metal fasteners from used lumber, turning what was once landfill-bound debris into reusable,

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39:00

#130: De-Sensationalizing the News with The Boring...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/10/07

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we talk with Vasishta Kalinadhabhotla and Akshith Ramadugu, co-founders of the Boring Report — an app that strips sensationalism from the news and delivers concise, neutral summaries. We dig into why doom-driven headlines push audiences away, how their automated pipeline clusters “trending” events across multiple outlets, and the prompt-engineering they use to emphasize widely corroborated facts. The conversation covers their nonprofit approach,

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36:59

#129: The All-in-One Platform Behind Smarter Fleet...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/09/30

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Alan White, Global Head of Siemens Smart Infrastructure’s Emerging Transportation Platforms, about Depot360 — Siemens’ all-in-one fleet electrification solution. As more companies electrify their fleets, operators face mounting challenges: ensuring vehicles are charged and ready, managing energy costs, and keeping chargers online. Depot360 blends AI-driven optimization with 24/7 human support to reduce risk, lower total cost of

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36:51

#128: Insurance Tech for Adapting to Climate Change...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/09/23

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with Bill Clark, former CEO and President of the Demex Group, to explore how climate change is reshaping the insurance industry. As extreme weather events grow more frequent and unpredictable, traditional insurance models are struggling to keep up with the scale and type of risks they must cover. Bill shares how Demex is creating new ways to assess and price risk, particularly around secondary perils like severe storms, floods, and

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29:21

#127: A Cleaner Way To Reinvent Lithium Extraction...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/09/16

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we chat with Steven Vassiloudis, founder & CEO of Novalith Technologies, about a simpler “direct-to-chemical” route that turns spodumene ore into battery-grade lithium carbonate using water and CO₂—skipping the sulfuric-acid roast and many downstream cleanup steps. The result aims to cut costs, slash emissions, and build refining capacity across the globe. Steven discusses Novalith’s pilot plant operating in Sydney and how the company is

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01:11:07

126: Jigar Shah and Modern Energy Tech for a...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/09/09

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with clean energy visionary Jigar Shah, former director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, to imagine how we’d build the U.S. grid if we started fresh today. Instead of patching 100-year-old infrastructure, what if we designed around the tools of now — microgrids, distributed energy resources, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration? In this episode, we explore interconnection bottlenecks, the path to V2G readiness, and

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28:56

#125 - Why Supercapacitors are the Future of...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/09/02

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we chat with Pieter Smit, Head of Global Sales at Wright Energy Storage Technologies (WEST), about how the company is redefining energy storage with supercapacitor-based systems. Unlike lithium-ion, WEST’s electrostatic storage delivers high efficiency, rapid charge cycles, and extreme durability — tested everywhere from Africa to North America With applications spanning homes, data centers, shipping, and utility-scale projects, WEST is positioning

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43:41

124: The Plug in Future of Solar with Whit Fulton

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/08/27

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with Whit Fulton, founder and Chief Product Officer of ConnectDER, to explore how a simple but powerful innovation, the meter socket adapter, is reshaping residential solar, storage, and EV adoption. By turning the meter socket into a universal plug-in point, ConnectDER removes one of the biggest barriers to home electrification: complex, costly, and time-consuming wiring upgrades. Whit discusses the origins of the idea, the industry’s

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52:20

#123: Rewiring the Mind with Sens.ai with Advanced...

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/08/19

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with Paola Telfer, CEO and founder of Sens.ai, to explore how neurotechnology is reshaping personal development, wellness, and mental health. By combining neurofeedback and biofeedback, Sens.ai delivers real-time insights into brain activity, helping people enhance focus, regulate emotions, and measure cognitive health through biological brain age. Paola discusses early dementia detection, the gamification of meditation, and the role of

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48:01

#122: The Dirt-Simple Power of Biochar with USBI

Earthlings 2.0 Podcast ·

2025/08/12

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with Myles Gray, Executive Director of the U.S. Biochar Initiative (USBI), to explore how the ancient technique of biochar is making a modern comeback. He unpacks the science, market momentum, and growing demand around biochar — from vineyards and urban forests to concrete and stormwater management. With Microsoft and Google recently signing record-setting biochar carbon removal deals, it’s clear this is more than just a niche soil

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181 results

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