YANSS 229 – Jacob Goldstein explores how solving a nested recursion of increasingly specific problems creates the cross-pollination of progress

In this episode, Jacob Goldstein, the longtime host of NPR’s Planet Money, talks about his new podcast, a show all about technology and business called What’s Your Problem?

Goldstein spent more than a decade reporting stories that make economic journalism approachable. He’s also the author of the book Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing, which the New York Times called “a history of currency full of astonishing tales you might tell a friend in the pub.”

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In his new weekly show, What’s Your Problem?, Goldstein’s curiosity leads him into conversations with top global entrepreneurs and engineers about the cutting-edge problems they’re trying to solve. Each episode focuses on a new company and innovator and their challenges, from teaching computers to understand humans better to running a niche business where access to consumers hinges on tech company algorithms.

Every week on What’s Your Problem, entrepreneurs and engineers talk about the future they’re trying to build – and the problems they have to solve to get there. For instance, how do you take a drone delivery service you’ve built in Rwanda and make it work in North Carolina? How do you convince people to buy a house on the Internet? How do you sell thousands of dog ramps to weiner dogs all across America when a pandemic breaks the global supply chain?

Jacob Goldstein

Jacob’s interest in technology and the changing nature of work has led him to stories on UPS, the Luddites, and the history of light. His aversion to paying retail has led him to stories on Costco, Spirit Airlines, and index funds.

Before discovering podcasts, Jacob worked as a staff writer at the Wall Street Journal, the Miami Herald, and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. He has done stories for the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford and a master’s in journalism from Columbia.

He lives, perhaps inevitably, in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters.

Links and Sources

Download â€“ iTunes â€“ Stitcher â€“ RSS â€“ Patreon – Soundcloud – Omny – Spotify – Audible – Amazon

Previous Episodes

What’s Your Problem Website