The Moonshot Podcast

Neurons and Networks

This episode of The Moonshot Podcast explores what the mind can teach us about technology and how technology can help our minds. First, Astro is joined by Sarah Laszlo from Project Valkyrie to discuss how looking at biological brains, such as that of a fruit fly, might unlock the key to more energy-efficient supercomputing. Next, Astro speaks with Obi Felton who led project Amber, a moonshot that attempted to build a more affordable EEG device that could detect and measure mental health diseases like depression and anxiety. – Hosted by Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, The Moonshot Podcast goes behind the scenes with creators and inventors trying to find radical solutions and breakthrough technologies to the world’s biggest problems. These are the untold stories of innovation from 16 years of Alphabet’s moonshot factory. The Moonshot Podcast is a Pique Action production for X, The Moonshot Factory, produced in association with Blanchard House. If you want to take your own moonshots, we've developed a certificate course with MasterClass on how to take bold ideas and translate them into real world impact. Check it out here: https://www.masterclass.com/certificates/breakthrough-innovation-strategy-from-bold-idea-to-business-impact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Digital Trail

This episode of The Moonshot Podcast explores two ambitious moonshots focused on bringing "visibility" to the world's most complex and opaque digital and physical systems. First, Astro is joined by Mike Wiacek, Stephen Gillett, and Shapor Naghibzadeh from Chronicle to discuss how they built a digital immune system for cybersecurity, using Google-scale data analysis to detect anomalous activity and combat a global economic threat. Next, Astro speaks with Steven Chen and Suresh Vishnubhatla from Chorus, a moonshot focused on indexing the physical world to address monumental supply chain waste and inefficiency. 0:00 - Intro 01:25 - The "A-ha" moment that started Chronicle 03:35 - Rethinking the future of cybersecurity 05:17 - Building a "Digital Immune System" 11:35 - The terrifying scale of cyberattacks 10 years ago 13:08 - Understanding the 3 tiers of cybercriminals 15:46 - How Chronicle differed from other cybersecurity tools 19:27 - The “Coming Out” party: taking the tech public 21:12 - Returning to Google 23:23 - Memories and lessons learned from their time at X 24:53 - Enter Project Chorus: Meet Steven and Suresh 26:11 - Solving the supply chain’s biggest blind spot 29:41 - From idea to execution: How Chorus took flight 31:07 - What Chorus offers today 34:26 - A deep dive into the tech 36:46 - The evolution of Chorus 40:27 - How Chorus achieves “System-Wide” visibility 44:17 - Why every item in the supply chain matters 46:07 - Behind the scenes: Funniest project moments 47:28 - How Chorus could fundamentally change the world 48:55 - Final thoughts – Hosted by Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, The Moonshot Podcast goes behind the scenes with creators and inventors trying to find radical solutions and breakthrough technologies to the world’s biggest problems. These are the untold stories of innovation from 16 years of Alphabet’s moonshot factory. The Moonshot Podcast is a Pique Action production for X, The Moonshot Factory, produced in association with Blanchard House. If you want to take your own moonshots, we've developed a certificate course with MasterClass on how to take bold ideas and translate them into real world impact. Check it out here: https://www.masterclass.com/certificates/breakthrough-innovation-strategy-from-bold-idea-to-business-impact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Silicon Horizons

This episode of The Moonshot Podcast explores how X is reimagining computer chip design to power the next generation of AI. Computer engineer Tammo Spalink joins host Astro Teller to discuss Project Positron and their radical decision to build "positronic brains" for robots that prioritize real-time response over raw throughput. Astro then speaks with Raj Apte about Project Bodger, a moonshot that uses AI to design the hardware of the future. By moving away from traditional, hand-drawn architectures and toward "inverse design," the team explores how computers can create chips that are faster and more efficient than anything humans could design on their own. Finally, the conversation looks toward the future of automated chip design and its role in accelerating Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). From personalizing healthcare to solving complex climate challenges, Astro and Raj discuss how these breakthroughs are ensuring the "silent, beating heart" of technology can keep up with our biggest ambitions. Hosted by Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, The Moonshot Podcast goes behind the scenes with creators and inventors trying to find radical solutions and breakthrough technologies to the world’s biggest problems. These are the untold stories of innovation from 15 years of Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory. The Moonshot Podcast is a Pique Action production for X, The Moonshot Factory, produced in association with Blanchard House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Ocean Fuel, Desert Rain

This episode of The Moonshot Podcast explores two moonshots that investigated very different ways to use water: harvesting it from the air and transforming it into fuel. Astro Teller first chats with Neil Treat and Claudia Truesdell from Project H2E (“Hydration to Everyone”). The H2E team explored whether it would be possible to improve access to safe drinking water by harvesting water from the air. Next he sits down with Kathy Hannun from Foghorn, an X project that found a way to pull carbon and hydrogen out of seawater and combine it to create a new type of carbon-neutral fuel. The team successfully created fuel using this method, however they weren’t able to do so at a cost competitive with gasoline. 0:00 - Intro 00:58 - Meet Neil Treat and Claudia Treusdell from H2E 01:48 - The crisis: Global water insecurity 04:14 - The location of water-stressed communities 06:17 - The "Magic Box": Harvesting water from the air 09:00 - Defining H2E’s "Kill Criteria" 09:25 - Mechanics: How the H2e device functioned 11:24 - Engineering the internal air flow 12:51 - Material science: Selecting the right desiccant 14:29 - The "Mule": Prototyping a moonshot 15:24 - Early H2E prototype evolution 16:59 - Surprising engineering hurdles 18:48 - Sharing H2E’s results with the world 20:12 - Could H2E’s moonshot become a reality today? 22:12 -What the H2E team are up to today 24:01 - Project Foghorn: The fuel from the sea 24:49 - The origins of Foghorn 27:09 - Why Foghorn pursued a carbon-neutral fuel for combustion engines 28:59 - The process: Extracting CO2 from seawater 30:35 - Chemistry: Turning ocean water into methanol 33:01 - Foghorn’s "Kill Criteria" and testing 39:13 - Why the project was wound down 42:21 - Lessons learned 43:18 - Remembering Matt Eisaman 44:33 - Conclusion – Hosted by Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, The Moonshot Podcast goes behind the scenes with creators and inventors trying to find radical solutions and breakthrough technologies to the world’s biggest problems. These are the untold stories of innovation from 16 years of Alphabet’s moonshot factory. The Moonshot Podcast is a Pique Action production for X, The Moonshot Factory, produced in association with Blanchard House. If you want to take your own moonshots, we've developed a certificate course with MasterClass on how to take bold ideas and translate them into real world impact. Check it out here: https://www.masterclass.com/certificates/breakthrough-innovation-strategy-from-bold-idea-to-business-impact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Breaking New Ground

This episode of The Moonshot Podcast explores how X, The Moonshot Factory, is reimagining a better way to plan and make smarter, faster building decisions to address the global housing crisis. Host Astro Teller is joined by architect Michelle Kaufmann to discuss the quest of making sustainable, high-quality homes accessible to everyone through the power of prefabrication and AI. They look back on how the team developed a first-of-its-kind software system that could iterate hundreds of building designs in seconds—essentially creating an "intelligent clay" that calculates costs and structural requirements in real time. Next, Astro talks with Adrian Walker and Julia Ling about their new venture, Anori. They discuss how generative AI and data-sharing are finally digitizing the construction industry, allowing developers to de-risk projects and optimize for health and sustainability from day one. Hosted by Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, The Moonshot Podcast goes behind the scenes with creators and inventors trying to find radical solutions and breakthrough technologies to the world’s biggest problems. These are the untold stories of innovation from 15 years of Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory. The Moonshot Podcast is a Pique Action production for X, The Moonshot Factory, produced in association with Blanchard House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]