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Artificial Intelligence
Climate Change
Mental Health
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Energy Transition
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AI Revolution
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Every week on What's Your Problem?, former Planet Money host Jacob Goldstein talks with entrepreneurs and engineers tackling the biggest challenges at the forefront of technology. How do you make a trip to space as routine as a plane flight? How do you turn solar energy into clean fuel? How do you use AI to stop deadly infections before they spread? We hear a lot these days about how the world is ... more

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Artwork for What's Your Problem?

Latest Episodes

When Dr. Lara Jehi began treating epilepsy patients in the 2000s, critical surgical decisions were driven more by clinician intuition and expertise than data. Today, she is a leader of IBM and Cleveland Clinic’s Discovery Accelerator, using advanced ... more

Nir Barzilai is a physician and a researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he runs the Institute for Geroscience. Nir’s problem is this: How can we use lifestyle changes and drugs to slow the process of aging?

In thi... more

Helen Pearson is the author of the book “Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works.” Helen's problem is this: How do you get people to make important decisions based on high-quality evidence, instead of on hunches or habits?

In this episo... more

In 2016, Geoffrey Hinton, one of the inventors of modern AI, predicted that AI would replace radiologists within years. Ten years later, we have a shortage of radiologists. AI has yet to revolutionize the field. What happened, and what does the story... more

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Recent Guests

Nir Barzilai
Physician and researcher; Director of the Institute for Geroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Episode: Can We Slow Down Aging?
Helen Pearson
Science journalist for Nature, author of Beyond Belief
Nature, Beyond Belief (book)
Episode: Why Doctors Use Evidence but Managers (Mostly) Don’t
Saurabh Jha
Radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
Episode: The Job AI Was Supposed to Kill
Michael Dunne
CEO of Dunne Insights, expert on the future of cars
Dunne Insights
Episode: How China Won the Car Industry
Paul Garofolo
Co-founder and CEO, Locus Biosciences
Locus Biosciences
Episode: Using Viruses to Fight Disease
David Otter
Labor economist at MIT, known for work on technology and inequality
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Episode: How AI Could Reduce Inequality
John Mills
CEO and co-founder of Watch Duty
Watch Duty
Episode: Racing Wildfires to Warn the Public
Josh Tyrangiel
Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of AI for Good
The Atlantic
Episode: How AI Could Actually Make the World Better
Betsey Stevenson
Labor economist, University of Michigan
University of Michigan
Episode: Finding Meaning (and Money) in the AI Age

Host

Jacob Goldstein
Host of the show?

Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars from 599 ratings
  • Delete the Process, Crash the Car

    The advertisements are annoying, frequent and blaring.

    Interesting topic but turned off when it was revealed the guest was an Elon Musk fan. Sure it’s possible to work faster but when it comes to public safety this can result in cars that crash and kill people, rockets that crash land in areas where rockets shouldn’t crash. Then there is what was done to Twitter and to democracy and government. Very broken and toxic. Delete the process, demolish the rose garden.

    Musk is also a liar who said he ... more

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    acuteangle
    Australia10 months ago
  • Good, but...

    You have really good content. BUT, you like, can't speak an entire like sentence without like using really distracting like language. Like grow up and learn how to like speak. Your language is like way too like distracting

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    disappointed 206
    United States10 months ago
  • Love the podcast...... Jacob covers lots of interesting topics and the length of the episodes are perfect for when I'm out walking. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the amount of commercials. I get it, you have to generate income to finance the podcast, but a recent episode i listened to had almost 10 minutes of commercials in the 28 minute length.

    Podcast Addict
    4
    kathyaj
    a year ago
  • Fantastic

    Jacob, come on, Nan kept explaining that their climate capture strategy is the opposite of a marginal investor (they are a first mover investor at much higher than marginal cost ) and you kept repeating marginal several times!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Charly358
    United Kingdoma year ago
  • Knowledge and Hope

    This might be my favorite podcast. So many interesting solutions to important current problems. It gives me hope for the future. Jacob has become a great interface between the science, scientist and the listener.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    🌻Jocelyn🌻
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Some listeners critique interview style as interruptive but improvements are noted.
Listeners praise the show's breadth and practical insights across technology and policy.
Guests consistently bring actionable context and clear explanations of complex topics.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#109
United States/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#86
Canada/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#104
United Kingdom/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#59
Australia/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#68
Indonesia/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#78
New Zealand/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The Job AI Was Supposed to Kill
Q: What was your experience using AI five years ago in radiology?
It slowed me down initially because it highlighted things that often turned out not to be real, increasing cognitive burden and requiring an extra check to verify AI output.
How AI Could Reduce Inequality
Q: What are concrete policy options to help workers transition as AI changes the demand for different skills?
He discusses wage insurance to bridge earnings during transitions, more effective retraining programs with real-time evaluation, and universal basic capital to diversify income and give people an ownership stake in capital.
How AI Could Reduce Inequality
Q: Tell me about AI arriving in the labor market differently from computers and what that could mean.
Otter outlines a nuanced view: AI could expand the scope of who can perform expert work, potentially lowering service prices and broadening job opportunities, but it will not automatically empower everyone; domain knowledge and appropriate tools will still be essential.
Racing Wildfires to Warn the Public
Q: If you download the app, how does a user experience the alert and the story of a fire as it unfolds?
Users get a pin on a map, a live feed of radio chatter, updates on resources being dispatched, and a running storyline of how the incident is developing, including when forward progress is stopped and when the situation is under control, giving a sense of safety and closure.
Racing Wildfires to Warn the Public
Q: Okay, let's talk about the LA Fires of twenty twenty five. Tell me about what it meant for Watch Duty.
Watch Duty scaled massively during LA in 2025, drawing on tens of thousands of radio-derived signals and military-grade coordination among volunteers and professionals to avoid false alarms and provide a real-time picture of how the fire spread and what was being done, ultimately becoming a lifeline during a time of overwhelmed official systems.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
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Frequently Asked Questions About What's Your Problem?

What is What's Your Problem? about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Across recent episodes, rigorous experts and ambitious founders discuss how technology, policy, and entrepreneurship collide to tackle big problems—from aging biology and AI in medicine to 3D mapping, lunar economies, and climate solutions. Conversations mix practical deployments (home robotics, AI agents, phage therapy) with systemic questions about education, labor markets, and global competition, often highlighting the human side of ambitious tech—trust, governance, and the storytelling needed to turn breakthroughs into real-world impact. A notable strength is the breadth: interviews span biotech, AI, space, agriculture, and energy, always centering how thoughtful experimentation and pragmatic business sense can move society forward. The... more

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1. Business History
2. Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
3. The Economics of Everyday Things
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5. 99% Invisible

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What's Your Problem? launched 5 years ago and published 207 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on What's Your Problem??

Recent guests on What's Your Problem? include:

1. Nir Barzilai
2. Helen Pearson
3. Saurabh Jha
4. Michael Dunne
5. Paul Garofolo
6. David Otter
7. John Mills
8. Josh Tyrangiel

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