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PODCAST

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast

Grow Everything explores the world of biology as technology. Hosts Erum Khan and Karl Schmieder interview leaders and influencers biologizing industries with tools like synthetic biology, precision fermentation, bioprospecting, and more. These companies make biomaterials from waste, cosmetics that restore healthy hair and skin, and delicious cultivated foods in a bioreactor and so much more. Join us as we discuss the latest and greatest across biotech, engineered biology, entrepreneurship, and

science life sciences

All Episodes

00:45:26

170. There's a Bug for That: Sophia Xu on...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/02/27

Sophia Xu, cofounder of Carbon Bridge, joins us to discuss how her company is revolutionizing gas fermentation with notebook-sized modular bioreactors that convert waste gases into valuable fuels and chemicals. From rejecting medical school to focus on climate biotech, to developing reactors 80% more energy efficient than traditional methods, Sophia shares how Carbon Bridge's platform enables wild-type methanotrophs to perform 500% better than genetically modified microbes. The conversation explores

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01:15:14

169. AI, Antivenom, and Antibodies: Previewing...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/02/20

John Cumbers returns to the Grow Everything podcast for his fourth appearance to discuss the cutting edge of synthetic biology and the upcoming SynBioBeta 2026 conference. From a man who's been bitten by snakes over 200 times to create universal anti-venom, to the race between the US and China in bio-manufacturing, John reveals why the bioeconomy is reaching an inflection point. We explore how AI is transforming organism design, the $50 million deals being struck for AI models in pharma, and why

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00:56:59

168. Biomanufacturing 101: Rebuilding the Modern...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/02/13

Karl and Erum break down how biology is transforming the production of everything from cosmetics to construction materials. They explore why the petrochemical era is giving way to biological manufacturing, examining both the spectacular failures of early biofuels and the emerging success stories of companies like K18 and Mango Materials. Karl and Erum explain the fundamentals of fermentation, precision fermentation, and cell-free manufacturing, while introducing concepts like distributed biomanufactu

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01:15:17

167. From Scrappy to Scalable: Daniel Scharff Grows...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/02/06

Daniel Scharff, founder of Startup CPG, joins the Grow Everything podcast to share how he built the world's largest community for emerging consumer brands. With 35,000 members in their Slack channel and over 75 in-person events annually, Startup CPG is democratizing access to retail buyers, investors, and industry resources that would typically cost founders thousands in consulting fees. Daniel discusses the harsh realities of CPG entrepreneurship—including why only 20-25% of brands survive beyond a

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01:10:01

166. The Great Reformulation: Joshua Lachter Rethinks...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/01/30

Joshua Lachter, co-founder of Synonym, joins us for an in-depth conversation about the future of biomanufacturing and what he calls "the great reformulation." We explore how biology is poised to replace petrochemicals across industries, the infrastructure challenges holding back commercial scale production, and why standardization is critical for mass adoption. Joshua shares insights from Synonym's work building commercial biomanufacturing facilities, including their groundbreaking project in

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01:01:53

165. Biology Behind the Brands: Inside P&G’s...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/01/23

Karl and Erum sit down with Amy Trejo and Jose Carlos Garcia Garcia from Procter & Gamble to uncover how one of the world's largest consumer goods companies is leveraging biotechnology to innovate at unprecedented scale. Founded 189 years ago as a bio-waste upcycling partnership between a candle maker and a soap maker, P&G has always been rooted in biomaterials innovation—from pioneering laundry enzymes in the 1960s to developing cold water enzyme technologies that have saved billions in

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01:09:15

164. From Plasmids to Pallets: How Erin Marasco...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/01/16

We kick off our CPG series with Dr. Erin Marasco, Senior Director of Global Biology at Cargill, who leads innovation in ingredient discovery, strain development, and biotech applications. Erin takes us on a fascinating journey from the fundamentals of fermentation to the complexities of scaling biotech products from lab bench to global supply chains. We explore Cargill's 30-year history in biomanufacturing, discuss why terms like "precision fermentation" might be doing more harm than go

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00:51:51

163. Consulting the Crystal Ball of Biology: Karl &...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/01/09

Karl and Erum kick off 2026 by reviewing their 2025 forecasts—celebrating the wins (DeSci's rise, waste as a resource, AI-biology convergence) and acknowledging the misses (no biotech M&A boom, no quantum biology breakthrough yet). Then they unveil their boldest predictions for the year ahead: the first functional AI-composed genome entering production, a major non-sterile biomanufacturing facility breaking ground, biological arbitrage creating competitive advantages against tariffs, consumer

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00:40:01

162. New Year’s Replay with New Insights:...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2026/01/02

Karl and Erum kick off 2026 with deep reflections on prosperity, consciousness, and the idea that we might be living in a simulation. But the real focus is on a concept that could make or break biotech companies: orchestration. They dive into why most biotech innovations outside of pharma struggle to commercialize and introduce the idea of value chain syndication—bringing together innovators, manufacturers, investors, and big incumbents to create entire ecosystems rather than just individual deals. U

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00:52:29

161. (Holiday Replay) Leaf It to Science: How Foray...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/12/26

In this special holiday replay episode, we revisit our conversation with Ashley Beckwith, founder of Foray Biosciences, who shares her groundbreaking work in plant cell culture and tissue engineering. Growing up in Colorado, Ashley watched forests disappear to housing development and wildfire—experiences that sparked her lifelong mission to reimagine how we produce plant materials. After training as an engineer and working in medical device development, she pivoted to apply tissue engineering concept

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00:49:08

160. Sequins Without Sin: Santa Puts Cellsense's...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/12/19

In this episode, Karl and Erum speak with Aradhita Parasrampuria, founder of CellSense, about revolutionizing the fashion embellishment industry through biology. Aradhita shares her journey from witnessing toxic dye masters in Gujarat textile factories to creating biodegradable sequins, beads, and buttons using algae and bacterial cellulose. She explains how her materials can be produced at room temperature, glow in the dark through bioluminescence, and are manufactured through an automated system th

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01:10:07

159. The Future Is Fungi Awards: From Mushroom Dreams...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/12/12

Karl and Erum explore the untapped potential of fungi through three groundbreaking interviews. First, they speak with Susanne Gloersen, founder of the Future is Fungi Award, about why fungi represent the next frontier in biotech and how her global platform is accelerating fungal innovation across industries—from soil remediation to firefighting foam. Next, they sit down with Ricky Cassini of Michroma, winner of the Future is Fungi Award, who explains how his team engineers fungi to produce natural

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00:58:45

158. Mycelium On, Sound Off: How GOB's Lauryn Menard...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/12/05

Lauryn Menard, co-founder of Gob, joins us to discuss how she's tackling the 40 billion petroleum-based earplugs produced annually by creating the first biodegradable, mycelium-based alternative. Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2025 and featured in Time Magazine's Best Inventions, Lauryn shares her journey from industrial designer to biotech entrepreneur. She explains why she chose mycelium over other biomaterials, how she scaled production without building a

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01:09:12

157. (Thanksgiving Replay) Meat the Future: How Paul...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/11/28

In this Thanksgiving replay, we revisit our conversation with Paul Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of Better Meat Co, who's pioneering the use of mycelium-based proteins as a sustainable alternative to animal meat. Paul shares his remarkable journey from starting an animal welfare organization in high school to becoming a biotech entrepreneur. He explains how fungi fermentation creates protein-rich, meat-like textures in less than 24 hours without the environmental toll of traditional agriculture

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01:18:08

156. When Matter Makes Decisions: Michael Levin on...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/11/21

Join us for a mind-bending conversation with Professor Michael Levin, director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, as he reveals how cells make decisions without brains, store memories without DNA, and navigate anatomical space like we navigate physical space. Discover how his team created two-headed immortal worms whose memory persists across regeneration cycles, how bioelectrical patterns control body shape independently of genetics, and why the future of medicine lies in

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00:52:12

155. Bad Hairdo to Good HairDAO: Andrew Verbinnen on...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/11/14

We sit down with Andrew Verbinnen, founder of HairDAO, who's revolutionizing how we approach hair loss research and treatment. After experiencing hair loss himself at nineteen, Andrew discovered that androgenetic alopecia - affecting 95% of hair loss cases - receives almost no funding because it's classified as cosmetic rather than a disease. By creating a patient-led biotech organization combining a thriving online community with an in-house high-throughput lab, HairDAO has driven research costs

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00:51:47

154. No Trees Were Harmed: Symmetry Wood's Gabe Tavas...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/11/07

Karl and Erum sit down with Gabe Tavas, CEO and co-founder of Symmetry Wood, who is pioneering a revolutionary approach to wood production. Gabe shares his journey from design student to bio-innovator, inspired by his time volunteering in rural Ecuador where he witnessed the devastating impact of plastic waste. His company has developed Pyrus, the first solid wood made primarily from bacterial nanocellulose—specifically, waste from the world's largest kombucha brewery. Instead of logging

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01:02:57

153. Ghosts of Biotech Past: Veronica Breckenridge’s...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/10/31

In this Halloween-themed episode, Veronica Breckenridge from First Bite returns to discuss her eye-opening "Industrial Bio-Manufacturing Graveyard Report." Drawing from her experience scaling companies like Apple and Tesla, Veronica reveals why 80% of bio-manufacturing startups fail—and it's not because of bad science. The conversation explores critical mistakes like targeting commodity markets too early, underestimating downstream processing costs, and the "build it and they will

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00:41:00

152. Crystals in the Cosmos: Varda Rewrites Drug...

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/10/24

In this episode, we explore how Varda Space Industries is pioneering pharmaceutical manufacturing in microgravity with Chief Strategy Officer Michael Riley and Chief Science Officer Adrian Radocea. The team discusses how removing gravity from the crystallization process enables better drug formulations—creating more stable, bioavailable medicines that don't require refrigeration. From their reusable spacecraft that can manufacture drugs in orbit and return them to Earth, to their vision of making

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00:49:23

Report on Reports: Cash Flow, Carbon, and the Bioeconomy

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast ·

2025/10/17

In this episode, Erum and Karl unpack six major reports that define the current state of synthetic biology and the bioeconomy. From investment trends to national security concerns, from manufacturing failures to trillion-dollar opportunities, these reports paint a complex picture of an industry at a critical turning point.Episode Links:Ig Nobel PrizeSynBioBeta 2025 Investment ReportWorld Economic Forum’s Report with CapgeminiAdvanced Biotech for Sustainability Coalition Report BIO and Kearney’s

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172 results

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