The Reykjavik Grapevine's Podcast

What is the future of Iceland's tech, economic and entrepreneurial sectors? What role does Iceland have to play in global development? Join host Bala Kamallakharan, founder of Startup Iceland, as he explores answers to these questions with some of the brightest minds working in Iceland today. Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson is a software developer and a parliamentarian. He was the member of the parliament who presented the bill to make Iceland join the European Space Agency so any Icelander can become an astronaut. We talk about the unique opportunities Iceland has in relation to space. Futurecast is also available as a video on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/jpEmoQcIavM [https://youtu.be/jpEmoQcIavM]

Today on FutureCast we are chatting with Ari Jónsson. Ari is a NASA Ames Center Research Scientist and Stanford Alumni. He is currently the CEO of AWAREGO and Rector of Reykjavik University, a role he has held since 2007, and he will soon be moving on to become CEO of the institute. Ari is on the board of Iceland Venture Studio and is also an investor. Through his work over the years he has been a good friend, mentor and co-conspirator in building the startup community in Iceland. We will be speaking to him about Space, the opportunities that Iceland offers and his time at NASA.

Jarðgerðarfélagið (the Composting Company) was founded by Julia Brenner and Björk Brynjarsdóttir. They work with circular solutions in bokashi composting for municipalities, companies and individuals. While studying entrepreneurship in Denmark, Björk learned about bokashi composting, which is a method of composting organic ingredients (such as leftovers and organic ingredients from the kitchen) by fermentation. Julia is a soil scientist. They wanted to offer people the opportunity to do something physical to fight climate change rather than just donating money, so they formed Jarðgerðarfélagið. We talk about how Iceland could be a fantastic place for reclaiming soil and building agriculture in Iceland. Try our High Five Club membership - https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ or subscribe to our newsletter - https://grapevine.is/newsletter-sign-up/

Trans children have been made a hot subject of discussion lately, especially in the UK and the US, where numerous state legislatures are trying to ban crucial health care for these young people. But what happens when a trans kid gets support? To explore that, news editor Andie Sophia Fontaine speaks with Marselín Guðmundsdóttir, who came out as trans while still in her teens.

In the 7th Episode of FutureCast the host Bala Kamallakharan is speaking to Anna Worthington De Matos, the Founder and CEO of the Munasafn RVK Tool Library. A not for profit project that aims in extending the life of tools and things through the practical applications of Circular Economy. She is also the organiser for Reddingakaffi events, where so far 642KG of materials have been kept from going to landfills by repairing everyday use items. She believed the best way to implement Circular Economy is to give people accessibility (to information, education, funding, contacts etc). She is in the process of founding the Hringrásarsetur Íslands NGO, which will be the umbrella organisation for all the projects developed aiming on the expansion and implementation of the Circular Economy in Iceland. If you would like to support our efforts in bringing you Icelandic perspective, try our High Five Club membership - https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ ...and to get a compiled information set from Iceland, consider subscribing to the newsletter - https://grapevine.is/newsletter-sign-up/