https://www.freshdialogues.com Alison van Diggelen in conversation with leaders in business, technology and the arts Sat, 05 Mar 2022 00:15:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Alison van Diggelen in conversation with leaders in business, technology and the arts - with a green focus. Alison van Diggelen in conversation with leaders in business, technology and the arts Alison van Diggelen http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/freshdialogues-logo-300-x-300.jpghttps://www.freshdialogues.com fresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/feed/podcast/ no alison@freshdialogues.comAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2022/03/04/im-so-proud-of-my-people-ukrainian-tech-leader-a-bbc-dialogue/ Fri, 04 Mar 2022 17:18:12 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10540 Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttps://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ukraine-FD-podcast-Sergey-final-.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window I can only imagine you share my disgust and horror at what’s going on in Ukraine. It’s heart breaking. This week on Fresh Dialogues, we get an intimate look at the war, from a Ukrainian in Silicon Valley who has team members on the front lines. Highlights of our interview were picked up by the BBC World Service. I asked Sergey Lubarsky what’s likely to happen in the next few days and week. He explained why he expects an apocalyptic escalation of violence in Ukraine and how that could be averted. “The world has never been that close to a nuclear holocaust. Never. You have a deranged person with a nuclear strike capabilities who has nothing to lose. He has zero regard for human life….Putin is irrational. He cannot back off, has no exit strategy. He’s not going to be killed by his cabinet members.”  Sergey Lubarsky, tech entrepreneur.  [Photo credit: Nicole, a half Russian, half Ukrainian girl attending an anti-war protest by Kaylee C Greenlee Beal, San Antonio Express News] This week, I reached out to Lubarsky who was born in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, close to the border with Russia. Today, Lubarsky is a Silicon Valley based tech entrepreneur with a team of 15 in Ukraine. He shared: powerful stories from colleagues on the front lines of the Ukrainian resistance. an insightful perspective on the role of tech companies in the information war. why President Zelensky is “the George Washington of Ukraine.” the worst case scenario he expects, and how it might be prevented. BBC Host, Fergus Nicoll, invited me on Wednesday to share highlights of my interview on the BBC World Service program, Business Matters. We also discussed, with Peter Ryan of ABC in Australia, the propaganda war in Russia and Ukraine; the role of cryptocurrency; and how President Zelensky and his cabinet are expertly leveraging social media to rally support from tech companies and the Western world to meet their urgent needs. I also added my perspective on Donald Trump’s latest speech, when he calls the U.S a “stupid country” and praises Putin’s “smarts”. Given what’s happening today in Ukraine, in my view, it should make his Republicans supporters examine their consciences.  Listen to the BBC Business Matters podcast (starting at 15:30) Here’s the Fresh Dialogues podcast  https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ukraine-FD-podcast-Sergey-final-.mp3 This week’s Fresh Dialogues podcast includes highlights of the BBC program and some powerful extracts from my interview with Sergey Lubarsky. Here is a transcript of some of our conversation (edited for length and clarity): Sergey Lubarsky: I’ve never had Ukrainian by passport. I left (31 years ago) holding a Soviet passport. Until the first invasion in 2014, I would never consider myself Ukrainian because it was a moot point, I’m bilingual. Alison van Diggelen: How do you feel about that now? Sergey Lubarsky: I’m proud to be Ukrainian. I’m so proud of my people. A week ago if you asked me, I’d have said there’s corruption there… (Today) I’m speechless, they deserve so much credit.  Sergey has a team of 15 in Ukraine. He says some are on the front lines, some are hiding in subways or basements and some have fled the country.  Alison van Diggelen: Are you concerned that they’re in danger? Sergey Lubarsky: Several of them joined the national territory defense. It’s basically the national guard.  Alison van Diggelen: Are they sharing details? Sergey Lubarsky:  One of my developers said: This is open safari. We’re burning their tanks, the Russians are fleeing their tanks, the locals are killing them by the bunch, their dogs are eating their flesh and we’re [...] I can only imagine you share my disgust and horror at what’s going on in Ukraine. It’s heart breaking. This week on Fresh Dialogues, we get an intimate look at the war, from a Ukrainian in Silicon Valley who has team members on the front [...] 21:00 Ukraine, Sergey Lubarsky, war criminal, Putin, nuclear war, Silicon Valley, tech, Alison van Diggelen no alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2021/12/09/just-start-julian-guthrie-shares-her-action-mindset-tips/ Thu, 09 Dec 2021 20:15:43 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10516 Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Julian Guthrie about her action packed career as a journalist, best selling author and founder of Alphy, an exciting new app designed to empower and inspire women. Julian is the epitome of an action mindset! Here’s her take on what to do when someone blocks your career path: “’No’ is not something that you should feel is fixed. That ‘no’ in fact, simply means: find another way around. And if you fully believe in what you’re doing, find another way, keep working at it. If you’re earnest, if you’re authentic, if you are bringing a certain skill set and a vision, find another way.” Julian Guthrie, Alphy CEO and Founder We explored why we get stuck and what we can do to get unstuck, and build momentum in our lives and careers. Julian’s story and the one she shares about XPrize’s Peter Diamandis demonstrates how sometimes, having audacious goals, and making audacious promises without having all the pieces in place, can help propel you into an action mindset and phenomenal success. This week on Fresh Dialogues, I’m including highlights of our conversation. I hope it will inspire you to have an action mindset.  Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast on Listen Notes,  on iTunes or below: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Julian-G-Action-FD-podcast-.mp3 . First of all, you might be wondering what do you mean by an action mindset? Here’s my definition: it’s the belief that you can take action to change your future; that your abilities are not fixed, but can be improved by a bias to action. If you’re familiar with the term Growth Mindset, think of an action mindset as a growth mindset on steroids. Not only do you embrace new challenges as a learning opportunity, but you harness that attitude to propel you to take more and more action. New research reveals that our mindsets are NOT binary as was previously thought. We don’t have either a growth or a fixed mindset. Instead we’re all capable of accessing a continuum of mindsets. By becoming aware of our mindset triggers, and using tools from psychology, we can nurture a proactive and potent ACTION MINDSET. I asked Julian to share the story of one excruciating time she was stuck and found it hard to move forward. After she secured a book deal for her best seller, “The Billionaire and the Mechanic” she hit a wall. She could not convince Oracle founder Larry Ellison (the billionaire in question) to be interviewed for the project. Without his cooperation, her book was dead in the water.  Here’s what Julian told me (edited for length and clarity). Julian Guthrie: So I get this book deal and there’s a lot of interest in it and my editor starts asking how are the interviews going? In the meantime I’m frantically reaching out to his people at Oracle in the marketing departments. I tried Larry himself, had his email and got no response from him. It went on for a couple of months, so needless to say it was getting more and more unnerving. And finally, one of his chief marketing people told me: you know, Larry answers his emails personally at between one and two am, so you might want to try then.  So I set my alarm.  There’s a fine line between reaching out to someone politely, but consistently, and bugging someone so much, you’re going to get a ‘no’ or they’re going to block you. So I would set my alarm and I’d get up and I’d send some very short email, at 1am or 2am. And I did that for a period of two or three weeks, and got no response. But I kept at it and finally, I sent him another email. “This is a great story…” Brevity is key in these emails I’ve learned.  And it was probably at 2am, very late, and I got an immediate response. And it was from Larry and it was a three word response, and it was: “Happy to talk.” And that was what began a year of very in-depth interviews.  So it put me on that journey. I went from: I was stuck and I was [...] Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Julian Guthrie about her action packed career as a journalist, best selling author and founder of Alphy, an exciting new app designed to empower and inspire women. Julian is the epitome of an action [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2021/11/16/climate-action-mindset-in-glasgow-a-bbc-dialogue/ Tue, 16 Nov 2021 22:01:10 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10498 It was hard to focus on anything else these last two weeks as the Climate Conference took place in my home city of Glasgow. Although the deal isn’t perfect, I have three reasons for hope. This week on Fresh Dialogues, I’m sharing those reasons and a recent conversation I had with Vivienne Nunis on the BBC World Service. Her reporting from Brazil also gives me hope and underlines our need for an action mindset on climate. What’s an action mindset? On a personal level, an action mindset is the belief that your actions can change your future, that your abilities are not fixed, but can be improved by a bias to action. Your action can change your future and the future of the planet. The promises made in Glasgow must now be followed up by action. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said it best: “An idea without action is like a bow without an arrow,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Photo credit above: Jasmin Sessler Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast this week: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Glasgow-FD-climate-podcast-nov-21.mp3 . Here are my three reasons for hope after Glasgow’s COP26: Renewal of international collaboration: The cooperation in Glasgow was in stark contrast to the nationalistic trends we’ve witnessed around the world in recent years. The unexpected joint statement by the U.S. and China gave me hope, as well as the final agreement which requires countries to come back next year with even more ambitious plans. Private sector driving change: Mark Carney’s announcement of a $130 Trillion commitment from financial institutions is significant. Enlisting the private sector to finance the transition to net zero is crucial, but it also needs to stop funding for fossil fuels. Regulation could accelerate that change by penalizing institutions for holding dirty fuel assets on their balance sheets.  The deforestation agreement: This historic pact was signed by countries that account for about 85% of the world’s forests, including Brazil.  The agreement aims to conserve and speed up restoration of forests and increase investment to promote sustainable forest management and support for indigenous communities. It adds about $19 billion in public and private funds, including large contributions from the Ford Foundation and foundations led by Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg. One powerful speech in Glasgow which caught my attention was that of Txai Surui, a 24-year-old indigenous climate activist from Brazil who accused global leaders of “closing their eyes” to climate change. “The animals are disappearing, the rivers are dying… The Earth is speaking: she tells us we have no more time,” Surui says. She urged leaders to think of people like her in “the front line of the climate emergency”, and she shared a moving story about a dear friend who has been murdered for protecting the forest. Sadly, her friend is one of thousands.  Making forests worth more alive than dead The three largest rainforests in the world are located in the Amazon, Congo River basin and Southeast Asia. Together they absorb about a third of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2020, the world lost a staggering 100,000 square miles of forest — a swathe of land bigger than the United Kingdom. Is there a role for the private sector to step in where governments have failed? The key to stopping deforestation is making forests worth more alive than dead. “We’re going to work to ensure markets recognize the true economic value of natural carbon sinks and motivate governments, landowners and stakeholders to prioritize conservation,” President    Biden said in Glasgow. The BBC’s Vivienne Nunis spoke to Robert Muggah of the Igarapi Institute about the fate of Brazil’s rainforest and the urgency of documenting the destruction and taking action to reverse current trends. Although land clearing, for mining and agriculture has increased under Brazil’s President Bolsonaro, [...] It was hard to focus on anything else these last two weeks as the Climate Conference took place in my home city of Glasgow. Although the deal isn’t perfect, I have three reasons for hope. This week on Fresh Dialogues, I’m sharing those reasons [...] 7:00 Climate action, Glasgow, Fresh Dialogues, Action Mindset, Alison van Diggelen, Brazil, rainforest, hope no alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2021/08/06/finding-your-purpose-the-hard-way-a-bbc-report/ Fri, 06 Aug 2021 14:34:16 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10473 This is a timely story about addiction, suffering, and how one tenacious woman found her purpose in life. Everyone I’ve talked to about this story has been fascinated, full of questions. That got me more and more excited about sharing it. Sometimes I just pinch myself that I became an accidental journalist. This week more than ever.  Interviewing people like Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Meryl Streep is thrilling. Being in the same space as the Dalai Lama, or witnessing the first solar-powered plane take off from a Silicon Valley runway is inspiring, but this month’s assignment for the BBC outshines all of that. Raising awareness about a relatively unknown, and potentially lethal syndrome, and helping to save lives, gives my work a more profound purpose. My research shows the syndrome is growing in prevalence and severity around the world.  Katie Nava, a nurse in California, almost died from this syndrome, but she’s now helping people recover. I’m so thankful to her for sharing her vulnerability and her inspiring story so candidly.  “I gave up weed and went to my Facebook page. I’ve found my calling. It was an unfortunate way to find it. I owe my life to the page. We’re spreading awareness.” Nurse, Katie Nava. We’re all aware that the impacts of the Covid pandemic on our mental health has been brutal. The data is only now coming to light and experts say it’s just the tip of the iceberg. So, if one of your coping mechanisms has been to start using, or use pot a wee bit more than you did previously, please read on and share this with friends who might be over-indulging  their love for cannabis.  And tell your friends in the medical field how to identify this syndrome.  Keith Humphreys is a professor at Stanford, an expert in addiction, and one of my favorite academic experts to interview. He sums up the problem like this: “Everyone in public health needs to be engaged and not fall for the line that cannabis is unlike any other drug in history. Every drug can have a bad effect. That’s the reality of our experience, the reality of chemistry.” Keith Humphreys Photo credit above: www.maxpixel.net Here’s the report that aired this week on the BBC World Service program, Health Check. Listen to the BBC podcast (starts at 12:34) And Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast below: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Cannabis-FD-podcast-final.wav   Here’s a longer version of the transcript: Alison van Diggelen: When Katie Nava had her first experience of Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, CHS, she felt like she was going to die… Katie Nava: It’s the most painful thing. You want to commit suicide in the middle of an episode. The intensity made me nauseous. I’d spend the rest of day on the floor throwing up in this excruciating knotted up, doubled over pain. Like someone took a knife and twisted it in your stomach. You can’t stop it. We’ve coined the term scromiting: screaming while you vomit. My pain was always in the exact same place: It’s right where your stomach and esophagus meet. It’s just on fire. My throat would always be on fire, I had post nasal drip all the time… Alison van Diggelen: For four years, Katie Nava, a licensed nurse in Southern California, was in and out of the Emergency Room, and had countless appointments with gastro, ENT and other specialist doctors. She had CAT Scans, colonoscopies, and doctors even suggested surgery to remove her gall bladder. Despite a digital trail of medical evidence from her Kaiser doctors, no one could identify what ailed her. Katie Nava: I started thinking I was crazy. They would say nothing is wrong with me. I was getting labeled as a drug seeker. It hurt so much. Alison van Diggelen: Finally, a nurse at another hospital recognized the symptoms and asked Katie Nava if she used marijuana. She was diagnosed with Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, also known as CHS. The first mention of CHS in the [...] This is a timely story about addiction, suffering, and how one tenacious woman found her purpose in life. Everyone I’ve talked to about this story has been fascinated, full of questions. That got me more and more excited about sharing it. [...] katie nava, hyperemesis, cannabinoid, CHS, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2021/04/28/value-curiosity-over-conviction-says-superstar-thinker-adam-grant-a-bbc-dialogue/ Wed, 28 Apr 2021 15:18:08 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10451 Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttps://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FD-podcast-Adam-Grant-BBC-dialogue-Apr-21.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New WindowHyperbole is overused these days, but when the Financial Times calls someone a superstar, I’m apt to repeat the title, especially if the person in question is so humble that he insists his impact is “a mystery.” Adam Grant is a Wharton School Professor and influential author. Lately he’s become a “superstar management thinker” according to the FT’s Andrew Hill. I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam last month about his new book Think Again, and his wise words have resonated with me ever since. Last week I was invited to be a guest on the BBC World Service program, Business Matters. The London producers asked me if I had interviewed anyone interesting lately, so how could I resist sharing some of Adam’s insights? But even superstars can be upstaged. This week’s podcast also features a rare appearance from my dear old dog, Mookie. Working from home is one thing, but broadcasting from home when it’s time for your dog’s walk, is a little risky! When BBC presenter Fergus Nicoll asked me about the idea of adding Covid border controls between states in America,  Mookie couldn’t help but share his perspective. You can hear clearly: he’s not a fan! I look forward to sharing more of Adam’s observations and research in my next podcast: on why kindness builds resilience, what Malcolm Gladwell taught him about writing books, and the upsides of anger and frustration. And who hasn’t experienced some frustration over this challenging last year? He even suggests we think again about Elon Musk. According to Adam, despite his tough manager reputation, Musk scores off the charts on one far-reaching measure of kindness.   Here are highlights of our BBC discussion: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FD-podcast-Adam-Grant-BBC-dialogue-Apr-21.mp3 . And here’s a transcript, edited for length and clarity: Fergus Nicoll: On Business Matters, we talk to people who help us understand the way we should approach business, the way our workforce works most effectively, especially as we come out of the Coronavirus pandemic. Alison, you’ve been talking to someone who’s a bit of a management guru, who has a few pointers for us, in terms of management style? Alison van Diggelen: I recently interviewed Wharton School Professor and “superstar management psychologist” Adam Grant. His latest book is called Think Again. He urges us to nurture more open minds. He has a clear recipe for how to identify our biases and blind spots, and become less dogmatic and more “scientific” in our decision making. He explains why he’s been called a “logic bully” and why we call need a Challenge Network. Adam Grant: I think the first step is to catch yourself when you slip into preaching, prosecuting or politicking. So I think we’re all vulnerable to these mindsets. When you’re in preacher mode, you believe you’ve already found the truth and you’re just trying to proselytize it. When you’re in prosecutor mode, you’re trying to win an argument and prove your case. And if you stop there, you’re not going to do much rethinking because you’ve already decided that you’re right and everyone else is wrong.  And then in politician mode you’re trying to win the approval of an audience through campaigning and lobbying and you might tell them what they want to hear, but you’re probably not changing what you really think.  One of the things I find helpful is to ask myself: okay how much time did I spend in each of those modes today? And I catch myself regularly going into prosecutor mode when I think somebody is wrong. I just feel like it’s my moral responsibility as a social scientist to bring them sharper logic and stronger [...] Hyperbole is overused these days, but when the Financial Times calls someone a superstar, I’m apt to repeat the title, especially if the person in question is so humble that he insists his impact is “a mystery.” Adam Grant is a Wharton School [...] 9 minutes Adam Grant, BBC, Alison van Diggelen, psychology, management, think again clean alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2021/02/11/how-do-we-close-the-divide-be-the-light-a-bbc-report/ Thu, 11 Feb 2021 21:27:15 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10418 If someone had told you on January 19th that a skinny young woman from L.A. would upstage the inauguration of our new President Joe Biden, dramatic performances by J.Lo and Lady Gaga, and even the joyful swearing-in of our first female VP, Kamala Harris, you might’ve been dubious. But the effervescent Amanda Gorman outshone all the stars with her wise words and soulful delivery. She tapped into the zeitgeist of America, addressed the “terrifying hour” of January 6th, and challenged us to “rebuild, reconcile and recover.” Gorman reminds us that there’s always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it. When the world seems dark and our lives continue to be dislocated by the pandemic, I often think of Amanda Gorman, and listen to her poem, again and again. In watching her interviews with everyone from Trevor Noah to Anderson Cooper, I’m inspired by her poise, her wisdom and her optimism. Did you know that from age seven she’s been preparing to become president of the United States? That gives me hope. This week, as Trump’s impeachment trial began in the U.S. Senate, and we’re forced to relive the horror of January 6th, I’m exploring these questions: How did our our country become so polarized and our politics so violent? And is there any hope for closing the divide? And what’s the role of empathy in the process? Is there a role for you and me? I sought out the wisdom of three experts. And there is good news. My latest BBC report aims to do two things: Help us understand how we got here: by exploring insights from psychology, anthropology and sociology. Offer some tangible action we can all do to douse the fire and live more peacefully with people with whom we don’t agree.  Although Amanda Gorman was featured in my original draft, she didn’t make the final cut for the BBC (due to time constraints). Yet the words of her inauguration poem echoed the wisdom I gleaned from the experts: We must put our differences aside and focus on what unites us, our common aspirations. We must try to build bridges, and (as hard as it is sometimes) assume good intent. So I’d like to start this week’s Fresh Dialogues podcast by revisiting Gorman’s rousing performance at President Biden’s inauguration, before I share my report. “We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all…” Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate and Inauguration Poet As much as it pained me to hear his provocative words again, I was forced to include some audio from Trump. You’ll understand why very soon… Listen to my report on the BBC Health Check podcast (starting @27:00) Or to the Fresh Dialogues podcast here or below: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Amanda-Gorman-Conflict-res-FD-podcast-conflict-Feb-2021.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of the report which aired on the BBC (including some parts which didn’t make the final cut): Trump: They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some I assume are good people. Hillary Clinton: You could put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables: the racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it…” Alison van Diggelen: That was Democratic party candidate Hillary Clinton during her presidential run in 2016 and before her, Donald Trump during his bid as the Republican candidate, when he made his infamous comments about undocumented Mexican immigrants. Dan Fessler is a professor of anthropology at the University of California in Los Angeles. He’s convinced that provocative language leads to dehumanization and is a key driver of the polarization problem. Dan Fessler: Any time that you hear any politician, or candidate for office, talking about “them and [...] If someone had told you on January 19th that a skinny young woman from L.A. would upstage the inauguration of our new President Joe Biden, dramatic performances by J.Lo and Lady Gaga, and even the joyful swearing-in of our first female VP, Kamala [...] 11:30 Amanda Gorman, Conflict resolution, Alison van Diggelen, Fresh Dialogues podcast, empathy, dehumanizing, hope, Marshall Ganz no alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2021/01/12/the-secret-to-staying-positive-in-dark-times-a-bbc-report/ Tue, 12 Jan 2021 19:55:41 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10371 I hope you and yours are staying well despite the violent insurrection in Washington DC on January 6th. This week, I want to bring you some hope and optimism for the future from an unlikely source. More on that below. First, I’d like to share two insights that resonated with me as I sought to make sense of the attempted coup and think about a pathway forward.  The first is from our newly elected Georgia Senator, Raphael Warnock. PBS’s Judy Woodruff asked how we can get anything done with such a divided country and Senate. Warnock said “we have no choice!” and added this:  “Either we will learn to live together as sisters and brothers, or we will perish together as fools.” Martin Luther King Jr. speech in St. Louis, on March 22, 1964 (In Warnock’s version he added the sisters. Amen to that.) And Warnock posed this key question: Do we want to continue in our silos of violent racial, political and religious hatred, or do we want to build what Dr. King called the beloved community? The other resonant voice for me was President Barack Obama. He laid the blame firmly with Trump and his enablers. I felt that he was also speaking directly to me and all my fellow journalists when he wrote: “For two months now, a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth…” Obama offered Republican leaders a choice: to either continue down a dark path or “choose reality…and choose America” Although the majority of the media blame rests with Fox News, Sean Hannity, and all those media and social media platforms that allowed the false narrative of a “stolen election” to be amplified, every single journalist should examine his or her actions over the last four years. For example, NPR’s failing to call a lie a lie was a mistake in my view. Mary Louise Kelly explained “A lie is a false statement made with intent to deceive… Without the ability to peer into Donald Trump’s head, I can’t tell you what his intent was.”  I think the events of last week make that intent to deceive –– and win at all costs ––  abundantly clear. By contrast, the BBC, The New York Times and other mainstream outlets used the word “lie” when it was merited, countless times. Yet even some highly regarded colleagues inadvertently fueled the fire by demonstrating lazy journalism. On January 8th, the BBC’s North America editor, Jon Sopel’s retweet of Trump’s lies about a stolen election, without clearly flagging it as a lie, was a powerful case in point. A few hours later, Twitter finally gave Trump the red card he deserved months ago, but the damage was done. Sopel and those like him need to follow the plea of New York Times journalists like Sheera Frenkel and think carefully about how they use their powerful media megaphones.  Statements from other political elders like Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George W Bush are also worth reading. Which brings me to my latest BBC report.  When I read that Americans over 70 are showing remarkable resilience and optimism during this pandemic and lockdown, I thought, how can that be? We all know that the older you are, the more likely that Covid-19 can kill you, but here’s a fascinating statistic: in the United States, an 85 year-old grandmother who gets Covid is 10,000 times more at risk of death than her 15 year-old grandchildren. With odds like that, and the lockdown isolation you’d think that she’d be a lot more anxious and depressed than them, especially with the post-holiday spike in cases and prolonged lockdowns.    Instead, I discovered compelling research that demonstrates that the reverse is true. And found some valuable truths and life lessons for you and me.  Due to time constraints, the BBC wasn’t able to air all of the insights of the wise 19 year-old I interviewed, so I’m adding his wisdom at the end of this transcript and on the Fresh Dialogues podcast.  Listen to [...] I hope you and yours are staying well despite the violent insurrection in Washington DC on January 6th. This week, I want to bring you some hope and optimism for the future from an unlikely source. More on that below. First, I’d like to share two [...] 16:23 positivity, covid, elders, wisdom, Riane Eisler, dark days no alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/12/18/assume-good-intent-a-bbc-dialogue/ Fri, 18 Dec 2020 17:34:15 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10355 I hope you and yours are staying well and relatively cheerful through this holiday season. Our family experienced a seismic shock last week and I’m feeling quite rattled. More on that below… This dreadful year has made me more thankful than ever for a wee bit of humor. People like Janey Godley, who can make us laugh through our despair and tears, deserve a medal. I’d love to nominate her for a Covid Humanitarian Award, for bringing a smile to our faces and a belly laugh to our bodies when we needed it most.  Last night, my sadness was more local. I took a walk through the neighborhood and it was deeply unsettling. Here in California we’re under a new, stricter Covid shutdown that lasts through January 4th: no travel, no eating out, no large family gatherings. You know the drill! As I explored the empty streets, it seemed like we were back in March, except that now it feels much, much worse. The streets have a trickle of traffic, the restaurants are deserted, and shoppers few and far between. How are these small businesses going to survive? I worry about the laid off waitresses, shop assistants and support staff going through another round of layoffs. The holiday lights and “cheerful” Christmas music pulsing through an open-air mall felt, well… rather pathetic. I shivered, as I passed shiny-new outside eating areas, and parklets with tall plastic canopies. Rapidly erected for Covid-compliant dining, they now lie neglected, like abandoned relics of a bygone age.  Although there is light at the end of the tunnel, in the form of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, I fear they won’t stop this rising death-toll overnight, and the rollout will be painfully slow. And perhaps too slow for me to make it back to Britain on time… Last weekend my 88 year-old mother took a turn for the worse. When we spoke on Sunday, I didn’t recognize her. Something has shifted in her brain: she was agitated and impatient. She talked nonstop and wouldn’t let me get a word in. After the call, my first instinct was to jump on the next flight back to London to be at her side, but I know that’s foolish…and dangerous. I feel a million miles from her, cut-off and helpless, just like it felt in March, when she ended up in hospital with a broken pelvis. The distance makes me feel impotent and even more furious at Trump. Not only did he mishandle the Federal pandemic response, it turns out he refused an offer to buy more of the Pfizer vaccine, earlier this year, which puts America at the end of the line for the second batch of the vaccine.  But instead of ruminating, I force myself to remember my mother’s regular advice when things get hard:  You know you’ve just got to get on with it! So, in that spirit, let’s get on with it. Here are highlights from my latest appearance on the BBC World Service. I’ve chosen to feature a lighthearted discussion with the BBC’s Jamie Robertson. We explored Covid etiquette and what the Scottish government is doing to keep everyone not just safe, but civil during the next few months.  You’ll meet two women I admire more than ever this year: Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, whose steady leadership and regular Covid briefings have shown world leaders how to be strong, principled and keep a good sense of humor. The second is writer and comedian Janey Godley whose regular voice-overs of Nicola has kept our family chuckling through some of the darkest days of the pandemic. If you haven’t discovered Janey Godley’s Twitter feed or YT channel, get on it, today!  In this excerpt, you’ll also hear about the mantra I’m trying to follow this festive season: Assume good intent!  In today’s world of high anxiety, it’s more relevant than ever… Also, for the politicos listening, you’ll find a wee politics extra at the end of this podcast. During my BBC appearance, I talked about the incredible hypocrisy of the Trump administration. You might be thinking: [...] I hope you and yours are staying well and relatively cheerful through this holiday season. Our family experienced a seismic shock last week and I’m feeling quite rattled. More on that below… This dreadful year has made me more thankful than [...] 9:00 Janey Godley, Nicola Sturgeon, Covid, Assume Good Intent, no alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/11/04/in-tough-times-mind-your-light-a-bbc-report/ Thu, 05 Nov 2020 00:21:19 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10336 How are you? I hope you’re managing to keep your head above water these last tumultuous hours and days. This week on Fresh Dialogues, I have some reassuring wisdom and some practical tips to bring you comfort and help you keep hope alive. Like millions of us, I watched in disbelief last night as many of the swing states turned red. The “blue wall” that some pundits anticipated –– and said Trump would pay for –– just didn’t materialize. I found myself in such a state of anxiety that I could barely breathe.  Frankly, I’m stunned that so many people voted for Trump despite his many atrocities: the blatant lies, his anti-science stance, demolishing environmental protections and his gross mishandling of the pandemic. And with the resurgence in Covid around the world, it sometimes feels there’s no end in sight to our elevated stress levels. As I write this, early afternoon on Wednesday November 4th, the Associated Press has yet to call several key states, but there does look like a path to victory for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I can but hope. How do you find hope at times like these?  If you’re also feeling high anxiety, despair, or even depression right now, this advice from a wise man named Manfred will give you hope.  “It’s so important right now to take care of yourself, and in that act of self-love and compassion you may be able to reach out to another, and that person another still, until we collectively heal from these challenging times,” Manfred Melcher.   As you’ll hear soon, Manfred reminds us to “Mind your own light.” You’ll find out what he means below. My latest report for the BBC explored the timely question: Is online connection as effective as face to face meetings? I explored the surge in teletherapy, but I think there are important lessons to be gleaned for all of us, whether you’re seeking to connect to friends, family or a mental health expert. I was reminded of the importance of radical self care. My report aired October 28th on the BBC World Service program, Health Check. The segment starts at 28:00 on the BBC podcast You’ll even find some humor in the report, despite the heavy topic. After the transcript below, I’ll share some tips to help you get through these next few days and weeks. And please join me at the end of the Fresh Dialogues podcast as we do some deep cleansing breaths together. You’ll be surprised at how stress relieving that can be. https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mind-your-light-FD-podcast-Nov-4-2020.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of the report (lengthened and edited for clarity). Names have been changed to protect people’s privacy.   The BBC’s Claudia Hammond: On the show last week, we were talking about the difficulty of patients and their relatives receiving bad news over the phone rather than in person due to restrictions in hospitals. Now something similar is happening in therapy sessions. In the United States, a recent survey by the American Psychological Association found that due to the virus, three-quarters of therapists are now providing remote services, either on the phone, or through video conferencing software. But when people are pouring their hearts out and talking about their innermost thoughts, can a digital encounter ever be the same as a face to face session? For Health Check, our reporter Alison van Diggelen reports from the west coast of the U.S. where, as well as the pandemic, people have been dealing with forest fires, choking smoke, and power cuts. The demand for mental health care is growing. Alison van Diggelen: Kristin, lives alone in a beachside community in Southern California. She faced intense challenges before Covid struck. Recently divorced, she moved house and launched a new business last year. On top of her anxiety and panic attacks, there’s now another stress factor: Kristin: Loneliness definitely has been an issue… not being able to see family: touching [...] How are you? I hope you’re managing to keep your head above water these last tumultuous hours and days. This week on Fresh Dialogues, I have some reassuring wisdom and some practical tips to bring you comfort and help you keep hope alive. Like [...] 14:52 mental health, breathing, anxiety, stress, therapy, self-care no alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/10/16/you-are-powerful-and-your-voice-matters-a-bbc-dialogue/ Fri, 16 Oct 2020 17:57:08 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10321 With less than three weeks until the election, it’s a nerve wracking time here in the United States. Some call it a battle for the soul of the nation. Certainly the stakes could not be higher. This election will determine the future of the United States and in some respects, the world. As a journalist, I strive to be balanced, and talk about the facts of any situation. I try not to air my personal preferences on the BBC. But this election year, I’m not pulling any punches about what an immoral and polarizing president Donald Trump has been. His dangerous impacts on civil rights, the environment and our standing in the world have and will have far reaching consequences. Another four years is unthinkable. For these reasons, I’m backing the Biden-Harris ticket and joined the Vote Forward campaign to send handwritten letters to unregistered voters in swing states. Our goal is to convince silent voices that their vote matters and we’re urging them to take part and vote on November 3rd.  For all those afraid to speak up and speak out, Kamala Harris is a profound inspiration. This quote resonates for me and I hope it does for you: “You are powerful and your voice matters. You’re going to walk into many rooms in your life  where you may be the only one who looks like you. But remember that you are not alone. We are all in that room with you, applauding you. Cheering your voice.  So you use that voice and be strong.” Kamala Harris Kamala’s words helped me speak out during my last BBC World Service appearance when I called Trump xenophobic and described his immigration policy “a lose-lose” for America. Find out below what I meant by that. You can listen to the segment on the BBC World Service podcast, starting at 35:50. Check out the Fresh Dialogues podcast below: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Kamala-Speak-Out-Immigration-FD-podcast-Oct-2020.mp3   I had a lively conversation about immigration and innovation with the BBC’s Rahul Tandon and Andy Xie, an influential Chinese economist, based in Shanghai. Andy shared some insights about the Chinese education system that may surprise you. Here is a transcript of our discussion, (edited for length and clarity). Rahul Tandon: Alison, when you talk to people about the election, and the issues that are going to decide who people are going to vote for, where does immigration figure in that? Alison van Diggelen: Immigration is an important issue, especially in Silicon Valley. There was a lot of backlash when Trump clamped down on H1B visas for skilled workers in Silicon Valley. A lot of tech CEOs spoke up and said it’s going to have a net effect of reducing jobs for American workers. To Andy’s point about people feeling unwelcome in America, Trump has been explicit and implicit about his xenophobic attitude, because he knows that it plays to his base.  I think this is going to be a double whammy for America: The first loss is the immigrant innovation benefit that’s given America its competitive edge and has led to (the creation and dominance of) Silicon Valley. The second loss is that it energizes Trump’s base and helps him potentially get re-elected. So I think Trump’s immigration policy is a lose-lose for America. Rahul Tandon: A lot of Indians will tell you that Silicon Valley is made up of a lot of Indians. A lot of these big companies’ bosses did come from India (eg Google’s Sundar Pichai). Do you think these conversations are different if you went to a state like Texas? Alison van Diggelen: Yes, it’s possible. Silicon Valley does face competition from Austin in Texas. It’s seen as the upstart to Silicon Valley. But what’s coming from Trump is this general feeling of: you’re not welcome if you’re an immigrant. It’s like shooting the country’s economic powerhouses in the foot.  Rahul Tandon: Andy, do you think some of the president’s rhetoric will put some Chinese students off going [...] With less than three weeks until the election, it’s a nerve wracking time here in the United States. Some call it a battle for the soul of the nation. Certainly the stakes could not be higher. This election will determine the future of the [...] 7:00 kamala harris, voice, speak out, inspiring women, fresh dialogues, alison van Diggelen clean alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/08/26/how-animals-can-help-you-handle-stress-anxiety-a-bbc-report/ Wed, 26 Aug 2020 19:51:26 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10306 I’m excited to share my latest BBC report with you and introduce a remarkable woman who changed the way I see the world. When I heard my report on the BBC World Service last week, I was moved to tears. A lot has happened since I filed it in early August… Animals help us reconnect to a wise and ancient part of ourselves that naturally knows how to find balance and alignment. A good deal of our resilience to stress and change comes from our self care practices.  Animals show us how powerfully soothing it can be to just sit and breathe together. Sit close to your pet and focus on your breath and his or hers for a few breaths. Give your dog or cat a light pet. Put your other hand on your heart and soothe your inner human animal. Now, think about what human relationships of yours might benefit from such a gentle and wordless check in. Beth Killough, Psychotherapist In July, it seemed that things could hardly be worse here in Northern California. Covid rates started to tick up and with that came another round of tighter lock downs and restrictions. And then a freak lightning storm sparked dozens of fires. Overnight we had friends who faced evacuation, and others unable to go outside, as air quality spiked far beyond Beijing levels. Overnight, my 95 year-old friend had to evacuate and find refuge with her little dog, Buddy. Overnight, we all became experts at analyzing Purple Air, the air quality app where anything over 400 is classed as an “emergency condition” for public health. One morning, I woke to see one Bay Area monitor at 666 on the scale of 0 to 500. The things that had become the “new normal” were suddenly out of reach: simple things like taking a walk in the nearby park to relieve cabin fever, doing yoga class on the lawn of the local fairgrounds, and eating outside at our favorite dog-friendly restaurant. Now we all have to dig even deeper to find silver linings and nurture some optimism for a better day. Did you know that one in three Americans are showing symptoms of depression? It’s likely even higher than that. A close friend who’s a therapist tells me she’s never been busier. We’re all taking one day, one hour at a time. That’s why we could all do with a Beth Killough in our lives. She’s a deeply insightful person who suggests we need a toolbox of choices to help us deal with stress and anxiety. Here’s her story: Seven years ago, Beth bought a ranch and let go of her traditional office-based talk therapy practice. Now she uses her psychology insights and her barn full of horses to teach resilience, radical self care and leadership skills. She helps her clients tune into their own instincts and pivot to new projects and passions. Thinking her wisdom could hardly be more timely, I talked to my BBC editor in London about making her the focus of my latest report. You might think that equine therapy –– working with horses to improve your resilience and well being –– is a niche thing, something for the affluent or the physically impaired. But Beth explains that some of the techniques are easy to practice at home and timely for this time of high anxiety and Covid related stress. They might even help you navigate this challenging time more easily and pivot to more joyful relationships and a sustainable career path.  Listen to the BBC Health Check Podcast (report starts at 15:45) Here’s the Fresh Dialogues Podcast: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FD-podcast-Beth-Killough-Equine-Therapy.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of my report for BBC Health Check, including some bonus material that didn’t make the final cut:  Alison: Beth Killough works on her Northern California ranch and has seen a spike in clients looking for help for anxiety, trauma and loneliness since the pandemic began. Today her client is a 50 year-old woman named Michelle and they’re in the barn with Riva, a brown mare with a black mane and tail. Beth: Notice as you brush her, [...] I’m excited to share my latest BBC report with you and introduce a remarkable woman who changed the way I see the world. When I heard my report on the BBC World Service last week, I was moved to tears. A lot has happened since I filed it in [...] 9:49 Equine therapy, anxiety, stress, psychology, Beth Killough, Alison van Diggelen, BBC no alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/08/05/red-scare-and-trump-the-masked-and-unconscionable/ Wed, 05 Aug 2020 16:55:41 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10286 Why is Trump accusing China of hacking biotech companies, and threatening to ban TikTok? Smart policy or Red Scare tactics  to distract us from his fatal response to the pandemic ? Last month, Donald Trump finally started wearing a mask and doling out some good advice on Covid. Is it too little, too late? I was invited to join the BBC World Service program Business Matters to discuss the latest reversal from the White House, as well as breaking business news and analysis. “Trump only started wearing a mask last week, which is unconscionable. And he’s been spreading misinformation on the number of cases and cures…” Here are highlights from my conversation with the BBC’s effervescent Rahul Tandon in London, and outspoken business advisor Simon Littlewood in Singapore. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Listen to the BBC podcast @6:10. Or listen to highlights on the Fresh Dialogues iTunes podcast (online podcast or below): https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FD-podcast-Red-Scare-Masks-Aug-2020.mp3 . Rahul Tandon: Alison, where you are in Silicon Valley, this rising tension between China and the US… What do people make of it? Is there a lot of support for the president and Mike Pompeo’s strong stance? Alison van Diggelen:  This is a political move, this is distracting action from our president’s mess up of the response to the Covid virus. I applaud their call to come together to fight a common enemy. But they’re forgetting that the biggest threat humanity faces is Covid-19. There is a race going on, it’s like a new space race to find a reliable vaccine. It’s even more intense than the space race: the first country to get there will get a humanitarian reward of saving lives and also an economic reward. There will be a massive reward by allowing a swift return to business as usual, and a huge boost in consumer confidence. This Trump White House action is a distracting political move. It feels a bit like the Red Scare of the Cold War Era.  Simon Littlewood: I agree. That’s exactly what it is. I’d echo Alison’s comments. There clearly are serious domestic issues in the U.S. and the president would do well to concentrate on them. Rahul Tandon: I want to come back to Alison: we’re talking about China trying to hack information when it comes to Coronavirus vaccines and treatments. That’s just like the old world of espionage. It’s something that’s always gone on and now we’re looking at the stakes in a new tech world?  Alison van Diggelen: That’s right. Last week’s Twitter hack showed that even tech companies in the heart of Silicon Valley, with some of the smartest minds in the world and savvy programmers, are not immune to cyber criminals. I think it’s very likely that Americans are doing the same in China. Every major super power is trying to hack in and see what the other countries are doing. It’s just like the space race. Rahul Tandon: There we go. We have two of the finest minds in the world with us here on Business Matters today. (Thanks Rahul!)                     Simon Littlewood: Hopefully un-hacked! Rahul Tandon: I was very certain about Alison. But Simon, we’ll need to give you another 40 minutes to see how you perform during the rest of the program…   Trump’s U-turn on wearing a mask Listen @34 on the BBC podcast Trump: We’re asking Americans to wear a mask…imploring young Americans to avoid packed bars, and other indoor gatherings. Be safe and be smart. Rahul Tandon: Are Americans being safe and smart? Are people wearing masks? Alison van Diggelen: I’m holding my breath hearing the president. He only started wearing a mask last week, which is unconscionable. And he’s been spreading misinformation on the number of cases and cures. I’m glad to hear that he’s finally pushing the right message –– congratulations to whoever persuaded him! But his White House has been undermining the [...] Why is Trump accusing China of hacking biotech companies, and threatening to ban TikTok? Smart policy or Red Scare tactics  to distract us from his fatal response to the pandemic ? Last month, Donald Trump finally started wearing a mask and [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/06/24/how-to-save-america-a-bbc-dialogue-about-race-police-the-truth/ Wed, 24 Jun 2020 22:54:31 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10265 Last week, as demonstrations and outrage continued across America, I received an invitation that made me very nervous: I was invited to join a  live BBC World Service program to discuss the view from California. I felt ill-equipped to contribute. What could I say that would be valuable to the dialogue? This is a challenging time to opine on the tinder box that is America, particularly if you’re a white immigrant. But I did my homework, listened to a lot of diverse commentary and read widely.    [Photo credit: Alisdare Hickson] I can’t claim to have all the answers (who does?) but in preparing for the program, I did some personal growth. I changed from from feeling tongue-tied and unworthy, to fired up about speaking out. How? My research taught me three important things (see below). But first, here’s what we discussed on the BBC: Listen to the BBC podcast, starting @4:00. Or listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast below which features highlights of our discussion and more about what I discovered. https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Police-racism-FD-podcast.mp3 . We began by discussing Trump’s executive order introducing police reforms, and then listened to the insightful perspective of Philip McHarris. A researcher at Yale University, McHarris is a vocal member of the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability. He makes some excellent points about the need to prioritize education and economic opportunity for the black community, and has written a provocative New York Times Opinion piece  that concludes: “We need to reimagine public safety in ways that shrink and eventually abolish police and prisons.” I agree with his call to reimagine public safety, but it’s hard to imagine that abolishing police and prisons will ever be a wise idea. What do you think? BBC transcript (edited for length and clarity). Philip McHarris: Police are largely arresting people, and putting people in jail and ruining lives and communities, when people need resources and opportunities, and not a prison cell and policing. Defunding police means shifting resources away from policing and getting at the underlying causes like not having quality schools, employment options, housing healthcare. The communities that are the safest don’t have the most police but they have the most resources. Because of specific decisions and political inaction, housing policies have created legacies of racial and economic inequality. People often are forced into survival economies which are then criminalized.  So the first step is funding community resources and institutions. The other side is developing alternative emergency response systems where police –– who have guns and a license to kill with immunity –– are not showing up when people need a wellness check, a mental health intervention or domestic violence support.  Jamie Robertson: Alison, this idea of defunding the police…is it getting traction? The idea of withdrawing the police and replacing areas of police enforcement with social workers?  Alison van Diggelen: There is support for defunding police and looking at the root causes (of police brutality). The fact is: We all have bias. It’s what we do with it and how we manage our first impulses (that matters most). The police force needs to build new protocols and new partnerships, as Philip said, with social workers and psychologists. It needs to invest more in anger management and de-escalating violence, rather than inciting violence. And perhaps making Malcolm Gladwell’s book Talking to Strangers mandatory for police officers? This pandemic has exacerbated the tinder box of despair and rage in America. Perhaps America also needs to face its horrific history of slavery. That legacy continues today. We need to borrow practices from South Africa and Rwanda and hold Truth and Reconciliation hearings. And criminalize, not tolerate any white supremacy [...] Last week, as demonstrations and outrage continued across America, I received an invitation that made me very nervous: I was invited to join a  live BBC World Service program to discuss the view from California. I felt ill-equipped to [...] 8:30 Black Lives Matter, Racism, Police, defund police, truth and reconciliation, criminalize white supremacy, speak out alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/06/10/how-to-face-death-a-personal-bbc-report-about-death/ Thu, 11 Jun 2020 01:49:48 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10244 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues “Everyone deserves dignity at the end of life,” Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, bereavement counsellor and hospice care worker. This week’s podcast is a deeply personal story of how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted my family. A shorter version aired this week on the BBC World Service program, Health Check. I dedicate it to my beloved mother, to those fearful for vulnerable family members, and to anyone who’s lost a loved one recently. And I offer sincere thanks to Isabel, Laura and Mary who shared their poignant and hard earned wisdom about dealing with death. Listen to the BBC podcast (segment starts at 9:40) Listen to the full story at the Fresh Dialogues podcast or below: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Death-Dignity-FD-podcast-mp3.mp3 . The Covid-19 pandemic has forced me to have a deeply uncomfortable conversation with my sisters. The topic? Our mother’s death. Despite warnings not to visit the elderly, my younger sister drove 500 miles from Kent to Scotland to visit our mother. A puzzling phone conversation convinced her that our 88 year-old mum needed help, urgently. So we made a pact one night: if mum did catch Covid, we’d keep her at home, come hell or high water. The thought of our sociable mum lying alone in a hospital bed, struggling for breath with no one holding her hand, broke our hearts.  Just a few hours later, I woke to the news that hell had arrived. Mum fell during the night and broke her pelvis. My sister watched, impotent, pleading as the ambulance crew ––  decked out in full body protection –– stretchered her away. Grimacing in pain, she grasped at my sister’s hand, “Don’t worry, I’ll be OK,” she said. “You know I’m a tough old woman.” We feared that would be the last time we’d see her alive. To make matters worse, I’m 5,000 miles away from Scotland, sheltering in California, where I’ve lived for more than two decades.  Earlier this year, the BBC’s Health Check asked me to explore a watershed moment in American healthcare: For the first time since the 1970s more Americans are dying at home than in hospital. My first reaction was: Nope, I can’t go there. Like many of us, I feared facing death.  But now it hit home for me, like an avalanche of mother-daughter worry. Witnessing the isolation of Covid hospital patients in painful technicolor online –– and the inability of loved ones to say goodbye –– has brought it all into sharp focus.  So why are the majority of Americans now choosing to die at home, and not in hospital? Do they miss out on specialist care and pain relief? What is “a good death,” and what will be the lasting impact of Covid on all this? . . . . I spoke with Laura Carstensen who directs the Center for Longevity at Stanford University. She points out the mismatch between what the medical system traditionally offers and what people imagine at the end of life. “Medicine historically has said: We’ll throw everything we can at a person to keep them alive and is not necessarily what people want,” she says. Today about 80% of Americans say they want to die at home – or at least not in hospital.  In response, hospice care has grown rapidly over the last 10 years. The modern-day hospice movement was started in the UK in the late 1960s by a former nurse, Dame Cicely Saunders, who wanted to focus on the relief of symptoms like pain, whilst attending to their emotional and spiritual needs away from a hospital environment.  According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the number of hospice patients on Medicare – the federal health insurance program for over 65 year-olds – has grown from 44% in 2012 to 50% in 2018. In the US, unlike the UK, in-facility hospice care is the exception, not the rule. So most American hospice workers provide care in patients’ homes.  Isabel Stenzel Byrnes works for Mission Hospice, a nonprofit [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues “Everyone deserves dignity at the end of life,” Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, bereavement counsellor and hospice care worker. This week’s podcast is a deeply personal story of how the Covid-19 pandemic [...] 11:20 death, covid, hospice, pandemic, health, Fresh Dialogues, Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, Center for Longevity, facing death alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/05/08/will-pandemic-stimulate-a-green-recovery-a-bbc-dialogue/ Fri, 08 May 2020 18:36:22 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10218 Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttps://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mother-Earth-FD-podcast-May-2020.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window___ By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues “Mother Nature is a very powerful educator” and her power has never been more apparent than during Covid-19.* But what have we learned from this unprecedented pandemic? Firstly: That what was once impossible, is now possible. Who’d have predicted that governments facing a global crisis would put humanity ahead of the economy? Despite all odds, they did and for the most part, continue to do so. Secondly: With many economies in the deep freeze, we have a rare opportunity to create a “new” new normal, one that’s less carbon intensive and more environmentally friendly. This week’s podcast explores these important questions: Is the Earth sending us a message? And if so, can we rise to challenge, before it’s too late? We feature political strategist Tom Rivett-Carnac as well as my Earth Day discussion on the BBC World Service with Financial Times Tokyo Bureau chief, Robin Harding and the BBC’s Jamie Robertson. Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast here, on iTunes or simply play it below: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mother-Earth-FD-podcast-May-2020.mp3 . OK, here’s a sobering statistic: A recent IPSOS Mori poll revealed that over 70% of the global population consider that, in the long term, climate change is as important a crisis as the coronavirus. Think about that for a minute. Climate activists –– like the team at Global Optimism –– have renewed confidence that this pandemic has produced the wakeup call we need to re-examine our priorities. Instead of returning to business-as-usual and locking in higher emissions, some leaders are using the slogan: “Build back better.” The BBC’s Roger Harrabin writes about the need for the UK to avoid “lurching from the coronavirus crisis into a deeper climate crisis.” Britain’s Climate Change Committee Chairman, John Gummer has called for rebuilding the economy with a focus on green jobs, and boosting low carbon industries like clean energy and electric cars. The pandemic has taught us that, instead of denial and inaction, basic risk assessment and preparation could have avoided mass chaos and deaths around the world. I’m sure you’ll agree that witnessing over-stretched intensive care units and the Hunger-Games-like scramble for ventilators, face masks and personal protection equipment was excruciating. It didn’t have to happen. Over five years ago, Bill Gates warned us about the risk of pandemics. Why did no one listen? Today, Bill McKibben, Greta Thunberg and others are warning us about the risks of climate change. Calling them all Cassandras -– prophets of doom and gloom -– is no longer an option. We’re all in this together and we are woke! Let’s harness this united mindset and act NOW to green our economy, before it’s too late. Some people might scoff at my idea that the pandemic could mean the Earth is sending us a message: the FT’s Robin Harding couldn’t conceal his mirth, as you’ll hear soon! But Jamie Robertson supported my idea, recalling his high school “Fruit flies in a jam-jar” experiment. Thanks Jamie! So think about this: Is the jam-jar sending the flies a message?  It’s clear that you don’t have to be a sentient-being to send a message. Here are highlights of my conversation with the BBC’s Jamie Robinson and the FT’s Robin Harding, (edited for length and clarity). We start by hearing from Tom Rivett-Carnac about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change direction, as governments use unprecedented levers to jumpstart their economies. Tom Rivett-Carnac: If we now just subsidize fossil fuels, previous ways of doing things, we’re just going to end [...] ___ By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues “Mother Nature is a very powerful educator” and her power has never been more apparent than during Covid-19.* But what have we learned from this unprecedented pandemic? Firstly: That what was [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2020/04/07/how-to-help-in-a-time-of-crisis-an-inspiring-bbc-report/ Tue, 07 Apr 2020 17:45:56 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10194 Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttps://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FD-podcast-Bloom-ventilators-Apr-2020.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window___ If you’re stuck at home and thinking: what can I do to help my community? I hope today’s podcast will inspire you. Last week, my colleagues at The BBC World Service invited me to join the show Business Matters and share news from Silicon Valley. Even though the valley is one of America’s COVID-19 hotspots, I was determined to report something positive. For inspiration, I thought of Mr. Rogers, America’s beloved TV personality and puppeteer. He famously said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” During this unsettling time, when it’s easy to get scared and give in to despair, I find his advice reassuring. But I think he meant more than one thing. I think, if Mr. Rogers was alive today, he’d say: Find people who are helping… Find opportunities to help, and encourage others to help in their communities. So I scoured the news for uplifting stories about people who’re helping in my community. A tweet from California Governor Gavin Newsom caught my eye. He praised the rapid response of a Silicon Valley company that’s stepping up to meet the urgent need for ventilators to keep COVID-19 patients alive. I immediately got in touch with Bloom Energy and interviewed its chief operating officer, Susan Brennan that afternoon. She told me she challenged her team by saying, “We’re going to solve this thing!” I wanted to know: was the solution the brainchild of one person, or a team effort? You’ll find out below. My interview aired on the BBC World Service on April 2, 2020. Listen to the BBC podcast: Silicon Valley story is at 42:50 and 47:20. Or listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast below or at Fresh Dialogues Podcasts. https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FD-podcast-Bloom-ventilators-Apr-2020.mp3 FRESH DIALOGUES PODCAST Here are highlights of my conversation with the BBC’s Jamie Robertson and Enda Curran, chief Asia economics correspondent at Bloomberg in Hong Kong. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity. We began by discussing the record 10 million people in the United States who’re unemployed, many almost overnight. Jamie Robertson: Alison, you must know people who’ve been made unemployed. Are they just lying down and taking it or are they getting up and doing something else, finding other opportunities? Alison van Diggelen: In California, Governor Newsom has set up a job matching site. The state has partnered with private companies so you can go online and find jobs that fit your skills. Other people are doing coding classes, or online training, to become yoga teachers for example. This week, I interviewed Susan Brennan of Bloom Energy and heard about an engineer called Joe Tavi. He hasn’t lost his job, but has found a new job. He was on the production team for fuel cell making, but is now on the “Tiger Team” to refurbish ventilators for the cause. People are really seeing opportunities within this devastation. Robertson: We’re going to be hearing from him in the last piece on this program. You’ve got a fascinating report…. Over in Silicon Valley, a fuel cell company called Bloom Energy has stepped up to refurbish non-functioning ventilators for hospitals in record speed by repurposing their warehouses. Here’s the company’s COO, Susan Brennan. Susan Brennan: Valves, pumps, airflow, batteries: If you look at the pieces, there’s so much commonality between a ventilator and a fuel cell. Completely different function and process, but at its base level: very common inputs. I spoke to the head of health and human services on March 17th, St Patrick’s day. [...] ___ If you’re stuck at home and thinking: what can I do to help my community? I hope today’s podcast will inspire you. Last week, my colleagues at The BBC World Service invited me to join the show Business Matters and share news from Silicon [...] 6:45 Bloom Energy, BBC World Service, Fresh Dialogues, Alison van Diggelen, Joe Tavi, Susan Brennan, ventilators clean alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)Alison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2019/09/25/greta-thunberg-elon-musk-climate-action-a-bbc-dialogue/ Wed, 25 Sep 2019 19:33:20 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10171 Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttps://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Greta-Biz-Matters-FD-podcast-Sept-2019.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window___ This week, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager, stole the show at the United Nations General Assembly. Thanks to her, climate change is on the minds of the world. I was invited to discuss climate change action on the BBC World Service this month and we explored the role of activists like Thunberg, indigenous people, and technology pioneers like Elon Musk. With visible rage, Thunberg described the urgency of action in stark terms on Monday. ”People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth.” Then Thunberg made a passionate plea to each one of us, especially political leaders, to examine our consciences. “How dare you continue to look away? The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.” Greta Thunberg’s fury was evident to everyone who watched her, but she ended on a positive note: “Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.” This powerful young woman speaks for her generation and her fierce, straight-talking message has unsettled certain people, and helped spur record-breaking climate strike demonstrations around the world. BBC host, Jamie Robertson led a lively discussion exploring the urgency of climate change action and we were joined by ABC Australia’s Clare Negus.  I took the opportunity to praise Thunberg’s tenacity. The program started with a soulful report by the BBC’s Frey Lindsay. He reported on a gathering of indigenous community leaders from around the world who met at University College London to listen, exchange ideas and build solidarity in the fight against environmental degradation and climate change. Listen to the podcast at the BBC World Service (environmental discussion starts at 10:40) Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast (featuring Greta Thunberg’s powerful words): https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Greta-Biz-Matters-FD-podcast-Sept-2019.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of conversation highlights (edited for length and clarity): Jamie Robertson: In California, you’re very much on the front line, we think of the wildfires…do indigenous people have a role to play here? Alison van Diggelen: It’s important for us in California, and around the world, to listen to the indigenous people. What we do over the next ten to twenty years is going to determine the fate of humanity. We need to remember environmentalist, John Muir, who said: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” Technology plays a role in this by increasing transparency. Almost everyone has a mobile phone (and can take photos of environmental abuses), so multinationals can’t get away with what they used to. Jamie Robertson: How high up the news agenda are questions about environmental problems and climate change? Alison van Diggelen: Greta Thunberg, bless her heart, is keeping it on our agenda, but I wish it were higher. Looking at the Democratic Party Presidential debates, climate change was there, but I wish we could raise the issue more. People are concerned about what’s impacting them on a daily basis. There’s not enough of a long term view. We need more people like David Attenborough (and Greta Thunberg and Bill McKibben) speaking up for the environment. Jamie Robertson: Clare ? Clare Negas: It’s a major criticism of ABC Australia that we do too much on climate change and not enough on cost of living stories! Jamie Robertson: I want to take the conversation on to [...] ___ This week, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager, stole the show at the United Nations General Assembly. Thanks to her, climate change is on the minds of the world. I was invited to discuss climate change action on the BBC World Service this [...] 9:44 Greta Thunberg, Climate, Alison van Diggelen, Bill McKibben, Elon Musk, Climate Strike, Tesla alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2019/06/25/secrets-of-venture-capital-bias-ethics-rule-breaking/ Tue, 25 Jun 2019 18:58:26 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10136 Have you ever wondered how venture capitalists in Silicon Valley decide what startups to fund and what ones to skip? I had the opportunity to sit down with one of these “masters of the universe” and explore the secrets of venture capital. Scott Kupor is managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz (AH) – one of the most successful VC firms in the world – and we had a candid and lively discussion about the do’s and don’ts of pitching; lessons from Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial journey; diversity, bias and ethics; future trends; and when it’s OK to move fast and break things.  Scott teaches at Stanford and Berkeley and has a new book out – Secrets of Sand Hill Road – that aims to demystify the VC mindset. The conversation took place in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club in Silicon Valley on June 10, 2019. Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Scott-Kupor-FD-Podcast-VC-Diversity-Ethics-CwC-June-10-2019.mp3 Here are some highlights of our conversation (edited for length and clarity): Re. Women in business, diversity and bias Alison van Diggelen: Let’s talk about diversity: Julian Guthrie’s new book is just out – called Alpha Girls – it’s about four women who took on the Venture Capital “bad boys” and succeeded, despite the odds. There are some good lessons in there. It’s a very tough place to thrive as a woman. Less than 10% of decision makers in the venture capital world are women. Scott Kupor: The number is about 10 or 12 %, depending how you cut the numbers, and about 2% of the funding going to female founders. It’s a real problem. There are two types of bias: explicit bias, which clearly the #MeToo Movement exposed in a very horrible way. We have to root that stuff out. We need to shine the light on what was underground for many years. The more challenging problem is implicit bias…Whether I like it or not, I’m implicitly biased by the networks I came from. When I want to hire for a job, it’s more likely I go to people I know from Stanford. What we have to do is reach out to (other) networks. So we proactively send out job recs to MLT a group that works with African Americans who’re trying to get into business and financials; and we also have a Cultural Leadership Fund (at AH).  It’s a network connectivity problem. It’s going to take time, it’s a deep rooted problem.  Alison van Diggelen: How many general partners at Andreessen Horowitz are women? Scott Kupor: 20%. Three out of fifteen are women. That’s only  in the last two years. For the first eight years we did not have any female partners…We changed our criteria and opened up the funnel to have a more diverse talent pool. Re: Ethics and moving fast and breaking things Alison van Diggelen: Let’s talk about ethics: lessons learned from Theranos (the blood testing company that imploded). And Facebook: they used to have a mantra: Move fast and break things. They have been cavalier about sharing our personal data. How do you train your entrepreneurs to have ethics front and center? Scott Kupor: I think there’s a difference between outright fraud – we can’t have behavior like that in this industry – and there is this idea that sometimes you have to push faster than sometimes is comfortable and you do break things sometimes and ask for forgiveness second. I think there are elements of that that are fine in this business. There’s a difference between committing crimes and defrauding people and are you just trying to move the ball quickly? You recognize there’s going to be iteration of products and sometimes you’re going to put stuff out that may not be perfect. The big difference is: as companies mature it’s a bit of the Elon Musk question (we talked about earlier) – I think different standards of behavior are appropriate depending upon the size and maturity of these companies. Running fast and breaking things – [...] Have you ever wondered how venture capitalists in Silicon Valley decide what startups to fund and what ones to skip? I had the opportunity to sit down with one of these “masters of the universe” and explore the secrets of venture [...] Venture capital, pitching, ethics, metoo, diversity, Andreessen Horowitz, Secrets of Sand Hill Road, Alison van Diggelen, Scott Kupor alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2019/04/10/college-cheaters-who-suffers-most-a-bbc-report/ Wed, 10 Apr 2019 23:36:49 +0000 https://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10110 Perhaps you weren’t shocked by the college applications scandal that recently broke in the United States? I must confess, I was deeply upset because it reveals a low tide mark in our society’s ethics today and underlines the absence of integrity in so many people’s lives. But I’m also saddened because “Operation Varsity Blues” has wider implications for our colleges and our communities. Fresh Dialogues host, Alison van Diggelen reports for the BBC World Service.  (Photo credit above: Daniel Gaines Photography via Breakthrough Silicon Valley) The stories of college applications doctored with photo-shopped pictures of athletes; blatant bribery and cheating on SAT scores made my blood boil. So I was delighted to have the opportunity to share my views on the BBC World Service. Listen to the BBC World Service Program, Business Matters here (Segment starts at 31:10) Hear highlights on the Fresh Dialogues podcast Or listen below: https://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/College-apps-scandal-FD-podcast-Apr-2019.mp3 . These rich elites – venture capitalists, actors and prominent business people – confused their privilege for merit; and by cheating they crushed the hopes and dreams of the least fortunate and most deserving students in our communities. The BBC’s Fergus Nicoll asked me about the reputation damage to schools and I shared an interview I did recently with former President of Stanford University, John Hennessy. At the time, he was outraged at colleges “debasing themselves” and forgetting their values in the pursuit of athletes over academics. Watch the video (@3:00): Hennessy is known for his tact, but here, his anger is palpable. Previous commentators on the BBC program, including Stephanie Studer of the Economist in China, and Kay Hymowitz of the City Journal in New York, talked about the destruction of meritocracy. That’s definitely under threat, both here and around the world. But who’ll suffer most from this scandal? The hard working students and families from less advantaged communities. Like the inspiring students at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, a nonprofit here in California, that works to mentor and nurture first generation immigrants to achieve their college dreams. For them, it’s a double whammy: First: The opportunity cost. For every rich kid who got into college through a side door, there’s a student who worked like a Trojan to get the scores necessary to win a place, and lost out. But it’s more than that: What will this scandal do to the aspirations of these students and families who feel that the playing field just got even steeper? And more broadly, how will our communities suffer if these well deserving youth lose out on taking their shot at a better future? The opportunity cost is both acute and enduring, both personal and wide ranging. Is it too much to hope that colleges and communities can return to decent values and bring ethics back from its long holiday? John Hiester, Executive Director of Breakthrough Silicon Valley sums it up well when he says: We should all be outraged when such revered institutions fail our society by creating shortcuts for those with wealth and privilege when they could be a powerful force for equity in our society. Certainly, the staff and students of Breakthrough Silicon Valley are frustrated. As Diana, a high school junior, put it, “I’m sad but not shocked. I’ve always known that there are people who play the system, it just hurts to have this out there when I’m working so hard to get my shot.” For the past five years, my team has cheered Diana on as she works incredibly hard to get to college. She grew up in a family that grapples with the constant stress of financial instability. They got home internet access just last month, and few in her community have gone to college, but Diana is blazing an impressive path. She has a 4.29 GPA while enrolled in the [...] Perhaps you weren’t shocked by the college applications scandal that recently broke in the United States? I must confess, I was deeply upset because it reveals a low tide mark in our society’s ethics today and underlines the absence [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2018/10/25/homeless-and-addicted-in-silicon-valley-one-womans-solution/ Thu, 25 Oct 2018 23:48:15 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10066 Over 100 Americans die every day from opioid overdose, that’s about 40,000 a year. What can be done to reverse the recent spike in fatalities? In San Francisco, a team of public health workers is focused on treating the most vulnerable: homeless people on the city’s streets. My latest report for the BBC explores how this special ops “Street Team” is finding and convincing people to get the latest medical treatment, wherever they are. It’s a timely issue as next month, San Francisco voters will decide if the city’s largest businesses, many of them tech companies, should pay a special tax to help fund more homeless shelters and addiction centers like the one I visited. The debate is dividing the tech community. Marc Benioff of Salesforce says “homelessness is everyone’s problem” and backs the special tax, but others like Twitter’s Jack Dorsey say it’s “unfair.” Love it or loathe it, the ballot measure proposes more funding and action to tackle homelessness and drug addiction in our most vulnerable population. These are complex and deep rooted problems with no quick fixes, but I applaud Marc Benioff and others like him for taking a stand. Several medical workers and a heroin addict shared their ‘dream’ solutions to homelessness and addiction in the city. Their answers may surprise you. If I had a magic wand, I’d just flash over the Twitter building, the Google building and say: hey guys, how about some compassion for folks, some kindness? When somebody talks to you in the street, look them in they eye. Planting that little seed of compassion and kindness goes a long way and I think that’s how the larger change in our city would happen. There’s a lot of hostility, a lot of misinformation. So if I had a magic wand, I’d just like flash it and say: compassion, compassion, compassion…kindness and a safe injection site! Ana Cuevas, health worker at the Tom Waddell Health Center, SF Public Health [Pictured above]   Listen to my report at the BBC’s Health Check Program (Ebola episode: starts at 8:49) Check out the Fresh Dialogues podcast or below http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fresh-Dialogues-podcast-homeless-addicted-SF-Oct-2018.mp3 Here’s a transcript of my full report. A shorter version aired on the BBC World Service on October 24, 2018. Atmos: San Francisco city street sounds: bus, cars, fans, people… Alison van Diggelen: I’m here at City Hall in the center of San Francisco. Within yards of the building’s gleaming dome, there are clusters of homeless people, huddled in doorways, sprawled on pavements, or slowly pacing the streets. Every week, Dr Barry Zevin and his team walk the city streets to build rapport with homeless people with addiction problems and offer on-the-spot treatment. Once trust is established, they encourage patients to visit the city’s public health clinic. Today, there’s a steady stream of homeless people… Alison van Diggelen: Inside this clinic, known as the Tom Waddell Health Center, I meet James (not his real name) a former medic in the United States army, who recently started treatment for heroin addiction. James: Right now I got a prescription refilled, and the doctor was like: do you need a shelter bed for tonight? Are there other things I can do for you? I’m very impressed with how kind and helpful they are…going above and beyond to find what else they can do for me. Alison van Diggelen: James, who’s 30, has been prescribed buprenorphine to help wean him off his opioid addiction. Buprenorphine is a daily pill that reduces opioid cravings and the extreme physical pain of withdrawal. Despite being an addict for over ten years, James sincerely wants to change. James: This medication allows me to do a detox less painfully and I no longer will have intense cravings for the substance of abuse. It’s definitely more comfortable than cold turkey… Alison van Diggelen: James has been homeless in SF for [...] Over 100 Americans die every day from opioid overdose, that’s about 40,000 a year. What can be done to reverse the recent spike in fatalities? In San Francisco, a team of public health workers is focused on treating the most vulnerable: homeless [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2018/08/16/madonna-why-does-she-matter-more-than-ever/ Thu, 16 Aug 2018 20:19:09 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10056 What makes Madonna the ultimate female bad-ass role model? On the eve of Madonna’s 60th birthday, I was invited to join the BBC’s Roger Hearing in London and Bloomberg’s Enda Curran in Hong Kong to discuss the queen of pop’s controversial life and legacy. How has she redefined what it means to be a woman in her 60’s? “In the realms of entertainment, whether you’re an actor or a musician, as a woman you’re supposed to fade away in a dignified manner when menopause kicks in. Madonna hasn’t done that and I think that’s a great, great thing. Why should women have to make this dignified exit because no one is asking men to do that?” Fiona Sturges, Culture critic at the Guardian, Financial Times. Listen to the podcast at BBC World Service (Madonna segment starts @42:50) Or to the highlights from the latest Fresh Dialogues podcast http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Madonna-the-ultimate-badass-role-model-FD-podcast.mp3 . Here is some of our conversation: Roger Hearing: Now Alison, you’re a fan, aren’t you? Alison van Diggelen: I am a fan. How I’d describe Madonna is: She’s the ultimate bad-ass female role model. She’s fearless, creative, unpredictable and that makes her super compelling. I also have to praise her for her Billboard Music Awards speech in 2016. This was before #MeToo and she talked out misogyny, the double standards for men and woman. She appealed to women to reach out to other strong women, to learn, to collaborate and to be inspired. That’s a message that we cannot get tired of hearing. Roger Hearing: But what makes her a role model? She’s been pretty controversial in lots of ways that many people thought was not appropriate, and wasn’t a good role model for anyone… Alison van Diggelen: She’s a pioneer. She doesn’t accept the norms and conventions and I think that what she’s doing as a 60 year-old is: she’s going to reinvent what we think of a 60 year-old woman. I say: good on her! She makes some crazy choices in what she wears and what she does, but she’s always pushing the envelope, making us question what is “OK”? I think that qualifies her as a role model, even if you don’t like 100% of her choices. Continues… Check out other reports about other inspiring women -like Meryl Streep, Amal Clooney and Maureen Dowd on Fresh Dialogues What makes Madonna the ultimate female bad-ass role model? On the eve of Madonna’s 60th birthday, I was invited to join the BBC’s Roger Hearing in London and Bloomberg’s Enda Curran in Hong Kong to discuss the queen of pop’s controversial [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2018/06/14/suicide-prevention-how-to-help-vulnerable-people-a-bbc-report/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 18:43:13 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=10024 With the tragic news of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade’s recent deaths by suicide, the spotlight is on suicide this month. The latest trends are chilling: The suicide rate in the United States has grown by over 25% since 1999, according to the CDC. Alison van Diggelen’s latest report for the BBC’s Health Check couldn’t be more timely. She was asked to explore the role that barbershops can play as a conduit to getting vulnerable men the help they need. Alison found that the potential for reaching vulnerable people is enormous. This hopeful story could equally apply to hair salons, sports clubs, bars, cafes, places of worship… even sidewalks. Wherever two people have a chance to talk, there’s an opportunity to help save a life. [Photo credit: Elizabeth Brockway, The Daily Beast] “It’s not just a cut, it’s more of a confessional…their sanctuary to unload a lot of their intimate feelings. We hold those relationships in high regard. These individuals can trust us that it’s not going to go any further than the chair.” Dan Dixon, owner of Crewners Barber Shop in Silicon Valley, California  Listen to the report at BBC Health Check (@9:55) Or from the Fresh Dialogues podcast below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Barbershop-Suicide-Podcast-for-FD-7-min.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of the original report (edited for length and clarity): BBC Health Check host, Claudia Hammond: In many parts of the world, men feel reluctant to seek help for their mental health. So in Silicon Valley, California, there’s a barbershop that’s become a safe space for men to talk about more private things in life, while they have a haircut. For Health Check, Alison van Diggelen has been to a barbershop to see how it’s done… Atmos: Barber shop scissors cutting, clippers buzzing, hair drier… Alison van Diggelen: Here in downtown San Jose, Crewners Barber Shop is a popular place for men to shed some hair, as well as some of their troubles. The owner, Dan Dixon, is dapperly dressed in burgundy shirt, black waistcoat and white tie. He’s a warm and friendly chap who sees his regulars about once a month. Over the years, he’s built a lot of trust. Dixon and his barbers have become confidantes to many men. Their clients tell them when they’re planning to leave their spouses, when there’s a death in the family and more… Dan Dixon: There are people who’ve felt this is their place, their sanctuary to unload a lot of their intimate feelings… A gentleman who’d not yet come out to his family…he wanted to go through a sex change. He confided that in me prior to mentioning it to his family. We hold those relationships in high regard. These individuals can trust us that it’s not going to go any further than the chair. Alison van Diggelen: His barbershop is a safe place to talk, for anyone at all. Dan Dixon: It’s not just a cut, it’s more of a confessional. What’s funny right now is Alex is cutting the hair of one of our Catholic priests here in downtown San Jose. So Alex is currently giving his confessional to his priest. (laughter) It’s a great environment…I try to lend a bit of my background…I’m older, I’m 49. I try to be the open ear and the soft spoken one and lend what I’ve gone through… Alison van Diggelen: I talk to James Ursin, one of Dixon’s long time clients. James, have you shared intimate stuff about you, your family? James Ursin: Of course! And he has too. When you live in such a competitive atmosphere of Silicon Valley: high cost of living, job opportunities…I like to run things by him. He’ll sometimes open up…you have a relationship you see once a month. You have to be honest with them, they’re holding scissors next to your neck! (laughter) Part of that goes back to trust. James Ursin: Sometimes just talking out my problems to him he doesn’t even need to respond. I can usually answer them myself. Maybe I bring up questions [...] With the tragic news of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade’s recent deaths by suicide, the spotlight is on suicide this month. The latest trends are chilling: The suicide rate in the United States has grown by over 25% since 1999, according to the [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2018/04/05/silicon_valley_teens_tell_emma_gonzalez_we_stand_with_you/ Thu, 05 Apr 2018 20:39:09 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9987 This week’s report addresses gun violence in the United States. Many of us have been inspired by the fearless survivors of the Florida High School shooting on Valentine’s Day. Powerful speeches by teenagers, Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg have changed the conversation and I applaud them and the March For Our Lives Movement for their bravery and tenacity in their mission to reduce gun violence through sensible gun policies. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in DC, and hundreds of cities in the United States and around the world. Here are voices from the March for Our Lives in San Jose, California and a clip from my BBC report which aired on Business Matters on March 27th. I’m here because I don’t want to be afraid to go to school. I don’t want to say ‘I love you’ to my mom, ‘I hope I see you after school.’ Ashley Wilson, 15-year-old high school student who took part in the March for Our Lives in Silicon Valley, California on March 24, 2018. (photographed above by Shannon McElyea) Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast on iTunes or below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Gun-protest-march-FD-Podcast-April-5-2018.mp3 . Here are some highlights from the podcast First, I spoke with MacKenzie Mossing a 24 year-old resident of Silicon Valley, California. Mackenzie Mossing: I’m here because I think our system is really broken when kids have to fear going to school, when I have to fear going to music concerts, when you can buy an AR 15 before you can buy a beer. Alison van Diggelen: Do you have a message for the NRA Leadership? Mackenzie Mossing: Why is your right to own a gun bigger than my right to live? Alison van Diggelen: Do you have a message for Emma Gonzalez? Mackenzie Mossing: You are a true inspiration. Keep doing what you’re doing. We need more people like you to invoke change in the world. Ashley Wilson: Enough is enough. School shootings should not happen…I’d like to see much less school shootings, shootings in general….(and) gun control. Alison van Diggelen: What role do you feel businesses should play in this? Companies like Delta Airlines and several banks have stopped their incentives for NRA members. Do you agree with that and what more can companies do? Ashley Wilson: I completely agree with that and I think more companies should join in. Alison van Diggelen: Do you have a message for teens in Florida who’re taking to the streets in DC today? Ashley Wilson: Know that the rest of the nation is with you, the rest of the world…We stand with you. Alison van Diggelen: I asked 18 year-old Jacob Seichrist, a graduate of Branham High School in San Jose, and marketing manager, Chris Mossing, about the role of businesses in changing gun control policies. Jacob Seichrist:  I’m hoping these movements are getting out there to parts of America that are on the fence. They can see how important this is…we’ve had so many shootings already this year, it’s crazy to me. Alison van Diggelen: Do you feel the business world has influence on this? For example Delta and Hertz have taken away their discounts for NRA members.. Do you think other businesses should do similar? Jacob Seichrist: I think that that’s important. These brands and companies are making their statements, picking the side they want to support. Sometimes that’s going to be the way to convince people who’re on that fence…when they see that the companies that they use are on that side. It’s not just some vocal minority, it’s really real and a powerful thing. When companies do it, for some people, it’ll be a trigger of: “Wow, this is a real thing, this is something important…maybe it’s something I should look into…” If I were a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of a large brand, I’d be paying a lot of attention to what’s happening today in the streets of the United States. Millennials are looking for brands to be on the right side of social [...] This week’s report addresses gun violence in the United States. Many of us have been inspired by the fearless survivors of the Florida High School shooting on Valentine’s Day. Powerful speeches by teenagers, Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg have [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2018/03/07/influential-women-men-speak-out-on-guns-amal-clooney-emma-gonzales-rick-steves/ Wed, 07 Mar 2018 23:22:58 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9958 Amal Clooney, Emma Gonzales, Rick Steves. These are just a few of the influential people who’re standing up to gun violence since the Florida high school massacre on February 14th. Amal Clooney addressed an audience of 6500 women at the Watermark Conference for Women in Silicon Valley just a few days after the mass shooting. Here’s what she said about outspoken high school students, like Emma Gonzalez: “I’m just blown away by these students. They’re doing an amazing job at turning a tragedy into advocacy. I’m in awe of how courageous they are and how effective they are…To stand face to face with the President, a Senator, the NRA and ask tough questions. They are determined for change to come and they are our best hope. I’ve heard theories about violence in films, mental health issues…but these exist in other countries and this is the only country where this kind of problem exists. The difference is guns!” Amal Clooney, Human Rights Lawyer, Co-founder Clooney Foundation for Justice This week’s Fresh Dialogues podcast brings together my recent interviews on this topic from the BBC, the Commonwealth Club and the Watermark Conference for Women. It seeks to answer the following questions: Who is Emma Gonzalez and why could she represent a turning point in gun control? Why does Amal Clooney care about gun violence and what’s she doing? What can you do? Travel guru and businessman Rick Steves has one powerful idea. Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast here or play it below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Clooney-McEvers-Steves-guns-Florida-FD-Podcast-940.mp3 . 1. Who is Emma Gonzalez and why could she represent a turning point in gun control? Emma Gonzales was one of the dozens of students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida who survived the massacre of 17 of their friends on February 14th. While most of us would have been terrorized and cowed by the horrific gun violence, just three days later, Emma Gonzales took to the podium at a Florida rally, where she directed her anger at President Trump and other politicians for accepting donations from the National Rifle Association. If you haven’t yet watched her passionate and articulate speech, I recommend you watch right now. She’s got over 1 million followers on Twitter and is using that as a platform to share information about the upcoming March for Our Lives on March 24th.  Emma Gonzalez: “Every single person up here today, all these people should be home grieving. But instead we are up here standing together because if all our government and President can do is send thoughts and prayers, then it’s time for victims to be the change that we need to see…They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS!” 2. Why does Amal Clooney care about gun violence and what’s she doing? Amal Clooney was a keynote speaker at the Watermark Conference for Women on February 23rd. She was interviewed onstage by NPR’s Kelly McEvers, who asked her why she and George Clooney just committed $500,000 to the #NeverAgain movement to end gun violence. Here’s what she said: Amal Clooney: “I’m just blown away by these students. They’re doing an amazing job at turning a tragedy into advocacy. I’m in awe of how courageous they are and how effective they are…at 16 years old… To stand face to face with the President, a Senator, the NRA and ask tough questions. They are determined for change to come and they are our best hope. As someone who didn’t grow up in the US, I’ve always thought of it as this great country providing an example to others. The idea that children are scared to go to school, that bullet proof backpacks are sold out, and they have to go through live shooter drills and the solution now is to start arming teachers!” “I’ve heard theories about violence in films, mental health issues…but these exist in other countries and this is [...] Amal Clooney, Emma Gonzales, Rick Steves. These are just a few of the influential people who’re standing up to gun violence since the Florida high school massacre on February 14th. Amal Clooney addressed an audience of 6500 women at the [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2018/01/31/is-high-tea-for-you-female-entrepreneurs-offer-marijuana-infused-tea/ Wed, 31 Jan 2018 21:28:48 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9936 This year, California became the 6th state in the U.S. to make it legal to sell marijuana for recreational use. The BBC World Service asked me to explore an all-female startup that’s hoping to become a global power house for “high tea.” Amanda Jones and Jen Chapin, the Kikoko cofounders say that their marijuana-infused teas can help with sleep, pain, mood and even sex. I interviewed an enthusiastic fan at a Silicon Valley high tea party who raved about her spectacular orgasms! But is it addictive and what are the risks? My report aired today on the BBC’s Health Check. Listen to the BBC podcast (High Tea segment Starts at 8:54) Or listen to the shorter High Tea segment below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/High-Tea-Segment-BBC-Health-Check-7-mins-w-FD-intro-.mp3 Here’s a transcript of my report (edited for length and clarity): BBC Health Check Host, Claudia Hammond: On New Year’s Day, California became the 6th state in the U.S. to legalize marijuana for recreational use. With an estimated potential market of $7Bn, it’s big business and queues soon formed outside dispensaries, with people keen to buy not just marijuana in tobacco and oils, but in brownies and even gummy bears. Now you can go to a “high tea” where the tea bags contain more than just tea leaves. So we sent reporter Alison van Diggelen along to ask what impact marijuana can have on our health? Alison van Diggelen: Here in an affluent suburb of Silicon Valley, women in fancy hats are enjoying a little tea party. The product – Kikoko – offers you “high” tea: tea bags with microdoses of marijuana that can give you a buzz and more. Here’s Amanda Jones, one of the cofounders of Kikoko…. Amanda Jones: This is not your mother’s Earl Grey tea…however it’s good for your mother. My mother does it almost every day, she’s 82. What we offer is a cannabis infused herbal tea, very low dose… “Ritz with a twist” is what we call it. It’s very refined, all organic, top-shelf herbs, blended for the particular ailments we’re trying to treat. Alison van Diggelen: Amanda, and her all-female team, say their tea blends can help with: sleep, pain, mood and even sex….The teas have between 3 and 10 mg of THC. THC – or Tetra-hydro-cannabinol – is what gets people high. At elevated doses it’s also been linked to anxiety and an increased risk of mental health problems.  The other key substance in marijuana is Cannabidiol, or CBD – sometimes recommended to help with pain or inflammation. A small trial recently conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry in London found this substance acts as an anti-psychotic and might counteract some of the negative effects of THC. Several Kikoko clients enthused about the tea’s healing powers – including Tara Kaplinski, a lawyer who started drinking the tea for pain relief and to get a good night’s sleep… Tara Kaplinski: I was taking a lot of ibuprofen for a wrist injury and I started to get pain in my solar plexus…so I went to the doctor and they said you can’t take Aleve (Naproxen)…you can’t take ibuprofen. So if you can’t take anything, then this is perfect. It does do the job, at least for me. It’s like a superfood…the health benefits are amazing…it’s better than having a beer, you’re not going to gain weight from it, be hungover in the morning…You’re not going to get frustrated with your children. I think it’s a healthier alternative. Alison van Diggelen: Tracy O’Reilly – not her real name – is also a fan, but for quite different reasons. She’s a 55 year-old pharmacologist with expertise in toxicology. Tracy O’Reilly: I took this “sensuali-tea” and it absolutely changed my life… I really had tremendous orgasms and I just felt wonderful afterwards and it lingered; giving me a pleasure that I didn’t think was possible post-menopause… Alison van Diggelen: With the same partner? Tracy O’Reilly: [...] This year, California became the 6th state in the U.S. to make it legal to sell marijuana for recreational use. The BBC World Service asked me to explore an all-female startup that’s hoping to become a global power house for “high tea.” [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/11/02/woman-to-woman-rising-together-bbc-report/ Thu, 02 Nov 2017 18:30:19 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9845 As the flood of #MeToo stories continue to inundate our media with horrific stories of sexual assault and harassment, Alison van Diggelen was relieved to cover an uplifting story of women empowerment on assignment for the BBC World Service. California-based Rising International was conceived in response to the draconian sexual apartheid of the Taliban. One brave woman in Afghanistan asked herself: what would I do if I was not afraid? And one energetic woman in Santa Cruz was inspired to create a local uprising and launch a global movement. “She felt they were saying to her: you’re less than a human being because you’re a woman! Jamila Hashimi is her name…she’s my hero. The Taliban had declared women under house arrest, so they were not allowed to leave their homes…to learn to read or write. She started a secret school… even though she knew of teachers who’d been killed on the streets… She inspired me to get involved. We started in Afghanistan with Jamila creating a craft project and now 27 countries later we’re working with Jamilas all over the world.” Carmel Jud, Founder of Rising International Photo: Djide Koffa, a soulful singer from Cameroon, volunteers for Rising International Ready for an uplifting story? Listen to the BBC Business Matters podcast (My report starts at 17:25)  Or listen to the special extended length Fresh Dialogues segment below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Fresh-Dialogues-Rising-Intnl-podcast.mp3 . .. . Here’s a transcript of our conversation and a longer version of the BBC report (edited for length and clarity): BBC Host, Fergus Nicoll: Being abused, being trafficked – having little or no access to education – are not, you might think, the best preconditions for business success. But one group of marginalized women in California is turning adversity on its head. They’re selling handmade goods – made by women living in the poorest and most dangerous places in the world – and it’s doing well. Alison tell us about the Rising Home Party. Alison van Diggelen: That’s right Fergus  – I recently attended one of these parties. Friends and family gathered in a home in Silicon Valley to buy arts and crafts from around the world. These events are a key part of Rising International’s strategy. They aim to help end poverty from the comfort of your living room and empower what they call, “a global sisterhood of survivor entrepreneurs.” Here’s the report: Alison van Diggelen: Dining room tables are covered with boutique-quality gifts, handcrafted by women survivors of war, gender-based violence, and human trafficking. Each item comes with a tag telling the story of the artisan, giving her a voice in the world. Carmel Jud, who founded Rising International 15 years ago, told me what inspired her: Carmel Jud: I got to meet a woman who shared her story: she woke up to a radio broadcast… the Taliban had taken over and declared women under house arrest, so they were not allowed to leave their homes, weren’t allowed to learn to read or write. She felt they were saying to her: you’re less than a human being because you’re a woman! Jamila Hashimi is her name…she’s my hero. She started a secret school… she was sneaking girls into her basement even though she knew of teachers who’d been hung, killed on the streets… She inspired me to get involved. We started in Afghanistan with Jamila creating a craft project and now 27 countries later we’re working with Jamilas all over the world. Alison van Diggelen: How does the organization choose its projects? Carmel Jud: We go where it’s the hardest to be alive as a woman…the DR Congo where rape is used as a war tactic…  We look to see: where’s that happening the most and how can we tell their story? We always find they’re making something beautiful even in the midst of tragedy…It’s almost like the craft is the messenger. Photo: Carmel Jud, [...] As the flood of #MeToo stories continue to inundate our media with horrific stories of sexual assault and harassment, Alison van Diggelen was relieved to cover an uplifting story of women empowerment on assignment for the BBC World Service. [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/10/18/whats-richard-bransons-vision-for-virgin-galactic-hyperloop-one-bbc-report/ Wed, 18 Oct 2017 20:44:12 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9795 Why did Virgin’s Richard Branson decide to invest in Hyperloop One, the futuristic transport system that seeks to shrink journey times (like LA to San Francisco, London to Glasgow) to less than one hour? On assignment for the BBC World Service, Alison van Diggelen sat down with Branson in San Francisco to explore his vision for the Hyperloop, as well as Virgin Galactic, One Web and supersonic travel around the world. Branson is still reeling from the deadly hurricanes that destroyed his island paradise, and he’s calling for a Marshall Plan to aid sustainable recovery in the Caribbean region. He told me he’s energized by the “climate skeptic in the White House.” “When you’ve got 99% of scientists saying the world is heating up, the world is heating up. Yes, you’ve got a climate skeptic in the White House but most sane people – most rational people – know that we have a problem. It’s sad to have someone like that in such a position of power and therefore all of us have just to work that much harder to rectify any damage that he does.” Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group Photo: Richard Branson in conversation with Alison van Diggelen for the BBC World Service. San Francisco, October, 2017. Credit: Lewis van Diggelen My report aired on the BBC World Service’s tech program, Click. You can listen to the BBC podcast here (Branson segment starts at 0:35) Or listen to the Branson segment below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BBC-Click-Richard-Branson-intw-w-Alison-van-Diggelen-re-Hyperloop-Virgin-Galactic-Oct-17-2017.mp3   Here’s a transcript of the segment (plus some bonus material), edited for length and clarity: The BBC’s Gareth Mitchell: First, a futuristic plan to transport us in supersonic tube trains. This is a concept called the Hyperloop and now one of the world’s richest people is investing in it. Virgin Group founder, Richard Branson has just done a deal with one of the companies developing the technology, Hyperloop One. Alison van Diggelen, our reporter in Silicon Valley has been speaking to Richard Branson. The conversation begins with Branson’s other great interest: space. Not just Virgin Galactic, but plans to improve connectivity for citizens back here on earth. Alison van Diggelen: What makes Virgin Galactic distinct from what Jeff Bezos is doing with Blue Origin and Elon Musk with SpaceX? Richard Branson: With Virgin Galactic our principal reason for being is to help this beautiful earth that we live on. Space can help people back here on earth…One of the things we’re going to be doing through a company we’re involved in called One Web is put an array of 2,000 satellites around the earth. That’ll be the biggest array of satellites in space and they can help connect the 4 Billion people who’re not connected today. If you’re not connected, and you can’t get Internet or wifi; it’s difficult for you to start businesses and help your children get educated in remote places…. Alison van Diggelen: What’s the timeline on that? Richard Branson: One Web should be up and running in about 2 ½ years time (first launches are due to start in 2-3 months). Virgin Galactic’s mission is taking people into space, making them astronauts, and giving them an incredible experience and a chance to look back on this beautiful earth. Next year (2018) should be the year for Virgin Galactic, the year that VSS Unity goes into space, the year I go into space and we start taking people into space. Because Virgin Galactic – unlike what Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk’s are doing – is shaped like an airplane, like a spaceship (they’ve gone for big rockets) – it can go into space, it can come back, it can land again and we can grow it. So one day we can do point to point travel… Photo: Richard Branson shows off Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity. Credit: Jack Brockway Alison van Diggelen: What does that mean? Rocket speeds around [...] Why did Virgin’s Richard Branson decide to invest in Hyperloop One, the futuristic transport system that seeks to shrink journey times (like LA to San Francisco, London to Glasgow) to less than one hour? On assignment for the BBC World [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/10/12/are-you-being-heard-why-sidewalk-talk-is-life-changing-a-bbc-report/ Thu, 12 Oct 2017 18:26:35 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9770 Are you being heard? Alison van Diggelen reports for the BBC World Service on a project that offers free listening to people in the street. How is Sidewalk Talk helping to change lives? “When I first learned of Sidewalk Talk, I was having a depressive episode…I was struggling in my business…online marketing: it’s lonely, it’s isolating and I saw this beautiful project on Facebook and I just lit up! It’s been a year now…I find myself being more articulate, connecting with people, being more compassionate, I’m a better mother, daughter, friend. I’m less reactive…It’s truly been life changing.” Myisha T, Oakland team leader for Sidewalk Talk Right now, there’s a lot happening to increase our anxiety levels: The mass shooting in Las Vegas; devastating tropical storms, growing terrorism in Europe, Brexit fears…. Plus, the Trump administration seems intent on ratcheting up the conflict with North Korea; clamping down on immigration; and attempting to roll back action on climate change and rights to contraception. Here in Silicon Valley, the California fires on our doorstep are clogging the air with smoke and fear. With reasons for mental distress growing, support can sometimes seem elusive. In Silicon Valley, there’s a critical shortage of qualified therapists and getting an appointment can take weeks or even months. Calling a helpline might seem daunting – but imagine pulling up a chair on the street where you live and sharing your anxieties with an empathetic listener? This week, my report aired on the BBC’s Health Check Listen to the BBC podcast (Sidewalk Talk segment starts at 9:37) http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SideWalk-Talk-segment-BBC-HealthCheck-Oct-11-2017.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of the program, featuring a longer version of my report (edited for length and clarity): BBC Health Check Host, Claudia Hammond: In today’s world, it can sometimes feel difficult to connect with people….Social media means that technically, we’re better connected than ever, but even if we’re surrounded by people – real or virtual – it can feel as if no one is really listening. In Oakland, near San Francisco, a group has come up with a solution, and a low tech one at that. You don’t even have to call a helpline. Instead you see the sign in the street that says “free listening” and you pull up a chair and share your anxieties about the world with an empathetic listener. Alison van Diggelen reports from California on a project that offers free listening. Atmos: Street sounds at Oakland’s First Friday Alison van Diggelen: I’m here on Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland where Sidewalk Talk volunteers are setting up chairs on the sidewalk. They’re inviting passers-by to take a seat and just talk. The aim is simply to share their story, feel a human connection and perhaps find power in their voice… Myisha T (Oakland team leader): Hey…free listening…would you like to be listened to today? Come on over, I want to talk to you about something. We’re Sidewalk Talk…we’re a community listening project. First Friday in downtown Oakland offers an excellent opportunity for Sidewalk Talk volunteers to connect with the community. Alison van Diggelen: About one in eight of the people she approaches agrees to sit down and talk…Tonight she has two volunteers to help out with deep, active listening. Myisha, the Beatles sang about “All the lonely people.” Do you see that in the streets here in Oakland? Myisha T: Yes, absolutely. A lot of people are lonely and when they find out you just want to listen to them are actually shocked. They’re like: wait, what? You really want to connect, no strings attached, no money, it’s not therapy? There’s a lot of loneliness on the streets, a lot of disconnection..as soon as you sit down…two minutes in you just get connected and you can see the whole body language change, it gets more relaxed…you’ll [...] Are you being heard? Alison van Diggelen reports for the BBC World Service on a project that offers free listening to people in the street. How is Sidewalk Talk helping to change lives? “When I first learned of Sidewalk Talk, I was having a [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/09/20/google-plans-campus-at-grand-central-station-san-jose-bbc-report/ Wed, 20 Sep 2017 15:36:07 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9746 In San Francisco, the tech community continues to face an angry backlash for pushing out locals, artists and the elderly. Meanwhile, 50 miles south, Google has announced plans to partner with the City of San Jose to build a tech village dubbed “The Grand Central Station of the West.” Experts see this South Bay development as a way for Google to “do it right” and build an inclusive development around a transport hub with lots of public open space and affordable housing. Why are some people calling it a new template for the tech campus?  Alison van Diggelen reports on a tale of tech in two cities for the BBC World Service… Photo caption: Google plans to rethink office space in Silicon Valley and use large translucent canopies to blur the distinction between buildings and nature. Source: Google (Charleston Rendering) Listen to the podcast at the BBC World Service Or listen to the segment below, introduced by the BBC’s Bill Thompson (report starts at 0:40): http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Google-Campus-San-Jose-Report-for-BBC-Click-Sept-19-2017.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of the report. It aired today on the BBC’s program, Click [Atmos: Train, bus atmos at Diridon station, in downtown San Jose] Glen Abbott: If the same tech gentrification happens in Santa Clara, which it is…’cos Google just bought up what’s available in Santa Clara, it just sends the housing prices up… people can’t afford to live here.. San Jose resident (retired union organizer): I am in support of anything that will bring jobs with dignity and a living wage … and we don’t just import a bunch of high dollar, high tech electronic gurus into our area… Alison van Diggelen: These are just two of San Jose’s residents who have concerns at the proposed development benefiting rich techies, to the detriment of the wider community. One lives in a trailer park, one has been homeless. This summer, Google announced a plan to create a massive campus for up to 20,000 employees in San Jose’s city center, the South Bay city that calls itself “The capital of Silicon Valley.” Google’s vice president of real estate outlined the company’s vision for the Diridon Station development at a council meeting… Mark Golan: South Bay has been Google’s home for over 20 years now. We have thousands of Googlers who’re residents of San Jose. Google shares the City’s vision for the development of the Diridon area. …we are excited about the possibility of bringing a state of the art office, housing, retail, amenities, civic plazas, parks, and open spaces to the downtown San Jose area, all connected via an incredible mass transit system and integrated with the surrounding community. Kim Walesh is the Director of Economic Development at the city. She laments that the tech boom means Silicon Valley’s roads are often gridlocked and sees a solution in public transport. Photo: Visualization of HSR San Jose by California High Speed Rail Authority (image is preliminary and subject to change)  Kim Walesh: Google will be the first major tech company to consciously decide to grow near transit. It’s an opportunity to get it right…a counterpoint to traditional Silicon Valley campus development – a human scale, urban place….we’re not even calling it a campus. That can connote inward looking like Facebook or Apple. This is a totally different concept it says: Let’s put our innovation employees right in the heart of downtown in an open campus environment with well designed parks and plazas for all sorts of people to enjoy and interact. That’s where innovation comes from… Bob Staedler of Silicon Valley Synergy is an expert in tech developments and a frequent advisor to the City Council. He describes this Grand Central Station vision… Staedler: You’re going to have a multi-modal transport hub that could be 150 feet up in the air, having four separate modes of transportation from bus to high speed [...] In San Francisco, the tech community continues to face an angry backlash for pushing out locals, artists and the elderly. Meanwhile, 50 miles south, Google has announced plans to partner with the City of San Jose to build a tech village dubbed [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/08/30/can-a-tech-mindset-change-city-hall-bbc-report-from-silicon-valley/ Wed, 30 Aug 2017 19:54:53 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9700 As dramatic images of the Texas floods pour in, it’s timely to ask: would a tech mindset help cities be more responsive and efficient in their disaster response? The concept of transforming the culture of a city hall by adopting a tech approach is what I’ve been exploring this month for the BBC World Service. How would an agile, innovative tech mindset help to fix problems and meet community needs more quickly? My report aired this week on Business Matters and fellow guest Duncan Clark, Chairman of BDA, shared his perspective from Beijing. Alison van Diggelen reports from Silicon Valley, on how a tech mindset is helping transform San Jose’s City Hall. “I’ve been really encouraged with how willing people are to try new things. We’re seeing a culture shift here at city hall, that is interested in learning about technology and process improvement and customer driven innovation,” Erica Garaffo, Data Analytics Lead at San Jose City Hall Listen to the BBC podcast (starts @16:30) or to podcast segment below http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SV-Tech-Mindset-segment-on-BBC-BusinessMatters-Aug-28-2017.mp3 Here’s a transcript of the segment, edited for length and clarity: The BBC’s Fergus Nicoll: We’ve been talking about urban management and weather. Time now to talk about simple urban management in the context of cities that aren’t content to wait for federal infrastructure investment. Alison’s been investigating this in San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley… Alison van Diggelen: Some city managers are not holding their breath with the current administration in D.C. The Trump administration is behind on all major promises (infrastructure investment, tax reform etc.); so, here in San Jose, they’re adopting a tech approach to make City Hall more efficient, accessible and responsive to community needs like flooding. San Jose is leveraging its location in the heart of Silicon Valley to lead the charge. I’ve been exploring their game plan and I started by visiting Diridon Station, the main transport hub in San Jose’s city center, to find out from the locals what they think of the city. [Atmos: Train, plane, bus traffic in downtown San Jose] Glen Abbott: What public works you see being done are extensive street modifications and drainage that go on and on and on and never seem to reach completion! Somebody is buttering somebody else’s toast… Chelsea Conrad: There’s a lot of graffiti and trash I’ve noticed…I think it should be cleaned up…It’s kind of an eyesore… Alison van Diggelen: Meet Kip Harkness. He’s deputy city manager of San Jose, the self described “Capital of Silicon Valley.” Harkness dresses a la Steve Jobs in black turtleneck and blue jeans. A former Director at PayPal; today he wants to bring innovation and the “speed of business” to civic life in San Jose. With the enthusiasm of a tech evangelist, he demos the city’s latest release on his smartphone: It’s an app called “My San Jose” Kip Harkness: Here we are at City Hall – you can see the pinpoints that are requests…you can see illegal dumping. Lots of illegal dumping! Alison van Diggelen: Does it scare you to see so many complaints? Kip Harkness: It’s excites me. Now we know what the issues are. About 10,000 people have already downloaded the app… Alison van Diggelen: He’s assembling what he calls “a tribe of innovators” to transform City Hall. Kip Harkness: So we found some graffiti…it asks me if I want to take a picture. It confirms the location. Done, submitted, reference request is in there. Hopefully over the course of the day it will be processed in the system and that status will be updated. [Atmos: scrum meeting discussion with Michelle Thong…laughter…] Alison van Diggelen: I meet his “tribe” on the 17th floor of City Hall just before their daily “scrum” – a 15 minute standup meeting. Participants move sticky notes across a [...] As dramatic images of the Texas floods pour in, it’s timely to ask: would a tech mindset help cities be more responsive and efficient in their disaster response? The concept of transforming the culture of a city hall by adopting a tech approach [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/07/26/cambridge-future-cities-conference-bbc-report/ Wed, 26 Jul 2017 20:36:11 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9678 How will future cities deal with our growing transport challenges, and the security and privacy of our data? MIT professor Carlo Ratti  explored these challenges at this year’s Future Cities Conference in Cambridge, England. Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues reports for the BBC World Service. Photo caption: MIT Professor, Carlo Ratti in conversation with Alison van Diggelen at the Future Cities Conference, Jesus College, Cambridge on July 18, 2017. On Monday, I joined the BBC’s Roger Hearing and Delhi journalist Madhavan Narayanan to discuss future cities and the role of technology in making them more efficient and sustainable. Listen to the podcast at the BBC’s Business Matters (Future Cities segment starts at 26:34) Or listen to the audio clip below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Smart-Cities-report-by-Alison-van-Diggelen-on-BBC-BusinessMatters-July-25-2017.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity): BBC Host, Roger Hearing: Alison, you’ve been having an interesting time recently. You’ve been looking at the concept of Future Cities, in fact you’ve been over in Europe I believe? Give me a picture of what you’ve been doing and what you’ve been hearing. Alison van Diggelen:  I was back at Cambridge University, in England last week, exploring the role of technology in shaping our future cities. The Cambridge Future Cities Conference assembled experts from academia, policy making and business to explore the challenges and opportunities facing cities. I interviewed Professor Carlo Ratti. He’s Director of the “Senseable City” Lab at MIT. “Senseable” as in sensors. He and his team are adding sensors to everything from trash to taxis to discover patterns, inefficiencies and opportunities to reinvent future cities, and make them greener and more sustainable. His team collaborated with Uber to test the feasibility of car-sharing and the Uberpool in New York.  They found that in theory, everyone could travel on demand with just one-fifth (20%) of the number of cars in use today. He calls it the future mobility web. Prof. Carlo Ratti: If you think about the future you can imagine something that we started calling a mobility web. A mobility web means the potential to know in real-time all the potential for transportation in the city both for people and parcels. Think about what happens today, you need to open one app, then another app…Imagine if all of them were combined… Then you can do something similar to what you do today with Kayak or Expedia, you can scan all your options – it’s like a mobile web that can radically change the way we look at mobility both for people and for goods. Roger Hearing: Madhavan, you’re in Delhi. Can you imagine that kind of thing working in a city like Delhi? Would you be able to take transport to the point where you could be aware where every car or bus or lorry is at any given moment? Madhavan Narayanan: Let me take a cynical view of what these guys at Stanford etc. do…I call them the Marie Antoinettes of our time. “Let them have high tech” is the new “let them eat cake.” Tech innovations have to be much more culturally sensitive and pragmatic for things to come on fast. People are not trying to reduce the carbon footprint here…people are trying to save money. High techies need to hire more sociologists and anthropologists and instead of talking to each other in an echo chamber of technologists. It will catch on in a zig-zag way…We do not need California idealism, we need Asian pragmatism. Roger Hearing: Do you take that point on board Alison? Alison van Diggelen: Absolutely. One of the refrains people heard at the conference was: let’s get out of our silos here: use this multi-disciplinary approach. We need collaboration, we need to think about different cultures and communities. In America 42 hours a year are lost due to traffic congestion(per [...] How will future cities deal with our growing transport challenges, and the security and privacy of our data? MIT professor Carlo Ratti  explored these challenges at this year’s Future Cities Conference in Cambridge, England. Alison van [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/04/20/julia-gillards-sexism-advice-bbc-dialogues-with-australias-27th-pm/ Thu, 20 Apr 2017 19:59:50 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9552 What can Uber and Fox News do to change their hostile work environment for women? And how can organizations create a productive atmosphere where men and women thrive? Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues sat down with Julia Gillard, the 27th Prime Minister of Australia to get her insights. Gillard got the world’s attention after making an impassioned speech to parliament, detailing the sexual harassment she endured as prime minister. Her Misogyny Speech has empowered many women and a provided a wakeup call for “unenlightened” men. “I will not be lectured on sexism and misogyny by this man…I was personally offended by the leader of the opposition cat-calling: ‘if the Prime Minister wants to, politically speaking, make an honest women of herself ‘ and when he went outside the front of parliament and stood next to a sign that said ‘Ditch the witch’…(and) a sign that described me as ‘A man’s bitch’, I was offended by sexism, misogyny every day from this leader.” Julia Gillard, 27th Prime Minister of Australia The BBC World Service program, Business Matters aired my interview with Julia Gillard last week, and we had a lively discussion about the steps companies and organizations can take to tackle sexism. This topic is especially timely as news broke this week that Bill O’Reilly has been fired from Fox News due to a sexual harassment scandal. Is the tide finally turning, thanks to tech augmented consumer pressure? “Company reputation and consumer pressure is actually putting the spotlight on businesses to change behavior, and women can work with that to put a spotlight on work practices in their business,” Julia Gillard. Did Julia Gillard anticipate Bill O”Reilly being fired? Listen on the BBC Podcast (@26:40) or to the short clip below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Julia-Gillard-on-Sexism-Biz-M-Apr-14-2017-925.mp3   Here are highlights from our conversation: I began by asking her if there’s anything she’d add to her speech in today’s work environment… Julia Gillard: It was coming from a place of frustration and mounting anger about the way in which gender has intersected with my prime ministership and some of the many sexist jibes and treatment I had to put up with. For many women, it’s come to represent something that answers their own frustrations. A lot of women come up to me and say: “this happened to me at work. I wake up at 3 in the morning and really wish I’d said X, Y and Z; and then I’ve watched your speech and it’s given me some heart that I really should call out sexism when I see it.” Alison van Diggelen: Here in Silicon Valley, women in tech are in a minority. In some instances they’re facing hostile environments at work. Do you have any specific advice for them? Julia Gillard: What’s interesting about the Silicon Valley environment is: company reputation and consumer pressure is actually putting the spotlight on businesses to change behavior, and women can work with that to put a spotlight on work practices in their business; and put a spotlight more generally on that fact that not enough women study and come through the STEM stream… We do want to be encouraging more girls to go into the sciences, engineering, into coding, computer science and new technology because that’s where so much of the future is going to lie. Alison van Diggelen: Uber has been accused of having a hostile environment for women. If you were on the board of Uber, your advice to them? Julia Gillard: I’d give the same advice to any company, whether it already had a public problem or not. First look at hiring practices and see whether there’s any gender bias, even unconscious…Look at promotion practices, it could be managers valuing time sitting at the desk rather than results, which would count against women who also have family responsibilities. I’d be setting policies, practices, cultural norms about treating [...] What can Uber and Fox News do to change their hostile work environment for women? And how can organizations create a productive atmosphere where men and women thrive? Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues sat down with Julia Gillard, [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/04/05/app-to-end-homelessness-bbc-report-tech-fix-for-down-outs-in-silicon-valley/ Wed, 05 Apr 2017 16:52:48 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9525 Imagine if you could help end homelessness with the click of a button. There’s an app for that! In Silicon Valley, despite the vast affluence and many tech millionaires, homelessness is a huge problem. With average home prices close to a $1 million and tiny flats renting for well over $1,000, making ends meet can be challenging; and for some people, just finding a roof over their heads is mission impossible. Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues met one woman whose homeless brother inspired her to change all that. “For those who are homeless and poverty stricken, it’s like having a life coach, a service provider and a trainer in the palm of their hands. There’s really something to teaching to fish…rather than giving fish…helping them be self sufficient rather than temporary handouts… We’re here trying to help in other ways that are more sustainable and that lead to a permanent resolution of the problem.” Karen Addato, Founder of Hi Tech Rover and ROVA app.  Here’s my BBC World Service report. It aired April 4th on the BBC’s World Tech program, Click. Listen @15:40 for Host, Gareth Mitchell’s introduction on the April 4th BBC Podcast or to this short clip: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/BBC-Click-Mar-4-2017-Homelessness-App-Clip-7-min.mp3   Alison van Diggelen: I’m here on the Hi Tech Rover, an RV (large camper van) that brings both the internet and a safety net to homeless people all over San Jose. Karen Addato (founder of the Hi Tech Rover and the ROVA app) and her volunteers offer an opportunity for homeless people to get off the streets and reboot their lives. They offer Internet training, help with online job applications, housing search, and even access to detox services. Karen, where are we going right now? Karen Addato: We’re in downtown San Jose, the Capital of Silicon Valley and we’re going to a couple of encampments under bridges, right here in the heart of town. One of them is on Woz Way… Alison van Diggelen: Woz as in Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple and generous philanthropist here in Silicon Valley. Karen Addato is a vivacious single mom, a mortgage broker and executive director of the nonprofit: High Tech Rover. She used $7,000 of her savings to create this Rover Outreach Vehicle App prototype, ROVA for short. Karen Addato: For those who are homeless and poverty stricken, it’s like having a life coach, a service provider and a trainer in the palm of their hands… when we’re not here helping them, they can stay on a pathway focused on upward mobility. They can get on to ROVA and press one button.. “I am seeking help.” Up comes a list of resources available for that gender and age group.  We have a geo-tracker right here, so you can find out where they are…This tool will also help government officials, donors, and service providers figure out what’s needed and what’s not. Alison van Diggelen: Connecting homeless people with jobs, training opportunities and relocation information are a key for Addato. Her brother Stevie was homeless in Boston, and she believes that those who supported his panhandling simply enabled his alcoholism and homelessness. Instead, she’s serious about connecting people to local services, and getting people off the streets for good. Karen Addato: I’ve learned a lot in my time in the trenches working with this population…I’ve learned a lot through the life and tragic death of my brother…There’s really something to teaching to fish…rather than giving fish…helping them be self sufficient rather than temporary handouts… that in some ways is part of the problem. We’re here trying to help in other ways that are more sustainable and that lead to a permanent resolution of the problem. Alison van Diggelen: The High Tech Rover – a huge camper van – is kitted out with desks and laptops. Addato and her volunteers take it to homeless camps around Silicon Valley. Atmos: Sound of walking [...] Imagine if you could help end homelessness with the click of a button. There’s an app for that! In Silicon Valley, despite the vast affluence and many tech millionaires, homelessness is a huge problem. With average home prices close to a $1 [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/03/24/googles-dave-burke-fresh-uncut-dialogues/ Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:07:09 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9493 Deep learning; geek nostalgia; Google’s Pixel phone; and why seeking ‘uncomfortably exciting’ opportunities can bring success. Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues sat down with Google’s Dave Burke, an Irishman, who has risen quickly through the ranks. He leads the Android team, with responsibility for the device and developer ecosystem; and Google’s Pixel phone. How did he succeed so fast, and what qualities does he seek when hiring for his growing team? I interviewed Burke this month for a BBC World Service report exploring Irish identity and success in Silicon Valley.  We had a lively and wide ranging conversation full of insights for tech geeks and entrepreneurs alike, so I’m posting the uncut interview for your listening pleasure. Listen to the uncut interview: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Dave-Burke-Google-29-mins.mp3 Off mic, I asked Burke why Elon Musk has inspired him. “It’s his ability to intuit a bold vision for the future, and then be comfortable in the abstract and yet push tenaciously forward over multiple years. Successful mathematicians need a similar personality – they have an intuition that a solution exists but initially have no concrete certainty on how to prove it and have to persist, sometimes over decades. Einstein’s story of deriving his theory of general relativity is a good example. This personality trait attracts other smart people… For Elon, the ‘contagious confidence’ extends out to his customers, i.e. many are willing to pay a high premium for a Tesla car and don’t seem to worry about the future viability of this fledgling startup, simply because have confidence in the founder.” Dave Burke, Google Here’s are some highlights  of our conversation: On the secrets of Burke’s success @00:20 “Seek out challenges that are uncomfortably exciting…there’s always a risk of failure, but if you succeed, you could make a huge impact.” Why he’s so excited about deep learning @19:23 “The big hot area is deep learning, using neural networks….applying lots of data. You can make machines do incredible things…The potential for deep learning and for AI to make our lives easier is very exciting.” On Google’s Pixel phone @27:15 “Software pushes the hardware and hardware pushes the software. To advance the operating system, you need to have them working really closely together.  It allows Google to have its own product. If you’re a Google user, this is the ideal phone for you.” On rumors of a new Pixel phone this year @27:54 “I can neither confirm nor deny rumors. Technology moves very fast, the cadence…Typically every year, you try to do something new and exciting…we are very busy, working on a lot of stuff… The reviews have been great…but I see the potential for so much more, in terms of innovation, product quality.” We also discussed Burke’s “geek nostalgia” for the BBC Micro computer by Acorn (the precursor to ARM); the gravitational pull of Silicon Valley; the three questions you need to ask to discover if someone is “really Irish”; and flying robotic lemonade stands! Look out for more “Fresh Dialogues Uncut” featuring  Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington, Charlie Rose and Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard. Check out dozens more Fresh Dialogues podcasts on iTunes. Deep learning; geek nostalgia; Google’s Pixel phone; and why seeking ‘uncomfortably exciting’ opportunities can bring success. Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues sat down with Google’s Dave Burke, an Irishman, who has risen [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/03/01/bbc-dialogues-can-trump-create-american-greatness/ Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:57:02 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9461 Last night, Donald Trump delivered his first address to Congress. For the first time, Trump actually appeared both presidential and optimistic as he delivered an upbeat message that called for unity and bipartisan action. But was it just a facade? Can Trump possibly deliver on his ambitious promises of generous tax cuts, massive infrastructure investment and immigration reform? After all, just hours before his speech promised “clean air and clear water” for all Americans, he signed an executive order dismantling EPA protections for lakes and waterways in the U.S. There are already cracks in the facade and many unanswered questions. The BBC’s 5 Live asked me to share my perspective as Britain woke in sleepy amazement to this presidential performance. Report by Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Listen to the BBC Podcast (starts at 21:36) or to the 4 minute clip below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Clip-of-Alison-van-Diggelen-analysis-Trump-speech-to-congress-Feb-28-BBC-WakeUpToMoney-20170301.mp3   Here’s a transcript of our conversation, edited for length and clarity. Colletta Smith: In the last few hours, the U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his first speech to Congress. He covered some familiar themes like job creation and infrastructure investment….The Silicon Valley journalist Alison van Diggelen is on the line this morning. Good morning Alison! Alison van Diggelen: Good morning, great to join you. Colletta Smith: Thank you for joining us again. You’ve been helping us with this whole story over the last year of Trump’s (campaign and) election. This would not normally make the headlines: a president outlining potential budget negotiations. Yet it has with Trump, because we were expecting a surprise. And perhaps the surprise is that there wasn’t really a surprise in the speech that he gave? Alison van Diggelen: His performance tonight was a sharp contrast to the chaotic first 40 days of the Trump presidency. He was very presidential tonight. He stuck to his script and he had a much softer approach. He had a lot of “gifts” for everyone. He’s proposing what he calls “massive” tax relief for the middle class, cuts to corporate tax; $1 Trillion in infrastructure spending and a military spending increase of $54 Billion, which to put in perspective is the entire annual budget for UK military. Colletta Smith: When it comes to adding up those sums…do we have any more details as to how he plans to finance those extra boosts? Alison van Diggelen: That is the big question. It’ll be interesting to see how the markets respond. There are so many outstanding questions:  How is he going to pay for these tax cuts and infrastructure spending?  Can he get these measures through Congress? Will the Federal Reserve undermine his actions by increasing interest rates? Will he start a trade war with his tariff plans and threats to renegotiate multilateral trade agreements like NAFTA? There are so many questions unanswered, so many details unanswered. There’s a big question mark over what the future holds. Colletta Smith: At what point does the electorate, his supporters demand that detail? Alison van Diggelen: The stock market is on a roll right now. The market is up 10% in the ” Trump rally” since the election. Who knows if that can continue? As we all know, the stock market can turn on a dime. It depends on optimism and if the market keeps that optimism. One analyst said, “The market likes to trade on hope,” and all these issues – tax cuts, deregulation, infrastructure spending – they’re all boosts to economic growth, but at some point if he’s not able to push ahead and make progress in Congress, there may be an adjustment of that optimism and people will say: these wonderful (economic stimulus) “carrots” are not going to happen, and then things could take a nose dive. Colletta Smith: Alison van Diggelen, Silicon Valley [...] Last night, Donald Trump delivered his first address to Congress. For the first time, Trump actually appeared both presidential and optimistic as he delivered an upbeat message that called for unity and bipartisan action. But was it just a [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/02/24/bbc-dialogues-elon-musks-ludicrous-plan-for-tesla/ Fri, 24 Feb 2017 20:21:40 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9443 Elon Musk continues to make ambitious plans for Tesla Motors, some even call them “ludicrous.” Not content to make a niche product for electric vehicle enthusiasts, he now wants to conquer the mass market, competing in the major leagues against GM, BMW, Ford et al. Musk is promising an annual production of 1 million cars by 2020, a staggering increase from last year’s paltry: 76,000.  Is he insane? On a conference call with Musk and media colleagues this week, Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues learned that Musk is still calm and laser-focused on executing his “Tesla Master plan.” This year is crunch time for Tesla. The future of the company rests on the timely and efficient production of the Model 3, Tesla’s smaller, mass market car. Will demand stay strong, despite intense competition and reservation holders threatening to cancel due to his position on Trump’s economic advisory team? Musk seemed to flounder a bit on this question and refused to disclose the latest reservation numbers, for fear of analysts “reading too much into them.” During the discussion of  Tesla’s 2016 financial results, some anomalies arose.  Despite continuing to make massive losses (due to capital investment in the Tesla Factory and the Gigafactories), its share price is still in the stratosphere. Tesla might produce a small fraction of GM and Ford’s output, but the company is valued on par with them. What gives? “The recent run-up in Tesla stock has less to do, in our view, with anything around the near-term financials, and more to do with the nearly superhero status of Elon Musk,” Barclays analyst, Brian Johnson. Superhero status? More ludicrousness…The superheroes Tesla is focused on are the mighty robots on the factory floor. Musk has named them after X-men superheroes, like Cyclops and Thunderbird (see photo above); and they’re the ones that’ll have to earn their superhero status as manufacturing goes into top gear in the next few month. “Tesla is going to be hell-bent on becoming the best manufacturer on earth.” Elon Musk The BBC’s Fergus Nicoll invited me on Business Matters to help explain more. Listen to the full podcast on BBC World Service (starts at 37:30) or the 5 minute clip below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BizMatters-Musk-Tesla-Results-Clip-Feb-23-2017-mp3-1.mp3 Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity): BBC Host, Fergus Nicoll: Tesla stock has hit record highs, soaring 50% since December. With investor confidence growing that Tesla will deliver its Model 3 on time. Let’s explore this with Alison in Silicon Valley. Before we get into the nitty gritty of Model 3, and the other numbers, I know you watched Elon Musk do the webcast that go with the Q4 figures. What kind of presentation did he come up with? Alison van Diggelen: I listened to the (live conference call) podcast. Elon Musk was on the podcast with his (retiring) CFO, answering questions from the media. They were generally upbeat. Elon Musk always over-promises how soon his vehicles will be delivered, but he is confident that they’re going to start deliveries of their Model 3 in July of this year, for employees first…beta testing for employees. He’s hoping for the mass rollout starting in September of this year. They’re pretty bullish about that. Fergus Nicoll: Here’s the thing: Tesla has a valuation pretty close to Ford. But compared to Ford it makes about five cars! So what are we seeing? A massive future priced into that? Alison van Diggelen: That’s right. Last year, Tesla delivered 76,000 vehicles (compared to Ford’s 2.5 million), but Elon Musk is very bullish. He’s aiming for the factory to produce 500,000 cars by the end of 2018, and one million a year by 2020. He’s ludicrously ambitious. Brian Johnson, who’s an analyst with Barclays, called this run up in the Tesla stock more “Elon Musk superhero status” than [...] Elon Musk continues to make ambitious plans for Tesla Motors, some even call them “ludicrous.” Not content to make a niche product for electric vehicle enthusiasts, he now wants to conquer the mass market, competing in the major leagues [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/02/21/bbc-report-are-facebook-twitter-doing-enough-about-fake-news-abuse/ Tue, 21 Feb 2017 22:17:59 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9420 It’s beginning to feel a lot like 1984. Today, some politicians routinely use the term “fake news” to discredit any news they don’t like, or any news organization that asks hard questions. The term “alternative facts” is even being pushed by certain White House advisors. Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues investigates for the BBC World Service. Online, how big is the actual fake news epidemic? No one knows for sure, but the the scale of the problem is potentially huge. Facebook has almost 2 billion users, Twitter has over 300 million; and according to Pew Research, about 60% of Americans get some news from social media. Assuming even a small percentage of users have nefarious intent, eliminating fake news and online abuse is a bit like King Canute trying to hold back the tide. But after accusations of Facebook turning a blind eye on its rampant fake news and potentially impacting the U.S. election; the pressure to effectively and transparently root out fake news and online abuse is likely to intensify, especially with upcoming national elections in Europe. “I think fake news impacted the election, just by the sheer volume… It can change your perception of the world…Even people who understand news and research can be tricked by fake news.” Adam Schrader, one of 25 former editors in Facebook’s fact-checking team. The entire team was fired by Facebook last summer, just before the election.   At the recent Watermark Women’s conference in Silicon Valley, I spoke with Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami, CEO of Cell-Ed, an online education startup. Here’s the report I filed with the BBC’s Click Radio. It aired today on the BBC World Service. Listen to the BBC’s “Fake it or Leave it” podcast here (first story in the program lineup) or listen to the 8 minute clip below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Fake-News-report-by-Alison-van-Diggelen-on-BBC-Click-podcast-Feb-21-2017.mp3   Here’s a transcript of my report, edited for length and clarity. Click Host, Gareth Mitchell: Misinformation is nothing new, as we heard last week from classics professor, Mary Beard. Today fake news has become a news story in itself. It’s becoming political, it’s undermining social media organizations, and mainstream media. Twitter and Facebook are taking action, but with so much being posted, isn’t it a bit like King Canute trying to hold back the tide, trying to monitor and correct fake news? Our Silicon Valley reporter Alison van Diggelen has been seeking some answers from the big social networking companies and catching up with CEOs of startups, people like this: Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami: Technology has always been a source of incredible opportunity, unlimited potential pathway and it’s always been destructive. Alison van Diggelen:  Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami is just one of many critics who argue that social network platforms are not doing enough to curb the dark side of the internet. Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami: I work in community technology access centers…Everybody tells me worldwide, if you have 100 countries…with all these community access centers, isn’t that wonderful? You can bring digital media, books to that village. I say: it’s always double sided – by day maybe it’ll be used for education, and health access, and how to get a better job. But by night it becomes a digital brothel… Alison van Diggelen: What should be done about that? Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami: Own it! Twitter not taking a stand around the blatant misogyny and hate language… strange politeness in the face of atrocity is very frustrating. Alison van Diggelen: What do you feel people like Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg, the Twitter board should do? Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami: There’s a responsibility to – at the very least – do one or two steps. Untruth is seen as truth because it’s relayed over a screen with a picture. You believe somebody’s story…If that [...] It’s beginning to feel a lot like 1984. Today, some politicians routinely use the term “fake news” to discredit any news they don’t like, or any news organization that asks hard questions. The term “alternative facts” is even being [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/02/17/bbc-dialogues-should-elon-musk-stay-on-trump-advisory-team/ Sat, 18 Feb 2017 03:34:34 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9400 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined the Trump business advisory team in December he’s been under intense pressure to step down. That pressure intensified this month after Donald Trump signed an executive order banning immigrants from seven countries with Muslim majorities. On February 2nd, Musk’s colleague, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick pulled out of the Trump team after a widespread #DeleteUber campaign went viral and his employees urged him to withdraw. “Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that,” wrote Kalanick to his staff. Musk faced a barrage of similar criticism, with some saying he’s a crony capitalist and others claiming to have cancelled their orders for Tesla Model 3. Last week, I joined the BBC’s Fergus Nicholl on the BBC World Service program, Business Matters. We discussed Silicon Valley tech’s furious reaction to the Trump travel ban and Elon Musk’s high pressure predicament. Listen to the podcast excerpt below (it includes commentary from the always provocative Lucy Kellaway): http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Elon-Musk-on-Trump-team-Lucy-Kellaway-BizMatters-Feb7-17-clips.mp3 Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity): Fergus Nicoll: Elon Musk has run into Twitter trouble…when he spoke to Mr. Trump in person and when he was seen having a drink with Steve Bannon in the White House, a lot of people said: “What on earth are you thinking?” And he came up with a fairly strong defense… Alison van Diggelen: His key message is: “Activists should be pushing for more moderates like him, to advise the president not fewer.” And he asks, “How could  having only extremists advise him possibly be good?”             . Alison van Diggelen: He’s faced a lot of criticism, people even saying they’re cancelling their orders for the next generation of cars, the Tesla Model 3. He is under this pressure, but he is a powerful influencer, a poster child for Donald Trump’s manufacturing jobs being in the U.S. Musk is an idealist, he wants to save the planet. He’s bringing his message of climate change and green jobs, almost as a Trojan horse, into Trump’s meeting rooms. I think a lot of people who think about this deeply deeply, are not having this knee jerk reaction and saying don’t associate with Trump. Instead they’re saying this might be a good conduit for Trump hearing this green point of view. Here is some of the pushback Elon Musk received on Twitter and his responses:       By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined the Trump business advisory team in December he’s been under intense pressure to step down. That pressure intensified this month after Donald Trump signed [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2017/02/07/bbc-report-silicon-valley-tech-takes-on-trump/ Tue, 07 Feb 2017 16:44:41 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9377 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In the beginning…there was no word from Silicon Valley tech leaders on Donald Trump’s presidency, despite his kingly proclamations: Let there be Two Pipelines, Let there be a Wall…Let there not be TPP! But on the seventh day, tech leaders arose against Trump’s dominion over them when his immigration order unleashed chaos for their people. And so, on the 16th day, they filed a legal brief saying the order inflicted “significant harm  on American business, innovation and growth.” Today in San Francisco a US Court of Appeals will decide oral arguments in the case: State of Washington et al. vs Donald J. Trump et al.. I joined the BBC World Service’s Business Matters last night to report on Silicon Valley’s furious reaction to Trump. Venture capitalist, Jean-Louis Gasse spoke for many in the valley: “The danger with an administration or a president like Donald Trump is that he gives permission to lie…to be offensive, to be homophobic, to be xenophobic. Cultures are nothing but a system of permissions and those come from the top. When you see the President of the US lying – you have to stand up and say: it’s a lie!”  Jean-Louis Gasse, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Listen to the BBC World Service podcast, (my report starts at 5:15). http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BizMatters-Feb7-17-SVTechvsTrump-TravelBan.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity) and a longer version of my report: Fergus Nicoll: Donald Trump says he is pro-business. But a lot of businesses, it seems, are not pro-Trump. They’re certainly not in favor of his attempt to restrict immigration. Almost 100 mainly tech companies have filed an amicus brief arguing that the ban – already the subject of a separate legal process – inflicts significant harm on American business. Who’s signed up? Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and belatedly Tesla. I’ll hand over to Alison in a moment – but first, let’s hear from Emily Dreyfuss at the tech news website Wired in Boston. Emily Dreyfuss: By some estimates, half of unicorn startups in America were founded by an immigrant. These big companies, Apple, Google, Facebook: they depend on H1-B visa holders. 85,000 H1-B visas go to the tech community every year in America. This is affecting their bottom line. Yes, there is some risk but I think these technology companies are calculating that together they are stronger which is why they’ve signed on to this amicus brief. I think what we’re seeing here is a clash of ideology and business acumen. In this instance, Trump saying he’s pro-business is actually just talk. Fergus Nicoll: Is that a fair summary then, Alison…the way it’s seen on the west coast? Alison van Diggelen: Trump is saying that he’s pro-business (and I believe he intends to be), but it looks like his immigration ban has not been thought through… as to the impact it’s going to have on business.  It’s been severely criticized . I’ve been closely watching Silicon Valley’s reaction to the Trump presidency since inauguration day. When Trump issued that immigration order some Silicon Valley leaders were compelled to break their silence and take action. It’s an issue that’s split the US in two. A CNN poll shows about 53% oppose the ban. But today Trump has said that negative polls about the travel ban are “fake news.” He accused the NY Times of making up stories and sources. So my report explores why Trump is getting under Silicon Valley’s skin via this travel ban and the role of lies and fake news. The day after he was inaugurated, Silicon Valley took to the streets to protest. Tens of thousands of marchers carried placards saying “Stop the hate”; “Words Matter”, and “Never Again.” I asked Patrick Adams, a local science teacher…What’s your message for Trump? Patrick Adams: Get out of the [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In the beginning…there was no word from Silicon Valley tech leaders on Donald Trump’s presidency, despite his kingly proclamations: Let there be Two Pipelines, Let there be a Wall…Let there [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/11/30/bbc-report-what-can-tech-hubs-silicon-valley-learn-from-portland/ Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:59:07 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9267 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I recently attended Silicon Valley’s Tech Awards, and despite the inspiring innovators from around the world, there was an underlying mood of disquiet (even alarm) as Silicon Valley adjusts to the imminent reality of a Donald Trump presidency. I asked Tim Ritchie, President of the Tech Museum, what his predictions are for Silicon Valley under a new administration whose leader who has frequently espoused anti-science rhetoric. Here’s his response: “We need to become a community that values science, that trusts evidence, that’s not afraid of facts, that’s not afraid of the future. My hope is that people will say: we’re Americans, we do not fear the future; we believe we can solve problems. And so hopefully it’ll be a wakeup call to be who the world needs us to be.”   Tim Ritchie, President of the Tech Museum of Innovation, and host of the Tech Awards. Of course, Silicon Valley is not afraid of the future and is full of risk-taking innovators, but as Ritchie says, it has received a wakeup call, and a stark reminder of the political bubble it lives in. There is a thriving tech world beyond Silicon Valley and its sky-high cost of living, traffic congestion and their impact on our quality of life are forcing some residents and companies to look elsewhere. Portland, Oregon attracted Intel back in the 1970’s and more recently, tech companies like Google, AirBnB, Salesforce, and eBay have moved some facilities to the Portland area.  Today Portland is a hub for global sportswear companies and has a growing tech startup scene. I went there to investigate what Silicon Valley and other global tech hubs can learn from its success and filed this report for the BBC World Service program, Business Matters. Listen to the podcast at BBC Business Matters (The show is titled: How will Castro’s Death Affect Cuba-US Relations?) The Portland segment starts at 29:00. Listen to the Portland segment here: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Portland-vs-SV-segment-Biz-Matters-Nov-29-2016.mp3   Here’s an excerpt of Tuesday’s program and my original report transcript (edited for length and clarity): BBC host, Fergus Nicoll: Move over Silicon Valley. Today, we take you up to Silicon Forest, zooming up the west coast to Portland, Oregon and its thriving tech scene. A growing number of companies have made that move north. So what are the ingredients that make it a fertile ecosystem for tech startups and what can other tech hubs learn? Over to Alison… Alison van Diggelen: Thanks Fergus. I took the 90 minute flight north of Silicon Valley to Portland (aka Silicon Forest). It does have a thriving tech scene and I wondered if Silicon Valley has anything to fear from this growing startup scene. I met with Jonathan Evans, a Blackhawk pilot who’s now CEO of Skyward, a drone management startup. Here’s what he said: Jonathan Evans: If you haven’t been to Portland, you have to come, it’s one of the most magnificent cities on earth. It’s a beautiful, culturally rich city, an urban patchwork of villages, pedestrian scaled and we sit right at the foot of the Cascade mountains and just inland of the Pacific Ocean. This culture is wonderful at supporting innovation, technology and big bold ideas…This is a pioneering place. We’re anchored by Intel’s largest campus here. Intel, the Moore’s-law-driving-machine that’s producing all the chips and there’s a whole constellation of hardware companies that have come out of that ecosystem. Alison van Diggelen: Although Evans visits Silicon Valley twice a month to meet with clients and investors, he’s not tempted to relocate his business. Jonathan Evans: I don’t think there’s ever a part of me that wants to stay…(laughter) It’s a personal choice….We live well. If you look at it tenaciously as a business man: it’s half to one-third the cost living here and that translates to [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I recently attended Silicon Valley’s Tech Awards, and despite the inspiring innovators from around the world, there was an underlying mood of disquiet (even alarm) as Silicon Valley adjusts to [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/09/30/bbc-report-portland-startups-show-jetsons-future-closer-than-you-think/ Fri, 30 Sep 2016 15:54:27 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9169 Photo: Skyward CEO Jonathan Evans is convinced we’ll see “Jetsons” human-moving drones in 5 to 10 years By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Portland is better known for its environmental activism and the quirky comedy Portlandia than its tech; but that reputation is beginning to change. This month, I visited two Portland startups that are helping accelerate the future of transportation through innovative technology for drones and autonomous vehicles. Skyward, a drone operations startup, predicts that the Jetsons future of  flying cars is closer than we think. And in the fast-moving autonomous vehicle sector, Polysync’s software is being widely used to speed up the development of self-driving cars. Here are some highlights from my BBC Report: “It’s harder to move from A to B and when you look at the sky, you have a blank slate. Within 5-10 years you will see human-moving aero robots that will be moving programmatically in space. It’s a lot like the vision we have of the Jetsons. It’s going to be much more on-demand, much cheaper, empowering all of us to be able to access the sky for whatever we want to,” Jonathan Evans, CEO Skyward At Polysync, we discussed the fatal crash involving Tesla’s autopilot feature. “That’s the problem with autonomous driving: each one of these sensing modalities has their limitations: some don’t see well in rain, in fog, at dusk. The Mobile Eye, what Tesla was using to detect lanes, some objects…that does very poorly at dusk….when the sun is head on. You really want backup, systems that are all corroborating its perception of the environment. In my opinion, the more sensing, the better,” Evan Livingston, Polysync Test Engineer BBC tech writer, and Click contributor, Bill Thompson shared some good insights on my report, emphasizing the importance of new drone regulations that will help bring drones from the Wild West era to “civilization in the sky.” My report aired on September 27th on the BBC World Service’s Click Radio. Listen to the 5 minute audio clip:  . http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Click-Radio-podcast-Portland-Skyward-Polysync-555-audio.wav   Here’s a transcript of my report (edited for length and clarity). BBC Click Host, Gareth Mitchell: Flying cars are part of the subject for our final item. We’re off to Portland, Oregon to its famous “Silicon Forest”, their counterpart to Silicon Valley in California. There’s a startup there working on flying cars, another is working on autonomous vehicles and we have this report from Alison van Diggelen, who’s been there. Alison van Diggelen: My first stop was the Technology Association of Oregon. Its President, Skip Newberry is bullish about Portland’s growth prospects: in data, software development, and the Internet of Things. Skip Newberry: I refer to Portland as having this Goldilocks phenomenon: we’re not too big, not too small, not too expensive and yet we also have some interesting amenities and international connections. We have a great quality of life. Alison van Diggelen: He sent me to Polysync, a software startup that helps speed up the development of autonomous cars. Polysync just earned a top 10 startup ranking at this year’s L.A. Auto Show. Evan Livingston: On the right trigger we have acceleration, on the left trigger we have breaking. [Ambi: car accelerating and breaking] Alison van Diggelen: In a converted warehouse, Polysync’s engineers test the software of autonomous cars to make sure all the sensors are communicating. Field engineer, Evan Livingston gave me a demo. Evan Livingston: On this car, we have about 15 different sensors…we have 4 cameras that give us 360 degree views of the environment, we have six radars. We have 2 different LIDAR systems, and then we have a GPS inertial movement unit…so it gives us a very accurate location of the vehicle. Alison van Diggelen: We discuss the [...] Photo: Skyward CEO Jonathan Evans is convinced we’ll see “Jetsons” human-moving drones in 5 to 10 years By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Portland is better known for its environmental activism and the quirky comedy [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/09/16/bbc-report-how-to-make-a-spaceship-the-xprize-way/ Fri, 16 Sep 2016 22:44:57 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9125 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In 1996, space enthusiast, Peter Diamandis announced the $10 Million XPrize for the first private spaceship to fly 100 kilometers into space. The only problem was: he didn’t have $10 Million, not even close! Nevertheless, his audacious challenge inspired dozens of teams all over the world to compete and he did eventually find a sponsor…and a winning team. The dramatic story that helped jumpstart the private space race is told in Julian Guthrie’s new book “How to Make a Spaceship” which comes out on September 20th. The book has a foreword by Virgin’s Richard Branson and afterword by superstar scientist, Stephen Hawking. I interviewed Julian and Peter at the Singularity University Summit and they shared their unique insights into the band of renegades who finally succeeded in winning the XPrize. Peter talked about how he was inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight to win a $25,000 prize. Today, this original XPrize has spawned many others. Over $80 Million in XPrizes continue to drive tech innovation in energy, education, medicine and space exploration. “This incentive challenge really touched a nerve globally and brought out this entrepreneurial spirit internationally. You had people taking big risks and sacrificing a huge amount…They were fueled by their own passions and obsessions, and dismissed their own fears and naysayers. There’s a lot of bravery in what was done.” Author Julian Guthrie  Last week, the BBC’s Tech Tent aired my interview with Peter. Listen to the podcast excerpt: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/TechTent-Diamandis-Xprize-interview-Sept-2016-6-min.mp3 . Backstage with Julian Guthrie, author of “How to Make a Spaceship” Here’s a transcript of the introduction and report: BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones: It’s 20 years since a space-obsessed entrepreneur called Peter Diamandis launched a $10M to stimulate private space flight. The XPrize spurred dozens of teams around the world to compete for the money and the glory and today the private space industry is one of the most exciting – and risky – sectors of tech innovation. This whole story is told in “How to Make a Spaceship” published later this month. We asked the Silicon Valley journalist, Alison van Diggelen, to interview Peter Diamandis. He told her why he’s glad Virgin’s Richard Branson turned him down as a sponsor for the first XPrize. Peter Diamandis: I pitched Richard (Branson) twice. I thought he was the perfect person to do this…The fact that he didn’t fund it and make it the Virgin XPrize, which could’ve been a cool name, led him to the point that when the $10M Ansari XPrize was ultimately won, Richard came in and bought the rights to the winning technology to create Virgin Galactic. So instead of spending $10 million on the prize purse, he spent quarter of a billion dollars developing Virgin Galactic….which I was very happy about. Alison van Diggelen: Let’s talk about the Cambridge physicist, Stephen Hawking.  He wrote (in) the afterword for your book: “The human race has no future if it doesn’t go to space.” Can you explain what he meant by that? Peter Diamandis: I had a chance to meet Prof Hawking through the XPrize. We’re actually working right now on an ALS XPrize…. When I met him back in 2007 I invited him to fly on a zero G flight. It was amazing to give the world’s expert on gravity the experience of zero gravity…He was asked why he was doing something kind of risky…for someone in a wheelchair…that frail, it could be dangerous. He said: “I want to promote space travel… If the human race doesn’t go into space, we don’t have a future.”           Stephen Hawking His concerns are the existential threats of nuclear war, killer virus, asteroid impact…I’m an optimistic guy. I think we have a bigger future if we go into space. The concept that [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In 1996, space enthusiast, Peter Diamandis announced the $10 Million XPrize for the first private spaceship to fly 100 kilometers into space. The only problem was: he didn’t have $10 Million, [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/09/08/bbc-dialogues-silicon-valley-startup-makes-college-breakthroughs/ Thu, 08 Sep 2016 15:49:14 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9095 (Photo: Thanks to Breakthrough Silicon Valley, Nahom Zeratsion (left) got a scholarship for Bellarmine College Preparatory and will be attending San Jose State University this Fall) In Silicon Valley, it’s easy to focus on the bright stars of tech and innovation. But what about those people who don’t feature on the home page of TechCrunch and can barely afford their rent? Today, Silicon Valley’s income inequality is jaw-dropping; average incomes of the top 5% of households are about 30 times higher than the average incomes of the bottom 20% ($500,000 vs $15,000). One startup has a long-term vision and is successfully breaking the cycle of poverty in some Silicon Valley neighborhoods by helping low income students get a college education. Here are the stats from Breakthrough Silicon Valley: 80% of students are first in their family to attend college 62% of students live in gang-impacted neighborhoods And yet, 96% of these students get into 4-year colleges, 4% into community colleges. Earlier this year, I sat down with Melissa Johns, the Executive Director of Breakthrough Silicon Valley to find out how she and her team achieve such impressive stats, and how their program has a ripple effect on the wider community. Although the majority of the nonprofit’s revenue comes from the tech community, its limited budget means the team can only reach a few hundred students every year. With a proven and successful platform like this, imagine what could be done if tech juggernauts like Google, Apple and Cisco stepped up to help scale this program? The BBC World Service was curious to explore this less glamorous – and yet inspiring – side of Silicon Valley and aired my interview on Business Matters. Here’s the podcast http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BizMatters-31816-Breakthrough-SV-mp3.mp3   And here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity): The BBC’s Roger Hearing: Alison, you’ve been looking at the people who work in Silicon Valley…and income inequality in the area? Alison van Diggelen: Yes, there’s a growing gap between the rich and the poor in Silicon Valley. It’s quite stunning. Last week, I interviewed the Executive Director of Breakthrough Silicon Valley. It’s a nonprofit that’s helping low income students break out of poverty by getting a college education. That’s the ticket to success in Silicon Valley and beyond. Melissa Johns runs the six year program: tutoring, mentoring and college counseling and her team has impressive statistics (see above). I talked to Melissa  about the many shortcomings of California’s public education system. She told me that on average there’s only one college counselor for every 700 students in California’s public high schools. That’s one thing she would like to fix. Melissa Johns: I don’t know how we’re going to do the things we need to – to fill the STEM pipeline of future engineers or Silicon Valley is going to crumble. We need to find more women for leadership positions in our Fortune 500 companies. How are we going to achieve all that when the vast majority of our population is left behind because they’re attending schools that are under resourced and they have college dreams with no real connection to a college counselor who can help them walk through the very complex process? Roger Hearing: But Alison, I gather that there’s a huge number of dropouts there in Silicon Valley high schools? Alison van Diggelen: Yes, there’s a lot of talk here about the dropout crisis. East San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley has dropout rates as high as 30% in some communities and the majority of that are students who complete high school but don’t meet the minimum level of credits to graduate. But the good news is: there are a number of nonprofits working to have an impact, and these Breakthrough students are having an enormous impact on their communities. It’s like the [...] (Photo: Thanks to Breakthrough Silicon Valley, Nahom Zeratsion (left) got a scholarship for Bellarmine College Preparatory and will be attending San Jose State University this Fall) In Silicon Valley, it’s easy to focus on the bright stars of [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/08/05/bbc-report-taskrabbit-ceo-shares-tips-on-pivoting-diversity/ Fri, 05 Aug 2016 18:34:57 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9046 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues What’s it like to be a black female CEO in Silicon Valley? How should you handle a powerful backlash when your company does a major pivot? I explored both issues with TaskRabbit CEO, Stacy Brown Philpot and my interview aired last night on the BBC World Service program Business Matters. BBC host Roger Hearing, Seoul Bureau Chief for the Economist Stephanie Studer and I had a lively conversation about the gig economy, as well as fashion fumbles (like cargo shorts) and cool alternatives (like utility kilts). Listen to the podcast at the BBC (Episode titled: Bank of England Lowers Interest Rates): TaskRabbit segment begins at 26:46 Or listen to the TaskRabbit segment below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/BBC-Podcast-TaskRabbit-Kilts-20min-Aug-5-2016-.mp3   Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity) Roger Hearing: Alison, I know you’ve been looking into something that is a strange concept: the gig economy. Tell us, what is the gig economy? Alison van Diggelen: It’s been borrowed from the music industry, Roger. Workers who work in the gig economy don’t have regular full time work, but work in “gigs” like at Uber, Lyft, AirBnB, Etsy, Upwork and TaskRabbit. I’ve been speaking with Stacy Brown-Philpot. She’s the CEO of TaskRabbit. It’s a website and app that matches job seekers with jobs – like house cleaning, shopping, delivery and handyman jobs. It was founded in 2008 and was one of the first companies in the gig economy. Stacy told me how the company launched its international operation in London in 2012, and it did a pivot. It changed its “bidding for a job” model to a “direct hire” approach. This was a huge success in London but when they tried it back in the United States, they faced a severe backlash from contractors here. Yet, they stuck to their guns and last year the business grew 400%. I first asked Stacy what advice she would give to other businesses about staying the course, when they try to pivot and face similar challenges. Stacy Brown-Philpot: Know exactly what it is that you are focused on and don’t lose track of that. Stay laser-ly focused on what that goal is…despite the noise that comes into the market place, stay focused and believe more than anyone else and you can get there. Alison van Diggelen: There are a lot of critics of the on-demand economy saying that it doesn’t offer a living wage, benefits to workers…this whole “Uber issue” of independent contractors not employees…Can you give me your perspective? Stacy Brown-Philpot: Our Taskers are independent contractors – they can work in a flexible way and that is the No.1 reason why they stay. We have a very low churn: 10%. The flexibility that we’re able to offer our Taskers is unparalleled and necessary. What needs to happen is that the regulations and policy has to change…to support the sharing economy. When you look at structures we’re working under…these were created in the 1900’s and they no longer apply…we need something that adapts to the technology-enabled businesses that we operate under today. Alison van Diggelen:  What specifically would you like to see as far as regulation change? Stacy Brown-Philpot: One of the tradeoffs we face is the ability to offer training and more transferable skills to our taskers…We’d love to see regulations evolve to support that. We’d also love to see opportunities to access healthcare and retirement. We empowered this community to create a social safety net for Taskers who really want the flexibility to work in a meaningful way, so we have a responsibility to also partner with them to do other things like have health care and retirement savings. Alison van Diggelen: Let’s talk about diversity – you’re a rare person, you’re black… you’re a female CEO in Silicon Valley. Talk about the pros and cons of that. Stacy [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues What’s it like to be a black female CEO in Silicon Valley? How should you handle a powerful backlash when your company does a major pivot? I explored both issues with TaskRabbit CEO, Stacy [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/07/27/bbc-report-authorities-urge-self-driving-car-development-despite-tesla-crash/ Wed, 27 Jul 2016 15:56:23 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9023 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Will the fatal Tesla crash slow or even derail the development of self-driving cars? That was the topic we discussed on this week’s BBC World Service program, Click. Despite complaints by consumer advocates that Tesla should disable its autopilot feature and not beta test “an unproven technology” on the public, Tesla is standing by its strategy. Today the BBC’s Dave Lee reported from the Gigafactory that Elon Musk has no regrets about how Tesla rolled out the autopilot. “We have the internal data to know that we improved people’s safety, not just in fatalities but in injuries.” Elon Musk, CEO Tesla at Gigafactory, July 26 2016. Remarkably, federal regulators at the Department of Transport (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) appear to be siding with Tesla and urging a “full-steam ahead” approach. They’re focused on self-driving technology’s potential to save lives. “No one incident will derail the DOT and NHTSA on its mission to improve safety on the roads by pursuing new life saving technologies. We…can’t stand idly by while we wait for the ‘perfect.’ We lost 35,200 lives on our roads last year. We’re in a bad place and we should be desperate for new tools that will help us save lives. How many lives might we be losing if we wait?” Mark Rosekind, Head of the NHTSA at the Automated Vehicles Symposium, July 20 2016. The NHTSA is expected to release its new guidelines for self-driving (autonomous) cars any day now. I’ll post a link to them here as soon as they’re available. Listen to our Tesla autopilot discussion below or  at the BBC Click Podcast. The first broadcast aired on the BBC World Service at 2:30pm PST on July 26th. http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BBC-Click-Self-driving-cars-conf-re-Tesla-NHTSA-July-26-2016-mp3.mp3 Here’s a transcript of our discussion (a shorter version aired on the BBC). BBC Click Presenter, Gareth Mitchell: Now the first death of a Tesla driver on autopilot earlier this year was bound to overshadow the recent Automated Vehicle Symposium in San Francisco last week. But those at the meeting were also looking forward, at the latest innovations in driverless cars. BBC contributor, Alison van Diggelen was there for us, and she’s been telling me a bit more about what was being discussed. Alison van Diggelen: The 3-day symposium assembled some of the top government authorities, academics and tech experts in the field of automated vehicles. The main topics included: the promise and challenges of automated vehicles; the federal guidance about to be released; and whether the Tesla crash will derail the development of automated vehicle technology. Mark Rosekind Head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“Nitsa”) spoke about all three topics and emphasized the technology’s potential to save lives. Mark Rosekind:  We’re not in a good place that we’re trying to make better. We lost 35,200 lives on our roads last year. We’re in a bad place and we should be desperate for new tools that will help us save lives. How many lives might we be losing if we wait? We have to do everything we can to make sure the new technology doesn’t introduce new safety risks, but we also can’t stand idly by while we wait for the “perfect.” Reports around the country seem to be sounding the alarm: they are shocked, shocked (!) to discover there’s vehicle automation that’s already here…they’re demanding to know: where was the government to stop this? I am not going to comment on an ongoing (Tesla) investigation…but I can say three things: We know there will be incidents that occur with highly automated vehicles and NHTSA will always be ready to use its authority to investigate and take whatever action is necessary New highly automated vehicles offer enormous opportunities for learning…When something goes wrong,…that [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Will the fatal Tesla crash slow or even derail the development of self-driving cars? That was the topic we discussed on this week’s BBC World Service program, Click. Despite complaints by consumer [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/07/07/bbc-dialogues-why-is-instagram-growing-while-twitter-plateaus/ Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:04:03 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=9002 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Instagram recently announced it had reached a big milestone: half a billion users. The BBC asked me to interview the company’s COO, Marne Levine to explore the company’s appeal and find out why video – and new products like Boomerang – are helping fuel that growth. “We’re certainly marching towards a billion…and even beyond a billion. Today, video is exploding on Instagram… In the last six months, consumption increased by more than 40%…Sometimes people want sight, sound and motion to tell their stories. ” Instagram COO, Marne Levine Listen to the Instagram interview and discussion below or at the BBC’s Business Matter’s podcast (Instagram segment starts at 26:40 on BBC podcast). http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Instagram-BizMatters-July-4-2016-mp3-.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of the conversation, edited for length and clarity: BBC host, Fergus Nicholl: Do you use Instagram? A new study says that half the Fortune 500 companies use it for marketing. Alison, you’ve been talking to a bigwig at the company about its recent announcement that it’s reached the magic number of half a billion users? Alison van Diggelen: That’s right. I interviewed Marne Levine. Instagram is very well known as a place where youth congregate, especially teenagers…they use it to reach their friends and share cool things…a lot of these users are women. But they’re not the only ones making up this figure of half a billion users. I asked Marne how entrepreneurs are using Instagram to attract more business… Marne Levine:  There are so many different stories of small businesses, big businesses that have grown through the Instagram community. A woman named Isha Yuba in Germany – has “Art Youth Society.” She started by designing a bracelet, she posted a photo of it. Somebody inquired and suddenly she has a thriving business. She has turned her passion into livelihood. A lot of businesses have started to advertise on Instagram. We now have more than 200,000 advertisers…the vast majority of those are small businesses. Alison van Diggelen: You’ve added about 100 million users in about 9 months.  Obviously the next milestone would be one billion…Any ideas when that might happen? Marne Levine: We’re certainly marching towards a billion…and even beyond a billion. When we have more people on the platform, it really benefits the Instagram community – we get a wide range of perspectives, new windows into different things that are happening around the world. Those could be big events like the Olympics…that’s probably how I’m going to experience the Olympics, through Instagram. Lots of people are sharing ordinary moments, epic moments and everything in between. Alison van Diggelen: Why do you think Instagram is doing so much better than Twitter, that seems to have plateaued? Marne Levine: We’re constantly trying to thinking about: what would add value to the community? We listen to feedback, continue to innovate so people can tell their stories in different ways. When Instagram started it was really all about photos. Today video is exploding on Instagram… In the last 6 months, consumption increased by  more than 40%. Sometimes people want “sight sound and motion” to tell their stories. Sometimes it’s not necessarily just a straight video….I don’t know whether you know Boomerang? Cool little looping videos that take ordinary moments and turn them into fun and delightful moments. Alison van Diggelen: You posted one of your son going up and down the stairs? Marne Levine: I did!  Somebody once said this to me and this is how I now think about it: Motion is the new filter. Alison van Diggelen: Your CEO persuaded the Pope to go on Instagram. Tell us about that… Marne Levine: The Pope is looking to inspire lots of people. What he told our CEO, is that a lot of times….people will [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Instagram recently announced it had reached a big milestone: half a billion users. The BBC asked me to interview the company’s COO, Marne Levine to explore the company’s appeal and find [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/06/28/bbc-dialogues-what-does-brexit-mean-for-globalization-hillary-clinton/ Tue, 28 Jun 2016 18:45:55 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=8987 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues As the seismic impact of Britains’s vote to leave the European Union rocks the political and financial world, the long term impact is still unclear. But it’s likely that the creation of a new political divide could have incessant repercussions around the world. What does it mean for globalization, and for U.S. presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton? I was invited to take part in a live discussion on the BBC World Service last night with Simon Long, Banyan columnist for The Economist in Singapore; and Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of Economics21 in New York. I see Brexit as part of a larger trend: a widespread shift to nationalism and anti-globalization. It could be the beginning of the end of capitalism as we know it – the majority of Britons have voted against the status quo. Globalization is NOT working for them. In the US, it’s a big wake up call to establishment politics here. Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party need to take note. BBC host, Fergus Nicholl led a lively discussion on the pros and cons of the Brexit vote. Here is a transcript of the globalization discussion (edited for length and clarity). Listen to the entire podcast at the BBC (Globalization focus starts at 38:38) or below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Brexit-Biz-Matters-Podcast-10-min-June-27-2016.mp3 Robert Hormats (former Under Secretary for Economic Growth for President Obama and Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates) explained the U.S perspective: Robert Hormats: We have a great stake in the global economic system…the global economy has a big effect on our own economy, as it does on other countries’ economies and if we give up that leadership or turn inward, it will hurt our economy… Laura Trevelyan (BBC Correspondent, Washington D.C.): What can be done to restore economic stability? Robert Hormats: I think it’s very important that political leaders try to help people who do not feel that they’ve benefited from globalization or from technology, to feel more included, to listen to those people. If these people feel more confident about their own lives, they’ll feel more confident about the global economy…We need to make sure the global economic system works effectively and that is now in jeopardy. Diana Furchtgott-Roth: I’m fully in favor of globalization, but it doesn’t have to mean that Brussels can control what kind of vacuum cleaner you can buy…The EU has become too intrusive. And that’s why the majority of people voted to leave… not having to do with globalization but intrusion in everyday life… Fergus Nicholl: Simon, take us into Asia with this issue of globalization… Simon Long: It’s not just that people are uncomfortable with globalization, they’re uncomfortable with some of the byproducts: increased inequality, entrenched elites making decisions for them. And in that context this (Brexit) vote has resonated in some parts of Asia as a revolt against doing what you’re told is best for you. It’s a phenomenon one’s seen in elections in Indonesia in 2014…in the Philippines with the election of Rodrigo Duterte on an explicitly anti-elite, anti-establishment platform.  It’s part of an anti-globalization trend…a general revolt by the people who feel excluded from the elites. Fergus Nicholl: Alison, you’ve got friends and family back home in Scotland. I wonder how they’ve been reacting over the last few days… Alison van Diggelen: It looks to me like another referendum on Scottish independence is almost inevitable. I’ve heard anecdotally that some Scots who voted “No” to independence in 2014 are now inclined to vote “Yes” – they don’t want to be part of what they see as an isolationist, xenophobic “little England” mentality. I see Brexit as part of a larger trend: a widespread shift to nationalism and anti-globalization. It could be the beginning of the end [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues As the seismic impact of Britains’s vote to leave the European Union rocks the political and financial world, the long term impact is still unclear. But it’s likely that the creation of a new [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2016/05/16/bbc-pick-of-the-week-interview-with-bertrand-piccard-solar-impulse/ Mon, 16 May 2016 18:28:20 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=8923 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, I was delighted to discover that my interview with Solar Impulse pilot and clean technology enthusiast, Bertrand Piccard was featured on BBC Radio 4’s program, “Pick of the Week.” The program is described as “a selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio” and it certainly makes compelling listening. BBC Presenter Caz Graham‘s picks are an eclectic mix of audio-rich stories: everything from Chairman Mao to Bob Dylan; and swimming in the Thames to soaring in solar flight. You can listen to the full 45-minute podcast here. The Solar Impulse segment starts at 22:20 but if you start listening at 20:10, you’ll get a fuller context, as Graham links the clean technology mission to the ideals of the influential economist, E.F Schumacher. Listen to the Solar Impulse Segment here: (Schumacher starts at 0:07 and Solar Impulse at 1:45) http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/BBC-Radio-4-Solar-Impulse-on-Pick-of-the-Week-May-15-2016.mp3 . Here’s a transcript of the segment (edited for length and clarity): BBC Presenter: Now on Radio 4, with the best of the BBC Radio this week, here’s Caz Graham… Caz Graham: “Small is beautiful” challenged the idea of economies based on mass production. According to Schumacher, big isn’t always better….Leo Johnson tried to find out what Schumacher stands for and whether his ideas might be about to take off. He enlisted the help of Satish Kumar, founder of the Schumacher College. Satish Kumar: We have been given these beautiful hands…they are like a miracle. What can we do with these hands? The word ‘poet’ means ‘to make’….’poiesis.’ In Schumacher’s view, we are all poets. If we make something with creativity and imagination, a garden can be poetry, dinner can be a work of poetry…Work is a source of pleasure and joy. Our philosophy of consumerism, of materialism, of disconnection, that humans are separate from nature…is the biggest problem…Financial wealth is only a means to an end. Real wealth is community, people, their skills, their talent, their imagination, their creativity…Real wealth is nature. Caz Graham:  It all sounds marvelous in theory, but what about in practice? You need people to channel that imagination and creativity to deliver and develop the kind of world that Shumacher was aspiring to. Maybe people like Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg? They have a unique plane. It’s called the Solar Impulse. It has a wing span of 230 feet and it’s powered entirely by solar panels attached to those wings. They want to prove that this kind of clean technology really can work and could help solve our energy problems, so they’re currently flying it right around the world. Alison van Diggelen caught up with them for the World Service’s Business Matters, during a recent stop over in Silicon Valley. This is Bertrand Piccard… Bertrand Piccard: You know, I never have enough of flying that plane or seeing it flying…when you see those four electrical motors that put the plane in the sky with no noise, no pollution, it’s like a jump into the future. Thanks to new technologies, the future is already today. Alison van Diggelen: What for you is the biggest game changer? Bertrand Piccard: The world cannot continue on combustion engines, badly insulated houses, incandescent light bulbs, outdated systems to distribute the energy…this is last century. It’s not only about protecting the environment, it’s a lot about making money, new industrial markets, economic development, profit, job creation. These clean technologies can be used for electrical mobility, LED lights, smartgrids. …. Maybe Solar Impulse is a way to try to overcome the resistance of the dinosaurs who have not yet understood where the future is. Alison van Diggelen: You’re an entrepreneur, as is Andre (Borschberg). What do you say to these naysayers? Bertrand [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, I was delighted to discover that my interview with Solar Impulse pilot and clean technology enthusiast, Bertrand Piccard was featured on BBC Radio 4’s program, “Pick of the Week.” [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2015/05/06/bbc-report-how-will-innovators-like-elon-musk-change-your-life/ Wed, 06 May 2015 21:42:28 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=8245 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Technology has the potential to bring us a mind-blowing world of innovation, from self-driving cars to re-engineered food, and even colonies on Mars. Elon Musk and Steve Jurvetson are two of tech’s most influential minds. Here’s my BBC World Business Report on their vision of the future. Spoiler alert: It isn’t all good news. The report aired today (May 6, 2015) on the BBC World Service. Listen to the podcast from 11:00 http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Futureshock-WBR-Musk-Jurvetson-May-6-2015-.mp3   BBC Presenter, Mike Johnson: Colonies on Mars, self driving electric cars, re-engineered food… How will technology change our lives in the decades ahead? It’s certainly bringing us an extraordinary world of innovation. It’s known in the jargon these days as “future shock.” Many worry about the consequences, especially the toll that increased use of robots will take on jobs. Alison van Diggelen, creator and host of the Fresh Dialogues interview series reports from California Audio: [Sound of Tesla Factory welding, metal on metal, robot sounds…] van Diggelen: It was here in Silicon Valley, in 2012, the first Model S rolled off the production line at the Tesla Factory. Tesla’s Gilbert Passin: See the robot is bringing the flat panel into the press…they are in slow motion …[factory sounds] van Diggelen: The pioneering carmaker, Tesla Motors, has now produced over 70,000 all-electric cars and is gearing up for the release of the new Model X, a futuristic SUV with falcon wing doors. This summer, it will also start shipping Tesla Energy storage batteries for homes, businesses and utilities. Gilbert Passin leads the Tesla manufacturing team and is proud of the numerous red robots at the factory. Passin: What we do here is really kick-ass. I mean, look around…. does it look to you like a boring old-fashioned car factory? van Diggelen: Absolutely not. Passin: We’re using the latest and greatest and even in some cases innovate in manufacturing techniques. van Diggelen: The Tesla production team is so fond of its heavy lifting robots, they’re named after action heroes like Wolverine, Vulcan and Colossus. Venture Capitalist, Steve Jurvetson drives the first Model S to come off Tesla’s production line. He has a reputation for putting his money where his mouth is and backing successful startups like Hotmail, SpaceX, and PlanetLabs. He’s a self-described “raging techno optimist” and has a front row seat on the future of innovation. I asked him what we should expect in the next 50 years… Steve Jurvetson: (If you look far enough in the future) All vehicles will be electric. We’ll have a Mars colony. We will have to grow more food than since the beginning of agriculture. That will be largely driven by GMOs and a variety of roboticized forms of farming…and moving off meat production in the way we think of it: killing animals. We will “grow” meat in different ways within 50 years and that will have pretty profound effects on Greenhouse Gases to… everything. Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, are changing the world. In that 50 year horizon, the world’s going to look markedly different than today. Future shock is a perpetually occurring phenomenon. van Diggelen: As well as being CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk leads SpaceX, the aerospace company that recently launched its 6th mission to resupply the International Space Station. Ambi: [SpaceX rocket countdown and blast off] Tesla announcer: 5,4,3,2,1…and lift off…the Falcon soars from its perch to the international space station. [Rocket blasting….] van Diggelen: But all this is just a warm up for the ultimate mission: a colony on Mars. In 2013, Elon Musk told me: “I want to die on Mars, just not on impact.” He envisioned a philanthropic mission to Mars to install a greenhouse…and jumpstart the space race. Here’s Musk: Musk: You’d have this great shot of a [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Technology has the potential to bring us a mind-blowing world of innovation, from self-driving cars to re-engineered food, and even colonies on Mars. Elon Musk and Steve Jurvetson are two of [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2015/05/01/bbc-dialogues-elon-musk-unveils-tesla-energy/ Fri, 01 May 2015 16:36:25 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=8221 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed he’s getting more like Steve Jobs by the minute. Just as Jobs helped revolutionize the personal computer, music and phone industries; Musk has helped revolutionize the world of e-commerce, space exploration and electric cars. And now he’s set his sights on the energy sector. With this announcement, Musk has burnished his revolutionary status by revealing that Tesla Motors is no longer “just” a car company, but an energy company.  You can read the 12 key facts of last night’s presentation here. Some commentators are calling it the start of an energy storage revolution, but there are no guarantees. I joined the BBC’s Fergus Nicholl and Revathy Ashok (Bangalore Political Action Committee) on Business Matters last night to discuss the implications of Musk’s bold vision for energy storage. Here is the podcast from the BBC World Service. Our Tesla conversation starts at the 29:00 mark. http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Elon-Musk-Tesla-Energy-Biz-Matters-apr-30-2015.mp3 Here are some highlights of our conversation (edited for length and clarity): Fergus Nicholl: Elon Musk…you’ve met the man. How would you introduce him to a global audience? Alison van Diggelen: He is a genius inventor…the (Thomas) Edison of our day…incredibly sharp minded, a big old geek, but he’s very personable. He has grand visions and wants to make it happen…he has the ability to paint a picture, and motivate a team and build a team. He’s changed the world of electric vehicles and he’s now planning to change the world of power, utilities and battery storage. Fergus Nicholl: That is an application that would apply in many many countries, beyond India. The idea that you could weather blackouts, brownouts…you’re saying you could bank it, use it when you need it and not necessarily get hit by little domestic crises? Revathy Ashok: Absolutely. It’s pretty common in India for a normal household to have a one to three hour battery back up. For the last 12 hours it’s been raining heavily…we’ve had no power at all, so all connectivity is lost. I have three hours of battery backup which is all gone… Alison van Diggelen: The main idea is, if you’ve got solar panels on your roof, or windpower, your house can become a power station with the addition of these batteries. No matter what natural disaster, earthquake etc. is happening, you will have a reliable source of power. You won’t need the utility anymore. You can just disconnect from the grid, go “off-grid.” So that’s the huge potential and that’s why people are really excited about tonight’s announcement. Fergus Nicholl: The Gigafactory (in Nevada)…tell us more about it…a net zero energy factory…it’s quite an extraordinary project. Alison van Diggelen: Yes, a net zero energy project means it will be solar powered itself and will produce as much energy as it uses to make these batteries. It’s definitely quite revolutionary and has Elon Musk’s fingers all over it. Fergus Nicholl: In this picture, the entire roof is vast solar panels, kind of like a solar farm laid perfectly flat. I guess Nevada is probably the best place to be for that? Alison van Diggelen: Indeed, several states were actually fighting over it. California was hoping to get it too, but Nevada won out because they gave some very juicy incentives…The Gigafactory will produce more batteries, once it’s fully operational, than the world’s supply of batteries in 2013. That’s what they’re predicting. It’s a mind blowing amount of batteries and Tesla board member, Steve Jurvetson told me they’re planning to build more Gigafactories around the world, once this one is operational. As well as being Net Zero, they’re going to be creating a lot of employment, so there will be a lot of communities wanting them in their back yard too. Fergus Nicholl: [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed he’s getting more like Steve Jobs by the minute. Just as Jobs helped revolutionize the personal computer, music and phone industries; Musk has helped [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2015/04/16/bbc-report-elon-musk-cynthia-breazeal-explain-why-robots-are-coming-to-your-home/ Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:15:11 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=8194 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Why are robots getting close and personal? Here’s my BBC World Business Report about The Brave New World of autonomous cars and social robots. It aired on BBC World Service Monday April 13, 2015. Two pioneers, Elon Musk of Tesla Motors and Cynthia Breazeal of Jibo Robot, explain why autonomous cars and robots are poised to invade your home and (potentially) make your life easier and safer. Here’s the program. Listen at 12:16 on the podcast. http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/WBR-Apr-13-2015-Musk-Breazeal-Robots-Cars-Report.mp3 WBR Host, Susannah Streeter: The era of robots is getting personal. They’re slowly moving into our homes and our garages. What’s the business case for robot cars that can chauffeur you autonomously and desktop robots that can be your personal assistant? Will they be job killers or job creators? Alison van Diggelen reports from Silicon Valley, California where two pioneers recently described a brave new world full of robots. Jen-Hsun Huang (Nvidia CEO): Ladies and Gentlemen, Please welcome Tesla CEO, cofounder, Elon Musk [applause] Elon Musk: In the distant future, people may outlaw driving cars. It’s too dangerous. You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine. [laughter] That’s Elon Musk, the CEO of electric vehicle maker, Tesla Motors speaking at a recent Silicon Valley tech conference. He helped revolutionize the world of electric vehicles by creating a sexy, high performance car that left the “golf cart” era in the dust. Now he’s joined the charge in autonomous driving, led by Google, and claims that taking a self driving car will soon be as everyday as using an elevator.  But are you ready to step into a robot car? Elon Musk: You’ll be able to tell your car: Take me home, go here, go there, anything…in an order of magnitude safer than a person. It’s going to be the default thing and could save a lot of lives. Although you might grimace at the thought of relinquishing control, for Musk, Google and several major car manufacturers, the business case for autonomous cars is a no brainer – they say it could save $400 Billion a year in accident related expenses. Researchers at Columbia University found that a shared driverless fleet of cars could reduce personal travel costs by 80%. But will robotic cars and other types of robots kill jobs? Cynthia Breazeal argues they won’t. She’s a pioneer in social robots – ones that focus on human-robot interactions.  She invented Jibo, a singing, dancing tabletop robot that looks like a cross between the Pixar lamp and an iPad. Jibo Announcer: Introducing Jibo, the world’s first family robot. Say hi Jibo… Jibo: Hi Jibo! [laughter] Jibo Announcer: Jibo helps everyone out throughout their day [music] Jibo is a personal assistant robot that can photograph, video, entertain and educate you and your family. It can remind you to call your mum on her birthday and even read your children bedtime stories. Jibo: Let me in or else I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!! Girl: [Giggling] Jibo announcer: He’s not just a connected device, he’s one of the family. Girl: Shhhhh. Good night Jibo! [Computer sounds] . Although some people might find Jibo a bit creepy, the company’s crowd funding campaign showed its strong consumer appeal. Last year, it raised over $2M from Indiegogo in just 8 weeks. This year, it secured $25M in venture capital. Jibo goes on sale next year. Breazeal acknowledges that robots were viewed as job killers, historically. Breazeal: When robotics first came onto the market, it was a lot about replacing human labor. (So that’s been the assumption) Social robotics as a whole research discipline has been about a very different paradigm. So Jibo is not being designed to replace anyone or anything. (Sometimes people talk about, ‘it’s going to replace my dog…’ it’s not about that.) Jibo creates [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Why are robots getting close and personal? Here’s my BBC World Business Report about The Brave New World of autonomous cars and social robots. It aired on BBC World Service Monday April 13, [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2015/04/02/bbc-dialogues-californias-drought-and-your-lawn/ Thu, 02 Apr 2015 18:37:09 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=8166 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues As news broke about Gov. Jerry Brown’s mandatory water restrictions in California, I joined Roger Hearing on the BBC’s Business Matters program to discuss the state’s historic drought and the governor’s slow response. “We are standing on dry grass, and we should be standing on five feet of snow,” Mr. Brown said. “We are in an historic drought… a new era…The idea of your nice little green lawn getting watered every day, those days are past.” Although the governor’s mandate calls for a 25% water use reduction, it probably won’t go into effect until June and will barely impact the farming community, which accounts for 80% of the state’s water use (almond farmers alone use 10%). According to a report by Lisa Krieger, the CA Department of Water Resources confirms that agriculture water use has already been heavily restricted, however the new rules will not restrict groundwater pumping. Experts at NPR’s KQED say the most worrying part is that this crisis is a glimpse of the future: the low rainfall and high temperatures we’ve experienced in the last four years are now the “new normal,” thanks to climate change. Here’s an extract of our discussion that starts at 29:00 in the BBC podcast: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Biz-Matters-audio-CA-drought-Apr-1-2015.mp3 Hearing: We know California is sunny…but it’s rather too sunny and not quite rainy enough…and for the first time in the state’s history you have mandatory water restrictions. How does it affect your life and what’s going on there? van Diggelen: Yes, this is big news here. Governor Brown went up into the Sierra this morning and he stood where normally there would be about five foot of snow and he was on grass. It was such a powerful image to relay to people the extent of the problem: 2013 was the driest on record in the state, 2014 was the warmest. It was like a one-two punch for the environment and finally he’s getting round to doing something. A lot of people, myself included, are asking: Why didn’t you start something a year ago? We saw this coming…(A recent San Jose Mercury News editorial describes Brown’s action to date as “lame.”) Hearing: What’s it actually look like? Do you notice the lakes ebbing away, the rivers drying up? van Diggelen: There are a lot of reservoirs in the south San Francisco Bay area that are completely dry or close to being dry. A lot of locals are letting their grass go brown. There are a lot of visible ways of seeing this, however you’re also seeing beautiful verdant grass on golf courses, so you could say there is a cover up going on. This is long overdue, there really needed to have been mandates before this, but at least there is something happening now. Gov. Brown is calling for reduction in water use of 25% for the next year. Hearing: But he can’t make rain. Is there any sign of it coming? van Diggelen: Our rainy season is almost over. We’re now in April and the majority of our rain falls between September and March, so it’s not looking likely. We may get one or two light showers, but the experts are saying the window of opportunity for a big storm has passed. Hearing: It’s going to be a long hot summer. *** Toward the end of the program (at 48:45 in the podcast), Don McLean fans will be interested to learn that we discussed the “American Pie” manuscript, which goes to auction on April 7th. I couldn’t help remarking how relevant the classic contemporary song is to California today: “I drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.” Sadly, as climate change progresses, dry levees, lakes and rivers are going to be a widespread sight in California. Indeed, that and brown lawns are going to become “the new normal.” So bye-bye verdant green lawns… It’s been nice knowing you. By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues As news broke about Gov. Jerry Brown’s mandatory water restrictions in California, I joined Roger Hearing on the BBC’s Business Matters program to discuss the state’s historic drought and [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2014/12/12/bbc-report-the-vast-potential-of-nobel-prize-blue-leds/ Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:49:34 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=7952 This week, UC Santa Barbara’s Professor Nakamura (and two colleagues in Japan) received the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their big breakthrough? The Holy Grail of material science for many years: Blue LED technology. It not only enables high efficiency lighting (goodbye Edison’s incandescent bulbs, hello backlit smartphones, and 2300 feet headlights); but one day soon will help double the range of hybrid cars (thanks to its power switching applications). Today BBC’s Tech Tent aired my interview with Professor Steven DenBaars, research partner to Professor Nakamura at UCSB. A version of this story aired on BBC’s Tech Tent on Dec. 12, 2014. Listen to the podcast below: http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ucsb-story-dec-2014.mp3   To give you a sense of just how energy efficient these LED lightbulbs are, Prof DenBaars claims that if everyone in the United States replaced their old bulbs with LEDs, it would reduce the country’s electric light bill from $100 Billion to $20 Billion. Impressive. Sweden’s Per Delsing gives it a global perspective: “A quarter of all energy consumption goes to illumination,” he said at the Nobel Prize press conference. As a result, any increase in efficiency and consequent saving of energy “is really going to have a big impact on modern civilization.” While reporting for the BBC, I got a fascinating tour of UCSB’s Solid State Lighting and Energy Center and a chemistry lesson from Steven Griffiths, a grad student researcher. His colleagues Sang Ho Oh and Daniel Becerra also contributed valuable background information (see below for more photos). Here’s a transcript of my conversation with Prof Denbaars  (aka: all you ever wanted to know about LEDs but were afraid to ask): Alison van D: I’m here at the Uni of California Santa Barbara with the research team led by Prof Nakamura, the winner of this year’s Nobel prize for Physics. He earned the Nobel Prize for his blue LED breakthrough. I want to talk with Dr Steven Denbaars who is a research partner of the professor and start with the basics. What is an LED? Prof DenBaars: An LED stands for a light emitting diode, it’s basically a semiconductor crystal which glows bright light, in this case, bright blue light when you apply electrical current to it. van D: Can you explain how they’re used in smartphones, computer screens and in lighting? Prof D: OK in smartphones the LED is used in combination with a phosphor on top of it to generate white light. That is, the blue is converted with a red and a green phosphor to produce a full spectrum of white light. That is the white light in your flashlight, you know when you take a picture, but it’s also the white light in back of your LCD screen. So it’s called the backlight. So all smart phones today use LED backlighting to do energy efficient displays. van D: And tell me about the lighting aspect. Is it just the LED bulbs you find at the supermarket, is that the only application for LEDs in the lighting sphere? Prof D: Well that was the initial implementation, a bulb replacement or retrofit. But what we’re seeing is: now you can use the LED to add additional features to lighting, such as communications. That is, you can have your cell phone control the color of the light bulb or even communicate information between the light bulb and your cell phone or maybe even your Internet server to distribute information into the house. That’s just starting. We call that smart LED lighting. van D: So can you explain how that works? You get an app on your phone and you can change the mood lighting of your home? Prof D: Yes, you can change the color temperature from a sunset to a cold day in Sweden, maybe, I guess.  6500 Kelvin would look very bluish white…That is using the Bluetooth feature on your iPhone that communicates with the chip in the light bulb, which then changes the mix of the colors in the LED. van D: Can you talk about the particular [...] This week, UC Santa Barbara’s Professor Nakamura (and two colleagues in Japan) received the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their big breakthrough? The Holy Grail of material science for many years: Blue LED technology. It not only enables high [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2014/11/25/bbc-report-tech-women-flock-to-silicon-valley-mecca/ Tue, 25 Nov 2014 20:37:44 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=7930 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Silicon Valley is well known as the global hub of innovative technology. Can four weeks immersed in its unique ecosystem help inspire a new generation of global tech leaders? That’s the hope behind a program called Tech Women, launched by former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and now sponsored by the State Department. Last month, over seventy tech women from Africa and the Middle East made a month-long visit to Silicon Valley. I met with several of them to explore what they learned, and how they plan to leverage technology to tackle their countries’ challenges when they return home. A version of this story aired on BBC’s Tech Tent on Nov. 14, 2014. Listen to the podcast below:  @20.00 http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/BBC-Tech-Tent-aired-Nov-14-2014-Women-in-Tech-Kenya-Jordan-at-20-mins-in.mp3   Here is the full length transcript: Tech Tent Host, Rory Cellan-Jones: One interesting aspect of the tech revolution is that women are playing a bigger role in the developing world than in places like the U.S. and U.K. Over 70 women from Africa and the Middle Easter have just wrapped up a month long visit to Silicon Valley, with the aim of picking up ideas for the technology they can use to tackle their country’s challenges when they return home. Alison van Diggelen met two of them… Alison van Diggelen: They are two women with ambitious missions. They’ve got the tech savvy and now, after a month building connections and wisdom in Silicon Valley, they’re eager to launch their dreams back home. Meet Asal Ibrahim who wants to bring massive deployment of solar power to Jordan; and Serah Kahiu from Kenya who wants to jumpstart the science and tech economy in Africa by developing a network of science museums and labs across the entire continent. Both have lofty goals, but they talk with such conviction and enthusiasm, it’s hard not to believe that these young women will change the world, at least their little corner of it. I start by asking Kahiu about the current state of technology in Kenya. Kahiu: “I use mobile technology in Kenya, it’s HUGE. It’s like magic because you can do transactions, money transactions on your mobile. You can pay someone from wherever in a country: school fees, bills. That one has revolutionized life in Kenya.” She explains how Facebook is a vital tech tool for small businesses in Kenya. Kahiu: “You can use your phone for Internet. That has really sparked business because you can advertise your product on Facebook, get someone to pay you through M-pesa and then put stuff on a public transport system and it’s transported to your client. That has made it so easy for people like farmers. You cut out the middleman. The farmer gets all the profit. This is huge, especially for women. The majority of small scale farmers in Kenya are women, so that has improved standards of living for many women in rural areas.” We discuss her grand vision of creating a network of hands-on science and tech centers across Africa, starting in Juja, Kenya, a university town she describes as having “the same vibe as Silicon Valley.” Kahiu: “We need to embrace more technology because 60% of Africans and youth in Kenya are under 35. We have a bulge of youth who’re not employed. Science and technology is the last frontier for job creation. We must prepare people for that. We import 80% of whatever we’re using. Why do we import? Why not make it in Kenya? “If the governments of Africa invest in science and technology and put it on its pedestal as an accelerator of development, youth are encouraged to understand science better, and more importantly, to start companies.” van Diggelen: “So you feel it needs an entrepreneurship spirit kick-started?” Kahiu: “Yes, kick-started! There’s a need for that entrepreneurship. They’re learning theory, theory, theory.” van Diggelen: “So commercializing these [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Silicon Valley is well known as the global hub of innovative technology. Can four weeks immersed in its unique ecosystem help inspire a new generation of global tech leaders? That’s the hope [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2014/03/18/china-comes-to-silicon-valley/ Tue, 18 Mar 2014 17:11:05 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=7152  By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Here come China’s tech giants. Last week, Alibaba and China’s Twitter-like Weibo announced massive IPO plans. Today, in Silicon Valley, China is front and center in the news. Let’s take a closer look at Chinese entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. How will it change the tech innovation capital of the world? And will a longer term view take hold? A version of this story aired on BBC’s Tech Tent on March 14, 2014. Listen to the podcast below:  @17.35 http://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BBC-Tech-Tent-China-in-SV-14-Mar-2014.mp3   The latest wave of Chinese immigrants to Silicon Valley is impacting everything from the housing market to the way business is done in the high tech capital of the world. [See image gallery at www.freshdialogues.com] Stuart Evans, a Brit who arrived in Silicon Valley 30 years ago, has been studying the unique ecosystem of Silicon Valley for decades. Today, he teaches entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, and says he’s seen a sevenfold increase in student applications from China and South-East Asia in the last year. Evans: “It’s been like a racehorse that’s been choked back in the stalls and now the gate’s open and the race is away.” He’s witnessed millions of dollars from Chinese tech giants flooding into Silicon Valley startups; and incubators popping up for entrepreneurs arriving from Chinese tech hubs in Beijing and Shanghai. In Palo Alto, home of Stanford University, the number of home purchases by Chinese nationals has tripled since 2011.  A local realtor recently reported that for every seven offers for a home, three of them will be cash offers from Mainland China. As well as teaching, Evans mentors young entrepreneurs at Innospring, a Silicon Valley based incubator that offers advice, funding and partnerships to fledgling Chinese startups and American ones seeking to expand in China. Here’s how he describes his role: Evans: “A bouncing board to bounce ideas…to critique, to make connections, to suggest better ways to go about doing things.” Better ways, and American ways. For example, he’s had to help young Chinese entrepreneurs adapt to the strict American legal system and US privacy concerns. Evans recalls telling a Chinese student that he might run into legal liability and privacy issues his new device for a car steering wheel. Evans:  “It seemed at first to hit a raw nerve…’Why not? Why don’t we just do it anyway?’ …was the entrepreneur’s initial response. Yet Evans found that they did eventually come round to an American view of the world. Evans: “When you reason with people and show them the implications, they very quickly respond and come up with inventive solutions.” Evans points out that there is no work/life balance in Silicon Valley: your work is your life. He says that fits well with the Chinese mindset and intense work ethic. It’s intensely competitive to get into the best schools in China. Evans: “I’ve had students who would get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to be prepped before they went to school.” Innospring founder, Eugene Zhang invites me to tour during a visit by a delegation of “20 under 20” college students from Jiangsu province in China. Zhang: “Innospring is about capturing that positive energy…the big opportunities…the next Google or Baidu…the giants.” So how are these Chinese entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley changing the way things are done? One of Evans’s entrepreneurs is Nan Zhong, cofounder of startup TIKL, a walkie-talkie app for smartphones. He describes a different mindset in the Chinese culture. Zhong: “Letting go instant gratification is driven into my head…you go for what’s eventually going to be good for you, not necessarily what makes you happy at the moment.” That long-term view colors the way Chinese entrepreneurs run their businesses he explains. They focus on growing [...]  By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Here come China’s tech giants. Last week, Alibaba and China’s Twitter-like Weibo announced massive IPO plans. Today, in Silicon Valley, China is front and center in the news. Let’s take a [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2012/08/29/green-jobs-advice-from-google-solarcity-san-jose-city-vc-at-commonwealth-club/ Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:46:06 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=5859 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This month, I moderated a panel of green jobs experts for the Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley. Experts included: Parag Chokshi, Clean Energy Public Affairs Manager, Google; Josh Green, General Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures; Linda Keala, Vice President Human Resources, SolarCity and Nanci Klein, Deputy Director, Office of Economic Development, City of San Jose. You can listen to the conversation here. The event will soon be televised: Contact us or check back soon for details. The panel shared insights about the green economy, as well as tips for finding and securing green investments and green jobs. Here are highlights of our conversation (edited for space and clarity). What are hot sectors in the green economy? Josh Green, Mohr Davidow Ventures: “In the current environment, we’re looking for less capital intensive deals (energy efficiency, LED lighting and building management systems), so that means we’re on the side of energy demand much more than energy production. People call this cleantech IT – Information Technology. I’m an investor in Xicato, an LED module company. The LED convergence will happen…the payback is less than two years and (it’s) equivalent to halogen light. You don’t have to replace them for ten years or more and especially in a commercial settings, you end up lowering your maintenance costs.” On cleantech growth sectors in Silicon Valley Nanci Klein, Office of Economic Development, City of San Jose: “People say manufacturing has left the US…but manufacturing is very exciting here. When you talk about innovation and commercialization, Silicon Valley is a hub around new product introduction. Contract manufacturers will take a low volume, high mix of products. …the ten largest in the world – Tier One contract manufacturers – are all here in Silicon Valley, six of them in San Jose. They’re like a secret weapon resource. We try to link baby investors to these companies. You take someone with a hot idea and you put them with all of the accelerated services…if the product is good you can have a rocket in terms of acceleration.” Nanci said the following Silicon Valley cleantech companies are currently hiring: Flextronics, SunPower, Solar Junction, Nanosolar, Lunera, Enlighted, Philips Lumilix, Coulomb/ChargePoint, Echelon, Cypress Envirosytems. On Solyndra Josh Green, Mohr Davidow Ventures: “The loan guarantee program is operating well within the loan loss reserves. Certain loans are going to fail…The Solyndra mess became a big political football…the good news is that we’ve passed the half life…Congress officially stopped all its hearings. There will be continued efforts to end the loan guarantee program…but Solyndra itself: it’s over in terms of an issue.  As investors, it never was an issue, it was a company that was not successful…I’ve got a portfolio with lots of companies that are not successful.  Out of 100 investments, if you have 10 that meet your investment objectives (10x your money or better) then you’re ‘wildly’ successful, that makes you a top venture capitalists. That means you have a 90% – under your expectations success – rate.” Tips on getting a green job Linda Keala, Director of HR, SolarCity:  1. “A background in cleantech is not a prerequisite.” 2. “Differentiate yourself – what about the job (post) got you inspired? What resonated about the company?” 3. “I love getting handwritten letters. A personalized message tells me this is who I am, this is what I can bring to the company. Sometimes I get them in little pink envelopes…” 4. “Touch a spot in our hearts and we’ll take a close look at that resume.” Josh Green, Mohr Davidow Ventures: “Have passion to change the world.” How to get a job in Google’s Green Team (there are currently seven openings in the sustainability/green team areas) Parag Chokshi, Clean Energy Public Affairs [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This month, I moderated a panel of green jobs experts for the Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley. Experts included: Parag Chokshi, Clean Energy Public Affairs Manager, Google; Josh Green, General [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2011/03/02/john-robbins-science-of-climate-change-incontrovertible/ Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:38:16 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=4283 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In February, I interviewed author and environmentalist, John Robbins at the Commonwealth Club, in Silicon Valley. Robbins is most famous for his books “The Food Revolution” and “Diet for a New America”; has been interviewed by Terry Gross, and Oprah; and is a sought-after speaker on environmentalism, food and animal rights. We had a lively conversation about climate change, conscious consumption, and why he chose to say no to a Baskin Robbins future of ice-cream wealth; and carve his own path, teaching conscious consumption for good health and a healthy planet. Listen to the interview here (check back soon for video – the interview is scheduled to air on Comcast Channel 30 soon) On climate change “The science of climate change to my eyes is incontrovertible. It saddens me that public policy is not coordinated.” On the link between beef and global warming “Part of it is the carbon footprint of beef, part of it is the methane. Methane is an extraordinary greenhouse gas, it is twenty times stronger than carbon. It’s produced by cattle, it comes out of both ends of them – as a gas. It’s a biological reality. We are producing so much of it through our beef production and our dairy cows that it’s driving us to a climate chaos and we’re so close to some tipping points where it becomes uncontrollable. We need to do immediate things…” On Climate Change and Public Policy “I see the gap between what seems to be politically possible in this country – where so many people no longer even believe that humans are contributing to increased carbon, emissions and destabilization of our climate. But the science (of climate change) to my eyes is literally incontrovertible. It really saddens me and pains me that our public policy is not coordinated with what science is telling us. What will it take to wake us up? How much time do we have? How lucky do we feel? We are gambling…” On approaching the planet’s “tipping point “We are up against nature’s limits. If we can’t learn from that collision that we’re approaching…and adjust ourselves to live within the earth’s means…we are sentencing our children and grandchildren to a future that is probably barely livable.” On the food solution “I’d like to see us create a food system that doesn’t contribute to global warming, instead of one that is the leading contributor to it. If we are serious about feeding ourselves, the imperative to move to a plant based diet is a moral and unavoidable solution. Al Gores says change your lightbulbs – what about changing your diet?”     Advice for consumers – Five baby steps One: Shop at a farmers market Two: Eat more plants, fresh food, less animals Three: Eat less Four: Stop eating processed food, junk food Five: Laugh more, eat less, Create more, eat less. Love more, eat less. Care more, eat less… By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In February, I interviewed author and environmentalist, John Robbins at the Commonwealth Club, in Silicon Valley. Robbins is most famous for his books “The Food Revolution” and “Diet for a New [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/09/01/batteries-101-a-venture-capitalist-view/ Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:47:53 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3845 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In this week’s Fresh Dialogues, Mark Platshon, an expert in battery technology with venture capitalists, Vantage Point , provides some Battery Basics. What is a battery? “Throw a dart at (two elements on) the periodic table and you can make a battery out of it…a potato and a penny can make a battery…unfortunately we have a very limited periodic table…(and remember)  Moore’s Law doesn’t apply to chemistry!” . Why is it a hot space today? “When did you see a $10 Billion market grow three orders of magnitude in 20 years?” (That’s Platshon’s prediction for the growth in the lithium ion cell market as we drive more hybrid cars and new generation Electric Vehicles). What will attract the attention of venture capitalists? “We are looking for novelty and creativity…materials, systems, cooling…no one is going to find an execution plan because you are up against Samsung and Panasonic, the gorillas. You gotta do something that is truly novel, truly different and run like hell…cos they’re after you.” . . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Battery-Technology-101-1.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window What about grid storage? “We are very interested in the biggest market that hasn’t happened yet…grid storage is constipated with a lot of regulatory issues.” . A big Problem -Shortage of electro chemists “We graduate maybe 50 electro chemists in this country a year…(but) BYD (the China-based battery and electric vehicle company) hires about 500 a year…there’s a huge opportunity to work in this…point your kids to this cos we gotta make this happen!” . This was recorded at SDForum’s Cleantech Breakfast held at SAP headquarters in Palo Alto on June 29, 2010. The event was expertly moderated by Jeffrey Selman of Nixon Peabody and also featured VentureBeat’s Camille Ricketts, Dania Ghantous of Qnovo Corp. and Ashok Lahiri of Enovix. For interviews with Friedman, Krugman, Ballard et al…check out Fresh Dialogues archives For exclusive video interviews, check out the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In this week’s Fresh Dialogues, Mark Platshon, an expert in battery technology with venture capitalists, Vantage Point , provides some Battery Basics. What is a battery? “Throw a dart at (two [...] alison van diggelen 5.20 battery, venture capitalist, 101, technology, freshdialogues, mark platshon, alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/08/25/carl-guardino-on-ab-32-prop-23-were-not-going-to-sit-idly-by/ Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:56:07 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3827 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues You’ve no doubt heard about the November ballot measure (Proposition 23) which aims to to scupper California’s landmark climate change legislation, AB 32. In this Fresh Dialogues interview, Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, didn’t pull any punches in his response to those behind the plan. “We’re not going to sit idly by and watch you dismantle our environmental achievements… which are also economic ones,” says Carl Guardino. The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which represents over 300 major companies in the valley, including Google, Hewlett Packard and IBM (approximately one in three private sector jobs) provides a proactive voice for Silicon Valley businesses on public policy issues, locally and in Sacramento and Washington D.C. . Here’s a recap of the issue: AB 32 is the Golden State’s attempt to cap carbon emissions to 1990 levels by introducing a version of a cap-and-trade carbon tax which would hit power plants, refineries and cement manufacturers hard. What is Proposition 23? Supporters call it “The California Jobs Initiative,” and point to the high cost and potential job losses of implementing AB 32; but Proposition 23’s main impact would be to suspend (and effectively repeal) the provisions of AB 32. In turn, AB 32 supporters have launched a Stop Dirty Energy Prop Campaign to thwart the proposition. As of today, Proposition 23 is way ahead in the social media popularity index with over 4,500 Facebook “likes” for Prop 23 compared to just under 3,000 for its opponents. And here’s how Guardino describes it: “A veiled attempt to dismantle California’s environmental achievements.” . Who is behind it? Two Texas-based oil companies, Valero Energy Corporation and Tesoro Corporation, provided the initial funding to launch the campaign. Valero donated over $4 Million to the cause. Guardino’s argument “This is an economic engine not a caboose and we’re not going to let folks ruin the engine that continues to fuel the renewable energy, clean green economy. It’s not only good for our environment – and it’s critical – it’s also good for our economy and jobs; and we’ve proved that through innovation of products, processes and what we do with our people every day in Silicon Valley.” “What’s wonderful about Silicon Valley is that it’s never been an ‘either or’  –  it’s never been about the environment or the economy,” says Carl Guardino. “We can have our cake and eat it too.” . . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Carl-Guardino-on-AB32.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window The interview was recorded at the CreaTV studios in San Jose on April 29th 2010. At that time, Proposition 23 was not yet on the ballot, but Guardino correctly predicted it would receive sufficient support to qualify. For other Fresh Dialogues interviews re. AB 32: Former Secretary of State, George Shultz: “it would be “an unmitigated disaster” if the measure to suspend AB 32 passes in the November election.” click here Akeena Solar’s Barry Cinnamon click here For more interviews with Friedman, Krugman, Ballard et al…check out Fresh Dialogues archives For more exclusive video interviews, check out the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues You’ve no doubt heard about the November ballot measure (Proposition 23) which aims to to scupper California’s landmark climate change legislation, AB 32. In this Fresh Dialogues interview, Carl [...] alison van diggelen 6.08 carl guardino, silicon valley, leadership group, AB 32, AB32, Prop, 23, green jobs, freshdialogues, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/07/18/reid-hoffman-on-entrepreneurship/ Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:43:39 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3772 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues June 24 marked the 13th annual SDForum Visionary Awards, a celebration of the innovators and chutzpah that make Silicon Valley unique. Although the four visionaries come from diverse backgrounds, Silicon Valley was the common theme for the evening. The visionaries gave a revealing glimpse into the Silicon Valley State of Mind. What exactly is Silicon Valley? What’s its role in the world? This week, we look at Reid Hoffman’s viewpoint. He’s co-founder of LinkedIn and a renowned innovator in Silicon Valley. He had some strong words to say about the power of entrepreneurship and its ability to jumpstart the economy. The other honorees this year were Chris Shipley, Arthur Patterson and Brent Schlender. Bill Gates was also there. Alas, in virtual form only. Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn introduced Reid Hoffman as someone with a brilliant strategic mind and ability to invent the future. As well as being Executive Chairman of LinkedIn, Hoffman is also a partner with venture capitalists, Graylock Partners. Pointing to his colleague’s multidisciplinary background (Hoffman studied symbolic systems and philosophy at Stanford and Oxford respectively), Weiner concluded that education provided the building blocks to create an outstanding public thinker and social networking pioneer. Weiner reminded the audience that Hoffman understood the ability of technology to inform and connect people, inspiring him to launch Socialnet (a precursor to LinkedIn) before Facebook and MySpace existed. Hoffman walked to the podium with some reluctance, saying that listening to the introduction made him “want to run and hide”; yet he started his speech off by grounding us in time and place. “It’s an enormous privilege to be at this center fulcrum of how we change the world, that we call Silicon Valley,” he said, and posed the powerful question, “What more should we do with that?” Talking like a true Silicon Valley techie, he suggested not two “answers,” but two “vectors” to his question. And, the visionary he is, Hoffman thinks BIG. First, he recommended leveraging entrepreneurship as a powerful way to get the world economy back on track.  Drawing from author, Tom Friedman’s thesis, Hoffman said, “We live in a world that is increasingly flat and increasingly accelerating. When you have challenges like economic turbulence and uncertainty… entrepreneurship is a really good pattern…we need to make it more available globally.” Provoking wry laughter from the crowd, he pointed out that there is no entrepreneurs’ lobby in Washington DC, and implied there should be one to encourage entrepreneurship as part of the stimulus package, both here in the U.S. and around the world. His second “vector” or call to action was: how can we take business models to the non-profit sector? Drawing from his work at Kiva.org and Endeavor.org, he suggested hybrid models of self-sustaining nonprofits that can help spread entrepreneurship and create high impact change. “I love to play at the heart of what we do best in Silicon Valley,” said Hoffman. “To take risks, develop technologies and use financing and inspire entrepreneurship to create a lever by which we move the world.” . Former Financial Times journalist, and popular Silicon Valley Watcher, Tom Foremski used the occasion to launch and distribute his new book, “In My Humble Opinion.” He tells me it isn’t all that humble, but you can see for yourself. Check it out here. For more interviews with Friedman, Krugman, Ballard…check out Fresh Dialogues archives For more videos, check out the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues June 24 marked the 13th annual SDForum Visionary Awards, a celebration of the innovators and chutzpah that make Silicon Valley unique. Although the four visionaries come from diverse backgrounds, [...] alison van diggelen 7.07 reid hoffman, entrepreneur, visionary, awards, sdforum, linkedin, jeff weiner, freshdialogues, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/07/13/guy-kawasaki-on-evangelism/ Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:15:24 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3763 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Guy Kawasaki, the renowned Apple evangelist shares his top tips on how to become a great evangelist and how to leverage your success. This segment is part of a longer interview which took place in front of an audience of over 500 on July 7, 2010 at UC Santa Cruz Extension, and introduced my upcoming course in Green Entrepreneurship. First up: I asked Guy for TIPS ON EVANGELIZING “The starting point for a great evangelist is to have a great product….” e.g. the Apple iPad: how hard could that be? Guy Kawasaki “The thing that has made me successful is that – unlike a lot of people – I’m willing to grind it out.” ie long hours, hard work. Guy Kawasaki On leveraging your success “With a psych(ology) degree and a marketing background (diamonds), I’m living proof that you can fool most of the people all the time. I’m also living proof if you do one thing right (evangelize the Mac) – you can live off your reputation for decades.” Guy Kawasaki . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/guy-kawasaki-on-evangelism.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Please check back soon for more interview segments with Guy on social media, increasing your followers on Twitter ( to 200,000+) and other wisdom from the author of The Art of The Start and 8 other books on business and entrepreneurship. For more interviews with Friedman, Krugman, Ballard…check out Fresh Dialogues archives For more videos, check out the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Guy Kawasaki, the renowned Apple evangelist shares his top tips on how to become a great evangelist and how to leverage your success. This segment is part of a longer interview which took place in [...] alison van diggelen 3.10 guy kawasaki, interview, freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, evangelism, evangelist, tip, advice, ucsc alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/06/28/richard-lowenthal-tesla-range-anxiety-the-role-of-charging-stations/ Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:58:58 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3728 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the eve of Tesla’s IPO, Richard Lowenthal of Coulomb Technologies discusses the vital role of charging stations in creating a thriving ecosystem for electric vehicles. Lowenthal, a Silicon Valley based maker of charging stations, argues that a comprehensive network of charging stations is a vital prerequisite for the roll out of electric cars such as the Tesla, Smart Car, Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf in the next two years. Lowenthal explains why a visit to Tesla Motors inspired him to launch his green company after a successful career in high tech at StrataCom and Stardent Computers. For its part, Coulomb Technologies is still in the early stages of installing charging stations and faces competition from the larger, better funded Better Place which offers battery swaps as well as charging. However, Coulomb recently won a $15 Million grant from the Department of Energy and its ChargePoint America program is scheduled to install 4600 charging stations in nine strategic regions of the United States by September 2011. Reports indicate that despite Tesla’s questionable financials  – the company has failed to have a profitable quarter –  investors are “giddy” about today’s IPO. It seems that for some, the “cool factor” and zero to 60 in under 4 seconds trumps all….at least in the short term. . . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Richard-Lowenthal-Tesla-EVs.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window This interview was recorded at the CreaTV Studios in Silicon Valley on April 20, 2010. For more interviews with Tesla experts click here For more Fresh Dialogues archives For more videos, check out the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the eve of Tesla’s IPO, Richard Lowenthal of Coulomb Technologies discusses the vital role of charging stations in creating a thriving ecosystem for electric vehicles. Lowenthal, a Silicon [...] alison van diggelen 10.04 charging stations, electric cars, tesla, range anxiety, coulomb, lowenthal, interview, freshdialogues, alison van diggelen alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/06/23/tom-friedman-the-clean-tech-race/ Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:09:49 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3719 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, a report by the Pew Charitable Trust was released, underlining how much the United States is trailing in the clean tech race. Phyllis Cuttino, Pew’s Program Director wrote a succinct piece in the Huffington Post pointing to the fact that the United States fell far behind China in clean energy finance and investment in 2009. China’s total was over $30 billion compared to the U.S. clean energy investment of approximately $17 billion. In light of the BP oil spill and the continuing saga of disaster, both environmental and economic, she reaches a strong conclusion: “Safe and reliable clean energy can be harnessed to create new jobs, lessen our dependence on foreign energy sources and reduce global warming pollution. That is, if leaders in Washington can look past current partisan differences and work together to create an economic environment for tomorrow, in which our nation’s can-do spirit can again thrive.” An excellent time to revisit the advice of one of the most vocal advocates for a new energy policy: Author and New York Times columnist, Tom Friedman who spoke with Fresh Dialogues on the subject of energy policy and DC last year. Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Tom-Friedman-part-2-green-agenda-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Here’s a link to the VIDEO (Tom Friedman on China Envy) Also see Tom Friedman on Copenhagen Video “This is a problem that will be solved by innovators, not regulators.” From the archives: I caught up with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, at the Foothill College Celebrity Forum lecture series, where he delivered a spirited argument for why the United States must embrace a green economy. In this second part of our interview, we explore his part in driving the green agenda. Last January, he took part in a congressional hearing on green tech and economic recovery, sponsored by US Senator, Barbara Boxer. We discuss his role in that; and how he deals with critics. Click here for part one of the interview about his book, Hot Flat, and Crowded. On Friedman’s role in driving the green agenda “I use my platform as a journalist to drive this agenda that I see as important… I see a lot of things that are very exciting happening – exploding really – on a kind of small scale, but they haven’t yet reached critical mass and when you’re talking about changing the climate, you are talking about critical mass. It hasn’t yet been translated into policy at scale.” On his action at the Congressional level in January “It was an informal hearing, sponsored by Barbara Boxer, on climate and energy. John (Doerr) and I were the two main expert witnesses…No one intervention like that is going to be decisive, it takes many more…most of all from the President.” On dealing with critics “I think there’s a big audience for what I say and I don’t really pay attention to the critics. I keep on marching on. I hear it and it’s fine. And it’s a free country. You can say whatever you want.  But I’ve got my own bully pulpit and I use it. I don’t use it to shout back at critics; I use it to get my message out.  I’m looking forward. You know, the dogs bark and the caravan moves on. I’m in the caravan. My feeling is, I’m out there. And therefore, if you can’t take the heat, don’t be out there… Why would I waste a column writing about one of my critics? So what I always say to the critics is: ‘you may be writing about me, I really appreciate that, but don’t think for a second that I’d waste a column writing about you.’ ” What drives Tom Friedman? “I’m having fun. I have the best job in the world. I get to be a tourist with an attitude…go wherever I want, write whatever I want…and they pay me for that. I [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, a report by the Pew Charitable Trust was released, underlining how much the United States is trailing in the clean tech race. Phyllis Cuttino, Pew’s Program Director wrote a succinct [...] alison van diggelen 4 energy policy, tom friedman, pew report, phyllis, cuttino, pew charitable, global warming, clean energy, fresh dialogues, energy efficiency, tom friedman alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/06/09/novacem-carbon-negative-cement/ Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:38:02 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3687 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we explore the progress of Novacem, the London based “green cement” manufacturer. On April 22nd, 2010, the company received an appropriate Earth Day honor: Novacem was named a Top 10 Emerging Technology by MIT’s Technology Review Magazine. “The annual TR10 spotlights the emerging technologies we find most exciting. These are the innovations most likely to alter industries, fields of research, and even the way we live and work,” said Jason Pontin, editor in chief and publisher of Technology Review magazine. “We celebrate the innovators making these accomplishments possible and look forward to their continued advancement within their respective fields.” I caught up with Novacem’s Chairman, Stuart Evans at the AlwaysOn GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito last year to explore the company’s “secret sauce” and how it plans to compete with Khosla’s “favorite child,” Los Gatos based Calera. Here is the newly released video of our conversation. . At the conference last year, Vinod Khosla, the green investment guru, was asked to name the company with the greatest chance of becoming the next Green Microsoft  while onstage at the GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito.  He declined to name his “favorite child” but did praise Calera, the green cement maker he’s backing; and spoke about the huge potential growth in this sector. Since cement production creates 2.5 billion tons of CO2 annually,  representing  5% of manmade sources, it offers great potential in both climate change impact and market opportunity. Stuart Evans, Chairman of Novacem, shares Vinod’s bullishness about the market for green cement. This British entrepreneur has assembled a team from Imperial College, London (he dubs it the MIT of  the UK) and claims to have invented a carbon negative cement. How does Novacem technology differ from Calera’s? “The big play at Calera is that they want to go next to power stations to absorb the carbon dioxide there (carbon sequestration)… We’re making cement without a carbonate based feedstock. Vinod was talking about his materials being used in aggregate applications; we’re really replacing Portland Cement…we’re in the same space, we’re not head to head…we’re possibly even complementary. Besides, in a 2.5 billion (volume/ $150Billion) market, there are room for a couple of players…” Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Stuart-Evans-Novacam-edited.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window   Why is Novacem carbon negative? “Our cement doesn’t emit carbon dioxide, it absorbs carbon dioxide. We start with the material magnesium silicate (not calcium carbonate)… they have no carbon in them,  so right there we’ve got a stunning advantage. We only work at 800 degrees centigrade (compared to Portland Cement which requires 1400 degrees) so the energy sources we can use include biomass fuels which have a much greener footprint. ..We add a magic sauce to it (a mineral additive) which means that the cement absorbs carbon dioxide rather rapidly.” The importance of team “The team is everything; money is important but the team is even more important.” On Vinod Khosla’s expertise “We are tremendously flattered that Vinod is following our lead and investing in green cement.” (A display of typical British humor here) For more Fresh Dialogues interviews and transcript with Vinod Khosla, click here For other interviews recorded at the conference: Tony Perkins of AlwaysOn David Chen of Morgan Stanley The interview was recorded at the GoingGreen Conference, Sausalito on September 15, 2009. The background sound you hear is nautical ‘music’ from buoys, as container ships make their way under the Golden Gate Bridge. For more info on Green Cement, check [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we explore the progress of Novacem, the London based “green cement” manufacturer. On April 22nd, 2010, the company received an appropriate Earth Day honor: Novacem was named a Top 10 [...] 6.30 novacem, green cement, calera, khosla, technology review, freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, green interview alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/06/03/vinod-khosla-cleantech-wisdom/ Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:06:17 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3672 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Vinod Khosla recently announced a new member of his Khosla Ventures team: none other than former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who has been a vocal proponent of action to combat climate change. According to reports, Blair will be a paid advisor and will add his eloquence and global connections to Khosla’s plans to change the world through cleantech investments. This from Dana Hull at the Mercury News: “I’m absolutely thrilled, honored and delighted to team up with Vinod and the people he has working for him,” Blair said before taking the stage for a “fireside chat” with executives from six companies in Khosla Ventures’ vast portfolio. “Vinod is one of the most creative, dynamic and extraordinary people I’ve ever met in my life… the answers to climate change and energy security lies in the technological innovations. I am thrilled to play whatever small part I can.” Chances are, Blair will play much more than a “small part” in keeping global warming and the need for cleantech innovation front and center. His eloquence and British accent will no doubt help. But he’ll be keeping his distance from his fellow Brits at BP who have created an environmental disaster. Here is an interview from the Fresh Dialogues archives which explores Vinod’s motivations for investing in Bloom Energy, future predictions and his concern about cleantech bubbles. Click here for the FULL TRANSCRIPT . . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/vinod-khosla-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window The interview was recorded at the SDForum Visionary Awards in June 2009. To see many other exclusive videos at the FRESH DIALOGUES CHANNEL  click here SEE THE VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE – A FRESH DIALOGUES EXCLUSIVE – 1. Bloom Energy: Fuel Cell Technology 2. Bloom Energy: Affordability is Essential Video 3. Bloom Energy: Mission to Change the World Video For a full archive of interviews with Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman, Martin Sheen and many others click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Vinod Khosla recently announced a new member of his Khosla Ventures team: none other than former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who has been a vocal proponent of action to combat climate change. [...] alison van diggelen 7.10 vinod, khosla, investment, cleantech, freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, bloom, bubble alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/05/19/maureen-dowd-talks-green-new-video/ Wed, 19 May 2010 20:59:34 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3644 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we take a look at the Fresh Dialogues archives. Last April, I met with the enchanting Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Maureen Dowd. We had an animated conversation during a green-themed morning in downtown San Jose. Over cups of delicious mint tea, we discussed Maureen’s Irish heritage and how that inspires her fiery prose. We also discussed her belief in America’s green future. In this excerpt, we discuss fellow New York Times Columnist, Tom Friedman (whom she describes as “her office husband”) and his new book, Hot, Flat & Crowded. “I try to get advice from Tom Friedman who is Mr. Solar around our office. He’s done a new book which is very involved with energy and his whole house is solar designed… I ask him and he’s trying to coach me in how to be more environmentally correct.” . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Maureen-Dowd-Green-Inspiration.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window “This was the first campaign I’ve ever covered where I’d go and watch Hillary and Obama in the primary and they were both competing to come up with a plan for green jobs and for me it’s very exciting because for the eight years that Bush and Cheney were in it felt like we were going backwards in every way. You know we weren’t coming into the 21st Century and we were kinda like the Flintstones – we were just not moving forward. So I love all that.” . To read the TRANSCRIPT of the full interview click here To see many other exclusive videos at the FRESH DIALOGUES CHANNEL  click here For a full archive of interviews with Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman, Martin Sheen and many other celebrities click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we take a look at the Fresh Dialogues archives. Last April, I met with the enchanting Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Maureen Dowd. We had an animated conversation during a green-themed [...] alison van diggelen 2.2 Maureen dowd, green, talks green, green interview, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, mr solar, tom friedman, office husband, green jobs alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/05/10/jeffrey-toobin-elena-kagan-and-environment/ Mon, 10 May 2010 16:47:21 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3629 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Today, President Obama announced his nominee for Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. No surprise to Fresh Dialogues readers: it’s Elena Kagan. So what might she mean for the environment and green tech? On April 1st, just days before Justice Stevens announced his retirement, I sat down with Jeffrey Toobin to discuss the environmental record of the Supreme Court and the likely pick for Justice Stevens replacement. Toobin didn’t skip a beat: Elena Kagan. In this interview from the Fresh Dialogues archives, Toobin explains why Obama favored Kagan over the other well qualified candidates for the post and speculates about her green credentials. . Click here for an interview TRANSCRIPT Why will Obama pick Elena Kagan? “She’s former Dean of Harvard Law School (Obama’s alma mater), very much an Obama type person – moderate Democrat, a consensus builder…” . Is Elena Kagan an environmentalist? “My sense is that it’s not an issue that has come across her plate a lot…she’s someone who has written on administration law which tends to mean she’s a believer in the power of the Federal Government to regulate.” Jeffrey Toobin . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Jeffrey-Toobin-on-Supreme-Court-Justice.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window The interview took place at Dick Henning’s Foothill College Celebrity Forum in Silicon Valley on April 1, 2010. For more Fresh Dialogues interviews with business leaders and experts check out Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel For more on Elena Kagan’s green credentials: check out this article at Grist.org And here is an ARCHIVE of interviews with Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman, KR Sridhar and many others By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Today, President Obama announced his nominee for Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. No surprise to Fresh Dialogues readers: it’s Elena Kagan. So what might she mean for the environment and [...] alison van diggelen 4.30 freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, interview, video, environment , kagan, supreme court, toobin, nominee, alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/05/06/adam-jackson-go-green-with-twitter/ Thu, 06 May 2010 19:15:24 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3614 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Twitter officianado, Adam Jackson at SDForum’s Teens Plugged in Conference last year. Since then, he’s founded TweetForMyBiz, a social media consultancy, based in San Francisco. Moderator at this year’s conference, Mike Cassidy wrote an excellent column in the San Jose Mercury News about how teens embrace fearlessness in Silicon Valley. He writes: “Tech CEOs have done plenty of hand-wringing about our schools’ declining ability to turn out the thinkers we need to keep innovation robust…The young entrepreneurs at the SDForum conference don’t make those worries go away, but they are a reason to hold onto hope. They are a generation that embraces the optimism, fearlessness and drive that have built Silicon Valley.” Adam Jackson, who uprooted from Florida to San Francisco to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams as a young teen, is a great example of this fearlessness. In this interview from the Fresh Dialogues archives, Adam talks about how to become a green influencer. Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/adam-jackson-fgm.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window “If you have an idea to be more green, help the earth, then go for it, and try it out. See what happens and talk about it. That’s how you become an influencer, that’s how you become an expert. It’s not by re-quoting other people’s things. Or by trying to figure it out, maybe dabbling in it. You just have to jump head first.” To read more on Adam, click here or here Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Twitter officianado, Adam Jackson at SDForum’s Teens Plugged in Conference last year. Since then, he’s founded TweetForMyBiz, a social media consultancy, based in San [...] alison van diggelen 1.0 adam jackson, twitter, fresh dialogues, interview, how to become green influencer, alison van diggelen alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/04/28/sdforum-silicon-valley-teens-talk-green-tech/ Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:21:16 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3587 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues SDForum attendees got a glimpse of the future last Friday. Microsoft hosted the 4th Annual SDForum Teens Conference – an assembly of some of the most dynamic and creative young minds in Silicon Valley. I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of high energy high school students who are using technology to pursue their dreams of, well, simply: changing the world. Why not indeed? Katherine Nasol, a junior at Notre Dame High School, who aims to eradicate child trafficking in the Philippines through her Pagkabata Project, put it best: “In a time where youth have a bad reputation of going on Facebook all day and spending most of our time playing video games, this conference challenges that notion. Youth have the power to do anything, whether it be building a global network or changing the world views to care for the environment.” Her colleagues were equally impressive, from Emily Gran, who wants the world to take action in response to climate change (and has created a high school syllabus to trigger that change); to Daniel Brusilovsky who founded Teens in Tech Networks to help launch young entrepreneurs in business (and wants to replace Steve Jobs at Apple when he grows up – there will be no stopping this guy !); to Veronica Hume and Diana Chen who have created the GirlsForTech site to connect techie girls around the world; to Emily Munoz and Natalie Hon, Freestyle Academy students, who made a documentary about the importance of arts education in schools. Here’s a good write up of the morning’s green agenda by Michal Lenchner of The Examiner and another by Mike Cassidy of the Mercury News; and there are many more photos at DJ Cline’s For Future Reference Panelists include, from the left: Diana Chen (Mountain View) , Veronica Hume (St. Francis), Katherine Nasol (Notre Dame), Emily Gran (Menlo Atherton) and Daniel Brusilovski (Aragon) and not photographed: Emily Munoz (Mountain View) and Nathalie Hon (Los Altos). Moderator: Alison van Diggelen Photo Credit: DJ Cline From our archives: Audio from last year’s conference with Catherine Cook, founder of MyYearbook, a teen rival to the all mighty Facebook. In this interview, Catherine discusses how her site promotes a green planet and greener teens. Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/catherine-cook-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window For more Fresh Dialogues interviews with teens, click here and check out our full archive of interviews with Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman, Martin Sheen et al. For exclusive VIDEOS check out FRESH DIALOGUES YOUTUBE CHANNEL Excellent to note Microsoft’s green credentials – the campus is powered with a 480kW solar installation. By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues SDForum attendees got a glimpse of the future last Friday. Microsoft hosted the 4th Annual SDForum Teens Conference – an assembly of some of the most dynamic and creative young minds in Silicon [...] alison van diggelen 4.45 catherine cook, myyearbook, teens, green, interview, teens, sdforum, tech teens, freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, interview alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/04/21/solar-the-economic-argument/ Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:00:09 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3575 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the Eve of Earth Day, it’s telling to look at the green motivations of one of Silicon Valley’s leaders in solar technology: CEO of Akeena Solar, Barry Cinnamon. He’s been a solar advocate since the 1970’s when he studied the science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); however, he’s emphatic in his belief: economics trumps environmental arguments for going solar. So much so, that Cinnamon chose to avoid the color green in his company logo and vehicles. What motivated Cinnamon to explore solar energy in the 1970’s? “In the 1970’s we had the energy crisis and …(President) Jimmy Carter said ‘the energy crisis is the moral equivalent of war.’  …there was no environmental consciousness about fossil fuels being bad; nobody had ever heard of Green House Gases…We were all worried about nuclear winter.” . On becoming a green entrepreneur “It was a really FEEL GOOD THING….We knew we were doing the right thing for the environment…” . On the economics of going solar “Customers want to do it for the environment or for our country’s energy independence….but if the numbers don’t pencil out, they almost never do it…you’ve got to make a decent economic case.” . . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Barry-Cinnamon-Akeena-Motivations.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window . How does “belief” in Global Warming alter the sales pitch? “Some people don’t ‘believe’ it, and it’s a religious thing…’green’ works well in the Bay Area….but (elsewhere) customers would avoid a company who’s main pitch is green…but if you hit them with the economic argument or the energy independence argument – we don’t need to buy any energy from the Persian Gulf – it works just fine.” . Could there be a repeat of the 1970’s boom then bust in alternative energy? “In the 70’s/early 80’s, the crisis went away, tax credits went away…if energy prices suddenly plummeted again….it’ll happen again. We don’t have the political will to artificially support oil or gas prices….(but) because the world  demand for oil and gas is so high and the supply is generally limited…economics is going to reduce the chances that it will happen again…but it’s not impossible.” By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the Eve of Earth Day, it’s telling to look at the green motivations of one of Silicon Valley’s leaders in solar technology: CEO of Akeena Solar, Barry Cinnamon. He’s been a solar advocate [...] alison van diggelen 7.11 freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, solar, akeena, barry cinnamon, interview, video,economic, environment, economic argument, global warming , green interview alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/04/12/jeffrey-toobin-transcript-kagan-supreme-court-environment/ Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:28:00 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3546 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Fresh Dialogues (TM) is an interview series with a green focus: Fresh Questions, Fresh Answers. This video interview took place at  Foothill College Celebrity Forum on April 1, 2010, just one week before Justice Stevens announced his retirement. Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel more exclusive interviews. Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Jeffrey-Toobin-on-Supreme-Court-Justice.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: Hello and welcome. Today on Fresh Dialogues: Jeffrey Toobin. Jeffrey – thank you so much for joining me on Fresh Dialogues. Let’s go on to your specialty: The Supreme Court. In 2009, they decided against environmentalists in a lot of cases… JEFFREY TOOBIN: Six out of six. ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: Yes. What are your thoughts on that, moving forward? Is this going to continue…this anti-environmental stance of the Supreme Court? JEFFREY TOOBIN: I think that the court as currently constituted will likely continue in that direction. I don’t think it’s a particular hostility to the environment per se. I think it is a general sympathy for corporate defendants in all cases, environmental cases being one category of cases where the corporations are the defendants.  They are also generally – the conservative majority –  fairly hostile to government regulatory efforts…and the environment is one area, not the only area. So if the court stays as it currently is, I think you’ll see a lot more cases like that. ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: So would you say, it’s moving more pro-business? JEFFREY TOOBIN: Clearly ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: And the environment losing out as a result? JEFFREY TOOBIN: That’s certainly how the environmentalists see it. ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: And how do you see it? JEFFREY TOOBIN: Again, not a field of great expertise of mine, but I see who wins the cases and who loses them. And it’s the polluters who keep winning. ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: And what about the future? Justice Stevens is due to retire shortly… JEFFREY TOOBIN: He hasn’t said so officially but I think he will retire this Spring. ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: So how is that going to change things? What are your predictions? JEFFREY TOOBIN: I think he is a key member of the liberal four on the court, he will likely be replaced by another liberal. So in terms of the outcome of  cases in the next few years, probably not a huge impact, but I often like to quote Byron White the late Justice, who said if you change one Justice, you don’t just change one Justice, you change the whole court. If you start to have an energized liberal group of young  – by Supreme Court standards -Justices like Sonia Sotomayor, like the next Obama appointee, the wind could start to be at their back. And if Obama gets re-elected, you could see more appointments…so it’s a big deal. ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: And who is your No. 1 candidate for that appointment? JEFFREY TOOBIN: Elena Kagan, the Solicitor General, former Dean of Harvard Law School. Very much an Obama type person – moderate Democrat, a consensus builder… ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: Do you know if she’s an environmentalist? JEFFREY TOOBIN: I don’t… I just don’t know. My sense is, it’s just not an issue that has come across her plate a lot…she is someone who has written on administration law, which tends to mean she’s a believer in the power of the Federal Government to regulate. But I wouldn’t… A – I don’t know what she thinks…and B – I don’t… A is enough. I don’t know what she thinks about these issues…(laughter) ALISON VAN DIGGELEN:  (laughter) OK. Jeffrey Toobin I really appreciate your taking the time for Fresh Dialogues. JEFFREY TOOBIN: My pleasure. Nice to see you. For more Fresh Dialogues Video interviews click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Fresh Dialogues (TM) is an interview series with a green focus: Fresh Questions, Fresh Answers. This video interview took place at  Foothill College Celebrity Forum on April 1, 2010, just one week [...] alison van diggelen 4.14 jeffrey, toobin, supreme court, justices, environmental record, kagan, nominee, obama, energy policy, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, environment, green interview, sustainability alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/04/12/jeffrey-toobin-supreme-court-environment/ Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:13:43 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3539 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I sat down with Supreme Court expert, Jeffrey Toobin, to discuss the court’s environmental record and Obama’s likely pick for the Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. Without skipping a beat, Toobin said his No. 1 pick is Solicitor General, Elena Kagan. Just one week later, Justice Stevens announced his retirement and Toobin’s pick became the front runner. Time will tell if he’s right. Obama is expected to  announce his nominee very soon. Click here for an interview TRANSCRIPT Why will Obama pick Elena Kagan? “She’s former Dean of Harvard Law School (Obama’s alma mater), very much an Obama type person – moderate Democrat, a consensus builder…” . Is Elena Kagan an environmentalist? “My sense is that it’s not an issue that has come across her plate a lot…she’s someone who has written on administration law which tends to mean she’s a believer in the power of the Federal Government to regulate.” Jeffrey Toobin Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Jeffrey-Toobin-on-Supreme-Court-Justice.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window The interview took place at Dick Henning’s Foothill College Celebrity Forum in Silicon Valley on April 1, 2010. For more Fresh Dialogues interviews with business leaders and experts check out Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel And here is an ARCHIVE of interviews with Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman, KR Sridhar and many others By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I sat down with Supreme Court expert, Jeffrey Toobin, to discuss the court’s environmental record and Obama’s likely pick for the Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. Without skipping a [...] alison van diggelen 4.13 jeffrey toobin, kagan, supreme court, nominee, environmental record, stevens retirement, alison van diggelen, fresh dialogues, green interview, sustainability alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/04/06/jeffrey-toobin-on-obamas-offshore-drilling-plan/ Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:45:46 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3517 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last week, President Obama announced a surprise decision to allow oil and gas drilling off the East Coast of the United States. The world was at once outraged and confused. What many analysts overlooked is that Obama also said in his speech, “For the sake of the planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now.”  There was much for both sides to analyze and to debate. I sat down with CNN’s senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin before his Foothill College Celebrity Forum appearance, to try to make sense of Obama’s announcement. Toobin is best-selling author of The Nine (On the secret world of the Supreme Court Justices), and two of the most high profile political controversies: Too Close to Call (the Bush-Gore Presidential Recount) and A Vast Conspiracy (the Clinton-Lewinsky Affair), so I figured he’d provide some good insights into Obama’s latest political strategy. See also Huffington Post coverage On the Obama Offshore Oil Drilling Announcement “It’s a bit peculiar frankly…it seems on one level that he’s negotiating with himself…conceding something to the pro-development forces before the negotiations have really begun in earnest…but there may be some larger political game at work…that this shows how accommodating he is… ” On the Republican Reaction “Gestures of good faith to Republicans have generally been met over the last year and a half with non responsive actions.” . . Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Jeffrey-Toobin-on-Obama-drilling.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window On the EPA Regulating Greenhouse Gases as Pollutants “That’s a campaign promise that Obama appears to be keeping…they have already started the process.” On Health Care Reform “It’s a historic moment for Obama, for the country…It’s going to give the Democrats a tremendous shot in the arm for the mid-term elections… This is going to change the country…it’s done.” Check back soon for Part II of the Toobin Interview when we discuss the environmental record of the Supreme Court and Toobin’s pick for Justice Stevens’s successor. For more exclusive interviews check out Fresh Dialogues GREEN INTERVIEW SERIES ARCHIVES or Fresh Dialogues YOUTUBE CHANNEL By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last week, President Obama announced a surprise decision to allow oil and gas drilling off the East Coast of the United States. The world was at once outraged and confused. What many analysts [...] alison van diggelen 5.16 jeffrey, toobin, offshore, oil, drilling, obama, energy policy, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, environment, green interview, sutstainability alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/03/31/morton-grosser-the-secret-of-silicon-valleys-success/ Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:09:25 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3491 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues There are countless Silicon Valley wannabes all over the world, from Silicon Wadi in Israel to Silicon Glen in Scotland, but none rival Silicon Valley’s track record. Why is Silicon Valley the premier center of innovation? What is the secret of Silicon Valley’s success? I joined Morton Grosser, a Silicon Valley venture investor, consultant and inventor in his Menlo Park workshop to discuss the history of Silicon Valley and the key ingredients that allow innovation to flourish here. As a former director of eight high-tech companies and strategy advisor to such stalwarts as Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Kleiner Perkins and many Fortune 100 companies, Grosser (or Mort, as he prefers) provides a unique perspective on what makes Silicon Valley successful. Why did Silicon Valley grow here? “Silicon Valley has an extraordinary meritocracy culture…it’s an accident of time and place.” What is the Vital Ingredient? “We’ve had a unique surplus of the four things that are necessary for an entrepreneurial culture…a great university or universities, smart young entrepreneurs, a source of capital, but most leave out the most important part: What you really need is a culture of meritocracy. You need horizontality.” Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Morton-Grosser-on-SV.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window The Father of Silicon Valley, Fred Terman‘s epiphany “He noticed that science and engineering seminars were taught by 23-year-old graduate students, because those are the people making the progress…this was anomalous for the industrial world… Terman noticed this 70 years ago and he wrote about it in “Steeples of Excellence.” He said, if you could move this principle out of academia into industry you would have an enormous advantage  over many other companies.” How to build innovation – the Silicon Valley Way “It’s not just the capital…it’s the intellectual environment, the ambiance, the acceptance, it isn’t merely mentoring it’s accepting…To build a culture that is unique; in which industrial companies would have the same structure, where young people have a voice, where new and creative ideas … flourish.” On Creativity “You don’t have to teach children creativity, you just have to get out of their way.” Want to learn more? The book “Regional Advantage” by Berkeley’s Dean of the School of Information, AnnaLee Saxenian, compares Route 128 (the Boston innovation hub) with Route 280 (Silicon Valley) and explores the reasons, as Mort puts it, “Why Silicon Valley succeeded and Route 128 did not… It comes down to the difference between horizontality and verticality.” In summary: Boston developed a system dominated by independent, self-sufficient corporations, whereas Silicon Valley developed a decentralized but cooperative industrial system. Check out the video: The SECRET History of Silicon Valley by Steve Blank To explore more exclusive Fresh Dialogues interviews, here are the ARCHIVES Check back soon for more highlights from the Morton Grosser interview By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues There are countless Silicon Valley wannabes all over the world, from Silicon Wadi in Israel to Silicon Glen in Scotland, but none rival Silicon Valley’s track record. Why is Silicon Valley the [...] alison van diggelen 5.59 morton grosser, silicon valley, success, secret, innovation, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, meritocracy, horizontality, entrepreneur, expert, pioneer alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/03/23/barry-cinnamon-akeena-solar-on-ab-32-and-government-policy/ Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:54:32 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3471 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Ask Akeena Solar CEO Barry Cinnamon about the current brouhaha on repealing AB 32 and he’s likely to “get political.”  Since the 1970’s, he’s been a strong advocate for solar power and is an active member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. I met with Barry at the Los Gatos headquarters of the solar designer-installer and he had strong words for the Governor and the two gubernatorial candidates, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner: 1. Is Governor Schwarzenegger doing enough to stimulate the green economy? “Nobody’s done enough.” 2. Advice to Governor Schwarzenegger on Gubernatorial candidates, Meg Whitman’s and Steve Poizner’s stance on AB 32 … that it’s killing jobs and should be repealed. “Governor Schwarzenegger should pick up the phone to Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner and tell them to back off their inane commentary on AB 32. That it’s killing jobs….that’s just prima facie false.” “Message to Governor Schwarzenegger: fantastic job that he’s done on behalf of solar …but as a leader of the Republican Party,  I’d encourage him to work out a little bit on the Republican candidates… explain to them that our state and Silicon Valley has become a leader in clean tech because of the State’s strong support for (alternative) energy. It would be disastrous if it was suspended in any way.” 3. Will the Whitman/ Poizner stance on AB 32 backfire? “That policy (proposal) is going to galvanize every person and every company involved in clean tech to vote for (Gubernatorial candidate) Jerry Brown.” Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Barry-Cinnamon-on-AB-32.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window To see more exclusive Fresh Dialogues interviews on solar power click here and for a full interview archive click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Ask Akeena Solar CEO Barry Cinnamon about the current brouhaha on repealing AB 32 and he’s likely to “get political.”  Since the 1970’s, he’s been a strong advocate for solar power and is [...] alison van diggelen 4.59 akeena, cinnamon, ceo, ab32, ab 32, jobs, freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, green interview, solar, green job alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/03/17/tom-friedman-china-envy-video/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:16:23 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3456 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I sat down with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, just before he delivered a lecture to an expectant Foothill College Celebrity Forum audience at the Flint Center in Silicon Valley.  We discussed his bestselling book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded and why he thinks the U.S. government MUST jump-start the green economy. According to Tom, creating the right ecosystem is key: funding research, setting price signals and creating incentives to encourage green innovation. Tom admitted to some China envy in that regard. (see below or check out the transcript) He also has some thoughtful words on the Van Jones resignation and dealing with loud critics. Are you listening Van Jones? In this video excerpt, Tom explains his China envy and why he said “Am I a bad guy for wanting to be China for a day?” I asked him, in light of Van Jones’s resignation (and the climate of such criticism), does he consider himself a bad guy? Tom has some strong words for his critics….people like Glenn Beck et al:  “If you’re criticizing me, God Bless you…I’m not above criticism. My focus is on my ideas with my audience…You may be writing about me, but don’t think for a second I’m going to waste a column on you!” Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Tom-Friedman-China-envy.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window For more interviews with Paul Krugman, Martin Sheen, Charlie Rose, Vinod Khosla et al, click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I sat down with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, just before he delivered a lecture to an expectant Foothill College Celebrity Forum audience at the Flint Center in Silicon Valley.  We [...] alison van diggelen 4.5 tom friedman, china, china envy, energy, green, interview, green interview, alison van diggelen, fresh dialogues, van jones, glenn beck alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/03/09/bloom-box-affordability-is-essential/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:44:20 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3428 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In Part Two of my Bloom Energy interview with CEO KR Sridhar, we discuss the affordability of the Bloom Box and what barriers to entry make the fuel cell sector difficult to penetrate. As CNET’s Brooke Crothers emphasized in his recent article there are many fuel cell manufacturers with expensive products; Bloom has to prove itself special by making its fuel cells SIGNIFICANTLY more affordable. It’s a long road from $800,000 (Google and eBay’s beta Bloom Boxes’ price tag) to $3,000 -which KR says is the backyard-box goal). The BBC’s correspondent, Maggie Shiel underlines affordability in her post on Bloom’s reach for energy Nirvana; and Grist’s Todd Woody expounds further on the challenges Bloom faces and Walmart’s role in driving down costs. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman has a unique take on the Bloom story in a recent column called “Dreaming the Impossible Dream.” This from Bloom CEO, KR Sridhar: “Our goal is clearly to make it affordable. It needs mass market adoption… If it’s not affordable, it’ll be the niche market…it’ll be a Tesla.  We need it to be a Honda Civic.” Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Bloom-Energy-Affordability.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window More videos Part One SEE THE FIRST MEDIA INTERVIEW WITH KR SRIDHAR HERE : Fuel Cell Technology and Efficiency Also Part Two Bloom Energy: Affordability is Essential Video Part Three Bloom Energy: Mission to Change the World Video KR Sridhar on barriers to entry: Technical “It’s a very complex interdisciplinary field…it requires knowledge in a significant number of engineering, science, and material science disciplines. And the development of all the process know-how is fairly complex.” Financial “There’s a significant amount of capital that need to be invested over a long period of time to get it to where it needs to be.” (Reportedly over $400 Million has been invested in Bloom Energy since 2002, from several venture capital firms, led by Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr.) To see Part I of the Bloom Energy interview where KR discusses the company’s technology and efficiency click here To check out more VIDEO interview segments at the Fresh Dialogues Channel click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In Part Two of my Bloom Energy interview with CEO KR Sridhar, we discuss the affordability of the Bloom Box and what barriers to entry make the fuel cell sector difficult to penetrate. As [...] alison van diggelen 2.42 bloom energy, video interview, green interview, kr, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, pollution, fuel cell, efficiency, gas station alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/03/03/bloom-energy-how-to-change-the-world/ Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:20:34 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3413 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Like most ambitious entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar wants to change the world. Now where have we heard that line before? It’s the ubiquitous rally cry for thousands of Google/ Facebook/eBay wannabes around the world.  But what makes KR Sridhar different? How about $400 Million in venture capital from the likes of Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr; a 100-strong team of PhD. rocket scientists (like himself) and top engineers from multiple disciplines who’ve been working secretly for eight years; and a client list that includes Google, eBay, Staples and FedEx. Add to that, enthusiastic backing from Arnold Schwarzenegger, splashy coverage from CBS’s 60 Minutes, and Time Magazine which last December dubbed him one of eight “Tech pioneers who will change your life.” Yet, it does sound too good to be true. Not surprisingly, the naysayers are aplenty.  A skeptical article in the Economist said there were many reasons for questioning the company’s “hype”, including the difficulty of shrinking the fuel cell components, and competition from the likes of GE. In a typically British fashion, it mocked Bloom Energy’s ambitions, referring to “flower power” and “fuel’s gold” in the article. But if we look back a few years; before KR Sridhar emerged from stealth to become the Steve Jobs of Green Energy – more substantive information emerges. He was quoted in Tom Friedman’s New York Times column as saying,“We are thrivers. Thrivers are constantly looking for new opportunities to seize and lead and be number one. That is what America is about.” In an exclusive interview at the Bloom Energy headquarters, I asked him to explain this comment, his motivations and why he believes his company really can change the world. Distributed power that is reliable, and affordable are key parts of his strategy. Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Bloom-Energy-Biz.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window To see the widely viewed Part I of the Bloom Energy interview where KR discusses the company’s technology and efficiency click here Excerpt from the Interview Transcript “This is a mission about changing the world because energy is a passport to a better living. For the rest of the world that does not have access to power, access to electricity, to give them that is empowering them to a better life. So if the solution works and you make it affordable and you can distribute it all over the world then definitely you have changed the world. So … if that’s your goal and you achieve that goal, clearly given the size of the energy market, it’s in trillions not in billions and given how many people you can impact with this kind of stuff, this has to be a prominent company. So, I would say being the number one corporation is an offshoot of achieving your larger mission.” KR Sridhar, CEO Bloom Energy To check out more exclusive Fresh Dialogues interviews with Tom Friedman, Vinod Khosla, Paul Krugman, and many other leaders click here or use the Search Box to the right. By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Like most ambitious entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar wants to change the world. Now where have we heard that line before? It’s the ubiquitous rally cry for thousands [...] freshdialogues, alison van diggelen, kr, kr sridhar, bloom, bloom energy, fuel cell, change the world, green interview alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelen https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/02/23/kr-sridhar-bloom-energy-technology-video-exclusive/ Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:56:30 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3393 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to change the world. His fuel cell company is already powering Google, so that should make any skeptic take note. Check out  Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel to see this exclusive interview. VIDEO LINK  A former NASA advisor who developed technologies to sustain life on Mars, this earnest scientist is now harnessing his visionary skills and a large team of engineers to solve the energy crisis. His ambitious goal? To revolutionize the energy industry, just like cell phones revolutionized the communications industry. His team is developing  high efficiency fuel cells to provide a global distributed system of electricity supply at low cost and a low (and ultimately zero) carbon footprint. Clients include Google, eBay, Fedex and Walmart. Not too shabby. The company has been in stealth mode for the last eight years and industry speculation has been rife about its future plans. Thanks to a CBS 60 Minutes Report by Lesley Stahl on February 21st, and the official Bloom Energy unveiling, many more details are now available of this potentially revolutionary product. Even before opening his doors to 60 Minutes, KR agreed to discuss Bloom Energy’s progress in this exclusive and detailed Fresh Dialogues interview, recorded in 2009. To read the interview transcript click here Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Bloom-Energy-Technology.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Why is energy the focus of KR Sridhar’s mission? “Energy is a passport to a better living. For the rest of the world that doesn’t have access to power, to electricity; to give them that is empowering them to a better life. If your solution works and you make it affordable and you distribute it all over the world, then you have definitely changed the world….You give power to the people.” What’s in the Bloom Box? “It takes the chemical energy from the fuel and converts that to electrons with no in between conversion. So you are changing your currency only once. It’s an electro-chemical reaction..like a battery…but the big difference is it’s a power generator so you keep supplying the fuel in and you’ll keep getting the electrons out – most importantly without combustion. It’s a one step conversion… high efficiency…you burn less fuel – less greenhouse gases -and eliminate all the combustion related polluting gases.” What’s the link with transportation? “Transportation can potentially go in two directions in the future. One is a hydrogen infrastructure for the car, the other one is an electrical infrastructure for the car…plug-in hybrids…Our device can either produce the electricity that’ll charge the car or provide you hydrogen if the transportation becomes hydrogen based. So we’ve sort of become the gas station for the transportation industry.” There are still many unanswered questions about Bloom Energy, but here are some more clues. To check out more Fresh Dialogues VIDEO interview segments click here and check  for other Fresh Dialogues video interview segments with lots more PRODUCT AND BUSINESS PLAN DETAIL about Bloom Energy. By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to change the world. His fuel cell company is already powering Google, so that should make any skeptic take note. Check out  Fresh Dialogues [...] alison van diggelen 8.24 bloom energy, video interview, green interview, kr, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, pollution, fuel cell, efficiency, gas station alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/02/17/rolf-papsdorf-alternative-energy-brings-power-to-people/ Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:54:53 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3381 By Alison van Diggelen, Host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Rolf-Tech-Awards-feb-post.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Rolf Papsdorf, President of the Alternative Energy Development Corporation was a recipient of the 2009 Tech Awards in Silicon Valley, for bringing renewable energy (zinc fuel cells) and empowerment to a small community in South Africa. Check out this exclusive interview with Mr. Papsdorf who discusses how to create a carbon neutral community, the advantages of zinc fuel cells (portability is a big plus) and why he wants to meet Al Gore. Read more from the orginial post here And enjoy the video of the affable Mr. Papsdorf: For more exclusive Fresh Dialogues interviews click here By Alison van Diggelen, Host of Fresh Dialogues Rolf Papsdorf, President of the Alternative Energy Development Corporation was a recipient of the 2009 Tech Awards in Silicon Valley, for bringing renewable energy (zinc fuel cells) and empowerment [...] alison van diggelen 4.19 rolf papsdorf, alison van diggelen, fresh dialogues, alternative energy, tech award, green, africa, interview, zinc, zinc-air, fuel cell, silicon valley alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/02/10/how-can-obama-jumpstart-clean-tech-silicon-valley-experts-respond/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:14:07 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3356 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Advice-for-Obama-from-clean-tech-experts.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window The Obama administration ought to have sent an envoy to the FountainBlue State of Clean Green Conference on January 29, 2010. A panel of Silicon Valley clean tech experts had much to share in response to Moderator Greentech Media’s Eric Wesoff’s question…if you had Department of Energy Secretary, Steve Chu’s job, what would you do? In other words, how can Obama better jumpstart the clean tech economy? Tim Woodward, Managing Director, Nth Power said the government needs to create market demand,  and recommends that every government building should have solar power and be retrofitted for energy efficiency; but warned, “There’s a little too much of a ‘large check mandate’ in the Federal Government that picks technologies and stifles innovation at lower levels: figure out how to get smaller dollars into the innovation engine of smaller companies.” Laurie Yoler, Managing Director, GrowthPoint Technology Partners said, “I look at the pricing and incentivizing through market pricing. We’re still subsidizing imported oil without putting the investment into alternative energies…I think we should put a tax on imported oil and use it to help pay off some of the defense spending we’re using to protect the transmission of that oil. We need to forge ahead with cap and trade legislation… until we have a price on carbon it’s hard for the markets to plan and have any certainty.” Elise Zoli, Partner and Chair, Energy Practice, Goodwin Procter said that the Department of Energy needs to improve the low commercialization rate of national labs and is excited about a new national initiative to create virtual access to all the labs’ technology…”so you can  see the technology, acquire it and begin to commercialize it.” “The DoE has a fantastic lab structure, producing some really innovative technologies… (we need to ) leave them there and help them – through public/private partnerships – and take that technology out of the labs…” But “There are things they (the DoE) do terribly and being a bank is one of them.” And Elise has one last piece of advice if you have a green energy technology you think the Feds can use, contact Richard Kidd at the Federal Energy Management Program: “Richard Kidd will not know you exist unless you call him…send an email to Richard’s team and use my name!” Note: Richard’s email is richard.kidd@ee.doe.gov, 202-586-5772  – tell him Elise sent you…And check out the Program’s website contact page for more info. Other panelists included Dan Adler, President, California Clean Energy Fund, and Matt Maloney, Head of Relationship Management, Silicon Valley Bank Related Fresh Dialogues interviews with Emmett Carson, CEO of the $1.7 Billion Silicon Valley Community Foundation on “How to Create a Green Jobs Mecca” with Laurie Yoler on Tesla and the State of the Union Address with Elise Zoli, In Defense of Nuclear By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues The Obama administration ought to have sent an envoy to the FountainBlue State of Clean Green Conference on January 29, 2010. A panel of Silicon Valley clean tech experts had much to share in response [...] alison van diggelen 5.00 clean tech, green, silicon valley, DoE, elise zoli, laurie yoler, carbon, price, advice, alison van Diggelen, freshdialogues alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/02/03/laurie-yoler-on-tesla-venture-capital-and-obama/ Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:33:03 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3338 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Laurie-Yoler.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Laurie Yoler, a managing director of Growth Point Technology Partners, was a founding board member of Tesla Motors and currently serves on its advisory board. I met with her at the FountainBlue Clean Green Annual Conference on Friday January 29th, the day Tesla announced its planned IPO. Needless to say, Yoler was bullish about Tesla’s prospects this year. We also discussed President Obama’s State of the Union Speech on January 27th and the government’s role in stimulating green technology. Good news for Green Tech Venture Capitalists in State of Union Speech? “Rather than what our president said that night, I look at what’s actually taking place, the changes I’m seeing. President Obama as a president has embraced sustainability throughout his tenure.” Obama’s role: could he do more? “He wants to embrace things that have already happened at the grassroots level, instead of mandating across the board. He does have to step forward and the longer he waits to put in Federal goals, the states are going to be further and further along and it’s going to be even messier to sort out. So I think it has to continue to be a priority but so far it seems to be.” Government’s Role in Green Tech? Demand Side “The government can be a huge customer for many of these technologies… In the advanced transportation, advanced vehicle sector the DoE stepped in where the VCs stepped out. The DoE provided $8.5 Billion in funding in the the advanced vehicle technologies last year. The entire venture industry only invested $670 Million, so more than 10 X: government jumping in saying, ‘No no no, we want to incent advanced vehicles, fuel efficient vehicles, so we want to jump in.'” Legislative side “It’s been tough getting some very big things through the system. I think there is continued interest but I’m not sure that we’re going to see the regulation happen as fast as many would like. But it is happening at the state level, 29 states have renewable energy standards that they have set and six more in process.” On Tesla’s prospects in 2010 “We’ve seen the continued success and momentum of Tesla…I get giddy every time I see one on the road. I think we’ve seen all the large auto manufacturers now make a commitment to electric vehicles, flex fuel vehicles, hybrid and battery technologies. So if we look across the automotive ecosystem, we see that there is sustained momentum and so I would hope Tesla would benefit from that, being one of the pioneers.” To hear more Fresh Dialogues interviews with Laurie Yoler, click here For a full list of Fresh Dialogues interviews including Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman and Jack Welch, click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Laurie Yoler, a managing director of Growth Point Technology Partners, was a founding board member of Tesla Motors and currently serves on its advisory board. I met with her at the FountainBlue Clean [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/01/27/robert-ballard-titanic-explorer-talks-climate-change/ Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:57:59 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3298 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Ballard-Global-warming2.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel more exclusive interviews.   Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer of Titanic fame sat down with me in Silicon Valley to discuss his expeditions, global warming, and alternative energy. This respected scientist spoke candidly about global warming -“I’ll be honest, it’s too late, all the ice is going to melt.” READ the TRANSCRIPT On the global warming controversy: Natural cycle or Human impact? “Hey folks: it’s both.  Whenever you have a tremendous controversy both sides tend to be right and wrong. You do have the natural interglacial warming that we’re experiencing, but you are increasing the severity of it with the human footprint.  The concern most people have is that we can’t do much about the natural cycle, but we can do a lot about the human cycle. ..if you steepen it too much, evolution can’t keep up and you get extinction.” On being Politically Correct “Sometimes I see this tombstone that says, “the human race came and went but it was politically correct.” As a scientist I am not politically correct. My job is not to be politically correct. My job is to call it as I see it. And I see that the biggest problem the human race has is that there are too many of us.” On the need to reduce our carbon footprint “Everyone wants to be an American and that would be the worst thing in the world – if everyone emulated us – because we’re so consumptive. An important thing for Americans to do is to drop their footprint. It’s never too late to change your ways…” On alternative energy “I’m actually very pro nuclear. I thought the Three Mile Island calamity was an absolute disaster. A disaster for our country, because I’m very pro nuclear energy. I think it’s safe if done wisely. I envy what France has done. I think they’re up to 90%.  But because of that horrible tragedy and how it frightened people… we lost a generation of bringing more and more nuclear power online.” READ the TRANSCRIPT Finally, in tribute to the infamous query by Barbara Walters and for all Ballard’s youthful fans (he received over 16,000 letters from children when he discovered the Titanic), I asked him, “If you were a sea creature, what sea creature would you be?” Check out the Fresh Dialogues transcript to find out. Ballard was in Silicon Valley last week as part of the Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series to talk about his educational outreach programs and his recent expeditions to the Black Sea. He sat down with me for this interview in the Flint Center Green Room before Friday’s lecture and we discussed global warming, alternative energy, funding his expeditions, and how he sees his role in educating children in science. For more exclusive green interviews see Fresh Dialogues or check out our new Video Channel. To check out the full list of exlusive interviews with Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman, Guy Kawasaki and many other leaders, click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel more exclusive interviews.   Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer of Titanic fame sat down with me in Silicon Valley to discuss his expeditions, [...] alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)noAlison van Diggelenfresh,dialogues,green,sustainability,guy,kawasaki,silicon,valley,interviews,charlie,rose https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/01/20/emmett-carson-how-to-create-a-green-jobs-mecca/ Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:02:10 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3270 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Check out this audio-only version which captures Emmett Carson’s off-camera exuberance and humor. Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/emmett-carson-green-jobs-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Last week, I sat down with Emmett Carson, President and CEO of the  Silicon Valley Community Foundation. In a wide ranging conversation on green jobs, the Obama White House, education and financial literacy, we focused in on the role of the $1.7 Billion Foundation in addressing the immediate job crisis in Silicon Valley. How should coalitions of green minded people come together to create a green jobs mecca in the Bay Area? How do you jump start a green jobs explosion? According to Emmett, it’s all about forging informed dialogues between powerful coalitions. On Creating a Green Jobs Mecca “There has to be a group of people who are going to make some strategic investments…There are coalitions of green folk who are already meeting… where government officials can help, where foundations folk can help and be attuned and listen to what they say they need and where there opportunities will be. So that you start to say to the community colleges, ‘here are the kinds of jobs to train people for.’ What are the jobs that are going to stay around for a ten year cycle? This is the more thoughtful, longer term thinking that we need all of our public leaders to engage in…if we’re really going to have that green jobs explosion.” On Mayor Chuck Reed’s Green Vision “I know this is high on Mayor Reed’s priority list and as you said, he points to a number of initiatives (Green Vision). He wants this to be the (green jobs) center but he can’t do it ALONE, he needs both the State in concert but he also needs real time dialogue with community colleges.” Check back soon for other interview segments when Emmett Carson gives advice to President Obama, shares wisdom on merging two foundations and talks about the Foundation’s social media strategy and how its Facebook page is a vital part. For more exclusive interviews with Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman and Martin Sheen, check out our interview list and the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Check out this audio-only version which captures Emmett Carson’s off-camera exuberance and humor. Last week, I sat down with Emmett Carson, President and CEO of the  Silicon Valley Community [...] alison van diggelen 7.03 emmett carson, silicon valley, community foundation, green jobs, green interview, chuck reed, fresh dialogues alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/01/13/elise-zoli-in-defense-of-nuclear-power/ Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:31:29 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3248 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/elise-zoli-part-2-nuclear.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Elise Zoli, a partner with Goodwin Procter, is a specialist in energy  and clean tech law; and teaches at MIT. I caught up with her at a Fountain Blue Green Transport Event where we discussed two hot areas in clean tech: energy storage and nuclear power. Elise explains the important role of energy storage in making solar and wind energy more reliable; and why she’d like to redefine energy storage to make it sexy. She’s coining a new phrase: “dispatchable renewable power.” On making energy storage sexy “Energy storage sounds like something that you don’t want to talk about, something that belongs in the closet. But the idea is to enable renewables (solar and wind) to have a greater chunk of the American demand…integrated storage flattens out the intermittency issues.” On nuclear power “The N word is difficult in the context of renewable …but most experts who look at climate change and energy security believe there is a significant role for nuclear. “ On nuclear waste and other impacts “Nuclear has a favorable balance of environmental impacts. Every technology, even solar and wind, have their externalities. On balance, does it advance our climate change goals? The technology deserves to be considered.” On the traveling wave reactor or TWR “For the traveling wave reactor they actually consume waste as fuel. The promise of the technology is to reduce waste…The material will be managed in place as opposed to having a long term waste repository.” This is Part Two of the interview. To check out Part One, where Elise explores the government’s role in clean tech and the stimulus package, click here. The interview was recorded at the FountainBlue Clean Green Transport Conference in Santa Clara on July 6, 2009. By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Elise Zoli, a partner with Goodwin Procter, is a specialist in energy  and clean tech law; and teaches at MIT. I caught up with her at a Fountain Blue Green Transport Event where we discussed two hot [...] alison van diggelen 5.12 elise zoli, nuclear, energy storage, dispatchable power, innovative nuclear, green interview, energy alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2010/01/06/rolf-papsdorf-powering-rural-africa/ Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:09:20 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3208 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Rolf-Papstorf-tech-awards.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Rolf Papsdorf is bringing green power to the people of Africa. Thanks to the Silicon Valley based Tech Awards 2009, the rest of the world is hearing about it. His company Alternative Energy Development Corporation manufactures zinc-air fuel cells to generate off the grid electricity for rural communities. His zinc-air fuel cell project, described as the largest in the world,  brings light and energy to the village of Guyuni in South Africa, as well as job creation and online education to the community’s youth. This project echoes – in a small way – the aims of Bloom Energy’s KR Sridhar, who aims to bring Power to the People with its fuel cell design. On the fuel cells technology “We’re the only company in the world which produces a low cost zinc-air fuel cells manually rechargeable…we’re proud to say that we have no carbon footprint and are totally renewable. We recycle the zinc oxide to make new zinc using solar energy.” On how he’s empowering South Africa “Our passion really is empowerment. We supply them with basic electricity, we have skills development programs so that they can earn an income…only 3% of (the community) income goes towards energy, the rest is disposable income.” Rolf Papsdorf Check back soon for the VIDEO of this exclusive Fresh Dialogues interview By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Rolf Papsdorf is bringing green power to the people of Africa. Thanks to the Silicon Valley based Tech Awards 2009, the rest of the world is hearing about it. His company Alternative Energy [...] alison van diggelen 2.0 rolf papsdorf, alternative energy, tech award, green, africa, interview, green interview zinc, zinc-air, fuel cell, silicon valley alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/12/30/kr-sridhar-time-magazine-award/ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:55:50 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3183 By Alison van Diggelen, host Fresh Dialogues This month Bloom Energy CEO, KR Sridhar was picked as one of Time Magazine’s Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life The Time article references a recent Fresh Dialogues feature, Power to the People SEE A RARE FRESH DIALOGUES VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH KR HERE Read the transcript and listen to this exclusive Fresh Dialogues interview – KR explains how the Bloom Energy fuel cell will change the world and give power to the people. Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/KR-Sridhar-Bloom-Energy-part-one-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window SEE THE VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE – A FRESH DIALOGUES EXCLUSIVE 1. Bloom Energy: Fuel Cell Technology 2. Bloom Energy: Affordability is Essential Video 3. Bloom Energy: Mission to Change the World Video To listen to an exclusive Fresh Dialogues interview with Kevin Surace, another Time Magazine Tech Pioneer Who Will Change Your Life click here By Alison van Diggelen, host Fresh Dialogues This month Bloom Energy CEO, KR Sridhar was picked as one of Time Magazine’s Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life The Time article references a recent Fresh Dialogues feature, Power to the People [...] alison van diggelen 10 bloom energy kr sridhar interview fuel cell alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/12/23/kevin-surace-green-rock-star-entrepreneur-of-year/ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:55:19 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3135 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/kevin-surace-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Silicon Valley’s Kevin Surace has just achieved Rock Star status – of the Green Biz variety. The CEO of Serious Materials was picked as Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine and joined Time Magazine‘s list of Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life, along with another Silicon Valley Green Rock Star: Bloom Energy’s KR Sridhar. It’s an incongruous status for someone from the mundane world of building products, but Kevin is being described as ‘savior of the world’, ‘the Larry Ellison of green’ and has even turned down an invitation to the White House. He knows he’ll be invited back. In an exclusive Fresh Dialogues interview recorded before the accolades descended, Kevin revealed his motivations for waging war on climate change and the lessons learned in building a green company. He discussed the influence of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth in helping create a market for green products; how Serious Materials changed its focus; and whether consumers are willing to pay a premium for green. Kevin outlined how his company uses new media to get its message out and what the future holds for this rapidly expanding company. On Kevin’s motivations for wanting to help save the planet “When you have children, you start to think what world are you leaving them? I think that affects everybody.” When did he focus on energy saving products at Serious Materials? “If I sat here and said in 2002 I had the great vision to design energy saving building materials – there was no market in 2002 – people would think I was nuts.  By 2005, the climate issue had come to the front of minds:  on scientists’ minds, at the United Nations, in the world. By ’06, we began coming out with energy efficient windows… ” On the relative importance of buildings vs. cars in CO2 emissions Kevin argues that residential and commercial buildings account for the largest proportion of CO2 emissions (52% of world emissions for buildings and their operations) compared to passenger cars which only make up only 9% of world CO2 emissions. On how An Inconvenient Truth helped create a green market “When that movie came out, it allowed the American public to get the story in a way they never got it before and that’s when I could step back and say: there’s an opportunity here to actually make a difference…LEED took off, green buildings took off…that had a profound impact on the entire industry.” On the pace of global warming “When you look at the raw data, everything’s happening five to ten times faster than the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) said it was going to. So this is extremely scary and wakes you up. So  have to do something.” Are consumers willing to pay a premium for green? “I don’t think they’ll ever be willing to pay a premium. That’s been our thinking from Day One.” How does Serious Materials use New Media? “We blog, we Twitter, we Facebook, we do an awful lot with the web, that’s unusual in the building materials space …. Our constituents  are educated, they get it. They want to see video, hear audio, you’re on the web: that is new media today. Many of the eyeballs -and ears- have moved to the web, and we have to go with that. ” What does the future hold for Serious Materials? “This is a venture backed company… they need to ultimately see an exit…you build these companies towards a potential IPO… you are ready for whatever life brings you: if that’s M&A, if that’s independence, an IPO…whatever. Over the next five years, one of those things will surely happen… We’ve increased our capacity ten X  over a year ago and are ready for the onslaught here. [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Silicon Valley’s Kevin Surace has just achieved Rock Star status – of the Green Biz variety. The CEO of Serious Materials was picked as Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine and joined Time [...] alison van diggelen 12.30 kevin, surace, serious, materials, eco, interview, entrepreneur, freshdialogues alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/12/16/joseph-adelegan-cows-to-kilowatts-tech-award-winner/ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:01:25 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3077 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/cows-to-kWatts-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window The catchy title “Cows to Kilowatts” certainly won the attention of the crowds at the 2009 Tech Awards Gala in Silicon Valley, but the project won accolades for more than mere words. Dr. Joseph Adelegan, an Ashoka Fellow is a charismatic engineer who has found an effective way to harness the energy from slaughterhouse waste and won the $50,000 Intel Environment Award . He and his team at the Nigeria based Global Network for Environment and Economic Development Research, are creating cooking gas and electricity from effluent that might otherwise lead to harmful pollution. What does the Tech Award mean to Dr. Adelegan? “We’ve received several awards… so it’s not really receiving the award… but the opportunity to network, to  meet great minds in Silicon Valley… see people who’ve gone through the same as you’ve gone through…We’ve seen scientists and inventors, visited Microsoft and Intel..we’ve seen people doing some encouraging things…Sometimes you think you are crazy doing this type of stuff, but you see that people are as crazy as you. You have to be crazy to be creative….” (We agreed there were LOTS of crazy creative people in Silicon Valley) Why does Al Gore inspire him? “To me, he’s a motivator and like a mentor. If someone like him can stand up and fight the cause of climate change and global warming and win the Nobel Prize, I think there’s a future for some of us, because we see him up there. What we are doing is also combating climate change… water pollution, so we think, in years to come we have a future.” What is the ultimate vision for Cows to Kilowatts?  “To spread this innovation across Nigeria, most parts of Africa and other developing countries…The big innovation we have is to apply this technology to other types of waste, any organic waste…two years ago, we won an award from the World Bank. Currently we’re talking to breweries, dairy product companies so that their waste can be converted to electricity.” The interview was recorded at the Silicon Valley Tech Awards on November 19, 2009. To read and hear more about the Tech Awards, including Al Gore’s rousing speech, click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues The catchy title “Cows to Kilowatts” certainly won the attention of the crowds at the 2009 Tech Awards Gala in Silicon Valley, but the project won accolades for more than mere words. Dr. Joseph [...] alison van diggelen 6.11 cows to kilowatts, tech award, 2009, silicon valley, nigeria, biogas, energy, green, al gore clean alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen) https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/12/09/paul-krugman-will-climate-legislation-kill-the-economy/ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:40:24 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3089 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Paul-Krugman-copenhagen-climate.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window As delegates gather in Copenhagen this week to thrash out a global treaty on climate change, the shrill from skeptics intensifies. It’s useful to listen to wisdom from Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. In a recent interview, I asked Paul the question on many lips: Will climate legislation kill the economy?     “If history is any guide… it’s just not a big deal,” says Krugman, citing the example of acid rain legislation which many people also said would kill the economy.  “Dealing with it was cheaper than most estimates had suggested,” he says. “Given the incentives; the private sector found ways to generate a whole lot less acid rain.” Krugman thinks the same will be true of carbon limits and has already explained his preference for cap and trade in a previous Fresh Dialogues segment. We also discuss the power of his New York Times column and his influence on the Obama Administration. “We’re speaking across the transom…when I argue with them in my column this is a serious discussion…people in the administration do call me…it’s no longer this sort of Cold War as it was during the Bush years.” And how does he view his role? “I’m trying to make this progressive moment in American history a success,” says Krugman. But why not take a position within the administration to be more effective? “I’m never going to be an insider type. You have to do bureaucratic maneuvering, be pretty good at being polite… reasonably organized…,” says the Pulitzer prize- winning columnist. “I’m none of those things. I can move into a pristine office and within three days it will look like a grenade went off.” To read this segment transcript, click here. The interview was recorded in Silicon Valley on November 12, 2009 To read and hear more interview segments click here for Krugman on Climate and China click here for Krugman’s on Obama’s  job summit. Click here to hear Tom Friedman answer the question: Will Copenhagen be a waste of time? By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues As delegates gather in Copenhagen this week to thrash out a global treaty on climate change, the shrill from skeptics intensifies. It’s useful to listen to wisdom from Nobel Prize winning economist, [...] alison van diggelen 6.00 krugman, economy, kill, climate, legislation, cap and trade, copenhagen clean alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen) https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/12/02/scott-hublou-ecofactor-cleantech-award-winner-2009/ Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:02:55 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=3046 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Scott-Hublou-Eco-Factor-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window On November 17, I attended the CleanTech Open Awards Gala at the Masonic Center in San Francisco and enjoyed keynotes from Lesa Mitchell from the Kaufman Foundation, Bill Weihl, Google’s Energy Czar and Nancy Pfund, of DBL Investors. Minutes after his company was picked as the National Award Winner. I sat down with Scott Hublou, co-founder of EcoFactor. His three-year-old start-up has created an energy management system for the home that uses weather data to optimize heating and cooling. Scott claims savings of between 20 to 30% are achievable. Sounds pretty attractive in this tough economy, and the judges thought so too. How did the CleanTech Open and its mentoring help you? “It forces deep thinking around various different business models. Because there are actual deadlines, it’s kinda like being back in school again where you have to have deliverables… You’re presenting to your peers and potential investors, so you always want to make a good impression… think about sustainability, and good market strategies.”   The Pitch, in layman’s terms “We talk to a thermostat  in your home…that thermostat talks to our energy management servers in the cloud…and connects to outside weather information. We optimize your HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system. Every day, we’re making 20 to 30 little adjustments and at the end of the month, you’re saving 20-30% of your HVAC spending.” If you want to save money, isn’t there a comfort sacrifice? “In sustainability… energy conservation, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a sacrifice of comfort or quality or convenience for the consumer. We’re hands-on energy management, so consumers can be completely hands-off. You don’t have to be doing anything to generate savings.” PowerPoint Tips -How to keep it simple? “My greatest indicator was my wife. As I get deep into the science, her eyes glaze over, just as 90% of the consumer market would. So I have to say, OK, how am I going to present in such a way that she gets it?” The interview was recorded on November 17, 2009, at the Masonic Center in San Francisco. To check out the Tech Awards in Silicon Valley on November 19, 2009 click here. By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On November 17, I attended the CleanTech Open Awards Gala at the Masonic Center in San Francisco and enjoyed keynotes from Lesa Mitchell from the Kaufman Foundation, Bill Weihl, Google’s Energy Czar [...] alison van diggelen 5.04 cleantech, cleantech open, winner, ecofactor, freshdialogues, interview, powerpoint tip, energy, green, energy management alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/11/25/al-gore-what-were-you-thinking/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:55:42 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2989 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Al-Gore-Tech-Awards-09.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window I talked briefly to Vice President Al Gore off mic, before his speech and look forward to interviewing him for Fresh Dialogues in the future. These audio and video links feature highlights from his rousing speech. Here’s the VIDEO . . Former Vice President, Al Gore  showed his passion in front of a rapturous Silicon Valley crowd at the 2009 Tech Awards on November 19th. He described a “day of reckoning” and suggested future generations may look back one day and ask, “What were you thinking?  Were you watching Dancing with the Stars? Did you care?” Dancing? A little dig here to Silicon Valley luminary and co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, who took part in the dance contest last Fall (you really ain’t seen nothing yet…) Gore then echoed the hope in his new book “Our Choice” – that this generation that will develop a sense of shared purpose, and do what needs to be done to combat climate change. Gore described his deep belief that future generations will instead ask, “How did you find the moral courage to shake off the lethargy… seize the responsibility and act in time to solve the crisis?” Gore’s speech emphasized the connection between generations, rich communities and vulnerable ones; while a montage of spectacular landscape photos from Frans Lanting et al played on the screen behind him. Gore urged the crowd to take action. “It’s time to get political about this,” Gore said. “Are we capable of recognizing, absorbing the responsibility that is on our shoulders? This is the moment…we have to awaken…make a conscious choice to solve this problem.” Before he left the stage, he announced this apt rallying cry, “Remember, political will is a renewable resource!” And the crowd of over 1400 Silicon Valley ‘royalty’ rose to its feet to applaud and cheer. Though some attendees weren’t so enthusiastic. Check back soon for video highlights and interviews with Tech Award winners, Cows for Kilowatts founder Dr. Joseph Adelagan and Rolf Papsdorf of South Africa’s Alternative Energy Development Corp. Listen to Fresh Dialogues interviews with Tom Friedman on the need to act on climate change Vinod Khosla on his motivations for finding clean energy solutions And Martin Sheen on why we must care about future generations By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I talked briefly to Vice President Al Gore off mic, before his speech and look forward to interviewing him for Fresh Dialogues in the future. These audio and video links feature highlights from his [...] Alison van Diggelen 6.35 Al Gore, passion, climate change, global warming, tech award, silicon valley alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/11/16/paul-krugman-on-china-climate-change/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:18:08 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2943 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/paul-krugman-china-clean-energy-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Here’s the transcript.  SEE VIDEO of Part One (Part Two coming soon) In advance of Obama’s trip to China this week, Nobel Prize winner, Paul Krugman gave a short, sharp economics lesson on climate change and China during our exclusive interview in Silicon Valley, November 12. What does he think the US and Chinese governments should be doing to combat climate change and stimulate the green sector? Why is he not concerned about China’s lead in clean energy technology? Krugman explains why negotiating with China over CO2 emissions would be preferable to trying to enforce a carbon tax. Hear all this and more in this Fresh Dialogues interview. Here are selected quotes: “Climate change is the mother of all externalities…left without any government intervention, we’re going to basically par-boil the planet.” “You don’t want to get hung up on the specific sexy technologies (like wind turbines)…look at the history of information technology…nobody gets a monopoly for very long.” “If we say to the Chinese, we want you to have a carbon tax – how can we really tell it’s enforced? But if we negotiate with the Chinese that they will have total CO2 emissions of so much, we can monitor that pretty well.” For Part One of the Paul Krugman interview – on Obama’s Job Summit click here The interview was recorded at Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series on November 12, 2009. With special thanks to Dick Henning. By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Here’s the transcript.  SEE VIDEO of Part One (Part Two coming soon) In advance of Obama’s trip to China this week, Nobel Prize winner, Paul Krugman gave a short, sharp economics lesson on [...] alison van Diggelen 4.45 krugman, china, climate change, advice, obama, interview, fresh dialogues alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/11/13/paul-krugman-advice-for-obamas-job-summit/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:29:22 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2889 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/paul-krugman-jobs-summit-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window On Thursday November 12, I had an exclusive interview with Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. Just hours after President Obama announced the Job Summit, I sought out Krugman’s wisdom and he gave some radical advice to the President. Emphasising that “the Job Summit can’t be an empty exercise,” the renowned economics expert recommends a minimum of $300 Billion be spent by the government to encourage job creation, with a focus on job tax credits and subsidies for companies that retain jobs. For a transcript of the interview, click here or watch video This is part of a longer interview in which we discussed green jobs, Krugman’s impact on government policy, his future plans and what gives him that “missionary zeal.” Click here for Part Two on China and Climate Change. Check back soon for more interview segments on Fresh Dialogues. The interview was recorded on November 12, 2009 at the Flint Center, De Anza College, Cupertino. Dr. Krugman was in Silicon Valley to deliver a lecture as part of the Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series. To check out exclusive Fresh Dialogues interviews with Tom Friedman, click here; Martin Sheen, click here, Jack Welch, click here and Guy Kawasaki. Here’s the full collection of interviews – take your pick! Krugman’s advice on stimulating green jobs in particular “Well OK, green jobs I think is going to be a much harder thing to get going. That’s going to take time. That really waits on climate legislation which we won’t get till next year, if we’re lucky.” What specific measures should Obama’s Job Summit champion? “What he needs to do is get some actual targeted job measures, we need some policies that are aimed at encouraging job creation directly: probably a job tax credit and maybe some subsidies for firms that hang on to jobs. We can learn a little bit from European countries (like) Germany which have been relatively successful in containing the job losses…We just have to get something going…. If I had my druthers, if there were no limits politically, I’d say actually let’s just have a really massive second stimulus plan to get the economy going, but since that’s not going to happen we need some measures that are cheaper, don’t maybe do as much for GDP but create a lot of jobs.” On Obama’s cautious approach in the past “This jobs summit can’t be an empty exercise…he can’t come out with a proposal for $10 or $20 Billion of stuff because people will view that as a joke. There has to be a significant job proposal… ”  What’s the minimum he ought to spend? “There’s no hard and fast number, but if it isn’t several hundred billion dollars…OK, probably it’s not going to be as big as the first stimulus bill and not going to be as big as I think it should be… But I have in mind something like $300 Billion, you could do quite a lot that’s actually targeted on jobs.” By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On Thursday November 12, I had an exclusive interview with Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. Just hours after President Obama announced the Job Summit, I sought out Krugman’s wisdom and [...] alison van diggelen 5.12 paul krugman, job summit, unemployment, advice, interview, obama, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/11/04/kr-sridhar-bloom-energy-timeline-and-team/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:42:33 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2807 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh DialoguesDownload or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/KR-Sridhar-Bloom-part-two1.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Bloom Energy has been in stealth mode since 2003 and little has been released about the fuel cell company’s technology and timeline. KR Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy agreed to sit down with me to discuss the company’s technology and team. We explore the importance of the Bloom Box affordability; as well as the company’s timeline. KR also explains why he doesn’t want to add to the hype surrounding the company. This is Part Two of my interview which was recorded on September 30, 2009. Here’s the transcript and check back next week for Tom Friedman’s views on Bloom Energy To check out the Part One post summary click here, and to read the Part One Transcript click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Bloom Energy has been in stealth mode since 2003 and little has been released about the fuel cell company’s technology and timeline. KR Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy agreed to sit down with me to [...] alison van diggelen 06.20 kr sridhar, bloom, energy, interview, fuel cell, pricing, timeline, hype alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/10/28/guy-kawasaki-venture-capital-insights/ Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:18:44 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2788 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Guy-Kawasaki-VCs-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window This week, we feature an interview with Apple evangelist and venture capitalist at Garage Technology Ventures, Guy Kawasaki. He shares his candid thoughts on the venture capital industry; the fragile economy and why he sees light at the end of the tunnel. On the stock market and VC investing “If you are investing in two people in a garage today, it doesn’t matter what the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at all…if you say ‘the market is down so I’m not going to invest in a startup today,’ there’s something ass backward about that. It matters what it (the stockmarket) is in five years.” Is there light at the end of the tunnel? “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel because it’s cyclical. I don’t know how slow the earth is turning. ..It can’t be that we will always be in this funk. If you believe that there’s never going to be another IPO of a startup you should get out of the VC business.” On economic experts “These so called experts…if they are so frickin’ smart, how come they didn’t call the downturn?” On the sub-prime mortgage meltdown “How come so many smart people – all those MBAs, all those bankers, all of New York – were thinking, this is a good business? How can that be?” On the VC Model and Startups “I think the venture capital model is fundamentally broken, but for different reasons. It’s not the lack of exits. A series of forces: including open source, the recession – so there’s lots of people available for very low prices and cheaper commercial real estate…You can start a company for a lot less today than ever. Life is good in that sense. ..You really don’t need $2 million to build a prototype…I’m talking about a certain type of company…a web 2.0 content, social network something… I’m not talking about finding a cure for cancer.”  Is Sand Hill Road’s supremacy under threat? “It’s an upward spiral because the best stuff comes to Silicon Valley, so we invest in the best stuff, so it creates the best stuff so more people come..I don’t know if that model will last forever, but I don’t see it changing immediately.” Why is the Venture Capital industry a beautiful business? “It’s a business with very high barriers to exit. You raise a $500 Million fund, and you get 2.5% of that every year come hell or high water, sitting on your ass or not, picking good stuff or not…if you hit home runs you can make tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s for you to go to cocktail parties… and all the entrepreneurs are sucking up to you and you’re getting interviewed : ‘what’s your view of green? What would you recommend to green entrepreneurs?‘….it takes five to seven years to figure out if you’re a bozo or not. Have I not just described a beautiful business? Why would you leave that business?” The interview was recorded on April 8, 2009 when the DJIA stood at 7837 To hear or read more Fresh Dialogues interviews with Guy Kawasaki… Click here for rules for Green Revolutionaries Click here for Guy’s views on Prius and electric cars Click here for Guy’s views on ebooks and the Kindle To read transcripts click here By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we feature an interview with Apple evangelist and venture capitalist at Garage Technology Ventures, Guy Kawasaki. He shares his candid thoughts on the venture capital industry; the fragile [...] alison van Diggelen 9.50 guy kawasaki, vc, venture capital, insight, model, startup, sandhill alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/10/21/tom-friedman-driving-the-green-agenda/ Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:16:44 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2738 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Tom-Friedman-part-2-green-agenda-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window I caught up with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, at the Foothill College Celebrity Forum lecture series last month, where he delivered a spirited argument for why the United States must embrace a green economy. In this second part of our interview, we explore his part in driving the green agenda. This January, he took part in a congressional hearing on green tech and economic recovery, sponsored by US Senator, Barbara Boxer. We discuss his role in that; how he deals with critics; and why he enjoys daiquiris with New York Times colleague, Maureen Dowd. Click here for part one of the interview about his book, Hot Flat, and Crowded. On Friedman’s role in driving the green agenda I use my platform as a journalist to drive this agenda that I see as important… I see a lot of things that are very exciting happening – exploding really – on a kind of small scale, but they haven’t yet reached critical mass and when you’re talking about changing the climate, you are talking about critical mass. It hasn’t yet been translated into policy at scale. On his action at the Congressional level in January It was an informal hearing, sponsored by Barbara Boxer, on climate and energy. John (Doerr) and I were the two main expert witnesses…No one intervention like that is going to be decisive, it takes many more…most of all from the President. On dealing with critics I think there’s a big audience for what I say and I don’t really pay attention to the critics. I keep on marching on. I hear it and it’s fine. And it’s a free country. You can say whatever you want.  But I’ve got my own bully pulpit and I use it. I don’t use it to shout back at critics; I use it to get my message out.  I’m looking forward. You know, the dogs bark and the caravan moves on. I’m in the caravan. My feeling is, I’m out there. And therefore, if you can’t take the heat, don’t be out there… Why would I waste a column writing about one of my critics? So what I always say to the critics is: ‘you may be writing about me, I really appreciate that, but don’t think for a second that I’d waste a column writing about you.’ What drives Tom Friedman? I’m having fun. I have the best job in the world. I get to be a tourist with an attitude…go wherever I want, write whatever I want…and they pay me for that. I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I still enjoy getting up every morning, hitching up my trousers and getting out there…opening up my laptop and taking on the world. The interview was recorded at the Flint Center in Cupertino on September 10, 2009 For Part One of the interview, click here For Part One transcript, click here For Part Two transcript, check back soon By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, at the Foothill College Celebrity Forum lecture series last month, where he delivered a spirited argument for why the United States must [...] alison van Diggelen 9.12 tom friedman, green, platform, agenda, interview, future of journalism alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/10/14/david-chen-government-catalyst-for-green-tech/ Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:52:58 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2718 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/David-Chen-part-one-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window I caught up with David Chen, an executive director at Morgan Stanley, while attending the AlwaysOn Going Green Conference 2009 in Sausalito. Chen, a specialist in the green tech investment sector, discussed the morale of investors; and why he’s expecting a bumpy ride ahead. He also explains the key differences between high tech and green tech business plans; and how the government plays a vital  role as catalyst in the development and commercialization of the green economy. On the mood of investors “We’re coming out of a year of tough project finance and corporate finance opportunities…You don’t have the hype feel you had last time we were here; there was this frothy sense of exuberance…bubble making. Now people are a lot more realistic…(there is) cautious optimism.” (Note: last year’s conference coincided with the collapse of Lehman Brothers) On the bumpy ride ahead “There’s a general sense in the broader capital markets that we’re set for a bumpy ride over the next 18-24 months. We’re not out of the woods yet in terms of fundamentals of the economy…That means a low growth expectation environment but low volatility…There’s good opportunity whether M&A or financing; you are looking for market stability and I think we’re going to have that.” On government stimulus: An Obama bubble? “The government has done a great job of re-instilling confidence in the financial system. The government is a necessary catalyst for the clean tech industry, like it or not…Obama has done a phenomenal job.” (David Chen cites thin film solar manufacturer, Solyndra as a good example of a company supported at a critical stage by $535 Million in Federal loan guarantees) On high tech and clean tech business plans – how they differ “The big problem in the clean tech market is, though it’s called ‘tech’ they’re really just large industrial markets, all of which will dwarf the overall IT sector…and these markets are fundamentally driven by the project finance industry. You really need a catalyst to effectively close the gap between a company that has very interesting technology but doesn’t have the track record to prove the system will last 25 years – and the natural gas plant with 50 years of operating history… and reliability performance set of data.” On Tesla: its achievements, challenges and future (Note: At the conference, Vinod Khosla’s predicted that green solutions need to be economical to reach the mass market) “At the end of the day, Tesla Motors is the only company to go from start to finish, a full electric vehicle system… Tesla has done the industry a great service..in terms of paving the way. Their plan is to build a manufacturing plant and commercialize the design for the S Class Sedan ..it can be a practical car. If they can get the manufacturing process down in a cost effective way… at some price point, they can hit some semblance of demand and wider audience, then I think they could survive.” The interview was recorded on September 15, 2009 at the AlwaysOn Going Green Conference 2009, in Sausalito California. Please excuse the intermittent whistling wind and other nautical sounds; the interview was recorded at Cavallo Point, near the Golden Gate Bridge on a blustery afternoon. For other interviews recorded at the conference: Tony Perkins of AlwaysOn Stuart Evans of Novacem By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with David Chen, an executive director at Morgan Stanley, while attending the AlwaysOn Going Green Conference 2009 in Sausalito. Chen, a specialist in the green tech investment sector, [...] Alison van Diggelen 11.02 david chen, clean tech, investment, interview, alison van Diggelen, fresh dialogues, solyndra, tesla alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/10/07/kr-sridhar-power-to-the-people-with-bloom-energy/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:55:56 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2661 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/KR-Sridhar-Bloom-Energy-part-one-final.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window SEE THE VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH KR SRIDHAR HERE – A FRESH DIALOGUES EXCLUSIVE Part One: Fuel Cell Technology and Efficiency Also Part Two Bloom Energy: Affordability is Essential Video Part Three Bloom Energy: Mission to Change the World Video Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to change the world. A former NASA advisor who developed technologies to sustain life on Mars, this earnest scientist is now harnessing his visionary skills and a large team of engineers to solve the energy crisis. His ambitious goal? To revolutionize the energy industry, just like cell phones revolutionized the communications industry. His team is developing  high efficiency fuel cells to provide a global distributed system of electricity supply at low cost. Although the company is still in stealth mode industry speculation is rife about its future plans. KR agreed to discuss Bloom Energy’s progress in this exclusive Fresh Dialogues interview recorded on September 30, 2009. To read the interview transcript click here . . Why is energy the focus of KR Sridhar’s mission? “Energy is a passport to a better living. For the rest of the world that doesn’t have access to power, to electricity; to give them that is empowering them to a better life. If your solution works and you make it affordable and you distribute it all over the world, then you have definitely changed the world….You give power to the people.” What’s in the Bloom Box? “It takes the chemical energy from the fuel and converts that to electrons with no in between conversion. So you are changing your currency only once. It’s an electro-chemical reaction..like a battery…but the big difference is it’s a power generator so you keep supplying the fuel in and you’ll keep getting the electrons out – most importantly without combustion. It’s a one step conversion… high efficiency…you burn less fuel – less greenhouse gases -and eliminate all the combustion related polluting gases.” What’s the link with transportation? “Transportation can potentially go in two directions in the future. One is a hydrogen infrastructure for the car, the other one is an electrical infrastructure for the car…plug-in hybrids…Our device can either produce the electricity that’ll charge the car or provide you hydrogen if the transportation becomes hydrogen based. So we’ve sort of become the gas station for the transportation industry.” Bloom Energy’s road map and schedule “We’re building both the bridge and the future destination…There’s a sense of urgency, you feel like you need to do it faster than humanly possible. This is a big scale issue. It’s not a microchip. These are huge devices and they need to be build in very large quantities…factories, machines for factories. These things don’t happen overnight.  It’s going to be slower than what the bits and bites people in Silicon Valley think because it’s not like software that you’re just going to copy a million times instantly and distribute…You are not talking about eight quarters. You are talking longer than that.” (Note: Bloom Energy filed its first patent in 2003. To check out the patents, click here) What motivates KR? “The driver that makes you wake up in the morning …comes from something very fundamental. Any parent knows that… anywhere in the world…if there’s one thing they have in common: they want a better life for their children than what they had. I deeply believe, unless we solve this energy issue and not make it a zero sum game… then we cannot promise our future generations a better life that what we had.” How are the Tennessee [...] By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues SEE THE VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH KR SRIDHAR HERE – A FRESH DIALOGUES EXCLUSIVE Part One: Fuel Cell Technology and Efficiency Also Part Two Bloom Energy: Affordability is Essential Video Part [...] Alison van Diggelen 17.32 kr sridhar, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, bloom energy, power, fuel cell alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/09/30/stuart-evans-green-cement-and-vinod-khosla/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:26:48 +0000 http://www.freshdialogues.com/?p=2630 By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interviewhttp://www.freshdialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Stuart-Evans-Novacam-edited.mp3We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window Vinod Khosla, the green investment guru, was asked to name the company with the greatest chance of becoming the next Green Microsoft  while onstage at the GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito.  He declined to name his “favorite child” but did praise Calera, the green cement maker he’s backing; and spoke about the huge potential growth in this sector. Since cement production creates 2.5 billion tons of CO2 annually,  representing  5% of manmade sources, it offers great potential in both climate change impact and market opportunity. I caught up with Stuart Evans, Chairman of Novacem, who shares Vinod’s bullishness about the market for green cement. This British entrepreneur has assembled a team from Imperial College, London (he dubs it the MIT of  the UK) and claims to have invented a carbon negative cement.   How does Novacem technology differ from Calera’s? “The big play at Calera is that they want to go next to power stations to absorb the carbon dioxide there (carbon sequestration)… We’re making cement without a carbonate based feedstock. Vinod was talking about his materials being used in aggregate applications; we’re really replacing Portland Cement…we’re in the same space, we’re not head to head…we’re possibly even complementary. Besides, in a 2.5 billion (volume/ $150Billion) market, there are room for a couple of players…”   Why is Novacem carbon negative? “Our cement doesn’t emit carbon dioxide, it absorbs carbon dioxide. We start with the material magnesium silicate (not calcium carbonate)… they have no carbon in them,  so right there we’ve got a stunning advantage. We only work at 800 degrees centigrade (compared to Portland Cement which requires 1400 degrees) so the energy sources we can use include biomass fuels which have a much greener footprint. ..We add a magic sauce to it (a mineral additive) which means that the cement absorbs carbon dioxide rather rapidly.” The importance of team “The team is everything; money is important but the team is even more important.” On Vinod Khosla’s expertise “We are tremendously flattered that Vinod is following our lead and investing in green cement.” (A display of typical British humor here)  For more Fresh Dialogues interviews and transcript with Vinod Khosla, click here       For other interviews recorded at the conference: Tony Perkins of AlwaysOn David Chen of Morgan Stanley             The interview was recorded at the GoingGreen Conference, Sausalito on September 15, 2009. The background sound you hear is nautical ‘music’ from buoys, as container ships make their way under the Golden Gate Bridge. For more info on Green Cement, check out these links Earth2Tech The Next Big Future By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Vinod Khosla, the green investment guru, was asked to name the company with the greatest chance of becoming the next Green Microsoft  while onstage at the GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito.  He [...] alison van Diggelen 5.57 green cement, vinod khosla, fresh dialogues, alison van diggelen, novacem alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)no